26 May 2023 - Term 2, Week 6

News from Mr Johnson

Dear Parents,

Neurofibromatosis Month

Neurofibromatosis is a complex set of genetic conditions that cause tumors to form on nerve tissue. Neurofibromatosis awareness month is held each year in May to improve understanding of the signs and symptoms of NF and to share stories of people affected by the condition. Talking openly about NF can be the first step in building understanding and acceptance umongst peers.

One of the many ways you can get involved is by buying and wearing a $5 ribbon. Blue and green are the two colours that represent NF globally. We will have a small number of ribbons on sale at our front office. Any support for this worthy cause is appreciated.

International Breakfast 2023 – Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner to attend

This year we are both fortunate and excited to welcome the Lord Mayor of Brisbane to Ironside State School for our International Breakfast.

This is special event which has been held at Ironside SS for many years. It is an opportunity for everyone to share and taste foods representing the many cultural groups across our school community.  Stalls are set up by families representing our many cultures. It is coordinated by the International Parent Group.  

Each stall provides a selection of breakfast or snack type foods.  1 voucher is exchanged for 1 serving of food.  Everyone is encouraged to wear cultural dress on the day. 

Book Fair

A final call out that Book Fair will close this Friday. Thanks to all our families who have supported another one of Ms Roche’s fabulous Fairs!

School Council Meeting – 29^th May

A reminder that the next meeting of the school council is scheduled for Monday 29^th May. Members can expect an agenda shortly. School Council meetings are held in the school staff room commencing at 5:30pm.

P&C Meeting - MAY

This coming Tuesday 30^th May is the scheduled P&C Meeting. P&C meetings are held in the school staff room commencing at 6:30pm. All welcome.

All the very best for the fortnight ahead. Stay safe and well.

Warm regards,

Damian Johnson, Principal.

News from Mr Weston-Murdoch

Dear parents and caregivers,

Bridge Builders – Skill of the week (Week 5): Talk and Listen

Positive communication skills are essential for good relationships.  Listening is a learned skill, and through focused and directed efforts, parents can teach their children and themselves better listening and speaking habits.

Listen to your children in the way you like to be listened to. Be a good role model by hearing things in their words and making them feel important while they are talking to you. Since they sense when you’re not listening, they’re much more apt to listen to you when you listen to them.

Tone of voice and facial expression are important aspects of positive communication as well - our tone and expression can speak as loudly as our words.

Bridge Builders – Skill of the week (Week 6): Be Kind

Teaching children to be kind to someone who they have been in conflict with seems like an oxymoron.  Often, a child’s natural instinct when they have been hurt is to hurt back.

Kindness in conflict is unexpected and it can be the opposite to what someone expects.  This can mean that they struggle to continue to be mean.   Learning to be kind when we are hurt starts with how we think about the other person.  It can require empathy and encourages children to be brave enough to be the hero in a problem.

Acts of kindness release hormones that make us feel calmer, healthier and happier.  They can also be contagious.

“Empowered for Life”; Jocelyne Chirnside

P-2 Assembly

Last week we had the P-2 assembly! Congratulations to our Mert Certificate recipients!

Around the classrooms – Prep: 

In English, the Prep students have been learning how to retell a story. We been drawing and then writing a retell for some of our favourite stories. The children included details of the setting in their drawing boxes to support their oral retelling. Students then wrote about what happened: -

• First
• Then
• Next
• Finally

In HASS, we have been modelling familiar places. We worked together with blocks to create a model of our classroom and then we used the model to help us to draw a map of our classroom.

Around the classrooms – Year 1: 

In Year 1 we have been reading some fantastic books with wonderful characters. After reading the stories we have been creating our own “Who Am I?” clues to match the different characters.

We have been learning about adjectives that will help make our writing pop! See if you can find some great adjectives in our “Who Am I?” pieces of writing.

Around the classrooms – Year 2: 

On Friday 19th May the Year Two cohort visited Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. This excursion forms part of the Term 2 Science unit where students are investigating growth, living things and life cycles.

After being welcomed by the education officers, students and parent helpers set off to explore the wonders of Lone Pine. Students enjoyed the raptor talk and were in awe as they witnessed the speed and stealth of owls, kites and falcons soaring overhead. The expert crocodilian keepers shared their knowledge as they taught students about the natural behaviours of some rather large crocodiles.

The sheepdog show elicited gasps of amazement as students watched a working sheepdog herd a flock of sheep. Education officers stepped students through the life cycles of hens, turtles, frogs and koalas and even had these animals on hand for a pat. Kangaroo feeding was definitively a crowd pleaser and was enjoyed by students and parents! After lunch students and parent helpers were able to visit other exhibits and some were even lucky enough to pat a snake and a dingo!

The beautiful warm weather and wonderful parent support made this a memorable day for everyone. Thank you to our amazing parent helpers for joining us on this special day.           

Kind regards,

Scott Weston-Murdoch

Deputy Principal P-2

News from Mr Davey

Bridge Builders’ Skill of the Week – Be Kind

Being kind to someone who has hurt us is often the last thing we feel like doing. However, choosing to treat someone with underserved kindness can have so many flow on positive effects for both your child and the other person. It can help children to feel happier and like they belong, and kindness is contagious.

