Ironside State School eNewsletter

Acknowledgement of Country

Ironside State School acknowledges the traditional custodians of this land and pay our respects to the Elders past, present, and emerging for they hold the traditions, culture, memories and hopes of Indigenous Australia. The Turrbal Aboriginal Nation, who spoke the Jagera Language, roamed these lands.

Welcome to Term 1, Week 9 2025

Hi Everyone,

Happy Persian New Year!

One of our wonderful staff, Mrs Maryam Heravi, had us celebrating the Persian New Year today and I got to enjoy a 'dolmeh' - very tasty by the way! I hope everyone in our Persian community has a wonderful celebration.

I want to congratulate Mr Sebastian Oei, who is our new School Council Chairperson. Mr Oei is filling big shoes, as he is taking over from the very wonderful, Mr Matthew Clohessy, who did an outstanding job as our chairperson last year. You will have now received the information about the 2 candidates who have applied to be a committee member of our School Council. Please take the time to come into the office and cast your vote for the person who you would like to join our School Council; voting closes this Friday the 28th March. Thank you to both of these very experienced and talented women for applying to be committee members.

Thank you to all of the parents and caregivers who have managed to make it in for progress meetings about your children, we really value your time, as well as all of our wonderful teacher’s time to make these important meetings occur.

Well done to all of our children in year 3 and 5 who completed NAPLAN last week. These tests provide a wonderful opportunity to see what we are successfully imparting to our children through the teaching process and also capturing any gaps that we need to attend to as we move forward. I thank all of the children and staff involved. Thank you so much to Mrs Tara Griffin and Mr Thomas Corbett, our wonderful Deputy Principal’s who took all of the children for Ball Games on Friday to celebrate NAPLAN being over!! :)

I was pleased to join with other educators at the University of Queensland Education Advisory Council. I feel privileged to be so proximal to the university and have a seat at the table to be involved in the future of education. I thank the University of Queensland Education Department for this opportunity. Speaking of opportunities, Mr Rob Rouse, one of our parents who works at UQ has arranged for an incredible opportunity for our staff in the future, to develop professionally in a ‘Maker Space’ that will be brought onto our school grounds for teachers to engage in. I had a great time (as did Mrs Shelley Lee our HOD-C) going through the Engineering and Robotics departments at UQ to see what professional learning we can involve our staff in - exciting times!

Along with Indooroopilly State School, Ashgrove State School and Rainworth State School, Ironside is part of a Collaborative School Improvement (CSI) cluster. This is a fantastic opportunity to support each other as schools, to lead towards achieving our School Strategic Plan goals. I thank these other schools for going on this journey with us.

It was lovely to be invited and catch up with the church groups on Friday, to celebrate Harmony Day. I really look forward to our own Harmony Day celebrations on the last day of school. Please remember these key points:

Children can wear the traditional clothing from their country of origin, the uniform of a club/group they love or simply the colour orange which represents harmony.
Please feel free to join your child’s class for a shared lunch which starts at 10am. Children can bring traditional dishes to share.
You or your children can email or see me to volunteer to demonstrate a dance, act, song, play an instrument, game etc at a special International Showcase. akell58@eq.edu.au is my email address.

We are looking forward to a great day!

Coming up:

Harmony Day Activities in the library all week - Monday 24th March - Friday 28th March
Parent/Teacher Progress Meetings - Monday 24th March - Friday 28th March
Met West Netball Trials - Tuesday 25th March - all the best girls!
P&C AGM - Tuesday 25th March, 6:30pm in the staff room
Japan Study Tour Parent Information Night - 6pm, Thursday 27th March
Student Leader Investiture - 9:15am Friday 28th March
P&C Family Picnic - Saturday 29th March - 4-5:30pm

Well done to all of those keen children who are getting to run this Thursday in the Cross Country. Distance running is not easy, and I applaud all of these children for having a go. Thank you to our PE teachers for providing this opportunity.

Congratulations also to those girls heading off to the Met West netball trials tomorrow - all the very best!

If your child is going on the Japan Study Tour later in the year, you do not want to miss the parent information session this Thursday the 27th March at 6pm. What an exciting opportunity!

We are looking forward to finally getting to formalist recognise and congratulate our 2025 Student Leaders this Friday. This will take the form of a whole school assembly beginning at 9:15am.

I am really hoping we get a HUGE turnout for our P&C AGM tomorrow night - please, please, please come and be part of the future of our school! 6:30pm tomorrow night in the staff room. Your involvement helps our children.

Finally, it is our very fabulous P&C who have invited everyone to a picnic this Saturday 29th March on the school oval from 4-5:30pm. What a wonderful opportunity to form connections in our community. Thanks P&C!

Have a truly fabulous week!

Yours in Education

Angie Kelly

PS I have too many reports of parents driving dangerously around our school. Here are 3 points to adhere to always.

