TERM 3 - WEEK 9

Principal's message

Hello Cairns West

INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP: Parents who have attended parades over the past two months will have heard me communicating a very clear school goal to our students around improving our grades in English. Hopefully your child has shown increased interest in the grades on their latest report card, especially their achievement in English and their mark for Effort. At our school, this goal-setting is part of a state-wide focus by the Education Department called Instructional Leadership and is about school leaders, like the principal, deputies, curriculum leaders and teachers, working together to make sure every student has the best chance to learn. It means focusing on high-quality teaching in every classroom, supporting teachers with the right resources and training, and setting clear goals for student learning. At Cairns West, it also means recognising and respecting the rich cultural backgrounds of our multicultural families and acknowledging that Standard Australian English is an additional language for most of our students, which creates an additional challenge for our students and our teachers. So, the rationale is, if we can improve our capability in English, improvement in all other learning areas will follow suit.

At Cairns West, Instructional Leadership is simply about creating a safe, supportive, and challenging environment where all children feel proud of who they are and confident about what they can achieve. For me personally, it’s about focusing a bit of my time every day on student learning.

Parents can support this work be encouraging children to read at home, by reading to your children, by engaging in conversations with your children and building their general knowledge and by talking with your children about stuff they’re learning at school.

We look forward to working together to improve the academic achievement of all our students at Cairns West.

SPORTS UPDATE:

• Netball: It was fantastic to go down to Martyn St Netball courts on Friday Aug 22^nd and watch our Under 12s win the semi-final and then the final of the Fowlers Cup carnival. Congratulations to our under 12s and also to our under 10’s, who came runners-up. What was most impressive from all students was their sportsmanship and the teamwork displayed by all players. A big thank you to Ms Bruton & Ms Luxford for their ongoing support and commitment to netball at Cairns West. Thanks also to parents who supported on the day. Cairns West is the Best 😊!
• Rugby League: Last week, selected students from years 5&6 (Wednesday) and 3&4 (Thursday) participated in an Interschool rugby league gala day at Jones Park. Both teams went through the carnival undefeated! Congratulations to all players for their effort, sportsmanship and teamwork. Well done! Thank you, Mr Pudovskis, for coordinating these events and enabling our students to be involved and thank you also parents who helped out on both days. It’s great to see Cairns West students doing so well in interschool sport.
• Peninsula Athletics: Congratulations to all of our students who made it through the TCC carnival to compete at the recent Peninsular Athletics Carnival. This is another fantastic achievement.

SCHOOL BUS: Two weeks ago, I met with staff from Kinetic Bus Service. Currently there are several children who are accessing the bus but are not registered to do so. If your child/ren access the school bus, please make sure they are registered with Kinetic. Kinetic are only funded to transport children who are registered or families who pay for the service. Please contact the school OR Kinetic for more information around this issue if you’re unsure about your child’s access to the school bus or have any questions.

STOP-DROP-GO: We continue to have safety concerns at end of school pick-up. There have been reports of near misses with children running out into traffic, children (and parents) not using the pedestrian crossing and parents allowing children to get into vehicles whilst queued in traffic. There are also lots of reports of vehicles being left unattended in the stop-drop-go zone between 2:00PM and 3:00PM. These issues were raised at our most recent Workplace Health & Safety meeting and one of the possible actions discussed was to report the concerns to the Transport Department. Everybody’s support around following the rules, to ensure student safety, is appreciated.

GO FOR GOLD: We are well into the planning stages for our ‘Go-for-Gold’ multiple-purpose sports facility on the old tennis court on Hoare St. As part of the design, we are looking to acknowledge the traditional owners of the country our school is on by incorporate artwork by a Gimuy Walubara Yidinji artist and we also want to consult with the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji Elders Corporation around this work. We look forward to this consultation process.

Yours in Education, Jason Evert Principal

Deputy Principal - Teaching & Learning

Hello Cairns West families,

As we head into the final weeks of Term 3, it’s been a real joy to meet with so many of our incoming families as part of our Prep 2026 enrolment process. Over the past few weeks, we’ve welcomed several new faces—and also quite a few familiar ones! I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with parents and grandparents who once walked these same school grounds as children themselves. There’s something truly special about seeing generations of families returning to Cairns West, now excited for their little ones to join our community.

