10 November 2023 - Term 4, Week 6

News from Mrs Hawkswell

Hello Parents and Carers,

GRATITUDE

Last Friday we celebrated World Educators’ Day here at Ironside.  This celebration encompassed our whole team, including – our cleaners, our schools’ officer, Chappy, our OSHC team, our ESOs, teaching staff, office staff and the leadership team.  The P and C very generously provided an array of breakfast treats for everyone who was able to join us.  All staff also received a voucher to purchase a hot or cold drink at Briki – again this was funded by the amazing P and C.

Days like these go such a long way to continue building that positive culture.  Simple days, where we can be together and celebrate the role everyone plays in making Ironside such a fabulous school for our staff, students, and our community.

THANK YOU must go to our office team – Blitz, Paris and Julie who worked very hard to ensure the catering was prepped and ready for everyone when they arrived at 7.30 am.

I may not have been with you at Ironside SS for very long, but I have been told stories of parent generosity, especially at the end of the year, when they want to thank teachers for a job well done!

I thought this was an opportune time to inform parents about the department’s ‘gifts and benefits procedure’ this week, so that our class Reps and parents wanting to say THANK YOU with gifts would understand the documentation and procedures teachers may need to follow when given these amazing gifts.

While we are very appreciative of the generous gifts, we ask parent reps to be aware of the following details.

• Employees must seek the approval of an appropriately delegated officer, based on the value of the gift or benefit, to retain any gift or benefit. Certain gifts or benefits, such as those that are valued over $150 or are of cultural significance, require completion of a declaration form.
• NB: the gift value of $150 is not $150 per gift - but the $150 is a total value of all the gifts a staff member receives across a year
• If you receive a total value of gifts more than $150 – must be added to the register document which then needs to be sent by me, as principal, to our Regional Director for their approval for staff to be able the keep such gifts
• If the gift value exceeds the value of $350 – the same document must then be sent to the Director General of Education for his approval

Do not hesitate to contact me if you should need any clarification of support around this documentation for teacher gifts.

Kind regards,

Amanda Hawkswell
Principal

News from Mr Weston-Murdoch

Dear parents and caregivers,

Bridge Builders – Skill of the week (Weeks 5 & 6): REVISION

Bridge Builders® is a school-wide proactive program aligned to the Australian Curriculum (Personal and Social Capabilities), implemented sequentially from Prep–Year 6. Students are explicitly taught to apply conflict resolution strategies, communicate using a common language and build their confidence to solve interpersonal problems.

Bridge Builders® at Ironside State School is a whole school approach that promotes resilience and self-worth. It encourages students to respond appropriately and challenge conflict behaviours and to develop positive and safe relationships. It is embedded into the everyday life of the school.

To support families with younger children, Ironside State School provides access to the Bridge Builders Online Program.  This program is designed to help students with resolving everyday conflict and will be implemented during the course of the year with students accessing material both during class, and outside of class time.

Throughout the year, students have engaged in the Bridge Builders program to develop age-appropriate conflict resolution skills. Classroom teachers will continue to revise these skills and strategies for the remainder of the year.

At Ironside State School, we take an educative approach to incidents of conflict.

“We need to provide clarity for children in what choices are friendly and those that cause conflict. We must not assume that children understand the differences. It is vital to teach the language of friendly and conflict choices, so that these can be discussed as they arise.

With younger children, it is extremely important to help them understand by modelling appropriate language, tone and body language.”

 “Empowered for Life”; Jocelyne Chirnside

Around the classrooms – Prep: 

In the Prep English Unit this term, we have been making and explaining predictions about a variety of books. ‘Cats and Robbers’ by Russell Ayto is a very entertaining and exciting book about three pesky robbers!

The children predicted what would happen in the story and discussed it with their friends. They painted their ideas before writing their predictions. Then they wrote what they thought would happen first, then next, and finally.

Here are some of the illustrations:

The other main characters in the story were the very clever spy cats! The children created beautiful drawings of the cats with oil pastels.  They will use these as a stimulus when we write our opinions about the cats. The expressions on the cats’ faces are priceless!

Around the classrooms – Year 1: 

This term in HASS Year 1 is learning about how to care for our environment.  We talked about how we could look after our school playground.  Lots of children noticed that there was a lot of rubbish which not only makes our school look untidy but it’s also not good for the animals that live here.

‘Birds can get very sick if they eat the rubbish’ Itai, 1A.

‘We need to remember to use the bins’ Kia, 1A.

We decided to get together with our Year 5 buddies and collect all the litter in our playground.  Look at all the bags full of rubbish that we collected!  Remember to put your litter in the bin Ironside!             

