19 May 2017

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL REPORT

SCHOOL FETE- 27 MAY

The school fete on 27 May is one of the most important dates on our school calendar this year for two very important reasons:

1. Celebrating community - your children build a sense of community through events such as fete and create wonderful memories of what it was like to see their school transformed into a place filled with unusual smells, sounds and activities. The joy of discovering so many familiar faces in the crowd lends such excitement to the day. Families volunteering time and energy to contribute provides an opportunity for them to connect with other parents from the same class, creating memories too. Your children are learning the importance of `Service Before Self’ from you. Thank you all for your contributions.
2. Financial contribution - as the main fundraiser for our community every two years it’s important that we raise as much as we can. Paying the family $10 contribution, buying raffle tickets and ride passes beforehand, or purchasing some yummy food or dunking the principal means you are contributing to improving the resources available for all.

Our fete committee has worked tirelessly to provide a wonderful experience for all of us. Our last fete was truly wonderful and I am a excited to see how it has evolved this time. Whatever happens, no words can truly express our appreciation to this wonderful committee for their efforts in creating such a fabulous community event.

INSTRUCTIONAL ROUND SCHOOL VISIT

On Monday we had fellow professionals from our Curiosity and Powerful learning cluster visit each of our classrooms to provide feedback on our implementation of CPL. The visitors were extremely impressed with the quality of learning, behaviour, relationships and engagement in our classrooms. One of our aims i is to help our children to articulate their learnings and communicate their thinking to ensure their voice is heard in the learning process. One class teacher reported how a visitor asked one of her children a question and then summarised what she heard. The child used one of her sentence frames to say `I respectfully disagree’ and went on to explain why. That story warmed my heart as much as the positive and supportive feedback. Our strategies are working and our staff commitment to quality practice is reaping rewards for our students.

CAR PARKING

Thank you everyone for not entering or leaving any of the car parks on the school grounds before, after or during the school day. It has been great to see how considerate our community is being to ensure the safety of all our children. Please make sure you remind children not to walk across the car parks either. There are conveniently located pedestrian entrances around our school boundary.

BEFORE SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS

Children are not to be on school grounds before 8:15am unless in YOSHC or attending a school supervised activity like band or choir. After 8:30am children are allowed to play quiet games near their classrooms. There is no running games or playing with big balls. Any children on playgrounds have to be supervised by parents. All ovals are out of bounds before school. Please encourage your child to follow these rules so we can all Be Safe.

FIDGET SPINNERS

Every year or two another craze will come out and I will regret not having shares in that company. At the moment our children are very excited about fidget spinners and they are sweeping across playgrounds and playing havoc in classrooms across the western world!! Fidget spinners are not appropriate aides to support learning in our classroom contexts due to the noise they make or the distraction they cause to other learners. We have strategies to help children who need supportive aides for fidgeting, that are approved by Occupational Therapies in the reports provided from parents. Therefore there will be no fidget spinners coming into classrooms.

At the moment, we are prepared to let the craze play out in the school playground for as long as school rules of Being Respectful, Being Responsible and Being Safe are followed. This means no trading or invading others space or annoying others in general with them. We will monitor the situation and if it is having an impact and causing conflict, then we will reassess.

Debbie Spanner

P & C REPORT

pandc@yerongass.eq.edu.au

BANKWEST COMMUNITY GRANT

The P&C would like to apply for a community grant with Bankwest to buy sporting singlets for those students who participate in district sport. To submit an application, a member of the P&C must be an active Bankwest customer to be eligible to receive a grant, ie. you must have made a transaction on your everyday account or credit card within the last 6 months or hold a term deposit, home loan or personal loan with Bankwest.

If any parents are Bankwest members your help with this application would be very much appreciated. Contact Ruth Bennett gordon70@optusnet.com.au for further information.

SAVE THE DATE!

The P&C is proud to present the seminar ‘Before You Hit Send’ : A Social Media SOS for Children & Parents. The seminar will be hosted by Sarah Wills and Lisa Carlaw from ‘Those Two Girls’ and presented by Rebecca Sparrow.

This presentation provides information on the importance of real life friendships; ideal age to open a social media account; personal values; importance of privacy settings and the idea of consent.

