Dear Families,

I trust the return to school for our final term of the school year has been a positive one for your child/ren. As I catch up with the students and staff, I am encouraged by the many recounts of a truly relaxing break focussed on simple yet rejuvenating activities. Trips to the beach, camping, days at home and catch ups with friends featured a lot. I was blessed to be invited to join friends on a sailing trip traversing the inside of K’Gari (Fraser Island). So many whales, dolphins and turtles to spot, sunsets to relish and beaches to roam. It was wonderfully relaxing. We are blessed here in South East Queensland with our weather and natural wonders to replenish ourselves.

We welcome Emma Richardson to the Year 5 teaching team this term and know that Emma will be feeling supported by our excellent Heads of Curriculum, Inclusion Staff and mentors. I am encouraged and energised every day at the quality of teaching and learning that occurs at Yeronga State School.

Our student progress data continues to support the work of our signature practice of inquiry learning. Whilst the early years are focussed on learning to learn and foundational skills of literacy and numeracy, our students in the middle years are engaged increasingly in application of these skills independently to complex tasks. The Learning Assets (Kath Murdoch 2015) you will hear students refer to are skills that students are explicitly taught at Yeronga State Schools in order to engage effectively with an inquiry stance. To be a collaborator, self-manager, communicator, thinker and researcher are skills that our students learn and embody during their time at YSS and will stand them in good stead as learners and change agents throughout life.

We welcome all our new families. May your experience joining the Yeronga State School community be the start of life-long friendships and many happy memories. I encourage you to be proactive participating in the life of the school where you can. We are blessed with a very supportive PandC who are prolific in providing opportunities to be involved and engaged. I encourage you to consider attending our next PandC meeting on 19 October will be held in the Resource Centre (library) at 7pm.

As the two major infrastructure improvement projects are now fully underway, you will notice at times there are changes to access around the school. The school administration will endeavour to relay the changes as they are communicated from the project managers and to keep you up to date in real time via Schoolzine messages, Facebook and email. We thank you sincerely for your patience and understanding.

As the COVID guidelines and restrictions in SE Queensland advise, teachers and staff in schools and child-care centres must wear a mask even where physical distancing can be maintained. All visitors including parents and caregivers are asked to wear a mask when on the school site unless an exemption applies. Thankyou again for your cooperation.

As we commence this last term of the school year, I encourage all our families to work closely with your child’s teacher to ensure they conclude the academic year with confidence. For all our students the next transition will be to their new class in 2022 and for our Year 6 students to secondary schooling. Transitions that are supported and planned make for a confident start for students in their new learning environment. Open communication between parents and teachers is vital in supporting this process and I thank you for your role in this important partnership.

Here’s to a great Term 4!

Eunice Webb
Principal

Welcome back to the last term of the school year.  This term is traditionally a big term, we look forward to planned events such as the Prep and Year 1/2 Christmas Concerts, the Academic and Effort Awards, Sports Awards, welcoming new families in the Prep Orientation and farewelling our Year 6 students and families at Graduation.

CLASS ALLOCATIONS 2022

• Prep interviews for 2022 will begin next week. If you or someone you know is yet to enrol, please contact the office administration team regarding enrolment.
• 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 15 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. Thank you to all the students who dressed up in their book week costumes last term – this was a great success.

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

SWIMMING

Just a reminder that swimming will begin for classes next week.  Please ensure your child arrives at school with their swimmers, towel and goggles.

Tracy Freeman, Stef Kirk, Lyn Wood
Deputy Principals 

Inquiry Learning

We are lucky enough to once again partner with Dr Andy Howe (YSS Parent and Research Fellow at The University of The Sunshine Coast).

Andy is running a scientific process with all Year 4 students this term to add depth to their biological science inquiry. Students will compare bird predation on butterfly (plasticine) caterpillars and gain insights on relationships between caterpillars, birds and plants in different habitat types. 

Through inquiry we explore ways of building student learning capabilities.  We focus on the ‘Learning Assets’ of collaboration, self-management, communication, thinking, research and contribution.  Providing students with real world opportunities for research and learning application is of high importance.  The following table gives an overview of year level inquiries for this term.  If you have expertise in any of these areas, we would love to hear from you.

Welcome back to term 4! 

Again we are managing with Covid-19 restrictions having an impact on our lives, and what events we can do at school.  My annual Camp at School has been cancelled this year, and I am hopeful it can be back on the calendar next year.  Whilst I am not organising an official Camp at Home showbag like last year, I encourage every family to take some time to have some fun with their children, enjoying being together, and particularly if it can be in the great outdoors.   

