23rd February 2023 - Term 1, Week 5

News from Mr Johnson

Dear Parents,

BEFORE SCHOOL PLAY

Just a reminder that school hats remain a compulsory item for outside play.

Could I encourage the ‘home to school routine’ to include the hat being worn and not in the school bag.

I’ll be asking our teachers to reinforce the message regarding needing a hat when outside. I appreciate parent support with the aligned and consistent message at home.

SCHOOL COUNCIL

Due to a very quiet response regarding parent nominations for School Council, we have extended the nomination timelines. If you have been considering active participation on our School Council, please forward me your nomination form ASAP.

IRONSIDE P&C ASSOCIATION – FEBRUARY MEETING

Just a quick reminder that our initial P&C meeting for 2023 is scheduled for 28^th February, 6:30pm in the Staffroom.  All are welcome to attend.

IRONSIDE STATE SCHOOL TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
The Ironside State School tennis championship 2023 was held during week 3. Congratulations to Ariel G who won the girls championship and to Maxim Y who won the boys championship. Runners up were Aimee W and Sam W.  The scores in the finals were 7-5 and 6-4 respectively.  Thank you to all those children who participated and played so well and congratulations to all for the spirit in which each match was played.

NAPLAN 2023

Students in Years 3 and Year 5, will be participating in NAPLAN online Wednesday 15^th March – Friday 24^th March. The best support you can give your child is by modelling positive thinking towards NAPLAN. Talk about how NAPLAN is an opportunity for students to show what they know.  Let them know that the school uses the information collected to be able to help and extend them. Please read the Year 3 and Year 5 section of this newsletter for more information. If you require extra information or have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s classroom teacher.

Congratulations to the 3-6 Merit Certificate recipients from the 3rd of February

Congratulations to the P-2 Merit Certificate recipients from the 10th of February

All the best for the fortnight ahead.

Yours sincerely,

Damian Johnson, Principal.

News from Mr Weston-Murdoch

Dear parents and caregivers,

Bridge Builders - Skill of the week: Nature of conflict

Conflict can be defined as a problem, a disagreement or a fight.  It can be physical, verbal or indirect, with a reference to winning or losing.  Actions that present during conflict can be grouped into behaviours that hurt physically, and behaviours that hurt emotionally – hurting feelings and creating emotional pain.  The impetus for conflict may be deliberate, accidental or perceived but, predominately, conflict has its basis in unmet needs.

In classrooms, playgrounds, homes and sports fields, children are going to wrestle with the pain, discomfort and uncertainties related to conflict.  How they respond plays a part in determining their ability to grow into confident, respectful and problem-solving citizens.

“Empowered for Life”; Jocelyne Chirnside

At Ironside, we take a positive, solutions-focused approach and stay low on the ladder of inference.  In all interactions, please mindful of assumptions being made or getting caught up in emotions, particularly around the perspectives of younger children.

The best thing parents can do when conflict is reported at home is to apply an adult lens and filter the information: Step back, listen, investigate if necessary or see this as an opportunity for personal growth.

How we respond as adults and manage emotions in this space plays a critical role in developing and building a child’s resilience.

There are systems, structures and processes in place to support individuals and the general population, both academically and socially.  Your classroom teacher should be your first point of call. Conversations of this nature also need to remain between you and the classroom teacher. They are the people who know your children best and what has occurred during the day.

Reminder:  Arrivals and Departures 2022 – Prep, Years 1 & 2

Students may arrive at school from 8:30am onwards and will be supervised by school staff.  Students are to wait in their dedicated waiting areas or utilise the appropriate supervised play space.

Reminder - Year 1 Parents and Students: 

One of the systems we use at school to keep students safe is the use of a yellow bucket hat in Prep.  This helps to keep Prep students easily identified in the playground to make sure they are in the right place.

There are some Year 1 students who are still using this yellow bucket hat which is causing some confusion in the playground.

We kindly request that you purchase the appropriate blue hat used by our Years 1 – 6 students at your earliest convenience.

These hats are readily available for purchase at the uniform shop or via the Qkr app.

