I look back on a fortnight where we have made much progress in teaching and learning, with our class teachers taking part in year level Inquiry Coaching and planning, as well as our Year 2 and Year 4 teaching teams working closely with Dr Cam Brooks (from the University of Qld)  with a focus on ‘Assessment for Learning’.  

Our Student Council Representatives were thrilled to be a part of the annual Halogen Young Leaders Day, listening to a range of fascinating speakers, sharing their leadership learnings. Chappy Jen hosted a popular Pancake morning, with her delicious pancakes filling us all up, ready for a big day at school.

Our first Gala Day for the year is being held today and from all accounts, it is looking to be a great success. A large amount of planning always goes into preparing for Gala Day. A sincere thank you to Mr Hamish Curness (Year 5 Teacher) and Miss Nikita Langhorne (Admin officer) for all of the hours they spent planning for the Gala Day for our students. Thank you also to all of the teachers who have acted as team coaches, as well as the additional staff who are going today to provide supervision for our super keen Gala Day participants.

TRIPLE P PARENT CYBER-SAFETY INFORMATION SESSION

Please note that Triple P will be hosting a Parent Information Session in our Resource Centre from 6pm on Tuesday 24/3.

The seminar topic is:

-Raising Resilient Children with a focus on Cyberbullying (how parents can help set their children up to be safe online to prevent bullying) 

The seminar will run for approx. 90 minutes and includes time for parent questions. Please go to the link below to RSVP:

https://www.triplep-parenting.net.au/qld-uken/find-help/check-our-calendar/2020-03-24/seminar/raising-resilient-children-focus-on-cyberbullying/107720/.

QUADRENNIAL SCHOOL REVIEW

In the last newsletter, I shared the news that our school is scheduled to have a Quadrennial School Review during Term 3.  Since then the dates for our School Review have been announced. The YSS School Review will take place over three days in Week 3 of Term 3- 27/28/29 July. Our entire school community will work together closely over the coming months to be prepared to share the great work that we do at Yeronga State School with the visiting review team in July.

School reviews complement the department’s four-year school planning, reviewing and reporting cycle. This will be an important process for us to undertake here at YSS as we review our 2017-2020 Strategic Plan and prepare a new plan for the following four years. Findings and feedback from the review will provide valuable input into this process. Community feedback will be an essential part of the review, with parents, students and the community encouraged to have their say.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PROGRAM

The students at Yeronga State School are fortunate to be offered the opportunity to participate in an extensive Instrumental Music Program. Queensland schools are the last remaining schools in Australia to receive subsidised instrumental music tuition in the form of Concert Band and String Orchestra programs. Professional Instrumental Music Specialists are employed to provide small group instrumental tuition and direct and administer Concert Bands and String Orchestras. The highly skilled Instrumental Music Teachers at YSS are Robyn Rosewarne, Alex Grodecki and Tamsyn Eastgate.

We are also fortunate this year to be in receipt of financial support from our Yeronga State School P&C, to enable the program to be offered to a broader number of students in 2020. We are thankful for the generous support of our P&C body.

Students are offered positions by the school, according to the capacity of the programs and student attributes. There is no automatic entry into the program and an extensive information and recruiting process commences in Term 3 of the previous year. Positions for the following year are offered in Term 4.

Participation in the Instrumental Program at Yeronga State School is a privilege and carries responsibilities for the whole family. It is expected that students will continue in the program for the remainder of their time at YSS.  The success of the instrumental music program is largely dependent upon students being committed to the program and participating as a responsible group member.

SUNSCREEN IN CLASSROOMS

Over the previous week we have distributed a large container of sunscreen to each classroom in the school. Teachers have been asked to ensure that students are encourage to put sunscreen on uncovered areas of their skin, such as the face and the back of the hands, for all outdoor activities. Parents are welcome to send in sunscreen that is specific to the needs of their child, to cater for allergies and/ or family preferences for sunscreen use. Please clearly name any sunscreen that is sent to school specifically for the use of your child.

The UV index is high all year round, so Queensland schools are encouraged to promote sun safety for all outdoor activities according to the Developing a Sun Safety Strategy. Schools are asked to make SPF 30+  sunscreen available for students and ensure they wear hats when outside. For further information, see the State Government Sun Safety website.

https://education.qld.gov.au/students/student-health-safety-wellbeing/student-health/sun-safety-strategies.

Kate Paynter

Acting Principal

There have been some great things happening over the last fortnight at Yeronga State School:  Halogen Young Leaders Day for our Student Council Representatives, Active School Travel Crew visiting our school assemblies, Gala Day One and the Golden Ticket Morning Tea. We hope that you have the opportunity to connect with our school community at some point during that time.

