22 November 2018

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL REPORT

Student Leadership Process

This week we finalised the process for selection of School Captains 2019. Last Thursday our twelve shortlisted candidates presented their speeches to staff and students in year three to six. We were very impressed with the quality of all candidates and their speeches were all well written and gave us insight into them as unique individuals. Voting was finalised on Monday of this week and I am pleased to announce that the school captains for 2019 will be Morgan Jennings and Liam Cook. The vice captains will be Georgia and Hamish. Congratulations to these four students who I am sure will be great ambassadors for Yeronga State School next year.

Senior Swimming Carnival

This week we held our senior swimming carnival and it was a successful and fun day for all involved. Thanks to all staff and parents who helped out on the day and especially to Cameron Bateman for his organisation of the event. A highlight of the day was the staff and student relay – I am sure this will become an annual event!

Big Play

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending Yeronga`s Big Sing. The choirs, conducted by Lauren Easey, all performed beautifully and it was lovely night. This Friday it is the Bands` turn with Yeronga`s Big Play being held in the Yeronga State High School Hall, beginning at 6:00pm. I am sure it will be another impressive showcase of the work the music department does here at Yeronga and all members of the community are welcome to attend.

International Men`s Breakfast

Thanks to Ruth Bennett and Aaron Hartin who organised a breakfast this week for the men in our community to mark International Men`s Day. Paul Kemp, the invited speaker, was very well received by the group and we thank him for taking the time to support our school.

Carmel Herbert

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL REPORT

On Sunday 11 November our School Captains participated in a Ceremony to mark Remembrance Day and 100 years since the end of World War One. This moving ceremony was held by the Stephens RSL branch in the Yeronga Memorial Park. Congratulations to Minna in Year Six, who was selected to read her poem, which was the winning entry in the annual writing competition run by the Stephens RSL.

The Disco’s held last week were a great success, with over $1500 raised as a donation for the Red Cross Farmer Appeal. It was a fabulous combined effort and our thanks go to the Student Council, the supervising staff and the Tuckshop volunteers for ensuring that the night ran so smoothly.

It was tremendous to be a part of the Senior Swimming Carnival held at the Yeronga Pool on Tuesday. The students participated with enthusiasm, with many pushing themselves beyond their expectations. Congratulations to all who were involved and a sincere thank you to the parents who volunteered and contributed so much to the success of the carnival. We can’t wait to be a part to the Junior Swimming Carnival being held next week.

The recent Remembrance Day commemorations held by the Stephen’s RSL branch were a memorable way to mark one hundred years since Armistice and the end of World War One. Our School Captains were a part of the wreath laying ceremony and Minna from Year Six shared her winning entry from the recent writing competition with the crowds gathered at Yeronga Memorial Park. It was certainly a remarkable and moving occasion.

Student Resource Scheme

We understand that there has been some uncertainty around which items need to be brought in by students who will be participating in the Student Resource Scheme for 2019. Please see the table below which outlines what students are required to bring to school, if they are participants in 2019.

Classroom Awards

We look forward to sharing the excitement of the forthcoming annual awards at both the Junior Awards Ceremony (9am Thursday 6 December) and the Senior Awards Ceremony (9am Thursday 13 December). It will be wonderful to recognise the efforts our students in meeting their learning goals throughout 2018. The new criteria for the awards are listed below. It is important to note that the total ratings are cumulative across Semester One and Two.

Academic Awards

Effort Awards

Citizenship Award – Walker Award

Save the Date

Prep Christmas Concert

We look forward to you attending the Prep Christmas Concert which will be held in the hall on December the 7th at 9am. The children are all very excited to perform in front of an audience.

Enjoy the remainder of Term 4 - we have so much to look forward to!

Kate Paynter and Tracy Freeman

P & C REPORT

pandc@yerongass.eq.edu.au

P&C Committee:

Next year a number of the current P&C Executive are moving on so we will be looking for some enthusiastic people to join the team. The Executive are not mythical all powerful people but simply people who are keen to support the school by dedicating a bit of time to provide some direction! If you are keen to get involved or want to know a little more please feel free to contact me: jomitchell100@hotmail.com. We're particularly looking for an accountant or someone with accounting experience who may be able to be our treasurer. Our finance officer looks after our books, but we do need someone with an ability to provide a bit of oversight and explain the monthly financial statements to those of us without account knowledge! Please let me, or any of the others on the Executive know if you'd like some more info.