Thanks in advance for your co-operation with this matter.

https://ironsidess.eq.edu.au/facilities/uniform-shop

New uniforms can be ordered online via the online app Qkr! http://qkr.mastercard.com/.

Please note the Uniform Shop cannot accept cash.  Payment can be made by EFTPOS in store and via use of the Qkr! app (online).

Around the classrooms – Prep: 

In Maths, Prep D has been investigating and exploring length and informal measurement. We used our measurement snakes and made Unifix cube snakes that were the same length, then counted how many cubes each snake measured. We discussed which snakes were longer and shorter and compared our Unifix cube snakes to other things in the classroom, such as the table. We went out into the playground to find sticks and we worked as a team to place them from shortest to longest, carefully comparing length to place our sticks in the correct order.

Prep Image Gallery

Around the classrooms – Year 1: 

The children have received their Year 1 Digital Passports with their log-ins for some of the school programs that have been purchased for them to use.

The children have begun exploring the keyboard, finding keys for:- Control, Alt, Delete, Tab, Enter and letters and number keys. Mouse control is a fine motor skill that requires a lot of practise.

Some classes are heading to the computer lab while others are accessing computers in the classrooms.

Reading Eggs, Maths Online, Seesaw and Bridge Builders are the programs available to the children on their Passports. Try them out!

Around the classrooms – Year 2: 

Year Two students are developing a deeper understanding of the world around them by exploring the seven continents of the world in HASS. In 2E we’ve had fun singing a song to learn about each continent including their location and interesting facts. We discovered famous landmarks and the continent they are located in. Students were intrigued to find out the Equator is so close to us and that’s the reason we experience tropical weather. Coming up next, we will be discussing how we connect with people in different places and explain why places are important to us.

Kind regards,

Scott Weston-Murdoch

Deputy Principal P-2

News from Mr Davey

NAPLAN - Yr 3

Students in Years 3 will be participating in NAPLAN online Wednesday 15^th March – Friday 24^th  March. Students will complete the NAPLAN Writing test using pencil and paper, while the Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy tests will be administered on iPads. 

The sequence of testing for Year 3 students at Ironside will be:

There will be two test sessions for the Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy tests. This will look like 3 classes completing the tests in the morning session and 3 classes completing the tests in the middle session. The writing test will be completed by all classes during the morning session on Wednesday 15 March.

Adjustments will be provided for students with specific support needs, to provide equitable access to the tests.  Such adjustments will require formal documentation, which will be emailed directly to parents for completion and return to the classroom teacher.

Students will participate in a NAPLAN Omnibus online practice test on Friday 24^th February.  The purpose of this practice test is to familiarise students with the platform and to ensure school readiness by testing our network and the NAPLAN portal. 

Wellbeing support

• Please don’t “prepare” or “drill” children for NAPLAN.  This often confuses students on the day, and can lead to anxiety which impedes their best thinking.  
• The best at-home preparation is modelling positive thinking, a good sleep and a full breakfast.
• NAPLAN attracts a lot of media attention – often with a negative spin.   Focus on the positives. Talk about how NAPLAN is an opportunity for students to show what they know.  Let them know that the school uses the information collected to be able to help and extend them. 

If you require extra information or have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s classroom teacher.

Around the Classrooms – Year 3

Students in 3B have been very busy learning about persuasive devices in English, Celebrations in HASS, and Symmetry in Maths.

After reading ‘The Day the Crayons Quit’, Students in 3A decided to choose their favourite colour and convince the boy in the story why it was the best!

The Day the Crayons Quit

Students in 3D have been using the iPads to help with their learning about symmetry.

News from Year 4

Year 4 classes are busily preparing for their excursion to the Tarcoola Track.

During the excursion, students will walk from school along Hawken Drive, Tarcoola Street, The Esplanade and the Tarcoola bush track near the Brisbane River.  The learning experience from this excursion aims to enhance students’ understanding, knowledge and interest in the Science unit “Beneath our Feet” which requires the study of erosion in our local area.

