Each school term, BCC identify schools with illegal parking issues, based on complaints. These schools are then scheduled for proactive patrols the following term.

Patrols aim to enhance safety for students, parents, and teachers travelling to and from Brisbane’s schools. Parking and traffic conditions around schools are designed to preserve sight lines and ensure safe drop-offs and pick-up. 

The BCC Parking Compliance Team may use several enforcement approaches, including:

• Officers on foot monitoring the area and engaging with the public.
• Mobile Enforcement Technology that identifies alleged offences using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and GPS software.
• Vehicle Mounted Cameras, which are manually operated camera vehicles that capture alleged offences.

The attached flyer from the BCC gives more details regarding patrols scheduled for Aspley in Term 3. 

Curriculum News

Parent Teacher Interviews Term 3 - Week 3 and 5

Parent teacher interviews are scheduled for Wednesday 24 July and Wednesday 7 August. Here are some tips to help you make the most out of your time with your child’s class teacher.

What are parent-teacher interviews?

Throughout your child’s time in school, you will be invited to attend these interviews, twice a year. Having an interview doesn’t mean there’s a problem. It’s a great chance to explore all aspects of your child’s progress and their challenges. Ideally, they are just one of many conversations parents have with their child’s teacher. You are able to bring your child with you, this is an ideal time for your child to share some of their work samples with you, or you may wish to use this time to meet with your child’s teacher on your own. The choice is yours!
Interviews can be daunting for parents, especially if you’re meeting new teachers or nervous about your child’s progress. If you can get on board and work together with your child’s teachers, the outcomes can be powerful.

Why go to parent-teacher interviews?

If you don’t have any particular concerns, you might wonder whether it’s worth attending. Interviews are a great way to find out more about your child’s academic, emotional and social development at school. Children don’t always talk openly about what’s happening for them at school. Attending interviews is also a good way to show your child you’re interested in their learning. Parent-teacher interviews can also help you:

• meet and get to know your child’s teachers
• make plans with a teacher about how to best support your child
• build a relationship with your child’s school.

How can I best prepare?

Teachers will come armed with assessment results and classroom observations of their own. To get the most out of your interview, it helps if you also take some time to prepare. Read your child’s school report carefully and perhaps note down talking points or questions you may have.

What questions should I ask?

Firstly, be prepared to answer some questions the teacher may have of you. As a teacher, I would often ask parents, “Do you know what we’ve been doing in class?” or “Do you have any concerns or questions? ” If your child has come with you, I would often ask them “What do you find the most enjoyable about school?”,  “Is there something you would like more help with?” or “How do you think you could improve?”

Then it will be over to you. If you’re not sure what to ask your child’s teacher, here are some ideas to get you started:

Academically orientated questions

• How is my child going in this class/subject? This is a great opening question.
• What are my child’s strengths?
• What does my child struggle with/do you have any concerns?
• What can I do at home to support my child’s learning? This may lead to a conversation about how you can engage with their learning at home.

Socially orientated questions

• How does my child contribute to the class atmosphere? This is also a good time to discuss behaviour.
• How does my child get along with other students? Depending on the age of your child, you might ask about their socialisation skills or who they work best with in class.
• Are there any friendships you (the parent) could encourage?

Being organised with your questions will help keep your conversation on track and make sure you have a meaningful conversation about your child’s progress.
Parent-teacher interviews provide a strong foundation for working in partnership with your child’s teachers – so you can be better equipped to support your child’s learning at home.

NAPLAN Information

When will I receive my child’s NAPLAN report for 2024?

Aspley State School has recently received the NAPLAN Individual Student Reports for 2024.  We have secured the documents and are in the process of cataloguing and organising these reports in preparation for individual distribution to students and families.  We will endeavour to distribute these reports to families by the end of Week 3 at the latest.  Parents and caregivers of students in Years 3 and 5 will receive an email on the day of distribution, informing families that the reports have been securely released to students for delivery to home.  

How is my child’s performance reported? 

NAPLAN results are reported against proficiency standards.  There is a standard for each assessment area at each year level. Proficiency standards provide clear information on student achievement. They are set at a challenging but reasonable level expected for the student at the time of NAPLAN testing, based mainly on what has been taught in previous years of schooling. Student achievement is shown against 4 levels of proficiency: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs Additional Support.  

Reading a NAPLAN Individual Student Report 

The front page of the student report provides general information about the tests and an explanation of how to read the report.  The second and third pages show the student’s result in each assessment area. The results are classified into one of 4 proficiency levels: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs Additional Support. 

The report shows the student’s achievement against the national average for their year (shown as a black triangle) and the range of achievement for the middle 60% of students in their year level (shown as a light shaded rectangle). Reports in some states and territories also show the school average. 

The final page of the report provides a brief summary of the skills typically demonstrated by students at each proficiency level. 

This helpful video assists families to better understand how to read your child’s Individual Student Report.  

How are NAPLAN results used? 

• Students and parents/carers use individual results to discuss progress with teachers. 
• Teachers use results to help identify students who need greater challenges or extra support. 
• Schools use results to identify strengths and areas of need to improve teaching programs, and to set goals in literacy and numeracy. 
• School systems use results to review the effectiveness of programs and support offered to schools. 