RSL Christmas Fundraiser

This year Yeronga RSL will be having a Christmas party fundraiser to support the school community. Money raised will go towards start-up costs or back to school costs for those in the school who are struggling. By all accounts the Christmas party is a fabulous family event with free face painting, balloons, Santa visit and raffles. Please think of popping in to support this event on Sunday 16 December from 10am.

CHRISTMAS CLEAR OUT - CLOTHES, BOOKS & TOYS

Please put aside any good quality clothes, toys and books that you may be discarding in preparation for Christmas We will be having a 2nd hand stall at the fete next year and would love your goodies!

We will start collecting items early in Term 1 and will have collection points at school to make it really easy to donate so get packing!

Jo Thompson

Uniform Shop

Uniform Shop Hours for early 2019

Please see below the uniform shop hours for early 2019.

Wednesday 23rd of January 2019 – (9am-12pm)
Friday 25th of January 2019 – (9am-12pm)
Tuesday 29th January [First day back at school] – (8.30am – 9.30am & 2.30pm-3.30pm)
Wednesday 30th January 2019 – (8.30am -9.30am)
Thursday 31st January 2019 – (8.30am-9.30am)
Friday 1st February 2019 – (8.30am-9.30am)
Saturday 2nd February 2019 [Prep BBQ] – (8.00am-11.00am)

If you have any enquiries please email – yerongassuniformshop@gmail.com or Phone 3426 0334

MONEY MATTERS

Gala Day

A credit was raised last week to reimburse parents for the missed Gala Day this semester. This will appear as a negative amount on your statement ie -$6.00. These credits can be applied to your 2019 Student Resource Scheme invoice if you have one.

Statements & Outstanding Payments

Statements will be issued every week until the end of the school year. If you could attend to any outstanding payments for 2018 it would be greatly appreciated. Please note that if you have a credit it will appear as a negative amount ie -$10.00 etc. If you are in credit your statement will show the word “Debtor Statement”. Unfortunately we are unable to change the terminology used by One School Finance.

Staff Parking

A reminder that staff car parks are NOT to be used to drop your children off in the mornings. Doing so creates a safety issue especially when staff are entering at the same time that vehicles are trying to exit. With the bus stop and pedestrian crossing being so close to the administration car park congestion creates a reduction in visibility putting our students at risk of injury. Students are also reminded to use the marked path in the administration car park when going to the tennis courts and not walk through the car park. Thank you for assisting us in keeping our students safe.

Nicki Allardyce

FROM THE OFFICE

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.

Dogs on School Grounds

A reminder that dogs are to be on a leash if brought in to the schools grounds. It would also be greatly appreciated if you could use bins outside the school grounds to deposit any droppings that you pick up. Placing these in the empty bins within the school grounds can create a health issue. Your support is appreciated.

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.

International Men’s Day

On Wednesday morning (21st) boys from Year 5 and 6 had the opportunity to get together with their fathers or other significant males in their lives, for a breakfast presentation. This year’s theme was based around ‘Positive Male Role Models’. Many thanks to our guest speaker Paul Kemp who shared with our students a range of positive experiences and challenges he encountered when journeying from work in carpentry to nursing. Allowing our male students to see the opportunities and choices they have, to follow their own interests and talents, was of great value. Thanks also to those who attended on the day at this particularly busy time of year.

Aaron Hartin

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Congratulations on a great year Harvey in 6M

In the words of his mother; “Harvey had a great time on the Bellarine Peninsular. On day one he played a 4 ball ambrose and made 3 big birdie putts to help his team to 3rd place with 8 under. On day two Harvey played really well scoring under his handicap in the wind and placed in the top 10. Day three was a struggle. However he showed great temperament and resilience to keep working right to the end of the round. In the end Harvey finished top 25 in Australia and Qld won the national carnival.