Halogen Young Leaders Day

On Monday the 24^th February, twenty two student councillors attended Halogen Young Leaders’ Day at the Brisbane Convention Centre. Halogen Young Leaders’ Day is an opportunity for student leaders across Australia to attend a workshop to learn about leadership and what makes a good leader. There were many inspiring guest speakers. Here is some feedback from our student leaders about the main messages they heard on the day:

“I liked listening to the speeches and writing down questions about what they have experienced when being a leader.” – Finn S (4H)

“I really enjoyed meeting the famous author Jackie French – she has inspired me by sending the message that “although your handwriting may not be the neatest, you can still be whatever you want.” – Safira L (5/6W)

“John Coutis really inspired me with his stories about self-discipline and how he overcame his fears to go to school and learn.” Willow H – (5/6W)

"John Coutis inspired me that whatever person I am, I’ll fit in anywhere" – Alice F. (3N)

“John Coutis showed the benefits of being different to other people.” – Matilda S (6Q)

“Bianca Chatfield didn’t want to do netball but when she did she loved it. When you try something new, you may love it.” – Peggy C (4K)

“I liked that you could buy things at the event (like the badge) that you can keep for a memory of the event.” – Hamere M (4/5M)

“Erin Molan inspired me that you have to have a lot of courage to be persistent and keep trying.” – Archie C (4/5M)

“Bianca Chatfield inspired me because she talked about having “up and down” days that you need to persevere through to be really good at something that you care about.” – Aimee K (5L)

“It was an amazing opportunity and I loved how Erin Molan told us when life gets you down, you need to be persistent.” – Kara B (6A)

“I’ve been to the event twice, and it still managed to inspire me the second time around. It really is an amazing opportunity.” – Libby C (6A)

“Every book you read has a message in it.” – Tahlia P (3IW)

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent teacher interviews are a wonderful opportunity for you to meet with your child’s teacher to discuss their progress and learning goals for the year.

Interviews will be held during weeks 9 and 10 and an e-mail has be sent home last week advising you of how to book. Please do so as soon as possible.

Active School Travel - Let’s get active!

The walking teacher train is back up and walking!!

Please meet the teachers at River City Cycles (opposite Yeronga Train Station) at 8:15am to begin walking.  Please see the teacher roster below:

National Ride2School Day – Friday 13 March 2020

Join us, and students around Australia, on Friday 13 March to ride your bike or scooter to school for National Ride2School Day.

If you haven’t tried cycling or scootering to school before, this is the perfect day to give it a go!

It’s all part of our Active School Travel program and we love to see our students arriving at school healthy and happy, ready to learn. Fewer cars around the school also makes it safer for us all.

Did you know?

It is legal to ride your bike or scooter on the footpath in Queensland (unless otherwise signed) but always remember to wear your helmet! 

Our school also has bike racks on the school grounds (lower school – opposite the Year 1 building and upper school – between the office and the tennis courts).

The stamping booths will be open from 8:15am and the Active School Travel captains may have a special surprise to those riding on the day!!!

Religious Instruction

Queensland state schools provide religious instruction in accordance with Chapter 5 of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (EGPA) and Part 5 of the Education (General Provisions) Regulation 2017 (EGPR) by making available up to one hour per week for the provision of religious instruction to students (except Prep students) who are members of a faith group (Christian) that has approval to deliver religious instruction at the school. Religious Instruction has now commenced at Yeronga State School for the year.  As part of school-based induction, religious instructors have completed Student Protection and Code of Conduct training. The instructors use the Connect Religious Instruction materials, reviewed by Education Queensland. Religious instruction permission forms were emailed and permissions were collated based upon this.  If the school did not receive a response from the permission forms the information that was provided on enrolment was used to determine whether a child would attend Religious Instruction. 

We would like to welcome the following religious instruction leaders:

Golden Ticket Morning Tea

Congratulations to the Prep and Year 6 students who attended our first “Golden Ticket” Morning Tea to celebrate Learner Assets in action. Mrs Freeman and Miss Vaggs were joined by a bunch of great Self Managers! Well done to all the students who attended. Year 5 and Year 1 will be our next groups!

Class Assembly Performances

Please see the Junior Assembly Performance Schedule for the year.  Our children enjoy showing you all the wonderful things they have been learning at school, so we hope you can join us to share in their enthusiashm.

Junior Assembly Performances 2020

Upcoming Events 

We would love to see you at our upcoming events during this term.

They include:                   

• 1500m race finals for students in Yr 3-6 (1.45pm Wednesday 13 March)
• “Clean Up our School Day” (Thursday 14 March)
• Harmony Day (Thursday 21 March)
• Active School Travel Celebration (Friday 22 March)
  
  

Tracy Freeman and Louise Vaggs

Deputy Principals

POSITION VACANT – CASUAL SCHOOL CLEANER

We are currently recruiting for school cleaners to join our team. Cleaners work between 5.30 – 8.30am and 2.30 – 5.30am. As a casual cleaner you may be required to work both shifts during the day or only one shift (morning or afternoon). At this stage, we have a vacancy for between 6 -9 hours per week with the possibility of an increase in hours in the future.