When

Tuesday 28^th February

9:00-11:00am – 4C and 4D

Wednesday 2nd March

9:00 -11:00am – 4A and 4B

Tuesday 7^th March

9:00-11:00am – 4E and 4F

Library News

The school Library is open before school on Monday to Friday 8:30 – 8:55am.  Students are expected to wait in their year-level waiting areas for the Library to open.

After school hours are 3:00 – 3:30pm on Monday and Thursday afternoons. Students are expected to exit the Library and wait in their designated pick-up areas before 3:30pm. 

Students in Prep – Year 2 will require a library bag for borrowing.

Religious Instruction

Religious Instruction will commence in Term 1 (Week 6) this year. This is an option available to all students in Years 1-6. We can confirm that Hindu and Buddhism will be included into the Ironside RI program in 2023. If you’ve asked for your child to be included in one of those groups, it has been actioned.

Faith groups who are offering RI at Ironside are:

• Buddhist (Year 3-6)
• Catholic
• Combined Christian
• Islam
• Hindu

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 adhil27@eq.edu.au It is possible to change groups/cease attendance at any time.

Kind regards,

Peter Davey

Deputy Principal 3-4

pdave16@eq.edu.au. 

News from Mrs Bairstow

MICHAEL JEH – LIFE SKILLS SESSIONS – YEAR 6 – TODAY AND TONIGHT

Complementary to the Life Ed Sessions is the Life Skills Program delivered annually to our Year 6 cohort and their parents.  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. 

The 90-minute workshop will be run during school hours on Thursday 23 February, 2023.

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 of the student workshop.  Parents are invited to attend this session at 5.30pm on Thursday 23 February 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.

LEADERSHIP BADGE PRESENTATION ASSEMBLY

The following leaders will be formally presented with their badges at a Senior Assembly at 9.15am on Friday 3 March:

          - School Captains and Vice Captains

          - House Captains

          - Student Councillors

          - Class Reps

          - Library Captains

          - Music Captains (Strings, Band & Choir)

          - Bridge Builders

STUDENT COUNCIL KICKS OFF!!

Twenty-five of our student leaders attended the National Young Leaders’ Day at the Brisbane Convention Centre on Monday, with Miss Jeanes and Miss Faithfull.  This is always a day filled with fun and inspiration.

The Student Council had a chance to reflect on the day at their first meeting of the year, on the following day.  The photos below show the insights and maturity of our leaders already.  The future for 2023 is looking bright!

NAPLAN ONLINE - Yr 5

Students in Year 5, will be participating in NAPLAN online Wednesday 15^th March – Friday 24^th  March. Students in Year 5 will complete the NAPLAN Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy tests on computers. 

The sequence of testing for Year 5 students at Ironside will be:

Adjustments will be provided for students with specific support needs, to provide equitable access to the tests.  Such adjustments will require formal documentation, which will be emailed directly to parents for completion and return to the classroom teacher.

Students will participate in a NAPLAN Omnibus online practice test on Friday 24^th February.  The purpose of this practice test is to familiarise students with the platform and to ensure school readiness by testing our network and the NAPLAN portal. 

What can you do at home to support your child in readiness for NAPLAN?

Technology support   

            - Functioning headphones are essential for students to be able to participate in all of the Year 5 NAPLAN Tests.  Please ensure that your child has working headphones at school.

            - Students who have their own BYOD device must bring their laptop to school on the Omnibus & NAPLAN Testing dates (listed above). 

            - Ensure that BYOD devices are fully charged at home.

            - If your child has a BYOD device, the NAPLAN Lockdown Browser must be installed.  (This is already installed on school devices)

            - Teachers are guiding students through this process during class time.  However if you are set as the administrator of your child’s device, you will need to install the NAPLAN Lockdown Browser at home.  Please find attached a “How To” guide to assist you in this process.

Skill building support

             - Typing practise is strongly encouraged.  There are several free online resources available.  Typing Club is a good place to start.

            - Familiarise yourself with what the tests look like at:  https://nap.edu.au/naplan/public-demonstration-site

  Wellbeing support

            - Please don’t “prepare” or “drill” children for NAPLAN.  This often confuses students on the day, and can lead to anxiety which impedes their best thinking.  

