19 April 2018

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL REPORT

I feel very privileged to be acting Principal at Yeronga State School for the first five week of this term while Deb Spanner is at Indooroopilly State School. My substantive school is Runcorn State School, where I have been since 2016. Prior to Runcorn, I was an Internal Reviewer for the School Improvement Unit in town. In that role, I visited over sixty schools in one year, reviewing school performance against the School Improvement Assessment Tool. In this role, I did my greatest learning about schools and I endeavour to use the experience in my school and wherever I go.

The evidence from reviews as conducted by DET, collated and summarised highlights three levers that enable schools to move forward: Planning, Capacity and Data. A planned approach to improvement based on collaboration, clear understanding and a shared focus are key ingredients to successful change. The investment in the teaching and learning contribute greatly to improvement. It is clear that at your school, time and money has been invested in professional development to build on the capacity of staff. Finally, data, the third lever, provides evidence for decision making and future action. Data collection for the sake of data brings no gain, but collecting data with clear purpose of how to use it benefits the agenda. From my brief introduction to this school and from the research that I did prior to coming, it is clear that Yeronga is on a strong trajectory of improvement that is planned for and is based on evidence. Congratulations.

I have enjoyed my first couple of days and have made my way around the school, visiting each of the classrooms. Curiosity and Powerful Learning has been the driving force for this school and a few other high performing schools in the region. In 2015, I came and visited Yeronga State School when this way of teaching and leading a school was first introduced. I have been very curious to revisit and see the changes, three years into the journey. It is very obvious in the older years that students take ownership for their learning and that there is a driving curiosity that underpins what happens in the classroom. I was in a classroom where they could not wait for their new inquiry unit to be shared with them.

Teachers also shared the interesting work that students in Year 2 were doing on the iPads using an app called Book Creator. Active listening processes and respectful debate are real-life skills, learnt today but will be well used in the future.

NAPLAN Testing Time Again

All Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students will soon participate in the annual National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests to assess their skills and understanding in the areas of reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

The tests will be conducted in all state and non-state schools across the country from 15 - 17 May.

An individual NAPLAN report for each child will be sent home later this year. Results provide additional feedback for parents, carers and teachers on how students are progressing in key curriculum areas.

The best way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to reassure your child that NAPLAN tests are just one part of their school program, and to urge them to simply do the best they can.

Further NAPLAN information for parents and carers is available online. Please contact the school if you have any questions about your child participating in NAPLAN testing.

Parking

Thank you to the many people who are using the 2 minute STOP KISS Go zone so well. It is important to move to the bottom of the zone before picking up or dropping off to allow the zone to work efficiently. Please do not do a U-turn in front of this zone as I was very worried to see many near misses, including to adults and children on bikes when people engage in this practice.

We have received descriptions and registrations of cars who do continually park in this zone, leaving their vehicle in the middle of the zone, causing a bottle neck. Please be considerate of others and help keep traffic flowing around our school.

Thank you to everyone for following our direction not to park in the school grounds. You are helping to keep our children safe.

Michelle D’Netto

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL REPORT

Welcome to the new term. We are both eagerly anticipating a positive and productive term ahead. It was heartening to return to Yeronga State School this term, now that we are starting to feel ‘at home’ here. Thank you to the school community for being so welcoming and understanding of our needs as we have made the transition.

Student Free Day

Our staff enjoyed an industrious day of professional learning on Monday. The focus for our learning was on the sharing of practice in the areas Inquiry Learning (in Prep, Year Five and Year 6), Novel Problem Solving in Mathematics (across Year One- Four) and approaches to learning using iPads (in Year Two). We also spent some time focusing on the teaching of writing using the ‘Six Traits of Writing’. Staff will continue to engage in a book study throughout the term, with an aim to continue building on use of best practice in the area of writing.

Cross Country

We look forward to the forthcoming Junior Cross Country event, which is scheduled on the morning of Thursday 3 May. No doubt this will be an exciting event for our Junior School students.

ANZAC Day Ceremony

The Yeronga State School ANZAC Day Commemoration will take place next Tuesday 24 April, starting at 9am. Parents and family members are welcome to join us for this important occasion, which has a long and significant history within our school community. The seating area for parents and family members will be in the area closest to Honour Ave. Students will need to be seated in their allocated class areas by 9am on Tuesday, therefore we ask that all students arrive at school by 8.45am. All students will be required to wear a school hat and full formal uniform (no senior shirts). During the ceremony each class will congregate around one of the trees in Honour Ave and students are able to lay a small posy of flowers.

