9 September 2016

Newsletter Articles

UPCOMING EVENTS

September/October 2016

PAYMENTS DUE

PRINCIPAL'S NEWS

The Aspley State School stars certainly shine this fortnight as students have achieved high standards in a number of exciting learning arenas including:

• Singfest – combined Brisbane school choirs who performed at the Old Qld Museum
• Aspley Speaks Out – finals of the Aspley State School public speaking competition
• Hosting Japanese Students – International students hosted at Aspley State School
• Fraser Coast Music Tour Performance –Rehearsal of students who will tour the Fraser Coast schools

My congratulations to the students who were involved in these events for their outstanding efforts.

Swimming

Swimming permission notes for term 4 swimming lessons will be provided to students this week and I ask that these forms are completed and returned to school at your next opportunity. Payment for swimming is due on Thursday 15th September 2016. If you are not able to pay by this date please advise the Business Services Manager so a payment plan can be negotiated and your child can participate in the program. We seek parent / carers to volunteer as assistants or spotters. Please indicate on the permission note if you can assist with swimming lessons on a particular day / time.

Queensland Disability Review

The Department of Education and Training is committed to inclusive education and continuous improvement to maximise education outcomes for students with disability. As part of this commitment the Minister for Education has approved an independent wide-ranging review into disability policy in Queensland state schools.

The review will examine the policies and processes we have in place and will actively seek to engage the views of students with disability, their families and members of our school communities. All of these voices will contribute to improve the way we work to deliver on our promise to provide education on the same basis for all children in Queensland. The Department is committed to providing reasonable adjustments for all students with disability who meet the broader Disability Discrimination Act 1992 definition of disability.

This review will enable the Department to provide a world-class education system that supports students with disability to develop the knowledge and skills they need to be successful learners and to engage fully in their lifelong learning journey.

The review will engage the views of students with disability, their families and other crucial members of school communities, particularly principals and teachers. Consultation forums will be held with principals, staff, parents and students at 25 schools across the State and the representative groups that support young people with a disability will also be consulted. In addition to these discussions, all members of the community are invited to make a submission to the review via the survey below.

Principals, teachers, parents and students are invited to have their say on the educational provision for students with disability in Queensland state schools by completing the survey available via the link below. The survey features a separate set of questions for students, teachers, parents and other members of the Queensland community and provides the scope for structured written submissions. Participate in the survey at:

The opportunity to complete the survey and make a submission will be open until 30 September 2016.

More information is at:

BConnected Parent Information Night

Parents of students in the current year 3, 4 and 5 classes are invited to the BConnected Parent Information Night to be held in the school hall on Wednesday 14th September at 6.30 pm – 7.30 pm. This is an opportunity to learn about how iPads are used as a tool for learning at Aspley State School.

(This event was postponed from the original date of 7th September 2016.)

Position Vacant: Teacher Aide at Aspley State School

A position for a contract teacher aide exists for the period of 4 October 2016 until 09 December 2016 for 23 hours per week (Tuesday – Friday). This teacher aide will be paid under the Teacher Aide Certified Agreement and is to assist the teacher with Health & Physical Education (Swimming) lessons. Swimming instruction qualifications are highly desirable. As the Teacher Aide you will contribute to the provision of a quality education service by assisting and supporting teachers with the preparation and enhancement of learning materials and associated activities.

If you wish to apply please forward your application to the Principal, and include the following:

1) Resume with a maximum of 2 pages
2) Contact details of 2 current referees
3) Maximum 2 page written response outlining your suitability for the role by addressing the following criteria:

• Knowledge, skills and ability to work as a teacher aide in a responsible way.
• Knowledge of or ability to learn quickly about classroom activities and procedures, use and maintenance of resources and school policies and willingness to enact training.
• Demonstrated sound personal qualities of tact, reliability and an ability to work with others both individually and as a member of a team.

