2 September 2021- Term 3, Week 8

News from Mr Johnson

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Week 8!

Congratulations James T – 4B
James was selected in the QLD Junior Cross-Country Merit Team (under 11 Boys) by Queensland Athletics (QA).

James placed 6th at the recent Queensland Athletics Cross Country State Championships at Toogoolawah (on Sat Jul 31 - the day the lockdown was announced). 

Despite the representative season being cancelled due to COVID, it is wonderful to acknowledge these State Level Athletes through a Merit Team Selection.

Congratulations on a terrific Athletics season James.

Mrs Jennifer Bairstow – Medical Leave
Mrs Jennifer Bairstow, Deputy Principal (5/6) will commence leave today for the last two weeks of the term. Mrs Shelley Lee, Head of Curriculum (5/6) will be replacing Jennifer during this time.

We wish Mrs Bairstow a speedy recovery and look forward to her return after the holiday break.

Parent Refunds – COVID affected event payments
There are two options for families who have paid money to the school for events that have either been cancelled or rescheduled.

For refunds – please collect a parent refund form from the office or download and complete the form below.

Leaving any paid monies on your account for use against future costs and invoices is also an option. The administration staff will assume that monies are to remain on your account unless they receive a parent refund form.

Student Council – Silent Disco
Following on from the information above, the Student Council’s silent disco has been rescheduled for Friday 15 October.

NAPLAN Results
I understand that NAPLAN results, and information regarding this has been starting to feature in the media. We have been receiving many requests for the individual student reports.

The current results are ‘preliminary’ results and we will receive the hard copy student reports once preliminary results become final.

You have my undertaking that as soon as the boxes of reports arrive, they’ll be forwarded to our individual families as quickly as possible.

P&C Meeting – August (re-scheduled)
The August P&C meeting has been delayed by one week. The next P&C Meeting will be this coming TUESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER at 6:30pm in the staffroom.

School Council Meeting – Monday 6 September
A reminder to members of the School Council that our next meeting is this coming MONDAY 6 SEPTEMBER at 5:30pm in the staffroom.

Friday 3 September – Student Free Day
As per our earlier newsflash, a reminder that tomorrow is a Student Free Day and Ironside State School will be closed. Ironside OSHC will be operating as advised.

Happy Fathers’ Day
Finally, to all our Ironside Dads (from a proud son and father) to all others. HAPPY FATHERS’ DAY for Sunday. Wishing you all a great day with your loved ones.

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

The Pocket - Early Education & Child Care

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Ironside Stars and Merit Certificates

News from Mr Murdoch

Dear parents and caregivers,

On behalf of the Prep – Year 2 team, we would like to congratulate our junior school students for their outstanding work over the past two weeks. 

The way they have adapted to changes in school routines is a credit to their burgeoning independence and resilience. 

These unusual times have presented an opportunity for our junior students to develop and build upon coping strategies and personal responsibility. 

Saying ‘goodbye’ to parents at the gate, making their way to class on their own and being responsible for their belongings are significant milestones in their development and hold them in good stead for the future.

REVISION: Bridge Builders - Skill of the week: Feelings and Calming down
Children do choose their behaviour but they do not choose their feelings, and it is their feelings and thinking that influence them the most. This highlights the importance of teaching children to understand their feelings and to be given skills in calming down.

If your child sees you expressing your feelings in a positive way, over time they learn to do the same. Be sure to model appropriate ways to express feelings to your child. Children are like sponges – they soak everything up.

Our thinking can change our feelings, behaviours and the words we say. Listening to our self-talk and thoughts when we are upset and avoiding unhelpful, toxic thoughts and instead thinking helpful positive thoughts can be a very powerful calming tool.
 “Empowered for Life”; Jocelyne Chirnside

2022 Prep Enrolment Process

1. Pre-Enrolment Information

• Prep Information Video: Our pre-enrolment Prep information video is now accessible on the school website. The purpose of this video is to provide an overview and general information in regards to the enrolment process and what you and your child can expect in the first year of school. 
• ISS Website https://ironsidess.eq.edu.au/Enrolments/Prep/Pages/Prep.aspx

1. Enrolment Applications

• Prep 2022 Enrolment Pack is available on our website.
• Applicants must be currently living in the Ironside Catchment and be able to supply supporting evidence as per the criteria in the Ironside State School Enrolment Management Plan.

There is no waitlist and no cap on enrolments.

