Dear Parents and Carers

This is the last newsletter for the year so I will take this opportunity to wish all of you a restful holiday and a happy Christmas. To those families leaving Yeronga – all our Year 6 families and a few other families, best wishes for the future and I hope that you take with you happy memories of your stay at this school. I would also like to farewell one of our Year 6 teachers, Alex McShane as she takes up a teaching post in Cambodia. All the very best Alex and thank you for your work and dedication. We look forward to your return and your stories.

2020 threw many challenges our way. I choose to look at the glass half full and celebrate the amazing things that the students and community have achieved. Necessity helped us step onto a platform of educational delivery that most of us were not familiar with. Students and parents were also confronted with new ways of working. Innovation and creativity flourished and it was wonderful to see the students tackle the challenges. Thank you to everyone but especially the teachers who had a week in which to turn their way of teaching around.

We were lucky in Queensland and here at Yeronga, once students came back to school, we ensured that every opportunity was taken to continue on despite the pandemic. I am proud to say, that despite Term 2 being thin on the ground with events, we managed to fit most of them into Term 3 and 4. Students in Years 4-6 went on camp. Students went on their incursions and excursions. Sporting events continued even though they looked slightly different. More recently, we have had music concerts and performances. We are all familiar with QR codes and completing COVID declarations!

Can I congratulate the music staff, Lauren Easy, Tamsyn Eastgate, Robyn Rosewarne and Alec Grodecki on the three concerts organised for Week 7 and 8. The standard was exceptionally high. It was a celebration of fabulous music and students able to perform to a real audience.

We had 25 students enter an online language speaking contest, across 7 languages and are very proud of the students’ achievement. They achieved 4xElite Awards (the top award) in Spanish, French, Korean and Chinese, 8xGold Awards, 7xSilver Awards, 5xBronze Awards and 2xCredit Awards. One student entered 2 languages and attained an Elite and a Gold Award. This year we had the highest number of students take part. Thank you to Cathy Hegarty and Andrea Bueno for their passion and commitment to teaching a second language. 

The Green Team, with the support of our volunteer, Nicole won the BCC WasteSMART Awards AGAIN!!

Congratulations to the P&C for winning the Band 9 P&C awards for 2020. The hard work and commitment to the school was acknowledged through this award.

Finally, well done to all Year 5 students who nominated for a leadership position and congratulations to those who were successful.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers at the school. The work of members of the P&C, the volunteers in the tuck shop and classrooms is highly valued. This year you might have felt a little ‘locked out’ but I hope that in the year to come, things will go back to usual. The partnerships between the school and families cannot be underestimated.

Last week, Tracy Freeman and I attended a two-day Primary Principal’s Association conference. The main theme was Re-Imagining Education. The common theme included: let children be children, creating an environment where curiosity is nurtured and all students are important, wonder and schools, curiosity, questions, concepts, listen to student voice, be brave, trust, problem solving, being vulnerable, authentic, ask before tell, think big, focus on pedagogy, teacher learner.

Having read this, I hope you see the alignment between the work YSS has embraced and continues to build on and what is now seen as teaching with a moral purpose.

I would like to end with once again wishing you all a good holiday. Thank you to the staff for a mighty effort this year. You are champions. Thank you to the students who stepped up and showed the resilience that was required and thank you to the community for standing by the students and school. We will gladly welcome 2021!

Community, Staff and Student Safety

We continue to remind some parents that they cannot enter the staff car parks for drop-off purposes or to park. Recently, parents entering the staff car park in a dangerous manner were aggressive to other parents who were following the rules. This kind of behaviour is not appropriate and not accepted at this school. Please do the right thing.

Student Code of Conduct

The 2020 Student Code of Conduct was ratified at the last P&C meeting. It has been uploaded to the school website. Please become familiar with this important document. Thank you to all who helped develop this piece of work. Next year, will see the implementation and embedding of a few new items. Most of the described behaviours in the matrices have been part of the Yeronga ethos for the last four years.

Quadrennial School Review

The completed, ratified and signed strategic plan for 2021-23 has been published and uploaded to the school website. Please read and enjoy. Thank you to all the parents, staff and students who contributed to the consultation and development of this plan.

Michelle D’Netto

Happy Reading,
Mrs Cowie and Mrs Hage 

BCC WasteSMART Awards

The Yeronga SS Green Team are WINNERS again - for the second year in a row - in the primary school section of the Brisbane City Council WasteSMART Brisbane Awards!!!

This special award recognises the Green Team's leadership in supporting YSS to go above and beyond to reduce our school's environmental footprint.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said this year's awards, which replaced 2019’s Cleaner Suburbs awards, received a record 195 nominations.