4) A positive notice for a Working with Children Check, Qld (Blue Card)

Please submit your application by email by midday on Thursday 15th September 2016 to jobs@aspleyss.eq.edu.au

Take Charge of Button Batteries at Home

Button batteries are small, round silver batteries. They are attractive to young children as they are shiny, bright and are easy to swallow. If a child swallows or inserts a button battery it can lead to serious burn, resulting in a serious injury, internal bleeding or death. Act now to take charge of button batteries in your home by identifying items with these sort of batteries, secure the battery compartment, elevate items containing button batteries and eliminate them, where possible, from your home by using regular batteries or alternative power sources if possible. If these batteries are swallowed or inserted contact the Poisons Information Centre Ph 131126 for fast, expert advice. For more information visit :

School Watch

We need everyone to look out for after-hours crime in our school. No one can access the school grounds after hours without written permission from the Principal.

If you see anything suspicious, please don't attempt to intervene. Call the School Watch phone number - 131 788. The School Watch Program is a partnership between Education Queensland, the Queensland Police Service and the State Government Protective Security Service. It aims to reduce vandalism, theft and arson in Queensland schools. Let's work together to help create a safer school community.

Happy Holidays

School holidays do not commence until 3 pm on Friday 16th September and students will be gainfully learning at school until this time. No longer there is such thing as the last week doesn't matter in school. If this was the case the students would lose 4 weeks of learning per year!! Please ensure that children attend every school day as this is lawful, and importantly, best for your child's learning.

I wish all students, families and staff a very happy and safe school holiday. Term four begins on Tuesday 4th October 2016. Parents / Carers please note the public holiday on Monday 3rd October 2016 and the Student Free Day on Monday 17 October 2016 in your Term 4 planning.

Leann Griffith-Baker
Principal

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL'S NEWS

Year 4 Camp

The Year 4 students have just completed their three day camp at Alexandra Headlands.

With a large cohort of 115 students, Alex Park Conference Centre was easily able to accommodate everyone even though we experienced inclement weather with some rainy patches.

The staff from Character Builders were engaged to provide a range of activities designed to stretch and develop the students' interpersonal skills, teamwork and leadership capabilities.

All of the Aspley staff were very proud of the engagement of our students over the three days and most students gave their all for the activities.

We were also fortunate to participate in Ten Pin Bowling and a Surf Survival session with the team from the Alexandra Headlands Surf Life Saving Club.

All of the students and staff will take away fond memories of this Camp, particularly Mr Robinson who scored a Camp-high of 143 at Ten Pin Bowling.

An event of this nature would not be possible without the magnificent efforts of our staff. A huge thankyou to Ms Pearce and Mr Robinson for their flawless coordination of the Camp, ably assisted by Miss Murphy, Ms Butler, Ms Curtis and our "nurse" Ms Rys.

We look forward to putting these improved leadership, communication and teamwork skills into practice over the coming days, weeks and months.

Mr Smith

Waiting Areas – Before School

This week on Assembly, the students were reminded where they are expected to wait before school. The Eastern Hall area is the specified waiting area for all students including Prep.

We have noticed that some students under parent supervision are climbing the banks around the Prep buildings and continue to be in areas other than the specified waiting areas.

We would appreciate if you could assist us in this matter and adhere to this request. The children feel important if they can pass these messages to you. Thank you for understanding and your continued support.

Aspley Reading Club

Congratulations to the following students who have become Bronze Readers in the Aspley Reading Club. This equates to them having read 30 books in total.

They are: Emily Tutt, Lily Sundholm, Oliver Iselin-Shea and William Zheng, Jaden Mascarenhas, Jake Shorey, Sathvik Bitra, Christina Hoe, Emily Chee, Lilly Sundholm, Paige Gerard and Sebastian Heunis.

When the students attend the reading club, they are reading with their mentors and more importantly working on comprehending skills. Each week, they get to focus on a particular skill of reading for meaning. During the holidays, please get your child to continue with their reading as every little bit counts!

A letter will come home in the next week with the Term 4 timetable and information on how you child is progressing.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful Year Five mentors for their commitment and support with the program.

