16 November 2017

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL REPORT

Welcoming Visit

I have felt most welcome by the Yeronga State School community during my short stay here as principal. Though our two schools are relatively close, we are often so busy in the work we do that we don’t take the opportunity to see what is happening in a school nearby. So for the past two weeks I’ve been able to see the great things happening at a great school up the road from my own.

Yeronga State School has a very nice feel. In passing through classrooms, students are on task, they are happy, they are interacting well with their teachers and their peers, and they are learning. In my own school, I use the work of Lyn Sharratt, asking five important questions to the students:

• What are you learning?
• How are you doing?
• How do you know?
• How can you improve?
• Where do you go for help?

I took the time to ask this of a few students during my visit and was really impressed with the responses I received. This is a credit to the school, the staff, the parents, and the commitment of the students to be involved in their learning.

As a parent myself I used to find myself asking my son “how was school today”. Using Sharratt’s questions instead I can delve deeper into his day. Perhaps over the coming weeks you might like to give the five questions a try during your daily check in.

I haven’t heard from Debbie during her trek in New Zealand, but I know she will be looking forward to returning next week and spending the last three weeks of term in her beautiful school.

I hope it’s not too long before I have the opportunity to visit again.

Wearing Hats

While this has been one of the coolest Novembers for some time, it is still important that the children wear a hat while out playing. Most Yeronga State School students can be seen with a hat on, however I have had to speak to some who have either not brought their hat to school, or who have lost it. Please ensure your child has the correct hat at school and understands the necessity to wear it. If your child has lost his/her hat it is worthwhile checking lost property. Like all schools, by this time of the year children seem to lose everything. Items not collected from lost property end up as second-hand sales at the uniform shop.

Drone and Robotics Club

I had the opportunity to participate in the drone and robotics club on Friday. As a Distinguished Apple Educator (ADE) I am always keen to speak with children who love to code and experiment with technology. I was really impressed at the drone set up, the safety precautions undertaken by the students, and their knowledge of using Tynker to code the drones to complete missions. Well done. It inspired me to look into drones on the weekend resulting in the purchase of my own drone for home, much to my son’s delight. Thank you to the Yeronga drone pilots for sharing their wisdom.

School Captain Candidates

After a rigorous round of seeking endorsement from teachers and being interviewed, the 2018 School Captain candidates have been selected. The candidates are:

Girls – Margaret G, Lauren G, Rose G, Huong M, Alexia S, Tiggy T, Isabel W.
Boys – Jeffrey B, Josh M, Harvey P, Corey S, Noah W.

Students from Year 3, 4 & 5 select the School Captains each year. Candidates have been given clear instructions on behaviour expectations leading up to the elections on Friday 17 November. These include:

• Please do not solicit for votes in a manner that is unethical or coercive. No bribes - neither candidates, parents, siblings of candidate friends can offer bribes such as treats like lollies or cakes. You could approach other children and talk to them about what they like or don’t like about school and how they would like your help to improve.
• Publish three posters with only your name, school photo, slogan.
• School Captain speeches - 1min 30 sec speech – submitted and approved by class teacher. No gimmicks, tricks or magic tricks. Speeches will be presented on Thursday 16 November from 2:00pm on School Assembly.

The elections will be held on Friday 17 November. We wish all the candidates every success.

Class Lists for 2018 – not released until January 2018

Predicting 2018 enrolments has been challenging this year as numbers seem to fluctuate every day and a few year levels are just over capacity. For this reason we will not be publishing class placements until Friday 19 January. It is less disruptive to children for them to find out where they are going later than to have to change before Day 8 because of number changes, and allow us to take into consideration any last minute changes. Thank you for your understanding.

Craig Kerwin, Acting Principal

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL REPORT

Win a Playground

As a school we have the opportunity to win a playground in the Garnier competition. All it takes is to be the school with the most votes. Currently we are sitting in 20th place. If every parent registered and voted each day we could win this Well done to those families who are sending in a steady stream of containers to recycle. How awesome would it be to win a playground made from recycled products through TerraCycle? So get on board, share with friends and families and let them get voting too. Look for the details further into the newsletter from Faith Hage in the Resource Centre.

