15 March 2024

Principal’s Desk

Settling in to the 2024 School Year

Although it has been a busy start to 2024, it is pleasing to see the quality of learning that is occurring in every classroom this term. Our prep students are settling into their new school routines and our new Year 6 leaders are doing an amazing job of being positive role models for the younger students at Landsborough.   They have taken on the job of leading school parades, raising the flags and leading by example with much enthusiasm and these high standards are spreading through our school.  Also, Year 3 and 5 students have done a wonderful job of completing NAPLAN testing this week. We are set for a great year at Landsborough State School!

Morning Routines

Just a reminder that students should not be on school site prior to 8am.  Prep – Year 2 students are supervised from 8am in the hall and 3-6 students are supervised from 8am under F block. Students are expected to be in these areas if they are at school during 8-8:30am.  Students are not permitted to be in classrooms prior to this time, as this is teacher preparation time for the day.  This may also be the time a teacher has organised a meeting with a parent or another staff member.  Thank you for supporting this morning routine.

P&C AGM

The Annual General Meeting for the P&C will be held on Wednesday 20 March at 5:30pm in the HIVE. All positions will become vacant.  If you are interested in holding a position this year, please come along to the meeting and notify our P&C of your interest so they can explain the nomination process with you.

P&C Movie Night – Wonka

After the success of their first movie night last year, the LSS P&C have organised another movie night for our community for this year.  It will be held on Saturday 23 March from 5pm to 8pm. A hot food truck, Mr Whippy van, popcorn and sweet treats will all be available. Tickets are just $5 each or $20 for a family of up to 5! Grab your tickets today through the Eventbrite link below. We hope you can join us this great Easter treat.  Don’t forget to bring along your picnic blankets!

Parent/Teacher Interviews – Term 1

Term 1 Parent/Teacher Interviews will be held on the afternoon of Monday 25 March to provide parents the opportunity to speak with their child’s teacher about their progress so far this year.  Interviews will be run from the school hall and have been scheduled to run for 10 mins.  Details on how to book an interview were emailed out earlier in the week.   If you are not able to book a suitable timeslot on this afternoon or you require a longer interview time, you can email your child’s class teacher to organise an alternative time. Please click on the link below to make your booking:

NOTE: Online bookings close at 5pm on Friday 22nd March. Please ensure that you make your booking by this date.

National Ride 2 School Day – Friday 22 March

Our school has registered for the National Ride 2 School Day on Friday 22 March.  It is Australia’s biggest celebration of active travel.  Where it is safe, we are encouraging students to ride, walk, scoot or skate to school on this day. Some great prizes are on offer, including movie tickets and Big Boing vouchers.

Cross Country

Our School Cross Country will be held on Monday 25 March on our senior oval.  Parents and Caregivers are welcome to attend and support our students. See the PE/Sports section in this newsletter for more details regarding this event. 

District Representation

Our senior students have continued to have great success, trialling for our Glasshouse District Teams.  Congratulations to Aisha Toll for being selected in the District Tennis team and Jake Bonney, Jack Coker and Royalz Brown for being selected in District Rugby League.   We wish them all the best in their upcoming District competition.    

Caloundra Local Student Art Competition

I would just like to congratulate Huckleberry Hill, who was selected as a finalist in the 2024 Caloundra Local Artist Competition.  His watercolour painting titled ‘Bunya Dreaming’ is currently on display in the Caloundra Gallery.  Huckleberry also had to write a 500-word description, explaining the meaning of his painting and where his inspiration came from.  Well, done Huckleberry and good luck in the final judging.  We are very proud of your efforts.

