Dear Friends, 

On behalf of our school community I extend a warm welcome to newly appointed permanent principal of Yeronga State Highschool, Timothy Barraud. This is wonderful news and I look forward to working closely over the years with Timothy for the betterment and flourishing of our community. 

Student Leadership program 2022 and beyond…

The school leadership team continue to be committed to providing opportunities for all students in Year 3-6 to undertake leadership responsibilities that contribute to the betterment of the school community. For many years students in Year 3-6 have the opportunity to be elected to represent their class as a Student Council Representative and students in Year 6, more formal leadership roles. This important program that supports student agency and voice to decisions that affect their school will continue.

In 2022, the student leadership selection process and roles will look slightly different from what it has been previously. Formal leadership roles will continue to include; School Captains and Vice Captains, House Captains, and Performing Arts Captains with some minor changes to the selection process and criteria.

From 2022 at the commencement of the new school year, all students in Year 6 will be required to nominate for one of the four school priority area committees including; Wellbeing, Outdoor Play, Sustainability and Curiosity and Creativity. These committees will be supervised by one of the school leadership team and Year 6 teachers and meet twice per term. Through their active participation in the four Legacy Committees, students will be engaged in deciding on a legacy project in their final year of primary school and commit to fundraising and contributing to the committee goals through engaging with the students, parents, staff and community.

Students currently in Year 5 have begun their leadership journey this week at Currumbin Valley School Camp. Next week (Week 4), year 5 students will be briefed with the nomination and selection process for next years’ student leadership.

We’re excited to begin this process soon, and to work with our future student leaders. 

BYOD Consultation and Survey

Following the BYOD iPAD information evening earlier this term, all parents in Year 1 were invited to complete a survey regarding the BYOD iPAD program commencing in Year 2. This expectation to purchase an iPAD for children on entering Year 2 has been in place since the school introduced the 1:1 device program a few years ago. Following consultation with current Year 2 Teaching Staff, School Technician, Head of Digital Learning, Year 1 Parents and the school Leadership Team, Year 2 Students will not be expected to participate in the BYOD device program from 2022 on. The school will purchase iPADs for classroom use in Year 2. In response to feedback, parents will be asked to purchase an iPAD for children from Year 3. The initial cost to the school will be approximately $60 000. The school will purchase half of the required devices in 2021 in readiness for the 2022 school year and as funds become available, purchase more for the Year 2 cohort to use at school.

In order to ensure sustainability of the purchasing and asset replacement of iPADs the school administration is proposing the Introduction of a Voluntary Contribution scheme with DGR status for parents and community to contribute to the ongoing costs of digital resources and iPADS. Details will be tabled at the November PandC meeting.

School Facilities

At this stage the plan is for the school Administration, First Aid and Staffroom be open and operational ready for the start of 2022. As the first floor (classrooms and Curiosity Centre) will be still under construction during Term 1 2022 and the surrounding access still a worksite, classrooms will not be moving into the building until the full site is completed. It is anticipated this will be at Easter 2022 in readiness for Term 2.

Enrolments 2022

Please advise Tracy Freeman tfree1@eq.edu.au by the end of next week (October 28) if your child will not be attending Yeronga State School next year. This will enable the leadership team to begin finalising staffing and classes for 2022.

Have a wonderful week!

Eunice

Term Four is a busy term, where we continue our strong focus on teaching and learning, as well as our swimming lessons which are up and running for the whole school. The weather is glorious and it is important to remind our children to be ready for the warmer months by ensuring that students always have their school hat and full water bottle every day.

It’s been a fun filled fortnight as our Year 4 children enjoyed a trip to Pullenvale, Year Twos enjoyed their ‘Go with the Flow’ excursion and our Year Fives are currently on camp – hopefully the children are not too exhausted this weekend.