No experience is necessary and full training will be provided. A ‘Working with Children’ Blue Card is mandatory for State School employees.

For further information about the position, contact the Business Manager Ruth Bennett: rbenn127@eq.edu.au or 3426 0310.

GALA DAY - PAYMENT & PERMISSION

Gala Day One has come and gone. The next Gala Day will be on the 27 March 2020. Invoices have been emailed to parents today. The amout for this semester is $40.00. If a students Gala Day invoice has not been paid by the 25 March 2020 the student will not be able to attend. 

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact the office.


PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Term 1 Parent Teacher Interviews will be held in Week 9 & 10 of this term. The sessions are available to book now.

Prep – Year 4 (including 4/5M) - Teachers will be meeting in the Library for group Parent Teacher interviews on Thursday 26 March & Monday 30 March.

Year 5 & 6 – Teachers will be meeting in their classrooms for the interviews over Week 9 & 10.

To book a session please Click HERE

Bookings will close on the 22 March 2019.  

If you have any difficulty booking please email nlang67@eq.edu.au

QPARENTS

We'd like to thank all the families who have been registering for QParents. We have had a great response from parents who have now registered. 

If you have not yet activated your account please email nlang67@eq.edu.au and ask to be sent another invitation. 

We hope to have as many parents using QParents as possible. For more information about Qparents please see below. 

Office Team

Hamish Townsend and Kym Mansfield

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

Girls Gala Day Soccer

The girls had a wonderful day on Friday at our first gala day for 2020! The soccer players should be immensely proud of themselves. They were exemplary ambassadors for our school by modelling our school motto and our learner assets. It was a tough day with limited subs and high humidity but despite this, the girls did not complain and embraced these challenges with relish. All seven teams demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship, teamwork and determination. The Junior A team finished the day undefeated and continued to develop their ball skills and positional awareness. The Senior A girls had their first go at playing on a full sized synthetic pitch and focused on their positional awareness and passing skills. The Junior and Senior B teams showed outstanding enthusiasm and progressed in their understanding of the game. Special mention to Matilda (6Q) who put the team before herself and played defence the whole day, Milla (6W) for outstanding effort and determination and Martha (5HT) for showing enthusiasm and using feedback to improve her game. Well done to all participants!

A Division Soccer Boys

Gala Day 1 saw the A Division teams head to Runcorn High School to play Robertson and Warrigal Road State Schools. For many of the juniors it was their first adventure to Gala Day and there was definitely a mixture of excitement and nerves amongst the group. These emotions quickly vanished when the whistle blew and the boys had to work hard to hold out the opposition and battle the humid conditions. Both teams finished the day undefeated. By the end of the day the combinations were really starting to develop and some good football was played. Special thanks to Tony Flynn who managed the Senior Boys and kept them focused and playing for each other all day.

Gala Day Softball

Congratulation to our YSS softball team on a very successful first gala day.  The YSS girls took every opportunity to hone their skills and have shown growth in all areas of the game.  Having no reserves, the YSS girls showed great resilience and sportsmanship playing all games to the best of their ability on a very hot day.  Special mention to Sammi C who stepped up from year 5 tee-ball for three of our four games to make up the numbers in our team.

Gala Day 1 Boys B1 and B2 Division Soccer

On Friday the 6^th March, the Yeronga B1 and B2 junior and senior teams played four games at Sunnybank High School. All Yeronga teams showed great teamwork and sportsmanship during the games. The boys are to be congratulated and we are looking forward to Gala Day 2.

Coach: Mr Landbeck, Mr Henry and Mrs Modulon

Gala Days

Gala Days are well and truly on the horizon. The dates for these very important days are, weather permitting 27 March and 8 May. The sports offered will include Boys and Girls Football (Soccer), Girls’ Softball and Rugby League. Children need to start committing seriously to training for their chosen sport.

Swimming

Swimming has begun. It has been offered to years 1 to 6 students as we are no longer being affected by the National Athletics in Darwin. Students will need goggles, a bathing cap (No cap no swim), a rashie, togs, towel, sturdy bag, spare underwear & Flip Flops (thongs).These sessions are provided in conjunction with the staff of Yeronga Park Pool for years 1 to 4. This means the instructors will take the lessons for all children from Year 1 to 4 to enhance those childrens’ competence in Aquatics. Not only are these children being given expert stroke correction in small ability specific groups, but also water safety knowledge and skills.

Rebel Sport Community Givebacks

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.

