TERM 2 - WEEK 8

Principal's message

Hello Cairns West families

NAIDOC: We look forward to celebrating NAIDOC Week in the last week of term. As NAIDOC falls during the school holidays each year, we traditionally celebrate it during the last week of term. This year we look forward to the special assembly on Thursday 26 June which will include a Welcome to Country, traditional dancing, a smoking ceremony and award presentations. Students will also be involved in a range of activities throughout the week. Unfortunately, I will be conducting a school review in Southeast Queensland during this week as a peer reviewer, so sadly I’ll miss this important celebration at Cairns West this year.

RECONCILIATION WEEK: Last week we recognised Reconciliation Week. Staff & students engaged in a range of classroom activities and the week culminated with a reconciliation march around the school oval prior to a special assembly on Thursday afternoon. I thank all staff involved in planning and coordinating these important activities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY: Last week, Mr Ormiston and three of our school leaders (Alo, Hunter & Akanisi) participated in a video project being filmed by the Australian Department of Education around the importance of Acknowledgement of Country. This project is being filmed across Australia, and we were the only Queensland school to be selected. The video will be used at Education conferences and major events, and we look forward the seeing the final product.

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Support: We have the benefits of NDIS coordinators visiting our school every second week in our Community Place. We acknowledge the NDIS system can be challenging to navigate and encourage families to take advantage of this service if chasing any advice or support around NDIS.

FOOTWARE: At the beginning of this year, we communicated to families that Crocs were no longer suitable footwear at Cairns West and were banned. We had a fantastic response from parents and no student were wearing Crocs to school. I notice this has started to change and I see some students starting to wear Crocs again. Unfortunately, Crocs are not suitable footwear for children to run & play, and they pose a health & safety risk in some school subjects. Parents are asked to ensure children wear enclosed footwear to school. Your support around this is sincerely appreciated.

Yours in Education, Jason Evert - Principal

Deputy Principal - Teaching & Learning

Hello Cairns West families,

It’s a pleasure to introduce myself as the new Deputy Principal at Cairns West State School. I’ve worked in education for more than 25 years across both New South Wales and Queensland and held leadership roles since 2011. Before joining CWSS, I was Deputy Principal at Mareeba State High School, and prior to that, I spent several years at Woree State High School.

Although I’ve only been here a short time, I’ve been genuinely touched by the warm welcome I’ve received from staff, students and families. It’s clear that Cairns West is a special place, and I’m excited to be part of a team that is so deeply committed to student learning and wellbeing.

My family and I moved from Kiama on the NSW South Coast to Cairns six years ago, looking for a better balance as we navigated life with three chronically ill children. My husband Andrew works for the Department of Education in the regional office, and we have four children: Fletcher (20), Elliott (17), Somerset (14), and Duffy (10). As both an educator and a parent, I understand the value of strong partnerships between home and school, and I look forward to building those relationships here.

You’ll often hear students call me Mrs C, and I’m more than happy for our school community to do the same.

Reading Every Day at CWSS

At Cairns West State School, we teach reading every day in every classroom. This happens not only in English lessons but across other learning areas as students engage with a wide variety of texts.

Our evidence-informed approach to reading includes:

• Systematic synthetic phonics and word study to develop strong word-reading skills
• Rich discussions about texts to build comprehension
• Explicit teaching of vocabulary, background knowledge, and language structures

Families and carers are key partners in this work. You can support your child’s reading development by:

• Creating regular opportunities for conversation and oral language at home
• Listening to your child read aloud
• Reading to your child to build vocabulary and understanding

Semester 1 Reports and Learning Conversations

Right now, our teachers are finalising assessments, moderating student work, and preparing Semester 1 report cards. This is a valuable time to reflect on each child’s progress and set meaningful goals for the rest of the year.

Report Cards will be emailed home early Term 3. Please ensure your email address is up to date with the school office. Following this, we will be holding 3-way parent-teacher interviews, which provide an opportunity for students, families and teachers to discuss learning, celebrate growth and plan next steps.

It’s important to remember that learning is a journey. Celebrating effort and progress is just as important as recognising achievement. Encourage your child to take pride in their growth and to keep striving toward their goals.

Looking Ahead

With only three weeks left in Term Two, there is still so much learning to enjoy. I hope to meet many of you at upcoming events, including:

• School Assembly – Thursdays at 2:00pm
• Athletics Day
• NAIDOC Celebrations

Please don’t hesitate to come up and introduce yourself—I look forward to getting to know you and your family.

Warmly,
Maria Chatfield
Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning– Cairns West State School

Deputy Principal - Partnership Initiative

Sport, Sport, Sport!

Athletics

Well done to all of our amazing students, former students, and parents who participated in our 2025 Inter-House Athletics Carnival. The day was a huge success!
Students aged 10, 11, and 12 who placed in events will now be invited to represent CWSS at the District Carnival early next term. More information will be provided by Mr P.

Soccer: 

Well done to our year 5 & 6 who won the John Morriarty Football Carnival. Our boys played very hard against other students from our region and bought home the gold. 

