28 October 2021 - Term 4, Week 4

News from Mr Johnson

Dear Parents,

It’s State Education Week!
It’s State Education Week (24–30 October 2021)! This year’s theme, Strong communities, successful students, celebrates our positive state school communities. When we work together – teachers, parents, school staff and community members – we can achieve our common goal of the best outcomes for students!

With World Teachers’ Day being tomorrow, Ironside celebrated this today! Thanks to Mrs Vecchio who organised another wonderful breakfast for our staff. The chance to connect with one another was greatly appreciated and enjoyed.

Junior Rotary – 2021
It was delightful to celebrate and join with our Junior Rotarians at their awards and culmination evening last night at Kenmore South State School.

Huge thanks to Miss Adele Todd for her school-based leadership of the program. A grateful acknowledgement to all our parents who supported their children within the program. Junior Rotary requires time and support from families. On behalf of the school, thank you for your partnership.

Be kind online – Supporting cybersafety in Queensland state schools
The department has launched animations to encourage students to block content, report it, and support each other if they see or experience bullying online.  

The animations show common scenarios that occur, and remind students to Be kind online. Primary students can find out how bullying in gaming and sharing mean content can impact others and what actions they can take. Secondary students can explore the impact of sharing intimate photos and negative anonymous accounts.  

It is important that students know they are not alone and there are ways to prevent cyberbullying. Share the videos with your children and start the conversation today.

Christian RI Christmas Assembly - Years 1-3
On Friday 12 November all students in Years 1-3 who have current consent to be in Christian RI will attend a free Christmas puppet show, performed by the professional puppeteers Quiz Worx.

Parents and younger siblings are very welcome to attend this Christmas assembly which will be held at 10.20am in the school hall.  

Parents can choose to consent their children into any of Ironside SS’s available RI options (Christian RI, Catholic RI. Islamic RI or Buddhist RI) at any time by writing to the principal.

Please contact Mrs Karen Grenning, our school’s Christian RI Coordinator, if you have any questions about the Christian RI Christmas assembly.

Mrs Karen Grenning   -  grenning@bigpond.net.au

Public Holiday – Friday 29 October
A reminder to our families that tomorrow is the re-scheduled Brisbane Show (Ekka) holiday in lieu of the postponed day in August. I hope our families enjoy this extra time together.

Enjoy the long weekend. Stay safe and well.

Spring Fair Platinum Sponsor

Spring Fair: Gold Silver & Bronze Sponsors

Ironside Awards

News from Mr Murdoch

Dear parents and caregivers,

REVISION: Bridge Builders - Skill of the week: Share & Take Turns
Not sharing or not taking turns is often one of the biggest causes of conflict in a home. Helping children to recognise that when they choose this skill there are three benefits for them including:

1. They might share with you.
2. You become better friends.
3. You feel good.

You can build your child’s sharing skills by watching for and praising good turn-taking, encouraging fairness and explaining about sharing. Help your child to practise this skill through simple activities that involve sharing and taking turns like kicking soccer goals or shooting basketball hoops.

When your child does try to share, be specific with praising what they shared and add ‘You must feel so proud of yourself to be so generous. Well done.’

 “Empowered for Life”; Jocelyne Chirnside

2022 Prep Enrolments
To ensure that your pre-prep student is able to meet their teacher before the end of this year, complete enrolment applications and required documentation must be received before Friday 12 November.

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.

Reminder: Term 4 - Prep Departures:
Parents, please be advised that in Term 4, Prep students are independently making their way to their departure zones (Grassy Patch or Ironside Street) at 3:00pm. 

Classroom teachers will work with neighboring classes and dismiss students in a co-ordinated manner. 

Siblings are expected to meet at the family designated departure zone and members of staff will continue to supervise these zones in the afternoon.

This is an important next step in the development of their independence and prepare them for the routines of Year 1.

Please ensure you have ongoing conversations with your Prep student regarding these new expectations (Right place, right time, right way).  As always, please advise your classroom teacher should there be a change in your usual afternoon departure routine.