LSS Student Representing Australia at BMX World Championships

Rory Upshall, one of our talented Year 4 students, has qualified for the Australian BMX U9 Challenge team.  This team will travel to Rock Hill in South Carolina in May this year. Rory will compete in the U9 20inch challenge class. While Rory is over there, he will have the opportunity to race against some of the best riders in his age group from all over the world. He will have a few practice sessions to learn the track and then one day of competition. On the competition day Rory will have 3 heats and then there will be a series of finals starting at 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and the final. Rory earned his spot on the team by being a finalist (in the top 8) at the National Championships in November 2023 at Shepperton Victoria where he finished 7^th after a crash on the first berm. Rory has been working very hard at his training and is looking forward to the experience.  We CONGRATULATE him on making the team and wish him all the BEST OF LUCK with this exciting competition!

Upcoming Free Dress Day to Support Rory – Friday 22 March

Our student council are hosting a free dress day on Friday 22 March.  Come dressed as your favourite sports person for a gold coin donation, with all proceeds going to help fund Rory’s travel to the U.S.A.

2025 Enrolments and Principal Tours

2025 enrolments are now open!  Children born between 01/07/19 and 30/06/20 are eligible for Prep 2025.  Collect an enrolment pack from our administration office.

To find our more information about our school, why not join me for a Principal tour? My next tour will be on Thursday 28 March at 9am.  Meet me outside the administration office if you would like to join this tour.

Yours in Education

Head of Department – Curriculum

NAPLAN 2024

We are exceptionally proud of our Year 3 and 5 students this week. They put their absolute best effort into NAPLAN testing, engaging as model students throughout each day of testing. Catch up testing will continue next week for any students who were absent from school this week and missed any of the tests.

P-2 Easter Bonnet Parade

We will be holding our annual Easter Bonnet Parade on Thursday 28^th March at 8:45am. Start collecting all your Easter bits and pieces to decorate a hat for your child. Prep students will make their hat in class, all donations are welcome. Year 1 and 2 students will be making their Easter hat at home and bringing it along on the day.

Free Prep Vision Screening by Registered Nurse

The Primary School Nurse Health Readiness Program is coming to our school!

We are a Queensland Government service that offers Free Vision Screening to all children enrolled in Prep. 

If your child is in Prep and you would like their vision screened, please complete a consent form using the below link or QR code.

Screening date: Thursday, 18 April, 2024
Link and QR code will close on Sunday, 14 April, 2024

Good vision is important for a child’s educational, physical and social development. Vision screening checks for common eye conditions that may impact your child’s ability to see and therefore impact their learning and development.

Parents / carers do not need to be present for screening, however if you would like to be, please contact the school to arrange this.

If you have concerns about your child’s eyes at any time, please take your child to see an eye health professional (optometrist/ophthalmologist).  

Landsborough Legends

Congratulations to the following students who have been award ‘Landsborough Legend’ certificates.

NOTE: If your child is away on the day they are to receive their Landsborough Legend certificate on parade, they will receive their certificate from their classroom teacher.

Week 6, Term 1 Landsborough Legends

Week 7, Term 1 Landsborough Legends

And congratulations to our Buzz Ticket winners!

School Administration and Finance

Student Resource Scheme – 2024

A reminder that 2024 Student Resource Scheme fees are now due. Parents NOT PARTICIPATING in the scheme must provide their student with all the items that would otherwise be provided by the scheme.

We have a range of options for parents wanting to pay fees:

• BPOINT / BPAY (our preferred payment method). On the bottom left of the invoice you will find a link for this payment method.
  
• Come to the school office in person and pay via cash or credit/debit card.
  
• Centrelink deduction.

If you are experiencing financial difficulties, part payments and payment plans can be arranged. For more information, please contact our Business Manager, Petra, on 5436 2777.

Landsborough State School Facebook Page

The Landsborough State School Facebook page is a great place to keep up-to-date regarding upcoming events, what volunteers are needed and helpful reminders in case you missed the notification. If you haven’t already ‘liked’ our Facebook page, jump on and do so now.

Free home internet for students in eligible families

Get School Ready with the School Student Broadband Initiative!

Children who can access online learning at home as part of their education are more likely to engage in classroom activities.

