28 February 2019

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL REPORT

RECOGNISING OUR INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY

Did you know that Yeronga State School has a rich history of acknowledging and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture? We now have a volunteer parent working group who are reinvigorating this and our school is committed to taking steps to honour the experience and culture of Indigenous peoples through sharing opportunities and information with you.

So watch this Newsletter space each fortnight for information about your local area, language, reminders about significant dates and ways that you can be involved.

We would love to connect with other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander families. Just say ‘Hi’ by contacting Helen Hynd - Ph.: 0411 027 212 Email: hel_hynd@hotmail.com

P&C Executive

The P&C AGM saw the election of a new P&C Executive for 2019. I would like to congratulate Kym Mansfield and Hamish Townsend for their willingness to be Co-Presidents this year. They will be ably supported by Dareen Cosgrove and Anna Rumpau as Vice Presidents. Julia Connors is the Correspondence Secretary and Sarai Buy is the Treasurer. Thank you all for your commitment to our school and we hope you find it very worthwhile.

P&C Contribution to School 2019

The P&C budget was tabled last Tuesday night and it was exciting to hear over $100 000 planned contribution to the school for the year. Air Conditioning, Nature Play and Instrumental Music program are the targets for this funding. We are grateful to the P&C and parent community for this contribution. The partnership between parents and the school helps us to provide quality learning and play resources for our children.

CHILD SUPPORT

We currently have children in our care desperately needing stable placement through child safety. We know that stable home environments help children be successful. If you have ever thought about being a foster parent, it would be lovely if you could contact us to obtain some details about how to go about this process.

Metro Choral Honours Program

We are very proud to announce that Yeronga State School has had 4 students in Year 6 who have been accepted into the Metro Choral Honours Program for 2019. These students were selected from among nearly 200 nominations. Congratulations to all the students who were nominated.

• Xanthe G
• Morgan J
• Jerusha M
• Cameron W

We know they will have a wonderful time attending the program.

Debbie Spanner
Principal

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL REPORT

It’s been a terrific two weeks at Yeronga State School as we have continued to focus on building connections and priming positivity within our school community. Chappy pancakes provided a yummy treat for us to enjoy and our Leadership Induction Ceremony was a marvellous occasion acknowledging our 2019 student leaders.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent teacher interviews are a wonderful opportunity for you to meet with your child’s teacher to discuss their progress and learning goals for the year.

Interviews will be held during weeks 9 and 10 and an e-mail will be sent during the next fortnight, advising you of how to book.

Parent Information nights

It was wonderful to see so many parents in attendance at the parent information evenings held over the last two weeks. We have received positive feedback from a number of parents who were pleased with the format and information provided.

We continue to welcome your feedback to help us refine these evenings further to ensure they meet the needs of our school community.

Active School Travel - Let’s get active!

The AST Crew launches Active School Travel

Active School Travel’s ‘AST Crew’ of super travellers will be special guests at our Junior assembly on Thursday March 7th 2019. Our students will discover how they can actively travel to school by walking, cycling, scootering, car-pooling or using public transport.

We will have our first Active School Travel Day on Friday 22nd March – so please save the date. Then every Wednesday after that will be our Active School Travel Day. Each child receives a passport and gets a stamp once a week on Wednesday, when they actively travel to school. The more stamps they accumulate, the more rewards they get! We are also having an inter-class competition, so actively travel with us each Wednesday to join in the fun.

Not only will we all arrive healthier, happier and ready to learn, the streets will be safer with fewer cars. Active School Travel is one of the easiest ways to incorporate physical activity into everyday life for all children. Learning to move is as important as learning to read.

Religious Instruction

Religious instruction (RI) is offered at the school and is beginning in Week 6.

The faith group/s that provide/s religious instructors to deliver an authorised program is/are listed below:

Students are allocated to RI based on information provided by parents on the completed Application for Student Enrolment unless other written instructions have been provided to the school.

Note: This information remains operational unless the parent informs the school otherwise in writing.

Students who are not participating in RI will be provided with other instruction in a separate supervised location. Other instruction must relate to part of a subject area already covered in class and may include, but is not restricted to:

• personal research and/or assignments
• revision of class work such as creative writing or literacy and/or numeracy activities which could include online programs currently accessed by the students of that school
• wider reading such as independent reading appropriate to the student

Parents will be advised of any changes to the RI and other instruction programs to ensure they are able to make an informed decision on their child’s participation.

