Dear Parents/Carers, 

Review of Communication
As mentioned in the last newsletter, we are in the process of reviewing the various modes of school communication. Please review the Communication Methods Table and complete the associated survey link - please click here  by Friday August 5 as we currently have a low response rate. 

Nut Allergies
Education Queensland schools are "nut aware" as thousands of children in our system have nut allergies. Each student has a medical plan and depending on the severity of their allergy, an anaphylactic attack can be brought on by something as simple as the inhalation of nut products for some students. These days, it is impossible for schools to declare themselves "nut-free zones," as there are so many food products that contain traces of nuts. However, in almost every year level in the school there is a student who suffers from a nut allergy. I'd ask parents/carers to carefully consider if lunch foods containing nuts can be avoided in school lunch boxes and eaten at home, as this allows our school environment to become more predictable for our students with a nut allergy. I'm sure our parents/carers of students with allergies would be most grateful. 

Active and School Travel
Our school has recently submitted to be part of the Active School Travel Program. This program supports schools and parents/carers to encourage safe and active ways to travel to school. We have had some parents and community members kindly offer to be part of the committee for this program, if our submission to Brisbane City Council is successful. Our goal is to reduce the amount of school traffic around our neighbourhood roads; increase safe and active ways to travel to school and ensure our pick-up and drop off zones operate as safely as possible. On this note, I would ask parents/carers not to park in Ballinger Street as it is difficult to operate the zone there safely. If other relatives or friends collect your child/children, I'd ask you to let them know that parking in Ballinger Street impacts the safety of the students walking home from there, those that are being loaded into vehicles, increases the likelihood of car accidents and makes our neighbours upset because cars are parked in front of their driveways or on their grass. It is a short walk if the cars are parked in adjacent streets. 

Have a good week,

Kathy