News from Mrs Vecchio

LANGUAGE CHOICE – YEAR 4 2022
During 2021, Year 3 students have engaged with both languages offered at our school – Japanese and Spanish. Although a full semester experience of Japanese and Spanish was not possible due to interruptions to face-to-face teaching, we trust students are able to make an informed choice. Choosing the preferred language of study for Year 4 2022 is an important educational decision as it sets a solid foundation in place prior to commencing formal studies of the chosen language in Year 5 and Year 6.  The following information may also assist parents and students in making their choice:

Why study Japanese? 
Japanese is the official language of Japan, Australia’s northern neighbour in the Asia region. It is also widely used by communities of speakers in Hawaii, Peru and Brazil, and learnt as an additional language by large numbers of students in the Republic of Korea, China, Indonesia and Australia.

Japanese culture influences many areas of contemporary Australian society, including the arts, design, technology, fashion, popular culture and cuisine. Japan has been a close strategic and economic partner of Australia’s for more than 50 years, and there is ongoing exchange between the two countries in the areas of education, trade, diplomacy and tourism. Japan is an important nation within Asia and a significant contributor to economic, political and diplomatic relations in the region.

Why study Spanish?
Spanish is a global language spoken by approximately 500 million people around the world. Spanish evolved from Latin in the Iberian Peninsula during the first millennium, and travelled from Spain to the Caribbean and to North, Central and South America as a result of the expeditions of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Today, most Spanish-speaking countries are multilingual, and the indigenous languages of these countries are co-official with Spanish.

Since Spanish belongs to the family of Romance languages, derived from Latin, it has many lexical and structural connections with English as well as other European languages. As a result of this relationship, knowledge of Spanish can facilitate the learning of other languages from the Romance family, such as French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Galician, and Romanian.

Year 3 parents should expect to receive preference forms next week.

Reminder – In Year 3 and Year 4, students receive a rating for their effort only in Language study on the end of semester report card.  Formal assessment and achievement ratings are assigned to students once they are in Years 5 & Year 6.

SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES
It was great to see parents in the audience for our school assemblies, which have restarted on the following schedule on Fridays 9:15 – 9:45am:

In the interests of community safety, we ask all adults attending assembly to follow COVID-19 guidelines:

• Wear a face-mask
• Maintain physical distancing
• Scan the check-in code at the Hall

LOOKING AHEAD … KEY SCHOOL DATES – OCTOBER-NOVEMBER

WORLD TEACHERS DAY – THANK YOU!
Thank you to the Ironside Parents & Citizens Association (P&C) for their generous support of our World Teachers Day breakfast. Staff enjoyed the delicious treats catered by Briki – big thanks also to Caterina and Hopkins for their contributions!

Spanish Language News

Next week at Ironside, students in Year 5 and 6 who are enrolled in Spanish will have the opportunity to enjoy an incredible Latin dance class from one of the best Cuban dancers, currently living in Brisbane. 

Yasim Coronado, a graduate of the renowned National School of Art in Havana (Cuba), has travelled the world performing in some of the biggest theatres and dance companies. Yasim has over 15 years of professional dance and choreographic experience and has prepared an amazing lesson especially designed for our students. 

Students will first ask some questions in Spanish about Yasim's life and professional experience. Then the choreography will come and finally, Yasim will dance for us to the sound of the song "Somos Uno" (We are one) which we have been preparing in class and will sing for the occasion.

News from Mrs Bairstow

MUSIC FEST – ALL THE AWARDS!
We were so pleased that our musicians had the opportunity to perform at Music Fest at Iona College over the last fortnight.  All ensembles did themselves proud, creating beautiful music and enjoying the opportunity to be on stage.

The Bands performed first with the following results:

Junior Band:  Gold Award

Intermediate Band:  Silver Award

Senior Band:  Bronze Award

Special thanks to our Parent Rep, Ms Julie Leary for her exceptional help on the day.  Well done to all students, Mrs K & Mrs Allely – who had only been at Ironside for 2 weeks before taking us to a competition.  We value and appreciate everyone’s hard work.

