14 July 2022 - Term 3, Week 1

News from Mr Johnson

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to the new term and semester.

2022 – Bridge to Brisbane

As a part of our spotlight on rebuilding community connections during 2022 – we have established an Ironside State School ‘team’ for this year’s Bridge to Brisbane fun run.

Event details can be found here https://bridgetobrisbane.com.au/

Anyone can join the team, we are called "Ironside State School" and they need to enter the pin 1045 when they join.

Participants of the team can nominate to walk or run either the 4.5km or 10km.

As we get closer to the date, we’ll nominate a coffee shop, park (or similar) for those who may like to socialise after the run.

Sincere thanks to Hanorah Wallace for setting up the Ironside State School team.

School Council Meeting

Our next meeting is approaching on Monday 25^th July – 5:30pm in the Staff Room. If any members of the School Council are unable to attend please make either myself or Mr Rob Wootton (Chair) aware of your apology.

July P&C Meeting

The next meeting of the Ironside State School P&C Association will be held on THURSDAY 28^TH JULY. 6:30pm – 8:30pm.

This is the first of our P&C Meetings that have moved to the new last THURSDAY of the month.

The Ironside P&C is an open and welcoming forum. New members are welcome to attend.

UQ School Zone Safety Research Project

Attached to this newsletter via the links below, is information relating to our (school zone’s) participation in the above-mentioned research project. This research is being led by a former Ironside SS parent.

Also included, is information regarding the opportunity to participate in the research as part of a focus group.

Please access the links below for detailed information.

District Athletics – Wednesday and Thursday 20/21 July

Good luck and best wishes to all our Ironside students who are participating at Northern Eagles District Athletics, QSAC next week. As the Chair of NE District Sport, I’ll be at QSAC on Wednesday next week.

Participating at District Sport is the first of the representative levels in the School Sport pathway. It is a great achievement and I wish all our athletes the very best for a terrific two days.

All the best for the fortnight ahead.

Stay safe and well.

Damian Johnson, Principal.

Ironside Awards

Stars of the month - Prep to Year 6 (Term 2 Week 10)

News from Mr Taufatofua

Dear parents and caregivers,

Welcome back! It has been extremely encouraging to see our students confidently get back into the swing of things. When visiting the Prep classrooms, it is evident that the students are well and truly on their way to Year One. Their independence at morning drop off when preparing themselves and their belongings for the day is impressive. This may very well be one of the unexpected benefits resulting from Covid. Throughout my time as a Prep teacher, I had never witnessed this many four- and five-year-old students successfully land a cough into their elbow or independently wash their hands before and after eating. On this note, thank you to those parents who are being vigilant and ensuring their child is fit to attend prior to dropping them off at the school gate. This truly is a Safe and Kind action – Ironside Stars!

Thank you to all parents that I have met during my time as Acting Deputy Principal P-2. This has been a very valuable experience for me as I navigate and define ‘what I want to be when I grow up’, and I appreciate all your support.

Disco Disco!

With the 3-6 Disco next Friday 22nd, the P-2 team have opted to host their own dances. In the past it was observed and supported by feedback that the after-school disco was too late for the P-2 age groups and many were tired or overwhelmed. For this reason, we have moved the P-2 Disco to be during the school lunch breaks. This way there is no missing out and a healthy amount of ‘looking forward to’ participating in the ‘big kid’s event’ in the future.

Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students will be having their disco in Week 3 on Friday 29th as part of their 100 Days of School. The Prep Disco will be at first break and the Year 1 and 2 students at second break. There will be no cost for the P-2 Disco.

Bridge Builders – Skill of the week (Week 1): Choices

We are all different. We may look different, like different things or speak differently. It is important to embrace our diversity. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle – when all of our differences come together, we are able to create something great!

We also all have some things that are the same. One of these things is the ability to choose our behaviour. We are able to choose friendly or conflict behaviours. It is vital to teach the language of friendly and conflict choices, so that these can be discussed as they arise.

It is key for parents to know how to show children that they are loved and nurtured. Praising efforts, not simply successes helps children to feel valuable.

Carol Dweck has conducted many studies into having a growth mindset. She has found that if you praise the process, hard work, strategies, focus and perseverance this will help to build resilience. Praising talent and intelligence leaves our children vulnerable. For more information please search “Carol Dweck growth mindset”.

The way that parents talk about others that are different plants the seed for their children.

Conflict provides opportunities to grow and connect. In instances where there is no violence or inappropriate words being used, it is often a good learning opportunity for children to resolve their own problems.

With younger children, helping them by modelling language, tone and body language is extremely important.