Sunshine Classics for Prep Students

It is that time already when the Prep students are ready for their Sunshine Classics invitation. Please send through the permission notes and co-payment to the office by this Friday - 9 September. Students will receive their unique user ID and password for access before the end of next week. They can begin reading online through the holidays and into February next year.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT NEWS

Education Queensland Singfest Excursion

Congratulations to our 42 young choralists for their participation at the Education Queensland Singfest Excursion held on Tuesday 30th August. I was so very proud of our choralists' efforts. Your singing was so beautiful children, your efforts through-out the day working with conductor Mr Timothy Sherlock were rewarded through learning new singing techniques and with a fantastic performance at the Twilight Concert. Congratulations to you all. Thank you to our wonderful parent supervisors Mrs Debbie Brown and Mrs Sharon Iselin-Shea and a big thank you to Mrs Sharon Rhys for ensuring our students had a wonderful experience at Singfest. Thank you parents for supporting our young choralists in attending the Twilight Concert. We hope you enjoyed the performance as much as we enjoyed performing to you all. We are looking forward to participating in this fantastic choral event in 2017. Below are some photographs and videos of the students participating in this magical performance opportunity…

Aspley Speaks Out

Thank you to our wonderful pianists Mae and Jack Sampson, Lily Revie, Makayla Brown, Katrina Wang, Amelia Lam, Milliea Coonz and Ian Azordegan for their beautiful performances at Aspley Speaks Out on Wednesday 31st August. Thank you to parents/guardians for supporting your children for this special performance occasion.

Footsteps Dance Program

In Term Four 2016, each child in classes from Prep through to Year Three at Aspley State School will be participating in an 8 week dance programme with the Footsteps Dance Company. Students have now received a parent information letter regarding this exciting program. We highly encourage participation from ALL STUDENTS in classes Prep through to Year Three and feel that this dance course would be highly beneficial to your child. No previous dance experience or skills are required to partake in the programme. Exciting new skills for all abilities will be taught during the duration of the term. Participating students will perform learnt dance repertoire at the P-3 Christmas Celebration Concert at the end of Term 4, 2016. The Footsteps dance lessons will be held each Thursday commencing in Week 2 of Term 4 and will conclude in Week 9, Term 4.

The Footsteps Dance sessions will be held in the school hall with the timetable below:

ALL YEAR ONE CLASSES (1B, 1LM, 1N, 1P, IT)
9.30am – 10.30am

ALL PREP CLASSES (PA, PC, PM, PJ, PS)
11.15am – 12.15pm

ALL YEAR TWO CLASSES (2C, 2D, 2K, 2S)
12.15pm – 1.15pm

ALL YEAR THREE CLASSES (3B, 3F, 3G, 3N)
2.00pm – 3.00pm

A reminder that permission slips and correct payment of $25.00 is required to the school office by Friday 16th September 2016.

Current And Upcoming Musical Events – Term Three/Four 2016

Please take note of upcoming musical events for Term Three below:

NORTHSIDE HONOURS MUSIC CAMP

Invitation ONLY
Wednesday 7th September – Friday 9th September, 2016
Craigslea State School and Craigslea State High School

SENIOR CONCERT BAND/STAGE BAND

Assembly Performance
Monday 12th September 2016

FRASER COAST MUSIC TOUR

Tour Participants ONLY
Tuesday 13th September – Thursday 15th September 2016

SEMESTER TWO MUSIC PERFORMANCE EVENING

All ensembles
Wednesday 9th November 2016

2017 BEGINNER PARENT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC RECRUITMENT EVENING

2017 Accepted Beginner Instrumental Music Students ONLY
Tuesday 15th November 2017

Instrumental Music Recruitment Process For 2017

Aspley State School children in Year Two and Year Three received an Expression of Interest Parent Information Letter on Monday 5th September. This letter outlines important information regarding our wonderful Instrumental Music Program and the processes that will take place for children who are interested in participating in this extra-curricular activity. We have approximately 10 string places available for current Year 2 students to commence in 2017 and approximately 35 places available for current Year 3 students in the Woodwind/Brass and Percussion Program for 2017.

If you are interested in your child/ren participating in the Instrumental Music Program for 2017, please ensure that you return the Expression of Interest Application Form to the school office no later than Friday 16th September. Please note that late application forms will not be accepted.

All students in Years 2 and Years 3 during a classroom music lesson will complete the Selmer Test as a part of the Instrumental Music Recruiting process. The Selmer Test is a written test that indicates a student's ability to discriminate between Pitch, Harmony, Melody and Rhythm in a segment of music. Once complete, these tests are given to our Instrumental Music Teachers.