With broadband internet access your family will be able to access fast internet at home, which supports children to build their digital skills, learn how to safely use the internet and participate in a world that is more dependent on digital technology.

With the recent program extension there is now more time to sign up for the School Student Broadband Initiative, with the new school year starting - this is a great time sign up for this offer or refer a family:

• For any new families signing up now, this offer means free internet until 31 December 2025.
• For families who have already connected with SSBI, their free internet will automatically be rolled over until 31 December 2025.

Check your eligibility for free nbn broadband until the end of 2025 now:

Contact the National Referral Centre on 1800 954 610 (Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm AEDT) or by visiting

Does your child require medication at school?

If your child needs to take medication at school, please provide the office staff with:

• a completed and signed Consent to administer medication form;
• the medication in its original container; and
• medical authorisation (e.g. the pharmacy label, or a letter from the doctor, or a completed and signed health action plan).

or further information, please refer to the Information for parents/carers and health practitioners.

QParents

Thank you to all the parents who are using QParents. QParents is a secure, online portal that has been created by the Department of Education to provide parents of Queensland state school students with 24-hour access to their child's information.

The portal allows you to securely access information about your child and communicate directly with your child's school. You can advise absences, view report cards and update personal details plus much more! 

Register today from the link below.

Contact details

It is important that we have up-to-date contact information for parents and carers so that we can keep you informed. To advise of any change to parent or carer personal details (including email, mailing address, home phone, mobile or emergency contact details), please email office@landsborss.eq.edu.au or update your details via QParents.
In the email, please include your students name and year level.

Absence notification process

Please remember to call the school absence line on Ph: 5436 2760 or email at office@landsborss.eq.edu.au early in the morning if your child is going to be away or late for school so your child’s absence can be recorded correctly.

Same day notification

Our school will contact parents as soon as practicable on the day if a student is not at school and we don’t know why.  If you receive a text message advising that your child is away without a reason, please respond by text as soon as possible or call us on PH: 5436 2777  to let us know where your child is. We will follow-up with parents if no response is received.

Classroom News

Prep

Thank you Mr Mark for new sand and soft fall in Prep!

Year 1

On Thursday we stepped back in time to learn what school was like in the past. Our crazy teachers were dressed up in long skirts, blouse and boots! This is how teachers dressed in the past. When the bell rang, we lined up in one line and our teacher checked that we had clean, hands and fingernails. We entered the classroom, and the lights were off, because in the olden days, there was no electricity. Our desks had been moved into rows and a video of an open fire crackling was displayed on the smartboard. We learnt that there was no air con in the olden days.

We commenced our day by standing still behind our desk, and listening to God Save the Queen.

We did some rote learning of our sight words and wrote the alphabet. We learnt that in the olden days the children would have used a slate board to practice their spelling.

Teddy was sitting at a desk but didn’t do any work, so he was told to sit in the corner and had to wear the dunce hat! Poor Teddy.

At lunchtime, our teacher said that we could go home for our lunch. She was only joking and made sure that we stayed at school.

During our library lesson, we 1F and 1EK to joined classes. We learnt that classes in the past used to be really big. With our two classes joined together we got a feel for how enormous classes use to be! Imagine one teacher teaching all those students. Yikes!

During the day, our teacher carried a big stick. We learnt that this was called the cane and it was used on naughty children. Samuel in 1F (who is never naughty) was a good sport volunteered to demonstrate what would happen if he was naughty in the past. He bravely held out his hand to be whacked. He was not harmed. Instead, he got a cuddle. We learnt that in the past teachers used to be super strict but today they are much nicer and kind to their students.

We all agreed that school is better in the present because it is fun, we get to use technology, we get to work in groups and do lots of colourful art and craft. We had a great day at school!

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Year 2

Parents and carers are invited to join us for our Art Show and Story Sharing morning on Tuesday 26^th March.