Behaviour at CWSS

One of my roles at CWSS is to monitor student behaviour data in both the classroom and playground. I’m very pleased to report that overall, our data continues to show ongoing improvement. This is due to two key factors:

1. The outstanding efforts of all CWSS students who continue to display excellent behaviour.  Keep up the great work, everyone!
2. The consistent daily efforts of our teachers in reminding students to make positive choices.

Holiday Safety:

With only 10 school days remaining until the holidays, I encourage all families to take a moment to speak with their children about staying safe during the break. Please remind them to:

• Stay safe when crossing roads. Use the pedestrian crossings and lights. 
• Always let an adult know where they are going. If you are going to a friends or the park make sure an adult know where you will be. 

 Christian Gleave - Deputy Principal Partnership Initiative

CWSS Sports Day - Thursday 13 June

Bye Mrs Mitchell - Best wishes in your new school

Programming robots to draw

Year 3 students are learning about how robots are used for helping humans, animals and taking care of the environment.   Robots can only do what people program them to do.  The students programmed the Probot (a robot in the shape of a racing car) to draw a specific shape by inputting patterns of code.  The Probot has a pen holder that will draw the shape on paper.  Robots are amazing but the kids who can program them are even more amazing! Triangles, hexagons, octagons, circles and so much more.

Theresa Feletar  -  Digital Technolgies teacher

Year 6 Business Studies excursion

This week, year 6 business studies students walked to one of the most important parts of our community, Raintrees Shopping Centre.  The students had a budget of $20 and a cryptic shopping list that they had to decipher in teams to purchase the correct items.  While on our community walk, we discussed the different types of people in our community that rely on Raintrees Shopping Centre to work and earn money for their families as well as shop for food and other essentials for their families. 

We practiced and demonstrated acceptable and appropriate public behaviour including being aware of space between people, volume and tones of voices and walking speeds.  We received lots of positive feedback from members of the community.  I was very proud to take our seniors out to represent Cairns West State School.   

On returning to school, during their play breaks, they worked in a production line to pack, seal and prepare snack bags for selling at the Athletics Carnival on Thursday.  All money raised will go towards the year 6 graduation celebrations.  

Theresa Feletar  -  Digital Technologies teacher

Year 6 excursion to Raintrees

CWSS students and staff preparing lanterns for the African Festival held on the Esplanade on Saturday 31 May

Reconciliation march on Thursday 29 May on our school oval

Does your child love to RUN, JUMP & THROW?
Don’t miss your chance to be part of the 2025 Coles Winter Little Athletics Carnival in sunny Townsville! ☀️ Nominations close THIS Monday 16 June.

📍 Townsville Sports Precinct

📅 28–29 June 2025

Open to U7–U17 athletes – LAQ & non-LAQ members WELCOME!

Whether you're chasing PBs or just in it for fun – it’s going to be a weekend to remember!

Register now 👉 https://laq.sport80.com/public/wizard/e/3/home

Need help registering?

🔹 How to register as an LAQ Member - https://bit.ly/431jBoS

🔹 How to register as a Non-LAQ Member - https://bit.ly/431jBoS

Event Draft Order & More 👉 https://laq.org.au/coles-winter-carnival/

Life Education classes will run in week 9 Monday 16 June - Wednesday 18 June 2025.  All year 5 and 6 students are expected to attend, however, there will be an Opt Out letter which has been sent home, if you do not wish your child to participate fill in and return it to your teacher.

ROAD SAFETY around schools

Goodstart Manunda's BIG BREAKFAST

See below for full details of this free breakfast event......Thursday 26 June save the date!!

EDGE Early Learning

Edge Early Learning - new Child Care Centre opening in Kanimbla

CWSS ADOPT-A-COP

🤩 Celebrating Student Achievements 😍

Term 2 - Week 5

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Term 2 - Week 7

TRYFOR5! Term 2

100% Attendance Reward Winner - ATTENDANCE STAR!  - Each week 5 tickets will be drawn from the Try for 5! 100% Club Box to win TRYFOR5! prizes. Mid-term prizes to be drawn in week 5 and week 10  -3 X $50 Timezone vouchers and 3 x $50 Event Cinema vouchers 

Term 2 - Week 5

Term 2 - Week 6

Term 2 - Week 7

TRYFOR5! WINNERS - Each week the year level with the best weekly attendance will be awarded with the Try For 5! attendance trophies. 

Cairns Safer Streets Program- Term 2 2025

Cairns Safer Streets is a multi-agency, co-located group of State Government representatives delivering innovative projects through community and whole-of-government partnerships.

We have developed a place-based approach in Cairns West which enables the development and implementation of innovative strategies to address underlying causal factors of complex social issues.

See the timetable for term 1 activities below.......

Community Space and Place

Community Garden/Place

  It Takes a Community  -   People, Places and Programs  -  To Help us Help Ourselves.

If the signs are out then we are about (J block near the front of the school), so pop in and say hello....

Look forward to seeing you there   -   Annie