Bridge Builders - Skill of the week (Week 2): Nature of Conflict

Conflict is a natural, normal part of life which everyone experiences at times because we are all different. Another word for conflict is problem, disagreement or fight. It can be deliberate, accidental or perceived. It is often related to unmet needs, different expectations or diverse values.

Conflict can have good outcomes if we learn how to respond to it well. It can help us to feel confident, learn more about others, practice assertive communication skills, see things differently and reduce the possibilities of bullying.

Bullying behaviour is different to conflict:

• Bullying is targeted.
• Bullying is repeated.
• Bullying has a perceived power difference.

Bullying often has negative outcomes for the person choosing to bully, the target and the bystanders. It is important for students to have support in dealing with bullying. Teaching children how to ask for help is a valuable strategy in empowering students to feel safe and proactive rather than reactive.

“Empowered for Life”; Jocelyne Chirnside

Around the classrooms – Prep: 

In Prep we are learning about rhyme.

The Prep students have been challenged to think about RHYME with questions like these: -

What is a rhyming word? 

Why do words rhyme? 

What is the same between these two rhyming words? 

What do you see that is similar? 

How do the words sound? 

How can you create a different word that rhymes with _____?

In Prep classrooms students will be exploring rhyme through reading fabulous rhyming stories (The Rhyming Rabbit, Rhyme Hungry and Don’t Forget The Bacon). There will be oodles of other fun activities being done. Rhyming Bingo, Beat The Frog and matching rhyming words and pictures.

Rhyming words are so much fun because…sometimes they are just a little bit silly!

Oh, Snip Snap Snout

Prep News for now is OUT!

P.S. Feel free to join in with some rhyming fun at home!

Around the classrooms – Year 1: 

In year 1 we are exploring changes to our sky and landscape during day and night. Here are some features that 1C think we see at day and night.

We have also created a city landscape. We have included a moon, stars, fireworks and lights to show that it is night time.

Around the classrooms – Year 2: 

This term the Year Two students are exploring a unit in Science called ‘All mixed up’. We will investigate everyday mixtures and how we use them in our homes.

Over the next few weeks students will be asked to complete a worksheet called ‘My mixtures’ as part of their weekly homework activities. Students are encouraged to take photos and/or draw pictures to include with the homework sheet.

*Please reinforce that these mixtures are ONLY TO BE OBSERVED. Many mixtures may be poisonous and are not for tasting or smelling. Please be sure to supervise this fun activity and return it to school in your child’s homework book. We look forward to getting ‘All mixed up’ this term!

Kind regards,

Nikolas Taufatofua

Acting Deputy Principal P-2

News from Mr Davey

Welcome Back

Welcome back to an exciting Term 3. Unfortunately, my return is on hold until Week 2 due to Covid. Having been in contact with the teachers, it sounds like the students have settled straight back into routine and have hit the ground running.

 This term sees some exciting things happening in Years 3 and 4. This includes the Year 4 Camp to Tangalooma and the Year 3 excursion to the museum. It’s fantastic to again be able to offer these opportunities to our students to support their learning.

Year 4 Camp

Please be aware that there will be a number of forms coming home in relation to the Year 4 camp. The team is ramping up preparation for this fantastic experience and would certainly appreciate all forms being returned as soon as possible.

No 3-6 Assembly Next Week – 22/7 

As the hall will be used for extra-curricular photos, there will be no 3-6 assembly next week. Please find some information about the photo day below. 

Extra-curricular Photo day

Next Friday, 22^nd July is our extra-curricular photo day. This will see MSP visit our school again to take all of the photos that involve our extra-curricular activity groups and leadership groups. More information around the schedule will be sent via Schoolzine and Facebook early next week.

Religious Instruction

Religious Instruction will commence on Friday, 22^nd July. This is an option available to all students in Years 1-6.

Faith groups who are offering RI at Ironside are:

• Catholic
• Combined Christian
• Islam

Students will be enrolled into the RI group aligned with the information provided on the enrolment form at the time of enrolment.  Should you wish to change the RI group that your child attends, please submit this advice in writing to: pdave16@eq.edu.au AND sfaus0@eq.edu.au It is possible to change groups/cease attendance at any time.

Kind regards

Peter Davey

Deputy Principal 3-4

News from Mrs Bairstow

YEAR FIVE PARENT INFORMATION EVENING REGARDING 2022 & 2023 CAMP PROGRAM

Parents of students currently in Year 5 are invited to attend an information evening regarding Year 5 Camp at Tyalgum Ridge (19 – 21 October, 2022) and next year’s Year 6 trip to Sydney and Canberra (10 – 15 July, 2023).

