24 May 2024 - Term 2, Week 6

Acknowledgement of Country

News from Mrs Kelly

Hi Everyone,   

A group of our children were in the North Brisbane Chess Competition and they are the C Division Champions!!!  Congratulations to all of them!  There also were some very exciting individual placings.  Congratulations to Jacob Lee 1^st (7/7 wins) , Yuval Koifman 2^nd (6.5/7 wins), Rishyaan Pradeep 3^rd (6/7 wins) and Victoria Liu merit ribbon (4.5/7 wins).  Thank you so much to Mr Neil Malcolm and Mr Tim Shepherd for supporting our Chess Team!

Today and yesterday we have welcomed the Denpasar’s Children Centre from Bali here to Ironside State School.  It is a wonderful cultural experience to have these relationships with international schools.  We certainly hope they enjoyed their time with us, as much as we enjoyed having them.  Thank you to Mrs Shelley Lee for organising this visit.

Thank you to our librarians Ms Cath Roche and Mrs Annika Sauvage for organising our Book Fair, which was very popular amongst our children.  It was great that it coincided with National Simultaneous Storytime and what an honour it was to read a story to so many children at once!   This year’s chosen story was Bowerbird Blues by Aura Parker and it is such a clever book, with so many interesting elements.  The main message is that it is relationships, not things, that are the most important in our lives  -  I couldn’t agree more.  It also highlights the incredible Bowerbird and the miracle of nature in general.  For me, I also felt the pang of knowing just how much rubbish humans are creating and how we need to arrest this for the sake us all, especially future generations. 

Thank you to everyone involved who made this happen, especially our tech crew, librarians, staff who sent in bowerbird clips and Mrs Gillian Bishop, our marvellous MC.  Thank you also to Mrs Bishop and 1D who presented me with my very own bower!!

I have had a lot on but I am starting to spend some time in classrooms, getting a measure on the teaching and learning at Ironside State School.  I want to thank the teachers who are welcoming me into their classrooms, it is inspiring to see their passion for educating children in action.  It is important that I add how welcoming the children have been too.  It is incredibly impressive to interact with them and witness their higher order thinking.  As parents and families, I have no doubt you are so proud of the children you are raising.  Our future is bright with the children of Ironside State School becoming the future of tomorrow.  Congratulations to everyone for such outstanding parenting.

Have you noticed that our gardens and buildings are starting to look a bit cleaner and brighter?  I want to thank Mrs Carla Trueman, our Business Manager, who has brought in some teams to help us improve our general environment at Ironside State School.

We have held a fire drill recently and next week we will have lockdown practice.  It is important for us to do this as a school, so that we are ready if anything ever happens (very unlikely!).  Please feel free to have conversations with your child to reassure them if they find these sorts of things disconcerting.

Congratulations to all of our award winners for the last fortnight! 

Sadly I had to miss the Year 2 Choir singing on assembly last week but I believe it was fabulous.  Congratulations Year 2 Choir and Mrs Marianne Huxley.

I was actually at Milpera State School with Mr Weston-Murdoch, doing some professional development, looking at the specific teaching of students with English as a second language or dialect.  It was a fascinating day of learning and such an impressive school!

We didn’t miss our Chamber Strings who performed today though, they were just breathtaking!  Thank you to them and Mrs Trudy Weekes.  Coming up next Friday is the Fanfare Heats, I wonder how Ironside will go at these??  :)  Just in case you haven’t had enough music (you can never have enough), we have the Strings and Band Soiree’s coming up in the next fortnight.  I very much love a soiree of any kind and am looking forward to seeing what these are like here at Ironside!

The Junior Strings Extravaganza that was held here at Ironside recently was also very impressive.  Such little children making such incredible leaps forward in their ability to play an instrument and play together.  Congratulations everyone!

