Dear Families,

It is really lovely to welcome you back on to the school grounds. Similarly, the students back into their many curricula activities that have been on hold for the past few weeks. In these uncertain times, along with all the usual day to day unforeseen events, we must endeavour to provide as much consistency and predictability as possible for the wellbeing of all.

At present, except for two classes, you will have had the opportunity to engage in conversation with your child’s class teacher regarding their progress. Additionally, if your child is in year 3 or 5, their NAPLAN progress report will be coming home shortly. This progress report provides a snapshot of a point in time and is a useful indication of your child’s literacy and numeracy skills in comparison to their same age peers across the nation. It does not measure the application of literacy and numeracy skills to complex tasks such as the summative assessment tasks that inform the A-E Semester Reports.

Last Tuesday we acknowledged our school administration staff with a morning tea and sentiments of gratitude for the work they do. Last year when I was one of the Metropolitan Region Assistant Regional Directors I had the responsibility for 32 schools and visited them regularly. Of all of the schools I visited it was the Yeronga State School administration team that impressed me the most. They are the face of our school, the way they know every child, family and staff member and genuinely care for each one is exceptional and a gift to our community. Often, they are the first to hear when something hasn’t worked, or a communication was clunky, or someone is disgruntled. They handle all of this with grace every day. From making sure every child is safely at school or safely at home every day through the roll marking procedures, to administering medications, first aid and the front desk and phones. I know you join with me in acknowledging them for who they are and what they do for each of us every day.

Thankyou for cooperation with the emergent changes to the Stop, Drop and Go Zone recently. The expected crane will be in place shortly. Unfortunately, we are given a general time but the actual arrival dates are out of our hands. Please continue to monitor communications from the office regarding any changes. Please consider other park and walk in options at this time if at all possible.

Have a great week,

Eunice Webb

Principal

Dear Yeronga families and friends

I would like to introduce myself, especially to those I have not yet had the opportunity to meet.   I am working in the role of Deputy Principal at Yeronga, alongside Tracy Freeman and Stef Kirk.  My position is for the remainder of this year.  

I am getting to know your family, so here us a little about mine.  My husband and I have three adult children, one daughter and two sons, who no longer live at home. Our daughter is a teacher and we chat about school, including what she is teaching her Year 3 students.  Our boys discuss cars, house renovating, and various scientific topics of interest they share with their father.  We also have three small dogs who have quite different personalities, but all get along.

I taught for ten years in Ipswich, before moving to remote central Queensland, then taught in Mackay for several years, and returned to Brisbane seven years ago.  Until commencing at Yeronga this term, I worked at a school on the northside.  Yeronga is on the side of town where my children and I went to primary school, and a lovely place to be. 

Your children have shown me what it means to be curious and powerful learners.  Inquiry learning is embraced enthusiastically as students work collaboratively, contribute their ideas, and can clearly communicate what they are learning.   

I look forward to working with you, your children, and the dedicated Yeronga staff to ensure a successful second semester of learning, growing, caring and achieving.

Lyn Wood  

The last few weeks have been very busy with the school community getting back into the routines of school after the COVID lockdown.  Once again we would like to thank the school community for supporting teachers and families during this time.

CLASS ALLOCATIONS 2022

• Prep interviews for 2022 will begin next week. If you or someone you know is yet to enrol, please do so ASAP.
• Student allocation for 2022 will commence shortly. If you have any information of an educational nature you would like us to consider when we decide where to place your child for 2022, please write to Mrs Freeman (tfree19@eq.edu.au) by Friday 17 October.  Any requests received after this date may not be able to be considered.

ACTIVE SCHOOL TRAVEL DAY

Just a reminder that every Wednesday is Active School Travel Day.  We are hoping that active travel to school will start to pick up again.  Let us see who will win the gold star Active School Travel award these coming weeks. There will be a special Book Week dress up morning for Active School Travel on 9 September with special prizes being given for the outfits.  Children are welcome to wear their book costume all day if they would like to.

CLASSROOM REMINDER

Just a gentle reminder that we are still following COVID-19 safety practices, these include:

• Remaining in the downstairs areas for your children – if you need to talk to the class teacher at this time it would be better to send an email or arrange a time to meet
• When volunteering in the classrooms please sign in at the office first and follow COVID-19 handwashing protocols
• If you or your child are displaying any illness please do not come to school

BOOK WEEK PARADE

There will be a special Book Week Parade on 9 September at 9am for Years P- 2.  Children are encouraged to wear a costume that represents their favourite book/ book character.  We look forward to seeing the children in their wonderful costumes.

Stefanie Kirk, Tracy Freeman and Lyn Wood

The school is seeking your feedback on the recent at-home learning period.

This feedback will be used to improve the YSS Continuity of Learning Program in future lockdowns or restrictions.

