8 March 2018

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL REPORT

Classroom Discourse

Engaging in rich classroom discourse is an important aspect of learning. Through rich discussion children expand on their one or two ideas to many ideas and learn how to apply the learning in new and novel ways. A classroom rich in discussion and dialogue helps children exchange ideas, evaluate mastery, develop thinking processes and reflect on content and shared thoughts.

A key element of building a discourse-rich culture is teachers embedding the spirit of collaboration versus competition. Classroom talk is not only a means of students supporting each other, but also of holding each other accountable by helping clarify, restate, and challenge ideas.

Our teachers are creating intellectually safe places where children are learning how to engage in active listening, addressing ideas versus individuals and respectfully disagreeing or questioning. Children are learning to appreciate a culture that allows them to feel valued for being able to discuss, clarify, elaborate on ideas rather than simply stating correct answers. The student-led discourse that is emerging in Yeronga State School classrooms is a powerful way to allow our students to take ownership of their learning.

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Government House with the School Captains and Madison. We were invited as part of a number schools who raised over $1000 for the Indigenous Literacy Project. Madison organised a Book Swap last year to help raise funds. It was wonderful to see the students interacting confidently with officials, authors and illustrators, proudly representing our school.

The Indigenous Literacy Foundation is a national book industry charity which aims to reduce the disadvantage experienced by children in remote Indigenous communities across Australia, by lifting literacy levels and instilling a lifelong love of reading. You can learn more about this organisation by clicking on the image above

Parent Teacher Interviews

In the next two weeks parents are being given the opportunity to meet with class teachers to discuss their child’s progress, learning behaviours and learning goals. English and Maths will be the main subject areas that teachers will discuss with you. I encourage all parents to participate in this opportunity. It will help you to gain a clearer picture on your child’s learning and communicate to your child how important their education is to you.

Please be aware that each session is 15 minutes long so you will need to be on time and finish promptly. If you have some concerns that you feel need more time, you may need to negotiate an alternative time with the class teacher.

Behaviour Standard

Teachers are currently reflecting with children on the behaviour standards on how each child is travelling.

I encourage you to visit this document with your child and ask them to share what they are doing well and what behaviour goals and effort goals they are working on.

Parking

STOP KISS GO- 2 minute zone- Please move to the end of the zone before allowing your children to exit or enter your vehicle. This helps make this zone work efficiently. Do not leave your vehicle in this zone as it significantly impacts the flow of traffic around our school.

No Parking in School Grounds- There is no parking on school grounds before or after school. Driving across the footpath puts children’s lives in danger. Please help keep all our children safe and park appropriately. Prep – Year 1 parents are reminded this week to not use the car park near the Brick Building in the afternoons.

Facebook Protocols

We are aware that a number of year levels have FACEBOOK pages for communication among parents. Please remember not to post any photos of children other than your own without their parents’ permission.

Personal Safety

Thank you for your continued vigilance in helping keep your children safe. Staff are engaging in active supervision and implementing measures to ensure our children navigate safely around the school.

Debbie Spanner

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL REPORT

Student Council

The Student Councillors were outstanding representatives of Yeronga State School last Friday as they attended the Halogen Young Leaders Day at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. They listened to a number of inspirational speakers including John Couttis, Jack Heath, Harrison Craig and Holly Ferling. It was a highly interactive day for the almost 3000 participants and our School Captains (Margaret and Josh) had a moment of fame as they presented a thank you speech on the stage! These students shared their experiences at the Yr 3-6 Assembly.

National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence

On Friday 16 March 2018, Yeronga State School will stand united with other schools in Australia to celebrate and recognise the eighth National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA).

The National Day of Action is Australia’s key anti-bullying event for schools. It is a positive day of action, which aims to bring school communities together to help find workable solutions that address bullying and violence.

At Yeronga State School, we teach students strategies to address conflict and bullying using the Bridge Builders Program each week on assembly. This year we are planning to show our support and take a stand against bullying by inviting all students and staff to wear the colour orange to school on Friday 16 March. This represents and symbolises the inclusion and diversity within our school community.

N.B. Please note that students are asked to come to school dressed in orange and there is no cost for this free dress day.

School Communication Redesign

We are currently refining the processes used to communicate with our broader school community. As part of this redesign the following methods of communication will be used.