Coming up this fortnight:

• Long Jump Trials -  8am every morning @ Jack Cook Park Monday 27 May  -  Friday 31 May
• Parent Group  -  Tuesday 28 May, 2:15pm  -  Chappy Central
• P&C Meeting -  6:30pm Tuesday 28 May in the staffroom.
• Fanfare Heats -  Friday 31 May  -  Junior, Senior, Chamber Strings
• P-2 STARS Assembly -  Friday 31 May, Junior Strings Performing -  9:15am
• Religious Instruction -  Friday 31 May
• 1500M -  7:45am Tuesday 4 June   -  Jack Cook Park
• Parent Group -  Tuesday 4 June, 2:15pm  -  Chappy Central
• Band Soiree -  Wednesday 5 June  -  6pm
• Strings Soiree -  Thursday 6 June  -  6pm
• 3-6 Merit Assembly - Friday 7 June  -  Senior Strings performing  -  9:15pm
• Religious Instruction -  Friday 7 June
• 800M -  Friday 7 June  -  1-2:30pm @ Jack Cook Park. 

We have a couple of events coming up as we head into Athletics season, with the long jump trials every morning next week and then our 1500M and 800M races being run the week after.  All the very best to our competitors!

Our P&C Meeting is next Tuesday  28 May at 6:30pm.  If you have never been before, why don’t you come and join us.  It is a great way to be involved at your child’s school. Speaking of the P&C, today is P&C Day!!!!  I want to say a massive thank you to our P&C Executive and to all who attend meetings and contribute or volunteer for our P&C Events.

Schools would not be the same without P&Cs.  THANK YOU P&C!

Have a truly wonderful week in this glorious weather.

Yours in Education

Angie Kelly
Principal

PS  Last but not least!  Happy Chaplain Week to our wonderful Chappy Thu!  Chappy Thu makes every day at Ironside State School a better one.  Thank you for all that you do!!

Important Term 2 Dates

News from Mr Weston-Murdoch

Dear parents and caregivers,

School Values and Expectations:  Weeks 5 & 6

Our focus for the fortnight ahead.

Bridge Builders – Skill of the week

The skills we’ve been practising.

(Week 5): Talk and Listen

Positive communication skills are essential for good relationships.  Listening is a learned skill, and through focused and directed efforts, parents can teach their children and themselves better listening and speaking habits.

Listen to your children in the way you like to be listened to. Be a good role model by hearing things in their words and making them feel important while they are talking to you. Since they sense when you’re not listening, they’re much more apt to listen to you when you listen to them.

(Week 6): Be Kind

Teaching children to be kind to someone who they have been in conflict with seems like an oxymoron.  Often, a child’s natural instinct when they have been hurt is to hurt back.

Kindness in conflict is unexpected and it can be the opposite to what someone expects.  This can mean that they struggle to continue to be mean.   Learning to be kind when we are hurt starts with how we think about the other person.  It can require empathy and encourages children to be brave enough to be the hero in a problem.

Acts of kindness release hormones that make us feel calmer, healthier and happier.  They can also be contagious.

“Empowered for Life”; Jocelyne Chirnside

In Prep A we have been learning to create opinions around picture books and discussing our likes and dislikes. The picture books we have been discussing are; The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins, Look See Look at Me by Leonie Norrington and Dee Huxley, The Very Sleepy Bear by Nick Bland and Mr McGee Goes to Sea by Pamela Allen. These books have guided our class in discovering rhyming words. We have also been exploring writing sentences that reflect our letter and sound knowledge.

In our phonics program we have started to learn some digraphs such as ‘or’,’ee’,’ai’ just to name a few. We have created bees for the sounds ‘b’ and ‘ee’.

In Science we have been learning about weather patterns, weather symbols and what to do when the weather changes. We made our own clouds to represent clouds in the sky.

Year One have been busy in Science this term. We have been studying ‘Force’ and in particular ‘Push’ and ‘Pull’.

We have enjoyed using our modelling clay to demonstrate toys, playground equipment and everyday items that require a push or pull action to work.

