Cairns West State School eNewsletter

Principal's message

Hello Cairns West

SCHOOL OPINION SURVEY: Each year Education Queensland emails out a School Opinion Survey (SOS) across all state schools in Queensland. They seek feedback from all staff, a selection of students and all parents. This survey is a valuable source of information for our school and the department to gauge how well we are meeting the needs of the school community, our students and our employees. The more people we can get to complete the survey, the more valuable the information. In Cairns West’s 2023-2027 Strategic Plan we set the target of improving ‘Parent Participation in School Opinion Survey’ from 10.6% in 2023 to 50% by 2027. The survey was emailed to parents between July 21- 25. As it stands, 4.2% of our parents have completed the survey. The survey is anonymous. Greater parent support around completing the survey this year is sincerely appreciated.

INDUSTRIAL ACTION: Thank you to the families who supported the teacher strike this week by keeping your children at home. Our teachers do not take industrial action lightly and the strike was supported by 100% of eligible teachers at our school. This industrial action is about creating better working conditions for teachers, which equates to better learning conditions for your children. Strong community support of our teachers was appreciated.

3-WAY INTERVIEWS: It was great to see so many parents supporting their child’s education by attending our parent teacher interviews last week. I acknowledge and thank our school staff for all the work behind the scenes to ensure this important event runs smoothly.

TRINITY COAST CENTRAL (TCC) Athletics: It was fantastic to be able to drop down to Barlow Park on 25 July and watch some of the district athletics events. In fact, the first three events I watched, with Cairns West students competing, were won by Cairns West students! Special thanks to Mr Pudovskis for organising our participation, to Mr Deepak for adjudicating events at the carnival and to a supportive parent, Mrs Mary Christou for helping with the supervision of students in the grandstand. Congratulations to all of our students for being such great ambassadors for our school and a special mention to James Waireg who won the both the 100 & 200 meter sprints. An amazing achievement!

GO FOR GOLD: Last week we had our first meeting with the project manager and architect for our Go-for-Gold multi-purpose sports facility. This meeting was focused on features to be included in the building design, based on the allocated budget. From here, the architect will come back with a preliminary design for consultation and the project will evolve from there. All going well, there will be construction work under way by the end of this year.

INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP: Earlier this year I attended a professional development program being rolled-out by Education Queensland with Principal’s and Curriculum Leaders across the state called Instructional Leadership. As Principal, Instructional Leadership is about focusing a bit of your time every day on student learning. This work is supported by evidence-based research and will result in improving the academic achievement of students at our school. At Cairns West, our goal is to improve our grades in English and I have been communicating this to students on assembly weekly and reinforcing the message when I walk through classrooms each day. Parents can support this work by encouraging children to read at home, asking children about what they are learning at school and talking with them about their report cards. Parent support around with work is appreciated.

Yours in Education, Jason Evert Principal

Deputy Principal - Teaching & Learning

Hello Cairns West families,
Welcome to Semester Two! We are off to a strong and busy start here at Cairns West State School—where every day counts.

In just the first few weeks of Term 3, families should have received their child’s Semester 1 Report Card and had the opportunity to attend a 3-way interview. If your child is in Year 3 or Year 5, you may have also received their NAPLAN results. These important pieces of assessment and reporting provide valuable insights into your child’s learning journey and help us work in partnership to support their next steps.
At Cairns West, we understand that assessment and reporting are part of an ongoing teaching and learning cycle. They help us understand each child’s strengths, identify challenges, and plan for improvement. While report cards and assessment data are important, they represent just one part of the whole child. That’s why we continue to encourage strong, 3-way partnerships between students, families, and teachers. These relationships are the most powerful way we can support each child to thrive—academically, socially and emotionally.

The Term 3 Learn Now to Succeed overview has already been sent home with your child. This gives you an insight into the exciting learning planned for the term and supports meaningful conversations about what your child is doing at school.
If you ever have a question or want to talk more about your child’s learning, please reach out to your child’s teacher or a member of staff. We’re always here to work with you.

Being Safe Before & After School
A friendly reminder to all families about road safety—particularly before and after school. This time of day can be very busy, and we ask all students and families to take extra care when crossing the road. Please use the designated pedestrian crossings and avoid walking between parked cars. We encourage parents and carers to meet their child inside the school gates to support a safe and calm transition from school to home.

Book Week – Week 6 Thursday 21 August
We are excited to celebrate Book Week in Week 6 with this year’s theme: "Book an Adventure!"
This theme encourages children to explore new worlds and embark on exciting literary journeys. It also marks the 80th anniversary of Children’s Book Week, making it an extra special celebration. Stay tuned to Facebook and the school calendar for event details and ways to get involved.