Free Dress Day

Friday 15 March (Week 7) will be a Free Dress Day. Funds raised from gold coin donations will go towards assisting the Fete Committee in preparing for the 2019 Yeronga State School Fete. The Student Council have decided upon the theme for the Free Dress Day- students are invited to come dressed up as a book or movie character. It’s a fabulous theme with so many options and we look forward to seeing many creative and innovative ideas on Friday 15 March!

Upcoming Events

We would love to see you at our upcoming events during this term.

They include:

• Harmony Day (Thursday 21 March)
• Active School Travel Celebration (Friday 22 March)
• Senior Athletics Carnival (Thursday 28 March) N.B. This is a change of date.

Enjoy the next two weeks!

Kate Paynter and Tracy Freeman

P & C REPORT

IT'S FETE!!

The 2019 Fete is taking shape and it's looking exciting! Mark Saturday the 25th May in your calendars and get set for some busy fun as we band together to create a great day out for the whole family and raise some much needed funds for our amazing school. There will be a lot of activity and communication in the lead up to the big day. To keep you updated and informed, stay on top of it all by liking our fete facebook page and keep an eye on your inbox for messages from your parent rep and the fete newsletter. There will be plenty of opportunities to help out, but if you are feeling like you want to get involved, feel free to reach out, yssfete@gmail.com

FETE LEVY and DONATIONS

In previous years, we leaned pretty heavily on the school community to donate various items to assist with the running of the fete. To keep things simple this year, rather than making multiple requests for various donations (chocolates/drinks/wine etc), all we are asking is for an optional fete levy to help us acquire some of the items needed to create a fantastic event. This is a small amount of $10 per family and saves a lot of hassles all round, so please jump onto flexischools and show your support. Of course we are always looking to re-purpose pots for plant stalls and pre-loved clothes and books for the vintage stalls, so look out for opportunities to clear out some of your junk and make it someone else's treasure! Or if your family runs a business and has something cool to donate to use towards prizes for the raffle or cent auction, we would love to hear from you at yssfete@gmail.com.

Fete News:

The fete committee is gearing up for an awesome fete this year. We are currently seeking sponsors and we need your help to spread the word amongst our local community or your affiliated organisations.

This is great opportunity to get involved, gain exposure and support our school.

pandc@yerongass.eq.edu.au

Jo Thompson

FROM THE OFFICE

Have your details changed?

It is imperative that the office has up-to-date information for parents and emergency contacts. Trying to find current phone numbers may lead to delays in students receiving medication or care that is needed. Ideally one emergency contact should be a neighbour or family friend. The office also issues important messages via email, as well as classroom notices, invoices and online permission forms.

Please take a moment to ensure your details are correct. Parent email address and mobile number, and student address can be updated directly through QParents. If you need to make any changes to or add an emergency contact, please email the office at admin@yerongass.eq.edu.au ensuring student name and class is included.

GREEN TEAM

Green Team news

Our brand new Green Team for 2019 have already begun meeting. They are an enthusiastic bunch who are very passionate about making our school more sustainable. Here's our first event for this year!

Clean up your School Day

Thursday 14th March (during middle session)

Please send along gloves (rubber tipped are best), old tongs or litter pickers with your child/ren on the day to help us clean up and green up our school!

Classes will be asked to spend 20 minutes picking up rubbish in an allocated area. Feel free to come along and help. Just check with your child's class teacher to find out exactly what time they will be out collecting.

Last year, we picked up 21kg of rubbish from around our school. Let’s see if we can beat that number this year because we all know it’s out there! Here's a picture of just one bag of rubbish collected last year (gasp!)

Thank you for helping us make our school clean and green!

SPANISH

Bienvenido a semana cinco/Welcome to week 5.

Our lower primary students have been working hard during Spanish lessons. Here is a look at what we are learning this term.

Prep: Unit 1 Saludos, in this unit, students begin to engage with the Spanish language and culture. They will explore the similarities and differences in greeting others in familiar scenarios such as greeting classmates and teachers at school.

Year 1: Unit 1 Familia, in this unit, students use language to name and describe family members. They will also explore families in Australian and Spanish-speaking cultures.