Year 2 Excursion to Lone Pine

On Thursday 9^th May, all Year 2 students visited Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary to support the learning they have been doing in science about animal life cycles. The children had an amazing day of hands-on learning around the sanctuary. Some of the highlights included kangaroo feeding, watching the Sheep Dog Show and Flight Raptor Show and exploring an astonishing array of Aussie wildlife. Each class took part in a hands-on discovery session called “Hatchers and Growers”, where students explored the birth, growth and development of Australian wildlife. A favourite moment from the session was being able to handle adorable, fluffy baby chicks! Year 2 left Lone Pine with lots of wonderful memories and new knowledge about animals and their life cycles.  

Kind regards,

Scott Weston-Murdoch
Deputy Principal P-2
and the P-2 Team

News from Mr Corbett

Dear Familes,

Over the past week, our  Year 3-6 students delved deeper into the Bridge Builder program. As we wrap up and move onto the next strategy, I'd like to share some snapshots I've taken within our school.

3F have been brushing up their hands-on researcher skills by delving deep into the world of living things for their combined English and Science unit this term. They have observed and recorded in great detail everything they notice about tens of interesting species, using sources provided by the Museum of Brisbane.

We love challenges in year 3 and this one was no different! With a 15-minute time limit, the task was to create the longest strip of paper using one A4 sheet of paper. Some cut and glued, others torn and one clever cookie cut a continuous strip! In the end, Timothy created the longest strip at 6 metres and 90cm!

Over the past fortnight in 3B students have been investigating and researching the scientific classification of living and non living with the use of a Museum Box and our new laptops.

Over the past fortnight 4C students have been busy making Mother's Day flower bouquets and cards. In Science the students have been investigating the concept of producers, consumers and decomposers. Using this knowledge, they have been creatively inspired to fictionalise living things to make Pokémon cards.

Warm regards,

Thomas Corbett
Deputy Principal Y3-4
and the Y3-4 Team

News from Mrs Bailey

Dear Families,

Senior students have been thoroughly engaged in their learning over the past fortnight. Below are some insights from our students.

Year 5

Year 6

In English, we have been working on co-constructing the success criteria for our English Assessment, we call this, Bridge It! In Humanities and Social Sciences we role played an annual disaster management meeting. We came up with a team name,  ‘Diverse’  and responded to some of these questions;

• Have you ever experienced a natural disaster?
• What the natural disaster happened, did you feel prepared? Did you lose anything valuable to you?
• What does your country do to prepare for earthquakes?
• Why do you live somewhere volcanic eruptions could happen at any time?

It was interesting how find out how different countries respond to natural disasters differently (Students in 6B)

Japanese

As part of the intercultural experiences offered at Ironside, all students in year 6 are invited to enjoy a Japanese obento (boxed lunch) delivered to school on Monday 10th June for first break (week 9). ‘Come On Mate! Japanese Lunch and Takeaway’ will be supplying and delivering the bento. You can check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/people/Come-On-Mate-Japanese-Lunch-Takeaways/100063633307747/.

If you would like your child to participate, please keep an eye out for the order form sent home with each year 6 student. Deadline for orders is no later than Friday 31st May.

Warm regards,

Katie Bailey
Deputy Principal Y5-6
and the Y5-6 Team

Japan Study Tour News

Host families still needed

Thanks so much to those familes who have already offered to host our Japanese guests. 

Kon'nichiwa​! 

In July / August this year, we are excited to be once again welcoming Ironside’s three Japanese sister schools after a six year break due to the Covid 19 Pandemic.

Our relationship with our three sister schools has a long history.

The cultural exchange program began at Ironside State School with a class back in 1981.

Even after 43 years, the purpose of these study tours has remained the same. For students from Ironside and each of our three sister schools to:

• be immersed totally in a different culture
• experience time in a Japanese/Australian school
• experience and enjoy aspects of Japanese/Australian life
• identify the similarities and differences of the two cultures

Every second year, Ironside students travel to Japan and visit our three sister schools. In 2023, a group of Year 5 and 6 students, staff and parents participated in the Ironside Japan Study Tour. Over a two-week period, participants spent time visiting places of cultural significance as well as interacting with students and families from our three sister schools.