Please click here to access the survey.

Statements & Outstanding Payments

Statements will be issued in the upcoming weeks. A reminder that if your statement shows a negative amount ie -$15 this is a credit and does not require any payment. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact the office.

If you do have any outstanding payments it would be greatly appreciated if you could attend to the payment. 

Office

Plastic Free July

Our fabulous tuckshop convenors, Stacey and Yvonne, are always looking for ways to reduce waste.  Since the end of last term (they started early), they have been participating in Plastic Free July by eliminating the plastic bags around drinks in the senior school.  In winter, this works ok, but when summer rolls around, the sweat on the drinks causes the paper bags to break.  They plan to continue into August without the plastic bags, until such time as they are required again.  By doing this, they are reducing the amount of plastic waste in our school grounds.  Plastic Free July is over, but what plastic item could you go without? Straws, coffee cups, water bottles, plastic bags, plastic cutlery?  Every person CAN make a difference!

Nude Food Day prizes

Well done to everyone for the massive effort on Nude Food Day in week 8 last term.  Over 350 students came to school with no rubbish at all and we halved our normal amount of rubbish on the day! 

As always, our sponsor, The Source Bulk Foods at West End provided two giant amazing jars of package-free treats for the winning classes.  The winning Senior School class was 4N and the winning Junior School classes were a tie between Prep 3 and Prep 4.  They also get to take the glory and enjoy the Golden Bin trophy as the winning classes!

Three individual winners were drawn from the names of students who brought no rubbish for both the senior and junior school.

Watch this space for news about Nude Food Day this term!

Make No Rubbish Monday

Every Monday is now Make No Rubbish Monday!  Why?  To reduce the amount of rubbish in our school, to teach our students good habits for the future, to eat less packaged food and make healthy fresh food choices!  Many of our families bring Nude Food every day, but we’d love everyone to get on board for our Make No Rubbish Mondays!

Library Recycling Hub

It was fabulous to see how many people have been donating plastic lids to the library recycling hub!  I will be able to deliver hundreds of lids to Ocean Crusaders who will recycle them.  HOWEVER, there were lots of the wrong type of lids and many dirty ones in there.  PLEASE, if you’re going to donate lids, make sure they are clean, the white insert is removed and that they are the right type of lid!  Please see the picture for the only lids that are accepted.

We also accept, batteries, phones, cords, e-waste, felt pens, ink cartridges and bread tags in the library recycling hub! 

Speech Pathology Week is from 22-28 August.

Shout out to our wonderful Speech Pathologist: Cindy Mu.

The theme for Speech Pathology Week in 2021 is: Communication is everyone's right.

Speech pathologists work to ensure everyone can communicate with confidence. It is important that the broader community understands that:

• communication is a basic human right;
• 1.2 million Australians live with communication disability;
• communication disability is largely invisible. Unseen and out-of-sight;
• confident communication helps maximise educational, health and social outcomes; and
• communication is more than just speech.

 Group Friendship Skills…

Being at school provides plenty of opportunities for children to develop their communication and friendship skills.  At times it can be quite difficult and challenging to find a group that is fun to be with and where everyone is also kind and respectful.  I recently worked with a group of students to help resolve some of their friendship issues.  One issue was that they couldn’t agree on what they should all play together at lunchtime, with some students wanting to do one activity while others wanted to play something else.  They all thought that if they didn’t do the same activity together that they weren’t being good friends and a being a close-knit group.

Doing things together helps to cement friendships by building common ground and having fun experiences to discuss and laugh over.  In this case though, being forced to play something by the peer pressure of the larger group was causing resentment and division.

In the discussions with the group, they realised that being a good friend means that:

• You don’t need to do everything together to be friends
• There are lots of different opportunities to enjoy being together e.g. eating times, group work in class, playdates, etc.
• It’s okay to let others step away to do other things without that impacting on the friendship circle
• There will be times where smaller sub-groups within the group do things together, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t all be friends together
• You need to let each other take turns at deciding what to do, giving everyone an opportunity to have a voice
• We all have moments, different needs and feelings that influence what we want to do each day. Sometimes we want to have a quiet lunch, reading, drawing or sitting and chatting, while other lunchtimes we may want to run around, play sport, or be silly.  We need to leave room for our friends to choose where they want to play.

Even though this was a school lunch-time issue, we can all learn from the group skills needed to be a good friend and to apply to our own adult friendship groups.  Do you have expectations of your friends that can cause division or disappointment?  Do you need to change how you interact with your group of friends? 

Coming up…

6/9 – NEW DATE!! for Sub and Drink Deal Day.  Envelopes have been sent home this week, or you can use the attached form.  Please return to the box in the library by 9am Thursday 2/9.