News from the Garden Club

We have a special guest Allana Activities Organiser from Bunnings Caloundra joining us on the Thursday 28^th March at 10.40am. Seeking Earth Warriors to join us for a fun filled break planting our garden beds. If you would like to try out gardening or are a regular Earth Warrior at the garden club you are welcome to come along and meet Allana and help planting our garden beds.

Mrs Mac
Garden Club

Performing Arts News

The Little Mermaid JR

SAVE THE DATE! 

The performance day/evening for our whole school musical has been confirmed. Please save the date Thursday 20^th of June (Week 10 Term 2). Every child from prep to grade 6 will be performing in our production of Disney's The Little Mermaid JR. There will be a matinee and an evening show to enjoy! 

All classes have begun learning music and choreography for their year level song. Preps are turning into seagulls for "Human Stuff", Grade 1 are a brilliant chorus of chefs and waitstaff for "Les Poissons", Grade 2 are creepy seaweed in "Poor Unfortunate Souls", Grade 3 are wondering what's up with Ariel's strange behaviour in "She's in Love", Grade 4 are setting the mood for romance with "Kiss the Girl", Grade 5 are getting a work out learning the choreography for "Under the Sea", and Grade 6 will open the show with "Fathom's Below". 

Our main ensemble continue to rehearse twice a week and are working incredibly hard. In order to stay on schedule, they need to learn the music and choreography for one musical number per week. It is quite a demanding schedule, and each week the kids show us how diligent, prepared and resilient they are. I am also so happy at how they have come together as a team and have developed a strong identity as an ensemble. We are so proud of them.  

In early term 2 I will share information regarding class costuming and ticket sales. 

Jamie Coull (PhD, BA(hons), BEd.)
Performing Arts Teacher (Wed, Thurs, Fri) 

Instrumental Music

Please note that there will be no Instrumental Music Lessons on Tuesday 19^th March, due to Mr Meneely being away.

Paul Meneely
Instrumental Music Teacher

Sports & PE News

Running of the Houses

Join Mr Spies for ‘Running of the Houses’ before school on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. This is a great way to train and prepare for Cross Country at the end of this term.

WHEN: Tuesday and Wednesday mornings (8:00 – 8:25am). Weather permitting.
WHERE: Landsborough State School oval.
WHO: All Year 1 to Year 6 students can participate.

There will be a lap marked out on the school oval and each time a student completes a lap, they will earn a point for their sports house. Meet Mr Spies under F block at 8:00am and he will walk the students over to the oval. If you arrive after this time, please use the supervised school crossing and go directly over to the oval to meet Mr Spies. At the end of each term all of the tallies will be added up and the winning house will be announced!

Cross Country – Monday 25 March

Our Inter-house Cross Country carnival will be held on Monday 25 March. The course will be set up on the school oval. Year 3 – 6 races will begin at 8:40am and Prep – Year 2 will begin at 11:20am. Students are encouraged to wear the sports house colours for the day. Parents and carers are most welcome to attend and help cheer on the kids! 

Guidance Officer

MYCP Program

Concerns regarding young children with difficult and defiant behaviours? The Management of Young Children Program (MYCP) is available in 2024.

The MYCP is supported by Landsborough SS, Beerwah SS and Elimbah SS (therefore no cost for these families) and is a practical and individualised behaviour support program for parents and carers of young children aged 2½ to 7 years and their families. It is a well-established and evidence based early intervention program targeting children who display defiant or oppositional behaviour with the aim of reducing such problematic behaviours in primary school and beyond.

Other families/ schools outside of this catchment area have the option of accessing the ‘user pay’ option which is currently $750 for 6 x 1 hour individualised sessions. For more information or interest in participating in the program, please see the school website link or contact the Landsborough SS office 5436 2777.  

LSS P&C

The P&C coordinate several initiatives and events throughout the year to foster school and community spirit as well as raise funds for important projects and resources.

We encourage all LSS families to come along to our P&C meetings, join the P&C committee and/or participate in our events and fundraising activities throughout the year. Our meetings are where all decisions are made, so please come along and have your say.