Harvey achieved his sporting goals this year of 3 Met West teams and 1 Qld team. Thanks Yeronga State School for your support.”

Swimming has two more weeks to run

Swimming lessons are being held at the times stated in the permission note with the exception of 4CH and 4J who exchanged their time with 2L and 2W, 4CH and 4J now attend swimming on Tuesdays from 1:45 to 2:30 and 2L and 2W now attend swimming from 12:30 to 1:15.

Please remember to refer to the equipment list on the permission note so that your children have everything they need for their lessons. Children should have a complete change of clothes, swimming togs including a rashie for lessons, goggles (essential), towel, sunscreen, bathing cap (will be supplied), deodorant (for older students) and flip flops or thongs (much preferred). Please remember that, this year, swimming concludes in week 9. We will swim in week 9, but not in week 10 unless there is a behaviour celebration or Break up day swim.

Senior Swimming Carnival

What a great day! Congratulations to Lawson House on their eighth consecutive win of the interhouse shield and also on winning the Kerri McGuire Percentage Trophy. A mighty effort indeed.

Congratulations also to our Age Champions:

Congratulations to our record breaker, Harry in 6N, who broke the 12 years boys Butterfly record set by Daniel Mc in 2010. Well done to Harry on a mighty effort, made remarkable by the fact that he was carrying a hamstring tear at the time.

Thank you

As always with events of this nature thanks are multitudinous. A massive thank you to Sue, Rachel, Charmaine and Kelly in the recording area who carried out their duties without fuss and extremely effectively. They had never taken on these duties before and did so beautifully. Thank you to Josh and Kate who took on a pivotal position this year, as chief timekeeper and carried out those duties effectively with aplomb. Thank you to our many timekeepers and all of those who had supervision duties on a very long day. Thank you to our parents who did a great job officiating. Thanks so much to Mrs Paynter who, as announcer, set the pace of the carnival and acknowledged the achievements of our swimmers very eloquently. Finally thank you to Mr S who began preparations for the carnival the day before and still found time to marshal. He is always a big contributor to these events.

Junior Swimming Carnival

Preparations are being made for this very important event on the Yeronga State School Calendar.

Logistics for Junior Swimming Carnival (Years 1 & 2) and Snow cone day (29 November)!

9am – 10am 1F & 1T

10am – 11am 1P & 1C

11:45pm All of Year 2

1F & 1T must be ready for departure at 8:40am. First events to be marshalled at 9:00am.

1P, 1C must be ready for departure at 9:40am. First events to be marshalled at 10:00am.

Year twos be ready for departure at 11.30pm following a bell at 11:20pm. First events to be marshalled at 11.45pm.

All students will swim in their grade level.

Students will be nominated into races based on their school swimming group.

Finals will not be conducted for any events. All children who participate in the heats will receive place ribbons.

Please turn over (scroll down) for a full list of events.

What to bring to the pool:
Swimming togs, swimming cap, towel, thongs/crocs, water bottle, hat and sunscreen.

Parent helpers:
We need about 6 parent helpers for each time slot. 4 Judges and 2 Ribbon writers. Please see either your class teacher or contact Mr Bateman at cbate12@eq.edu.au if you can assist.

The Rationale:
Due to the large number of students in Year 1, the limited shade available at the venue and the range of swimming ability across the student group, we have tried to create a program that gives all students an insight into what they may experience in the years to come at the senior carnival. We are again using several innovations including mid pool blocks for the kickboard races and noodles to assist students.

Snow cones!!!!!!!!!!

All students will have the opportunity to buy a snow cone for $2. All money needs to be given to the class teacher the day before the swimming carnival. The snow cones will be given out after second break at school, for the year ones when all classes have returned from the pool, and on the following day at first break for the year twos,

Program For Year 1:

Classes (1F & 1T)

• 9am: 25m & 12.5m Freestyle boys and girls
• 9:10am 12.5m Independent kickboard on front boys and girls
• 9:20am 12.5m Assisted kickboard on front boys and girls
• 9:30am 25m & 12.5m Backstroke boys and girls
• 9:40am 12.5m Independent kickboard on back /noodle boys and girls
• 9:50am 12.5m Assisted kickboard on back /noodle boys and girls

Classes (1P& 1C)

• 10am: 25m & 12.5m Freestyle boys and girls
• 10:10am 12.5m Independent kickboard on front boys and girls
• 10:20am 12.5m assisted kickboard on front boys and girls
• 10:30am 25m & 12.5m Backstroke boys and girls
• 10:40am 12.5m Independent kickboard on back /noodle boys and girls
• 10:50am 12.5m Assisted kickboard on back /noodle boys and girls
• # Please note these times are only a guide.