DATE : Wednesday 23 August 2017
TIME: 7.00 – 8.30pm
VENUE: School Hall
COST: $30.00 adult - $15.00 children (children must be 10 years or older)

TUCKSHOP NEWS

We are so very happy to provide healthy and delicious meals to the students and staff of Yeronga State School. Most of our food is now made fresh in the tuckshop, including our sausage rolls and beef burritos. With this comes the need for more help. If you could join us on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday once a month for 2 hours we would love to have you. Come with a friend and make a morning of it – 2 hours with us and then out for a coffee or lunch. Check with your employer – most are more than happy to give you the time to volunteer. Your kids will love seeing you in the tuckshop and it’s a wonderful way to broaden your Yeronga friendships. Feel free to come and see Tracy or email us on yerongasstuckshop@gmail.com.

MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU

Wow! What a fantastic day. 151 hotdogs, 151 wookie cookies and a lot of excited kids. A huge thank you to our Storm Trooper and Fighter Pilot (Jeremy and Davi). I’m sure they felt like “rockstars” with the reception that greeted them.

ACTIVE SCHOOL TRAVEL

Due to the weather expected tomorrow, the National Walk to School Day has been postponed. Students will wear their normal sports uniform.

Leah Lane
Active School Travel Coordinator

MONEY MATTERS

Payments Due

If you haven’t already done so, could you please ensure that payment for the following events have been made:-

1. Student Resource Scheme for 2017
2. Swimming for Term 1 2017
3. Creative Generation Voices - $12
4. Gala Day

Statements will be generated at the end of this term and your attention to prompt payment is greatly appreciated.

New BPoint Information

BPoint payments can now be made by calling 1300 631 073. You will need to have a copy of the invoice you are paying and quote the CRN and Invoice number. These are located in the BPoint box on the bottom left hand corner of your invoice and/or statement.

Instalment payments can also be set up through BPoint. If you would like to pay by instalments please contact Nicki so that this can be organised.

QParents

Did you know that you can do the following through the QParents App?

• Print Report Cards
• See all invoices that have been paid or are outstanding
• Pay multiple invoices in one transaction
• Notify the office of student absences
• Update your personal details

QParents is free and is easy to set up. If you have not registered for QParents and would like to receive an invitation to do so, please email Nicki at nalla6@eq.edu.au or advise the office and we will send the invitation to you.

Nicki Allardyce
Business Services Manager

RESOURCE CENTRE

Premier’s Reading Challenge is back

Reading plays an important part in students’ lives during their school years and beyond.

It allows children to actively engage their imagination and opens up a world of educational opportunities.

Last year, an outstanding 165,000 students from 900 schools took part in the challenge reading a total of 2.24 million books, an impressive rise from 1.95 million in 2015.

The reading period for the 2017 Premier's Reading Challenge commences on Monday 15 May and closes Friday 25 August.

This year the Premier has challenged all state and non-state school students from Prep to Year 2 to read or experience 20 books, Years 3 and 4 to read 20 books and Years 5 to 9 to read 15 books. Experiencing books can include shared reading, listening to stories, or reading picture books. The aim for the 2017 challenge is engage more students than ever before.

Students wishing to take part in this year’s challenge can register by downloading the form and handing it in to the library, once it has been completed.

To successfully complete the PRC, students must read or experience the number of books indicated in the table below. The requirement for Year 5 through to Year 9 students to read 15 books acknowledges that older students are likely to select longer, more complex books that may take them longer to read.

The following activities can be counted towards the challenge:

• reading independently
• shared reading
• being read to (Prep – Year 2 only).

The following literature forms can be counted towards the challenge:

• printed books
• e-books, virtual books and digital publications
• graphic novels and comic books
• audio and braille books
• newspapers, magazines and recipe books

Every student who completes the challenge will receive a Certificate of Achievement signed by the Premier. Students who participate but don’t complete the challenge receive a Certificate of Participation from the school. It will be my great pleasure to present these certificates during the Premier’s Reading Challenge celebration weeks to be held 6 – 17 November 2017.

There are in school prizes too.

First to bring their completed form back – a book prize pack

First class to bring all their forms back – super doopers

For more information about the Premier’s Reading Challenge, please visit:

Writing Competition

Last term a Writing Competition held across the school. We had an amazing number of entries and it was a pleasure reading all the stories written by our talented students. Winners received a book pack and certificate.

Congratulations to the winners and to all the students who entered.

Winners

Year 1-2 Nathan 1Q
Year 3-4 Sophia 3M
Year 5-6 Elijah 5JK

Faith Hage
Teacher Librarian

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

The Year 2HW students participated in an experiment on forces in science, learning how a parachute uses air friction and gravity for it to move.

