Dear Families

This coming week we acknowledge and celebrate International Teachers Day. We will be celebrating our Yeronga State School teachers on Thursday 27^th of October. Every year the PandC organise a lovely morning tea/luncheon for our teachers. A gesture that is appreciated beyond words. Teachers are a rare type of human. The job demands a required set of skills and disposition that demands both an earnest commitment and attention to detail at once with flexibility and openness. At a time when the teaching profession is experiencing a resignation crisis, as a society we need to support our teachers even more. Their role in the care and education of our children is a familial and societal need. They are our professional educators one for which they have trained between 4 and 7 Years at University. When we consider the individual care and education needs of each of the 25 individual children in their class for five hours a day, five days a week, it is a care service few of us could afford. At childcare per hour wages of $30 an hour x 25 children our educators would earn near $19 000 per week. An economic contribution in meeting the childcare needs of the broader workforce that is rarely mentioned. Research has shown time and time again that teachers are not motivated to join and stay in the profession for the pay or (frequently commentated on) the holidays. They do it because they are committed to young people and the purpose of their work. Increasing complexity in our world and demands of the curriculum is resulting in increasing levels of work-related stress and burnout. Acknowledgment, respect and appreciation goes a long, long, way. Please join with me this week in expressing a sincere appreciation for every one of our Yeronga teachers!

Lovely Nikita in the office has moved interstate to take up an opportunity in another career. I know you as we do, will miss her kind and patient approach to helping us out in the school office and wish her all the very best for the future.

We welcome Courtney Truce who is replacing Lauren Easey (music teacher). Courtney comes with a wealth of experience across the private and public system and we welcome her to our team.

The department has released an update of the Respectful Relationships program. The RESPECT program includes a greater focus on consent, cultural inclusion and prevention of gender and family related violence. We will not be adopting the updated version of the program without involvement of Department of Education staff, community consultation and awareness. At present we are implementing the original version of the program. For more information on the Respectful Relationships Program and updated RESPECT component please go to the department’s Respectful Relationships Education Hub.

It was wonderful to join our PandC members on Tuesday evening as we participated in a process of identifying operational PandC priorities for the future. I was encouraged and excited by the optimism and enthusiasm in the room. One common them that emerged, opportunities for our community to connect and celebrate are top of the list! Please look out for the many opportunities coming up coming up this term.

Have a wonderful week,

Eunice

Upcoming School Events

Please refer to the school calendar (Schoolzine and School Newsletter for details)

• World Teachers Day 27^th October
• Day for Daniel 28^th October
• World Tuckshop Day 11^th November 6pm
• Big Play and Big Sing
• PandC Trivia Night     12^th November
• First Nations Family BBQ 16^th November YSHS 2pm
• Art Soiree – PandC Adults Only Opening 26^th November 5-7pm
• 2022 Family Viewing – 28,29 and 30^th November 3-6pm
• 28 November 3-6 Swimming Carnival 9-3pm
• 29 November 1-2 Swimming Carnival 12-2.30pm
• 1 December – Year 1 and 2 Academic Awards 9am
• 2 December -Year 3-6 Academic and Sports Awards 9am
• 5 December -Year 1 and 2 Christmas Concert

                        Year 6 Graduation

• 6 December -Prep Christmas Concert
• 7 December -Celebration Fun Day Whole School

                       - Semester Student Reports emailed to parents

       -      9 December – Last Day Term 4 2022

2023 Class lists emailed to parents January 18 2023

School Resumes January 23 2023

Day for Daniel – Friday 28^th October

Held annually on the last Friday of October, Day for Daniel honours the memory of Daniel Morcombe. We ask all students and community members on this very special day to wear Red.

The theme for 2022 is brave conversations. Parents, carers, and educators are encouraged to start a conversation with children about personal safety. The website below has some excellent resources and videos that you can use to start a conversation with your family about personal safety.  https://danielmorcombe.com.au/keeping-kids-safe-resources/

Using Devices (iPads, phones, smart watches) on school grounds

At this weeks senior assembly, students will be reminded about the expectations of the use of devices while on school grounds (before, during and after school). Please help support the health and safety of our students by recapping these rules at home:

• No messaging / calling / personal emails etc before, during or after school. All communication between students and their families should go through the office.
• No social media before, during or after school.
• No taking pictures of yourself or other people before, during or after school (unless directed by a teacher and related to class work)
• Only use Apps as directed by your teacher.
• If you come across inappropriate content, speak to your teacher or parent

Zones Of Regulation

As a school we are continuing to focus on the Zones of Regulation to assist in the social and emotional regulation space.  Sometimes you may hear your child talk about being in a particular zone – please see the resharing of information below regarding the different Zones of Regulation.

