17 August 2018

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL REPORT

Every day counts, every minute counts

Does arriving late for school impact on your child’s education?

Small amounts of time do add up. Please help your child/ren arrive on time to school, so they are ready to start the day and are engaging in the morning routines.

Having frequent days off does impact on academic progress.

Every day does count so when children are well please ensure they are turning up at school every day, ready to learn.

Parent-Teacher Interviews

Over the last two weeks our teachers have been holding parent teacher interviews. These interviews have provided a great opportunity for teachers to discuss with parents the progress of students. Information shared by both teacher and parent is critical to develop next steps in learning that will ensure students are reaching their potential. Thank you to parents who took the opportunity to meet with teachers and thank you to teachers for giving up their own time to conduct these interviews.

Soccer Success

In the past weeks Yeronga State School has had success in both the boys and girls Met West Soccer. Hamish Curness and Alex McShane have coached their respective teams to victory in the regional competition and they will now go on to play in the South East Queensland championship. Both teachers commented on the great behaviour and sportsmanship of the students. Well done to Hamish and Alex and their teams.

Welcome

This week our new deputy Tracy Freeman joins the Yeronga team. Tracy will work in the P-1 area and comes to us from Graceville State School. I know the community will make Tracy feel very welcome as she settles into her new role.

Carmel Herbert

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL REPORT

It’s been a jam packed first week for Tracy, as she has sought to make the acquaintance of the students and staff at Yeronga State School, who have made her feel very welcome.

Over the last few weeks we have enjoyed a multitude of additional experiences here at Yeronga State School including the Life Education Van being on site, a Year One Fire Services visit, Chappy’s Movie Night and the Year 5 ‘Hoodwinked’ excursion to Pullenvale. This is all in addition to continuing to build on our main focus here at Yeronga, which is creating students who are literate, numerate and curious.

Adopt A Cop

Our school has been extremely fortunate to gain a new ‘Adopt A Cop’. Constable Mekilah Acworth from the Annerley Police Station has agreed to come on board as our new ‘Adopt A Cop’.

A formal adoption ceremony will be held for Constable Mekilah in the coming weeks. Her job as an ‘Adopt A Cop’ at YSS will be to build rapport and fulfil an educational role within our school. This may include delivering classroom presentations, sharing specialist knowledge and skills with students and staff, attending key school events, addressing school assemblies and conducting informal ‘drop in’ visits.

We are thrilled to welcome Constable Mekilah to our community and hope that all students at Yeronga State School enjoy having her involved in many of our future school activities.

Life Education Van

We have certainly benefitted from the recent visit to our school by Harold the Giraffe and the Life Education Van. Our students have engaged with a number of important topics including keeping yourself healthy, influences of food choices and the benefits of an active lifestyle, building friendships and caring for others, Cybersafety, understanding medicine and its safe use, positive communication strategies for managing conflict and expressing feelings. The overall aim of the Life Education program is to motivate and empower students to make smart choices for a healthy future.

School Opinion Survey

It is that time of year again when the annual School Opinion Survey is being conducted. This survey is undertaken with the purpose of gaining the opinions of parents/caregivers, students and school staff about important aspects of schooling. The survey is designed to help the school identify what we do well and what we can improve. The survey was distributed to families during Week Three and will remain open until Friday 24 August 2018.

We look ahead to an exciting few weeks on the horizon, with the Prep students heading to Toohey Forest for their first excursion and preparations for Gala Day on Friday 24 August.

Have a wonderful week!

Kate Paynter and Tracy Freeman

Deputy Principal - Tracy Freeman

I would like to take this occasion to introduce myself. My name is Tracy Freeman and I am the new P-1 Deputy Principal. In my past, I have had the privilege of working as the Master Teacher at Graceville State School and Acting Deputy Principal at Fig Tree Pocket State School. My work over the last three years has been predominantly based in all things Reading, Writing, Spelling and Curiosity and Powerful Learning. It is wonderful to see students developing a love for reading, being able to decode texts and then transfer these skills into their writing whilst adopting a curious and inquiring approach.