The Recruitment Timeline below outlines the various steps that will be followed through Semester Two for our 2017 intake. Please take note of these dates, as testing/enrolment outside these dates if not permissible.

Instrumental Music 2016

Recruitment Timeline and Procedures

If you have further questions regarding this exciting process, please contact Mrs McIntyre.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC NEWS

Instrumental Music Changes To Ensemble Reheasals/Lessons

Please refer to your timetables over the next two weeks for ALL INSTRUMENTALISTS as there are many changes due to Honours Music Camp and Fraser Music Tour. All of these changes are outlined in your instrumental music timetables.

Fraser Coast Music Tour

Good luck to the 60 Aspley and 31 Craigslea musicians, 10 parents and 4 staff attending the Fraser Coast Music Tour from the 13th – 15th September. The Concert Band, String Orchestra & Big Band will perform at Gympie South State School, Kandanga State School and Pialba State School and enjoy a full day tour Fraser Island Tour. Your last opportunity to hear the band, will be on assembly on Monday 12th September at 8.45am.

All tour participants are reminded to be at Craigslea State School on Tuesday 13th September no later than 6.30am.

A huge thank-you to all our diligent musicians, our supportive parent body and our magnificent parents coming along to accompany the group. I'm sure it will be an exhaustive, but entertaining three days!

Term 4 Lessons

Lessons will resume in Week 1, Term 4 as per the timetable for both myself and Ms. Jerram.

Happy Music Making

The Aspley Music Team
Mrs Macca, Ms Jabs and Ms Jerram

LIBRARY NEWS

Book Week Wrap up.

The Book Week Poster Competition Guess the Title was won by Eamon and Grace Langton with equal correct titles, second was 3B and third was 2S. Each of the 2 classes received a sheet of Book Week stickers. Thank=you to all participants, who had a bit of fun trying to guess the Titles. I do have a list of Titles if anyone is interested.

The Book Character Parade went well, with many students and teachers getting into the theme and dressing as book characters. There were some wonderful costumes and it was great to see the inventiveness of some of our families. Well done all.

Lunchtime Activities included a Fishing Game (Piranhas and Bananas) and The Cow Tripped over the moon, both of which have proved popular. We also had a Book Week Scavenger Hunt and some Australian Author Word Finds for those who prefer pencil and paper activities.

ICAS COMPETITIONS

Spelling

Congratulations to the following students for their impressive results in the 2016 ICAS Spelling Competition.

DISTINCTION

Charles Spink
David Brown
Elaine Chu
Riley Mellor
Tommy Power
Yash Bordia

MERIT

Kade Humann
Amber Everett –Jones
Samantha Zhang

CREDIT

Dylan Hassall
Imogen Alick
Duncan Fraser
Liam Hooper
Niamh Hooper
Tamiyah Janson
Yuiko Kennedy
Rishav Panda
Ella Parke
Andrew Wang
Luciella Spink
Alexandra Hassall
Olivia Mulcahy

PARTICIPATION

Emerson Harrison
Sam Wren
Ian Azordegan
Colin Chi
Mae Sampson
Aum Surani
Ebony Glover
Sahana Narayan
Jack Sampson
Luke Woo

JUMP ROPE FOR HEART

This year has been another great year for Jump Rope for Heart and we have exceeded our expectations of raising $4000 for this great cause. We are happy to announce that we have made an amazing $5054.50 for the Heart Foundation and in the process enjoyed learning new skipping skills. A special thank you to Emmy for raising $1167.20 alone, as well as Claira, Niko, Hayley and Amelia for raising hundreds of dollars.

Prizes should be back by the beginning of next term.

Thank you once again for such a fantastic effort.

Jump Rope Co-ordinators
Elaine Dooley and Keri-Anne Butler

EARLYACT NEWS

Earlyact

A huge thank you to all the Aspley families who have donated books and stationery for us to send to schools in New Guinea. We have had a great response and have already packed 6 large boxes full. The Rotary Club will be collecting your donations this Friday. Great effort.