Being Safe Online

At yesterday’s staff meeting, the teachers worked with Tricia, From Eyes Open Social Media.  Some of you will remember Tricia from our previous student and parent online safety workshops last term.  Tricia worked with our teachers about how we can support students to be safe online, how to foster a critical awareness and healthy usage of social media platforms with our children, and the relevant laws to online conduct.  Being safe online is so important, and our children are using technology more than ever!  Practical suggestions for students are crucial and proven to be the most effective way to teach students how to be safe online.   Each senior assembly, Miss Kirk will present an e-safety kids guide to some common problems we hear about from our students.  We will share these guides in the newsletter, so that you can support online safety at home too!

eSafety Kids – responding to unwanted contact

In todays world, we all stay connected via our devices.  Our students are no different. Have you ever heard your child say “they won’t stop messaging me?”  Below you’ll find a link to some hot tips  from the eSafety Commissioner on how to respond to unwanted contact.  

https://www.esafety.gov.au/kids/I-want-help-with/someone-is-contacting-me-and-i-dont-want-them-to

Stef Kirk and Tracy Freeman
Deputy Principals

Upcoming Payments

Friday 28th October - Year 5 Camp permission and Payment are due. If you require any assisstance please reach out to the office before Friday.

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.

As we come to the end of the year we would like to remind you about updating details. If you need to update your details or add people to the emergency contact list for approved persons, please contact the office as soon as possible to arrange this. 

INVOICE PAYMENT

Term 4 statements will be issued to parents at the end of this week. As we approach the end of the school year, I would like to remind all parents to ensure any outstanding invoices are paid in full. At present Yeronga State School has more than $22 000 in student debt.

Just a reminder that a negative amount is a credit on the student account. This amount does not need to be paid.

Payment can be made through BPoint www.bpoint.com.au/payments/dete or QParents.

If you are experiencing financial hardship, please contact the Business Manager, Ruth Bennett, on 3426 0333 or email rbenn127@eq.edu.au. All communication will remain strictly confidential.

Kind Regards, 

YSS Office Admin Team

With the upcoming class allocations and orientation activities scheduled for our incoming Prep students, we ask that ALL applications be submitted by Friday 28th October 3pm. This will ensure we have enough time to interview your child before the activities kick off, and allocate them to their future class ready for orientation morning. 

If you are having any issues accessing forms or have any concerns, please reach out to the office as soon as possible. 

We look forward to welcoming our new Prep students! 

Generosity

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion” – Dalai Lama.  A part of being compassionate is responding with generosity to make a difference in someone else’s life.  And while our motivation is to be kind and supportive, being generous also has a positive effect on our own health and wellbeing, and is a key factor in changing our attitudes and leading a happier life.  When we look to the needs of others, it helps us to have a greater perspective on life and shifts our focus from our own struggles and issues. So happy giving!

Shout out for Donations 

There are a number of opportunities that you can be generous in our very own school community:

Gift hampers – there are many that need a bit of cheer and help, so we have the opportunity to be generous each year and support our families in need.  Baskets to collect donations will be available in the admin foyer until Friday 25 November.  Goods 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.).  Why not make a purchase each week for the next five weeks?

Dressups –  costumes are needed to help students supported through the EAL/D program who don’t have a book week costume or ball games outfit. If your children have outgrown their costumes, capes, hats, glasses, etc. please drop them off to the admin foyer.

Uniforms & Shoes – spare uniforms are required for children who have accidents while at school, or for those who don’t have access to enough school clothes.

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

Coming up

Monday 21/11 Sub and Drink Lunch Deal – the last opportunity for 2022.  Place your order before 9am on Thursday 17/11 by ordering here: https://myschoollunch.com.au/yeronga-ss-staff-or-student-selector 

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

In a world-first road safety initiative, new speed camera technology will soon target speeding drivers at selected school zones across Queensland.

Everyone has a role in keeping our roads safe. It is imperative drivers reduce their speed to the signed 40 km/h speed limit and be aware of activity by students on or near the road.

Speed cameras will only operate during school zone times at the selected schools.

Parents, and carers dropping off or picking up students are urged to comply with school zone speed limits. Those who slow down will not be penalised.

