Brisbane School of Distance Education

08/09/2026

Year 10 Brisbane and Ipswich Term 4 TAFE Career Tasters
Applications OPEN!
Apply NOW before places are filled!
In Term 4 students can explore:
• Health and Community Services
• Information Technology and Business
• Hospitality and Tourism
• Personal Services
• Agriculture, Animals, Plants
• Brisbane 2032 (Sports Focus)
The application code you will need to apply:
Brisbane (Mount Gravatt / South Bank / Loganlea): TQB26CT
South West (Ipswich): TQSW26CT

The Career Taster Pilot Program is designed for Queensland Year 10 students across the Greater Brisbane region who are starting to think about what life might look like after school.

07/09/2026

Last weekend, 2025 Year 12 Music student, Safia Hughes-Chivers was on stage demonstrating her talents in Brisbane.

On Saturday night, Safia led the Queensland Youth Orchestra’s second violin section in a stunning performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 at the Conservatorium. It is a massive piece, lasting 1hour 20 mins. It was even more remarkable considering the young ages of these talented performers.

Safia has had a very exciting year so far, filled with many wonderful music opportunities. Safia participated in the Australian Youth Orchestra National Music Camp in Adelaide in January. The selected young musicians from all over Australia learnt incredible repertoire over two weeks and performed concerts at Elder Conservatorium which were later broadcast on ABC Classic. In March, Safia commenced her Bachelor of Music at the QLD Conservatorium majoring in violin performance. During her studies so far, she has participated in diverse orchestra and chamber music projects, including being quartet in residence for the Stradbroke Island Chamber Music Festival’s education program.

Safia has continued to perform with Queensland Youth Symphony at QPAC and other venues including Parliament House and has enjoyed her leadership role as principal second violin. She has made some amazing connections and friendships this year and is looking forward to many more challenging and fulfilling music experiences in the future.

07/09/2026

Student Notices;

06/09/2026

We’re thrilled to share the exciting news that former student Jon Platz has had his composition, Prelude to a Painted Sky, premiered by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) at QPAC. Commissioned by the QSO as the fanfare-style opening to its regional touring program Symphonic Stories, Jon’s composition draws inspiration from the wide-open, colourful skies of North Queensland, where he grew up.

Jon’s journey with the QSO began while he was still at school, participating in the QSO Compose program from 2023 to 2025. This latest achievement is particularly significant. Jon is thought to be the youngest person to have been commissioned to compose for the QSO!

Prelude to a Painted Sky was first performed in Cairns at Symphony under the Stars on Friday 28 August, and then again for its Brisbane premiere at QPAC on Sunday 30 August. The program will continue in Toowoomba next week.

Jon is currently studying Music (Composition) and Physics at The University of Queensland, continuing to develop his remarkable talents in both music and science.
We are incredibly proud to celebrate Jon’s achievement and look forward to following his musical journey!

For details of the Toowoomba performance, visit https://qso.com.au/events/2026/regional-concerts-and-events/symphonic-stories-toowoomba

06/09/2026

Student Notices Monday;

04/09/2026

R U OK? Day is next Thursday, 10 September, and we’d love our whole school community to be part of it.
Wear yellow on the day—whether it’s a whole outfit or just a splash, such as a yellow ribbon or scarf. You could also add some yellow to your profile picture or Teams background.
Our school community reaches across Queensland and beyond, so connection can look different here. It might be a message in a chat, a phone call or recognising a familiar name in an online lesson. Different doesn’t make it less meaningful; it simply means we need to be deliberate about staying connected. Wearing yellow is one small way we can show that we are present and looking out for one another
If someone is on your mind, you don’t need to wait until 10 September to reach out. R U OK? Day reminds us to ask, listen and continue checking in—not just on one day, but any day.

04/09/2026

BrisbaneSDE Newsletter, Term 3
https://brisbanesde.schoolzineplus.com/enews?nid=28&preview=true&token=6a9901338d905&obj_id=28

03/09/2026

Here's Miss Rachel!

03/09/2026

WE’RE AADES AWARD WINNERS!

We are incredibly proud to share that BrisbaneSDE’s Esports Project has won the AADES Project Achievement Award!
This is an Australasian award, recognising outstanding projects and innovation across the distance and online education community.
But for our BrisbaneSDE community, the most important part of this award is what the project has created for our students.
Esports at BrisbaneSDE is about so much more than gaming. It provides opportunities for students to:

🎮 Connect with other students who share their interests
🤝 Build friendships and develop a sense of belonging
💬 Develop communication and teamwork skills
🧠 Practise problem-solving and strategic thinking
🌟 Build confidence and leadership skills

Making this happen has also been a significant whole-school project. It involved:

📋 Developing new policies, procedures and safety frameworks for Esports
🏫 Leading change and building support across the school
👩‍🏫 Developing a team of staff to run lunchtime gaming programs and after-school competitive teams
🎯 Creating opportunities for students to take on leadership roles as moderators, coaches and team leaders
🌱 Building a program that is sustainable and can continue to grow
For some students, finding an Esports team with people who share their interests has been the difference between simply attending distance education and feeling like they truly belong.
We are incredibly proud of our students, staff and families who have helped create this community. 💙
And if your child loves gaming, is looking for connection, or would simply like to try something new, we’d love to welcome them into the BrisbaneSDE Esports community!
Email [email protected] for more information.

03/09/2026

Students remember ... staff are on Professional Development today. No lessons. Lessons will resume on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend.