Attendance FAQ's

What if my student is unwell?

Any child who is showing signs of illness or feeling unwell, should stay at home.
If a child is showing signs of illness at school, the school will contact the parent or carer to collect the child.

Does School Plus automatically know we are away?

No. If you have a regular booking with School Plus Outside School Hours Care, it is your responsibility to notify them directly if you need to cancel or amend a booking, will be away or if your student is absent due to illness.
Please phone 0458 052 153 or email newfarm@schoolplus.com.au 
If you fail to notify School Plus of an absence Police may be notified in accordance with the 'Missing Child Policy'.

What if my student is attending a school activity somewhere else?

If the school transports students to an activity via bus or walking groups, the school will mark a roll and account for the students.

If you transport your student to the activity, please notify the school they have arrived and are participating in the activity. 
To advise of an off campus activity, you can:
1. email absences@newfarmss.eq.edu.au 
2. phone student absence line (07) 3358 7333 option 1
3. QParents app via 'Notify Absences' tab

How does the Absence SMS from school work?

If your student is not present at 9am roll marking and the office has not been notified they would be away, an SMS is generated and sent to parents. You are able to reply text to this SMS. 

If your child/ren have a medical condition requiring regular or emergency administration of medication, please make sure you have supplied school with the following:

1. All medications must be in the original container and have clear chemist labels with the students name
2. Any allergy/asthma/anaphylaxis plans must be completed and signed by a GP
3. All parents must also complete a consent to administer form that aligns with the GP directed plan - there must be a form completed for each medication

IF YOUR CHILD/REN SELF ADMINISTER THEIR MEDICATION THIS NEEDS TO BE CLEARLY DISPLAYED IN BOTH THE LETTER FROM THE DOCTOR AND IN THE ACTION PLAN

Parents are also required to provide a letter detailing their consent for their child/ren to administer their own medication.

Parents are welcome to drop medication to the Admin Office between 9am – 3pm daily.

Students are not permitted to transport their own medication. An adult must attend and provide medication and complete any require consents.

For all emergency medication, once it has been received and recorded by administration, all medication (e.g. asthma medication, anaphylaxis medication) will be put into a labelled box and stored in the administration building First Aid Room.

If your child/ren’s medical status changes (e.g. asthma action plan no longer relevant, allergy severity decreased etc) please let the school know via email through firstaid@newfarmss.eq.edu.au so that we may update our systems.

Dr Carmel McGrath

World Admin Day – We are celebrating our staff on Friday 23 May. We are incredibly fortunate to have a professional and highly skilled team in our office.  Stan, Viv, Nicola, Olivia and Tayla are a positive and efficient team, always striving to improve communication and school wide administrative processes.  Thank you for all you do to ensure our office is efficient, community- focused and welcoming to all. The team’s dedication to our students, staff and community is very much appreciated by us.  

P&C Colour Run – What an amazing day our Colour Run was. A huge thanks to our parents who did an amazing job of organising and supporting the whole day, especially Amy Lee (Boyd) who coordinated and Rachel Frizzo our dedicated P&C President. Thanks to all staff who supported students to engage with the activities. Big thanks to staff for stepping up to the slime activity. Much appreciated by students and parents.

Gala Days – Thank you to all staff involved in preparing Year 5 & 6 students and teams for Gala Days. Thank you also for all the behind-the-scenes organisation, finances, bookings and medication preparation for the days. The 3 Gala Days will be on the following Fridays, 23rd and 30th May, and 06th June.

Screen Sanity – Wed 21 May 6 - 8pm – we are once again offering this parent session on safety online and use of devices in our everyday lives. Thank you to Peter Curby and Merrilyn Krohn for their time and effort in supporting the session.

Parent Teacher Interviews – Thank you to the many parents who are attending this week’s parent-teacher interviews. Thank you to the leadership team for managing the booking, timing and catering and to admin/facilities staff for setting up and cleaning up for the event. It takes a team effort to ensure these events go well.  Any feedback on how we can improve the process is always gratefully received, please email admin@newfarmss.eq.edu.au

Mother’s Day – Sunday 12^th May

I hope this year’s Mother’s Day was a special day for all mums and significant people within your families. A huge thanks to Ms Cuthbertson and our Year 6 Community and Charity project leaders who organised the Mother’s Day stall for our junior students.