The following week saw the String ensembles performing with the following results:

Junior Strings:  Gold Award

Intermediate Strings:  Silver Award

Senior Strings: Gold Award

Chamber Strings: Platinum Award.

The host of the event mentioned how outstanding it is to achieve a platinum level in primary school, and called it “The Big One”!  Special thanks to our Parent Rep, Mrs Nicole Kent-Moore for her wonderful help on the day, and also to Ms Helen Todd who accompanied our Junior Strings.  Well done to all students, Miss Todd and Miss Weekes!  All of your hard work paid off!

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC GALA NIGHT
We will be holding two separate Instrumental Music Gala nights – one for Band, one for Strings – both at school.  Please mark these dates in your calendar and stay tuned for further details:

            Band – 6pm, Tuesday 23 November
            Strings – 6pm, Wednesday 24 November

SEMESTER 2 LEADERSHIP BADGES
Due to many interruptions, our Semester Two Leaders (Music Captains & Class  Reps) have not formally been presented with their badges yet.  While they have held the positions (and the badges] for a while now, we would like to formally acknowledge them with a presentation on assembly on Friday 5 November.  Parents are welcome to attend.

CONGRATULATIONS SOPHIE
Our Year 5 students have voted on their senior shirt for 2022 (seen below), which was designed by Sophie (5E).  Congratulation Sophie!  We will all enjoy seeing your creativity around us throughout next year.

Orders are now open and close at 5pm on 9 November.  Please contact the uniform shop for further enquiries.

CONGRATULATIONS ETHAN
Congratulations to Ethan (5A) who received first place in the Brisbane Piano Festival Beginner section recently.   He played 'Amazing Grace' during the concert, and looks very happy with his well-earned trophy!!

GRADUATION CELEBRATIONS
Please see below a summary of the planned celebrations for our Year 6 students:

YEAR FIVE LEADERSHIP PROCESS
As the end of 2021 approaches, it is time to focus on the leadership journey for our 2022 Year 6 cohort.

A Year 5 student nominating for election into school leadership positions must have consistently demonstrated leadership qualities throughout 2021. At Ironside State School, student leadership positions are held in high regard.  The process for student leader selection is therefore rigorous and the criteria is specific in nature.  The student leadership election process has been structured to provide a clear and supportive procedure which is outlined in the following information.

To be considered for a leadership position at Ironside students must have demonstrated consistent modelling of the Ironside Way through exhibiting the STAR values of being Safe and Kind, Treasuring Diversity, Acting with Integrity & being Respectful. They must also have demonstrated competent public speaking skills in both formal and informal contexts.  Duties of the Captains and Vice Captains include; holding executive positions in the Student Council; welcoming and hosting school guests; organising and running school assemblies; and representing Ironside at community events.  

Covid has required us to reimagine some events, and we are grateful to Multi-Sports Physical Education Programs for Schools, for donating their time and staff to help us run a fun leadership day to commence our leadership selection process.  This company usually runs Dance Fever for our Year 6 students, but this needed to be cancelled due to the impact of our quarantine period on our planned events and activities.  They kindly offered an alternative activity free of charge, and we acknowledge and appreciate this kind gesture.

The following timelines will guide the nomination, application, interview and election processes. 

As representatives of Ironside State School, all of these leadership roles involve and require mentoring, guidance and the maintenance of very high standards of conduct to which other students can aspire to.  We trust that parents will support their children’s involvement in the nomination and election process in accordance with the guidelines set by the school’s expectations.  We look forward to engaging in the process with the students and working with the successful applicants throughout 2022.

Community Providers

Choir Date Claimers

Year 1 Choir Performance - Week 8, Friday 26 November during Assembly

Year 2 Choir Mini-Concert - Week 9, Friday 3 December (approx start 10:20am)

News from Mrs Ballantyne

Jessica Ballantyne
Guidance Officer
jball128@eq.edu.au

Ironside's Family Fun Day

Ironside P&C

Ironside Swim Club

Fresh Bites Tuckshop

In the Community