On alternate years, our three sister schools visit Ironside.

Here’s how you can be involved!

Expressions of interest

If you would like to share in this rich cultural experience, expressions of interest are now being sought from Ironside families to billet our Japanese guests. Students and adults are billeted in pairs to make the homestay more harmonious for both sides. With each passing year, the importance of growing family ties between billeting families from Ironside State School and our three sister schools has become a strength of the program. Individuals from both countries continue to benefit from the experience. The exchange of cultural ideas and ways of life continue to nurture international goodwill and understanding between our two nations.

Dates for this year’s visit

• Haga Elementary School in Haga: Arriving July 20th - July 24th
• Tomiokahigashi Elementary School in Sakai: Arriving July 27th - August 1st
• Kobe University Elementary School in Akashi: Arriving August 5th - August 9th

Click here to complete your expression of interest

What’s required

As a host family you would be required to provide a comfortable place to sleep, breakfast and evening meals and allow your guests to experience everyday life with your family.

Please email Shelley Lee slee73@eq.edu.au should you have any questions.

N.B. No payment is given to host families as when Ironside travels to Japan, reciprocal home visit arrangements are made for us.

Kind regards,

Shelly Lee
Head of Curriculum

Student Activities & Areas

Dear Familes, 

Have we mentioned the number of activities going on at Ironside?

Sometimes it's hard for parents - and children -  to know what these activities are, so below is a helpful schedule of all the groups, clubs and meetings we have on during the school day. 

Lego Club

Drama Club

Ironside's Drama Club will be starting next week! Go future stars!  

News from Chappy Thu

Dear Families,

Only 4 weeks left until the end of term & the Chaplaincy Team is busy planning our fun end of term event – Silly Sock Day! For those who missed it last year, Silly Sock Day is simply a fun day where we dress up in silly socks & students have the opportunity to go through an inflatable obstacle course with their class & at break times.

To participate, each student must have a signed consent form, fun socks & a $2 donation. This year we will have TWO obstacle courses, one for the junior years (Prep to Year 2) & one for the senior years (Year 3 to Year 6). We are also partnering with MADMIA to sell their wonderfully fun socks for only $20, nearly half the price of the RRP of $39.90! They will be on sale every day of Week 10 at Chappy Central.

Parent Group

Over the past fortnight, we’ve had two very special guests! Firstly, Jess, our amazing Guidance Officer came to talk about her role & the wonderful Student Support Services we have at Ironside & this week, Rosa, our incredible Social Worker gave a presentation on self care & even gave us all very generous gifts at the end! Thank you so much Rosa! Next week we will be talking about Australian/Brisbane culture, which should be loads of fun 😊

Everyone is welcomed to attend & we look forward to welcoming you in coming weeks. Alternatively, if you are interested in getting a copy of any of the presentations given at the Parent Group, please email me at tklet0@eq.edu.au.

The Term 2 Chappy Squad members have diligently been leading activities over the past fortnight, with some volunteering each day! I am especially proud of the captains who have all led their first team meetings this term – Well Done Captains!

• Special thanks to the following members for their outstanding contribution to the activities & school over the past two week:

  • Ella, Cooper, Saksham, Eva, Lavit, Kelly, Ilai, Arnika, Anna, Victoria, Camilla, Alice, Ann & Tingran for your dedication this fortnight. You are all super stars!
  • Hafsa for the beautiful way you lead your team & the skill & patience you have for making felt hearts. I look forward to teaching you how to add embellishments next week!
  • Victoria, Ella, Arnika & Tanmeh for earning your needle license! Thank you for the beautiful yarn hearts you’ve made so far. I look forward to teaching you to sew the more advanced hearts next week.
  • Sam, Arnika, Olivia, Saksham, Ilai, Lavit, Isabella, Alisa, Het, Andrea, Victoria, Tanmeh, Rozhia, Quayla, Eva, Tingran, Kelly, James, Xavier & Ethan for being our most fabulous pack up crew this fortnight! Chappy Central feels like home because of you!
  • Het, Margaret, Meeker, Esther, Eva, Arnika, Ella, Amy, Athena & Tahlia for being the most kind & fun buddies the prep students could ask for! Thank you for volunteering to be on the Prep Crew this fortnight!
  • Anna, Camilla, Kelly & Cooper for the gentle & responsible way you approach the many roles you sign up for each week – thank you!
   