Around the classrooms – Year 2: 

In Year 2 this term, we are learning all about line poems. We have been reading, analysing and writing our own line poems. We have been working hard to include, adjectives, nouns and collective nouns in our poems to make them interesting! Here are some photos of the hard work that 2B have been doing.

Kind regards,

Scott Weston-Murdoch
Deputy Principal P-2

News from Mrs Cowan-Dillon

Hello Ironside families,

Year 3

On Monday 6^ November, our Year 3 students visited Ngutana-Lui to enhance students’ understanding, knowledge and interest in their HASS Inquiry as well as to develop cultural understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

One of the activities looked at the importance of bush foods to Aboriginal families. We found a plant that you could chew on, turn into a toothbrush, floss and braid to make toys. We learnt that the leaves of the lemon myrtle tree can be put in your pocket or on the fire to keep the mozzies away. The leaves can also be used in cooking. We also heard about how they used to get the shell of turtle, cover it with kangaroo skin and rock their babies in them.  

Another activity on the day was boomerang throwing. Our instructor showed us the correct position to safely and successfully throw boomerangs (and duck if it was coming back towards us!). We used dog ball throwers to learn how to throw spears. We had to aim at a big, blue yoga ball. This was the favourite activity of the day! 

We listened to traditional stories that help children learn how to behave.  We learnt the song and actions for Taba Naba and other songs. We all got to pose at the end of the song.

The didgeridoo presentation was amazing! He told us that they can be used to make all different sounds – kangaroo, eagle, snake and dingo. We saw a trombone digeridoo which was a modern version of the instrument that helped change the sound the digeridoo could make.

It was so fun to learn about Aboriginal culture!

By Eliza and Hannah

Year 3 Capacity Inquiry

3B Recycled Lunchboxes

Year 4 Ashleigh Barton Author Visit

What makes a great story?

Who better to ask than a published author? Year 4 engaged in an Author visit with Ashleigh Barton. She spoke about how she generates ideas from her life or draws upon ideas (e.g. Dracula) and creates her own version of a character. She worked with the students to turn Ironside into an amazing setting, teachers into dramatic and engaging characters. Ashleigh also spoke about her writing process, with her editor making suggestions (move the plot along, cut the boring bits). Ashleigh was swamped with fantastic questions. How do you create your characters? What inspires you? Why did you pick Paris as the setting?

Sophia 4A

Ashleigh explained how to leave the reader hanging at the end of the chapter and wanting to read on. She used cliff hangers and exciting dialogue at the end of the chapters. I would like to use this in my own stories too.

Rosie 4A

Ashleigh used sizzling starts for her chapters. They had a lot of action and description. She banned the boring. I learnt that the people who help her edit and publish her stories, give her feedback and tell her what she needs to change or improve.

Lillian 4A

I learned how to take a character that has been created and change it to make it different, like changing a vampire to a vampire like Solomon (he eats garlic bread, doesn’t drink blood and is vegetarian!). I’m inspired to transform zombies into kind and caring characters.

Maddie 4A

I realised that Ashleigh had borrowed things from other stories and developed them into her own ideas for her characters and settings. Like Paris and the 300-year-old tree that she adapted into her story.

Combined Christian and Catholic RI Christmas Assemblies

Emeritus Professor of Physics Ross McKenzie will be the special guest presenter at this year’s free Christian RI and Catholic RI Christmas assemblies to be held in the Hall as follows:

Years 4-6:  9.50am Friday 24 November

Years 1-3 10.20am Friday 24 November

Professor McKenzie will be speaking on the topic ‘A scientist looks at the miracle of the first Christmas’. Some fun and amazing science demonstrations will also be part of this assembly. Professor McKenzie was a special guest presenter this year at Ironside SS during Science Week.

Parents and younger siblings are very welcome to attend this assembly.

All students in Years 1-6 who are currently consented into either Combined Christian RI or Catholic RI will be attending this special assembly.

All other students will continue with their regular RI lessons during the assembly.  

Kind regards,

Alice Cowan-Dillon
Deputy Principal 3-4

News from Mrs Bairstow

Hello Ironside families,

YEAR SIX CELEBRATIONS

Please note a correction to the previous correspondence sent regarding catering for the Pool Party day on Thursday 7 December.  After meeting with the P&C and Chappy Thu, they have kindly volunteered to donate funds and time to provide lunch and treats for our graduating students on this fun day.  Sincere thanks to Rob Wootton, Chappy Thu and the P&C for your selfless contributions to our students’ final memories of Ironside.

