2020 SCHOOL CAPTAIN SHORT LIST

Earlier this week we interviewed many potential candidates for 2020 School Captains. We have an incredibly talented and capable group of Year 5 students and it is always difficult to shortlist with so many worthy applicants. Congratulations to the following students who are successfully through to the next round:

Elyse G

Elizabeth C

Antonia M

Willow H

Madison M

Clementine T

Anna T

Georgia M

Aidan P

Aiden S

Hamish R

Rupert H

Ben T

Jayden F

Next Thursday 14 November, these candidates will present speeches at a special school assembly from 9am. You are welcome to join us. Next Friday 15 November school captain elections will be held, with Year 6 students operating the polling booth. Year 3-5 students and all staff are eligible to vote.

Candidates have rules and expectations that they must meet during this process. No distribution of bribes etc are acceptable (including by family members and friends). Failure to comply will lead to very serious consequences.

We wish all the candidates every success and know that we would be in great hands no matter who is selected.

Lunch Time Lockdown

Last week we had an emergency lockdown at lunch time as part of our emergency response training procedures. The children showed how truly skilled they are, with everyone out of the playground and inside within two minutes. We have reviewed our processes through the Year Level Coordinators meeting and WPHS meeting and will make a few minimal adjustments.

Please remember that if you are on our campus during an emergency drill, you must follow the directions of the adults on site, moving to the nearest open building in the event of a lockdown and to the ovals for an evacuation. We thank you for being such great role models for our children.

School Chaplaincy

Yeronga State School has had a chaplaincy program for over ten years. Chappy Jen is an important resource in our community to support the welfare and wellbeing of staff, students, families and community. Among Chappy’s many tasks are:

• Providing crisis intervention and support for all members of the community
• Partnering with welfare organisations to support families in need
• Social skills program for Year 2&4 and additional support as required
• Facilitating lunch time plays, lunch time clubs and handball competitions
• Coordinating significant school events like camping at school, Harmony Day, tears and tissues, volunteer thank you
• Coordinates the Peer Mediation component of the Bridge Builders program, helping children develop leadership skills and conflict resolution skills

Every three years we apply to renew our school chaplaincy program. We will be discussing this application at the next P&C meeting.

DENTAL BUILDING REFURBISHMENT

Education Queensland is conducting a feasibility study on the Dental Building at present to clarify how it can best meet school needs within a reasonable financial cost. School, P&C Exec, YOSHC and Student representatives will form part of the stakeholder consultation committee. We feel it is important for a school that values student voice to include students as part of our consultation process.

CELEBRATIONS

Congratulations to the Junior School band for their exceptional performance at Music Fest last week. Gaining a Gold Award is no easy feat. Thank you to Mrs Rosewarne for her excellent leadership of the Junior school music program.

Well done to the Touch football team who participate at the recent weekend fixture as a way to develop skills of next generation players. The precision of the feedback and debrief facilitated by Hamish Curness after each game was outstanding and led to some great improvements.

Strategic Team planning day last week included a provocation on the future trends of education. Despite some challenging messages about how technology is being used to monitor student focus and mood and the relevance of reading and writing in a world relying more and more on audio and video messaging, we felt that it affirmed the balanced approach that we are taking with Green space vs Digital space vs Real World experiences to help develop the whole child. The Inquiry approach has allowed our children to engage with critical and creative thinking, problem solving and collaboration in meaningful ways that genuinely increase their skill set. Next year we are exploring ways to measure the Learning Assets to help children set goals to improve here.

Debbie Spanner
Principal

DP Newsletter Report Week 5 Term 4

The last few weeks have been action packed at Yeronga State School with the Year Five and Six Life Education visit, Chappy’s weekend camping event and the Prep Orientation Morning. It is an exciting time of year for us as we spend time in classrooms with students reflecting on their new learnings as literate, numerate and curious learners.

Parent Rep Thank you

We would like to acknowledge and thank the dedicated group of parents who have acted as Parent Reps for their child’s class throughout 2019. These committed parents have been so generous with their time and provided support to both the class teachers and the parents of the students in the classes they represent. This is a great demonstration of the supportive community that we have here at YSS! A big shout out also to Jodie Swan also, for her diligent efforts as the Parent Rep Coordinator. Throughout 2019 Jodie has continued to do a magnificent job of keeping the communication lines open and keeping tabs on everything that happens in our busy school.

Free Dress Day

The Student Council met last week and decided to hold a Free Dress Day later this term. The date that has been set for the Free Dress Day is Friday 22 November (end of Week 7) and the theme is “Free Dress” (i.e. student’s own choice). Students will need to ensure that they are wearing closed in shoes and shirts with sleeves for sun protection. Gold coin donations brought in on that day will go towards future Student Council projects including water coolers and new wooden seats for eating areas.