Classroom News 

Prep A

This week has seen Prep A spend a lot of time exploring and investigating NAIDOC Week. We have looked at a map showing all the different Aboriginal languages and talked about which Aboriginal country in different parts of Australia are on. We have enjoyed many stories and looked at the way Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people communicated with symbols, songs and dance. We coloured flags and now know what the colours and symbols represent. We have talked extensively about caring for each other, caring for country and showing respect and appreciating difference. 

1A

In English Year 1 are learning to retell cultural stories. We started with the story of The Two Bullies, a tale from Asia. Students wrote a retell using vivid sentences and created images for maximum impact.

2A

As part of our HASS (History of Social Sciences) learning, 2A celebrated NAIDOC week.  We learnt it stands for National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee.

We read the text ‘Come Together’ by Isaiah Firebrace.  The book’s author explains his purpose for writing the text is to increase everyone’s understanding of First Nation’s people from the importance of Elders to the Dreaming. 

3A

Welcome to Term 3!  We have had a busy start to the term digging right into our English and mathematics units. In English we have been exploring the text Kumkio and the Dragon. We were interested to visualise images of the dragons Briony writes about in the book as we listened to the verb groups, noun groups and many similes.

This inspired our own writing as we imagined how we would feel seeing a dragon outside of our window for the first time. We carefully selected noun and verb groups to describe our own dragon and then created a picture to go with our writing.

4A

4A have launched into our new learning for Term 3.  In English, we are enjoying reading Emily Rodda’s quest novel, Rowan of Rin.  In HASS, we are learning about The Age of Discovery: 1400s-1800s.  We will study the significant journeys of exploration around the world by European sea explorers Columbus, da Gama and Magellan before examining routes taken by Jansz, Hartog, Tasman, Dampier and Cook who mapped parts of the Australian coastline.  In maths, we will use scaled instruments to measure and compare length, mass, capacity, area and temperature; create symmetrical designs; represent, calculate and round amounts of money required for purchases and change; partition to investigate fractions, convert fractions, investigate equivalent fractions, solve problems involving fractions, apply the place value system to decimals, and make connections between fractions and decimals.  A busy term ahead!

5A

This week, 5A embarked on an exciting journey into narrative poetry with “Waltzing Matilda.” Students engaged in brainstorming sessions, mapped out their insights, explored and defined Australian colloquial language in poetry by bringing each stanza to life through their illustrations. Next, we will be comparing the poem of “Waltzing Matilda” with its transformation  “A Jolly Swagman No More,” to identify the narrative structure, language features and text structures of each example. This comparative study will pave the way for students’ digital multimodal assessment, where they will craft their own transformative narratives based on the chosen narrative poem.

6A

Term 3 has begun fast & furious. We are now in the midst of our Canberra trip and loving every minute of our time. A few quotes are as follows:

"Canberra is fun." - Aradhana 

"So many super interesting things." - Amelie

"This trip is very enjoyable." - Tyler

"So far so good. Sorry mum, I don't want to come home." - Luke

"Learning and fun, Canberra is the best of both worlds." - Zante

"I absolutely loved the museum. Learning about the history of our First Nation's people across Australia was truly life changing for me. Seeing what life was like, their connections with country and the art work showed them as individuals and community. We learnt about Nova Peris and how she went on to become one of Australia's most inspirational women." - Mila

Aspley Choral Program

It has been wonderful to see and hear Junior and Senior Choralists back in the music classroom having fun learning new repertoire – welcome back choralists to an exciting Term 3.  Choral ensemble rehearsals will continue to be on the same days and times throughout Term 3, unless notified of a change. 

Senior Choir - SINGFEST

Thank you to all Senior Choral families for returning the required documentation/payment for the upcoming Education Queensland SingFest Workshop to be held on Monday 19 August 2024 at the Old Museum Building, 480 Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills.   We are looking forward to a marvellous choral experience working with Stuart Gillard, who will conduct, guide and inspire the children through-out the workshop day to achieve their best at choral singing. 

Further details regarding this upcoming workshop will be placed in the school newsletter and emailed to participating families closer to the excursion event.  At this time, please refer to the parent/carer letter for further information. 

Metropolitan Choral Honours Program

The Metropolitan Region Music Resource Centre is running a Choral Honours Program from Tuesday to Thursday, 15-17 October 2024 at The Old Museum Building, 480 Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills. (This program is open to Year Six Senior Choralists only.)  Students who nominated to attend the program will be receiving information regarding audition outcomes in the very near future. We wish choralists the best of musical luck for their acceptance to participate in this choral extension program. Families, please refer to emails for further information regarding this exciting choral opportunity. 

Instrumental Music

Welcome back to Instrumental Music students and families to an exciting Term Three.  Instrumental Music students will be involved in many exciting performance opportunities including the Fraser Coast Music Tour and Beginner Band Blitz. All instrumentalists have received Term Three timetables outlining group lesson/ensemble rehearsal times/days. 