Shout out for Donations… 

There are a number of opportunities that you can help me with:

Christmas hampers – Last year was a great success as I was able to deliver 20 hampers to families in our school community that needed a bit of extra help this time of year.  So let’s rally together with a generous and giving spirit, and bless our families.  Donations should be non-perishable special foods items (not your usual pantry items), gifts (books, small toys, games, etc) and decorative items (serviettes, bon-bons, decorations, etc.).  Baskets will be available in the admin building foyer until Friday 26 November.

Dressups –  it would be great to have a supply of dress-ups (costumes, capes, hats, glasses, etc) to help those children who don’t have a book week costume or ball games outfit.  So if your children have outgrown their costumes, please drop them off to the admin foyer. 

Uniforms & Shoes – I keep a supply in the office ready for children who have accidents while at school, or don’t have access to enough school clothes.  Bigger sized items are currently in short supply.

Exercise books and stationery – regularly accessed throughout the year for those who don’t have the required classroom consumables.

Blessings, Chappy Jenny
Email – jennifer.bennett@suchaplaincy.org.au
Facebook and Instagram – Community_Chaplain

Make No Rubbish Monday

Keep up the Nude Food momentum

Everyone made such a massive effort on Nude Food Day on Monday 23^rd August.  404 students came to school with no rubbish at all which is absolutely outstanding!  Let’s keep the momentum going with Make No Rubbish Monday every 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!

Cash 4 Cans Recycling

Thank you to all the families who bring their eligible containers in from home to contribute to our fund raising.  We have raised well over $1000 for our school.  Please make sure you discuss with your children what goes in the bin, that no rubbish or food goes in, just eligible containers, as Mr Sutherland has to clean out the rubbish when emptying the bins.  If the containers are contaminated with rubbish, the company who collect them won’t accept them and they will all end up in landfill. 

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! 

Email and social media are great ways to keep in touch with our school staff but sometimes what we say and do can hurt, intimidate or overwhelm others.

Aggression of any kind, either physical, verbal or online is unacceptable in the workplace, so it’s unacceptable in schools.

Remember, we’re all on the same team.

Your child, our student. One team.

Find out more about how we can all work and learn positively together. QLD.gov.au/schoolsoneteam

Over the past 6 months our soccer teams have been involved in an epic journey. Three of our teams (Senior A Boys, Senior A Girls and Junior A Boys) completed the Gala Day season as champions. The winning Gala Day teams in soccer qualify to enter the first phase of the South East Qld Cup. This competition involves participating in knock out games that start by finding the strongest District team and then the strongest Regional team. Our District and Region are extremely large in population and pose a number of strong soccer clubs and schools.

After a number of tough and exciting games our Senior A Girls and Junior A Boys won through as Regional Champions. Our Senior A Boys finished their journey as Runners Up in the region which was a huge achievement.

The Senior A Girls and Junior A Boys represented the Metropolitan West Region at the South East Qld Cup late last term at Maroochydore. This carnival day involved playing off against the other regional winning teams from the South East corner of Qld. Both teams performed very well and have many stories to share about the day. The Senior Girls finished as Runners Up after a nail-biting loss of 1-0. The Junior Boys were crowned Champions after winning several heart stopping games including the Final in Golden Goal extra time.

Mr Newby and Mr Curness would like to thanks all the supporters and volunteers who assisted the three teams over the journey.

Welcome Back

I hope you have had a great holiday and kept safe over the break. There are many events to look forward to this term which means that the long holidays will come up very quickly.

Running Club

Running club will continue, unless the weather makes it impossible to safely continue, 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.

Swimming Commencing in Week 2

School swimming lessons will commence in week 2, for Prep to Year 6 students,  at Yeronga Park Pool. Lessons will continue until the end of week 7 ( week ending 19 November). Please note that there will only be  five weeks as lessons are unable to be held in week 5 ( from 1 to 5 November). A big thank you to Yeronga Park Pool for their cooperation in organising and teaching lessons to our Prep to Six students and for the use of the complex for our carnivals, free of charge, and our behaviour celebrations at a very friendly price.

Please send your child with all of the appropriate equipment. These items are noted on the swimming information which was released last term.

Representative Sport Dates Release (Important)

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

15 / 10 /2021 – Gala Day 2

TBA – Gala Day 3

17 / 10 / 2021 – Paper nominations due for 11 & 12 years District Triathlon

22 / 11 / 2021 – Junior ( Yrs 1 & 2) Swimming Carnival

24 / 11 / 2021 – Senior ( Yrs 3 – 6) Swimming Carnival

6 / 12 / 2021 – Prep End of Year Swim

7 / 12 / 2021 – Years 1 & 2 End of Year Swims

8 / 12 / 2021 – Years 3 – 6 End of Year Swims

Ball Games Round up

Congratulations to all of our teams. It was a wonderful day played in great spirit and amazing costumes.