Facebook- we are in the process of setting up an official Facebook page for the school. The purpose of this page will be to celebrate success and tell our school narrative. Through Facebook we can share with our school community all the wonderful things we do that see our students learning, caring, growing and achieving. Photos of students will not be published unless we have specific parent permission. We will send you the link to the Yeronga State School page once it is available.

Class communication- each teacher uses various tools to communicate information to parents/caregivers. Many teachers are currently using Class Dojo or email. We strongly encourage to keep in touch with your child’s teacher using the various communication methods that their teacher makes available.

Schoolzine app- this mobile phone app has many functions that can be used to communicate with our school community (i.e. calendar, newsletter, surveys, notes sent home uploaded, targeted push notifications as alerts and reminders).

Website- The school website is the platform to answer questions community members may have about our school by ‘opening the window’ to our school through the provision of current information about our policies and procedures.

Clean Up The School Day

On Monday 5th March the Green Team assisted students to roll up their sleeves by holding a ‘Clean Up the School Day’, as a way of participating in Clean Up Australia Day. Student worked together in their class groups to pick up rubbish in various zones throughout the school. It was an admirable effort and we thank you for helping us make our school clean and green!

Cross Country

Please note the date changes for the Cross Country

• Senior Cross Country Yr 3- 6 Monday 19th March
• Junior Cross Country P-Yr 2 Thursday 3rd May

Evacuation Practice

Last week we held our first evacuation practice. This practice was a tremendous success, with all students and staff evacuating safely. These practices are an important part of establishing familiar routine that keep students and staff safe in the event of an emergency. We will be holding a lockdown in the coming weeks to prepare students for what they might need to do in a situation where they are required to stay inside to ensure their safety. Please make sure if you are in the school grounds during an emergency, you follow staff instructions.

Before And After School Safety

To ensure the safety of all students while on school grounds, shoes need to be worn at all times, including before and after school extra-curricular activities, or while in the care of a parent/carer. Students are also required to wear a hat when outside before and after school. Thank you for working with us to ensure our students are safe and happy while at our school.

Home/School Communication

Strong, committed partnerships between our school and our parents play a crucial role in our children’s learning and development. To help us strengthen our communication with you we will be placing a copy of notes/letters that have been sent home on the Schoolzine app under the forms section. This will make it easier for you if you need another copy or would like to check information from a note/letter when you are out and about.

Harmony Day

Each year Yeronga State School celebrates the diversity of our school population with a special Harmony Day assembly. This year we will be holding two special assemblies on Thursday 22nd March - Prep – Year 2 students at 9:15am and Year 3 – Year 6 students at 1:45pm. Please note, there will be no junior assembly in week 9 on Monday 19th March.

Part of these special assemblies will involve a procession of flags of the countries of birth or the cultural identity of the children and parents in our school.

This year we have flags from Australia, Indigenous Australia, Torres Strat Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Denmark, El Salvador, England, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Liberia, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, United Kingdom, United State of America, Vietnam, Wales, Zimbabwe.

We will be organising flag bearers for these flags in the coming weeks.

If you or your child are from a country not listed above please let Mrs Marg Malouf know via email – mmalo5@eq.edu.au so the flag can be included in our procession.

Active School Travel - Let’s Get Active!

Well done to all students who travelled to school actively and participated in the first Active School Travel for the year. Active School Travel promotes clean and green, active and healthy school travel modes such as walking, cycling, carpooling and public transport. By leaving your car at home, at least one day a week on our active travel day, we can reduce traffic congestion at the school gate, improve our students’ road safety awareness, create a cleaner environment, and improve our health and fitness! Our Active School Travel day is Wednesday.

To celebrate National Ride to School Day, students who ride to school on Wednesday 21st March will receive double stamps!

International Women’s Day Breakfast

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to press forward and progress gender parity, motivating and uniting friends, colleagues and whole communities to think, act and be gender inclusive.

At Yeronga State School, we will be holding a breakfast event on Friday 9th March for Year 5 and 6 girls, their mothers, grandmothers, or other prominent women in their lives. Please see the invitation attached and mark the date in your diaries. We would love to see you there.

