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We are looking forward to welcoming you back in just over a week’s time! As you are aware from the daily updates, we are still sending home students and staff who are testing positive to COVID-19. I thankyou for your ongoing vigilance over the next couple of weeks, to maintain the social distancing and hygiene protocols until the restrictions are eased on Friday 4th March. I expect we’ll still be managing disruption to the learning programs this term and will continue to prioritise the most important aspects of the curriculum for the students to master at this time of year.
Our students have started the school so ready to learn. The leadership team and I are regularly visiting classrooms and delighted with how every classroom has engaged and focussed students productively learning. Our school priorities continue to revolve around literate, numerate, curious and agentic learners. Explicit instruction of essential literacy and numeracy skills, questioning with an inquiry stance and self-regulated feedback to support agency in next steps for learning are evident in our 2022 Annual Implementation Plan. Please find our wildly important goals for the school this year as we work towards our school vision;
We are connected, curious, community minded learners and citizens who make a positive difference to our world!
When you are back on site, I encourage you to walk through the campus and take note of the many facility improvements underway. The extensive landscaped, nature play and overland waterway area between the Hall, Library and Yeronga Pool carpark area is coming to completion. The refurbishment of the old Queensland Health building to 9 classrooms, Administration, staffroom and STEM centre likewise, will be coming to completion. These works, along with air-conditioning to classrooms throughout the school, have been significantly supported by funds raised by the outgoing and previous PandCs. The next major upgrade will be removal of the old demountable building near Year 1 and Prep and the refurbishment of classrooms in the senior school. There is no doubt from the school’s perspective a new hall able to accommodate the whole school community for assemblies, special ceremonies, events etc. along with an electronic noticeboard and safe fence to the perimeter of our school site would significantly improve the safety and engagement of our students and families. I will continue to advocate through departmental channels and allocated budget for the improvement of our facilities. I firmly believe, if a school ‘looks loved’ it goes a long way to lifting school and community pride. Our PandC and supportive families are formidable allies and I encourage you to become involved this year to progress these much-needed community assets. The first PandC meeting is to be held on Tuesday the 15th of March in the school Library. I hope to see you there
You will have noticed permission requests coming home for your child to access websites whilst at school. These programs are embedded into the literacy and numeracy classroom routines and instruction. Please be assured the identified websites utilised at Yeronga state School have had a risk management assessment undertaken by the Department of Education. Only those assessed as low risk are used.
For students entering Year 2 this year, a bring your own device (BYOD) is no longer required. The BYOD program has been reviewed to apply to Year 3-6 students only. Year 2 students will access school purchased iPads from 2022. This is in response to community feedback with the majority of our early years families not supportive of BYOD in the early years. There are many benefits for older students having access to their own device. The school has committed $62 500 out of the 2022 budget to purchase the Year 2 set. At this point the school does not have the financial resources to purchase a ratio of 1:1 iPads in other year levels. Hence, the BYOD option for older students in Year 3 -6 remains in place. Any family experiencing financial difficulty or not participating in the 1:1 iPAD program for other reasons in Year 3-6 please do not hesitate to contact me. It is important we work through what needs to occur to ensure your child has equitable access to the curriculum on the same basis as their YSS peers.
I am very excited to hear the plans for the Student Leader Legacy Projects. The projects align to our Big 4 Learning Contexts; Sustainability, Wellbeing, Curiosity and Creativity and Outdoor Learning. The student leaders have commenced their leadership journey by taking turns at daily notices, ringing the bell, running virtual assembly and raising the flag. Shortly all of our Year 6 students will undertake their whole day leadership development day. This is a new and wonderful opportunity for our Year 6 students at Yeronga State school. Everyone is a leader if you care enough about something! We look forward to presenting the badges to our student leaders throughout the school at our Student Leader Induction Ceremony on Friday the 25th of March at 9.00am.
Thankyou to all of the words of appreciation and encouragement the staff and I have received over the past few weeks. We are united with you in wanting the very best for the children. Thank you for helping us make Yeronga State School a place of belonging and joy.
Have a wonderful week!
Eunice Webb
Principal
What a fabulous fortnight we have had at Yeronga State School! Classrooms were full of children learning and being curious, our new Prep families joined in the fun and we are looking forward to the Prep Welcome BBQ hosted by the P&C.
STUDENT COUNCIL
Each year the students in Years 3 - 6 have the opportunity to vote for a class representative to join the Student Council. This election process took place over the last couple of weeks and the successful representatives will presented with their badges as part of the forthcoming leadership induction ceremony.