Inclusion

Each week I tell a story of a child at assembly as a reminder for our children to be mindful of others. These are real children who I have encountered and none from this school. As a community I believe that we are all mindful of others and I meet many parents who model this to their children. We have a rich range of members of our community and sometimes you may not be aware of the difficulties some people face. I am still in touch with many of the children who I have referred to and have asked them what messages they would like others to be aware of. These are what they shared with me:

• Don’t assume anything – an example was, don’t assume I don’t want to play – I might not be able to.
• Ask me how I am doing and don’t take it personally if I am not ready to join in.
• The problem with people who are mean lies with them – don’t feel bad about yourself if someone is nasty to you.
• Sometimes when someone behaves in an angry way, it might mean that they really want or need a friend.

Student Council Activities

Recently the Student Council has had two events, free dress day and the school disco. These were a huge success and enabled the Student Council to support a child through World Vision once more. As a Council, we have been able to buy badges for the Tech Crew, batteries for the Robotics Club and fund another water bubbler in the school, as well as donate to a variety of charities. Well done to the Student Council and the families who support them. It has been a pleasure working with you.

Debbie Cowie, Acting Deputy Principal

P & C REPORT

pandc@yerongass.eq.edu.au

Help Needed

We will be selling snow cones at the Senior Swimming Carnival on Monday for $2 each. We are needing volunteers to help run the stall.

If you are able to help, please go to the link below.

Yellow Sport Shirt

2017 will see the phasing out of the yellow sport shirt, which has now been replaced with the navy sport shirt.

If you would like to order a navy shirt for 2018, please ensure you visit the uniform shop or order on Flexischools as soon as possible. The uniform shop is open on Monday afternoons between 2:30pm and 3:30pm, or Thursday mornings between 8:30am and 9:30am.

Recycling Competition - Help us WIN a playground

PLEASE HELP!! No need to donate hours of baking or helping on a fete stall! This is your chance to help us get a new playground simply by taking a minute every day to vote for the school. If every family voted today we would jump to the top of the leaderboard!!

Garnier and TerraCycle are giving a school the opportunity to win a playground simply by recycling used beauty products through TerraCycle! The main prize is a playground made of recycled beauty products valued at $45,000. Lots of our local Hairdressers and Beauty Salons are on board but we need EVERYONE to go through their bathroom cupboards and clean out any of those old containers that we all have stashed at the back "just in case". Ask your neighbours to do the same!

What can you bring in? ANY of the following:

• skin care packaging - such as lip balm, face moisturiser, face and body wash soap dispensers and tubes, body and hand lotion dispensers and tubes and shaving foam packaging.
• hair care packaging - such as used shampoo and conditioner bottles and caps, hair gel tubes and caps, hair spray and hair treatment packaging
• cosmetics packaging - such as used lipstick and lip gloss, mascara, eye shadow, bronzer, foundation, eyeliner, eye shadow, lip liner, and concealer packaging

We earn extra credits towards our collection by voting once per day per person via this link. This is going to be really important, so PLEASE get those phones out and vote away from tomorrow!

All recycling donations MUST be received by 01 December.

Collection points are located:

• under the stairs at the office
• at the library
• at Prep
• under Year 1 building near the stairs.

Election Day BBQ & Cake Stall

Vote 1 for Cake on Saturday 25 November.

Help us make the Yeronga State School cake stall a highlight of the upcoming election.

Cupcakes, whole cakes, slices, biscuits, fudge, coconut ice, gluten free goods, scones ... or if you needs some inspiration, check out these great recipes.

Packaging can be collected from outside the tuckshop on Thursday 23 and Friday 24 November from 8:00am until 8.45am. Then drop your baked goods off at the tuckshop on Friday 24 November between 2.30pm and 4.30pm or straight to the cake stall on Saturday (from 7:00am).