Academic Awards

We look forward to celebrating the achievements of our students during the last week of Term Four.

The dates for the Awards Ceremonies for 2019 have been set as follows:

Thursday 12 December

9.00am: Year Five and Six

9.45am: Year Three and Four

Friday 13 December

9.00am: Year One and Two

See below details of the criteria for Awards (as set when the criteria for Yeronga State School Awards were reviewed in 2018).

Effort Awards

Citizenship Award – Walker Award (named after Mrs Carla Walker)

Prep Orientation Day

This Thursday we will have all our new families coming for their Prep Orientation morning. Parents will come into the assigned classrooms with their children and they will be interacting with activities and routines that they will encounter in the first few weeks of Prep 2020. This is a very exciting time for everyone.

On this day, we will also have move on morning for the P-Year 2 classes. This will mean the current Preps will visit a Year 1 classroom and the Year 1 classes will visit a Year 2 classroom. During this time they will discuss the different routines that may take place between the year levels.

A huge thank you goes out to all our teachers and teacher aides who make this morning happen!

Active School Travel

Active School Travel is continuing to happen every Wednesday morning – please ensure your child gets their passport stamped if they are actively travelling to school. If your child attends YOSHC and they walk from a distance they can also get their passport stamped – just ask the supervisors at YOSHC.

Some upcoming events in Active School Travel:

Active School Travel Week 11th November – 15th November

Mon 11 November: Wheel it In (ride your bike, scooter, skateboard or any wheeled object)

Tue 12 November: Buddy up with active travel friends (travel to school with friends/classmates)

Wed 13 November: Break our AST Record (let’s get the highest active travel % of the year)

Thu 14 November: Lunchtime scoot on the tennis courts (scoot at first or second break with music if you bring your scooter)

Fri 15 November: Activity to be confirmed

Enjoy the remainder of Term 4- we have so much to look forward to!

Kate Paynter and Tracy Freeman

Deputy Principals

Hamish Townsend and Kym Mansfield

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

Save the Date – Year 6 Graduation

Please save the date for the upcoming Year 6 Graduation Night. The Graduation will be on the 9th December 2019 at Yeronga State High School Hall. The Ceremony begins at 6.30pm officially. Families are invited to be present from 5.45pm for a light supper.

Invitations will be sent home with each year 6 student shortly.

Year 6 MOD Programme

During Term 4 in weeks 5- 10 the students will be using Minecraft to consolidate and extend a range of maths and design concepts including: coding, Cartesian planes, 3D shapes and the design process.

For the program to function at an optimum level, children (with parent permission) may bring an iPad to school. 

If you would like your child to participate in this optional programme during Semester Two, Please complete the online permission link below by Friday 8 November 2019.

6A – Alex McShane   6M – Kate Middleton-Pol     6Q – John Quirk      

5/6W – Rachel Wise

Chess Championship

Register your student now for the 2019 Yeronga State School Chess Championship. The competition is open to all students who can play chess.

The competition will be held on Tuesday 19 November 2019 at the Resource Centre from 8.55am – 1.00pm.

Cost is $8 to participate, registration must be completed by Friday 15 November.

TO REGISTER PLEASE CLICK HERE

Bravehearts Ditto Show 

On Monday 18 November 2019 Prep – Year 2 students have the opportunity to attend the Personal Safety Education Program “The Ditto Show” run by the Bravehearts organisation.

Due to the information being presented permission must still be given for your student to attend.

Please complete permission by Monday 11 November using the link or form below

Prep 1 – Amanda Harland       Prep 2 – Leanne Ford       Prep 3 – Sandy Mathias

Prep 4 – Sharon Prestridge     Prep 5 – Debbie Quinn     1M – Katie McDermott

1O – Ruby Owen                   1P – Emma Powlett          1R – Brittany Richters

1W – Annabel Wheeldon         2BT – Vidisha Bhatia       2H – Paurl Gadhoke

2K – Keegan Peace                 2R – Rachel Brown

All Schools Touch Football

Last Saturday the Yeronga Mixed Touch Football Team played in the inaugural Brisbane All Schools Touch Football tournament at Corinda. This was the culmination of many weeks of training and learning. For most of the players this was their first experience of representative Touch Football and playing with a structure that included using many of the current plays and policies used by seasoned club players.

The day involved a double robin round competition against Sacred Heart Booval and St Benedict’s Mango Hill. In both games against Sacred Heart they proved a little too strong with their Touch experience. Team Yeronga certainly made them work hard for their wins and asked plenty of questions of their defence. In the two games against St Benedict’s we had two very good wins.