Enrolment Management Plan (from 30 June 2017)

• No out of catchment enrolments.
• No sibling policy.
• Must be intending to stay for 12+ months.
• All applications require the execution of the Ironside State School Statutory Declaration which confirms the student’s residence in the catchment and the parents’ acknowledgment that they must reside in the catchment for the duration of their child’s enrolment.
• Ongoing checks that students reside in catchment.

1. 2022 Enrolment Interview

After your application has been reviewed and approved by our Enrolments Officer, Mrs Faust will provide you with details regarding an enrolment interview.  Four days have been allocated to this process.

Further details about our Prep enrolment interviews are available on the school website.

https://ironsidess.eq.edu.au/enrolments/prep/2022-prep-enrolment-information

If you have any questions regarding the enrolment application and required documentation, please contact enrolments@ironsidess.eq.edu.au.

Around the classrooms – Prep: 
In Prep this term we have been studying rhyming stories. One of the stories Prep D read is called ‘Fish with a Wish’. In the story, Fish wishes that he was strong, stripy and different. Prep D wrote about some things that we wish for. We also drew, coloured with oil pastels and then painted our very own fish!!

Prep

Around the classrooms – Year 1: 
Year 1 has been reading and retelling a variety of different stories this term.  One of our favourites is ‘Tiddalick, the Greedy Frog’. 

Today we had some fun making a Tiddalick puppets.

Year 1

Around the classrooms – Year 2:
In Year 2, we have been learning to make our narrative writing more interesting, by using similes and metaphors to evoke stronger images and create imagination in the reader’s mind. It has been fun coming up with metaphors and the children are recognising the use of metaphors in everyday language. 2C are certainly stars!

Year 2

News from Mrs Vecchio

Welcome back!  It’s wonderful to see the vast majority of students back at school and happily engaged in purposeful learning. 

Welcome also to new teachers who have joined the Year 4 team this term …  Mr Tim Shepherd (4C), Miss Madonna Pomerenke (4D) and Mrs Megan Humphreys (4E).  Congratulations to Ms Alice Cowan-Dillon - appointed as Head of Curriculum (Year 3-4) following a selection and recruitment process. 

Around the Classrooms – Year 3
Just before we all went into quarantine, our young Year 3 ‘scientists’ had the opportunity to conduct experiments about heating and cooling with the Street Science team for some hands-on learning.   

Year 3

In Mathematics, Year 3s are exploring 3D-shapes as well as concepts about digital and analogue time.  Learning through ‘doing’ and collaborating with others is a feature of our work in Year 3.

Having been inspired by their English study of ‘Kumiko and the Dragon’, Year 3 students have worked on independent ‘passion projects’, going further by researching their interests.

My New Gallery

Year 3 NAPLAN Results
We have seen some preliminary NAPLAN data which indicates that our Year 3 students have performed exceptionally well in all aspects of the test.  As soon as the individual NAPLAN reports are received at school, these will be distributed to parents.

Around the Classrooms – Year 4
As part of their English studies, Year 4 students are reading and analysing a quest novel - Rowan of Rin. Throughout the unit, students are expanding their skills and proficiency as writers.

Year 4

In Year 4 Mathematics this term, learning has been focused on:

• Fractions and decimals
• Classifying angles
• Financial mathematics

Collaborating in groups with hands-on materials and games is also a feature of how students learn well in Year 4. 

Year 4 Camp refunds
Please refer to Mr Johnson’s section of this newsletter for information about refunds for the Year 4 Camp.

News from Mrs Bairstow

RESCHEDULED – ICAS – YEARS 4, 5 & 6
Due to our quarantine period, and lockdowns across the country, UNSW have provided schools with alternative testing windows to participate in the ICAS Tests.  The parent payment portal is now closed.  However, for those parents who paid before the original 2 August deadline, your payment automatically transfers over to the new testing dates.  The testing windows are below:

RESCHEDULED – MICHAEL JEH LIFE SKILLS
For several years, Michael Jeh has been a valued guest speaker at Ironside, who visits our Year 6 students and leads them through a workshop -  ‘Life Skills’ - which aims to develop knowledge and skills about self-concept in the context of a changing social world. 

Due to the disruption of quarantine, the 90 minute workshop will now be run during school hours on Wednesday 6 October.

Topics covered during the workshop include:

• Safe and unsafe social media and online behaviours
• Successfully navigating adolescence and the transition to high school
• Coping with peer pressure and bullying
• Acknowledging how bystander behaviour contributes to bullying
• Being a kind, resilient and positive teenager

The Life Skills program also offers a Parent Information Evening to give parents information and tools to support their children through developmental changes and challenges.  Michael will be running this session the on the night prior to the student workshop.  Parents are invited to attend this session also on Wednesday 6 October at 6pm in the School Hall.