2HW - Forces in Science Experiment

Kathy Wallace
Year 2HW Teacher

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Sunnybank Representatives

Congratulations and good luck to the following Sunnybank Representatives:

Cross Country

Joshua W, Harry C, Margaret G, Alexander P, Harry A and Chloe F. Congratulations also to Claudia W, who is a reserve for the Sunnybank team. Remember not to ignore an opportunity to train. My Training will continue on Monday Afternoons, at 3:15pm.

District Rugby Aspirants

Best of Luck to the following boys in their quest for selection in the District Rugby Union Team: Lachlan S. (aiming for a second consecutive year), Jack B., Cody R. (does he ever sleep), Lincoln Q. & Sebastian B

Gala Days (10 to 12 Years Students)

Don’t forget that there are two more Gala Days to come on 26 May and 2 June, I heard that there were some fantastic results in the Boys Football, Girls Football and Softball.

Athletics Selection Trials (Years 3 - 6)

These are now very close and the following schedule is to inform students what they will be doing each week. These trials are to select the finalists and relay teams from each House for our Athletics Carnival to be held on 20 June.

Yeronga State School Senior (Years 3-6) Athletics Carnival Day 20 June

As with all of these events we would like to extend an invitation to all parents to attend this carnival. Due ongoing construction being carried out in the Yeronga State School grounds I have organised a reserve venue if our grounds become unsuitable. Mr Palmer has kindly consented to us using the Yeronga High School Oval if required. I will advise you shortly after the fete as to which venue we will use.

Additionally we would very much appreciate some help in officiating on the day. Last year we had a very healthy contingent of parents assisting which made the carnival a very smooth operation. If you can spare some time it would be most appreciated.

Mr Harvey, from Yeronga State High School, also kindly lent us some of his maths students last year. Many thanks to him for this. I am hopeful of a repeat performance this year if exam timetables permit.

Timetable for the Athletics Carnival

The day will commence at approximately 8:45 with the march past. At 9am the boys field rotations will commence in the following order. Each rotation will take 30 minutes and these rotations will therefore conclude at 11am. While the boys are completing these the girls will be completing the heats and finals of their sprints and 200m events.

At 11:00am there will be a 30 min lunch break

At 11:30am the girls will complete their field rotations and the boys their Sprint and 200m heats and finals.

At 1:30pm there will be a 15 minute break .

At 1:45pm the boys' and girls' Gifts will be held

At 2:00pm The Relays

At 2:45pm The Presentation

The Yerongalympics

This event is a Tabloid sports event comprised of five activities, explained below, which give first turns to children who have been in the least amount of field events.

Activity 1: The Dress Up Relay

A minimum of 6 children are assembled in line. On the whistle the first child will put the clothes on. They will then go over obstacles around the turnaround marker and back to the team assembly point. Once there they will give the next person in line the clothes and they will have a turn. One point for each person through. Teams keep having as many turns as possible, tallying their points, until the whistle blows to stop. The amount of times the course is completed will equal the amount of points each team has scored.

Activity 2: The Barrel Relay

A minimum of 6 children are assembled in line. On the whistle the first child will put the barrel on its edge and roll it, weaving in and out of the markers, turning around at the turnaround marker and weaving in and out of the markers back to their team. Once there they will give the barrel to the next in line so that they may complete the course. One point is given for each person through. Teams keep having as many turns as possible, tallying their points, until the whistle blows to stop. The amount of times the course is completed will equal the amount of points each team has scored.

Activity 3: The “Every Drop is Precious Relay”

A minimum of 6 children are assembled in line. On the whistle the first child will pick up the cup and run out to the reservoir over the hay bales. Once there they will draw a cup of water and take it back to their bucket and pour it in. When they have completed their turn they will pass the cup to the next person in line. Teams keep having as many turns as possible, tallying their points, until the whistle blows to stop. Markings on the bucket will indicate how many points the team has scored.

Activity 4: Rubber Boot Throwing

A minimum of 6 children are assembled in line. On the whistle the first child will pick up the rubber boot, throw it as close as possible to the target circle. The target will be two circles, one inside the other. The inner circle is worth 10 points and the outer is worth 5 points . Once they have completed their turn by retrieving the rubber boot the first person will pass the rubber boot to the next person in line. Teams keep having as many turns as possible, tallying their points, until the whistle blows to stop.