Year 2: Unit Aprontamos para la escuela, in this unit, students explore language and culture related to routines and preparing for a day at school in Spanish speaking countries and Australia. They will discover what school day is like in a Spanish Speaking country. Students will be creating a school items bilingual book.

Year 3: Unit Mi dormitorio, tu dormitorio, in this unit, students use language to explore bedroom items in Spanish-speaking countries and make connections with bedroom items in their own community. Students will be designing and describing their dream bedroom.

Year 3/4: Unit Mi escuela, in this unit, students will learn vocabulary related to classroom items, school grounds and activities. Students will also use sentence structure to inform about their school.

Prep student’s greetings matching activity.

Year 1 students create family portraits.

MUSIC

WHAT’S GOING ON IN MUSIC?

PREP

In the first week of lessons, the Prep children worked on establishing routines and on developing their performing/listening etiquette (e.g. keeping instruments in ‘rest position’ when they were being handed out, taking turns to sing and play). Students explored finding their high singing voices by reading ‘Let’s Play’ by Henre Tullet. They have since moved on to exploring how instruments can make sound (e.g. tapping and shaking) before practising how to play these instruments to the beat of the songs that they sing and listen to. We have also been doing lots of movement based activities, moving our bodies to the beat of the songs that we sing, creating actions to do on the beat and acting out the stories of songs with lots of fun props (check out Prep 4 showing off their amazing ability to count backwards whilst acting out and singing ‘Alice the Camel’).

YEAR 5

Year 5 have been busy for the first half of this term exploring new rhythmic patterns and descriptive sounds. They have learnt a new simple time rhythm ‘ti-ticka’ which we discovered was used in the Sea Shanty ‘Drunken Sailor’. Year 5 students have also been learning a new time signature (6/8). They have listened to ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran (an excellent and relatively recent example of a song written in 6/8 time) to learn how to recognise and write some of the different rhythmic patterns that are used in 6/8 music. Students have also spent some time appreciating well-known musical works. They have also explored the solo sounds of instruments heard in ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’. Some students made a fantastic connection between this piece written by Tchaikovsky in the late 1800s and ‘Hedwig’s Theme’ from Harry Potter, recognising that both pieces use the majestic and dreamy sounding Celesta to perform the melody.

CHOIR NEWS

Congratulations to Year 6 students, Jerusha, Morgan, Cameron and Xanthe for being accepted into the 2019 Metropolitan Choral Honours Program. There was an excellent range of students who nominated for the program and these four students were accepted along with 106 other students from various Metropolitan State Schools. The Choral Honours camp runs from March 25 – 27 and gives students the opportunity to participate in an extension choral activity under renowned Choral Directors and to meet and interact with music/choir students from other schools. The camp culminates with a combined performance at the Old Museum Building on the night of March 27.

Lauren Easey
Music Specialist

iPads

iPads at Yeronga

This week I will answer some frequently asked questions.

What iPad do we recommend and why?

We recommend the latest ipad with a 128g memory. The reason for this is that ipads work well within the Education Queensland network. Teachers only have one type of technology to deal with which makes troubleshooting easier and allows them to do more teaching and less troubleshooting. Having the newest iPad means that you will get better longevity out of your iPad.

Have the largest amount of memory that you can afford. Students make presentations with a variety of multimedia, which takes up space. They also like to record their learning and revisit past videos or audio clips. iPads that can load IOS 11 and above have the capacity to add features like the classroom app. If you have two iPads at home, blue tooth is on and you are on the same network, using this app you can view your child’s screen, lock their screen, lock them into one app.

Can any parent make use of the offers from our service providers?

Yes, these offers apply to anyone connected to the school. All Apple product providers can offer a student discount. JB Hifi has set up a purchasing portal for parents at our school use code YERSSBYOD2019.

What Apps do we recommend?

We recommend that students use apps that allow them to communicate their thoughts, ideas and be able to create their own new knowledge. Examples of these are the Apple suite Pages, Numbers, Garage Band, iMovie, Keynote and Clips. These are free with any new iPad.

Book creator for ipad
Stop motion studio
Green screen by do ink
Languagenut

Is the YSS my own device facebook page only for parents in the BYOD levels?

No any parent from this school can join the page. This is where we use the collective knowledge of all our parents. I can also communicate recommendations about ipads and ipad use, including nifty strategies for reducing screen time.