Kate Paynter and Marie Robertson

P & C REPORT

pandc@yerongass.eq.edu.au

Easter Raffle

Thanks to those families who have already donated chocolate or gifts for our annual Easter Raffle. Keep the raffle tickets and chocolate donations coming in. Chocolate donations can be given directly to your child’s classroom teacher. Raffle tickets can be returned to the P&C box in the grade 1 building or the payments area on the lower level of the admin building. Last year the Easter Raffle raised $3300 that went directly back into improving the facilities within our school. Let’s see how much we can raise this year! Additional tickets are available from the school office, uniform shop or YOSHC. Over 50 prizes will be drawn on Friday 23rdMarch.

Which class will with the prize for most tickets sold????     Remember tickets are only 50 cents each or a book of 12 for $5.00.

Coles Sports for Schools

Please remember to keep collecting your Coles vouchers. This is a great way to contribute to the school so the kids can get some great new sports equipment. All your vouchers, or those from your friends and neighbours, can be placed in the collection boxes at Coles Fairfield or at school in the boxes in the grade 1 building or lower level of the admin building.

Volunteer Reminder - Snow Cones

The P&C are selling $2 Snow Cones $2 at the Senior Cross Country on the 19th March. Volunteers required to help set up, serve and pack up so our Grade 3-6 students can enjoy a well deserved snow cone after running the Cross Country. If anyone is able to help (even if part of the time, an hour or two?) between 8.30am and 11.30am please read and use instructions for the link for SignUp or email contact Events Coordinators Juliet Brooks and Lauren McHutchinson at brooksandmchutchison@raywhite.com or yerongasspandc@gmail.com

We're using SignUp.com (the leading online SignUp and reminder tool) to organize our upcoming SignUps.

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

1. Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com: http://signup.com/go/FtrgvkJ
2. Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3. Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.

Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone.

JoThompson

MONEY MATTERS

Student Resource Scheme

In accordance with the Student Resource Scheme Agreement, the first instalment is now overdue. If you are yet to make a payment towards the SRS, please do so immediately. Details for payment can be found on the invoice.

Statements & Outstanding Payments

Statements will be issued at the end of this week. A reminder that if your statement shows a negative amount ie -$15 this is a credit and does not require any payment. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact the office.

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.

QParents

QParents is an online portal that provides parents with a snapshot of information surfaced from OneSchool about their child and allows them to:

• view and pay school invoices online
• view attendance details, report cards, invoices and a history of payments
• provide reasons for unexplained absences and to notify the school of future absences
• update student details including residential and
• postal address as well as medical conditions.

Please contact Nicki at nalla6@eq.edu.au for a personal invitation.

Nicki Allardyce

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.

STUDENT COUNCIL

Hi, I’m Charlotte!

On Friday 23rd March, I’m doing the World’s Greatest Shave and shaving my hair off completely! It is a way to raise money to support families who have a family member suffering from a blood cancer like Leukaemia.

I’m a bit nervous about shaving my hair off because I don’t know what it will be like to be bald, but what about the people who actually have cancer? They don’t have a choice!

I’ll be shaving my hair at lunchtime on Friday 23rd March. That day, all students are invited to come to school with a wonderful, wacky hairstyle or a wig for ‘Crazy Hair Day’ and bring a ‘Gold Coin Donation’. All donations will go to the Leukaemia Foundation to support my fundraising! Please come along and support me as I shave my hair off!

Here is the link to my Shave donation page if you would like to make a bigger donation.

Thanks for all your support!

Charlotte

DIGIAL TECHNOLOGY

BYOD

Our year two students are well and truly into using their ipads for learning. Our teachers have done a tremendous job in using the ipads as tools for learning and not just digital tools. It is great to see students recording their learning by keeping learning journals for various learning areas and by being able to make their thinking visible. Some “ah ha” moments have been experienced when students look at their photo’s of the life cycle of the meal worms. They have been amazed at the real growth and development that you can see, the detail of which cannot be recorded by making a pencil sketch.

One of our goals was to support our parents. Our helpdesk is open on Tuesday 7:45 – 8:45 and Friday 2:30 – 3:30. We invite you to join the YSS BYOD group on Facebook. This is a closed group for Yeronga parents where we can trouble shoot together. I will also be running some online sessions, which could include video’s and open hours where I will be online ready to support you.

I will be offering workshops. Please watch YSS BYOD page for updates.

A request from our teachers: Our teachers and students are complaining about being interrupted in their learning by a voice that keeps calling out. Please could you turn Siri off so that she no longer interrupts our learning.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Cross Country Training

Cross Country Training continues with the climax being the School Cross Country on 19 March (confirmed). Sessions will be on Mondays from 3:15 to 3:45 and Tuesdays from 8:00 to 8:30 in weeks 6 and 8 and from 3:15 to 3:45 in week 9, and Fridays 8 to 8:30.

