Principal's Report
We are looking forward to welcoming you back in just over a week’s time! As you are aware from the daily updates, we are still sending home students and staff who are testing positive to COVID-19. I thankyou for your ongoing vigilance over the next couple of weeks, to maintain the social distancing and hygiene protocols until the restrictions are eased on Friday 4th March. I expect we’ll still be managing disruption to the learning programs this term and will continue to prioritise the most important aspects of the curriculum for the students to master at this time of year.
Our students have started the school so ready to learn. The leadership team and I are regularly visiting classrooms and delighted with how every classroom has engaged and focussed students productively learning. Our school priorities continue to revolve around literate, numerate, curious and agentic learners. Explicit instruction of essential literacy and numeracy skills, questioning with an inquiry stance and self-regulated feedback to support agency in next steps for learning are evident in our 2022 Annual Implementation Plan. Please find our wildly important goals for the school this year as we work towards our school vision;
We are connected, curious, community minded learners and citizens who make a positive difference to our world!
When you are back on site, I encourage you to walk through the campus and take note of the many facility improvements underway. The extensive landscaped, nature play and overland waterway area between the Hall, Library and Yeronga Pool carpark area is coming to completion. The refurbishment of the old Queensland Health building to 9 classrooms, Administration, staffroom and STEM centre likewise, will be coming to completion. These works, along with air-conditioning to classrooms throughout the school, have been significantly supported by funds raised by the outgoing and previous PandCs. The next major upgrade will be removal of the old demountable building near Year 1 and Prep and the refurbishment of classrooms in the senior school. There is no doubt from the school’s perspective a new hall able to accommodate the whole school community for assemblies, special ceremonies, events etc. along with an electronic noticeboard and safe fence to the perimeter of our school site would significantly improve the safety and engagement of our students and families. I will continue to advocate through departmental channels and allocated budget for the improvement of our facilities. I firmly believe, if a school ‘looks loved’ it goes a long way to lifting school and community pride. Our PandC and supportive families are formidable allies and I encourage you to become involved this year to progress these much-needed community assets. The first PandC meeting is to be held on Tuesday the 15th of March in the school Library. I hope to see you there
You will have noticed permission requests coming home for your child to access websites whilst at school. These programs are embedded into the literacy and numeracy classroom routines and instruction. Please be assured the identified websites utilised at Yeronga state School have had a risk management assessment undertaken by the Department of Education. Only those assessed as low risk are used.
For students entering Year 2 this year, a bring your own device (BYOD) is no longer required. The BYOD program has been reviewed to apply to Year 3-6 students only. Year 2 students will access school purchased iPads from 2022. This is in response to community feedback with the majority of our early years families not supportive of BYOD in the early years. There are many benefits for older students having access to their own device. The school has committed $62 500 out of the 2022 budget to purchase the Year 2 set. At this point the school does not have the financial resources to purchase a ratio of 1:1 iPads in other year levels. Hence, the BYOD option for older students in Year 3 -6 remains in place. Any family experiencing financial difficulty or not participating in the 1:1 iPAD program for other reasons in Year 3-6 please do not hesitate to contact me. It is important we work through what needs to occur to ensure your child has equitable access to the curriculum on the same basis as their YSS peers.
I am very excited to hear the plans for the Student Leader Legacy Projects. The projects align to our Big 4 Learning Contexts; Sustainability, Wellbeing, Curiosity and Creativity and Outdoor Learning. The student leaders have commenced their leadership journey by taking turns at daily notices, ringing the bell, running virtual assembly and raising the flag. Shortly all of our Year 6 students will undertake their whole day leadership development day. This is a new and wonderful opportunity for our Year 6 students at Yeronga State school. Everyone is a leader if you care enough about something! We look forward to presenting the badges to our student leaders throughout the school at our Student Leader Induction Ceremony on Friday the 25th of March at 9.00am.
Thankyou to all of the words of appreciation and encouragement the staff and I have received over the past few weeks. We are united with you in wanting the very best for the children. Thank you for helping us make Yeronga State School a place of belonging and joy.
Have a wonderful week!
Eunice Webb
Principal