18 May 2017

Newsletter Articles

UPCOMING EVENTS

May 2017

PAYMENTS DUE

PRINCIPAL’S NEWS

School Disco

Children and staff are excited, as we prepare for a fun Hawaiian Disco tonight, Friday 19th May 2017. Food and drinks are available from 5.30 pm and the disco will be held from 6.00 pm till 8.00 pm. Entry for Aspley State School students is $6.00 per student. Parents / carers are to accompany the children to this event. Hawaiian leis are also on sale. Come along and dress up in a bright Hawaiian theme.

Administration Building Works

The school has scheduled the removal of asbestos flooring in the administration, staffroom, library office and server storeroom on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st of May 2017 and possible this work may extend to the following weekend. During asbestos removal no person is permitted to be on site while contractors remove the asbestos. After new flooring is installed, new joinery will be installed in the sick bay.

I thank the school community and staff for their support and cooperation in this disruptive period as we improve our school facilities.

Thank you School Volunteers

Our special thanks to our school banking volunteers Jodie Parke, Alex Dixon, Janelle Kane and Natalie Maul. These volunteers kindly give their time to support students to be regular savers and apply their financial literacy.

Thank you also to Jodie Parke who kindly supports the collation and distribution of the Ashton Scholastic Book Club orders. Through her valued contribution, children at our school are able to buy reading materials at an affordable price and our school library is supplemented by free books that are provided to Aspley State School.

National Sorry Day:

National Sorry Day is on 26th May 2017. This event will acknowledge the 20th anniversary of the Bringing Them Home Report. Parents are invited to attend and accompany their children to a remembrance and celebration at Kalinga Park, Kalinga. Mrs Sally Boorer-Williams, teacher, will attend this event and facilitate a community activity which invites people to write a message on bunting to be displayed at the event. Parents / carers are to transport their own children to this event.

A morning tea will commence from 10.00 am and a ceremony will begin at 10.30 am. If you wish to attend this event with your children please RSVP by Friday 19th May to noonga.rg@gmail.com or Phone 07 3266 5199. If you attend please advise your child’s class teacher to notify them of their absence from school.

Aspley State School Athletics Carnival

Students are preparing for our upcoming school athletics carnival which will be held in June. The ball games afternoon will be held from 1.30 pm on Friday 21 July 2017.

A brief outline of the upcoming events are below and a full program for the Athletics Carnival is available at the link in Sports department News.

The Parents and Citizens Association will hold a home bake stall on Tuesday 21 June and a coffee van will be available to parents and visitors to the school during the carnival.

School Facilities Improvements

Special thanks to Simon Pritchard who has leading the Parents and Citizens Association Working Bee on Saturday 27th of May 2017 commencing at 8.00am – 4.00pm.

This P & C working bee includes: installation of nose strips to steps at the pool; a garden spray system; repainting playground games on the concrete; painting a wall, yellow safety lines and the half wall near tennis court in preparation for a student mural. Please come along to help.

The lighting at the pool needs rectification / replacement. I have met with a company who is preparing a quote for these works.

School Council Update

Recently the school met to review the current strategic plan and to discuss the preferred futures for Aspley State School. The School Council is currently reviewing the handbook for members and the ways that the School Council can enhance the functions, strategic direction and achievements of the school. The feasibility and consideration of the International Baccalaureate Programme- Primary Years Program as a preferred future is being considered. The school will organise a community information evening soon at a date to be confirmed.

More information about the International Baccalaureate is at:

Early Years Playground

Aspley State School has contracted a Landscape Architect to prepare plan for the new playground and outdoor learning area. This plan builds on from the school Master Plan that the P & C Association have been proactive to achieve. Surveyors will soon take the measurements and the architect will prepare the document for the school to go to tender for these works. The new design features tiered seating into the embankment, a stage to be where the shade sails currently exist and a new playground where the dental unit currently exists. The plan will include a dry river bed and bush tucker garden. The design will be constructed in stages as funds are available. The contractor for the removal of the dental unit building is awaiting a permit for debris removal in order to complete his work.

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S NEWS

Under 8s Day

A reminder that payment for Under 8s day is due this Friday, 19th May. This will be full day of fun activities for students from Prep to Year 2. Activities on the day are: Dance, Art (mask making) and “Barefoot in Nature” with Madeline Avci (Occupational Therapist). A timetable of events will be finalised and available from your child’s teacher by this Friday. Students will need to be in school uniform for the day.

Out of Catchment Expression of Interest (EOI)

Aspley State School would like to thank everyone who attended the Out of Catchment Expression of Interest open day. It was great to see so many parents showing an interest in our School.

BOOST

Students in Year 1 and Year 6 are continuing their involvement in cycle 2 of BOOST.

Over the past two weeks, Year 6 students and BOOST staff were observed working hard to improve their focus on reading comprehension.

Last week, after analysing a text about Sir Robert Menzies, one Year 6 BOOST group collaboratively wrote a summary as part of the learning journey to improve reading comprehension:

“Jeparit’s favourite son is a fifteen paragraph biography of Robert Menzies’s journey to being the longest serving Prime Minister of Australia. It talks about the family of Robert Menzies and how he was inspired to achieve his goals. He worked very hard to achieve his goal by achieving excellent grades. He was destined to become successful.”

On Monday this week, Ms Hinds and Mr Smith’s group were analysing a biographical text regarding Roger Bannister’s pursuit of the “Four minute mile”. Using a range of reciprocal reading strategies, students made predictions about the text; clarified any unknown words or phrases; questioned our understanding of what was read; and summarised to make meaning from the text and make a personal account of the events in the text, using evidence from the text.

WAVELL STATE HIGH SCHOOL VISIT – YEARS 4-6

On Monday 29 May, following Assembly, all students in Years 4-6 will stay in the Hall for a presentation from Wavell State High School regarding the transition arrangements for Junior Secondary (Years 7-9).