The last couple of years has seen the Sydney / Canberra trip cancelled and relocated to a closer camp, due to the impacts of Covid.  With restrictions on travel now minimal - at this stage, we anticipate that we should be able to take the 2023 cohort of Year 6 students on this interstate trip.

We need to have firm commitment of attendance to this 2023 trip finalised this year.  This is because, in 2019 – with no knowledge of what was ahead, the school placed a significant deposit to secure flights with Virgin in July of 2020.  Of course these flights never happened, nor did they in 2021.  Virgin’s hold on the deposit is set to expire before the end of the 2022 school year.  Therefore we need to confirm definite numbers for the trip (mores specifically for the flights with Virgin)– or the school will lose the deposit.

To allow parents to make an informed decision well ahead of time, we are running an information session regarding both camps on Thursday 14 July.  This session will commence at 6pm, and will be held in the Year 5 classrooms (top floor of L Block).

YEAR 6 CAMP AT WARAWEE

We are looking forward to Year 6 Camp.  Please note the following details below, and return attached forms as necessary.

Dates:  Monday August 1 – Friday August 5, 2022

Transport:  Students will be transported from Ironside State School to Camp Warrawee, and return to Ironside State School by coach.  The buses are air conditioned and equipped with seatbelts.

MONDAY 1 AUGUST:  Students are to meet their teachers on the Grassy Patch (in front of the administration block at 8am sharp. 

FRIDAY 5 AUGUST:  Students are to be collected from Ironside State School at 3pm.

Program: Students will be organised into groups with teachers/supervisors from Ironside State School and will have the opportunity to work with peers from across the Year 6 cohort.   Activities are managed by qualified, experienced camp staff and students are also carefully supervised by Ironside staff at all times.  Activities in the program include:  canoeing, giant swing, archery, camping, initiative and team building games, hiking, indoor climbing and low ropes.

Dining: The camp is fully catered with a daily menu consisting of breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.  Individuals with special dietary needs are also catered for subject to information being provided in advance of the camp.  Please complete the attached dietary requirements form and return it to your child’s teacher asap.

Cost:  The cost for the camp is $300.  This includes accommodation, facility and equipment hire, catering, program instruction and transport.  Now that student numbers are finalised – the balance of payment (after the $100 deposit, already received) is $200.  This is due on Wednesday 27 July.   Invoices will be sent to families via email tomorrow.  Full payment by the due date, is required for students to be able to attend.

Medication:  Please complete and return the attached medical form to your child’s teacher asap.  If your child requires prescribed medication during the camp, please complete the Medical Administration form attached.  This needs to accompany the medication (inclusive of a pharmaceutical label) in a zip lock bag, and handed to your child’s teacher on the morning of the camp.  Please DO NOT SEND Panadol or Nurofen.  The school has adequate supplies and if it is deemed required, parents will always be contacted by phone to confirm permission for students to be administered Panadol or Nurofen.

Student Conduct:  For a safe and successful Year 6 Camp, students need to demonstrate the Ironside STAR expectations at school in the lead-up to camp and for the duration of camp.  Students must show they can act safely, respectfully and follow the directions of supervising adults at all times.  Students whose actions place themselves or others at risk may be removed from activities, or if the conduct breach is serious, parents may be called to take their child home.  All costs associated with early departure due to student misconduct will be paid by the child’s parents.

Due Dates:

• Dietary Requirements form: Friday July 15 (attached)
• Medical Form Return – Friday July 15 (attached)
• Full and final payment – Wednesday July 27
• Medical Administration form – Monday 1 August - only if student is taking prescribed medication during the camp (attached).

Please feel welcome to email me if you have any questions on jbair51@eq.edu.au

CONGRATULATIONS – FANFARE

Chamber Strings have progressed to the State Finals of the competition and will perform at this level on Monday 22 August.  Chamber have also been invited to perform at the Principal’s Conference next week.  This is an honour for the program and reflective of our students’ outstanding musical achievements.

CONGRATULATIONS HAILEY & RAYAN

Hailey in Year 6, won first place at the Brisbane Piano Festival on Sunday (19th June 2022).

Rayan in Year 5, was awarded the second place in his level/group (open category - up to Grade 3) as well as the most entertaining performance award in the Brisbane Piano Festival. 

Congratulations Hailey and Rayan!

SILENT DISCO

Students in Years 3 – 6 . . . remember to buy your Silent Disco tickets on QKR today!  Tickets are limited so don’t miss out!!! 

Choose a your favourite channel of music (all selected by Ironside students) and dance along with your friends.  Or change the channel to join in games and competitions being run through the headphones.  The theme is “Dress as your Idol” . . . we can’t wait to see all the costumes!