ANZAC Day March

On 25 April the students of Yeronga State School are welcome to represent our school in the ANZAC Day March. The Anzac Day Parade will start at 7:00 am from outside Yeronga State School, cnr of Honour Ave and Park Rd Yeronga (this is a change of location). The march will travel along Park Road, School Road and Ipswich Road to Yeronga Memorial Park.

Our School Leaders will lay a wreath at the Cenotaph on behalf of Yeronga State School, during the ANZAC Day Memorial Service, which will commence at 7.30am in Yeronga Memorial Park. The entrance to the park is via Frederick St. It would be wonderful to see a large contingent of blue and yellow representing our school at this community event. The Senior Band will also be performing as part of the service. Our senior band will be combining with the Yeronga State High School band Students will need to be dressed in full school uniform and be there by 6.45am ready to march.

Fabulous Facebook Frenzy

It has been fabulous to see a steady increase in the number of Facebook ‘likes’ we have been receiving with every post that goes on to our Yeronga State School Facebook page! We love sharing all of the wonderful features of our school with you.

We are looking forward to being a part of the ANZAC commemoration for the first time at Yeronga SS. We hope to see you there.

Kate Paynter and Marie Robertson

P & C REPORT

pandc@yerongass.eq.edu.au

ANZAC Day

The Anzac Day Ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday 24th April. At the conclusion of the ceremony the P&C organises a morning tea for the visiting dignitaries and invited guests. It would be appreciated if families could contribute a plate of sweet or savoury food for the event. Food can be left in the Senior Staffroom (ground level Admin building). All crockery and containers will be washed and ready for pick up in the afternoon. Please contact Ruth Bennett rbenn127@eq.edu.au or 0403 252 536 if you can help.

Mother’s Day Stall

It is only a few weeks till our annual Mother’s Day stall on Friday, 11th May. This is one of the loveliest fundraisers our school runs so we would love your support to make it another special event.

The way it works: we ask that every child please bring in a gift for the stall of approx. $5 in value. The children then bring $3 to school on the day of the stall and are able to choose a special gift for their Mum.

Please start bringing in your donations to classrooms as soon as possible. Please email Kristen if you have any questions or would like to help on the stall. kristenmjennings@gmail.com.

Next P&C Meeting

Please note that due to holidays and school events there will be no P&C Meeting in April. The next meeting is therefore scheduled for 7pm on Tuesday 15 May in the Resource Centre.

Fete Committee

So far 6 amazing people have put their hands up to start work on planning our 2019 fete however they need more help! Many hands make light work so if you're interested in joining this fabulous group of people or just finding out a bit more about what is involved please send us an email at yerongasspandc@gmail.com.

Chess

Chess classes will now be run on Tuesday afternoons as well as Thursday mornings. If you are interested in enrolling your child please contact Ash at info@chessmates.com.au.

Jo Thomson

MONEY MATTERS

Student Resource Scheme

Instalment payments for the Student Resource Scheme are now due. In accordance with the Terms and Conditions signed as part of the Scheme, regular payments must be made and the amount paid in full by the end of term 3.

Unknown Payment

A payment was made by direct deposit to the school account on 19 March. The reference is Payment MACQM. I am unable to identify which student this is for. If you recall using that reference could you please contact me asap by email nalla6@eq.edu.au or phone 3426 0333.

When making deposits to the school bank account it is important that your child’s name and a reference is included eg ICAS.

Annual Voluntary Contribution

At Yeronga State School we ask that parents of the school make an annual voluntary contribution to supplement Government funding received in the school.

The State Government meets the cost of providing instruction, administration and base facilities. Over the past few years we have been fortunate to receive additional grants and funds raised through the school community which have assisted in providing additional support staff, teaching and learning resources, up to date ICTs, beautifying our grounds and building maintenance.

It is our goal to continually enhance the resources available for student learning, recreation and comfort. We strive to provide these resources through the P&C and the school fund raising activities which, in 2018, includes a voluntary financial contribution as part of these fund raising initiatives.

In 2018 we are asking the families make a contribution of $60 per child. This equates to $15 per term or $1.50 per week, which has the support of our P&C.

These funds will be utilised to create a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) designated space in our Resource Centre for all children to access.

The voluntary contribution can be paid directly to the school by credit card, cheque (made payable to Yeronga State School), cash or by direct deposit to our bank account. If paying by direct deposit please ensure that you put your child’s name as a reference and if possible the letters VC.