Tips to teach this skill at home:

1. Explain that being kind to someone who hurts you is the last thing you want to do, but it can be a powerful way to solve a conflict. Ask your child how they could try this with their siblings or friends.

2. As a family, see if there is something you can do for a neighbour, friend or a family member. Brainstorm ideas like; cooking, odd jobs or taking them out. Talk to the children about how being kind not only builds bridges of friendship with others, it helps you to feel good and it is contagious.

3. Google: Life Vest Inside - Kindness Boomerang - "One Day” and watch the short clip as a family. Talk about the sort of things they could do around their home to be kind.

4. Write a kind note to someone to tell them three things you appreciate about them.

EcoMarines

On Monday 8/5, our EcoMarine ambassadors visited Tangalooma Island Resort to complete their training. EcoMarines inspire and empower students to become conservation leaders.

The programs and events enable students and teachers to network with other schools, connect with local businesses, and learn from traditional owners and industry experts.

Our student ambassadors encourage the school network to identify and tackle challenges impacting their local community in a fun and creative way. These passionate students are creating a wave of environmental change.

I would like to acknowledge the amazing work of Ms Wightwick in this space. She has given up an extraordinary amount of her own time to get the EcoMarines program up and running at Ironside. Thank you, Ms Wightwick!

Religious Instruction

Faith groups who are offering RI at Ironside are:

• Catholic
• Combined Christian
• Islam
• Hindu
• Buddhism (Yr 3-6)

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.

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.

Kind regards,

Peter Davey

Deputy Principal 3-4

pdave16@eq.edu.au. 

News from Mrs Bairstow

IRONSIDE REPRESENTATION AT QASMT MONASH SERVICE

Our four school captains were invited to attend a service at QASMT last week.  The students received high praise for their presentation and conduct.  Special congratulations to Cikal who read a piece as a part of the program.  Thank you to Miss Faithfull and Miss Jeanes for supporting these student councillors’ opportunity to attend.  Xiao Nan and Neelan have written a piece below to reflect on the experience:

Monash Commemorative Service

The Monash Commemorative Service was truly an inspiring and important honorary service, commemorating General Sir John Monash (1865-1931), an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the First World War. 

We thank QASMT (Queensland Academy for Science Mathematics and Technology) for providing us with the opportunity to take part and represent Ironside, it was an honour to be there. We applaud the members of the Australian Army and other speakers who took their time to be involved in this event, educating visitors about who John Monash was, what he did, and how the world is changing. The speeches intrigued us captains, each one informing us about different things, Nicholas Maurer, a John Monash Scholar, spoke to us about ChatGPT and AI (artificial intelligence), explaining how it can change/affect us and the world, this was quite interesting, and we learned from it as well. We certainly would all attend this service again if we could.

Xiao Nan and Neelan

2023 School Captains

NATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS STORY TIME

“National Simultaneous Storytime is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association. Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country.”

These fantastic Year 4 & 5 students read The Speedy Sloth to the younger students on Wednesday May 24, at the same time as thousands of others around the country.  They also volunteered several lunch times to prepare and rehearse.  We are so proud of your achievement and commitment Caitlin, Harry, Addie, Sophie, Labhdi and Ash!

Special thanks to Miss Hayes who initiated Ironside’s involvement, and who, along with Mrs Maxwell, supported our super readers every step of the way!

BRIDGE BUILDER AWARDS

Congratulations and thank you to our wonderful Bridge Builders who volunteer their lunch times to support younger children to resolve conflict in the playground.  These students received their Bronze Certificate today – acknowledging 10 lunch time shifts.  Special mention to Jasmine who also received her Silver Certificate for 20 shifts.  We appreciate and value your leadership and contribution to making our playgrounds safe and happy places.

SYDNEY CANBERRA TRIP REMINDERS

Final payment of the balance for this trip is due on Friday 2 June.  Please contact the office if you require assistance with this.

Please find attached:

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LONG SERVICE LEAVE

This will be my last newsletter piece for a little while.  I am taking long service leave between 5 June and 24 July.  I’m using this time to take a driving holiday through Australia with my family.  We’re looking forward to seeing more of our beautiful country.  Should you need support / contact during my leave please contact as per the schedule below:

            5 June – 23 June:  Mr Peter Davey, pdave16@eq.edu.au

            10 July – 21 July:  Mrs Shelley Lee, slee73@eq.edu.au

See you next term!  😊

Kind regards,

Jennifer Bairstow

Deputy Principal 5-6

jbair51@eq.edu.au. 

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News from Chappy Thu

Dear Families,

This week is the official start of National Chaplaincy Week, where schools around the country celebrate the work that Chaplains do. It is an absolute honour for me to take on this role at Ironside & although I have only been here since 2021, thanks to the vibrant & warm nature of our community, I can barely remember what life was like before I started! Ironside is like a second home to me now & I wouldn’t have it any other way. To celebrate National Chaplaincy Week, we are having a Creative Chappy Competition to answer the question, “What does Chaplaincy mean to you?” Everyone is welcome to collect an entry form & submit their entry from the Wooden Mailbox in the Office. Entries can be as creative as you want…artwork, story, letter, model plane, drawing, book, colouring in, yarn ball, non-perishable treats…it’s up to you! The winner will be announced on our Silly Sock Day on Friday, 23^rd June.

