30 July 2020 - Term 3, Week 3

News from Mr Johnson

Dear Parents,

VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS
Shortly, Ironside State School will be sending out the letter of request for voluntary contributions.

In any ‘previously normal’ year this letter is sent out each semester (twice per year). This year, I made the decision not to call for voluntary contributions in the first semester.

I wanted to ‘flag’ this request that is heading out to families. It is sent out, with deep understanding of the context we find ourselves in at this time in 2020. It is exactly as it reads – VOLUNTARY.

CAR SIGNS – A HUGE HELP!
If you collect your child using a vehicle please have the A4 paper sign with their first name, surname and class printed and displayed in the windscreen. The signs are predominantly for the benefit of staff. While we’re ‘pretty good’ we are yet to retain individual child and aligned family transport vehicle information!! Your help with this is very much appreciated.

PARENTS TO REMAIN OFF SITE
Parents must continue to remain off our school grounds and not gather at arrival and departure time. We are maintaining our practice of ‘By Appointment’. You are welcome on site providing that you have:

An agreed appointment (including volunteers to our shops etc.)

Presented to and signed in at the Administration Office – our records of who was on site and when are vital at all times, but particularly in the context of our current operating procedures. I appreciate your support with this.

Some parents are now starting to take advantage of the unlocked gates in Central Avenue and Ironside Street. Parents are coming onto our school grounds having not presented to the office. RECORDS OF WHO HAS BEEN ON SITE ARE VITAL AT THIS TIME. If you are coming onto the school grounds please enter by the Hawken Drive gateway only and present to the office as your first priority.

All the best for the week ahead. Stay safe and well.

*The Pocket - Early Education and Care*

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Just a three minute drive from Ironside, our purpose-built centre offers a fun and supportive learning environment for your child, with state of the art facilities, engaged staff, nutritious meals prepared daily and our very own FUNdamentals program.

As an early learning centre, we at The Pocket believe that each child is unique. Because of this we cater to your child’s individual needs and developmental pathways, through our ‘learning by playing’ philosophy. This allows your child to better understand the world in which they live, through our planned early education programs which engages their capacity to participate, communicate, investigate, create, and reflect.

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Educating and caring for your child 5 days per week, 52 weeks per year, 6.30am-6.30pm to support you and your family.

To join our Pocket community, call Elise, our Enrolments Manager, on 3568 5800 or 0476 997 332 or email enrolments@thepocketchildcare.com.au to discuss your children’s requirements.

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Merit Certificates from Term 3, Week 2

Ironside Tennis Tournament

Girls Singles - Winner: Emily B
                               Runner Up: Poppy B
                               Score: 6-4

Boys Singles - Winner: Charlie Mc
                               Runner Up: James W
                               Score: 6-3

News from Mr Murdoch

Dear parents and caregivers,

2021 Prep Information Video
Our Prep Information Video is now accessible on the school’s website. This video will replace the information evening that took place early Term 3. 

For families with children who are eligible to commence Prep in 2021, this video is now the first step in our enrolment process. It will provide an overview and general information in regards to what families and children can expect in the first year of school. 

For further information, please see:

https://ironsidess.eq.edu.au/enrolments/prep/2021-prep-enrolment-information

Year 2
This week, 2E had the wonderful opportunity to Skype with a Year 2 class from Kori Nevers Gakuin Elementary School in Osaka, Japan! Although we had some technical difficulties, we were able to watch the Japanese students' self-introductions and participate in a quiz about Japan. It was a fantastic experience for the students from both countries and we look forward to receiving a postcard from our new pen pals! 

News from Mrs Vecchio

AFTER-SCHOOL PICK-UP
Thank you to parents who are co-operating with the after-school collection protocols and routine (below).  It makes a huge difference when parents of students in Years 1 – 6 delay their car pick-up until 3:10pm, allowing Prep students to be safely collected first at 3:00pm. 

Please be reminded that the pick-up areas are two-minute zones between 2:00 & 4:00pm – arriving early and parking in the pick-up zone is illegal and causes traffic chaos.

LIBRARY UPDATE
Congratulations to Kwahish G and Summer H who were awarded Library Medals of Service.  The Medal of Service award recognises the generous amount of time and commitment given by these students to the Library. They have volunteered for at least two shifts per weeks for over 70 weeks – an outstanding achievement! 

Over the past weeks, a number of other Library monitors have received Life Member badges for their service to the Library: Lola D, Genevieve D, Dahoon C, Miwa U, Emily F, Liam H, Emily B, Rachel T, Catalina F, Evangeline B, Mikumi L, Harriet C, Zada A and Mahjabeen A.  Library monitors perform a range of tasks including shelving, borrowing and returning using the Alice system, and helping other students.  They are valued members of our school community.

YEAR 4 INITIATIVE
On their own initiative, a group of Year 4 students has set themselves the task of inquiring into the problem of litter in our school environment.  Currently, they are in the “finding out” stage of their inquiry - observing and recording, gathering information and practising research skills.  At the same time, showing care and respect for our school and our world.  As one student reflected, “The big picture … is about a cleaner future”.  We look forward to further updates!