Program For Year 2:

Classes (2T, 2BR, 2W, 2L & 2K)

• 11:45pm: 25m & 12.5m Freestyle boys and girls
• 12:00pm 12.5m Independent kickboard on front boys and girls
• 12:10pm 12.5m Assisted kickboard on front boys and girls
• 12:15pm 25m & 12.5m Backstroke boys and girls
• 12:30pm 12.5m Independent kickboard on back boys and girls
• 12:40pm 12.5m Assisted kickboard on back boys and girls
• 12:45pm 25m & 12.5m Breaststroke boys and girls
• 1:00pm 12.5m Independent noodle boys and girls
• 1:10pm 12.5m assisted noodle boys and girls
• # Please note these times are only a guide.

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.

Next Year’s Early Sporting Trials

It is a little way off just now, but worth noting that there will be a one in seven year change next year (2019) with the Northern Territory hosting National Athletics. Due to this circumstance it is most likely that both the Cross Country and Athletics Carnivals will be held in term one. District Cross Country will be held in week 10 of term 1 and District Athletics will be held in week 5 of term 2. This will mean a considerable increase in the workload for all in term 1 including students. It’s particularly worth noting for those training toward representative honours in Athletics and Cross Country.

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

Yeronga State School Junior Swimming Carnival (Years 1 & 2) – 29 November

Cameron Bateman

CHAPPY’S-CHAT

It’s that time of year. The big clean! I’ve started the dreaded end of year clean-up of my office, filing away important documents, and sorting through what resources to keep and what is no longer needed. I also know that there will be a big job at home over the holidays, helping my children to go through their school things and declutter their rooms.

It’s not very exciting, and it’s even bothersome. However it is a necessary part of life, helping us to be organised and ready for a new year. It helps to complete one year, and allows us to think ahead and be prepared for a new season and new challenges. There’s added value that de-cluttering makes life simpler with less things to manage, clean, and protect.

So what do you need to reorganise and de-clutter? Do you need to get ready for a new season of life? Is it time to let go of some things that are holding you back or weighing you down? Don’t let “things” define who you are or hold more significance than the people in your life. Take some time before the new year to get organised. It might be that you tackle one drawer, one cupboard, one room at a time. And if need be, find a friend to help you do it.

Donations needed…

For those who have already started their cleanup, thank you for the donations received after the last newsletter. I will continue to gratefully accept donations of uniforms, books and stationery to my “giving cupboard” as they are passed on to families needing help with resources. Thanks for your support and generosity.

Jennifer Bennett

Green Team News

Beauty Products Recycling Program

Don’t forget, we are collecting beauty product packaging in the library. Each item recycled will raise cash for our school! Please bring your empty beauty packaging to the library and place them in the recycling box.

The products accepted include skin care, hair care and cosmetics packaging. For a detailed list and examples, please view the attached flyer.

Battery Recycling

We're also still collecting batteries, phones and cords in the big purple bin in the library. Don't let those precious metals go to landfill. Fill up your tiny bin at home and bring them in to be recycled.

Trash Free Tuesday

In order to keep the momentum going from our very successful Nude Food Day and continue our new good habits, the Green Team have introduced Trash Free Tuesday. Just like Nude Food Day, the aim of Trash Free Tuesday is to encourage families to do their best to send food to school without packaging (nude food). This helps our school look tidier and empowers students to make conscious choices about what they eat and encourages them to think about their impact on the environment (and their health).

Ruth Bennett

SCHOOL BANKING

Remember, to bank every Thursday to earn some great prizes.

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