Drive slowly
Stop at the lights
Stop at the crossings

Please stop endangering the lives of people through careless driving.

Important Term 1 Dates

Around Ironside

Welcome to our 6A community! We are excited to share our learning journey at the start of 2025.

Science

This term in science, we are exploring the fascinating growth of plants in different conditions. Our focus is on how salinity and light affect plant growth. To investigate, we have been using various types of water—sea water, Dead Sea water, and tap water—in our experiments. For 15 days, we have carefully recorded the growth of our plants under these different conditions. At the start of Term 2, we will begin a new experiment: studying mould growth on bread.

HASS

In HASS (History and Social Sciences), we are examining Australian history, focusing on past injustices and their impact on shaping our nation. Our studies include the Australian Constitution, human rights, and the 1965 Australian Freedom Ride. In Term 3, our learning will extend beyond the classroom as we embark on a week-long trip to Canberra, where we will witness Parliament in action.

Mathematics

In Mr. P’s Maths class, we are collaborating with Mr. Chow’s class to participate in the APSMO (Australian Problem-Solving Maths Olympiad). Our focus is on developing effective strategies for tackling challenging problems and refining our problem-solving skills. Additionally, we are working with angles and labels as we design and build 18 golf holes for Mr. P—who loves golf! We have also been engaging with a FIRMY question and have successfully and accurately measured the orbital speeds of planets in our solar system.

Camp

From July 14th to 19th, the Grade 6 cohort will be attending camp in Canberra. We will fly to Sydney on Monday before taking a four-hour bus ride to Canberra. During the camp, we will visit significant landmarks, including Parliament House, the Royal Australian Mint, Questacon, the Australian War Memorial, and the Australian Institute of Sport. This experience will deepen our understanding of Australia’s Constitution.

Students are required to bring morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea each day. They may also bring up to $50 for souvenirs and $20 for dinner on Friday night at the airport.

English

In English, we are exploring what makes a great book. We have been analysing how authors develop characters using dialogue and other literary devices. Additionally, we have examined how different themes create different moods in a story. Each student has selected a book from a teacher-provided list and is preparing a recorded speech, conversation, or debate to discuss what makes their chosen book engaging.

Homework

Homework is assigned every Monday and is uploaded to OneNote for students to access. Students have the option to complete their work digitally or print it out and complete it on paper.

Weekly homework tasks include:

- Household chores

- A musical activity

- A sports challenge

- Maths and logic questions

- A short story task incorporating this week’s Strive Words

- A vocabulary exercise

- A reading log, where students record the books they have read and write a comment on at least one of them

- Students are expected to read at least four times per week.

Japanese

In Japanese with Ms. Aboud, we are learning to construct simple and engaging sentences. This involves understanding the order of verbs, nouns, and particles, which enhances our language skills in a fun and interactive way.

HPE

In Health and Physical Education, we are honing our soccer skills on the field under the guidance of Mr. Reardon. Our training includes skill drills, such as running, high knees, and butt kicks, to improve agility and coordination.

Music

In Music, Ms. Wilson is guiding us through rhythm and composition. We are currently composing our own eight-bar melodies, starting with rhythmic patterns before adding musical notes.

Library

In Library lessons with Ms. Roche and Ms. Sauvage, we are delving into Young Adult and Junior Fiction, expanding our vocabulary and fostering a love for reading.

An exciting artist competition has also been introduced by Mr. T, our art teacher! Clues about a mystery artist are displayed on the library window. Students can find white envelopes with Mr. T’s name hidden around the school—bring them to him for a prize!

We are looking forward to an exciting term ahead! Thank you for being part of our 6A learning journey.

Warm regards, The 6A Team

In our English Unit this term, we have been reading some lovely stories based on starting school, families and friendships. As we explore each book, we have been representing retells through pictures and drawing. We verbally retold these stories using puppets and props and using the vocabulary ‘first, then, next and finally’. We discussed our opinions of the different books, reflecting on what we liked and shared about our personal connections to the books.

Here are some of the children’s art works and the props used for retelling and for discussing what they like (heart) and their personal connections (links).

In our maths unit we have been exploring all numbers to 10 through a variety of play experiences. We have been counting, matching numerals to quantities and exploring place value using ten frames. We have used a variety of ‘hands on’ experiences to describe and show the location and position of objects. ‘Between’ has been the trickiest location word to learn!

It has been a very busy and very exciting time in Prep!

School Excursions/Incursions

None this week.

Department of Education Notices/Information

Upcoming Events

UQ Book Fair 2025

Dear Ironside Parents/Caregivers,

The University of Queensland (UQ) is excited to announce the return of our UQ Book Fair for 2025 from 2 - 5 May and after some outstanding entries into our bookmark competition last year, we warmly invite our local primary schools to get involved again.

The UQ Book Fair is an annual fundraiser organised by volunteers, with all proceeds contributing to UQ student scholarships and important research.