Our next meeting will be our AGM scheduled for Wednesday 20^th March at 5.30pm in the HIVE.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Landsborough State School P&C Association’s Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 20 March 2024, commencing at 5:30pm. This year our AGM will be held in the HIVE.

Please see attached copies of the following documents:

• 2024 Student Protection Risk Management Strategy (SPRMS)
• 2024 AGM Agenda - included in the general business is a review of the current meeting dates and times.
• 2023 AGM Draft Minutes (to be ratified at the 2024 AGM)
• P&C Membership form and Code of Conduct
• P&C Executive Nomination Form - (Nominations close Saturday 16th March, 2024 at 5pm)

We encourage all parents to join our P&C – as they say, many hand make light work! Simply download the membership form, complete and return addressed to the P&C either to the school’s office administration, or via email President Executive landsboroughpandc@outlook.com (both scanned versions and photos of the completed form will be accepted). Printed copies will also be available from the office administration for those who are unable to print the form at home. This does not mean that you will be responsible in an executive position, merely that you will receive all correspondence and the latest news from your P&C.

At the AGM all Executive positions will be declared vacant, and nominations for the 2024 Executive Committee will be tabled for election. These positions are:

• President - provides leadership and is the accountable officer of the P&C. Their role is to act as the public representative of the P&C, encourage communication between the P&C, school, and community, and encourage participation to support the P&C. The President chairs all meetings and is educated on all P&C rules and guidelines, including P&C Constitution, Accounting Manual, and all other documents governing P&C operations. The President is the Accountable officer for all employment for Tuckshop services.
• Vice President - provides essential support for the President and possibly other members of the Executive Committee. They will Chair those meetings from which the President is absent and carry out any duties that have been delegated by the President. They should also be familiar with all P&C rules and guidelines, including P&C Constitution and other documents governing P&C operations.
• Treasurer - has the overall responsibility for the financial management of the P&C, including all subcommittee accounts. In their role they must comply with the Accounting Manual in all respects. They prepare an annual budget and annual operational plan for the Association in consultation with other members of the P&Cs Executive Committee. It is the Treasurer's responsibility to manage and keep accurate accounts of receipts and expenditure.
• Secretary - has overall responsibility to prepare all documents for all meetings, such as agenda, minutes, and other necessary reports (including subcommittee reports) and assists the President in preparing an agenda for each meeting. They present minutes of the P&Cs meetings, record and deal with correspondence in/out as directed and generally organise, record, and maintain information pertaining to the activities of the P&C.

All P&C Executives are responsible for any urgent decisions required outside of P&C meetings.

Along with these Executive roles, the P&C is also hoping to introduce the following additional roles for election at the AGM –

• Social Media Administrator/Moderator
• Flexischools Administrator
• Publishing Officer
• Grants Writer
• Fundraising Working Group – working to organise events within our fundraising calendar, with consultation from the P&C Committee
• P&C Class Contact – a parent representative from each class, to liaise with other parents and the teacher and coordinate donations/volunteers for fundraising events.
• Parent representative to the PBL (positive behaviour in learning) team.

Key membership information:

• Being a P&C member does not mean that you must attend all meetings. We understand families have busy schedules and sometimes it is physically impossible to commit to attending. We just ask for you to volunteer when and where you can.
• You do not need to attend a meeting to become a member of the P&C. Simply complete the membership form and either return it to the office or email a copy to landsboroughpandc@outlook.com

• Parents are not required to hold a volunteer blue card in order to volunteer at their child’s school. Any other family member that is not a parent is required to hold a volunteer blue card, in which the P&C are happy to assist with applications.
• All volunteers of the school (including P&C) are required to complete the mandatory volunteer induction training as per Department of Education requirements. This is to ensure that all volunteers are covered under the P&Cs Personal Accident Insurance Policy. This training is conducted at the start of the year by the school and is also available at school administration. This takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.
• Remember, the P&C is made up of parents.....just like you! The primary goal of the P&C is to enhance the educational opportunities for the students at our school. But along with that, it is also a great platform to –
  • Build lifelong friendships with other like-minded parents.
  • Enhance your skill set.
  • Become more informed on important school matters and policies and provide parent input.
  • Give back to our wonderful school community.
  • And most importantly, have fun!

