Bullying Awareness Week at Wilston

Week 5 – Let’s Stand Together!

At Wilston School, we lead the way,
To stand up tall and proudly say:
"Kindness counts every single day —
And when it comes to bullying? No way!"

We care for friends, both old and new,
We help each other, that’s what we do.
We speak up strong, we show we care,
If someone’s hurt — we’re always there.

Next week’s the time to learn and grow,
To spread respect and let it show.
We’ll share ideas, and voices raise,
To make our school a safer place.

So wear your smile, stand side by side,
Let kindness be your daily guide.
Together as one, we’ll shout and say:
"At Wilston State School — Bullying? NO WAY!"

https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/ 

Thank you Mrs Pilgrim-Cowan

Congratulations to the following students who received a Well Done Award in Week 3:

Calling All Young Mathematicians!️

We are seeking expressions of interest from enthusiastic Year 5 and Year 6 students to represent our school in an exciting upcoming Mathematics Team Challenge!

Do you enjoy solving challenging problems? Do you work well with others to crack codes, tackle tricky puzzles, and find creative solutions? Then this could be the opportunity for you!

Competition Details:

Date: Monday 1 September

Time: 9:00am – 12:30pm

Venue: Albany Hills State School

Transport: Students to arrange their own transport to and from the venue (there may be an opportunity to carpool)

We have registered two teams of five students – one Year 5 team and one Year 6 team – who will compete in the following events:

• Team Event
• Relay Event

Competition Aims:

• Stimulate interest in mathematics
• Provide an activity of intellectual fun in a scholarly atmosphere
• Foster interest in creative problem solving

How to Apply:

If you are interested in taking part in the team selection process, please complete the survey below. Deadline for Expressions of Interest (EOI): Monday 18 August

Expression of Interest - 2025 Mathematics Team Challenge

The selection process will involve the completion of 10 problem-solving questions on Tuesday 19 August.

More information will be provided closer to the date.

Please note that NAPLAN 2026 will take place from Wednesday, 11 March to Monday, 23 March.

All eligible students in Years 3 and 5 will participate in these assessments. Writing tests are expected to be completed on the first day, Wednesday 11 March.

We ask families to keep these dates in mind when making travel or other plans to ensure that students are present during this important assessment period.

Author Visit – Tristan Bancks

We are so excited to have an award-winning author come to speak to our students in years 3-6 next Thursday! Tristan Bancks’ books are extremely popular in our library, and he is also a very engaging and interesting presenter. If you wish to purchase a signed book for your student, please click on the link below:

Book Week is nearly here!

The library is beginning to look very colourful with displays inspired by the theme and the shortlisted books.

Children are reading and voting on their favourite books in the CBCA Book of the Year competition. Some of these stories can be viewed on Story Box Library using our Wilston community subscription. Story Box Library (Username WSS4051, Password SBL1234)

This morning on Junior Assembly, Mr Sawbridge read a delightful book from the Early Childhood category called Don’t Worry Felix by Yohann Devezy and Katharine Alice. This reassuring book helps children deal with feelings of anxiety. Please enjoy the story read aloud by storyteller, Tab Sejoe on Story Box Library: Don't Worry Felix

Dress Up Day Tuesday 19 August

Do you have costumes ready for Book Week dress up day? Students and staff will come to school dressed as a favourite book character. Sometimes it is helpful for a child to carry the book or have a small note attached or lanyard so that the character is easily identifiable. The Book Week assembly will begin at 9.00am. Parents, come along and celebrate with us!

Poem in Your Pocket Day 22 August

All students and staff will celebrate poetry by coming to school with a short poem in their pocket. This can be an original poem or one copied from a book or online. They will recite or read their poems to each other during the day during breaks.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

While Paterson is still leading, our interhouse competition is currently too close to call! Every child in the school who has returned a completed form so far has earned a point for their house. We still have room for more names. 

While reader record forms are due by the end of Book Week,  please send in completed forms as soon as possible so we can update our board.  An electronic copy of the recording sheet is available here if a new form is required: 

Prep-Yr2 children can collect a sheet from their classroom or the library to create a colourful, beetle with symmetrical designs.

Yr3-Yr6 children can create a Story Jar based on a favourite book. 

EcoMarine Fete Stall – “GUESS HOW MUCH LEGO!”

Come and visit the EcoMarine stall at the fete and take your best guess – how much LEGO is in the bucket?
The closest guess wins a HUGE 50L container packed with LEGO – that’s thousands of pieces going to YOU instead of landfill! You can check the prize out in the office.
So come on, give it a go, help the planet, and maybe walk away with the ultimate LEGO haul!