The competition Winners are as follows;

Prep is non-competitive

Best Costumes

1C – Chapman’s Children of the 80’s

2P – 2P Principals

5B – Clare’s Convicts

Cameron Bateman 
PE Teacher 

P&C funded grounds renovations start

As we prepare to head back to school for term 4, one of the biggest projects ever funded by the P&C for our school is about to get under way. The safety fences are up and remediation will soon start on the degraded areas between the hall and library, and the 'Old Netball Courts' oval (between the library and senior nature play area).

This is a significant project to bring innovative new play and outdoor learning areas for our children, and much needed drainage works to ensure the sustainability of the renewed spaces.

The area between the hall and library will be the first to get underway, and the school is working with the project managers to maintain access to the library for children and teachers. The whole project is due for completion by the end of the year. The photos here show the current state of the areas, and the drawings show the concept plans for the planned renovations.

Thank you to all in our school community for your support for fundraising efforts and P&C businesses (Tuckshop, Uniform Shop and YOSHC) to make this project possible, and to Tessa Leggo and the team at Fred St landscape architects (fredst.com) for preparing the plans.

2022 Senior shirt orders

A reminder that the deadline for 2022 Senior shirt orders is Monday, 11 October 2021. Senior shirt orders must be made using the supplied order form.

Order forms were given to all grade 5 students by P&C Uniform Shop Convenor, Yvonne Starr, in term 3, and also sent to parents via Parent Rep messages. A copy of the form is available here. Please ensure you return it to the Uniform Shop in hard copy or via email to uniformshop@yerongasspandc.org.au by the deadline. No extensions can be offered due to the lead time needed to order the shirts for delivery by the first day of school 2022. Payment for senior shirts can be made in the Uniform Shop or via Flexischools.

World Teacher’s Day

World Teacher’s Day morning tea will be celebrated at YSS on Tuesday, 26 October and two volunteers are sought to coordinate this special activity for our school. Please contact Sarah at operations@yerongasspandc.org.au to express your interest.

Parents and carers will be invited to donate a tasty plate of food for a special morning tea catered by our community to thank our wonderful YSS teachers for the important role they play in helping our kids to reach their full potential. Let's show our teachers how much they are appreciated!

Term 4 extracurricular activities

The P&C is pleased to offer a range of extracurricular activities before and after school for YSS children. The details of all extracurricular activities are listed on the P&C website, including days/times, booking and contact details - please contact providers directly for more information or to book in your child/ren for an activity: www.yerongasspandc.org.au/index.php/extracurricular/.

Activities include:

• Tennis, Netball, Football (Soccer), and the Active Kids program with RISE Sport
• Art and craft classes with Sophia Dias, Kids Art Fun
• Chess classes offered by Chessmates
• Private and two child guitar lessons offered by experience guitar instructors Kurt Lucas and Rowan Russell
• see P&C extracurricular web page or attached flyer for contact details
• Private piano lessons with Penny Hodgson or Chloe Hassan
• see P&C extracurricular web page or attached flyer for contact details.

School swimming caps and bags

With term 4 swimming lessons starting soon, the Uniform Shop stocks quality YSS silicone swimming caps which, at $9, are great quality, competitively priced and are available in the four house colours.

YSS swimming bags are the ideal way to keep each child’s swimming gear together so you know where to find it on swimming lesson day. The swimming caps and bags can be purchased through Flexischools or at the Uniform Shop.

Next P&C meeting - Tuesday, 19 October

The next P&C meeting is at 7:00pm, Tuesday, 19 October, in the Resource Centre (school library - or via zoom if need be). Please join us to be among the first to hear news and highlights for the final term for 2021.

P&C Website and Facebook for information and latest news

To keep up-to-date with YSS P&C information, news, updates and activities, please bookmark the P&C website - www.yerongasspandc.org.au - and 'like' and 'follow' the P&C Facebook page: www.facebook.com/YerongaSSPandC. These are key sources of information for our school community and are regularly updated by the P&C team.

Kym Mansfield and Hamish Townsend
Yeronga State School P&C Co-Presidents
president@yerongasspandc.org.au
www.yerongasspandc.org.au

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.

Yeronga SHS Enrolment Interview Sessions information

Please click on the link below to fill out a registration form if you’d like to attend one of our Enrolment Interview Sessions.

https://yerongashs.schoolzineplus.com/form/15

Please bring the following along with your child:

- completed enrolment application

- past report cards

- proof of citizenship (passport, travel documents, birth certificate)

For all queries, please contact our office at 3249 1400 or email us at enrolments@yerongashs.eq.edu.au

Save Plus Fact Sheet

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