Tuesday 5 December:

The Graduation Evening is being held on Tuesday 6 December.  The evening consists of two main sections:

6 – 7.30pm:    Graduation Ceremony in the Hall

Parents are invited to join us as we acknowledge the outstanding achievements of our students with awards, certificates and speeches.  Guest speakers will also be in attendance.

Students need to arrive at school at 5.30pm to prepare with their class for the ceremony.

7.30 - 9pm:  Dance and light refreshments

This is a less formal part of the proceedings – with the opportunity for families to connect socially.  

There will be drinks and light refreshments available to purchase.  There is no full meal, so we advise that children have a late afternoon meal prior to arrival at school.

The school is not providing formal supervision for this section of the evening.  If your family would like to stay, you are very welcome to.  However, if children are staying – parents need to be there, and take responsibility for their supervision.

Dress Code

Dress for the evening is smart (eg: dress pants / collared shirts).  There is a lot of movement involved in the night, so comfortable shoes are essential.  It is not a “formal”, but also an important occasion so students are encouraged to choose a special and appropriate outfit, fitting for the occasion.  When choosing your child’s outfit, bear in mind, that it is always a very warm evening in December.

Wednesday 6 December

This is the day only that students may bring the school uniform shirts to be signed by friends and teachers, as a memento of their time at Ironside.

Students will also receive their Year Books on this day.

Thursday 7 December

The traditional Year 6 Pool Party & Games Day will take up the entire school day, after the final assembly of the year.  The assembly is an opportunity to share the news of prize winners with the student body.

Students can wear free dress on this day. 

Lunch and treats will be catered for by our P&C with the help of Chappy Thu and parent volunteers.

YEAR FIVE - STUDENT LEADERSHIP PROCESS

As per the timeline below, last week our Year 5 students were asked to engage in the Student Voice capture – identifying peers in whom they recognise and value leadership qualities.  They also had the opportunity to ask our current leaders about their experience, challenges and rewards of captaincy.  As per usual, this was a very valuable exercise – with the insights shared by Soph, Neelan, Cikal and Xiao Nan being indicative of their mature approach to their leadership roles.   

This week, Year 5 students were given the opportunity to self-nominate for School Captain positions.  This was available through student email and with teacher support.  There have been some technical glitches due to internet outages, so the cross-referencing with the Student Voice will occur early next week.  Students will be advised if they have been shortlisted to deliver a speech by the end of next week.

Below is a summary of the roles and responsibilities for student leaders at Ironside.

A Year 5 student nominating for election into school leadership positions must have consistently demonstrated leadership qualities throughout 2023. 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. 

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.

SEMESTER TWO INSTRUMENTAL GALA

We are excited to invite you to our Semester 2 Instrumental Music Gala being held at Brisbane Boys’ College (Kensington Terrace, Toowong).  Please see invitation attached with the running order of the evening. 

Please note the following operational matters that will help to make the evening a smooth and enjoyable event for all:

- There is only street parking available at the venue.  This is limited in narrow streets.  Please plan your afternoon to account for this.

- Late arrival by students is not fair on their ensemble or teachers.  5 – 6pm is the tuning and rehearsal time.  The whole group is required to be present, and arrive on time to ensure the best performance possible.

- Our P&C have generously donated and arranged sushi snacks for students, but this will not be a full dinner meal.  Having a hearty late afternoon snack prior to arriving at the venue is strongly recommended.

- Rehearsal rooms are located underneath the concert hall.  Parents must remain at the concert hall level.  A few students with larger instruments will need some adult assistance down the stairs, but having parents in the rehearsal rooms is disruptive to the preparation and rehearsal time. There is overwhelming support from our teaching team offering supervision during these times.  The students are well cared for and settle well on an exciting night with teacher guidance.

- Junior Strings will perform first.  While all families are welcome and encouraged to stay and enjoy a night of amazing music, we understand that the little ones can tire early.  Families of our Year 2 students who would like to leave after the Junior Strings performance will be asked to sit in a designated area (close to a rear exit) so that transition does not interfere with following performances.  Miss Jeanes will contact these families directly with more detailed instructions.

- All other groups are required to stay until the end of the evening.  This is for the following reasons:

         - All students should have the opportunity to perform to a full audience.

- Movement in the auditorium is disruptive and disrespectful to our students and teachers who have worked hard all year to get to this culmination evening.

- Instrument cases and other student belongings are stored in the rehearsal rooms in the lower level of the venue. 

- All school staff will be in the auditorium throughout the entire performance as we too, like to show support for our students’ achievements and enjoy the excellent musical performances. 

- Rehearsal rooms are therefore locked for security purposes, and inaccessible during the performances and award giving.