International Breakfast

Don’t forget that tickets for International Breakfast go on sale next week! Also, if you are interested in running a stall or supporting a stall, you must let Kylie know by TODAY! (ksomm2@eq.edu.au). The event is going to be amazing & I look forward to seeing everyone there 😊

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea

A big thank you to Maryam H for hosting a morning tea in honour of our beloved Jo today. Thank you also to everyone who participated by cooking, bringing food, donating or simply being there to share the joy! It was a beautiful event!

Chappy Squad

After the last newsletter, I received lots of interest in the Chappy Squad & I realised I forgot to mention one crucial piece of information…Chappy Squad members must be in Year 3 or higher. Chappy Activities are open to everyone from Prep to Year 6, but to be a Squad member, you must be in Year 3 or higher. Apologies to all those interested, but not quite old enough yet. I will have spots for 10 Year 2 students in Term 4 who will be Junior Squad Members in training for next year. More information on that later in the year.

Squad Members earn stars each time they help & once they reach 50, they will be presented with a badge on assembly. Here is our current leader board:

If you have a student in Chappy Squad & would like more information about the program or if you would like to be added to a mailing list to receive reminders to pass on to your child, please email me at tklet0@eq.edu.au. Thank you!

Chappy Activities

Chappy Activities are back in full swing & have been very well attended over the past 2 weeks! What’s even more exciting is the arrival of our Chappy Squad vests! A big thank you to the school for sponsoring them! They certainly make an impact at our Activities 😊 The past fortnight, we have made whales & penguins in Origami Club, learnt some new dance moves at Disco Club, explored massive bubbles at Bubble Friday, made Friendship Appreciation Bouquets at Chappy Chat & played musical chairs at Chappy Lounge.

Special thanks to  Ben & Rozhia for initiating & organising Musical Chairs for students at Chappy Lounge which was super fun; Rose, Isla, Heidi, Shyah, Rozhia & Tracey for their amazing dance moves at Disco Club that brought such joy & excitement for all the students, Tingran, Anna & Artharva for organising the outdoor area so beautifully & Maddie & Chelsea for supervising the Sign Ins so well at Origami Club & Ben, Richard, Alisa & Andrea for being awesome Squad representatives & bringing so much joy through bubbles, energy & patience for younger students in the Prep Area for Bubble Friday!

Chaplaincy Committee

The Chaplaincy Committee is a group of dedicated staff & parents who help organise & run events such as Movie Night, Father’s Day Breakfast & Gingerbread Night. The Committee also contributes to Chaplaincy at Ironside by supporting & brainstorming ideas for all the activities & programs that the Chaplain runs through the year. We meet once or twice a term to discuss all things chaplaincy & would love to have new members, especially anyone willing to take on executive roles. Our current president, David Moore, is sadly leaving Ironside next year as his youngest will be off to high school, so in particular, we are looking for a new president. If you are interested in joining the committee or would like more information, please email me at tklet0@eq.edu.au. Thank you!

Supporting Chaplaincy

Thank you to everyone who has donated to Chaplaincy over the past fortnight! Your generosity is much appreciated! If you are interested in donating goods this term, I am especially looking for bubble solution. I usually buy the 2L bottles from Kmart which are around $7 each.

You are also welcomed to donate money directly to chaplaincy, which will go to funding resources for Chaplaincy Services. All donations are tax deductible & if you wish to do so, please use this link: https://www.suqld.org.au/donate/ironside-ss-chaplaincy-tax-deductible/

And that’s all from me for now.

Until Next Time,

Chappy Thu

tklet0@eq.edu.au

Wednesday, Thursday & Friday

8am to 4pm

International Parent Group News

International Breakfast 2023 Update

The countdown is on for our 2023 International Breakfast on Friday, 16^th June….

This year the profit from the International Breakfast will supporting the following charities - Turkiye Women's Association towards Earthquake Relief, Asylum Refugee Resource Centre and the Qld Children's Hospital.  Both the Turkiye Women's Association and Asylum Refugee Resource Centre will have stalls at this year's International Breakfast.

This is shaping up to be a wonderful community event for our school. Thank you so much to those families who have already offered to coordinate and/or assist with stalls. We have lots of room for more stalls and the students really love to see their nationality represented. Please email ksomm2@eq.edu.au or contact us through our Facebook Page.

So far we have the following stalls confirmed –

Japan, China, Turkiye, Iran, Chile, Mexico, Iraq, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Croatia, Lebanon, Burma, Israel, Madagascar, Colombia, Bolivia, Oman, Russia, Korea, Germany, France, Indigenous Australia, Hungary and Malaysia.

If you are interested in either coordinating or helping on a stall, please contact Kylie Sommerfeld (ksomm2@eq.edu.au).

Uniform Shop News