We’re reaching out to invite the creative kids within your school to submit their imaginative designs for the back of our bookmark. The winning designs will then be professionally printed and distributed throughout the community by the local Council. We encourage your students to unleash their creativity and submit their unique designs. The more inventive, the better!

I have attached the competition design entry form, which includes instructions on how to submit their entries, before Thursday, 2 April 2025.

Two designs will be selected for the official UQ Book Fair bookmarks, with the talented young artists receiving a $30 book voucher each to be redeemed at the Book Fair. All designs will also be displayed in the foyer during the Book Fair, and we encourage students and families to attend to see their artwork on display!

We would also love if you could share with your school community that the Book Fair's family fun day is on Saturday, 3 May. This year, for the first time, we're expanding our usual Saturday activities into a bumper day out with dozens of free talks, tours and kid-friendly pop-ups - families in our local community won't want to miss it!

We appreciate your support in encouraging your students to participate.

Regards,

The University of Queensland

Bookmark Competition 2025.pdf

School Zone Safety

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

School zone signs are displayed as you approach the school and shows both the speed limit and the times you need to reduce your speed around the school. Children's crossing are identified by children crossing flags, which are displayed near crossings before and after school hours.

When the crossing is supervised, you as a motorist must:

wait until all pedestrians, bicycle or personal mobility device riders have crossed the road and the crossing supervisor has returned to the footpath
abide by the direction given by the School Crossing Supervisor.

If the crossing is unsupervised, you as a motorist must:

give way to pedestrians, bicycle or personal mobility device riders on or entering a children’s, pedestrian or marked foot crossings
give way to pedestrians, bicycle or personal mobility device riders on or entering a road you’re turning into
give way to pedestrians, bicycle or personal mobility device riders on a slip lane
give way to pedestrians in a share zone
travel at a speed allowing you to stop safely at a crossing if needed

As a driver, it's important to make sure you give way to all pedestrians, bicycle or personal mobility device riders such as skateboards, e-scooters. You must also give way to pedestrians using a motorised mobility device such as a motorised wheelchair or a mobility scooter.

Some of our most vulnerable road users are children getting to and from school, so it’s important to slow down and abide by the crossing rules, as it won’t make much difference to the trip time, but it could very well save lives.

Visit the Street Smarts website to find more information about what to do at pedestrian and children crossings.

HPE News

Dear Parents,

The Ironside State School Junior Swimming Carnival (Year 1 & 2) is happening in week 10. Please see the poster below and add it to your calendar!

Jorma Bushnell (PE Teacher)

Library News

World Poetry Day

Over the last week, the library has been buzzing with creativity as we celebrated World Poetry Day. To mark the occasion, we created an interactive Poem in Your Pocket display, filled with a range of verses for students to discover, share, and carry with them.

Students explored a variety of poems. Some even took on the challenge of writing their own poems in our Fun Friday lunchtime club.

It was wonderful to see students engaging with poetry in different ways, from reading classic works to crafting original pieces. A huge thank you to everyone who participated—whether by sharing a favourite poem, writing something new, or simply enjoying the power of words.

Next time you visit the library, why not check out a poetry book or try writing your own poem? You never know where words might take you.

Book Buddies

During playtimes, the library comes alive with the joy of reading as students immerse themselves in their favourite books. Some curl up in quiet corners, lost in exciting adventures, while others gather in small groups, sharing stories and discussing their favourite characters. This week, we spotted students gathered together reading the same book and eagerly chatting about the stories. A shared love of reading brings us together, sparking curiosity, imagination, and great conversations.

Upcoming Events

T2 21/5 National Simultaneous Storytime

T3 21/7 Year 5 Dr Sam Lloyd author visit incursion

T3 Week 6 Book Week costume parade - date to be confirmed

Ironside Lunchtime Clubs

💙At Ironside State School we offer a variety of lunchtime clubs.

These allow our students to learn new skills, make new friends and meet our staff to build additional connections.

🗣️ Talk to your child about which activities they’d like to participate in next week!

🎤 💃 🧘 🎶 ♟️ 🧵 👨‍🎓👩‍🎓

P&C News

P&C AGM – Tuesday (March 25, 6:30 PM)

The P&C Annual General Meeting (AGM) is happening tomorrow Tuesday, March 25, at 6:30 PM. This is an important opportunity to get involved and help shape the year ahead. We are calling for nominations for key positions, including:
• President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• VP of Fundraising
• VP of OSHC
• Parent Rep Coordinator
• International Breakfast Coordinator
• Mother’s Day Coordinator

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VS0pt14-3i6B8lT1fl4UaJGwWDctw9wN/view?usp=sharing

If you’ve ever considered joining the P&C, now is a great time! We’d love to see new faces and fresh ideas. For more details, please contact us at pandcironside@gmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you there!