- Parents are asked to be patient at the end of the concert.  Students need to return to the rehearsal rooms on the lower level and pack up their instruments under teacher supervision.  They will then return to the courtyard level to meet their parents.  Again, a few students may need assistance with larger instruments, but the bulk of parents can be most helpful by remaining in the courtyard.  Please be assured that teachers are working very hard (and volunteering their time after working very hard all day) to support students to move in and out of the rehearsal rooms in an orderly fashion.

- Full performance uniform is compulsory.  Please check early that all clothing items fit and that you have black socks and plain black shoes ready for the event.

Junior Rotary Awards 

Congratulations to the Junior Rotary participants who received their awards on 24 October. They did a fantastic job and their awards are well deserved!

Kind regards,

Jenny Bairstow

Deputy Principal 5-6

News from the Enrolments Officer

Dear Ironside Parents,

Enrolments

As we approach the end of the school year, and way before you start dragging out the Christmas & New Year’s decorations(!), I thought it helpful to touch base and send a reminder on the importance of keeping in touch with the enrolments team (me) at Ironside 😊

Here’s a rundown of things you should be contacting me about:

* Enrolling your child, enrolment interview dates and times, school tours

* Changing address, telephone or email details

* Requesting an exemption from school for your child(ren) (if more than 10 school days)

* Departing from Ironside (including if you have moved out the school’s catchment area)

* Sending documents (lease agreements, rate notices, medical certificates, bills, medical action plans, legal documents)

There may be other reasons why you might want to contact me, but this is just a quick snapshot.

I totally understand how busy we all get, but would really appreciate it if you all could keep me informed of any new information you think would be important for the school to know.

If you don’t have the email address, it is: enrolments@ironsidess@eq.edu.au

Medication

An important reminder on the administration of medicine at Ironside State School.

The administration of medications to students occurs when it is necessary, and during school hours or school-related activities, and when there is either medical authorisation for its administration or it is required as an emergency first aid response. Sections 93(1) & (2) of the Medicines and Poisons Act 2019 require a responsible person to have a substance management plan (SMP) in place (as outlined in this procedure) that details how risks associated with possessing, administering and disposing of medications held at the school are managed.

If your child will need medication to be administered at school, we urge you to familiarise yourself these guidelines. Please see the following link for further information:

https://ppr.qed.qld.gov.au/attachment/information-for-parents-carers-and-health-practitioners.docx

Administration of medication procedure for 2023

Please come to the school’s reception to pick up your child’s medication before the end of the school year, 8 December 2023. Any medication not collected will be disposed of appropriately.

Administration of medication procedure for 2024

If your child will need medication during school hours, please read, complete, and sign the Consent to administer medication form below.

Once completed, please return this to the school’s reception between 15 January - 19 January 2024 where we will update the school records and store the medication. 

https://ppr.qed.qld.gov.au/attachment/consent-to-administer-medication-form.docx  

News from the Library

Borrowing

Borrowing for this year has finished. All books need to be returned by Friday 17 November, week 7.

Book fair

https://www.thebookwarehouse.com.au/book-fair-from-home/ 

News from Chappy Thu

Dear Families,

The Gingerbread Evening is nearly upon us and I’m so excited to share with you that tickets are available NOW through QKR!

For those who have not attended a Gingerbread Evening before, it is simply a fun, relaxed evening to gather with family and friends to be creative, make Gingerbread Houses and connect. The high-quality kits are supplied by Gingerbread Folk and are made in Australia, vegan, nut free, palm oil free, have no added colours, flavours or preservatives and packaged with compostable materials. They are available as Original Gingerbread, Chocolate or Gluten Free. The same kits have a RRP of $45 and are currently being sold at Myer for $52.99. Gingerbread House Kits are ready to be made at school during the Gingerbread Evening on 30 November or at home at any time.

Please note that the kits do not come with lollies to decorate so you are welcomed to bring your own selection or buy a Chappy Lolly Bag for $7. If you are coming to the Gingerbread Evening to make your kit, please buy an Evening Ticket for each person attending.

Here are some images from last year:

Last year, the Chappy Squad raised nearly $300 for the RSPCA and this year, they have voted to have Make-A-Wish Foundation as their charity of choice. Orange Sky, an organisation supporting the homeless was a close second this year. Ironside students will be making ornaments, coasters, chocolate boxes and more to sell at the Charity Stall on the night. Each Squad member should have brought home the following permission slip if they are interested in helping on the night. If you are a Chappy Squad parent, please return the permission note for your child by 22 November. Thank you 😊

Lastly, if you would like to volunteer, please let me know via email (tklet0@eq.edu.au). Thank you so much!