So far this week, I have had the opportunity to visit all the wonderful Prep and Year 1 classrooms and hope to visit the classes in the rest of the school by the end of this week. Thus far, the students and the teachers have made me feel very welcome and I am looking forward to learning more about the Yeronga State School community in the coming weeks. So if you see me in my travels please don’t hesitate to come and say hello.

P & C REPORT

pandc@yerongass.eq.edu.au

P&C Meeting

The next P&C meeting will be held next Tuesday 21 August at 7pm in the Resource centre. Please come along if you can to hear what's been happening in the school community.

Trivia night

Doh! It's nearly trivia night and we still have tickets left!!!

Make sure you're not sitting at home plotting world domination like Sideshow Bob on the 24th August. Book your tickets on flexi schools now!

We are also looking for donations of door/spot prizes for the trivia night. Please email brooksandmchutchison@raywhite.com if you are able to help.

It'll be fun diddly fun...

Father's Day Stall

Our annual Father's Day Stall will be held on Thursday 30th August. Children can now bring in their gifts for the stall, costing approximately $5 value. This year, if you are unsure what to buy, you can donate $5 in a sealed envelope and the stall coordinators will purchase the gift for you on your behalf.

On the day children bring in a donation of $3 and are able to choose a gift from the stall for their significant person.

If you have any questions or would like to help on the stall please contact Kristen kristenmjennings@gmail.com

Fun Run

We’re three weeks out from our School Fun-Run! We hope students are working hard towards their fundraising goals!

The School Fun-Run is a healthy fundraiser that we hope you’ll get behind. The event sends the right message to students about having fun while being healthy, all while helping the school raise funds.

We’re looking for all students to participate and since it is just before Fathers Day we’re organising a great day for our kids and their families, so we’d love everyone to come down on the day.

Thanks for supporting the school and we hope to see you at the event!

Student run times are:

• 9.15 am - 9. 45 am: Grade 1-3 run (as many laps + obstacles as they want in 30 min)
• 9.45 am - 10.15 am: Preps run (as many laps + obstacles as they want in 30 min)
• 10.15 am - 11 am: Grade 4 - 6 run (as many laps + obstacles as they want in 45 min

RACQ Staffroom for Improvement

RACQ wants to reward Queensland’s teachers for all their hard work! Show your appreciation by writing a thank you note to a member of your teaching community. Every thank you note places your school in the draw to win a $20,000 staffroom makeover. Thank you notes can be written by everyone!

Also, two runner-up prizes of a $1,000 eftpos gift card are up for grabs and the school with the most entries will receive a $1,000 eftpos gift card. So, let’s get everyone saying ‘thank you’ to our amazing teachers. Terms and conditions apply.

Visit the link below to enter.

Coles Design-A-Bag Competition

Coles are giving all primary and secondary school students across Australia the opportunity to design the new range of Coles reusable shopping bags and win fantastic prizes.

Each selected bag design will be rewarded with $5000 for your school to spend on an environmental or sustainability project, plus a $500 Coles Gift Card awarded to the student who created the winning design. No less than 7 amazing bag designs will be selected.

Jo Thompson

MONEY MATTERS

The following invoices are now due. Please use BPoint or QParents to finalise these amounts as soon as possible.

Nicki Allardyce

FROM THE OFFICE

Life Education Van

The parent session for Life Education will be held on Monday 20 August at 1.45pm. The Life Education Van is located next to the administration building in the senior school.

Magpie Nesting Season

It’s magpie nesting season! Please be aware of swooping magpies that have nested in the school grounds over the coming weeks.

Notifying of Student Absence

Please remember to advise the school of all student absences by 8.30am. We cannot assume students are attending sporting events, open days etc so please ensure these are also reported. Our preferred way to receive this information is through QParents. Once you have set up your QParents account, you can download the app and advise an absence from your phone or IPad, as well as from your computer. You can also advise absences in advance i.e long weekends, holidays, off campus activities.

Run Club

Mr Sutherland is holding Run Club on Friday mornings from 8am. Come along to the senior oval and join in the fun and improve your fitness. All age groups are welcome.

Chicken Pox

We have been advised that there have been some cases of Chickenpox in our school community. Please find below information regarding Chickenpox as issued by the Department of Health.