Upon entry to the disco, students will receive glow sticks along with their set of headphones for the night. No food or drinks will be provided in the disco, or as part of the disco ticket price. We encourage students to bring their own water bottle to stay hydrated while dancing. We apologise for confusion caused by misinformation on the QKR app regarding food provided on entry. This has now been updated. Families are encouraged to make the most of the opportunity to gather and enjoy some food and drinks from the food trucks on the basketball courts.

Thanks to our P&C for organising food trucks for parents and families – during and after the disco time.  More information to come soon!! 😊

Student Councillors are also organising free discos for students in Prep – 2 over the next few weeks.  These will be held during school time, and supervised by teachers with the assistance of student leaders. 

Kind regards,

Jennifer Bairstow

Deputy Principal 5-6

News from P&C

Dear Ironside Community,

Please be advised that Ironside P&C will be holding the following upcoming meetings.

Executive Meeting: Thursday, 21^st July – via Teams – 6:30p to 7:30p – Open Parent Forum

General Meeting: Thursday, 28^th July – in person & via Teams – 6:30p to 8:00p – Ironside staffroom

For the Exec Meeting, we are trying something new! We are offering an open forum for the first hour for parents to join to raise issues or give feedback that will be fed into the General Meeting the following week. We would still love for you to attend the General Meeting to hear your issue raised and discussed and to meet with the school leadership and P&C members. Please RSVP to Lynn Roy at lroy9@eq.edu.au with your agenda item and for a link to the Teams meeting.

We would love to see more parents and community members engage with your P&C. We are a welcoming bunch that earnestly wants to hear from you.

Ironside P&C

Spring Fair

International Parent Group News

News from HPE

Year 3-6 Athletics Day 2022

Well done to all participating students and a big congratulations to those who received ribbons and the age champions listed below. Many students aged 10, 11 & 12 years who have met the district qualifying standards in both the track and field events will have the opportunity to attend the District Track and Field Carnival on July 20-21.

Good luck to all district competitors next week.!

Thanks again.

Jeremie Clarke-Okah – HPE Specialist.

Music News

Upcoming Music Dates

WestCent Music Camp

Our 30+ strings and band students who received a place at our district music camp will be attending this camp in week 3.  Please remember to check your information letters about what you need to bring.  It is going to be an excellent week of music making with fantastic concerts on Friday afternoon and evening to culminate the week of work.

Strings Outstanding Commitment Awards for Term 1

Every week students work together in their small lesson’s groups on their practice, attendance and preparation for lessons.  From each year level one group receives the award for outstanding commitment to these goals.  The small groups below have earned the reward for term 2.  Keep up the great work.

Fanfare

Congratulations to the Chamber Strings.  They were selected to be one of the nine Metro region music groups to perform at the Metro Final in Week 10.  They performed brilliantly and received one of the three regional award.  This places them in the top 11 ensembles in the state.  They have worked very hard to achieve this level of performance and should be very proud of their achievements.

News from Chappy Thu

Dear Families,

Welcome to Term 3! I hope you all enjoyed your break & had a smooth transition back to school this week.

Chappy Squad

We have some exciting new activities this term, starting with our very first Chappy Squad meeting on Friday! As you may remember, due to the growing popularity of our Chappy Activities, Sign Up sheets were put up around the school last term for students to apply to be part of Chappy Squad. The Squad is intended to be a group of student volunteers who will help set up activities & to start initiatives around the school. We had an unprecedented number of applications for the squad & I had a very difficult time choosing just 60 students. Some of my favourite answers to “Why do you want to join Chappy Squad?” were:

Chappy Activities

Our regular favourites such as Chappy Lounge & Origami Club will resume in week 2 & we will also be adding an extra event just for the Preppies this term too! A summary of the activities is outlined below

Chappy Squad

Upcoming School Events

TERM 3

• Chappy Activities will resume in Week 2 of Term 3
• School Disco – Friday, 22^nd July
• Father’s Day Breakfast – Friday, August 26^th
• Science Week
• Book Week

TERM 4

• Gingerbread Making Night – Thursday, December 1^st

Lastly…

• If you have any questions or would like to volunteer at any of the activities, please email me at tklet0@eq.edu.au.
• If you would like to join the Local Chaplaincy Committee (LCC) or find out more about what the committee does, please email our president, David, at mooresathome@internode.on.net
• If would like to donate items such as origami paper, lollies, chocolates, crafts or games for Chappy Lounge or Care Packages, please drop off at the office.
• If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation (just in time for the end of the financial year) to help us raise $8,000 to continue our two day service, please do so here: https://www.suqld.org.au/donate/ironside-ss-chaplaincy-tax-deductible/

Until Next Time,

Chappy Thu

News from the Library

Just a reminder to return overdue library books.

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