Miss McDermott and Miss Kirk are eager to work closely with this year’s Student Council Representatives to enable this group to provide a voice for the students of Yeronga State School. These students are also invited to be part of the Halogen Young Leader’s Day, which is being held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Monday 28th March. This is an exciting leadership opportunity for our students to hear from a variety of high profile speakers and develop their future leadership potential.
Mobile Phones
Students are encouraged NOT to bring mobile phones to school due to the risk of theft and/or misuse of the mobile by self or others. Students are not to lend or share their phones and they will be held responsible for any inappropriate action where their phone is involved. As such students must have phones turned off and not visible during class time, must not use the phone during school hours and any phones brought to school remain the student’s responsibility. Failure to comply will result in the phone being held at the office until a parent/caregiver can collect the phone. Inappropriate use of the mobile phone at school will incur consequences as per the school Responsible Behaviour Plan.
All Smart watches must be set to aeroplane mode at the commencement and duration of the school day. If parents need to get in touch with their children during the day, please call the school office.
COVID NORMAL- UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENT ARANGEMENTS
The structure of the parent information and special assembly events has changed from previous years due to the Department of Education Industry COVID Safe Plan. Under COVID Normal parents are now welcome on school grounds and into classrooms, however social distancing parameters still remain. Until otherwise advised there will be no large grouping of parents in halls and classrooms. Please see the details below for our forthcoming events.
HELP KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE
For your child’s safety please ensure that students only enter the school grounds via the pedestrian gates (not the through any of the car parks). Cars are not to park in the school grounds. Street parking is available for parents. We also have a 2 minute – Stop, Kiss and Go area on Park Road.
The safety of our students is our priority, as these spaces have continual vehicle movement it is imperative that no student, even with and adult, walk through these areas. We thank you for your assistance in keeping our school a safe place to learn, grow and have fun.
RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
Queensland state schools embrace a multitude of cultural, religious and non-religious beliefs. Under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006, schools are to provide Religious Instruction (RI) if approached by a faith group seeking to provide RI and students of that faith attend the school. RI informs students about the beliefs and values of a particular religion. It is delivered by volunteers of a faith group using instructional materials approved by that faith group.
All RI instructors must hold a blue card and participate in compulsory Student Protection and Code of Conduct training. A school staff member will be present during the delivery of RI.
Participation in RI is not compulsory. Any student (except Prep) may participate in RI if a parent has provided written instructions to the school – this is an area on the Student Enrolment Form. This consent remains in effect unless the parent informs the school.
The RI program that is offered at the school is one based on the Christian Faith and will begin once visitors are welcomed back to the school.
JUNIOR PARENT INFORMATION SESSIONS
Thank you to all the parents who were able to Microsoft Teams into the virtual parent information session. Whilst it was a shame that we could not facilitate this face to face, it was still a lovely chance for parents to learn about how their child’s classroom operates as well as get to know the class teacher. Thank you also to our teaching team who work tirelessly to ensure the Yeronga learning community is being engaged and inspired in their learning.
We look forward to seeing you at our forthcoming Senior Parent Information session tonight!
BEHAVIOUR EXPECTATIONS
The last edition of the newsletter included information about our weekly Behaviour Expectations and Wellbeing lessons, based on Yeronga State School’s Behaviour Matrix, the five Learner Assets, our Wellbeing Framework, and Zones of Regulation.
This is the matrix which provides details about our three behaviour expectations: Be Safe, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible. These are separated into the five Learner Assets: Self-Manager, Collaborator, Communicator, Researcher, and Thinker.
These expectations and learner assets are referred to daily in classrooms, during active supervision of students during break times, and at assemblies. Your children will be familiar with this terminology, which is clear and consistent throughout the school. Ask your child how they were a self-manager today.
The next edition of the newsletter will include information about the Zones of Regulation. Follow this link to learn more: https://www.zonesofregulation.com/learn-more-about-the-zones.html
Just a reminder to parents that all carparks within the school grounds are for staff parking only. Parents using the carparks for student drop off and pick up is a safety hazard. Many staff are becoming increasingly concerned that a student will be injured whilst walking through the carpark.
- For school pick up and drop off, the Stop-Kiss & Go zone is for 5 minute parking only and you must stay with your car
- For any extended parking, all day parking is available in Honour Avenue and neighbouring streets
- If parking in streets, please be mindful of our neighbours and don’t park across driveways or footpaths
- Parents using the YOSHC Service are also not allowed to access the carparks and need to park outside school grounds
The only exception to this policy is for those parents who need to use the disabled carparking spots in the A Block and the Tuckshop carpark. If you need access to the disabled carparking bay, please contact the Office.