Activity 5: “Running Cheek to Cheek”

A minimum of 6 children are assembled in line in pairs. On the whistle the first pair place the gator skin ball between their faces. They must weave in and out of the markers and go around the turnaround marker and return to their team weaving in and out of the markers with the gator skin ball between their faces. If the ball should fall they must pick it up before continuing. Each pair through will score one point for their team. Teams keep having as many turns as possible, tallying their points, until the whistle blows to stop.

Sunnybank District Sporting Trials

The representative pathway for school sport is for children from 10 to 12 years of age. Yeronga is part of a very strong district which consists of 28 schools from Yeronga State School to the Calamvale area. In contact and skill team sports those aged 11 and 12 possess the advantages of size and speed, if not skill on most occasions. Selectors are choosing those with the skill and the resilience to compete at a higher level. Remember that selectors give up their time for these trials meaning that it is important for us to send only those ready to go to a higher level. Very seldom is it appropriate to send students for experience. An indicator of readiness for participation at a higher level would be being among the best 3 or 4 players in most games for your club under 12 teams.

In order to be selected to attend a District Trial children should make themselves known to me (Mr Bateman) for either a selection trial with the appropriate teacher or so that they may be given the appropriate forms. Remember that children must give at least two weeks notice that they wish to attend a district trial to allow for a school selection trial to be held in the event of a great deal of interest being shown in a particular sport.

Important Sporting Dates (District and Regional Dates for 10 to 12 Year Olds Only)

Years 3 to 6 YSS Athletics Trials:, 23 May & 8 June.
Regional Hockey: 20 May
Gala Day 2: 26 May
Gala Day 3: 26 May
District Tennis Trials: 23 May
District Rugby: 24 May
Regional Golf: 25 May

Cameron Bateman
P.E. Teacher

Football Selection Congratulations

During the June/July school holidays, Alexander P. (5JK student) and his dad will be heading to Spain as part of Football Brisbane U10s soccer team. Alex, along with one of his Annerley FC teammates, was lucky enough to be selected at a football round robin in February.

The tour will start in Madrid and will include a visit to the Real Madrid academy, training at the Spanish national training centre and coaching by Spanish academy coaches.

Week 2 sees the tour head north to San Sebastian for the 2017 Donosti Cup. This is one of Europe's largest youth football competitions boasting teams from over 80 countries with the tournament celebrating its 26th year.

We wish Alex all the best for a wonderful trip and look forward to hearing from him on his return.

Football Brisbane U10 Soccer Team Representative

CHAPPY’S CHAT

Motherhood …

Happy Mother’s Day to all the women in our school community – mums, aunts, grandmothers, carers, step-mothers, big sisters and others who contribute to the wellbeing of our students. I hope you felt special, important and celebrated. For those who find the day a difficult one, I trust that you found some comfort with special and fond memories of the loved ones who cannot celebrate with you.

As a Thursday Club activity, students wrote their thoughts about their Mums in chalk on the bitumen. While some children might find it hard to tell you how much they love you and especially find difficulty in expressing what they admire about you, they were very inspired by this activity. I heard some great things about what the students love about their mothers.

Even though Mother’s Day draws attention to the great qualities of being a mother, for most of the time there isn’t much gratitude or appreciation of all that you do. Some days can be frustrating, difficult and challenging and you wonder why you care so much and work so hard. So from one mother to another, I’m here to tell you to hang in there. It is worth everything that you do to help your children be nurtured, loved and mature. In years to come, you will be proud of your efforts, proud of your children, and have no regrets about giving so much of yourself.

“Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother” – Lin Yutang

Coming dates …

13-16 June - Chappy Week with lunchtime Treasure Hunt activities
28 July - Chappy’s Fun Night Out

Blessings, Jennifer Bennett
jenniferb@chappy.org.au

Mother’s Day Drawings

SCHOOL BANKING

ARCHIVES MATTER

During the 1950’s and 1960’s, the Perkins family lived in Villa Street and 4 children from the family attended Yeronga State School – Polly, Vic, Mary and Hal. Last week, sisters Polly and Mary came back to Yeronga to share their memories of being a student at the school. During their student days there was bushland where Yeronga State High School is today and a small stream ran through Yeronga Park where children caught tadpoles and picked wildflowers.

Polly remembers that everyone walked to school or rode their bikes. When you got to class, desks were always in rows with the good students seated at the back of the classroom. The only equipment you used when doing your school work was a slate and lead pencil. You might have to ask your parents or grandparents to describe what a slate was!! The class teacher taught all lessons including singing, art and religion. Nearly 60 years later, Polly still remembers learning her timetables by rote and trying to keep her copybook for writing neat and tidy.