Senior Cross Country Day 19 March

All children will be expected, unless medically unable, to participate in the Cross Country. The children who are 8 years old will run a smaller course inside the school grounds. The children who age from 9 to 12 years will be given the option of running a long course (outside the school grounds) or a short course (within the school grounds). Those who opt for the short course will be identified by a fluorescent vest they must wear. The difference between the course options is that the long course option allows children to qualify for the Yeronga State School team for the Eastern Taipans District Cross Country and compete to be Age Champion.

Please remember that the team for the Eastern Taipans District Cross Country will not be settled for a week after the Yeronga State School Cross Country as we may have a number of children absent on the day and our policy is to allow those either absent due to illness or higher representative honours the opportunity to challenge for a place in teams at a later date. Additionally as this is a new district we do not know how many of our children will be eligible to enter for the District Cross Country.

ORDER OF EVENTS FROM 9.15 am

Absence From Cross Country

If you know that you will be absent from the Cross Country day and are keen to have a time recorded please see Mr Bateman so that this may be done before the 19th of March. If you are ill on the day you will need to collect a form from Mr Bateman to have a time recorded after the event to be considered for District Selection. We will be using the times of the top 8 in the 10, 11 and 12 year events for comparisons

Cross Country Day Helpers

If you would like to volunteer time to help either as a check point attendant or a finish line official your help would be most appreciated. It is always great to have extra pairs of eyes and ears available. Please join our other wonderful volunteers like Ruth Bennett before she leaves us. Thanks Ruth for so many great years of selfless service.

Gala Days

Gala Days are well and truly underway with children participating in Boys and Girls Football (What used to be called Soccer) and Girls Softball and Teeball. The remaining dates for these very important days are, weather permitting, 16 March and 27 April.

Swimming

Swimming will finish in week 8 (after a total of five weeks). Students need a rashie, togs, towel, sturdy bag, spare underwear & Flip Flops (thongs).These sessions provide high quality swimming instruction across the school. We will be conducting these lessons, in conjunction with the staff of Yeronga Park Pool. This means the instructors will take the lessons for all children from Year 1 to Year 4 to enhance those childrens’ competence in Aquatics. Not only are these children being given expert stroke correction in small ability specific groups, but also water safety knowledge. These lessons will cost $7.50 per lesson.

Children in years 5 and 6 will receive lessons from Mr Bateman and their class teachers at the pool entry cost of $2.50 per lesson. Thanks again to Yeronga Park Pool for its continued support. They not only discount our lessons, but also give us our carnivals and various play days free of charge.

Congratulations Hayley

Congratulations to Hayley R for being selected in the Eastern Taipans Girls Basketball team. Hayley will now compete for Met West selection on 13 March. Well Done!

Qld Swimming Trial

Congratulations and best wishes to Liam C at the Qld Schools Swimming championships which will be held at the Chandler from 19 to 21 March.

District Representative Sport Opportunities

Students turning 10 – 12 years old in 2018 are able to nominate to attend Eastern Taipan District sporting trials. Athletes who compete at district trials must have a high level of ability in their chosen sport.

If your child is interested in participating in a selection trial, contact Mr Bateman a month before the trials. Dates can be found on the Eastern Taipan District website and below. District Convenors expect each school to only nominate students who have exhibited a very high level of ability in that sport. Whilst your child may be at the highest level at club sport, this is no guarantee they will be selected to try-out for District Team. Our school has 2 sports convenors who understand the standard required and for this reason we only send children who demonstrate that high level of ability.

Qualification for Track and Field, Swimming and Cross Country district trials are finalised after the school carnivals.

Important Sporting Dates (10 – 12 year olds)

Gala Day Two: 16 March
Regional Basketball Trial 13 March
District AFL Trials: 26 March
District Rugby League Trials: 28 March
Senior Cross Country: 19 March
District Netball Trials: 19 April
District Girls' Football (Soccer) Trials: 23 April
District Boys' Football (Soccer) Trials: 23 April
Regional AFL Trial: 23 to 24 April
District Touch Trial: 21 May

Cameron Bateman

Gala Day Results

Yeronga Junior and Senior Soccer A Teams

Both the Junior and Senior teams travelled to Runcorn High School for the first Gala Day of 2018. For many of the boys this was their first Gala Day experience and they were itching to take the field. Battling the heat and long grass both teams worked hard and showed improvement across the day.