Starting Prep is a huge milestone—it’s often a child’s first real step into “big school,” and we know what a big deal that can be. That’s why next term, we’ll begin our Prep Transition Program, designed to help our future Preps become comfortable with their new environment through structured, play-based sessions. These experiences allow children to build confidence, develop early relationships, and begin seeing school as a safe and exciting place to learn and grow.

A big thank you to Katie Hughes, our wonderful Prep teachers, and our incredible teacher aides, who have worked hard to organise and conduct these enrolment interviews. Your dedication ensures we know as much as possible about each child before they even begin, and we are so grateful.

Reading: Our Core Priority

Our Explicit Improvement Agenda continues to focus on reading across the curriculum. At Cairns West, we don’t just teach reading in English—we teach it across every learning area of the Australian Curriculum using evidence-informed practices. Whether it’s reading a recipe in Design Technologies, interpreting a graph in Science, or exploring a Dreaming story in HASS, our students are constantly engaging with texts that help them make sense of the world.

We teach reading because reading changes lives. It opens doors, builds independence, and empowers our children to understand, question, imagine and grow. Our teachers explicitly teach decoding, fluency, comprehension and vocabulary—but they also model a love of reading in every classroom, every day.

As part of our ongoing reading journey, I’m excited to introduce a new newsletter feature—staff sharing their favourite books and why they were meaningful to them as young readers.

To kick it off, here’s mine:

One of the first books I truly loved was "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.
I remember my dad reading it to me over and over—he’d become completely animated, acting out the scenes with different voices (probably not the wisest bedtime strategy, as I’d get way too excited). But what stuck with me was how well he knew that book—he could tell the story off by heart and make it come alive. I wanted to read it just like him. So, I practised. I tried to copy his tone, the way he paused, how he changed his voice for Max and the Wild Things.
Later, I read that same book to my own kids—just like my dad had done. I’d like to think I was just as good at it. That experience taught me the value of fluency, expression, and joy in reading—lessons that have stayed with me ever since.

Teacher Aide Appreciation Day – Thursday 4 September

Last Thursday we celebrated Teacher Aide Appreciation Day, and it was a wonderful chance to recognise the incredible work our teacher aides do every single day. Cairns West is incredibly lucky to have such a dedicated, kind, and capable team supporting our students.

When I visit classrooms at CWSS, I’m constantly impressed by the efforts of our whole team. Our teachers go above and beyond to make learning relevant, engaging, and meaningful. I often leave a classroom a little smarter than when I walked in—thanks to the learning the students share with me during my visits.

One part of learning that often gets overlooked—but is absolutely vital—is play. Play is central to how young children learn. It supports their social skills, language development, creativity and curiosity. That’s why it features so strongly in our early years classrooms, and why it will underpin our Prep transition sessions in Term 4.

Reminders:
- Whole school assembly: Every Thursday at 2:00pm in the senior hall. Families are always welcome!

As always, please reach out if there’s anything I can support you with. I look forward to seeing you around the school or at one of our upcoming events.

Warmly,
Maria Chatfield
Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning

Deputy Principal - Partnership Initiative

Gala Day Fun!
Next Friday our Year 4 and 5 students will take part in a fantastic Gala Sports Day with our friends from Balaclava State School! Half of our students will head over to Balaclava, while half of their Year 4, 5 and 6 students will join us here at Cairns West. It promises to be a fun-filled day of games, teamwork and friendly competition. This is only our second Gala Day with Balaclava, and we’re excited to see this new tradition continue to grow!

Staying Safe After School
We love seeing our students excited to head home at the end of the day, but we’ve noticed some children crossing the road without using the designated crossings. With so many cars around at pick-up time, this can be risky. Please help us keep everyone safe by reminding your children to always use the Mayers Street crossing or the traffic lights on Hoare Street. Together we can make sure all of our little people get home safely!

Holiday Safety and Fun
The holidays are nearly here! Each term, we remind our senior students about the importance of staying safe while enjoying their break. A simple but powerful tip is to always let a trusted adult know where they’re going and who they’re with. We’d love for you to reinforce this at home too. That way, everyone can enjoy their adventures with peace of mind.

We hope your holidays are filled with rest, fun and plenty of happy memories. See you all next term, refreshed and ready for more learning!