If there any questions regarding our upcoming AGM or how to become involved with our P&C, please don't hesitate to contact us at landsboroughpandc@outlook.com. We look forward to seeing you all at the AGM!

Outdoor Movie Night – Saturday 23 March

Save the date!  We are hosting an outdoor movie night on Saturday 23 March from 5pm – 8pm in the grassed gully area outside the hall.  Join us for an Easter treat and bring your picnic blankets! Hot food truck, popcorn and sweet treats. Open for the whole community!

Tickets are $5 each or $20 for family of up to 5 people. Book now via the link below:

Easter Raffle

Thank you to the LSS school community for your Easter raffle donations. We had a fantastic response!

Our Mega Easter Raffle is now underway and we have four awesome prizes up for grabs. Don’t forget to purchase your tickets today.  Scan the QR Code below or follow the link to purchase some tickets and be in the draw to win an Easter prize!

$2 for 1 ticket
$5 for 3 tickets
$10 for 6 tickets
$15 for 10 tickets
$30 for 20 tickets
$75 for 50 tickets

Purchase raffle tickets via this link:

or scan the QR Code:

Subway – Available Every Thursday!!

Thanks to the team at Subway Glenview, we will continue to offer a Subway meal deal EVERY THURSDAY as a healthy school school lunch option for students.  The meal deal includes your choice of a 6-inch sub or wrap, a drink (water/juice) and a cookie.

Ordering must be done online via the Flexischools App.

Orders must be placed by 5pm each Wednesday to ensure your order is delivered to your child’s classroom for 1^st break on Thursday.

Uniforms - The School Locker

Landsborough State School uniforms are available to purchase from The School Locker Maroochydore.  This store is open 7 days a week for convenient back to school shopping. You can also make purchases online and have the items home delivered! 

P&Cs QLD newsletter – Parent Talk

P&Cs Qld is the peak body supporting and representing more than 576,000* state school parents and wider school communities throughout Queensland. They support the achievement of quality educational outcomes for students through fostering parental and community engagement in a thriving and successful education system.

Their vision is to ensure “Every child has every chance” in education and in life.

Click the link below to view P&Cs Qld most recent newsletter, Parent Talk.

Helping Hands - Before/After School Care

Helping Hands Landsborough provides quality before and after school care, located on our school grounds. A vacation care service is also available during school holidays. If you have any questions please phone Helping Hands Landsborough on PH: 0428 524 854

Adopt-a-Cop, Snr Constable Tim Jessup.

For those who are new to Landsborough and haven’t met me yet, I’m the Adopt-a-Cop for the school. I’m writing a short column in this newsletter to address some ongoing issues with regards to road safety near the school. There has been an increase in the amount of reported traffic offences around the school which has been met by an increased police presence, as I’m sure you have noticed. I’d encourage P&C to remain vigilant with regards to any dangerous driving or obvious speeding through the school zones and report when necessary, however I’d like to address certain safety issues that have arisen specifically from persons visiting the school, or during drop off and pick up times. The most obvious of these, and with possibly the most potential for disaster is double parking within these zones. This creates a situation where children are potentially walking between vehicles and within blind spots. Another obvious risk is drivers on their mobile phones while they are waiting or driving around these areas. Preservation of safety for our students is the paramount priority in the school and the surrounding streets. As such, I won’t mention the applicable fines for these offences as they are secondary to safety, however know that they are hefty.

Stay safe!

Community News

Cribb Street Streetscape Project

Dear community members,

Work is progressing well on the second and final stage of the Cribb Street Streetscape project.