Late Arrivals and Early Pick up
A reminder to parents that if your child is arriving at school after 9am they are required to come to admin to collect a late slip before going to class. If you need to pick your child/ren up early from school, Parents are required to come to the office to collect a sign out pass before going to the classroom.
For student collection after 9am and before 2pm parents are welcome to park in the Stop Kiss Go Zone for longer than 5 minutes.
Survey Manager
On the 31st of January and email was sent out with a request for parents to fill in a survey. This survey is the consent we require for your students to be able to access the apps detailed in the IT levy invoice you will have already received. These apps have been selected for use by the school for education and communication purposes. Please note that not all communication apps (dojo, office, seesaw) will be used and are at the discretion of the teacher.
Additionally, without permission, your student/s will not be able to access the listed apps. The survey will remain open until the end of February. If you have any issues with the survey or have not received the email, please contact the office and we will be able to put you in touch with the most relevant person.
Gala Day - Permission & Payment
Students who are participating in Gala Day have been sent home with Pink and Blue Activity Consent Forms and the Sporting Contract. Students must return the signed forms to the office to participate.
Invoices will be emailed home on Monday. The due date for the invoice is 4 March 2022.
We thank you for your attention to this.
Senior Cross Country - Year 4-6
All students in Year 4 - 6 were sent home with a Yellow Consent forms to participate in Cross Country and Practice. If the consent form hasn't been returned to the teacher please do so as soon as possible.
Only students who have return the activity consent form can participate in Cross Country and the Practices.
Parent Teacher Interviews - BOOK NOW!!!
Parents were emailed on Monday about booking a Parent Teacher Interview.
If you have not yet booked a session please do so via the link below.
The sessions are now available to book via this link. Click HERE
When booking a session - at Step 4 please enter the below details at the ‘Add note’ box:
- Your name and best contact number
- Your student’s name
Bookings will close on Wednesday 9 March 2022.
Parent Booking Guide: https://yerongass.schoolzineplus.com/sk-booking-guide.
Regards,
Administration
Thank you…
I am overwhelmed by the generosity of this school community. Thank you for all the donations of stationery and exercise books, uniforms and shoes, and even cash contributions to purchase textbooks and meet other needs for vulnerable families in our school. I have been able to pass on most of the donations already to support classroom needs, helping students with their learning and making it easier for the teachers. Some of the uniform and shoe donations are made available for first aid or toileting incidents, while others are directly used to meet student uniform requirements.
Quarantine Care Packages…
Our lovely Uniform Shop Convenor, Yvonne, messaged me while in her own quarantine lockdown with a great idea to do something for families in our school who are in isolation. She was inspired by friends who had left food and care items, saying that the kindness extended to her and her family really made a difference in a time of isolation.
The quarantine care packages that I have put together vary depending on the age of the children, and the donations that have been made, although much of the content is purchased new, and includes things to help keep everyone busy. I’ve delivered many over the past week, and am happy to drop a package around to your family if you are at home too. Please email me with your address and I’ll come as soon as possible. And thank you to the P&C who have donated bags to bundle up all the goodies.
Harmony Day…
It is exciting that Harmony Day will again be celebrated in our school, this year on Thursday 17 March. The day highlights that within our school there are many different cultural backgrounds and yet we can come together as a community to work and live in harmony and have respect for each other. We will celebrate the day with two assemblies that include a flag procession and performances from our senior choir and each year level. This year we are also introducing a “cultural food fair” for parents only, in between the junior and senior assemblies. Please bring a plate of food to share that represents your cultural background, and if possible please write down a list of ingredients used.
9:15am – 10:15am Junior Assembly
10:15am - 10:50am Cultural Food Fair (for parents only)
11:50am - 12pm Senior Assembly
Flagbearers are chosen firstly from student country of birth, and then parent country of birth. If there are multiple students who were born in the same country, the oldest student is chosen. Unfortunately I also don’t encourage siblings to help their older brother or sister to carry their flag, as there are significant numbers of students that need to be managed already.
I’m looking forward to our very colourful celebrations!
Blessings, Chappy Jenny
Email – jennifer.bennett@suchaplaincy.org.au
Facebook and Instagram – Community_Chaplain
Bienvenido/Welcome to the Spanish Newsletter,
SPANISH MOVIES FOR KIDS: G AND PG RATED TITLES
In this newsletter as some families have asked about extra curricula ideas to support their children with Spanish. I thought ‘How can we challenge our learning of Spanish at home?’ Yes, there are many Apps and YouTube. This newsletter I am focusing on kid-friendly movie options, after all who does not love watching movies as a family or with friends. After the wild popularity of ‘Encanto’, hopefully producers understand we want more Spanish-language options!