BSB: 064-101
Account No: 00090146
Account Name: Yeronga State School General Account.

Your support of this initiative would be greatly appreciated.

Nicki Allardyce

FROM THE OFFICE

Have Your Say On Cyberbullying

Many parents and teachers are concerned about cyberbullying. It is a serious problem that can hurt young people, families and school communities. Cyberbullying is also a complex problem that is often invisible to parents and teachers.

In February the Premier appointed a group of Queenslanders who are passionate about stopping cyberbullying of young people. The Queensland Anti-Cyberbullying Taskforce is chaired by well-known author and commentator, Madonna King, and includes members with knowledge and expertise in education, youth health and wellbeing, law, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, disability and families.

The Taskforce needs your help to develop a framework for Queensland to help reduce cyberbullying of young people. They want to hear from parents, carers, students, teachers and other experts in schools. In particular, the Taskforce wants to hear about your ideas to:

• prevent or reduce cyberbullying
• support people affected by cyberbullying of young people.

How to have your say

Email the Taskforce at antibullyingtaskforce@premiers.qld.gov.au.

Upload your ideas as a submission on the Taskforce website.

Come to a public forum in 12 Queensland locations including Brisbane, Cairns, Rockhampton and Charleville. For information about forums visit the link below.

Everyone can be part of the stand against cyberbullying. Ms King and the Taskforce members look forward to hearing from you.

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.

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 parent permission.

MUSIC

ANZAC Day

The Senior Band will be combining with the Yeronga State High School Band to perform at the ANZAC Day Commemoration on April 25 at the Yeronga Memorial Park. Students will be asked to meet Mr Grodecki at the Cenotaph at 6:45 am wearing the formal school uniform. Permission forms with further information about this performance will be sent home soon.

Year 4 Band Camp

Last term our Year 4 band participated in the Beginners Southside Band Camp. Students had a great time learning new songs and meeting students from other school. They even had time to put together a choir performance as well.

RESOURCE CENTRE

Earn and Learn

Our Earn and Learn stash has arrived. A huge thank you to Cristy Roxburgh for organising the “Earn and Learn” sticker programme. Thank you too to all those parents who collected stickers for our school. We have used the points to be able to get some equipment for our STEM lab. Watch the space in the library be transformed into a STEM lab.

Library News

Welcome back! It is so good to see our young readers back on deck and ready to borrow. We will be hosting a book fair this term in order to get resources for our library. The Book Fair will be on from 29 May until 4 June. More details about shopping times will follow closer to the time.

It was great to see the curiosity projects of students at the end of last term. If they would like to display their projects in the library please bring them in. If they are in digital copy they can be emailed to me at dcowi11@eq.edu.au.

The link below to the world book online which is a safe and age appropriate resource for research. Ask your teacher for the login details.

Deborah Cowie / Faith Hage

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

District Cross Country Team: Wednesday 2 May

Congratulations to the following who have been selected in the Yeronga State School team for the District Cross Country:

10 Years Girls: Antonia M, Lizzie H, Jessa M, Madison M, Elesi G, Isla H, Brooke S (Reserve) and Innes C (Reserve).
10 Years Boys: Sam L, Ben C, Aiden S, Huxley B, Rupert H, Hamish R, Ned W (Reserve) and Jude M(Reserve).
11 Years Girls: Chloe F, Milly B, Kate M, Georgia M, Grace M, Kyla M, Lauren G (Reserve) and Xanthe G (Reserve).
11 Years Boys: Alexander P, Harrison A, Elijah H, Bill S, Archie S, Joshua M, Liam C, Timo S (Reserve) Cameron W (Reserve),
12 Years Girls: Margaret G, Madeleine I, Lucinda M, Isabel W, Alexia S, Liina N, Huong M (Reserve) and Tiggy T (Reserve).
12 Years Boys: Harry C, Harvey P, Corey S, Jared O, Nicholas P, Charlie D, Aiden S (Reserve) and Lachlan R (Reserve)

Remember not to ignore an opportunity to train even if you are a reserve. Training will be held on Monday afternoons at 3:15pm, Thursday and Friday mornings at 8am.

Team members will receive full details in the team permission note. Please be prompt in returning permissions, project consent forms and fees for this event.

Junior Cross Country Day: Thursday 3 May

All children will be expected, unless medically unable, to participate in the Cross Country. All children will run courses that commence and finish inside the school grounds, but also go out into the park.