There are still a few “Annie” activity packs still available for $3 each.  The pack includes a QR code to access the movie at home, 4 x pages of Annie activities, some craft fun, and a small sugary treat. Please email me if you are interested, and I’ll make arrangements to send home with your children. 

Blessings, Chappy Jenny

Author Visit – Dr Cameron Stelzer, The Story Doctor

On Monday 6 September, we have a special visit from Author and Illustrator Dr Cameron Stelzer. Dr Cameron is visiting Yeronga State School to run workshops with our Prep and Year 1 students. Prep students will enjoy an interactive Big Screen Book Reading and follow-along drawing activity with Cameron. Year 1 students will participate in a writing workshop focusing on idea formation and inspirations for narratives. Students and teachers are looking forward to a great day!

In conjunction with the Author Visit, Yeronga SS families have a special opportunity to purchase signed and personalised copies of Cameron’s books at special prices. Individual books are $15 each and there are also exclusive book sets available. Forms and payment can be returned the following day, Tuesday 7 September, to the Library.

Running Club

Running club will continue, until landscaping works commence on the lower playing areas, this term on Tuesdays, from 3:15 to 3:45 and Thursdays from 7:45 to 8:15. Mr Sutherland will hold his sessions on Fridays from 7:45 to 8:15. Remember that all of these sessions will occur on the main, or years 3-6, oval.

MUSIC NEWS

MUSIC ENSEMBLE REHEARSALS

Good news! Extra-curricular music ensemble rehearsals (choir, strings and band) have resumed with some changes to adhere to our current COVID restrictions.

Junior Band Rehearsal - Wednesday 11am (1st break in the hall)

Senior Band Rehearsal - Thursday 11am (1st break in the hall) 

Junior Strings Rehearsal – Monday 7:45am (before school

Senior Strings Rehearsal – Wednesday 7:30am (before school)

Senior Choir Rehearsal – Tuesday 7:45am (before school under the shelter shed)

Junior Choir Rehearsal – Friday 7:45am (before school under the shelter shed)

With rehearsals being moved from the music room to outdoor spaces or to the hall to allow for social distancing, please remind your child that they need to arrive promptly to their rehearsal so they are not wasting time setting up instead of playing/singing.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC RECRUITMENT FOR 2022

It’s that time of the year again where the recruitment process begins for any current Year 2 and 3 students who are interested in joining the Strings or Band program in 2022. Current Year 2 students are eligible to join the Strings program next year while current Year 3 students are eligible to join the Band program next year. Current Year 3 students who are already learning a string instrument in the String program are not eligible to also join the Band program next year.

The recruitment process for both year levels is a three-step process:

1. Aural testing – strong aural skills are beneficial when learning a musical instrument
2. Parent Information Session – TBC (likely to be online again this year)
3. Physical testing – students try playing the instruments available to see if they are physically capable of holding them and making a sound on them.

The Instrumental Music teachers also consider observations made by class/specialist teachers when offering students a place in the Instrumental Music Program.

The aural testing stage will occur for all Year 2 and 3 students next week (Week 8). The parent information session and physical testing stages will occur in Term 4 and so please keep your eyes out for more information on these two stages on SchoolZine and via the school newsletter.  

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Amelie M in Year 5 for achieving an A for her AMEB Grade 1 Flute exam.

Also, congratulations to Edward B in Year 6 for being accepted into the Middle Years (Years 6 -9) State Honours Ensemble Program (SHEP) on the Tuba.

Both Amelie and Edward are members of the Yeronga State School Senior Band and they are fantastic examples of how hard-work and dedication allows you to thrive and progress on your chosen instrument.

MUSIC DATE CLAIMERS
(Subject to COVID restrictions)

October 13 - Junior Band @ MusicFest from 4pm at Iona College Performing Arts Centre

October 24 – Senior Choir @ MusicFest from 10am at Coorparoo State Secondary College

October 26 – 28 – Metropolitan Choral Honours Program (selected Year 6 students only)

October 31 – Strings @ MusicFest from 10am at Ferny Grove State High School

Friday November 19 - Big Play (Senior Band, Junior Band, Strings)

Friday November 26 - Big Sing (Junior and Senior Choir)

Yeronga SHS Y-Tour Enrolment Information Sessions information –

We look forward to welcoming you and your family to our Y-Tours. We welcome families to explore our facilities, meet our leadership team, student leaders and experience the Yeronga difference. This is a great opportunity for prospective parents to discuss subjects, the school and any enrolment information.

All are welcome to attend. Morning/afternoon tea will be provided.

Please click on the link below to fill out a registration form if you'd like to attend our Y-Tour Enrolment Information Session.

https://yerongashs.schoolzineplus.com/form/14

If you have any queries, please email us at office@yerongashs.eq.edu.au or contact our office at 3249 1400.

Thank you and have a great day ahead.