Here are the top members & teams as of Week 5:

Chappy Activities were filled with fun over the past fortnight! In Origami Club, we made foxes & treat boxes. In Disco & Dress Up Club, Kelly taught us all some more new moves, whilst Fred, Jonny, Luna, Maya, Tanmeh & Carolina played fun, uplifting songs as our DJs. In our Scavenger Hunts, we learnt about the National Simultaneous Story Time & National Chaplaincy Week. Congratulations Ella, Lavit, Saksham, Eva, Ilai, Anna, Olivia, Camilla, Tingran & Kelly for leading the winning teams! In the 1,000 Hearts club, we managed to make 45 felt & paper hearts over the past fortnight & gave away 19 to people who needed a little encouragement due to sickness or unfortunate circumstances. What a wonderful way to bring a little joy, care & kindness into our community. Bubbles of joy were dispersed at Bubble Friday & lots of fun was had at Chappy Lounge too!

We also made swans from a video made with Alice! In Disco & Dress Up Club, Kelly taught us all new moves, whilst Fred, Jonny, Asher, Jay Jun & Aimaan played fun, uplifting songs as our DJs. In our Scavenger Hunts, we learnt about ANZAC Day & celebrated mothers for Mother Day. Congratulations Ilai, Lavit, Saksham, Esther, Margaret, Yuki & Meeka for leading the winning teams! In the 1,000 Hearts club, we managed to make 40 felt & paper hearts over the past fortnight & gave away 30 already to people who needed a little encouragement due to sickness or unfortunate circumstances. What a wonderful way to bring a little joy, care & kindness into our community. Bubbles of joy were dispersed at Bubble Friday & lots of fun was had at Chappy Lounge too!

National Chaplaincy Week

It was National Chaplaincy Week this week, which is an annual event hosted by SU Australia to raise awareness of the role of chaplaincy in schools. Did you know that there are over 3,000 chaplains in schools across the country working to support the well being of students? Other fun facts below 😊

Ironside is the first school I’ve ever worked in as a Chaplain, having been an economist, management consultant, strategic planner, project manager, manufacturing manager, kids min leader, dental administrator, university teacher and more in my many past lives…but in all honesty this has been one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had. It has truly been an honour & privilege to be a part of this amazing community! Thank you for your kindness, support & the many gifts, cards & flowers I received this week!

And that’s all from me for now. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Until Next Time,
Chappy Thu

tklet0@eq.edu.au
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
8am to 4pm

Music News

Dear Families, 

We have lots of events coming up so please do keep an eye out for these. 

Here is some information on events that will take us up to the end of the term. 

And please do take a look at the String Soiree invitation below, we'd love to see you there. 

Trudy Weeks
Music Teacher

FANFARE

Intermediate, Senior and Chamber Strings are all off to Fanfare next Friday the 31^st of May.  Fanfare is a state wide Education Queensland music festival with many thousands of students participating.  Everyone needs to check and try on their uniform, including their vest, this weekend so that there are no uniform problems next Friday morning.  There will be two buses on the day so please check your leaving time carefully on your note. 

QYMA

Here are some reflections from our Chamber Strings Captains on their experience at QYMA last week.

Recently Ironside’s Chamber Strings played at the Queensland Youth Music Awards. We played 3 pieces: Fantasia on a theme from Thailand, Habañera and Dragon Fire. This was Chamber Strings' first outside of school performance of the year. We were playing at St Peter’s and had lots of fun. The other schools competing were Indooroopilly, Genesis Christan College and St Paul’s.  The performances were judged and Ironside’s Chamber Strings won receiving a gold award, trophy and $200.