This stage of the improvements is creating a special community hub for locals, commuters and visitors. The community’s ideas have been brought to life by the architect's design that reflects Landsborough’s layers of history and character and will add even more amenity and functionality to the main street.

We're excited to share a sneak peek at the geometric ‘pods’ that will be suspended within an arbour. The arbour will also feature climbing vines, providing shade during the day and feature lighting in the evening.

Figures 1 & 2: Geometric 'pods' being constructed as part of the design for the Cribb Street Streetscape shelters.

We are on track to complete this final stage of the Cribb Street Streetscape in mid-2024, weather and site conditions permitting.

We will continue to keep you informed throughout construction works.

Placemaking Team
Sunshine Coast Council

Landsborough Hall Centenary

The Landsborough School of Arts Memorial Hall is this year celebrating 100 years of our relationship with the community. Built between 1921-23 by soldiers returning from WW1 and opened officially in 1924, the hall continues to stand grandly as a beautiful town building. 

In collaboration with the Landsborough Museums Street Festival on Saturday 18^th May from 10am to 2.00pm, the hall committee would like to invite you to participate in this event.

How can you help?

We are seeking any memorabilia that can be incorporated into a display, be it photos, video or a fond memory you would like to share. 

The Landsborough Museum, will be available on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in the hours between 10am to 2pm, you can call in and they will scan any memorabilia that you would like to contribute. Copies of your documents will be added to an important collection of the history of Landsborough. Alternatively, you may like to donate such memorabilia and these can be dropped off at A1 Hair 27 Caloundra Street, Landsborough, Tuesday through to Friday.

Monetary donations will also be greatly appreciated.
Please contact admin@landsboroughhall.org.au for further details.

Black Dog Ride

On Sunday 17th March, the Black Dog Ride will be riding past our school ( leaving Beerwah Sports Grounds heading on a 120km ride  through our beautiful Sunshine Coast returning to the Beerwah Sports Grounds). 

Black Dog Ride is a national charity which raises awareness of depression and suicide prevention.  Since starting in 2009, Black Dog Riders have raised over $2,500,000 for mental health services across the nation, and thousands of Australians participate in our local community projects every year, which support our efforts to raise awareness of this silent killer, suicide.

The awareness and the funds raised by Black Dog Riders are vital in building and maintaining mental health projects throughout Australia, in order to reduce the 8 tragic deaths per day to suicide in this country, and support the estimated 180 Australians who attempt to take their life every day.  Fostering awareness of suicide prevention and acceptance of mental illness is the catalyst for promoting help seeking behaviour which will prevent this loss of life to suicide.

Black Dog Rides community and fund-raising initiatives have enabled Lifeline's Online Crisis Support Chat Service to double its operating hours and it has funded the training of hundreds of crisis counsellors within the Australian Lifeline network.  We have also funded the training of over 1000 youth and teen Mental Health First Aiders, funded the training of over 65 volunteer first responders in Mental Health First Aid, ensured a Youth Outreach bus in regional WA continued to operate and funded the development of a youth mental health training program in Qld high schools.  Black Dog Ride has also enabled two Men's Sheds to purchase tools and equipment to encourage social inclusion activities for men isolated by mental illness and funded technology to enable a regional Headspace Centre to operate online counselling for youth.  This is just a few of the projects Black Dog Ride activities have supported over the years.

Spinneroos Table Tennis Term 2

The Spinneroos Table Tennis programme is an opportunity for students from 5 - 12 years of age here on the Sunshine Coast throughout Term 2, 18^th April to 20^th June 2024.

The Spinneroos vision is for primary school children to bounce into table tennis with a smile and a group of new friends. Your child will go through 8 exciting weeks of table tennis, receive a personalised equipment pack, all the while developing hand-eye coordination as well as increased social skills. This is done by providing engaging and fun activities in a safe environment where children are active, able to express themselves and create great memories with other Spinneroos participants.

Easter Holiday Workshops for girls aged 8-12 yrs