Dear Kenmore families,

Celebrating 125 Years: Rain, Resilience, and the Remarkable Kenmore Spirit

Who would’ve thought July in Brisbane would bring summer-style storms? While the weather had us pivoting more times than we could count, nothing could dampen the energy, joy, and wide smiles that filled our school grounds for our 125th Anniversary Celebration last Saturday.

From ‘Dancing Through the Decades’ (yes, even in the rain!) to the laughter, music, games, and delicious food, the day was a true celebration of what makes Kenmore more than just a school but also a place of learning, belonging, and becoming. Our community spirit absolutely shone through.

An extra big thank you to our wonderful P&C, our parent volunteers, and our dedicated staff volunteers and student helpers. Your efforts brought this event to life. Funds raised and books purchased during the day will go directly towards enhancing our school library - a legacy that will benefit our learners for years to come.

A Gentle Reminder: Staff Carpark

As Term 3 rolls on, please remember that our staff carpark is reserved for staff only. To help ensure safety and access for all, we ask families to use the following alternatives:

• Council carparks accessible via Princeton Street and Moggill Road (near the Girl Guides)
• Street parking on Almay Street, Fairholme Street, Princeton Street and surrounding areas
• Consider walking, riding, scooting, or using public transport to ease congestion during drop-off and pick-up times.

We appreciate your continued support and respect for our school spaces.

Together, we can keep Kenmore safe, welcoming, and accessible for all.

Prep 2026 Parent Information Night

We warmly invite all parents of children entering Prep in 2026 to attend our upcoming Prep Information Night. Join us on Tuesday, 05 August, at 6 PM in the library.

Community Connections: School Opinion Survey

Thank you to all the parents, caregivers, students, and school staff who participated in this year's School Opinion Survey. We look forward to sharing the results with you once we receive our school report later this year. 

Kind regards,

Ingrid

Student Dress Code - Reminders

At Kenmore State School, we take pride in our students wearing the school uniform neatly and respectfully. Our school community supports a Student Dress Code as it promotes a safe and supportive teaching and learning environment.

As we move through the term, we kindly remind all families of our uniform expectations:

Daily Uniform: A choice of the blue and maroon sun safe polo shirt with maroon skorts or shorts or a sun safe tartan dress. Year 6 students may also purchase a senior polo to wear as part of their daily uniform.

Music Shirts: Students who are part of one of our music programs are welcome to wear the new music polo on their designated day (Monday – Strings, Wednesday – Choir, Thursday – Band).

Winter items: Maroon track pants and zipped track tops are available from the uniform shop. Plain maroon jumpers are also allowed. Year 6 students also have the option to purchase a navy hooded senior jumper.

Hats: As a sun smart school, hats are required whenever students are outdoors (break times and PE class). Students will be asked to play in undercover areas or the library if they don’t have their hat.

• Prep only: blue bucket hat
• Years 1-6: Maroon broad brimmed hat or maroon legionnaires cap

Our P&C operated uniform shop directly supports school programs and fundraising efforts. Items bought help contribute to resources, equipment, and events that benefit all students.

We ask for your continued support in ensuring your child arrives each day dressed according to the school uniform policy. If you need any assistance with uniform items, please contact the school office who are happy to help.

GERMAN Speech Contest 

We are very proud of our twelve German students who will represent Kenmore SS at the annual Speech Contest organised by the Language Teachers’ QLD Association this Sunday.

There are over 300 language students competing at the Brisbane event across seven languages.

Students have given up their lunch breaks to prepare and patient parents have given their energy to help them practise at home. Students will present their memorised prepared speech in German in front of judges at the Griffith University, Nathan Campus. 

We wish them Alles Gute!  All the best!

lcrab10@eq.edu.au

Sports News

Congratulations to all our superstar athletes who competed at the District Track & Field Carnival Wednesday & Thursday.  I was so impressed with all the kids’ attitudes, enthusiasm, effort and behaviour on the day.  You all did Kenmore so very proud!  A very big thank you to Mrs Collings who assisted as team manager on Wednesday!  She was fantastic at ensuring all our kids got to their events on time.  Also, thank you to the parents who have supported their students throughout the whole process.  District carnivals are a big step up from school sport and I believe it is a great opportunity for our kids to get a taste of competitive sport at a higher level.  It can be quite daunting however with parental support and lots of encouragement it can really help our kids push their boundaries and reach beyond their comfort zone.  I love to see just how much the kids grow in not only their skill but also their confidence and self-belief!

It is a pleasure to be able to share in the sporting journeys of our young people and I look forward to many more opportunities in the future.

Warm regards,

Steve Blaik

Bullying No Way week is coming up (August 11-15th). This year the focus is on "Be Kind. Be Bold. Speak Up." There are so many ways we can do this. I love the focus this year. It's so practical. Being Kind can be easy; saying something nice to someone, encouraging positive behaviour, establishing a routine that is kind to yourself and your family. I say 'can be easy' because those are all harder to do if behaviour is difficult, the person you're trying to be kind to rubs you the wrong way or if you're in survival mode. My favourite saying is 'one step at a time'. We can't change overnight but we can slowly work towards a better future and a better self.

I have a really strong memory from Primary school about some of my friends being verbally unkind to another kid in conversation (the student in question wasn't there). I got so sick of it! I tried to say stand up for the student, I tried to redirect/change the conversation but to no avail. Eventually I simply removed myself. I used to just stand 2-3 meters away whenever they were being unkind. It may have felt awkward, but this silent protest was significant. It didn't immediately stop them (they used to call me back in when they were finished being unkind!) but eventually it did.  They stopped talking negatively about them after a few days. This experience was the most complex social situation I had to navigate in primary school. So often we try different solutions to remove or prevent bullying but at the end of the day we need to continue to develop because today's solution is sometimes different from yesterdays. Kindness, boldness and, speaking up are all part of the process of learning and adapting to social circumstances. Together they provide great solutions to healthy relationships. 

There is so much hope in trying again. Were you kind and they snapped back? Try again. Were you bold with your needs, but they didn't meet them? Try a new solution. Did you try to speak up and weren't heard? Try again. Keep trying, because yesterday's solution might not fit today's problem. 

I definitely don't know all the answers! But I think it's important to recognise that different capabilities and contexts change the response required. Adapting and developing our response will be invaluable in finding a solution in each context. How do you brainstorm disagreements or personality clashes with your kids? How do you solve problems within the family? Have you tried being kind, bold and speaking up? 

Hope this is helpful,

Chappy Astrid