Mini Marines – Little People with Big Passion!

Last week, we held our very first EVER Mini Marine meeting and were blown away by the passion from our youngest environmentalists in Prep to Year 2.
We talked about plastic pollution and how it affects our environment and animals – these little legends were full of ideas and enthusiasm!
For now, we’ll meet in Weeks 3 and 7, but as we gain momentum, we’ll meet more regularly.

Next Meeting (Week 7): The 3Ps – Pee, Poo and Paper (yep, we said it!)

Mini Marines 1st Mission – Mascot Colouring Competition
Open to Prep–Year 2 only! Get creative and show off your colouring skills.

 Mascot_Colouring_Competition.pdf

Upper School EcoMarines

Our awesome team is busy prepping for the upcoming fete stall – we can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on!

Then, in Week 8, our next mission begins:

We’ll be designing an art piece using recycled materials, with a special focus on juice cups! Stay tuned!

Juice Cup Competition Update

In just three weeks, you’ve correctly disposed of 201 juice cups – amazing effort!
A big congratulations to our Term 2 raffle winners and thank you to everyone who’s helping keep waste out of landfill.

Our next raffle is at the end of this Term, so keep those cups coming and out of landfill!

REMEMBER:

• Rinse the cup
• Write your first name, last initial, and class on it (use permanent marker!)
• Pop it in one of the juice cups bins.

Let’s keep up the great work, Wilston!

The Wilston Science Competition is being held in Term 3.  The aims of the competition include:

• stimulate an ongoing interest in science
• encourage students in the process of self-motivated project work
• recognise student effort and achievement
• improve student research, writing and presentation skills
• improve links between school, students and parents

The competition will be competitive but not compulsory to enter.  Students can enter in the following divisions:

Division 1: Prep and Years 1, 2

Division 2: Years 3, 4, 5

Division 3: Year 6

Students may enter individually, with a partner, or as a group of three, provided that when two or more students work together, all are eligible for entry in the same division.

Entries must be in one of the following categories:

1. Classified Collection
2. Scientific Investigation
3. Communicating Science
4. Mathematical Investigation
5. Models and Inventions
6. Environmental Action Project

Work at home will be necessary, and we ask that all parental assistance be acknowledged.  Entries close Thursday, 18 September 2025 (Term 3, Week 10).  A judging panel will judge the entries. Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd placegetters in each division.  Other entries may qualify for a Highly Commended certificate.  All students will receive a certificate of participation.  In addition, separate prizes will be awarded for a ‘Young Scientist of the Year’ (Divisions 2 and 3) and a ‘Junior Scientist of the Year’ (Division 1). Only Scientific Investigation entries are eligible for the Young/Junior Scientist of the Year prizes.

A competition handbook providing detailed information on all the entry categories, judging criteria entry/declaration forms is attached to the Wilston Weekly to download as a PDF. All queries should be directed to Mr Brendan Medlin (Science Teacher) (bmedl2@eq.edu.au).

Lost Property 

Please ask your child to check lost property for any items that may belong to them. Lost property is located in D Block.

Fathers Day Stall

The annual WSS Father’s Day Stall is coming up and will be held at school on Wednesday 3 September. Each class will visit the stall with their teachers to choose a gift for Dad, Grandad or other special person in their lives. 

Purchases can be made on the day with cash or via pre-purchased Munch Monitor vouchers. All gifts are $10. Munch Monitor will close for voucher sales at 5:00pm Monday 1 September. 

Are you able to help on stall day? We are looking for some parents to come and help our littlies make big gift choices, if you're able to spare an hour or so across the day we'd love to see you. Use this link to nominate your preferred timeslot, we thank you so much! 

If purchasing by Munch Monitor, please make sure you select voucher/s per child - ordering all vouchers required for your family under one child's name means other children's names will not appear. This helps your child/ren and our teachers a lot on stall day.

Any students who are away from school on Wednesday or forget to bring money on stall day will be able to visit D Block before school on Thursday 29 August between 8:00am - 9:15am. This is also a good time to peruse the stall for additional gifts if extras are needed!  Thank you Wilston families, for your ongoing support of our school P&C! 

Click the link below for the latest news from Wilston Kids Care.

Technicolour Multicultural Festival - Art Competition

Students are welcome to collect an entry from the office. Art work is due on August 16, 2025.