Thanks in advance for your support and yummy baked goods!

We also still need volunteers to operate the BBQ and Cake stall on 25 November for the State Election.

Click on this link to sign up as a volunteer on the BBQ or Cake stall - too easy!

CODING KIDS BEFORE SCHOOL CLASSES 2018

Coding Kids will be returning for 2018 with their coding classes for students in Grade 2 -6. All classes are held in the Resource Centre from 7.30 – 8.30am. Classes will start in Week 2 Term 1 2018 and run for 8 weeks. Contact Coding Kids for further information and to enrol your son/daughter.

Scratch: Art & Animation - Years 2-4

Duration: 8 week block
Dates: Wednesday, 31 January 2018 - Wednesday, 21 March 2018
Class times: 7:30 am - 8.30 am

Python: Art & Animation - Years 5-6

Duration: 8 week block
Dates: Friday, 2 February 2018 - Friday, 23 March 2018
Class times: 7:30 am - 8.30 am.

Jo Thomson, P&C Committee

INTERNATIONAL MEN’S DAY BREAKFAST

On Tuesday 28 November a breakfast will be held for boys in Years 5 and 6 to celebrate International Men’s Day. The breakfast will commence at 7.30am for a 7.45am start. The breakfast will be hosted by Mr Aaron Hartin and the guest speaker will be Mr Andrew Howell. Andrew is the CEO of the not for profit organisation, The Right Direction Australia.

It is encouraged that boys attend with a significant male in their life eg. Dad, Step-Dad, Uncle, Grandfather, Coach etc. For catering purposes, please RSVP by 23 November to rbenn127@eq.edu.au

The invitation is attached with further event information.

MONEY MATTERS

Statements & Outstanding Payments

With the end of the school year fast approaching it would be appreciated if all outstanding invoices could be finalised ASAP. Statements will be issued at the end of this week.

If you do have any outstanding payments it would be greatly appreciated if you could attend to payment. Should you wish to pay in instalments please contact me by email nalla6@eq.edu.au or by phoning the office on 3426 0333 so that arrangements can be made.

A reminder that if you have a credit on your child’s account, you need to email the school authorising us to use this towards any invoices. Credits show on your statement with a negative symbol, i.e. -$10.00.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact the office.

Student Resource Scheme

Invoices for the Student Resource Scheme will be issued next week. If you wish to pay in instalments please contact me nalla6@eq.edu.au or phone the office so that the necessary arrangements can be set up.

Nicki Allardyce, Business Manager

FROM THE OFFICE

Procedure for Late Arrivals

Our school rolls are marked by the classroom teachers by 9:00am daily. If your child is not at school by this time, it is highly likely you will receive an SMS indicating that your child is absent. Your child’s safety is our first priority and therefore any unexplained absences receive our immediate attention. If you receive an SMS, please contact us immediately so we can follow up your child’s whereabouts as quickly as possible. I encourage you to `assume the best’ if you know your child is at school.

All late arrivals (after 9am), from Prep through to Year 6 students, must report to the Senior school office for a ‘late’ slip before going to their classrooms. The school office logs the arrival and you will receive a slip to take to the class teacher. It is important to note that even 5 minutes late each day means your child is missing nearly half an hour of schooling a week. That quickly adds up over the course of a year. Late arrival also disrupts the teaching and learning of all students so please help by being on time.

Lost Property

The piles of lost property are growing. Please remind your children to have a look in the lost property for any belongings they have misplaced. Junior lost property is located underneath the Year 1 building (in the middle) and Senior Lost Property is located under the stairs in Admin Block.

SZapp Update

There is an update now available for SZapp. If you experience any problem using the App, please ensure you have installed the update. If this does not fix the issue, please contact Natalie on npavl0@eq.edu.au .

MUSIC

The Big Play – Instrumental Music Celebration and Awards Night

Friday November 17
Coorparoo State School
Students arrive between 5.50 and 6.10pm. Concert commences 6.30pm
Brandenburg Strings – Stradivari Strings
Junior Concert Band – Senior Concert Band
Farewell concert for Jodie Brighton and Charise Holm.

