P&C meeting: Tuesday, 16 March

Our second P&C meeting of the year will be held in the Resource Centre (school library) on Tuesday, 16 March at 7:00pm. Please join your friendly P&C and school leadership teams at the meeting to hear the latest news from around the school and updates on all of the exciting activities planned for YSS' 150th year. To ensure you receive P&C communications, agendas and minutes, and to support the P&C through your membership, please ensure you're signed up as a P&C member for 2021 at www.surveymonkey.com/r/ysspandc2021membership. Thank you to everyone who has joined for 2021!

Tuckshop volunteers needed - urgently

We are lucky to have a great tuckshop, serving healthy, inexpensive meals four days a week. But keeping our prices down all depends on volunteers and we need to find more people to help. If you have a couple of hours to spare we are in need of volunteers to help pack lunches on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings (9am to 11am) - monthly, fortnightly, and weekly shifts are available. Our Tuckshop Convenors, Stacey and Yvonne are friendly and welcoming and it's a great way to meet fellow parents and carers. It's also lots of fun and no experience is needed! To sign up to help please email Stacey and Yvonne at yerongasstuckshop@gmail.com.

Photo: Tuckshop Convenors, Stacey and Yvonne

Easter Raffle: drop off points for donations, tickets and $

We're so EGGcited it's EASTER RAFFLE time (a highly anticipated and popular activity on our school calendar)! Each child has been given 2 books of raffle tickets to sell to family and friends - please put all sold and unsold raffle tickets, along with the raffle proceeds, in an envelope with your child's name and class, into the P&C payment boxes (year 1 and Admin buildings), or give to a YOSHC Coordinator (see the attached Easter raffle flyer for all the details).

All children are asked to please donate an item to help make up the Easter raffle prizes (Easter eggs, chocolate, or non-chocolate items, eg stickers, activity books, or anything you would enjoy winning) - these can be given to class teachers or to the YOSHC team. Or if you prefer, you are welcome to make a cash donation (eg $5) towards the Easter raffle prizes - please pop this in an envelope into one of the P&C payment boxes, or give a YOSHC Coordinator - a P&C volunteer will go shopping on your behalf.

The class that sells the most books will receive a prize from the P&C. Thanks to our amazing school community, last year the Easter raffle draw brought great joy to 100 happy winners (just before covid completely changed our lives). Your support is very much appreciated!!

Seeking volunteers for Snow Cones @ Senior Cross Country

With Senior Cross Country less than a week away on Wednesday, 17 March, the P&C is seeking volunteers for the coolest stall around - Snow Cones! YSS kids love their $2 snow cones after they finish their cross country. If you're coming to watch your children race it will be wonderful if you can please sign up to help. Volunteers are needed to set up, serve and pack up the Snow Cone stall. Shifts are available from 8:30-12:00noon (there's a good chance everything will be packed up by 11:30am) to ensure all children are able to enjoy snow cone after their run. Please sign up to help here: https://signup.com/go/ZiquUeP. Your snow cone prowess will be very much appreciated by our children!

P&C support for YSS: Plans for new Nature Play area and oval refurbishment

At the February P&C meeting we were excited to present landscape concept plans for a new Nature Play area for our children. This P&C-funded project will be a major investment and asset for our school and includes refurbishment of the 'Old Netball Courts' oval behind the library, as well as restoration of the embankments surrounding the oval to provide a range of play and outdoor learning areas. The plan incorporates:

• Nature’s play opportunities, including climbing, sliding and dry creek beds for play and storm water channeling/drainage
• Open turf areas for flexible play
• Protection and utilisation of the existing embankment
• Robust surfaces and a variety of seating and spaces for different sized groups
• Highly permeable and connected site.

In 2019 the P&C secured a $30,000 grant from the Brisbane City Council for the oval renovation which will be incorporated into this project. The P&C will also contribute extra funding to bring the plan to fruition. We look forward to sharing more news and the next steps when the Department of Education has reviewed and approved the plans. Creating new Nature Play spaces and outdoor learning areas was identified as a high priority for our school community through the P&C's strategic planning process in 2019/20.

Photo: Plans are underway to renovate this oval and create exciting new Nature Play and outdoor learning areas on the embankments.

We're hiring: YOSHC Assistant Manager - Program and Practice

For the past 6 months the P&C has been working with the Queensland peak body for Out of School Hours Care providers, QCAN, to review YOSHC structures, processes and facilities to position the service for successful growth to meet the needs of our community. Having appointed a new YOSHC Manager, Elizabeth Fainga'a, in December 2020, the P&C is now recruiting for the newly created full-time role of Assistant Manager - Program and Practice.

We are seeking an experienced education professional to lead the development and implementation of the service’s education and care program, based on the National Quality Framework and consistent with the National Quality Standards and the Exceeding Themes. The position is advertised on the P&C website here. Applications are now open and close at 11:59pm on Sunday evening, 21 March. For more information about the role or a copy of the position description please email us at ysspandcpresident@gmail.com.

Thank you from Debbie Spanner

To honour the leadership of YSS Immediate Past Principal, Debbie Spanner, over 8 Years (2012 to 2020), 26 families contributed $1,300 to the Debbie Spanner Community Care Fund that will support YSS children to fully participate in school organised activities (incursions, excursions, camps, etc) when their family's financial circumstances may not otherwise enable them to do so. Debbie has expressed her appreciation for the gesture:

Dear YSS Parents

What a lovely surprise! I am absolutely stunned that you would do something so special in my name. It was such an honour to lead, collaborate and partner with the Yeronga State School community, beginning in 2012. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life. Partnering with the many parents who contributed, to enact visions and create a learning, caring, growing and achieving environment for all, was such a highlight. Thank each and every one of you for your contribution to the school during my (and your) time there.

The generosity of the parents in my name is truly humbling and I am so grateful that YSS students will continue to be supported in such a manner. A new era for Yeronga has begun with Mrs Eunice Webb installed as Principal. I know Eunice and am very confident that she is a great match to lead the school to the next level. I am so proud of all that we achieved so far together and will be cheering from the sidelines as the school continues to move forward.

I hope to see many of you at some 150th celebrations. Travel well and safely!

Cheers, Deb.

Kym Mansfield and Hamish Townsend

Yeronga State School P&C Co-Presidents
ysspandcpresident@gmail.com