Over the last few weeks we have enjoyed a multitude of additional experiences here at Yeronga State School, including the Life Education Van arriving on site, a Year One Fire Services visit, Prep 2020 Information sessions 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.

Instructional Rounds

On Tuesday 6 August we hosted a number of visiting teachers, who came to observe the use of the Inquiry stance in action here at Yeronga State School. It was encouraging to see our staff and students so willing to open up their classrooms to all of the visitors during Instructional Rounds. It was certainly heartening and affirming to hear all of the glowing feedback received.

Travelling Roadshow

During one of our staff meetings this term teachers went on a travelling roadshow of the school. Teachers were split up so that they have one teacher from every year level and they went into classrooms to learn about the Inquiry that is happening across the school. The feedback from teachers was that it has allowed them to see how inquiry teaching and learning is starting to take shape across the school.

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 they do well and what they can improve. Details regarding survey will be distributed over the coming week.

Active School Travel

Next week the school will be hosting the RACQ Streets Ahead program. This a program that we have been able to access through BCC and AST. The program addresses road safety.

On Wednesday 28/8 actively travel to school to receive a free barbecue breakfast that will be provided by the local Lions and Nicole Johnston. This will be outside the tuckshop area from 8:20am. To celebrate the upcoming Father’s Day there we are encouraging the children to wear CRAZY SOCKS as they will get double stamps for wearing them. There will also be a Crazy Sock Competition which will be judged in the tuckshop area at 8:40am.

Science Week 2019

If your haven’t’ already heard, it’s Science Week! Destination Moon: more missions, more science is the school theme for National Science Week in 2019.

This theme is a way for teachers and their students to discover past missions to the Moon and space programs that have solved some of the seemingly unsolvable problems—and current and future space programs, operations and missions. Many of these use big picture thinking in science to solve problems, and technology, engineering and mathematics to design new solutions. This will help forge our future paths in the areas of space operations, space science, Earth observations, positioning systems and communications.

Our thanks go to Mrs Clare Triggell, our Head of Curriculum for Inquiry, who has organised for us all an absolute plethora of visiting parents to come in to the school and share their scientific expertise with us this week. We are very lucky!

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

See you at our upcoming events - mark the dates in your diary!

They include:

-2nd Parent Teacher Interview Evenings (19/8)

-Cybersafety Parent Information Evening for Year 4-6 (3/9)

Student Council Free Dress Day- Friday 30 August

Support research for childhood genetic diseases in style, by donning a pair of your best jeans on Friday 30 August and bringing in a gold coin donation.

While the majority of babies are born healthy, 1 in 20 is born with a birth defect or genetic disease and more than 160,000 children around the world are diagnosed with cancer every year. Medical research is always looking for ways to treat or prevent such childhood diseases and some of the major advances over the years have included the eradication of polio, smallpox and diphtheria.

In Australia, the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) is dedicated to finding ways to treat or prevent childhood cancers, birth defects and genetic diseases to create brighter futures for all children. However, medical research is expensive, which is why Jeans for Genes Day was born.

Over the next two decades, the Institute plans to develop new treatments for epilepsy, kidney disease, diabetes, infectious diseases and every type of cancer. They also hope to find gene therapy cures for rare genetic diseases in children.

To help pay for this important work, the organisation holds Jeans for Genes Day every year in August. On Jeans for Genes Day, much needed funds are raised across the nation for children’s medical research. The Yeronga State School Student Council has elected to support this cause by holding a Free Dress Day. We are encouraging students and staff to come along wearing their favourite denim jeans and to bring a gold coin donation!

Assistance Dog at School

Please be aware that a student at our school has an Assistance Dog who is in the process of being trained to support this student at home, in the community, and at school. Assistance Dogs are not like pets, they are able to go inside buildings, on public transport and other public places. The Assistance Dog at our school has been specially trained and certified, and will wear a bright vest to identify her. Teachers this week will be discussing the following rules with their classes about Assistance Dogs:

1. I keep my hands and feet to myself – do not pat or touch the dog

2. I eat my own food – do not give food to the dog

3. I use respectful words and tone – do not call out or distract the dog

Younger classes will also be reading picture books by Gina Dawson entitled “Next Door’s Dog has a Job” and “Next Door’s Dog Goes to School”. The message we are communicating is that Assistance Dogs are “dogs with a job” and we must not distract them from their important work. Please reinforce this message at home, or if your family sees an Assistance Dog working in the community.

Thank you for your help in this matter.

Lizzy King Inclusion Teacher P-2

Have a fabulous fortnight!

Kate Paynter and Tracy Freeman

Deputy Principals