By Rebecca F – Chamber Captain

On Wednesday week 4, the Chamber strings orchestra has once again received 1^st place for the annual QYMA music competition. The orchestra’s hard work and early rehearsals has shown and paid off as we were awarded a gold award, an outstanding achievement for our musicians. We performed ‘Fantasia a theme from Thailand’, ‘Habañera’, and ‘dragon fire’. With some close competition from the other ensembles, the dedication and enjoyment towards music from everyone is what has made this opportunity possible. Of course, the teachers, staff, and parents who sacrificed their own time to come help and support us has also shown us their support towards our musical journey, which is recognized and appreciated by everyone in the orchestra. Once again, the orchestra has done an outstanding effort in securing another win with their passion for music and hard work. Congratulations Chamber strings. 

Grace Z - Chamber Captain

SHEP

Congratulations to the following students for securing a place in the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University State Honours Ensemble Program South-East QLD  for 2024 to be held from May 31 – June 2.

Daisy C, Ada L and Sophia VDB

Library News

Dear Families,

We loved seeing so many children come to the library for Book Fair. Book Fair is now over but you can still purchase books online. 

Please see below or head to the following link: 

https://www.thebookwarehouse.com.au/book-fair-from-home/ 

Cath Roche
Library Teacher

HPE News

Just a gentle reminder that the year 3-6 athletics carnival permission forms and payment are due back by next Friday, May 31st.  This permission form can be found as an editable PDF on the school website at https://ironsidess.eq.edu.au/co-curricular/sports.

This permission note can be emailed right back to me at jclar577@eq.edu.au.  Invoices have previously been emailed.

A reminder that our competitive long jump trials are taking place every morning next week (May 27-31) at Jack Cook Park from 8am – 8:40am.  Feel free to pop down on any morning, boy or girl,  to get your child’s three attempts in.

The next round of Friday sport surveys have gone out to the year 5 and 6 students this afternoon.  Please find the link to the survey below.  Please talk to your child about their preferences and fill out the form together.  The due date for this survey is next Friday, May 31st, 2024.  This will give Mr. Bushnell and myself plenty of time to create all the teams and activity groups. 

Please check to see if your child has already filled out the form.  If you are happy with their choices, there is no need to do anything else.  If you would like to change one of their choices, another form can be filled out and I will delete the earlier one.

Semester 2 Friday Sport Survey

Our year 1 and 2 students will be participating in their cross country carnival on Thursday, June 13th. Information about the event will be found on the school’s website over the coming days.

Thank you .

Jeremie Clarke-Okah

HPE Specialist

General Meetings

Thank you to all that attended last months general meeting. It was great to see so many people come along to the meeting and listen and share their thoughts about how the P&C can assist the school. If you would like a copy of the minutes and are not currently a member, please send an email to pandcironsidess@eq.edu.au. 

This month's meeting is on Tuesday 28^th May.

All are welcome. 

Advertising

For all advertising enquiries please email: communications@ironsidess.eq.edu.au 

Dear Ironside Familes, 

I am writing to invite parents/carers from your community to share their experiences as parents/carers in an online survey.

The survey is part of a research project: Parenting in a Stereotyped World funded by the Parenting and Family Support Centre at the University of Queensland. The aim is to identify parental attitudes, sense of agency, and parenting practices relating to raising children in an environment free from stereotyped gender roles. We are inviting parents/carers of children aged 0 - 5 (e.g. Prep or Pre-prep, Kindy).

Regards,

Stevie-Jae Hepburn

Senior Research Officer

The University of Queensland

Dear Ironside Families, 

We're excited to announce a new class in term 3. Please head to our website or click the link below for more information. 

Class Type: Coding
Day: Tuesdays
Dates: 16th July to 3rd September
Times: 3:15pm to 4:30pm

Please find the booking link HERE