Nelma Wright

STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS

Student Council Project

Each year, the Year 6 children present a gift to the school as their contribution. This year we have decided to give the toilet blocks a face lift. In the first few weeks of Term 4, we will be cleaning down the walls and then painting them. To raise funds to do these repairs, we are having a Free Dress Hat Day on the last day of Term 3. This means that instead of wearing their school hat on Friday, the 16th September, children can wear another hat. Children need to remember that the chosen hat is sunsafe and that they have applied sunscreen. If children have a PE lesson that day and are not wearing a broad brimmed hat, they will also need to bring their school hat. We would appreciate that children bring a gold coin donation for this privilege and to assist with the Year 6 Toilet Block project.

The Year 6 children are very enthusiastic about this project and want to take ownership of it.

Nelma Wright

CANBERRA TRIP

All children who went to Canberra have completed a diary of their trip. I have greatly enjoyed reading these and getting their thoughts on the many venues we visited. There was no venue that received bad comments and the most popular venues would have been Questacon and the snow which is not surprising.

I have included one student's diary to give you an insight into our wonderful 6 days in Canberra.

Nelma Wright

LITERACY OLYMPICS

On Thursday, 8th September, 16 students from Years 5&6 went to Wavell State High School to compete in the Literacy Olympics. Bronte Barret, the Silver Medallist in 4X100m women's freestyle at the Rio Olympics, was on hand to greet all the schools. We were lucky enough to get a photo with her and the students held her medal. Even though we didn't win a place, the day was lots of fun with singing and dancing a highlight. The students will have many fun memories of the day.

VOLUNTEERS FOR SCHOOL BANKING

Volunteers Required

Aspley SS is seeking volunteers to assist with the student banking program. It would require approximately one hour of your time, each Wednesday from 8.45am. If you can help, please contact the school office with your name and phone number. We only need a couple of volunteers, so if you can help, contact us immediately.

ASPLEY SHOP/TUCKSHOP NEWS

Roster subject to change.

If you are interested in helping in either of our shops – Uniforms or Tuckshop please contact Karyn on 3863 9117 or email theshop@aspleyss.com.au

We welcome all who wish to help toward the health and wellbeing of our students.

So if you have friends, relatives or young people studying and wish to do a bit of volunteer time, please let us know.

Blue cards are required if you are not a parent of the school, they are free for volunteers and we are here to assist in helping in the application. To learn more download the flyer.

P&C FUNDRAISING NEWS

To all the parents who either helped with packaging, selling the gifts, donations of chocolates/wrapping items and everyone else that supported the Fathers' Day stall. A special mention and huge thanks goes to Jodie Parke and Amber Shorey who helped coordinate the event from start to finish. I hope all the Dads/Grandparents enjoyed their gifts. It certainly was a delight watching the children carefully selecting their gifts for that special person in their lives.

Save The Date!!

Movie Under the Stars – Zootopia

When: Friday 21 October
Where: School Oval

Entertainment and Dinner from 5.30pm
Movie from 6:30pm

More information start of Term 4

"Movie Under the Stars" to raise funds for community benefit

"Movie Under the Stars" is proudly supported by Kedron-Wavell Services Club's Community Grants Program 2016. Over the past 10 years Kedron-Wavell Services Club has contributed more than $12m to the local community. The P&C Association thanks the Club for its ongoing support for our initiatives. This ensures that fundraising for the movie event directly assists the school community, with funds set to support the upgrade of the school's early year's playground.

If you, or someone you know, has a business interested in supporting "Movie Under the Stars", we have support packages available for $100, $300 and $500. Each carries appropriate benefits for the business. For further information contact June on june.reynolds@me.com or 0415 211 332.

ASPLEY SWIMMING CLUB NEWS

The Aspley Swimming Club and its members are excited to celebrate its 50th season this year from October 2016 to April 2017, and we hope many of the Aspley students will take this opportunity to come and join our Club and participate in our celebrations.

The club operates from the pool located at Aspley State School but welcomes its members from all schools in the area. Our Club nights are held on Friday evenings from 6pm and we run a BBQ and canteen for the family to enjoy.