Weekly Assembly – Just a reminder that our whole school assembly takes place every Thursday at 2:00pm in the senior hall. Families are warmly invited to attend as we celebrate student achievements and share school news.
I look forward to seeing you at events throughout the term—and as always, please feel free to come and say hello.
Warmly,

Maria Chatfield - Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning

Deputy Principal - Partnership Initiative

It has been a busy and exciting few weeks at CWSS, especially for our Year 5 and 6 students who have proudly represented our school in two major sporting events.
Last week, our senior students took part in the Rugby 9s Carnival and did an outstanding job, showing great teamwork, determination and school spirit. They placed 3rd overall—a fantastic achievement! Congratulations to all players and thank you to our staff and families who supported the team on the day.

Also last week, our Year 5 and 6 students also competed in the Futsal Carnival. After a series of hard-fought games, they progressed all the way to the semi-finals, where they were narrowly defeated by the team who went on to win the tournament. It was an excellent performance and another proud moment for CWSS.

A friendly reminder to families and students about the importance of wearing the correct school uniform each day. We’ve noticed an increase in students wearing Crocs and other non-uniform items. Please remember that school shoes are part of our uniform expectations. Wearing our uniform with pride reflects our values and strengthens our school identity.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the overall behaviour of our students. The vast majority of our learners continue to show respect, responsibility, and a commitment to being safe and engaged learners. Thank you for continuing to support our school values both at home and at school.
Let’s keep the positive momentum going for the rest of the term!

Christian Gleave - Deputy Principal Partnership Initiative

FOWLERS NETBALL CARNIVAL

Fowlers Netball Carnival is Friday the 22 August. Teams have been selected. Permission forms will be handed out and need to be signed and returned to Ms Luxford or Ms Bruton ASAP.

Mr Perger is at school on Tuesdays if you wish to speak with him.........

Celebrating School Officers Day in Term 2 (Cleaners, Groundmen, Tuckshop Convenor, Admin Officers, Social Worker, IT Manager - Thank you for all you do at our school........

NAIDOC Art Work

BIG Breakfast - Thursday 17 July 2025

Dance North Workshops - Year 3 & 4

Dance workshops were held at Cairns West in week 2 and were full of joy, creativity, high energy, teamwork and total engagement. These are just a few of the photos I took. Totally absent from the students were any 'putdowns' of others or teasing or laughter at the expense of others.

The theme for the workshops was based on superheroes, and part of the workshop after the warm-ups was to students to connect a movement and a 'freeze' pose that characterised each superhero. This was then put into a series of movement accompanied by beatbox sounds and then turned into a game like statues. The longer workshop for year 5 student went further with the group learning some of the choreography for the DanceNorth performance 'Lighting the Dark'. A contemporary dance about superheroes.

The DanceNorth performers who ran the workshops were full of praise for our students - their ideas, willingness to put their ideas into movement and their behaviour. No student needed encouragement to join in and no student disengaged at any time during the workshop. They were also very impressed with our facilities.

The students who participated showed me just how much potential is in our students when it comes to creating movement that expresses meaning.

Lexelle Bray - Head of Department - Curriculum

DISCO - Years 1 - 6 held on Thursday 24 July

Earlier this term, Year 6 walked to Harold Falge Park and Murray Street Park to gather photos and information about these community parks. Their English assessment is to make a persuasive vlog to Cairns’ division 7 councillor regarding the facilities, amenities and conditions of these community parks and call to action, the councillor to upgrade one or both of these parks for the community

Robyne Thompson - Year 6 Teacher

2A Learns about Fractions using fairy bread!!

Learning fractions can be so much fun...........and yummy!!

Our current agreement with OSHC provider PCYC is soon due for renewal. The department requires that all OSHC provider agreements are competitively tendered through an Invitation to Apply (ITA) process. This ensures we provide equal opportunity for providers and achieve the best outcome for our Cairns West school community”.

RQFC_Girls_Only_Tournament_U8_U13.pdf

**When ordering your child's lunch the easiest and most convenient way to do it is through the Flexischools app. All orders are to be placed by 9:00am**

Mrs Nui - Highly Accomplished Teacher

My name is Mrs Nui. I am a teacher who has worked full time at Cairns West State School for twenty years or more. I am passionate about teaching and the impact I can have as an educator. In 2017 the department introduced certifications called Highly Accomplished Teacher and Lead Teacher. The aim of this certification is to keep quality teachers in classrooms and remunerate them accordingly. I worked through a rigorous process and was awarded the National Accreditation of Highly Accomplished Teacher.

In 2023, I worked through the recertification process. I feel proud to have been recognised by the education system for my work as an educator. I strive daily to maintain a high expectation of myself, my students and the overall professional wellbeing of my colleagues.