As there is a chance of a fair amount moisture on the ground, at the very least, on Thursday children would be wise to bring a towel, a fresh uniform and fresh underwear to change into following their race.

ORDER OF EVENTS from 9.15am

1. Boys ALL PREP
2. Girls ALL PREP
3. Year One Boys
4. Year One Girls
5. Year Two Boys
6. Year Two Girls

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.

Gala Days (10 to 12 Years Students)

Gala Days are well and truly nearing the finish line for Boys and Girls Football (what used to be called Soccer) and Girls Softball and Tee-ball. The remaining date for this very important day is, weather permitting, 27 April.

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

District & Regional Trials for 10 to 12 Year Olds Only

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 Boys’ and Girls’ Football: 23 April
District Cross Country: 2 May
District Rugby League: 2 May
District Hockey Trial: 3 May
Regional Netball: 3 May
Regional Rugby League: 3 May
District Tennis: 22 May
District Rugby Union: 28 May
Regional Cross Country: 1 June
Regional Touch Trial: 4 June
Regional Girls and Boys Football: 5 June
Regional Tennis: 5 June
District Girls and Boys Softball: 7 June
Regional Rugby Union: 13 June
Regional Golf: 14 June
Regional Girls Softball: 21 June
Regional Boys Softball: 22 June

School Events

Years 3 - 6

Athletics Trials: 4, 8, 22 & 29 May Reserve Days: 1 & 8 June
Discus Finals: 14 June
800m Finals: 15 June
Senior Athletics Carnival: 19 June

Years Prep to 2

Junior Cross Country: 3 May
Junior Athletics Carnival: 21 June

Cameron Bateman

CHAPPY’S-CHAT

Welcome back to term 2. I’m looking forward to a quieter term after such a busy term 1 with the Baton Relay, Harmony Day, and Treasure Hunt activities as well as my normal pastoral care duties.

The Treasure Hunt theme this year was in keeping with the Commonwealth Games; a “Race for Gold” for the junior school, and a “Decathalon” for the senior school, which were both great fun and enjoyed by many students. The Commonwealth Games was a wonderful event to inspire us and give us opportunity to have many conversations with our children around ideas of dedication, perseverance, teamwork, and tenacity. How were you inspired to be better?

This term, I have a student doing prac placement with me as part of her Master of Education studies at the University of Queensland. Caroline Chiphinga-Mwale is from Malawi and is the Principal Inspector of Schools, reviewing schools across her country in terms of their teaching and curriculum components. She is very interested in learning about the Chaplaincy program in Australia, and hopes to take the model back to Malawi.

I hope you have a great term, and I look forward to supporting you and your family.

Blessings,
Chappy Jenny

Student Council

Thank you from Charlotte

Hi everyone,

On Friday 23rd March, I shaved my head for the World’s Greatest Shave!

I would like to thank Mrs Paynter, Mrs Masselos and the whole Student Council for supporting my idea to do my shave at school. It felt like the whole school turned out to watch. I felt very supported even though I was pretty nervous. Everybody was chanting and cheering me on!

I would like to thank Mr Landbeck (my teacher) and Hamish (2W) for supporting me by shaving their heads too! I was happy to know that I wasn’t the only one shaving my head.

It was awesome to see everybody getting so excited about Crazy Hair Day and showing their support. There were some pretty crazy hairdos.

Thank you to my family and friends who also came along to watch.

Thanks to everybody who donated, either on my page, in the donation box or brought a gold coin donation on the day. I have managed to raise over $3500 for the Leukemia Foundation and the money is still coming in. If you wanted to donate, but haven’t yet, below is a link to my donation page which will be open until June 30.

Everybody loves my new hair-do and I certainly enjoy not having to brush it anymore!

Thanks,
Charlotte

Crazy Hair Day

Congratulations to Charlotte Deayton for participating in the “Shave for a Cure” last term. Charlotte raised over $600 through a ‘Crazy Hair Day” at Yeronga State School and she was able to surpass her total fundraising target. We are very proud of Charlotte’s achievements. It was also very impressive that two other members of the school community, Mr Landbeck and Hamish, supported Charlotte by having their heads shaved too!

ECDP Easter Egg Hunt

On Thursday 29 March our Student Council representatives spent a fun morning at the Early Childhood Developmental Program (ECDP). They brought lots of joy to the young students at the ECDP by organising an Easter Egg hunt.

SCHOOL BANKING

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Holland Park High School - Morning in High School Program

Queensland Schools Table Tennis Championships event information is now available

ACTivate Children’s Club (after school club)

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