The Juniors had two convincing wins against Warrigal Road and Wisdon College. The team work and skill displayed by the Junior Team was very impressive. The Senior Boys also had two good wins against Warrigal Road and Runcorn Heights. It was great to see the Seniors dig deep and hold out a fast finishing Warrigal Road.

Girls T-ball Junior C Team

The Girls Junior C T-Ball team performed very well considering the lack of practice we had. We were unlucky not to win our games. The first two games were very close, going down narrowly 12-11 in both games, and both times to Warrigal Road. We were ably led from the front by Milla, Amelie, Lsla and Maxeen. The girls drew the third game with Algester owing to some spectacular fielding by Georgia on second-base (they kept hitting the ball to her!). Up against Yeronga 2 (B team) in the last game we went down narrowly once again, despite the best efforts of Elioise, D’Arcy and Grace in the field and with the bat. Well done girls.

ACTIVE SCHOOL TRAVEL

Don’t Forget Every Wednesday Is Active School Travel Day At Yeronga State School

Walk, ride your scooter or bike, catch public transport (even if it’s just one stop) or carpool by grabbing a lift with another family.

It’s all about creating healthier, more active students and parents, greater road safety awareness among students and families, and safer streets and reduced traffic congestion at the school gate.

Every child should have an Active School Travel Passport which is stamped each time they actively travel.

Passports can be stamped in the Senior School near the lift and in the Junior School outside the Grade 1 building. When children accumulate enough stamps they get a great reward.

GREEN TEAM

Thank you everyone who came prepared with gloves, tongs and litter pickers for our massive Clean Up Your School Day on Monday and for those who came along and helped, it was much appreciated. It was a magnificent success. Here is a picture of some of the Green Team and the Environment Captains posing with all the rubbish collected. All up it was a massive 21kg! As you can see from the photo, not much of it is recyclable. We have saved this from going down drains, into our waterways and choking our wildlife. Well done to everyone!

Thanks goes to Paul and Stu from the Brisbane City Council Litter Prevention, Waste and Resource Recovery Services who set up a stall and gave out over 250 of their '104 or more' bags and loaned the children litter pickers which got them super excited about picking up litter. The kids were encouraged to keep the bags to use for picking up litter anytime, anywhere. The '104 or more' campaign is about each of us picking up just 2 pieces of rubbish a week. If you do this all year, that's at least '104 or more' pieces of rubbish off our streets every year. Imagine if we all did this?

Now that our school is sparkling clean, let's keep it that way!!

CHAPPY’S-CHAT

Happy International Women’s Day to all the girls and women in and with our school

In our own community we have great women who are inspirational.  Some hold signification positions of leadership and are in influential places.  Others don’t get any recognition, but work hard and provide kindness, care and nurture within our families and for others.  Wherever women are positioned, let’s recognise that they make a difference in our lives, are individually significant, and collectively powerful in shaping and making our community a better place.

Chappy Week…

Chappy Week is coming up in week 10 of this term, giving me a great opportunity to interact with students in a bit of fun and highlight Chaplaincy at school.  The major draw card of the week is the annual Treasure Hunt where students can participate in some fun activities, and end up with a chocolate Easter Bunny or non-food decorative egg.  I’ve attached the flyer for this event.

The money raised through the Treasure Hunt for will help to purchase cards, gifts, and flowers that I regularly send when families and staff are needing some encouragement or support through hard times.  It is an important part of my job to be available to make home visits, hospital visits and attend funerals, etc.  Thank you for supporting my fundraising needs.

Jennifer Bennett

SCHOOL BANKING

Remember to bring your school banking in every Thursday. There are some great prizes to earn each term.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Indigenous Garden Project

Are you interested in learning about Indigenous gardens? Parents and children are invited to be part of the Indigenous Garden Project at Yeronga State School. Drop in to help near the new Aboriginal mural (next to the front payment office and tennis courts) from 3.15 - 5 pm on any or all of the following times:

Tuesday 13th March
Tuesday 20th March
Tuesday 27th March

For more information call Ally on 0424 366 183

Souths Sunnybank Rugby League

Have Your Say – Villa St & Park Rd Yeronga

Warehouse Book Sale

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