Swimming Club is not about racing for 1st, but we do teach you how races are run and the rules involved. For us it's about improving on your own personal best time. Each week the children swim together based on a similar skill and time level, your child's race time is then uploaded to our App and you can see if you have improved your time from previous swims. Points are awarded on your improved times and accumulated to give you your final points scores at the end of the season.

You only need a basic swim skill to participate in Swimming Club. We accept children from as young as prep, who will swim 12½m (half the pool) accompanied by a senior swimmer for encouragement. We don't expect everyone to start diving from the blocks, if you want to start your race in the pool, that's ok. Older children start Club nights at 25m and as their skills and times improve they move up to 50m, 100m and beyond. You also get to choose which strokes you wish to participate in. You can start with freestyle and once your confidence grows you can join other strokes throughout the season.

We don't enforce a uniform, so all you need to join the Aspley Swimming Club is swimwear, a cap, goggles, towel, a smile and a great attitude.

How Do I Get Involved?

Sign On Day – Aspley School Pool - Saturday 10th September 9:30am – 11am.

See Janelle, Pam or Travis from Swim Solutions at the pool, as the Aspley Swimming Club and Swim Solutions team work closely together.

Come to our first Club Night on Friday 7th October at 6pm and just check us out.

SPARROWS SOCCER PROGRAM NEWS

Soccer Teams Chase Aspley Eagles Cup

Two super-charged Sparrows teams will represent Aspley State School at the 9th Aspley Eagles Challenge Cup next Thursday, September 15th.

Aspley State High School will host our students – one girls team and a boys side ¬¬– at the second of its twice-yearly inter-school soccer competition. Our Aspley Sparrows teams will play against other local schools from the Aspley, Taigum, Zillmere and Eatons Hill catchment, with the emphasis on friendly, respectful competition.

Eagles Cup has proven to be an exhilarating day for dedicated Sparrows Soccer program participants as they put all their training to the test. The action-packed day offers students the chance to play fun round-robin soccer matches into knock-out finals, where the prized Cup can be claimed by the Grand Final-winning boys and girls teams.

Congratulations to all selected Grade 5 and 6 students (listed below), especially Captains Maia Morris-Arkell – one of the first Sparrows participants - and the equally committed, Isaac Contarini. We wish you every success teams. Have fun and do Aspley SS proud!

GIRLS' SQUAD:

(C) Maia Morris-Arkell, 6DA
Makayla Brown, 6DA
Milliea Coonz, 6DA
Grace Deller, 6F
Amber Everett-Jones, 6DA
Alexandra Hassall, 6F
Makarita Kururangi, 6F
Savannah McLagan, 6F
Lily Revie, 6DA
Madison Tinney, 6MV
Mae-li Viti, 6F
Anaiya White, 5O

BOYS' SQUAD:

(C) Isaac Contarini, 6MV
William (Billy) Barr, 5O
Ethan Donaldson, 6DA
Harvey Mellor, 6DA
Aden Osborne, 5G
Zayne Rohde, 5O
Jack Sampson, 6DA
Flynn Testa, 6H
Charlie Wendt, 5F
Tom Woodgate, 5G
Max Worland, 6H

Soccer skills in action at Term 1 Aspley Eagles Challenge Cup

For Sparrows information:

Kym Farrow, Class 6F teacher & Sparrows Coordinator, kafar0@eq.edu.au | 07 3863 9111

Carolynne Hassall, parent & Sparrows communication/administration support, carolynne.h@dhconsulting.com.au | 0404 883 462

COMMUNITY NEWS

Queensland Academies Creative Industries

HOME Art Exhibition

Little Lifesavers Southbank

North Star Football Club

Inside Sportz Junior Indoor Soccer

City North Baptist Church presents Medieval Kids Holiday Club

City North Baptist Church's annual Kids Holiday Club is on again in 2016 – this year's theme is Medieval! We would love for your child/ren to join us from Wednesday 28th September to Friday 30th September for games, craft, food and Bible stories. There will also be a huge free family fun night (dinner included) on Friday 30th September!

Location: City North Baptist Church, 52 Yiada Street, Kedron 4031
Cost: $5 per day, per child (includes morning tea)
Age group: Primary school children (Prep to Grade 6)

Registrations open now! Please visit the link below for more information or call the office on 3256 4822.