Important Sporting Dates 2020

13/03/2020 – District Volleyball

13/03/2020 – District Hockey (Boys)

16/03/2020 – District Boys Touch

18/03/2020 – District Hockey (Girls) & District Girls Touch

23/03/2020 – District Cross Country Nominations

27/03/2020 – Gala Day Two (10 – 12 years)

01/04/2020 – District Cross Country

24/04/2020 – YSS Athletics Trials (Years 4 – 6)

01/05/2020 – YSS Athletics Trials (Years 4 – 6)

05 & 06/05/2020 – District Boys Football

06/05/2020 – District Tennis

07/05/2020 – District Girls Football

08/05/2020 – Gala Day Three (10 – 12 years)

15/05/2020 – YSS Athletics Trials (Years 4 – 6)

19/05/2020 – YSS Junior Cross Country (Prep – Year 2)

21/05/2020 – District Rugby Union (11-12 years)

22/05/2020 – YSS Athletics Trials (Years 4 – 6)

26/05/2020 – YSS Junior Cross Country Reserve Day (Prep – Year 2)

29/05/2020 – Gala Day Reserve Day (10 – 12 years)

05/06/2020 – YSS 1500m (Years 4 – 6)

05/06/2020 – District Softball

09/06/2020 – YSS Senior Athletics Day 1

12/06/2020 – YSS Senior Athletics Day 2

25/06/2020 – YSS Junior Athletics

Cameron Bateman
Sports Teacher

Thought Life

 I recently heard a neuroscientist speak about thought life and the impact our thoughts have on our health, wellbeing, and outlook on life.  Her favourite quote, is “Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds.  You can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds”.  So what are you cultivating?  Weeds or flowers?

I enjoy gardening, and especially like it when plants are flowering and there are fresh herbs to add to meals.  I have to admit though that there are times when it is hard to get out in the garden and keep the weeds at bay.  I even have a spot down the back yard where I empty out the pots where the plants have died.  Most of the time for me, gardening is about weeding and pruning, rather than picking fruit or flowers for vases.  It can be hard physical work, but the effort is well rewarded when you see a garden flourishing.

Just like our gardens, our thought life needs constant attention or weeds will grow.  Negative thoughts can take root and grow to influence and drain you of your joy, contentment and even rest.  Positive thoughts can be cultivated, and they can flourish and influence the whole of your life, and even those around you.  Again, it takes effort, but the outcome is worth it.  So are you intentionally putting effort into your mind garden?

Harmony Day

Next Thursday 19^th March is Harmony Day!  It is a very special focus on our cultural diversity, and how we can come together harmoniously despite all our differences.   I hope you can join us at one of the school assemblies on this day: Junior Assembly at 9am, and the Senior Assembly in the afternoon at 1:45pm. Both have a flag procession, year level performances, and songs by the junior and senior choir.

Blessings,

Jennifer Bennett

jenniferb@chappy.org.au

This year YSS harmony day celebrations coincide with National Close the Gap Day.

Kalari Harmony Week Message

Do you know the history of Harmony Day? Harmony Day comes out of the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, first observed in 1979, in solidarity with all those people who have struggled against racism.

https://www.un.org/en/events/racialdiscriminationday/background.shtml.

In Australia, Harmony Day is also about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone in our multicultural society. This includes a celebration of Indigenous heritage, culture and communities that have called these lands home for tens of thousands of years. So, Harmony Day is both a celebration of our diversity and a reminder to fight for justice and equality for all.

At YSS we are fortunate to have a very rich and diverse community that includes people from all around the world. This Harmony Day, Kalari would like to acknowledge our friends from far and wide who have made their homes in the lands we now know as Australia.

Yugara word of the week:

Friend: Yuingin (You-in-gin).

What is Kalari?

Kalari means ‘message stick’ in Yugara language and is name of the YSS Indigenous Working Group.

Kalari aims to increase the acknowledgement and celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history at YSS, through an inclusion of Indigenous perspectives and in line with the YSS school values.

Kalari is made up of Indigenous and non-Indigenous volunteer parents and anyone can join! For more information or to get involved about contact Aren Healy at mamaaren101@gmail.com.

‘Our YSS Community & Inclusion’ – Please complete the survey!

In 2017, Yeronga State School adopted an inclusion model of support for students across a range of backgrounds and abilities. The role of Inclusion Teacher was introduced, and a reflection process was implemented to ensure best practice. The Inclusion Teachers are currently enacting an inquiry process to ask: What is the narrative around inclusion in our school community? How can we communicate our message to the community?

As such, the purpose of this survey is to hear from our school community about inclusion at Yeronga State School, and to seek feedback on what our next steps might be. We ask that the school community completes the survey at the following link: https://s.surveyplanet.com/fn1LBTOl. It’s a great way to have your voice heard on this important topic.

We appreciate your support!

The YSS Inclusion Team