The Big Sing – Choral Program Celebration and Awards Night

Friday November 24
Sherwood (not Coorparoo) State School
Students arrive between 5.50pm and 6:00pm. Concert commences 6.30pm
Cosmio Singers – Stella Voce – Chamber Choir
Farewell concert for Jane Plumridge.

Instrumental Music 2018

Days for instrumental lessons and all ensembles will not be fixed until the start of the 2018 school year. There are the usual complexities involving staffing, shared teachers, room availability to be dealt with. Junior Band does not commence until Term2. All other ensembles commence week 3. Beginner Strings join Stradivari in Term 2 and Stradivari will most likely rehearse at lunchtime.

Thank you to all continuing families who have paid their fees and returned the Student Resource Scheme Agreement forms/Loan agreements. All are due next week, November 22 to ensure your child has a position in the program.

Thank you to the families of our 2018 beginners. We have had a 98% return of forms and most have paid. Again, the due date is November 22.

There are no instrumental ensemble rehearsals from week 8 on. There are instrumental lessons in week 8, and this is the time students return instruments and music. Choirs rehearse for the last time next week, week 8.

Jane Plumridge, Music Specialist

RESOURCE CENTRE

Last Week of Borrowing

Last week of borrowing is week 8. Please make sure your child has returned all their home readers and library books by week 9. Letters will be sent home with replacement costs in weeks 9 and 10. When replacing a misplaced book you can either pay the $20 fee at the payment desk or you can purchase the book and bring it to the library for processing. We appreciate your support in replacing misplaced books.

Book Club

The last Book Club of the year is on at the moment and all orders are due back by the 28 November. No late orders as they will not arrive before the end of the school year. When ordering online you may choose to have it delivered to your home address. If you have a gift in the order that you don't want your child to see, you can let me know and I will contact you when it comes in and you can collect directly from the library.

ePlatform Online Library

All year 2- 5 students have received their log in and password for the ePlatform online library. This is not a compulsory service but it is something that can be accessed over the school holidays.

Thank you!

Thank you to those parents who have helped cover books. We still have a lot more to cover so if you are free to spend some time covering we would greatly appreciate your help.

Happy Reading!

Faith Hage, Teacher Librarian

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Queensland Primary Schools Cricket

Congratulations Harvey!

Our Harvey P spent last week working for selection in the Qld Primary Schools Cricket Team. Unfortunately for Harvey he missed out this time, but is determined next year to challenge even more strongly for State team selection. Well done Harvey!

Swimming Carnivals

From the first week or swimming lessons preparations began for these very important events on the Yeronga State School Calendar

The senior carnival is scheduled for 20 November and the Junior Carnival for 29 November. In view of the nearness of these days, I would again like to formally ask for helpers for the day. I have been blessed, over the years, with fantastically skilled helpers and this year have secured the assistance of Sam Kendall and Ruth Bennett. It would be lovely to have others to help share the burden. It would also be great to have more parents to come along this year to learn from these people and to make light work of the carnival in future years.

The Yeronga State School Senior Swimming Carnival (The Swimming Carnival)

On Monday 20 November 2017 the swimming carnival will take place. If you are able please take the time to attend.

There will be an area of shade set aside for the spectators and for those who like to take a more active interest in sport there are still vacancies in the ranks of our officials. Please contact the school office or Mr Bateman or Mrs Spanner if you are able to officiate on 3426 0333.

What follows is a nuts and bolts guide to the day and the competition itself for the children and their parents.

The Competition

Please advise and remind children of their age for the carnival –

i.e. the age they turned or will turn this year e.g. 2004 – 12 years. Children cannot compete in the same 50m and 25m event.

e.g. 50m & 25m freestyle - not permitted; 50m & 25m in different strokes - permitted. 50m events will be swum from the deep end to the shallow.