Signs and Symptoms

The disease starts with cold-like symptoms such as a mild fever, headache, runny nose and cough. A day or two later a rash begins, starting as small pink blotches but rapidly progressing to itchy blisters which usually last three to four days before drying out and turning into scabs.

Transmission

Chickenpox is spread through coughing, sneezing and direct contact with the fluid in the blisters of the rash. The dry scabs are not infectious. An individual with Chickenpox is infectious for about one to two days before the onset of the rash and until the blisters have all scabbed, usually four to five days.

Exclusion from School (if infected)

Exclude until all blisters have dried. This is usually at least five days after the rash first appeared in non-immunised children, and less in immunised children.

If you suspect that your child has Chickenpox please advise the school office.

MUSIC

2019 Instrumental Music Recruitment

As some of you may be anticipating, the music staff are now preparing to recruit new strings and band instrumentalists for 2019. The first stage of this process begins next week when students from Years 2 and 3 will sit a music aptitude test. This test will be conducted by Mrs Easey during classroom music lesson time. Any students who are absent on this day will be provided with the opportunity to sit a make up test during the following week. This test is used to determine the strengths/weaknesses of each child’s aural skills and requires children to take note of any similarities or differences in the pitch, rhythm, harmonies and melodies in music that is played to them.

The data collected from these tests is combined with the semester one Classroom Music results to generate a list of students who would be recommended to join the Instrumental Music Program. These students will be sent an invitation/recommendation to attend the Instrumental Music Recruitment Information Night which will be held on Thursday, September 13 at 6pm in the Yeronga State School hall. I must stress that if your child does not receive an invitation to attend the Information Night, it does not automatically mean that your child is ineligible to be accepted into the Instrumental Music Program. You are still more than welcome to attend the Information Night to hear about how the Program operates, to meet our Instrumental Music teachers and to submit a consent form allowing our Instrumental Music teachers to physically test your child out on an instrument.

After the Instrumental Music Recruitment Information Night, students whose parents/guardians have returned consent forms will be physically tested by the Instrumental Music teachers to determine which instrument/s would be the most physically appropriate for each student. Classroom teachers will also be given the opportunity to supply information on how reliable, responsible and capable students are and therefore, how they will go with handling the extra workload that learning an instrument brings. Ensemble balance is also carefully considered when allocating instruments, successful students are offered an instrument they are physically and musically best suited to.

Our Instrumental Music teachers are allocated a set number of hours to teach at Yeronga State School from Metropolitan District and therefore enrolment numbers in the Instrumental Music Program are limited and highly sought after.

Offers of Acceptance into the 2019 Program will be sent out midway through Term 4.

As you can see, this process is rigorous and well-planned. This is because when a child takes a place in the Instrumental Music Program, it is understood that they have agreed to be a member until their graduation in Year 6. Therefore, we aim to select students who are ready, willing and able to undertake this long-term commitment.

Should you have any questions or concerns about this recruitment process, please do not hesitate to email Mrs Lauren Easey at leeas0@eq.edu.au

Instrumental Music

Congratulations to the following Year 5 and 6 Instrumental Music students who have been nominated for the Southside Senior Music Camp! We wish you every success for your application. Results will be announced in week 5.

Flute - Katherine.Z, Lincoln.Q, Swaroop.G, Raz.P; Clarinet - Leila T-M, Kate.M, Morgan.J, Tessa.C, Cameron.W; Saxophone - Lauren.G, Catherine.K, Liam.C; French Horn - Alex.P; Trombone - Jared.O, Georgia.M; Euphonium - Noah.W; Percussion - Hamish.D, Chloe.F; Violin - Rose G., Oscar S., Hannah C., Veronica H.; Viola - Abbey W., Cairo V.; Cello - Tiggy T.; Double Bass - Corey S.

Yours in Music,

Lauren Easey, Mrs Robyn Rosewarne, Mr Alex Grodecki, Mrs Tamsyn Eastgate

RESOURCE CENTRE

Rescue a Book Sale

The library has had a cull and there are lots of books that need new homes. Every day this week (excluding Wednesday public holiday) your child can come to the library and purchase an old library book for just 10c. The Library will be open from 8am to 3:30pm. So please come on in and rescue a book.