Chappy Squad

Teams Chappy Dolphins and Marshmallow have done a marvellous job representing the Squad at activities this past fornight!

Special thanks to the following members for their outstanding contribution to the activities and school over the past two week:

• Zara, Finn, Daisy and Victoria for being our representatives in the Prep Area for Bubble Friday. Your bright smiles and enthusiasm were much appreciated!
• Leo and Ash for really stepping up and going above and beyond what was expected for their various roles. They were thoughtful in all their interactions with other students, stayed to clean up and helped others with their roles too!
• Nils, Noah and Ethan for being so responsible, thoughtful and creative when organising and running the drawing competition in various activities
• Kelly, Rose, Heidi, Mehr, Kristy, Daisy, Ella, Ash, Victoria, Luna, Maya, Tanmeh and Isabella for their enthusiasm and creativity in every craft they made for the Charity Stall. A wonderful effort for a worthy cause!
• James, Xavier and Ethan for the joy & kindness they bring to all those around them whenever they volunteer. Whether it be bubbles or making coasters, they always give their best. So good!
• Special shout to our amazing Junior members who jumped straight in to help from their very first week! Luna, Maya, Tasuva, Lucia, Thahirah, Nika, Jimel, Himani and Jeremiah – you are all superstars! Thank you for joining the squad!

Here are the top members & teams as of Week 5:

Chappy Activities

Chappy Activities have begun once again! We had a special educator appreciation Scavenger Hunt, made angel ornaments and coasters for our Charity Stall and were amazed by bubbles. SO fun!

With only 4 weeks left of term, some of us are already thinking about holidays and overseas trips & others are even thinking about Christmas or Hanukkah or other traditions and celebrations! I know there are many out there at the moment, but one that was introduced to me recently is Christmas Fest. It will be at Guyatt Park and full of fun things for kids to do. There is also an opportunity to support the Back to School Drive, a program supporting all students to have all they need for school.

That’s all from me for now.

See you all in Week 8.

Chappy Thu
tklet0@eq.edu.au
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
8am to 4pm

Music News

Music Fest

Participating in Music Fest was an extraordinary experience for me, especially knowing it marked my final representation of Ironside in a collective competition. The emotions of immense pride and profound nostalgia swept over me.

The event showcased the talents of four exceptional Ironside string ensembles: Junior, Intermediate, Senior, and Chamber Strings. Upon our arrival, the atmosphere buzzed with a contagious energy and an overwhelming passion for music. Stepping onto the stage, the exhilaration of presenting the fruits of our hard work and basking in the applause from the audience left an indelible mark in my memory. The adjudications we received were not only constructive but also instrumental in our growth as musicians. It was a moment of shared achievement when Junior Strings proudly earned a silver award, while Intermediate and Senior Strings were honored with gold awards. The pinnacle came as Chamber Strings achieved the highest recognition with a platinum award.

I'd like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Weekes for orchestrating this wonderful opportunity for all of us. Without her guidance and support, we would never have had the chance to create such cherished memories. Looking back, Music Fest transcended being just an event; it became a profoundly enriching and unforgettable experience that filled me with a profound sense of pride and left me with a treasury of cherished memories.

 By Chamber Strings Captain Coco L

Chamber Strings Auditions

The Chamber Strings audition music will be sent to Year 3 to 5 string students next week (Week 7) via email.  Students will be able to sign up for an audition time from week 8.  Auditions will be held on Tuesday 28 November, during the school day.

Year 5 and 6 Strings Solos Concert

Some of our very talented year 5 and 6 students will present some solo pieces as part of a concert next Thursday 16 November - 10:50am. We will be upstairs J block, outside the classrooms.  It will be a great concert – come along and listen.  Parents are welcome to come and listen too.

HPE News

Senior Inter-House Swimming Carnivals 2023

Below you will find a document that provides an overview of the swimming carnivals and key information for the day. 

Uniform and Tuckshop News

Thank you for your support!

Mums, dads, carers, and grandparents are always welcomed to volunteer in the Tuckshop. It is a great way to meet other parents, and interact with your child and their friends at school. No
experience is necessary, just a friendly smile and a willingness to learn. Feel free to sign up any
school day from 9am-11:30am, weekly, fortnightly, or whenever you are available.

Please sign up here https://volunteersignup.org/JEC8Q

Plain cupcakes, oats slices, apple crumbles, banana breads, honey joys…… If you enjoy baking, you may be interested to join our home bake team.

Please sign up here https://volunteersignup.org/PL489 

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