50 & 25m events will be swum in the 25m pool. Swimmers must leave the pool immediately upon finishing their race and then wait on the deck in front of their lane for the judges.

Trophies or pennants for Championship are the 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 years boys and girls age championships, Champion House and the Yeronga Gift.

Age Championships are earnt by the most successful swimmer over Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly.

The Yeronga Gift is an Open freestyle event for boys and girls who swim the eight fastest times in the 50m Freestyle and does not count toward the age championship.

Relays - There will be one relay (6 x 50m freestyle) event for girls and one for boys made up of a swimmer from each age group (9, 10, 11, 12). Team members may swim in any order.

1 point will be awarded to each swimmer who participates in the 25m heats.

2 points will be awarded to each swimmer who participates in the finals (50m events only).

This meet is a Carnival event for 2017. Our school swimmers are eligible for the District Meet in 2018 and will be chosen for this if their time betters the qualifying time for their event.

The Logistics

1. We will need Assistance to set up at Yeronga Park Swimming Pool from 7.30am and also with officiating from 9:00am. If you can help with either of these tasks it would be much appreciated.
2. Children must wear togs under uniform to school.
3. Children must bring towel, underclothes, drink bottle, morning tea and lunch in swimming bag. The canteen will be selling to the children, but for those competing, a packed lunch would be most convenient
4. Children should be ready for departure from school at 8.40am. First events to be marshalled at 9.00am. All children of the correct age will attend.
5. On arrival at pool, report to house area and remove uniform.
6. All children participating in a 50m event will be called to the marshalling area at the 50m pool end of the 25m pool, and then be divided into their heats. When their time comes all children participating in a 25m stroke or kickboard event will be called to the marshalling area, and then be divided into their heats
7. Finals will not be conducted for any events with places being decided by the fastest times.
8. There will be a 45 minute lunch break following the Yeronga Gift.
9. Teachers will commence returning children to school following the Presentation. If you wish to take your child home earlier, please inform your child's teacher.
10. Awards will be presented after the conclusion of the last events.
    Winners of 50m events; Championship trophies for girls and boys aged 8, 9, 10, 11 &12 ; Winning House; Yeronga Gift.
11. There are no individualised ribbons for 25m events. There are no finals for any events.
12. The event order will be 50m Freestyle Events, 25m Freestyle Events, Kickboard on front, 50m Breaststroke Events, 25m Breaststroke Events, Yeronga Swimming Gift: (Boys/Girls Open Freestyle Race (eight fastest times swum in 50m heats for boys and girls)) 50m Backstroke Events 25m Backstroke Events, Kickboard on back, 50m Butterfly Events 25m Butterfly Events, Freestyle Relay & Presentation.

On a lighter note the big question is: who can end Lawson’s 6 year domination in swimming? Can Kendall, who won Cross Country and Athletics? Can Evans, who almost won the Athletics? Could Paterson, who are yet to chalk up a win this year? Only time will tell who will be the winner of our new swimming trophy.

School & District Events for Students Aged 10 – 12 years This Term (Except School Swimming Carnivals (open to all in the correct year levels)

Qld Boys Cricket - 5 to 9 November
Senior (Years 3-6) Swimming Carnival - 20 November
Junior Swimming Carnival (Years 2 & 1) - 30 November
Year 1 Behaviour Celebration (TBC) - 30 November
Prep Water Rampage - 1 & 5 December
Year 2 Behaviour Celebration (TBC) - 7 December
Break up Day Swims (Years 2 to 6) - 8 December

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.

Cameron Bateman, P.E. Teacher

Queensland Primary All Schools Touch Football : Cup Winners!

Queensland Primary All Schools Touch Football 2017 Cup Winners - 6 wins and 1 draw

The Yeronga State School Mixed Touch Football Team had a very successful two days at the recent Qld All Schools Touch Football Competition. Over 50 teams from across the state competed in the Mixed Division. The team got off to a great start with two hard fought wins. The final round game was always going to be a challenge as Dunwich State School was the seeded team in our pool. It proved to be possibly the most exciting finish of the competition. Dunwich were leading 5-3 with less than 2 minutes left in the match. A sneaky diving slide saw Harry grab a try to get us within one. However, the best was yet to come. Joe managed to gather in a switch pass off Cody as the final siren was sounding on our try line. The next 10 seconds will be folk law at Yeronga for many years to come. Joe managed to evade three players to break into the open and run the full length of the field to draw the game.

