Dear Families,

I wish you all a peaceful and rejuvenating break with your family and friends when it comes around next Thursday afternoon. Leading up to the Easter period is a holy period of observance for Christians across the world. One which considers the act of sacrifice and redemption commemorated through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The role of Easter Eggs and Bunny Rabbits can seem a curious manifestation coinciding with the most holy period for Christians. We also know that since pre-historic times people have celebrated the equinoxes and solstices as sacred times. In the northern hemisphere this celebration of spring has many cultural observances and it has been noted that bunnies and eggs are connected with fertility and renewal associated with the seasonal shift from hibernation to rejuvenation. As we come out of a sweltering summer in South East Queensland, I am thinking in Australia, we are celebrating the cooler drier weather of Autumn and the reprieve it brings. Whatever the period means to you, please enjoy happy memory making with the children. Childhood is short.

This coming Monday we celebrate Harmony Day with our parade of nations ceremony. This celebration is a long-standing tradition at Yeronga State School where every nation represented in our school community is acknowledged. This year the ceremony will take place in our outdoor amphitheatre. Please look out for correspondence via Schoolzine regarding the event. We are one and we are many at Yeronga State School.

The 2024 NAPLAN (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy) testing period for year 3 and 5 students is now completed. Student Reports are expected to be available in Term 3. I wish to acknowledge the considerable preparation and delivery of the testing period by Liz Kemp our Head of Curriculum and thank all staff involved. The NAPLAN school and student reports are a valued piece of information contributing to future school planning priorities and individual student progress support plans.

In 2023 Schools were invited to apply for recurrent funding of a Chaplain or Student Wellbeing Officer. Our school community elected to engage a Student Wellbeing Officer instead of a School Chaplain following a period of consultation. I am pleased to inform the community that Jabiru Community Services have been identified as our preferred employing authority for supplying a Student Welfare Worker and are currently in the process of identifying a suitable person for our school. It is our hope our new Student Wellbeing Officer will commence at the start of next term. I will provide more information when the service model is completed and how students may access this valuable support.

It was a pleasure to participate in the first general meeting for the year with our new PandC Executive on Tuesday evening. I was encouraged by the enthusiasm of members and the meeting and optimism and ambition for our school. The past weekend of Trivia Night combined with the Council Election Polling Booth at the school was a successful fundraiser and community connection opportunity demonstrative of the expertise of our PandC. Thank you to all.

Our Quadriennial School Review will take place over Week 5 of Term 2 (14, 15&16 May). The school reviewers will be here for 3 days and will aim to talk with every staff member and as many students and families as possible. School reviews consider a school’s performance against the 9 domains of the School Improvement Tool. The School Improvement Tool recognises the critical roles that principals and their leadership teams play in school communities, and provides a clear road map for improving every school and every student’s results. The tool does not describe everything that effective schools do, but focuses on those practices that are most directly related to school-wide improvement and better outcomes for students. The tool will inform our school reviewer recommendations for the school community when designing the 2025-2028 School Strategic Plan.

I look forward to seeing all back here at school on the 15 April for the start of a great Term 2.

Eunice