Happy Reading,

Mrs Hage and Mrs Cowie.

SPANISH

Welcome to week 5 of term 3 here is a short snaps of the learning happening in Spanish, and a reminder to parents and caregivers we will be running a Languagenut information session next Monday 20th August at 4:30pm in the Spanish classroom.

Parent Information session
Monday 20 August 2018 at 4:30pm
Spanish classroom

Prep

This term we are learning to identify and describe clothes. Froggy is helping them to describe what he is wearing but there is a very important item that he forgets to put on and your child will be able to tell you what it is.

Year 1

This term we are learning to describe zoo animals, using our knowledge of colours, body parts and sizes.

Year 2

This term we are learning to describe rooms in a house. Their task is interactive, using Scratch Junior to illustrate a house and its rooms, adding text to complete the description.

Year 3

This term we are learning to describe ourselves. Students will be focusing on writing a text describing a portrait of themselves, a family member or a friend. Expect to hear “head, shoulders, knees and toes” in Spanish.

Year 4

This term we are learning about daily routines. Paying attention to their own routines during the week will help them construct a coherent text. Do not be surprised if while pouring milk over cereal your child says “Desayuno”. The question is what comes first, “me visto” or “desayuno”?

Year 5

This term in Year 5 we are learning about the importance of Spanish around the world, locating Spanish speaking countries and learning about their cultures going on “Cultural Journeys”. They will research information on a country of their own choice and create a brochure to invite people to travel to that destination.

Year 6

This term in Year 6 we are going on “Cultural Journeys” to learn about countries where Spanish is spoken, recognising it as a global language, discovering and discussing cultural and natural icons. The students will research information on a country of their own choice and create a PowerPoint presentation on this country.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Well Done Harry C

Harry C has just finished competing at the Qld Touch Championships. His team placed fifth and Harry earned a man of the match award. Well done Harry! It was a special time for Harry as his Dad Mr C was coaching the Regional Girls Team and could come to watch Harry occasionally.

Qld Football (Soccer) Congratulations Joe!

Our 2017 School Captain Joe K was recently selected in the 10 -12 Years Qld Schools Football (soccer) team. This is a massive achievement and one thoroughly deserved. Joe will participate in the National Championships in Sydney later this year.

Athletics Training

Athletics training will continue on Monday afternoons (3:15 to 3:45) and Thursday mornings (8 to 8:30) until the Met West Athletics Carnival.

District Athletics Team

Congratulations and best wishes to our District Athletics Team members. May they achieve as many PB’s as possible gain selection for the Region. Our District Athletics Team members are: 12 Years Margaret G, Harry C, 11 Years: Archie S, Alexander P, Chloe F, Olivia C, 10 Years Ben C, Antonia M, Elesi G, Juliet W and Lizzie H.

Congratulations again and keep training!

Gala Days (10 to 12 Years Students)

Do not forget to return your permission forms as soon as possible for Gala Days and to stay alert for practice sessions. It is important to show commitment to your team and, of course to hone your skills. Remember that Gala Day one will be on 24 August.

Eastern 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.

Ball Games 2018

Please do make some time to attend our ball games carnivals this year. They are uniquely enjoyable events, played in great spirit, that pit class against class for sporting and fashion supremacy.

Ball Games Program 11 September 2018

9:20: Prep to Year 2

Year Two Mixed Heat One
Under Over Ball, Tunnel Ball & Take & Put
Year One Mixed Heat One
Under Over Ball, Tunnel Ball & Take & Put
Year Two Mixed Heat Two
Under Over Ball, Tunnel Ball & Take & Put
Year One Mixed Heat Two
Under Over Ball, Tunnel Ball & Take & Put
Year Two Mixed Heat Three
Under Over Ball, Tunnel Ball & Take & Put
Year One Mixed Heat Three
Under Over Ball, Tunnel Ball & Take & Put
All Prep Mixed Heat (Approximately 10:30)
Under Over Ball, Tunnel Ball & Take & Put