Due to the tough pool we landed in our results saw us return on day 2 to contest in the second 16 group called the Cup competition. Every game from this point was an elimination game. After a good win in the round of 16 the team had a long break and had to work extra hard to win their quarter final match. The semi-final was a very entertaining game which saw Yeronga out score Coomera Rivers 10 -7.

Heading into the seventh game of the weekend and the fourth of the day the team looked really strong. Amazingly our opponents were Harrisvillie State School who we beat in a pool game 3-1 on day 1. The final showcased how far the team had come on their journey. Running away with the game 8-1. Congratulations to the team on their achievements and the way they represented the school. Below is a sample of some of the awesome photos Mr Isles took at the event.

Results:

Round 1: 4-0 win over Robertson SS
Round 2: 3-1 win over Harrisville SS
Round 3: 5-5 draw with Dunwich (Dunwich were finally defeated by the eventual Runners Up)
Round of 16: 5-1 win over Mt Gravatt East SS
Quarter Final: 5-4 win over Manfield SS
Semi Final: 10 -7 win over Coomera Rivers SS
Grand Final: 8-1 win over Harrisville SS

ACTIVE SCHOOL TRAVEL

Last Friday our junior school students had a wonderful time at first break riding their scooters. Road markings were on the paths, rules were to be followed and there were ‘traffic guards’ to make sure everything was flowing smoothly. Next scooter day for the junior school is Friday 1 December.

CHAPPY’S CHAT

Taking Control of Your Thoughts

The average person has about 70,000 thoughts per day, according to the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging at the University of Southern California. Unfortunately a lot of these thoughts we have each day are negative and involve dwelling on past mistakes. Too many negative thoughts can make it difficult for us to cope with what life brings us, and put limits on what we try to do and what we can achieve.

The Friends program that I use at school, helps students to learn to be in the driver seat and have more control over their thoughts. The program helps them to recognise that we all have unhelpful thoughts that affect our behavior e.g. I don’t like school, I have no friends, or it’s going to be a terrible day today. Using the traffic light analogy, students are taught to recognise that unhelpful red thoughts are like the red signal that makes us “stop”. Red thoughts limit us from trying new things, being brave and engaging with the world around us. Changing the way we think, changing from red unhelpful to green helpful thoughts, makes us “go”, and be stronger and braver.

So do you need to take control of your thought life to help yourself or your family? Is your negative thinking stopping you from enjoying life and being in control of where you are going? What thoughts can you have to help you have a better day? Maybe you need to some new thoughts like, today is going to be a great day, I’m going to do my best, I can try new things, and I’m so thankful for the wonderful things in my life.

Blessings, Jennifer Bennett
jenniferb@chappy.org.au

GREEN TEAM NEWS

We had our celebration for the inaugural Green Team members. Every child reported that they has learned so much this year and that they felt that belonging to the Green Team helped them grow as individuals and as a team. Well done to the team for all their hard work this year. I big thank you to Nicole Deayton who has supported and given them direction.

SCHOOL BANKING

09.11.2017: 50 Bankers

Junior Banker of the Week – Jack 2K
Senior Banker of the Week – Brooke 3M

16.11.2017: 58 Bankers

Junior Banker of the Week - Amelia 1P
Senior Banker of the Week - Alexander 4W

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Rocklea Christmas Family Night: FREE at Bunnings – Thursday 07 December 6:00-8:00pm

Recycled Christmas Tree Competition: Deliver your recycled Christmas tree to Bunnings Rocklea by Wednesday 06 December – winner announced at the Christmas Family Night on Thursday 07 December.

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