We have always had glowing feedback from students, parents and teachers in relation to the content and delivery of Michael’s work.  For further information and testimonials please go to www.michaeljeh.com.

The total price for both student workshop and the parent information evening is $13.  This will be invoiced to families after Michael has completed the program.  If you wish for your child to NOT participate in the student workshop, please email your class teacher directly and your account will be adjusted accordingly.

RESCHEDULED - SILENT DISCO
The Silent Disco has been rescheduled for Friday 15 October.  All details are the same except for the dates.  You can buy tickets on the QKR App until Monday 11 October.  There are only approximately 100 tickets left per session, so if you haven’t bought a ticket yet, get in quick!  There will be no tickets available on the night.  Please see the flyer below for all the details.

DATE CLAIMER FOR GRADUATION – YEAR 6
While final arrangements cannot be confirmed until later this year, families are advised that Year 6 graduation celebrations will take place at school on Tuesday 7 December.  In 2020, due to the impact of Covid, we moved to a day time format for our awards and farewell ceremonies – and this is likely to be the model for 2021.  We can’t be certain of the particulars, we are mindful of giving families adequate notice to arrange their work commitments so they can share in the special moment with their Year 6 students.

INDOOROOPILLY SHS - PRIMARY ENGAGEMENT DAYS – YEAR 6
We have been advised that due to the disruptions to the community and programming this term, there will be no Term 3 Primary Engagement Day for Year 6 students.  However, there is the likelihood of one being held in Term 4.  I have let Indooroopilly High know of the numbers who expressed interest in Term 2, and they will do their best to accommodate our students’ attendance.

SEMESTER TWO LEADERSHIP POSITIONS – YEARS 5 & 6
Our leadership program sees the induction of Semester Two leaders for the positions of Instrumental Music Leaders and Class Representatives. Our initial plan was to notify students and families and present badges at the Week 5 assembly, this term.  This allowed time for classes to vote new leaders (Class Reps), and also allowed time for the Student Council to effectively manage the workload associated with the Silent Disco (planned for Week 4).  Of course, none of this could proceed given our quarantine period.

In line with the Director General’s advice regarding large gatherings of students and the requirement for social distancing where possible, assemblies have been cancelled for the remainder of Term 3.  We believe that it is important for all leaders to have their moment of recognition, and to have the opportunity to celebrate their achievements with the support of their families.  So the decision has been made to present Semester 2 leadership positions at the beginning of Term 4.  Exact details will be shared as soon as possible, when the Term 4 assembly schedule is finalised.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC NEWS
In preparation for Music Fest competitions in Term 4, the following half day workshops will be held during school hours:

            Band
            Monday 6 September – Junior Band

            Tuesday 7 September – Senior Band     

            Strings
            Friday 10 September:  Intermediate Strings

            Wednesday 15 September – Chamber Strings

            Thursday 16 September – Senior Strings

Music Fest competitions are currently scheduled for the following dates at Iona College:

            Band
            Monday 18 October

            Strings
            Monday 25 October

Congratulations to Oscar (5B) who received a high distinction in his third grade AMEB music test.

LOST PROPERTY
As we approach the end of the term, the lost property shelves are again overflowing.  There are two racks of school jackets and three tubs of unnamed non-uniform winter coats and jackets.  All items not collected at the end of the term will be donated to charity.

THANK YOU FOR TERM 3
I will be on leave for medical reasons for the remainder of this term.  While it has been interrupted and challenging for all of us, we have worked together with a positive outlook and resilience abound.  I am both proud and grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside your children and their amazing teachers, in a time that none of us will ever forget.  Thank you for your kind messages of support along the way – they are sincerely appreciated.  Mrs Shelley Lee (Yr 5 – 6 Head of Curriculum) will be taking my position for Weeks 9 and 10, and will provide continued leadership for the upper school.

Literacy Competition Winner

Huge congratulations to Isabel H in 6F for winning the Independent Education Union Queensland and Northern Territory Literary Competition. Her short story, titled “Alone” (see below) features a beautiful and moving plot and some powerful imagery, and was awarded first place in the Year 5/6 category. Well done, Isabel!

Alone
The moon filtered through the branches casting shadows of vivid gnarled creatures. The gritty sand crunched underneath my calloused feet. The sky was grim and grey threatening to spill any moment. Water ran up to bite my toes. Freezing pins stabbed through me. A single drop fell from the sky landing on me in a deadly splatter. Innocent but deadly when needed.