Years 3 to 6: 11:45: Years 3-6

Year 3 Mixed Heat One
Tunnel Ball, Leader Ball & Captain Ball
Year 4 Mixed Heat One
Tunnel Ball, Leader Ball & Captain Ball
Year 5 Mixed Heat One
Tunnel Ball, Leader Ball & Captain Ball
Year 6 Mixed Heat One
Tunnel Ball, Leader Ball & Captain Ball
Year 3 Mixed Heat Two
Tunnel Ball, Leader Ball & Captain Ball
Year 4 Mixed Heat Two
Tunnel Ball, Leader Ball & Captain Ball
Year 5 Mixed Heat Two
Tunnel Ball, Leader Ball & Captain Ball
Year 6 Mixed Heat Two
Tunnel Ball, Leader Ball & Captain Ball
Year 3 Mixed Heat Three
Tunnel Ball, Leader Ball & Captain Ball
Year 4 Mixed Heat Three
Tunnel Ball, Leader Ball & Captain Ball
Year 5 Mixed Heat Three
Tunnel Ball, Leader Ball & Captain Ball
Year 6 Mixed Heat Three
Tunnel Ball, Leader Ball & Captain Ball

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

Girls AFL Regional Trial 21 August

Girls Cricket District Paper Nominations 22 August

Gala Day 1 – 24 August

Regional Athletics August 28 & 29

Boys 10 – 12 Regional Cricket September 3 & 4

Girls 10 – 12 Regional Cricket September 12

Gala Day 2 – 7 September

YSS Ball Games (Years P – 6) – 11 September

Gala Day 3 – 19 October

Gala Day Reserve Day – November 2

Cameron Bateman

CHAPPY’S-CHAT

Thank you for your support of Chappy’s Movie Night. It was well attended and a great night out for our families. I hope you had as much fun as me!

Last week I was away at the annual Chaplaincy Conference where I was with 700 other Chaplains from across Queensland and ACT. I came away feeling very encouraged and inspired by some great speakers, including Daniel Flynn from the social enterprise, Thankyou which has given more than $5.5 million to help end global poverty. If you haven’t heard his story, check out the link below.

I also had lot of opportunities to network with other Chappies in my region and beyond, hear some great stories and find out about different programs they offer in their schools. I also went to electives covering topics of pastoral care conversations, anxiety and school refusal, and accelerated student leadership. It was a great week of learning and growing my skills to ultimately be a better help at our school.

Financial Assistance for Back to School in 2019

The St Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies) is offering assistance to parents of primary school students to pay for basic back-to-school items including uniforms, text books, and resource levies needed in January 2019. Applications CLOSE on 28 September 2018.

What families are Eligible? A parent with a CRN (Centrelink Reference Number) who is in receipt of Family Tax Benefit Part A and has children noted on their Centrelink Income Statement. Please phone the Vinnies HelpLine (1800 846 643 or on 3010 1096) or come and see me for more help.

Upcoming events…

21/9 96Five School Excursion (with Chappy Pancakes)
27/11 Sub and Drink Deal
27-28/10 Camp at School with Dad

Blessings,
Chappy Jenny

GREEN TEAM

‘You can be a hero like BW Man and recycle all your old batteries!’

Mathew and BW Man from Battery World at Rocklea visited our assemblies the past two weeks to introduce our new battery recycling program. A big, purple wheely bin has been placed inside the library to collect dead batteries for recycling. Everyone should have taken home a teeny tiny version of the purple bin to collect old batteries. Please make sure children know that this is not a toy and that batteries can be dangerous so the bin needs to be kept up high away from small children and pets. See the link for all the types of batteries, phones and chargers, etc that can be recycled in this purple bin!

NUDE FOOD DAY is back. Get ready to nude up your food in 2018!

In order to make another fabulous bottle top artwork for Nude Food Day, Liby Elcome, our resident artist, would like everyone to start collecting bottle tops. But she doesn’t just want ordinary old milk bottle tops (although they’re great too), she’d love some really unique tops like soy sauce fish tops (the tiny red ones) and all kinds of different sizes. Please place the washed bottle top lids in the little bin at the tuckshop (on tuckshop days, Wed, Thurs and Fri).

SCHOOL BANKING

Remember to bank every Thursday to earn some great prizes.

Please note there will be no banking on Thursday 30 August due to Father’s Day Stall.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Holland Park State High School Open Morning

Come and Try Water Polo

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