Debbie Cowie

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Cross Country Training

Cross Country Training has begun with the climax being the Junior School Cross Country on 8 May. Sessions will be on Mondays from 7:45 to 8:15 and Tuesdays from 3:15 to 3:45 with Mr Bateman and Fridays 7:45 to 8:15 with Mr Sutherland. These sessions are run free of charge.

A wise man said; “a run a day”. Not only has this maxim filled our trophy cabinets with district cross country trophies, but it has also meant that children wanting to participate in other sports had the baseline fitness that made those other sports easier. Following that maxim meant that coaches could concentrate much more on skills.

Gala Days

Gala Days are well and truly on the horizon. Options include Boys and Girls Football (What used to be called Soccer), Rugby League and Girls Softball and Teeball. The dates for these very important days are, weather permitting, 8 March, 22 March and 31 May. Children need to commit to training from this point as they will be required to attend 3 Gala Days.

Met West Swimming

Congratulations to the following swimmers for their performances at Met West Regionals. They are: Milly B, Eadie B, Georgie B, Hayden C, George H, Will G, Georgia M, Ellyana A, Cameron W, Liam C, Charlie V and Matilda S.

Congratulations again to the following students who were selected in the Met West Regional team; Hayden C, Charlie V, Eadie B, Georgie B and Matilda S.

Swimming

Swimming for years 1 and 2 has begun and will finish in week 8 (a total of five weeks). Students need goggles, a rashie, togs, towel, sturdy bag, spare underwear & Flip Flops (thongs).These sessions provide high quality swimming instruction across the school. We will be implementing 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 2 to enhance childrens’ competence in Aquatics. Not only are these children being given expert stroke correction in small ability specific groups, but also water safety knowledge and skills. These lessons will cost $7.50 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.

Athletics Carnival

The Yeronga State School Athletics Carnival has been brought forward one term from our usual June date to 28 March. This date is a direct impact of National Athletics being held in Darwin.

As with all of these events we would like to extend an invitation to all parents to attend this carnival. Additionally we would very much appreciate some help in officiating on the day. Last year we had a very healthy contingent of parents assisting which made the carnival a very smooth operation. If you can spare some time it would be most appreciated.

Athletics Selection Trials (Years 3 to 6)

These have commenced and the following schedule informs students and parents what will be happening in the remaining weeks. These trials are held to select the finalists and relay teams from each House for our Senior Athletics Carnival.

Senior Cross Country Day Helpers

A great big thank you to our teachers. They have again carried out their duties at the cross country in an exceptional manner.

Many thanks for our wonderful volunteers this year. Our volunteers help greatly to make this event run smoothly.

Yeronga State School Senior (Years 3-6) Athletics Carnival Day 28 March (changed from 25 March)

As with all of these events we would like to extend an invitation to all parents to attend this carnival. Additionally we would very much appreciate some help in officiating on the day. Last year we had a very healthy contingent of parents assisting which made the carnival a very smooth operation. If you can spare some time it would be most appreciated.

Timetable for the Athletics Carnival

The day will commence at approximately 8:45 with the march past. At 9am the boys field rotations will commence in the following order. Each rotation will take 30 minutes and these rotations will therefore conclude at 11am. While the boys are completing these the girls will be completing the heats and finals of their sprints and 200m events.

At 11:00 there will be a 30 minute lunch break
At 11:30 the girls will complete their field rotations and the boys their Sprint and 200m heats and finals.
At 1:30 there will be a 15 minute break.
At 1:45 the boys' and girls' Gifts will be held
At 2:00 The Relays
At 2:45 The Presentation

The Yerongalympics

This event is a Tabloid sports event comprised of five activities, explained below, which give first turns to children who have been in the least amount of field events.

Activity 1 The Dress up relay

A minimum of 6 children are assembled in line. On the whistle the first child will put the clothes on. They will then go over obstacles around the turnaround marker and back to the team assembly point. Once there they will give the next person in line the clothes and they will have a turn. One point for each person through. Teams keep having as many turns as possible, tallying their points, until the whistle blows to stop. The amount of times the course is completed will equal the amount of points each team has scored.

