Principal's Report 

Happy New Year and thank you for taking an interest in the news and views of Tallebudgera State School in 2023!

We acknowledge the Kombumerri People as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we learn and teach and pay respect to Elders past and present.

We have had an absolutely incredible start to the school year and are very excited about the year ahead.  Our classrooms are calm, happy learning environments already and our teachers and teacher aides are enjoying getting to know their new students and seeing them learn. 

I extend a warm welcome to our new students and families and welcome back to our community members who are continuing with us. It’s been lovely seeing our school abuzz with parents and carers before and after school reflecting the friendly and welcoming nature of our school community. 

2023

We are incredibly proud of the achievements of our students last year and the work of our team that enabled that success and remain committed to our ongoing improvement work in our school.

In 2022, our school outperformed the Queensland and National scores in all areas of NAPLAN including the average, % of children achieving the top two bands and the % of children above the minimum standard.

This year, we will conduct our 4 yearly review and develop our next strategic plan for 2024 – 2027.  The process of school review will involve an in-depth study of school practices, consultation and research to inform our next improvement agenda. We consider this to be an important and exciting juncture of our ongoing improvement process.

Throughout the year, we will continue to implement our current strategic plan that has resulted in our significant improvement throughout the past three years.  All work in our strategic plan is towards our vision and mission.

School Projects

Thanks to the generosity of our community and our P&C’s outstanding fundraising initiatives and hard work, we are able to progress three school exciting school project this year. 

Bush Tucker Garden - Following extensive research and consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the planning phase for our Bush Tucker Garden has concluded and we look forward to that project being completed within the first semester this year.

Senior Area Upgrade - The upgrade of the senior area has commenced and is being developed throughout this year.  This project is to enhance the Year 6 area to make it more engaging for the social interactions of our oldest students. 

Water Station – A new water station has been installed near our main oval providing bubblers and water bottle refill taps.

Teaching Team Welcome

It is my pleasure to welcome these teachers to Team Tally:  Celia Dehaan (Prep), Sophie Dunn-Vieira (Year 1), Linda Visser (Year 2), Kerri Theuerkauf (Dance) and Mark Slingsby (Instrumental Music).  We are also delighted to welcome Alexandra (Ally) Shah (Clinical Psychologist) and Rachel Kennedy (Speech Pathologist).

This year, we farewell Chappy Todd, Leigh Ludwig, Reanna Thorley and Luke Wharton.  We wish them each all the very best for their next chapters and thank them for their contribution to Tallebudgera State School.  We will introduce our new Chaplain once they have been selected.   

Volunteers

Our Team Tally Volunteers help in a range of ways including: at the tuckshop, in the library, with the P&C, during events and in classrooms when the need arises.  A ClassDojo post was made last week about volunteering in the school and information about the annual mandatory training.  If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please call our helpful office team on 55 685 222.

2024 Prep Enrolments

The first activity for our 2024 Preps is this term.  Our Talk This Way – Foundations and Friendship sessions are an important part of the preparation for school and we ask that if possible, all 2024 Prep students attend.  Once you have submitted your enrolment application, you will receive invitations to attend events like this and important information.

Do you have a child who is due to start school in 2024?  Children born 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019 are eligible to start prep in 2024. 

We will be having a Prep Information Session and School Tour on Wednesday 15 February. Please see the Prep 2024 flyer below for more details including when the enrolment application process will open. 

Zoe Harlow

Principal