My teaching career has been marked by a high level of flexibility and adjustment as a long-term teacher. I continue to strive to be a lifelong learner who has an impact upon children’s learning and professional development.

It would be lovely to hear of any positive impact I might have had on your child’s learning.

Thank you, Mrs Nui

ROAD SAFETY around schools

Hello from Community Place

Term three is well underway, halfway through the year already.

Myself and fellow Community Gardeners are loving this time of year. This weather allows us to plant a wider variety of vegetables and many are harvesting already.

If you are a keen gardener or would like to start you can apply to Adopt a Spot in the garden. The plot you are given is for you to plant and harvest, you become the carer for that piece of earth. There are a couple of spots left so come and see me (Annie) in the Community Place.

What is Community Place?

Well, it is many things..........

We have a parent library
We have a small Op Shop that opens on a Wednesday where you can fill a bag for free.
We have Playgroup every Friday morning.
We have the Smith Family Learning Club every Wednesday afternoon
We have outside organisations that set up at different times delivering information sessions or conducting interview sessions and appointments. Some of these organisations are The Smith Family, Mission Australia, Wuchopperen and Services Australia.
Help with Birth Certificates

Please keep an eye on the Information Board out the front for up-to-date information

We manage the lost and found items of students. These are kept for a period of time before being transferred into the OP Shop

Pop in for a hello anytime………

Annie - Community Liaison

EDGE Early Learning

Edge Early Learning - new Child Care Centre opening in Kanimbla

CWSS ADOPT-A-COP

🤩 Celebrating Student Achievements 😍

STUDENT OF THE WEEK PREP - YEAR 6
T2 WEEK 10 (P-6)	Sicario Waia, Logan Owen, Oliver Lanza, Prisca Musangwa, Jessie Marama, Michael Parkin, Eliza Alimasi, Thomas Dawe, Laura Matthew, Marcellus Salee, Jakara Bosun, Bailey Dadd, Konawe Gizu, Ezekiel Temu, Jimila Taru, Floreeisha Bosun, Tronnie Phan, Bukuru Baleke, Anjulina Subba, Norman Gibuma-Cloudy, Ezekiel Kalenga
T3 WEEK 1 (P-6)	Olga Lukaba, Mosi Majid, Tharrmali Jackson, Nevaeh Lewry, Noah De Brincat, Zavian Deemal, Samuel Turinmana, Israel Hajuwiyake, Latrell David, Alessandro Sabaddin, Jiechris Daniel Montifalcon, Manzi Braveson, Sofeya Mongar, Sabath Giri
T3 WEEK 2 (P-6)	Jonah Ling, Logan Owen, Trevor Garland, Ember-Rose Fisher, Elma Bosuen, Katurah Lui, Chrishay Traille, Prisha Gurung, Nicholas Sabtino, Aalirah Morgan, Brijesh Karki, Stephanie Kelly, Samanta Rizal, Jhenna Williams, Gary Gibuma, Nakyia Sands, Kaskile Kisongo, Joseph Temu
T3 WEEK 3 (P-6)	Evenis Marou, La'Alia Garling, Alisha Tamang, Orthence Balagizi, Jack Nai, MJ Missi, Dinah Gibuma, Harael Musombwa, Diane Geia, Stella Gurung, Alina Toft, Jezreel Wosomo, Nischan Tamang, Aditya Bhattari, Shabani Alimasi, Lyse Mulamba, Malik Songoro, Dennise Mianzi-Bisime, Josiane Nyiragatuje
T3 WEEK 4 (P-6)	Arryella Bridson, Prayan Gurung, Gracey Villaflor, Aeshna Adhikari, Athima Panuel, Jasmay Kris-Maloney, Searne Darken, Amiah Mooka, Taana Tereni Tau, ZanZan Fourmile, Darrell Ganaia, Jonah-Lee Nona, Hilda Mene-Samai, Brendan Baira, Christine Nyamatovu, Terrence Tabuai-Baylis, Annastashia Yougie, Monga Kisongo
STAR STUDENTS	Arcadia Cook-Kiwat, James Mugisha, Deshaun Waianga, Anushka Gurung, Angulina Subba, Fiyet Ishimwe, Jeannette Nyange, Hilda Murray-Fourmile
Digital Technologies	Safal Sanyasi, CJ Kris, Jeannette Nyange, Rosanna Gurung, Rosella Sakawai, Rod Willie, Alisha Tamang, Allan Bigie, Hilda Murray-Fourmile
Science	Aayan Karki, Zahabiya Khan, Ky Murgha, Jeremy Caulton, Ziah Waianga,

Term 2 - Week 9 & 10

Term 3 - Week 1,2 & 3

Term 3 - week 4

TRYFOR5! Term 3

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 -4 X $50 Timezone vouchers,3 x $50 Event Cinema vouchers and Yeti prizes!