News from Mrs Bairstow

LOST PROPERTY
It is normal at this time of year to see an increase in lost property – as jumpers and jackets are removed as the days warm up from the chilly mornings.  Normally, our Student Councillors manage the quantum of items – but in the interest of managing the risks that may be associated with touching lots of items that have passed through many spaces and places, we have made the decision to remove this responsibility from the Councillors until further notice.  With parents not permitted onsite without a specific appointment –the opportunity for adults to collect lost items on behalf students is also limited.  In their current state, the lost property shelves & boxes are now literally overflowing – which is not in the best interest of our collective health and safety.

These circumstances now lead to the need for students to take personal accountability for retrieving their lost items. 

There are two lost property locations:

• On the J Block verandah (between the rear entrance of the hall and the 4F & 4G classroom spaces) and
• Outside After School Care (under L Block).

If you are missing any items – inclusive of clothing and lunch boxes, drink bottles etc please encourage your child to check one of these locations in the next week.  All unlabelled and/or uncollected items will either be added into our Mondo Bin for recycling on Friday 7 August.

Information about how our Mondo Bin works for the environment and our school is detailed below:

ONLINE ORCHESTRA
During last term the district offered children in Education Queensland instrumental programs the opportunity to participate in an online orchestra.  Quite a few of our students did the orchestra and it has been released on You Tube.  Please follow the links below to enjoy some of the performances.  The additional time and effort is a credit to the students who participated and continued their dedication to our instrumental program throughout the disruptions that Covid caused last term.  Well done!

ENJOY!!

Strings Orchestra

• Salty Sailor (Keith Sharp), strings, https://youtu.be/-zpxrm3P-9c
• Soul to Keep (Keith Sharp) strings, https://youtu.be/lX-bFSS3XxU

Primary concert band

• Alexander the Salamander (Paul Kucharski), primary band https://youtu.be/1qyB9wj_p0s

YEAR FIVE CAMP CANCELLED
The following communication was sent to Year 5 parents earlier this week:

Thank you for responding to my request last week regarding an expression of interest regarding attendance at Year 5 Camp at Tyalgum Ridge.  As mentioned in the original email, our attendance was only viable if we had approximately 85% of our students intending to participate.  After collating your replies, only 57% of the Year 5 cohort were planning on attending.

Being informed by the community, we have therefore made the difficult decision to cancel our booking at Tyalgum for 2020, and so there will be no Year 5 Camp.  Many families have asked if it is possible to book a camp in Queensland.  Most school camps are booked out several years in advance, so this is not an option.  We acknowledge that this will cause disappointment to many children and families.  The cohort does however, have the Sydney-Canberra trip to look forward to in 2021.  This is already booked for July 12 – 16 next year.

Thank you for your feedback and understanding.

YEAR 6 PARENT VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE
Under normal, non-Covid impacted circumstances, by this time of the year we have a well-established volunteer working party of Year 6 parents who work alongside us to plan and create a memorable end of year round of celebrations for the graduating student cohort.  Given the interruptions to last term, and the uncertainty around what restrictions may look like in December, there hasn’t been any formal communication around this as yet.  However, while uncertainty remains, I would now like to invite parents who would be interested in contributing towards graduation celebrations and commemorations to start to think about contributing.  Normally we work with sub-groups that manage the following events / items / areas:

• Student Year Book
• Decorations for graduation night
• Catering for student celebrations
• Catering for parent celebrations

This year, I can offer no certainty about what these events and/or groups might look like – but I am keen to gather support and parent interest if you are able to donate some time/skills/ interest/passion in any of these areas – or just to be a helper.  The Year Book is something that thankfully won’t be impacted by Covid – so if you are able to volunteer to collate this, we have a lot of information and advice to share from previous years.  In a year that has been impacted so greatly for our Year 6’s, we are keen to work with you to ensure that the end of their time at primary school will be memorable for all the right and happy reasons that it should be.  If you are willing to volunteer, or wish to ask more questions, please email me at jbair51@eq.edu.au

Community Providers

To enquire about advertising please send an email to news@ironsidess.eq.edu.au

P&C Fundraiser

The NEW 2020 | 2021 Entertainment app is now available for purchase, so you can save money AND help raise funds at the same time (20% / $14 per membership will go to the P&C).

Let’s support our local community and our school’s P&C Projects!  $206 raised.

**Order online at http://www.entbook.com.au/2y22817.

If you need further information, please email Treena:  ISSEntertainmentBook@gmail.com .

Tuckshop

Birthday Treats Online Ordering
Thinking about something for your child’s birthday party at class?

Cup Cakes, Ice Blocks, Ice Creams, Frozen Yoghurt, Jelly Cup are all available from the Tuckshop for delivery to your child’s class at Second Break!

Please call the Tuckshop 07 3258311 * 2 at least two days in advance to place order.  Online orders also available through the Qkr! app.  Please call to confirm your order has gone through.

Tuckshop Roster

Community Information