Memories took over. Trapped in a cell the walls marred with scratches and souls etched into the crumbling walls. Water started seeping in through the various holes. The metal chair turned freezing as the water level rose higher and higher every passing second. Mingling with the electricity. The pain started, electricity coursing through me. A tunnel leading to nowhere but pain. I tore at the shackles bound me to the pain and despair. My hands raw with blisters. Praying my last breath would come soon enough to rescue me from this world.

The scene faded, replaced by an endless ocean, waves tickling me. Up down up down I floated as they gently pushed me to shore. The memories retreated back into their cove in my head. Waiting for when they could attack next. The biting cold swept over me pinning me in place. I crawled into a lone cave sheltered by towering rocks. I stared down at my wrists pale and thin without the iron cuffs trapping them within.

The sun’s rays sifted through the clouds. My stomach ached with ever-lasting hunger. My vision flashed black and white and all the shades in-between. A heavy, rusted iron door bolted shut with locks and keyholes of all different sizes and types. The hay which was my bed sat forlornly in a corner, mould attacking it with glee. A window no larger than my palm stood high above me. Iron bars crisscrossing over it protecting them, trapping me.  A small tray clattered to the ground. Holding my precious daily rations. A small greasy plastic bowl filled with grey slop accompanied with a semi-rotten apple. My arms were weak with malnourishment. I shifted the only strength I could muster my chains clanking together in unison. There was no time here. The window provided no help. The guards would regularly place a thick black cloth over it blocking out all light. Sometimes if felt like minutes other times it felt like eternity was stretching on without me.

This time when I woke up it was already dark. I had been lost in my mind for hours, looking for a way to get out. I was sitting in a large moonlit tree, the moon’s light weaving through the twisted branches dancing in the air. A boy stood in front of me staring at me with curiosity. I waved uncertainly, the gesture feeling unfamiliar after years without use. He beckoned me to follow him into the bushy undergrowth. He stopped at a small cave complete with a running stream of fresh water. A quick glance and there were fish swimming peacefully downhill. Over the weeks we spent together he showed me how to cook with a fire catch small animals and fish to eat and grow my own crops. We soon became friends. We only had each other for comfort and company. Time flew past in a flurry.

One day he seemed more distant yet closer than normal. I asked him tentatively what was wrong. He replied almost as if he was somewhere else “I am the boy in the moon I serve her as her slave and guardian. I am bound to her for a hundred years the price to pay so I can return home when my time is up. One day the scene changed to show you. Drowning in the sea, shivering in a cave. I begged her to let me go down to you for just 4 weeks. She couldn’t understand why I had to go to you neither could I and I still can’t. For those four weeks of happiness she added another 100 years to my time. Remember this you will be alone but always free.

He started shimmering away fading into the background. I lunged for him my only company in my useless life. I tumbled right through. When I looked back he had disappeared entirely only his ghostly smiled remained lingering in the air. I stared up at the moon and caught a shadow as it waved and blinked out.

I was truly alone. But I was free.

Community Providers

Ironside Swim Club

News from Tuckshop

As the Queensland Government has announced that the supply of single use plastic items like forks and straws will be banned in Queensland from 1 September 2021, Tuckshop will no longer supply forks when you place orders for your children. Please bring you own fork for lunch. 

Ironside OSHC - Job Opportunity

About us
Ironside OSHC is a not-for-profit Outside School Hours Care program providing before and after school, school holiday and student free day care. Ironside OSHC values inclusion, positivity, and equality. We are looking for a like-minded individual to join our team 5 days a week to work split shifts in our kitchen as a cook.

Hours 6.45am - 10.45am / 1.30pm - 5.30pm

Qualifications & experience

• Experience as a cook preferred but not necessary.
• Blue Card/Working With Children Check necessary.
• HTLDAID004 certificate necessary or happy to obtain.
• Positive attitude and work ethic crucial.
• Food Safety and Handling preferred but not necessary.

Tasks & responsibilities

• Preparing nutritious meals for children aged 4 - 12.
• Following a menu prepared by our in-house certified dietitian.
• Ordering food online from Supermarket from a set menu.
• Obtaining children's feedback about menu options.

Benefits

• Opportunity to move to permanent employment after 3 months (starts as Casual).
• Be a part of a proactive and motivated team providing a vital service to Ironside families.

For additional information on Ironside OSHC please visit Welcome - Ironside Outside School Hours Care.

Interested candidates please forward cover letter and resume to Natalie at coordinator@ironsideoshc.org.au.

Community Information