The overall improvement of the players’ skills and knowledge was really evident by the final game. The journey proved to be an excellent opportunity to develop our Yeronga talent. Congratulations to all the players involved.

Boys Softball A Gala Day Summary

This group of young men put on an impressive display of softball skills over the three Gala Days at Runcorn with a nine win and no loss performance!

From Day 1 they showed their high level of play with three wins from their first three games. Alec’s pitching was very good and Harry, Jarvis, Josh and Amin handled the infield play in first-class style. Our outfield players Sebastian, Hamish, Campbell and Aidan were ever-so reliable and made some outstanding catches. Lewis did a great job handling catching duties for the majority of the time and capped his good batting off with a ‘stand up’ (no slide required) 3-base hit in the final! With an 18-4 domination over Sunnybank Hills the boys had a successful end to a few months of concentrated skill work. Throughout the three days the boys batted well as a team with many 6 run innings on the scoresheet. The lads showed that a little hard work goes a long way! Well done boys, I enjoyed being your coach this season!

Thank you to Yeronga State High School for releasing two of their softball girls on Day 1 and Day 3 to do the scoring for two of our teams.

Mr McGuire

Swimming has Commenced

Swimming lessons are being held at the times stated in the permission note. Please remember to refer to the equipment list on the permission note so that your children have everything they need for their lessons. Children should have a complete change of clothes, swimming togs including a rashie for lessons, goggles (essential), towel, sunscreen, bathing cap (essential), deodorant (for older students) and flip flops or thongs (much preferred). Rashies are not required for races at carnivals, but students should cover up when not racing.

Swimming Carnivals

Preparations are beginning for these very important events on the Yeronga State School Calendar. Students need to be thinking, from the commencement of lessons, exactly which events they would like to compete in as once the program is written there will be very little time for changes. If children wish to withdraw from events that they can swim they will need parental permission. A form will be uploaded to the school web page for this purpose. Please remember that as the carnival will be held in the 25m pool at Yeronga Park there should be little concern over the completion of 50m events.

We will, as always, require parental support in the form of officials to make these carnivals run efficiently. If you are able to help please contact Mr Bateman via email; cbate12@eq.edu.au. We have been very fortunate, over the years, to have outstanding parental contributions from people like Ruth Bennet and we hope that this tradition continues.

On a lighter note the big question is; who can end Lawson’s 8 year dominance in swimming? Can Kendall, who are winless this year? Can Evans, who won the Athletics? Could Paterson, who are yet to chalk up a win this year? Only time will tell.

Logistics of the Senior Swimming Carnival

Assistance needed to set up at Yeronga Park Swimming Pool from 7.30am Please (on bended knees)!

Please advise and remind children of their age for the carnival i.e. the age they turned or will turn this year e.g. Born in 2007 = 12 years.

Children cannot compete in the same 50m and 25m event. e.g. 50m & 25m freestyle - not permitted; 50m & 25m in different strokes - permitted.

All events will be swum in the 25m pool. 25m swimmers, if in the shallow lanes, will slide in before the starter commences, hold the end of the pool and then push off the when the whistle goes. They must leave the pool immediately upon finishing their race and then wait at the end of their lane for the judges to record their placing.

Trophies for Championship on age e.g. 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 and Yeronga Gift.

Yeronga Gift - An Open freestyle event for boys and girls who swim the six fastest times in the 50m Freestyle.

There will be one relay (6 x 50m freestyle) event for girls and one for boys made up of at least one swimmer from each age group (8, 9, 10, 11, 12). Team members may swim in any order.

POINTS:

50m events - 2 points for each participant in heats

Given after considering all heat times for an event

1st place: 15 points; 2nd place: 12 points; 3rd place: 10 points

4th place: 8 points; 5th place: 6 points; 6th place: 4 points

7th place: 2 points; 8th place: 2 points; 9th place: 2 points

10th place: 2 points

25m events (each heat) - 1 point for each participant

25m Kickboard events - 1 point for each participant

Relay - 1st place: 30 points 2nd place: 24 points 3rd place: 20 points 4th place: 16 points

This meet is a Carnival event for 2019. Our school swimmers for the District Meet in 2020 will be selected on the basis of these performances.