            - The best at-home preparation is modelling positive thinking, a good sleep and a full breakfast.

            - NAPLAN attracts a lot of media attention – often with a negative spin.  Use this as a conversation starter at home.  Embrace stories on the television or radio as a learning opportunity.  Encourage your child to apply their critical literacy skills and reflect as a family on how the media can represent (or misrepresent) events in our lives.  Focus on the positives. Talk about how NAPLAN is an opportunity for students to show what they know.  Let them know that the school uses the information collected to be able to help and extend them. 

If you require extra information or have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s classroom teacher.

Have a lovely weekend!

Kind regards,

Jennifer Bairstow

Deputy Principal 5-6

jbair51@eq.edu.au. 

P&C News

Dear Ironside parents and community,

On behalf of the P&C Executive Committee, I would like to welcome you to the new school year. I hope the first few weeks of 2023 have been as well as can be for you and your family.

The last year has been a busy year for our Ironside community and we cannot overstate our gratitude to everyone who has made 2022 such a successful year.  Thank you very much for your support as the P&C staged the Spring Fair, Swim-a-thon, Mother’s Day and Christmas stalls. More than the funds that these activities raise for our school, it was a great pleasure to see the community work together for these projects to build a real sense of belonging.  We can be truly proud of ourselves!

The P&C has recently completed two infrastructure projects: the new playground and the refurbishment of the oval.  These projects are only possible because of the generosity and commitment of Ironside parents and community members, both past and present, to achieving the best outcomes for our dear students.  Looking forward to 2023, we will be helping with the refurbishment of the changing rooms at the swimming pool area. We hope that we can continue to count on your support and help for this and upcoming  P&C initiatives. We also hope to see more of you  joining the Ironside P&C as a member. Joining the P&C is a great way to build our community, and a great way to show our children a spirit of volunteerism.  The link to the membership form can be found below, you simply need to fill it out, scan (or take a picture with your phone), and email to pandcironside@gmail.com.  

P&C executive committee positions that will be vacated in 2023 include: VP for Out-of-School-Hours-Care, VP for fundraising, and Secretary.  We thank Matt Petersen, Nilufer Krishnamoorthy, and Jacq Romero for their work in their respective roles. I encourage anyone interested to take up or to nominate for these roles to come to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the 28^th of February at 6:30 pm at the Ironside State School  staffroom (1^st level of the administration building). 

Yours sincerely,

Tugrul Durali

P&C President

Please click the link below for the P&C membership form:

HPE News

Met West Regional Swimming Trials

A big congratulations goes out to all the Ironside students who were a part of the Northern Eagles District swim team and swam at the Met West regional trial on Wednesday.  So many great performances!  Good luck to Mason D., Rosie Z., Harriet W., Sam H. and Louie C. who have qualified to be a part of the Met West Regional team heading to the State trials next month.

Ironside Cross Country Trial

Over the past couple of years, we have been running a modified version of our cross country carnival due to outside factors such as Covid, floods, etc.  Only students eligible for district consideration and those who wished to participate came down to the park for their run, making it more like an Ironside trial to go to districts. The decision has been made to continue with this format this year and in the future.  All students in years 3-6 will be given an opportunity to run in a cross country fun run at the end of the year during our end-of-year sports celebrations.

Students born in 2011,2012 and 2013 have been emailed a link where they can sign up to go to the trial.  For more information and access to the link, please check the sport section of the school website linked below:

https://ironsidess.eq.edu.au/co-curricular/sports

Ironside Teeball Team

I’m putting together a year 5-6 teeball team made up of 10 players to take to a tournament at Downey Park on March 10^th.  Any year 5 or 6 student, boy or girl, is invited to trial on Friday morning at 7:45am on the oval.

Ironside Futsal Teams

Good luck to all of our Ironside futsal teams as they are off to compete in the Brisbane Metro School Futsal Trials next Wednesday.