Fraser Coast Music Tour:  21– 23 August 2024

We are all very excited about the upcoming music tour to the Fraser Coast.  Performing ensembles – Senior Concert Band, Stage Band and Senior String Orchestra members with their conductors Ms Jabs and Mrs Kim have been busily preparing exciting performance repertoire to perform for students who attend Gympie South State School, Tinana State School and Kawungun State School.  Our talented young musicians will also have the opportunity to perform at the Maryborough Town Hall Green. Wow! What an amazing musical adventure. 

All families with participating students have now received an Excursion Consent form accompanied by a Student Health Information form for this exciting event.  All documentation is required to be completed and returned no later than 9 August 2024. 

A reminder to participating families that we shall be celebrating our touring musicians at the Fraser Coast Gala Concert to be held on Monday 12 August commencing at 3.30pm in the Aspley State School Hall. 

Northside Honours Music Workshop

The Honours Music Workshop was held at the Old Museum last week. Our students spent three days in rehearsals, tutorials and even learned some Zumba moves! It was wonderful to see our musicians performing with other primary school musicians from northside schools. The workshop concluded with a concert featuring the Honours Concert Band and String Ensemble. Congratulations to all of our talented musicians and teachers.  Below are some recounts of participating students time attending the Northside Honours Music Workshop:

“Honours has been an amazing experience which I have learned much from. We had an amazing conductor, Mr. K and learnt many new pieces such as “Red Comet”, “Lochs and Thistles”, “Primeval Dance”, “Tripwire” and “Squirrel Chase”. Being at Honours Workshop has helped me along a substantial amount in my musical journey and I hope I excel back at school due to Honours.”  Grace – Euphonium

“Honours Music Camp was the best musical experience I’ve had so far.  I met amazing new conductors and lots of new friends from different schools.  Being in an environment with other cellists and other musicians that have the same love for music as I do is such a good feeling.  Getting corrections from professionals has made me a better musician in so many ways.”  Charlotte - Cello

“I had a fantastic time playing the violin with lots of new people.  Everyone was really nice including all the teachers.  I learnt lots of new skills including sight reading which I am a lot better at now.  We even had a Zumba lesson to keep all of our energy running.  We learnt lots of new pieces preparing for our performance on Thursday.  Over all it was an amazing experience and I recommend it for those who want to improve their sight reading and their skill for any instrument they play.  I also recommend going if you have a passion for music or if you love music.”  Esther- Violin

“I had an awesome time and learnt lots of new things. We had sufficient bathroom and lunch/play breaks, we also did Zumba for about 20 minutes each day to get our energy up.  We learnt many new pieces preparing for a concert to showcase what we had learnt in those 3 days.  It was an amazing experience overall and I recommend it to many other musicians who want to improve and learn new things.”  Yalda - Violin

"I went to attend at Northside Music Honours workshop at the old museam. On the 9 July we had to drive 45 minutes to the old museam, but luckily we still made it on time. When I went in I realised that it was pretty big. Lorenta Finn (Composer) led me to my seat and as soon as possible we were already playing. On the first day we were just site reading. During the three days I have made some friends and learnt a lot of new songs. On the concert day I was a bit nervous but we made it through. Mum said it was a great performance. It was a great experience. Thank you Miss Kim for the opportunity."  Declan - Violin

“I had an amazing time there and got much better at my sight reading and performing.  On Thursday we had a concert to share what we had spent time learning in the three days at the workshop.  We also did some Zumba for about 15 to 20 minutes to get us moving and to gain some energy back.  If you really love music and playing music, well then I would certainly recommend it.”  Bronte - Violin

Term Three - Upcoming Musical Events

The Aspley Music Team

Mrs Macca, Ms Jabs and Mrs Kim

North District Track and Field Carnival

Congratulations to the 42 students from Year 4-6 who have qualified for the North District Track and Field Carnival.  These students received the excursion consent form and the North District form this week.  Forms and payment are due back to the school no later than Friday, 26^th July 2024.

When:  8 & 9 August 2024

Where: Bowden Park, Geebung

Time:    8am – 2pm

Wear:   Aspley State School sports uniform

Bring:  Small bag with morning tea, lunch, water bottle, hat, sunscreen

Transport:  Families to organise private transport to and from the venue.

Mr Schmidt looks forward to meeting you there on the day.

QPARENTS Overview - Watch this video

Parents with children at participating QParents schools can access student information through the QParents application. The term 'parent' is used throughout to denote parents, carers, kinship and families.

QParents is a secure, online portal free to all Queensland state schools. It provides parents quick and easy access to:

• view upcoming events
• access and provide digital consent
• view timetables
• view and update student and attendance details (including future absences)
• view behaviour information
• view and pay invoices
• access payment history
• access report cards and assessment planners
• access enrolment history.

The QParents app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and accessed through a:

• smartphone
• tablet
• personal computer.

Note: Initial registration cannot be completed via the app and must be completed using a personal computer. Once registered, you can choose to use the QParents External link app on your tablet or smartphone, or via the mobile browser. Refer to registration and access for more information.

Make sure you use the latest browser version (e.g. Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge) when logging in to QParents from your computer or mobile device.

Note: Internet Explorer is not supported.