 Christian Gleave - Deputy Principal Partnership Initiative

Book Week Dress Up Day - Thursday 21 August

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Swimming Program 2025

See below the schools proposed swimming program commencing in term 4.  This letter was emailed to families last Wednesday more information and invoices will be sent soon.

PREP VISION SCREENING - 2025

When: 9 and 10 October 2025

Who:  All prep students.  (Please make sure you return the completed consent form sent home in week 8 or use the QR code below to make a booking)

What: A registered nurse will provide the screening.  They will check your child’s vision using – a letter matching card and an automated vision screening device which takes a picture of your child’s eye.

These tests are designed to identify vision issues and you will be sent the results in writing.

PLEASE DON’T LET YOUR CHILD MISS OUT!!

If there are any queries or concerns, please contact your child’s teacher.

Maree Jegou- SEP Teacher

Father's Day Stall Success

The year 6 Business Studies students worked their shifts in their lunch breaks this term to create lovely gifts made out of recycled materials.  They used old hard drive cases, jars, cups and bottles.  We painted and decorated them and filled them with Snickers Bars and were sold out on the first day to staff to give to their Dads, Papas, Grandads, Balas, Uncles and Big Bros.  The year 6 students even made signs in different languages to advertise their products.  Their advertising signs show that fathers can be so many awesome people in our lives.

They earned $260 towards their end of year Business Studies Carnival.

Great work year 6.

Theresa Feletar - Digital Technology Teacher

Year 6 workers in action

Digital Artists in 2C

During Digital Technologies class, Philemon and Eirini from 2C painted portraits of each other using a painting program on the computer called Tux Paint.

Philemon really captured Eirini's lovely big eyes and her hair with blue ribbons.

Eirini really captured Philemon's beautiful smile and his lovely shell necklace he had on.

They worked so well beside each other and talked about their portraits with each other as they were painting them.

It's not easy painting with a computer mouse but these 2 digital artists had no trouble at all.

I am very proud of their work.

Mrs Feletar 🙂 Digital Technologies Teacher

ROAD SAFETY around schools

Hello from Community Place

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

First Nations Committee Improving Student Wellbeing and Learning

The school’s First Nations Committee has been working together with school staff, on the development and implementation of a Cultural Capability Action Plan 2024 – 2027, to embed cultural knowledge and strengthen cultural capability across the whole school.  The Committee members include Traditional Owner and other First Nations staff and community representatives. They will oversee implementation, as well as monitor and report on achievement under the Cultural Capability Action Plan.   The three focus areas for the Plan are: Cultures and History, Connecting with Community and Staff Capability Development.

The Action Plan aligns with the Department’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Capability Framework, a guiding document for developing and practicing cultural capability for individuals and schools. After working at Yarrabah State School for many years, Principal Jason Evert understands how culturally capable and culturally safe schools and workplaces support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Peoples, and that benefits all of us.

This work is being led by the First Nations Committee and school Leadership Team and coordinated and supported by the School Community Partnership Facilitator, Irene Lehmann.  document will soon be available on the school’s website page, where you will also be able to access the First Nations Committee Reports on the implementation of the Cultural Capability Action Plan.

Opportunities Membership on the First Nations Committee is open to any parent or carer with children and family at the school, who may have an interest in contributing to improving educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners.

Irene Lehmann - Community Partnership Facilitator

NETBALL update....

On Friday the 22 August, 3 teams participated in the Fowler's Cup Netball Carnival. We had an under 10' competitive team, an under 12's development team and an under 12's competitive team. The under 10's came runner up in the pool only losing one game. 

The under 12's competitive team won the competition out right having played extra time in the semi finals to play off a nail biter in the grand final. All girls represented Cairns West with respect and pride. Fourth year we have come away grinders.

Hopefully we can do it again next year and represent with a boys' team as well.

Ms Luxford and Ms Bruton - Netball coaches

CWSS ADOPT-A-COP

🤩 Celebrating Student Achievements 😍

Term 3 - week 5

Term 3 - week 6

Term 3 - week 7

Term 3 - week 8

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!

Term 3 - Week 3

Term 3 - Week 4

Term 3 - Week 6

Term 3 - Week 7

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

Helpful information