Activity 2 The Barrel Relay

A minimum of 6 children are assembled in line. On the whistle the first child will put the barrel on its edge and roll it, weaving in and out of the markers, turning around at the turnaround marker and weaving in and out of the markers back to their team. Once there they will give the barrel to the next in line so that they may complete the course. One point is given for each person through. Teams keep having as many turns as possible, tallying their points, until the whistle blows to stop. The amount of times the course is completed will equal the amount of points each team has scored.

Activity 3 The “Every Drop is Precious Relay”

A minimum of 6 children are assembled in line. On the whistle the first child will pick up the cup and run out to the reservoir over the hay bales. Once there they will draw a cup of water and take it back to their bucket and pour it in. When they have completed their turn they will pass the cup to the next person in line. Teams keep having as many turns as possible, tallying their points, until the whistle blows to stop. Markings on the bucket will indicate how many points the team has scored.

Activity 4 Rubber Boot Throwing

A minimum of 6 children are assembled in line. On the whistle the first child will pick up the rubber boot, throw it as close as possible to the target circle. The target will be two circles, one inside the other. The inner circle is worth 10 points and the outer is worth 5 points. Once they have completed their turn by retrieving the rubber boot the first person will pass the rubber boot to the next person in line. Teams keep having as many turns as possible, tallying their points, until the whistle blows to stop.

Activity 5 “Running Cheek to Cheek”

A minimum of 6 children are assembled in line in pairs. On the whistle the first pair place the gator skin ball between their faces. They must weave in and out of the markers and go around the turnaround marker and return to their team weaving in and out of the markers with the gator skin ball between their faces. If the ball should fall they must pick it up before continuing. Each pair through will score one point for their team. Teams keep having as many turns as possible, tallying their points, until the whistle blows to stop.

Yeronga State School (YSS) District Trial Selection Policy Special Consideration (Years 3 to 6)

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 need to possess the advantages of size and speed, as well as skill on most occasions. Selectors will choose 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 compete at 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.

Important Sporting Dates

YSS Athletics Trials: 15/03/2019
District Boys Touch Trial: 7 March
District Girls Touch Trial: 28 February
District 10-12 Years Netball Trials: 7 March
Gala Day One: 8 March
District Hockey: 11 March
YSS (8-12 years) 1500m: 13 March (1:45 – 3:00)
District Boys AFL Trials: 18 March
YSS (8-12 years) Discus Day: 19 March
Regional Basketball Trial: 19 March
District Rugby League Trials: 19 & 21 March
YSS (8-12 years) 800m: 20 March (1:45 – 3:00)
District Boys AFL Trials: 20 March
Gala Day Two: 22 March
YSS (8-12 Years) Senior Athletics: 28 March
Regional Hockey Trial: 2 April
Regional Netball Trial: 2 April
Regional Girls AFL: 3 April
District Cross Country: 4 April

Cameron Bateman

CHAPPY’S-CHAT

Harmony Day…

Harmony Day is a very special celebration in our school, where we acknowledge our cultural differences and celebrate how we successfully come together as a community of people. This year, we will be having both junior and senior assemblies on the one day (junior at 9am, and senior at 1:45pm), both with a flag procession, year level performances, and songs by the junior and senior choir. The assemblies are a very moving and fitting celebration of our cultural diversity, so I hope you can join with us on the day.

Letters have been sent home this week with children selected to carry a flag for Harmony Day, identifying with 81 different nations. The difficult decision on who carries a flag is worked out by determining the oldest child in school with a particular country of birth, and if none exist, then the oldest child with parent’s country of birth. Please understand that there could be many students who are eligible to carry a flag, but not all will have the opportunity given the number of students.

I’m looking forward to another very special day this year.

Still coming up this term….

Other dates to remember…

Blessings,

Jennifer Bennett

SCHOOL BANKING

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

COMMUNITY NOTICES

In Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney we received rave reviews and pleased both kids and parents alike. "multi-generational comedy for all.....must see show" ★★★★★ (Glam Adelaide) and at Perth Fringeworld we received a Best Children's Event Nomination.

To find out more please see - The Brisbane Powerhouse for The Brisbane Comedy Festival called Mr Snot bottom's Stinky Silly Show.

We are currently offering a 25% early booking discount on all ASC 3-day camps which is available to all participants who book by Sunday 17 March 2019. After 17 March, siblings always receive a 15% discount and other discounts are available for groups depending on the number of participants. Further information can be found on our website or by contacting the office.

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