News from Chappy Thu

Dear Families,

As we head into the middle of the term, I hope each of you have found your new groove & feeling settled. It’s been an exciting few weeks within the Chappy arena with activities & event planning for our Welcome Movie night coming up in Week 9. The movie Sing 2 has been chosen & we will have a Sausage Sizzle as well as popcorn, slushies, lolly bags, drinks & glow items! Tickets will be on sale via QKR! soon! Special thanks to the Chaplaincy Committee for all your brilliant ideas & for coming to school extra early for our first meeting of the year.

Chappy Squad

Team 16 of Supreme, Animals & Blue Back Whales have done an excellent job with activities over the last few weeks. Special mention to Owen who mastered our advanced plane (the Orbital) & India who helped several groups of students to fold planes. Thank you also to Anna K, Evelyn T, Ella H, Eva W, Lakshya, Noah, Rose, Heidi & Shyah for your enthusiasm, punctuality, kindness & problem solving skills.  

The students have been so enthusiastic that I’ve had to create a few more positions at activities to allow members to volunteer at more than one a week.

We’ve implemented a new system that allows the rostered team to volunteer up to three times a week & if there are spots left, members from other teams may also help. Currently customisable badges are made for each member to wear during activities that shows their name & role. Members have been requesting a badge they can keep, so I’ve decided that badges will be awarded at assembly for members who have reached a total of 50 stamps/stars. Stamps are awarded to members who sign up to an activity & complete it. Stars are given to members who do an exemplary job & have gone above & beyond what was asked. Here is our current Top 10:

Chappy Activities

Chappy Activities have been met with great enthusiasm over the past few weeks. It’s our third week of Paper Plane Club & I think I’ve finally found the right amount of paper to print for planes. The first week, I had 60 sheets, which disappeared within 15 mins. The second week, I had 100 sheets & still ran out. Today, I had 120 & didn’t run out until the last 5 minutes of first break – hooray! The theme for Origami Club this term is Animals & so far, we’ve made a panda & a dinosaur. My highlight from last week was Jimel from year 2 showing me his dinosaur in a paper plan he made! How cute & creative!

Last week I’ve had to put limits on attendance to keep our space in B Block safe & enjoyable for all. Chappy Lounge is now being capped at 75 students & Origami Club is limited to 45 students. Students who miss out are encouraged to come again the following week & are given a voucher to guarantee entry. If your child missed out on a club or activity, please help them keep their voucher & encourage them to try again. Please email me if they have lost it & I will email you a digital version to print out.

Thank You!

Lastly, I just wanted to thank everyone who donated items over the last few weeks. I’ve received books, glue, scissors, lollies & more! Unfortunately, no name was left with many of the donations so even though I haven’t been able to thank you personally, please know your items have been received & are greatly appreciated. I use a variety of things during activities, events & also for care packages for families & staff. If possible, please leave a little note or email me when you drop something off. I would love to meet you & thank you!

Upcoming Chappy Events

TERM 1

• Ironside Welcome Movie Night, Week 9 (More info to come!)

TERM 2

• Silly Sock Day & Morning Tea

TERM 3

• Father’s Day Breakfast

TERM 4

• Gingerbread Evening

Lastly…

• If you have any questions or would like more information, please email me at tklet0@eq.edu.au.
• 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 join the Chaplaincy Committee & contribute to our fun upcoming events, please email me or David Moore at mooresathome@internode.on.net
• Last year, with the help of the P&C, the school & wonderful community members like yourself, we raised over $25,000 to fund a three day service at Ironside! If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to keep chaplaincy services at Ironside, please do so here: https://www.suqld.org.au/donate/ironside-ss-chaplaincy-tax-deductible/

Until Next Time,

Chappy Thu

Wednesday, Thursday & Friday

8am to 4pm

International Parent Group News

OSHC News

To enrol your child into OSHC please follow this link and note if only for Vacation Care. 

Uniform Shop

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Love to Sing? Come and trial with Voices of Birralee!

Voices of Birralee is a Brisbane based choral organisation which has a choral program for your child. Our weekly rehearsals at Bardon, Ascot and Carina cater for singers aged 5 to 35 years. We invite you to a free trial at any stage of the year. Simply contact our office at contact@birralee.org | 07 3367 1001 to organise the best session to attend.  You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram @voicesofbirralee to keep up with our events.