ACTIVE SCHOOL TRAVEL DAY

Just a reminder that every Wednesday is Active School Travel Day.  Many of our students have been ‘out and about’ travelling actively to school, particularly on a Wednesday.  Winners of the interschool weekly competition get to hold the coveted gold start trophy for two weeks.  Just a reminder that children need to get their books stamped at the stamping stations by 8:45am, as our lovely senior students need to pack up the station and get back to class.  There was an active school travel meeting held this morning – so keep an eye out for some exciting new AST initiatives in the coming weeks.

COLLABORATION AND PLANNING

Over the last two weeks our teachers have been engaging in collaboration and planning days.  During this time teachers on the year level come together to look at student voice, achievement standards for the year level and learning opportunities in the curriculum areas of inquiry, maths, english and digital technologies.  The teachers collaborate with each other to create a shared understanding of what our children need and want to learn – from here we look at ways of engaging our children to provoke thinking, engagement and creativity. 

World Teacher’s Day…

Next week our school is celebrating our wonderful staff for World Teacher’s Day. While there is opportunity for families to drop off some special treats for the P&C hosted morning tea, it would also be appropriate for your children to acknowledge and thank their teacher with some kind words in a card or letter.  Words of encouragement help all of us to have a boost, but it is also important to teach our children to show honour and respect for the help that they receive, and to be thankful for the people who shape and influence their lives. I regularly see how extra hard our dedicated staff work to make learning engaging, and the care and support they give to their students, often making many purchases from their own pockets to enhance their classroom needs and student learning.  So let’s take this opportunity to give them a shout out!

Call for Donations…

Christmas hampers – Donations can be dropped off to baskets in the admin foyer and 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.). 

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.

Coming Up…

15/11 Sub and Drink Meal fundraiser

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

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 commenced 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.

Swimming Carnivals

Swimming Carnivals will be held in Week 8 of this Term please see below dates and schedule. As this event is off school grounds and is water based, permission will be required for your student/s to participate. An email will be sent home with permission links for each class. Please complete this as soon as possible so your student/s can participate in the carnival.

Junior School - Monday 22 November 2021

• Year 1 - 9am -11am 
• Year 2 - 11:45am - 1:15pm 

Senior School - Wednesday 24 November 2021

• Year 3 & 4 - 9am - 11am 
• Year 5 & 6 - 12:00 - 2:30pm

I will again need parents to help out in timing at the senior (years 3 to 6) carnival and to help marshall and start races in the junior carnivals for years 1 and 2. There will be special operating procedures for these people inside the complex which I will pass onto them before the event. If you wish to help at these events please email me cbate12@eq.edu.au . Remember that places will be limited. All COVID safe plans will be followed during the event. 

Swimming Carnival Schedules

Senior Swimming Carnival - 24th November

Please remember that the times below are offered only as a guide

Years 3 & 4 or 8 & 9 Year Olds

The event order will be 9:00 – 9 yr 50m Freestyle Events,  8 Yrs 25m Freestyle Events, Kickboard on front, 9:30 – 9 Yrs 50m Breaststroke Events, 8 Yrs 25m Breaststroke Events, 10:00 – 9 Yrs 50m Backstroke Events 8 Yrs 25m Backstroke Events, Kickboard on back,  10:30 9 Yrs 50m Butterfly Events 25m Butterfly Events, 11:00 - 8 & 9 Yrs Age Championship Presentation.

Years  5 & 6 or 10, 11 & 12 Year Olds

The event order will be 11:20 - 50m Freestyle Events, 25m Freestyle Events, Kickboard on front, 12:15 - 50m Breaststroke Events, 25m Breaststroke Events,1:00  -Yeronga Swimming Gift:  (Boys/Girls Open Freestyle Race (ten fastest times swum in 50m heats for boys and girls)) 1:20 - 50m Backstroke Events 25m Backstroke Events, Kickboard on back,  1:50 50m Butterfly Events 25m Butterfly Events, 2:15 - Freestyle Relay 2:30 Presentation

Junior Swimming Carnival - 22nd November 

Classes (1M, 1LS & 1FM)