Hi Families,

Welcome to term 4 music. My name is Courtney Truce, and I will be teaching classroom music and conducting the choirs this term. I am excited to start here at YSS and am looking forward working with the students, staff, and families over the course of the term. Term 4 is an exciting term for our Prep, Year 1, and Year 2 students as they put into practice what they have learnt earlier in the year, and all go onto compose their very own piece of music.

Prep

This term we will be consolidating our knowledge of the beat. Students will put their knowledge into practice when they go on to discover new, untuned percussion instruments and when composing our own piece of music. Students will also be identifying low and high sounds and singing in tune by themselves in our games and songs.

Year One

Students will be focussing on naming some new notes (Mi, Soh and Lah) and using these in their own composition. In addition to this they will be investigating tuned Percussion instruments and playing them in class either solo or accompanying themselves while singing.

Year Two

Year two students will be consolidating their understanding of rhythm and using their rhythmic skills to perform simple partner songs and ostinatos in groups. They will also be composing their own piece of music that will demonstrate their understanding of rhythm (ta, titi, tika tika, zah and minim). Students will be learning about String Instruments and will perform simple songs on the Ukulele while singing.

Choir

All Choir rehearsals will recommence as of week 3 (week commencing 17/10/22)

Junior Choir

Junior Choir rehearsal will now be held on a Tuesday morning at 8am in A block, next to the art room. Thanks to all families for being flexible with this change so that we can prepare for our performance later this term.

Senior Choir

Senior Choir Rehearsal will continue to rehearse Thursday morning at 8am in the music room.

Senior Choir Chamber singers will rehearse Tuesday first break in the music room.

Big Sing

Due to limited rehearsal time, the Big Sing concert will not go ahead as planned on 18/11/22. However, All choirs will now be performing at the Big Play concert on Friday 11 November.  

Courtney Truce 
Classroom Music Teacher

Southside String Festival

The school string ensembles have been showcasing the school's rich music talent recently with some  performances at some Brisbane school ensemble competitions. 

Chamber Strings entered the Southside String Festival last term and received a Gold Award. A Gold Award ensemble is considered to be extremely competent in all aspects of musicianship, technique and presentation. 

The Brandenburg Senior String Orchestra and the Stradivari Junior String Orchestra performed at Music Fest at Somerville House last weekend. The Senior String Orchestra were commended for their solid tone and lovely balance and blend and received a Gold Award. The Junior String Orchestra were commended for their strong firm sound all around the orchestra and received a Silver Award. 

Congratulations to all the students on your performances- the many hours of practise and ensemble rehearsal paid off! 

Running Club

Running club has resumed in Term 4 and will continue until the end of term unless the weather makes it impossible to run safely or public health restrictions return. Sessions will be held on Tuesdays, from 3:15 to 3:45, with Mr Landeck and Thursdays from 7:45 to 8:15 with Mr Bateman. 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.

Senior (Years 3-6) Swimming Carnival Changes

This year we will be running time trials to determine those eligible for 50m events. Due to the increase in student numbers across the school we will now only have the students who swam the fastest 16 times for an event swimming 50m for that stroke eg 10 Years Boys Freestyle. Those not in the fastest 16 will now swim in the 25m events to contribute to the success of their house. It is a decision that makes the best use of the time we have at the pool for carnivals for all students and satisfies the often competing aims of preparing students for the 2023 District Swimming Trial and allowing as many students as possible to participate at the carnival.

Congratulations Eve!

A big congratulations to Eve C who competed last Tuesday in the Qld Schools Athletics Championships. Eve placed 7^th in Qld for the High Jump. In the process she achieved a personal best of 1.23m. I would think that is higher than the shoulders of most of the students at our school. It is a great effort and a just reward for the effort Eve has put into her favourite event this year. Well done Eve!

New Football Goals

A big thank you to Mrs Webb for the purchase of our new portable football goals. Please remember, though, that although these goals are metal they are not built to be climbed upon. Please do not climb on them as you will be endangering yourself, damaging the goals and be the unhappy recipient of a white slip.

Representative Sport Dates Release (Important)

The trial dates for term one of 2022 are listed below.

District Sport and COVID

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 3 & 4, 2022

28/11/2022 - Yeronga State School Senior Swimming Carnival (Years 3 – 6)

29/11/2022 - Yeronga State School Junior Swimming Carnival (Years 1 & 2)