Here are some picks, for watching as a family. You might have to rent or grab these off Disney. Ready? Let’s get started. Click on the title to watch trailer.
- ENCANTO (Spanish version)
Walt Disney Animation Studios' ENCANTO tells the tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift from super strength to the power to heal-every child except one, Mirabel. But when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her exceptional family's last hope. Available on Disney. Info: PG | Spanish/English Audio, Subtitles | 1hr 45min
- COCO (Spanish version)
A young Mexican boy, Miguel, has dreams of being a musician. Unfortunately, music is the one thing that’s forbidden in his family. Miguel ends up visiting the Land of the Dead, where he uncovers old family secrets. This has to be one of the most beautiful Latino movies made, with good music, stunning visuals, and a heart-warming tale of family, love, and memory. Keep the tissues nearby. Coco was meticulously researched, and is an excellent introduction to Day of the Dead traditions in Mexico. Available on Disney. Info: PG | Spanish/English Audio, Subtitles | 1hr 45min
This song is very popular with the kids I hear them singing it in class while doing their work in Spanish classes. Here is the Spanish version.
No se habla de Bruno (De "Encanto")
Muchas gracias,
Señora Andrea Bueno
abuen4@eq.edu.au
Dear Parents
To optimise functionality please ensure that you have updated your child’s iPad to the latest IOS and ensure that there is at least 30g available on the ipad.
All Relevant documents are linked below.
2022 Terms and Agreements. Please read carefully and discuss this with your child. This will now be an annual agreement. Every child in the BYOD programme will need to have a signed agreement.
2022 App list is specific for your child’s year level. Please do not delete previous apps as they may still be useful.
2022 Parent Checklist. This will help ensure that your child’s ipad is set up so that it is optimal for school use and safety.
2022 iPad Security and Safety. It is important for everyone to understand the expectations of keeping these devices safe.
Should you need help in setting up your child’s ipad or have any other questions, please feel free to send them to ict@yerongss.eq.edu.au or book an appointment.
Running Club
Running club will resume, when school resumes normally (after the 4th of March) and outside school activities are permitted, unless the weather makes it impossible to run safely, 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.
Regional Swimming Trial
Congratulations to the following swimmers who will compete at Chandler on Wednesday;
Toby A, Jackson C, Oliver C, Jesse S, Saskia A & Layla B.
Yeronga State School Senior (Years 4 – 6) Cross Country – 14 March 2022
Please peruse the following information regarding this event. Remember that the times are only a guide and that you should be at the event 30 minutes earlier than the scheduled time in case we run ahead of time. We would be glad of parent help in running this. If you are able please pass your name to Mr Bateman (cbate12@eq.edu.au).
8:30 Officials’ Briefing – Communication, Placement, Change – overs, Injuries and Missed Turns
Approximate Commencement times of Races
9:00 Boys Born 2010
9:15 Girls Born 2010
9:30 Boys Born 2011
9:45 Girls Born 2011
10:00 Boys Born 2012
10:15 Girls Born 2012
10:30 Boys Born 2013
10:45 Girls Born 2013
Representative Sport Dates Release (Important)
The trial dates for term one of 2022 are listed below.
District Sport and COVID
Please remember the following district/regional policy if your child is attending district or regional trial in term 1:
“In light of the department’s back to school Covid Safe Plans and Practices, as well as restrictions imposed by various school venues running many of our trials, we have made a decision that NO SPECTATORS will be permitted to attend Eastern Taipans District Sports Trials until further notice.”
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.
Important Sporting Dates Term 1, 2022
28/02/2022 – District AFL Trial (Girls)
03/03/2022 – District Touch Trial
09/03/2022 – District Netball Trial (10-12 yrs)
10/03/2022 – Regional Basketball Trial
11/03/2022 – District Hockey (Boys)
14/03/2022 – Yeronga SS Senior Cross Country (Reserve Day 18-03-2022)
15/03/2022 – Regional AFL Trial (Boys)
15/03/2022 – Regional AFL Trial (Girls)
16/03/2022 – District Rugby League ( Boys) 11s & 12’s
17/03/2022 – District Hockey (Boys)
18/03/2022 – District Cross Country Nominations
24/03/2022 – Regional Touch
29/03/2022 – District Cross Country
30 & 31/03/2022 – Regional Boys Rugby League (11’s & 12’s)
NOTICEBOARD