9am: 25m & 12.5m Freestyle boys and girls

9:10am 12.5m Independent kickboard on front boys and girls

9:20am 12.5m Assisted kickboard on front boys and girls

9:30am 25m & 12.5m  Backstroke boys and girls

9:40am 12.5m Independent kickboard on back /noodle boys and girls

9:50am 12.5m Assisted kickboard on back /noodle boys and girls

Classes (1C & 1O)

10am: 25m & 12.5m  Freestyle boys and girls

10:10am 12.5m Independent kickboard on front boys and girls

10:20am 12.5m assisted kickboard on front boys and girls

10:30am 25m & 12.5m  Backstroke boys and girls

10:40am 12.5m Independent kickboard on back /noodle boys and girls

10:50am 12.5m Assisted kickboard on back /noodle boys and girls

Please note that 1T, 1W and 1FM students need to be earlier than usual to school due to roll being called at 8:30am and events beginning at 9.

 -

Classes (2BH, 2L, 2W, 2P & 2C)

11:45pm: 25m & 12.5m  Freestyle boys and girls

12:00pm 12.5m Independent kickboard on front boys and girls

12:10pm 12.5m Assisted kickboard on front boys and girls

12:15pm 25m & 12.5m  Backstroke boys and girls

12:30pm 12.5m Independent kickboard on back boys and girls

12:40pm 12.5m Assisted kickboard on back boys and girls

12:45pm 25m & 12.5m  Breaststroke boys and girls

1:00pm 12.5m Independent noodle boys and girls

1:10pm 12.5m assisted noodle boys and girls

Important Sporting Dates Term 4, 2021

12 / 11 / 2021 – Gala Day 3

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

World Teachers' Day morning tea - Tuesday, 26 October

Let's spoil our teachers on World Teachers’ Day next Tuesday, 26 October!  

On the day we will show our appreciation by providing morning tea donated by our school community. You are invited to contribute to the morning tea by bringing a plate of sweet or savoury food for the teachers to enjoy. Please let us know what you would like to bring here, and drop your contribution at the Senior School Staff Room (ground floor, administration building) between 8:30 to 9:00am on the day of the morning tea.

This is a wonderful opportunity to honour the contribution of YSS teachers in supporting our kids to reach their full potential. Thank you in advance for celebrating the amazing job our teachers do at Yeronga State School.

The famous YSS Trivia Night is back! – Saturday, 13 November

Created by school parents, Rachel Mackenzie and Simon Lake, the YSS Trivia Night is a huge highlight on the calendar of FUN events for parents, carers and friends. You're invited to party like it's 2019 with our 'Lost in Music: from Beethoven to Beyonce' themed trivia night and disco.

Save the date, choose a costume, drag out the dancing shoes, and get ready for Yeronga's night of nights:

• Date:  Saturday, 13 November, 2021
• Time:  Doors open 6:00pm (trivia to finish by around 10.00pm, doors and dancing close at midnight)
• Location:  YSS school hall
• Tickets:  $10 per person - purchase via Flexischools
• Details:  Drinks for sale on the night, and BYO food. Prizes on offer for best dressed table (max 10 peeps). Tickets are booked individually not by table so just book for yourself, rock up and find some friends on the night.

For all your Trivia Night news, and to be the first to know when ticket sales open, follow the Trivia Night Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/249131160501465. Please contact Rachel at rackllmack@gmail.com.au if you have any questions.  

Final P&C meeting for 2021 - Tuesday, 16 November

Our final meeting for 2021 will be held on Tuesday, 16 November at 7:00pm in the Resource Centre (school library). Please join us to meet fellow parents, be the among the first to hear news and updates, have your say, and consider joining the P&C Executive team in 2022. 

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 last Y-Tour for 2021 on Wednesday 27 October at 4pm. 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. 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. We only have 2 Enrolment Interview session left in 2021!

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

Please bring the following along with your child:

- completed enrolment application
- past report cards
- birth certificate/proof of citizenship (passport, travel documents)

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