P&C AGM – Scheduled for Monday 26 May 6pm – All welcome

Thank you to our current 2024/5 P&C Executive members Rachael Frizzo, Dahna Gallantree and Katharine Lloyd for their enormous contribution over the past 12 months.  Rachael, Dahna and Kat have generously given up time on a regular basis to meet with my executive team, liaise with the school admin team to refine and streamline our communications, and for many very successful fundraising events. It is wonderful to see such a large group of parents attending our meetings and getting involved in the tuckshop, gardening, fundraisers and uniform shop. Big thanks also to Sally Falkinder who has taken on Fete Convenor role for this year. P&C is a great way to find out more about the school and an opportunity to contribute and build a strong school community partnership.

Upcoming Events

• Wednesdays Term 2 (6 sessions) – Senior student High Achievers City Collective program
• Parent – Teacher interviews Tuesday 13 and Wed 14 May
• Gala Days – 28 and 30 May and 06 June
• Term 2 Lockdown drill week 3 (completed) and Evacuation week 5 (scheduled)
• P&C Trivia Night Saturday 14th June
• Last Day Term 2 Friday 27 June

Kay Bradley

Lunchtime Clubs

This term we are excited to offer some alternative lunchtime activities.  Term 2 clubs that are on offer are shown below.  Each lunchtime we announce, the club and location, to our students as a reminder.

Prep Play Areas Before and After School

A reminder to parents that the Prep area in front of the Prep classrooms is only open to Prep students, at 8.30 a.m. with parent supervision.  Please do not take your children to this area before 8.30 a.m.

At 3 p.m. students should be either waiting at the pick-up zone, with School Plus educators or supervised by parents.  At 3.20 p.m. our playgrounds are closed to all students except those who are attending School Plus.

Drop Off Zone

Thanks to all those parents who help this zone run safely and efficiently.  Please:

• have the bags in the car, not in the boot.
• teach your child/children to exit from the left-hand side of the car. Students doing the limbo around baby seats are safer than those exiting onto the road.   
• ensure your child/children have their shoes on, hair done, sunscreen applied etc before arrival at school.
• Remain in the car; staff can help with doors and school bags etc.
• Do not U-turn or turn right from the pick-up zone.

Years 4-6 Track and Field Day 

Years 4-6 Track and Field Day will be held on Friday 13th June. Consent forms have been issued today. 

QACI Brilliant Futures, a dynamic two-year preparation enrichment initiative for highly capable students. Students who are in Year 6 in 2025 can apply for entry into the 2-year program commencing 2026. QACI Brilliant Futures is aimed for students when they are in Year 7 and Year 8 and provides impactful, collaborative extra-curricular learning experiences aligned with the International Baccalaureate (IB) learner profile attributes, including inquiry, critical thinking, and reflection.  For more information and to commence your application, visit https://qaci.eq.edu.au

Now more than ever, navigating screen time and social media presents a significant challenge for parents, as we strive to balance the benefits of technology with the importance of healthy, real-world interactions for our children's development.

We are pleased to invite you to a session, to support parents tackling this universal issue.

Founded in the USA in 2018, then expanded into Brisbane in 2021, not-for-profit Screen Sanity Australia, supports families to navigate this era of digital overwhelm for parents, caregivers, educators, and most importantly, children.

They have developed a ground-breaking program called the ‘Screen Sanity Parent Workshop’ that raises awareness about healthy technology use. During the 2-hour workshop, a host of topics are covered equipping parents with actionable tools, insights and resources to give you the confidence to raise happy, healthy digital natives, and know that you are not alone.

We are delighted to be bringing the Parent Workshop to New Farm State School and invite you all to the parent/carer community evening on Wednesday, 21st May from 6-8pm.

The New Farm State School P&C are kindly sponsoring the cost of the workbooks for each family in attendance, as well as light refreshments, and key members of the Screen Sanity team are kindly donating their time to our community, free of charge.

To register your interest in attending please go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/screen-sanity-parent-workshop-new-farm-state-school-holy-spirit-primary-tickets-1344974989399?aff=oddtdtcreator