Senior Swimming Carnival Indicative Timetable

9:00 50m Freestyle Events, 25m Freestyle Events, Kickboard on front,

10:30 50m Breaststroke Events, 25m Breaststroke Events (may be held over until after break 11 to 11:30),

11:00 to 11:30 Break

11:30 Yeronga Swimming Gift: (Boys/Girls Open Freestyle Race (eight fastest times swum in 50m heats for boys and girls))

12:00 to 12:30 50m Backstroke Events 25m Backstroke Events, Kickboard on back,

12:45 to 1:15 Break

1:15 to 1:45 50m Butterfly Events 25m Butterfly Events,

2:15 Freestyle Relay, if time permits, 100m Events

Logistics for the Junior Swimming Carnival

Junior Swimming Carnival (Years 1 & 2) and Sno cone day (3 December)!

9am – 10am 1P & 1M

10am – 11am 1BR, 1O & 1W

11:45pm All of Year 2

1P & 1M must be ready for departure at 8:40am. First events to be marshalled at 9:00am.

1BR, 1O & 1W must be ready for departure at 9:40am. First events to be marshalled at 10:00am.

Year twos be ready for departure at 11.30pm following a bell at 11:20pm. First events to be marshalled at 11.45pm.

All students will swim in their grade level.

Students will be nominated into races based on their school swimming group.

Finals will not be conducted for any events. All children who participate in the heats will receive place ribbons.

Please turn over (scroll down) for a full list of events.

What to bring to the pool:

Swimming togs, swimming cap, towel, thongs/crocs, water bottle, hat and sunscreen.

Parent helpers

We need about 6 parent helpers for each time slot. 4 Judges and 2 Ribbon writers. Please see either your class teacher or contact Mr Bateman at cbate12@eq.edu.au if you can assist.

The Rationale

Due to the large number of students in Year 1, the limited shade available at the venue and the range of swimming ability across the student group, we have tried to create a program that gives all students an insight into what they may experience in the years to come at the senior carnival. We are again using several innovations including mid pool blocks for the kickboard races and noodles to assist students.

Sno cones!!!!!!!!!!

All students will have the opportunity to buy a sco cone for $2. All money needs to be given to the class teacher the day before the swimming carnival. The sno cones will be given out after second break at school, for the year ones when all classes have returned from the pool, and on the following day at first break for the year twos.

Rebel Sport Community Kickbacks

Just a quick note to publicise our involvement with this scheme and how it works. For some time now Yeronga State School has been part of the above mentioned scheme. The scheme gives the school credit for purchases of equipment at Rebel as anyone who purchases equipment nominates Yeronga State School as the recipient of Community Kickbacks. I have purchased cricket equipment, Footballs and Netballs with this credit. It is an easy way to contribute resources to our school especially if you enjoy spending time and money in sports stores like myself.

Gala Days

Congratulations to all of our Gala Day participants. Everyone seems to have had a great Spring/Summer season. Don’t forget to thank you coaches. They did a wonderful job donating their time for some quality coaching.

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 Senior Swimming Carnival: 26 November

YSS Junior Swimming Carnival: 3 December

Cameron Bateman
Sports Teacher

Loneliness Epidemic

Last year, the British Prime Minister appointed the first ever UK Minister for Loneliness.  It was in response to a report that 9 million people identified as being lonely, and the growing sense that it is a sad reality of modern life.  When we are lonely, related health issues can include depression, obesity, cognitive decline, and heart disease.  Social connection enables us to thrive and survive, and when we are engaged in meaningful relationships, people tend to live longer, have improved mental health, and live with a sense of purpose. 

Despite increased connectivity through the internet and social media, loss of companionship is a growing problem across all sectors of society, not just the elderly. At-risk people are those who experience family breakdowns and divorce, face disability and other health issues, the elderly, and those with a recent death of a loved one.  Statistics from the latest Census data report that almost 1 in 10 Australians live alone, but that number is expected to increase in coming years.  With that in mind, it is even more important that we consider what we can do to combat the loneliness epidemic.

So in considering the implications of loneliness, what can you do to help yourself so that you remain socially connected?  Consider these things:

Schedule regular face-to-face contact with friends, and don’t just rely on social media

Involve yourself with community groups and clubs

Volunteer at organisations that help you engage with others

And what can you do for others in your community?

Role model good friendship skills and what it means to be connected to your children

Look for people who are in the “at-risk groups” who aren’t connected and spend time with them

Be an active member in a community group or club, taking time to engage with people

Changing the world starts with one act of kindness, or in this case, one meaningful friendship.  Being connected not only helps others, but also is of great personal benefit.

Coming Up

Next week - Pop-up Gift Market Stall is coming!  Check out the attached flyer.

19/11   Sub and Drink Deal lunch.  Envelopes have been sent home and are due back next Friday 15 November.  No late orders will be accepted. Extra envelopes are available at the payment boxes.

Blessings,

Jennifer Bennett

jenniferb@chappy.org.au