“I loved inter-school sports,” said Mary. “When we played against other schools, we all got onto a tram, played our game and then got on the tram to come home again. No teacher or parents ever came with us. We were probably only 12 or 13 years old.” Mary was a member of the all-winning tennis team. In 1962 there were 4 tennis courts within the school grounds and Yeronga State School was the team to beat. “People didn’t have swimming pools in their backyards but lots of people had tennis courts. We would spend hours after school on the courts improving our skills.”

Mary and Polly left Yeronga State School after they completed their Scholarship year (Grade 8) and attended Brisbane Girls Grammar. Both women have had amazing careers. Mary lived in the USA for many years and had a career in advertising, film and television. Polly was a trailblazer in nursing and women’s health in Australia in the 1970’s.

The sisters remember their school days at Yeronga very fondly and regularly meet with their classmates from Grade 8. “We had a good education concentrating on reading, writing and arithmetic. There was always a lot of sport; a lot of time spent outdoors; and lots and lots of friends.”

Ruth Bennett

Class 1E 1954 Molly Perkins (6th from right)

STAFF BIOGRAPHIES

Josh Newby

Why did you decide to become a teacher?

I decided to become a teacher when my first career choice as a strength and conditioning coach was not taking me to the places I had envisioned after spending 3 years working voluntarily. Looking back on the most memorable times and significant people in my life I found that it was my primary school headmaster who had such an empowering and ever-lasting impact on my life. It was at this point that I decided that I wanted to have the same impact on students. Not only did I want to impact students’ lives, I also wanted to make school a place that students wanted to come to and not feel obligated to.

What other schools have you worked at or where else have you worked?

Whilst I have worked in three different schools as a pre-service teacher, Yeronga State School is my first teaching position as a graduate teacher. I feel I am very fortunate to work at such a great school, with great students and a supportive community. I hope that I can continue to be a part of this school for years to come.

Who is in your family? What do you like to do together?

My family immigrated to Australia when I was a teenager. Whilst most of my family is still in England, I regularly catch up and spend time with my mum, dad and two brothers on the weekend.

What do you like to do on the weekend?

On the weekend I typically enjoy cycling the Brisbane River loop, a 40km ride that takes in some of the best sights Brisbane has to offer. This ride whilst challenging also reminds me of how lucky I am to call Brisbane home. If I am not spending time cycling I will most likely to be out with my dog Bella, a beautiful black Labrador who has a loving temperament towards everyone she encounters!

Where is the most exciting place you have visited?

Before immigrating to Australia, Australia was the most exciting place that I had visited on holiday because of the distance and the fact that I knew very little about Australia other than Steve Irwin and kangaroos! However, reflecting on other places that I have travelled to, the Canary Islands was definitely a highlight as a child as I was able to sit inside the cock pit of the plane on our return journey to England. At the time I probably took for granted this exciting experience as the pilot showed me all the different controls and buttons that allow the plane to travel. It is a shame that unfortunately the children of today will never come close to the door of the cockpit let alone inside with the captain!

Josh Newby

Sandy Mathias

I have been involved with Yeronga SS since 1999 as formally a parent and now for the last year as a qualified teacher.

I have previously been teaching at Brisbane School of Distance Education and travelling around rural parts of Queensland supporting small schools in remote areas. Working with the eKindy program which is a comprehensive ‘at home’ kindergarten program for children in the year before Prep my role was to support both parents and the school communities in remote areas to deliver a quality kindergarten education. It was a privilege to be part of the State eKindy team at that time.

I returned to Yeronga State School in 2016 and enjoyed Semester 2 with the Year 2 teaching team. In 2017 I began teaching in Prep and I thoroughly enjoy being in the junior school where my teaching journey began. My own children are past students of Yeronga State School and I have very fond memories of our time at YSS.

My husband and I enjoy travelling to country areas looking for collectables. With a sport loving family weekends are mostly travelling to sporting fixtures and searching for that prize collectable item. One of my most treasured finds was in a small shop in the Deepwater area west of Bundaberg whilst on eKindy travels. We are planning to explore the Northern Territory towns and coastline for that next treasured find.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

School Calendar

Choose how to add this event to your calendar:

Apple Calendar iPhone, iPad, Mac - Download .ics file

Outlook Desktop Outlook - Download .ics file

Android Calendar Android devices - Download .ics file

Other Calendar Google Calendar, Yahoo, etc. - Download .ics file

Download Event