“Brisbane is home to many devoted environmental leaders. The WasteSMART Brisbane Awards are a chance to recognise the incredible efforts of people of all ages to keep our city clean and green,” Cr Schrinner said.  “All finalists have shown the utmost dedication to creating a more sustainable city, but they’ve also inspired other local residents to change their waste habits too."

This is absolutely a whole school effort! To our amazing school community who so willingly take on board all our initiatives, we thank you! This is for you all!! To everyone who has brought a nude lunch, recycled a container or recycled anything else in our myriad of recycling schemes, picked up litter, walked to school, composted food in the garden or any other little things you do every day to encourage our students to care for our planet, we see you and we thank you!!

Our New Australian Native Stingless Bee Hive

If you haven’t already been down to check it out, the school now has its first beautiful Australian Native Bee Hive, thanks to the very generous Kandel family from Prep.  These bees do not sting, although they can give you a little bite if you disturb their hive.  The hive is located in a tree between the hall and the library, a nice shady spot for the bees and a great spot for teachers and students to observe and appreciate the bees.  While European honey bees are important, our Australian native bees are critically important to the pollination of our native plants and trees and are an essential part of our fragile ecosystems.

Please show your children the hive and explain how they are important and to take good care of them by only looking with their eyes and not touching. 

For more information about Australian Native Bees, see https://sugarbag.net/faq.

Final recycling call

Please make sure you bring in all your recycling as soon as possible so that it can be collected by our program partners. We have Cash 4 Cans recycling in the big yellow and blue bins (there are 4 located around the school). In the library, we have battery, cords and phone recycling in the big purple wheely bin, e-waste in the big cardboard e-waste box, bread tags, felt pens and clean plastic bottle tops.

Many thanks!!

The Green Team

Thank You

Thanks to all for their understanding and contributions over a very unusual year. All the best for the Summer Holidays

Running Club

Running club has wound up for this term on Mondays and Tuesdays. Mr Sutherland will have the last of his sessions this Friday 4^th December. They are held on Friday mornings from 7:45 to 8:15.

School Swimming

School swimming lessons have concluded for Prep to Year 6, at Yeronga Park Pool. A big thank you to Yeronga Park Pool for their cooperation in organising and teaching lessons to our Prep to Four students and for the use of the complex for our carnivals, free of charge, and our behaviour celebrations at a very friendly price.

Swimming Carnivals

Thanks to Mr Sutherland and Mr Landbeck for being at the pool early to set up for the carnivals. Above and beyond what is expected on a normal day of school.

I’d like to commend our parent body for their help in running our swimming carnivals. Not only did they officiate, but some were at the pool very early to help set up and stayed very late to pack up. A very big thank you.

Senior Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to Evans; our champion house for the second year running.

Congratulations also to our Age Champions

8 Years

Girls                Emma G

Boys                Thomas D

9 Years

Girls                Layla B

Boys                Ben H

10 Years

Girls                Samantha C

Boys                Angus W

11 Years

Girls                Eady B

Boys                Hayden C

12 Years

Girls                Alex S

Boys                Hamish R

Junior Swimming Carnival

It was wonderful to see everybody swimming and also our year 6’s helping those who needed help. The carnivals were fast and fun. Thanks again to our parent body for a tremendous amount of work in keeping the carnivals moving smoothly.

Representative Sport Dates Release (Important)

The trial dates for term one of 2021 are listed below.

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.

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 Draft Sporting Dates Term 1, 2021

01/02/2021 – District Swimming nominations close

10/02/2021 – District Swimming Trial

19/02/2021 – District Squash

5/02/2021 – Paper Nominations District Golf (10 – 18 years)

22/03/2021 – District Rugby League ( Boys)

01/03/2021 – District AFL Trial (Boys)

03/03/2021 – District AFL Trial (Girls)

03/03/2021 – District Basketball Trial

12/03/2021 – Gala Day 1 (10 – 12 years)

22/03/2021 – District Netball Trial

22/03/2021 – District Hockey

30/03/2021 – District Cross Country
 

Cameron Bateman

Sports Teacher

MATHS OLYMPIAD

The Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiad is designed to stimulate and challenge primary school students. It focusses on developing and enhancing problem solving strategies through a series of questions throughout the year.

Congratulations to the all the year 5 and 6 students who successfully completed their certificate. Special mention to the following students who were awarded a medal for outstanding achievement.

Anna T, Sofia C, Annabelle A

Charlotte D, Oliver C

Rachel Wise