Thank you to Wavell State High School for ongoing partners of Aspley State School- in particular, making their staff and students available to come to speak to our students about High School.

FOCUS RULE

At Assembly this week, students were reminded of the Focus Rule and Target Behaviours for this week, in line with the expectations in our Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students.

These are core expectations for all members of the Aspley community and your support in discussing these items with your students is greatly appreciated.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT NEWS

ALBANY CREEK UNITING CHURCH – JUNIOR CHOIR PERFORMANCE

Congratulations to our talented Junior Choristers who performed on Saturday 13th May at the Albany Creek Uniting Church Annual May Fair. This was a wonderful opportunity for our young Junior Choir members to perform to the wider community in a caring, friendly and fun environment & what a performance! You should be so very proud Junior Choir!

Mrs McIntyre and the Junior Choir would like to thank the wonderful parent and teacher supervisors who supported our choir perform at this event, thank you to Mrs Keren Ham for accompanying our choir and a very big thank you indeed to our choral parents who supported this much loved performance event.

Please see the photos below of this exciting performance:

We are looking forward to hearing our young Junior Choir perform next week on assembly AND our Senior Choir on assembly Monday 5th June. We look forward to seeing you all there!

ASPLEY MUSIC PROGRAM SEMESTER ONE MUSIC PERFORMANCE EVENING

All Instrumental and choral students will this week receive a parent information letter outlining our upcoming Aspley Music Program Semester One Music Performance Evening to be held on Wednesday 14th June, 2017 at 6.30pm in the Aspley State School Hall. Our children have had a wonderful first semester of music making and we are all very excited to share our achievements with the Aspley Community.

The following ensembles - Senior Concert Band, Junior Concert Band, Senior String Orchestra, Senior Choir, Junior Choir and Boys Choir will be performing. All members of these performing ensembles are expected to attend this performance evening. **Please note – Beginner String Students (students who commenced learning in 2017) are not required to perform at this event.

We would appreciate parent support with various jobs, both on the day of the music evening and during the evening’s performances. If you are available to assist, please tick your preferred choice on the tear off slip on the parent information letter and return to the school office by Wednesday 31st May 2017. Please remember to write down a contact phone number for the music staff to contact you prior to the performance event.

If your child is not available to participate in the Aspley Music Evening, please contact the school in writing by Wednesday 31st May, 2017. If this information is not received in writing, students will be expected to attend.

Please ensure that you read the parent information letter for the finer details of this exciting performance event.

Our Semester One concert is a highlight on our school calendar and we hope you will join us for this very special event. Please contact the school if you have queries.

CURRENT AND UPCOMING MUSICAL EVENTS - TERM TWO 2017

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

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC NEWS

EDUCATION QUEENSLAND NORTHSIDE BAND BLITZ WORKSHOP – Thursday 8th June 2017

For our young beginner instrumental Woodwind/Brass and Percussion students and families, please note the following details for your upcoming participation in the Northside Band Blitz Workshop to be held at Aspley State School on Thursday 8th June:

Times: 9:30am to 5:00pm (at the conclusion of the concert)

Arrival & Registration: From 9:00am at Aspley State School. Your child will need to register and wear their name tag at all times.

Transport: Parents/guardians are responsible for the transport of students to and from the workshop venue. Please note: No supervision of students will be provided prior to 9:00am. All children must be picked up promptly by 5:00pm (at the conclusion of the concert). Carpooling is encouraged.

Students are to bring: All items brought to the workshop should be clearly named/labelled.

• Instrument in case
• Consumable items for the instrument, such as valve oil, spare reeds, etc
• Percussion: sticks etc
• Collapsible music stand
• 2 Pencils and a soft eraser
• Morning Tea, Lunch & Water Bottle
• Hat for outside play

Workshop Attire: Students are to wear appropriate free dress including closed in shoes. A camp t-shirt will be issued at the Band Blitz for students to change into before the concert.

Uniform for the Concert will be: camp issued t-shirt, full length blue jeans and closed in shoes.

Concert: Beginning at 4:00pm at your workshop venue (Finish 5:00pm)

Entry is free. All are welcome.

Medication: If your child is already on medication from your doctor, you will be required to hand in the medicine/tablets etc to the First Aid Officer when you arrive, and your child is to report to him/her daily as required. You should collect the medicine at the end of the workshop. The medicine should indicate dose and application and be labelled with your child’s name. Please note that teachers can give medication only on the written request of parents/carers.

Queries: Should you have any concerns please don’t hesitate to contact the Music Resource Centre on 3354 0234 prior to the camp or call the Camp Coordinator on 0490 387 649 during the camp itself. Further information is available following the links from

Absences: As workshop days are classed as school days, if your child is unwell during this activity and unable to attend on a day the parent/guardian must contact the Band Blitz Coordinator so that rolls can be marked accordingly.

We wish you all a marvellous time at this fantastic musical event.

EDUCATION QUEENSLAND NORTHSIDE JUNIOR STRING CAMP –

Tuesday 6th June – Thursday 8th June 2017

For our young instrumental string students and families, please note the following details for your participation in the North side Junior String Camp:

Dates: Tuesday, 6 June 2017 to Thursday, 8 June 2017

Venues:

Venue 1: Tuesday 6th June & Wednesday 7th June: Stafford State School, 314 Stafford Road, Stafford

Venue 2: Thursday 8th June: Old Museum Building, Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill

Times: 8:30am to 3:30pm (Tuesday & Wednesday). Thursday will finish at approx. 2:45pm at the conclusion of the concert.

Arrival & Registration: From 8:00am. Your child will need to register each day and wear their name tag at all times.

Transport: Parents/guardians are responsible for the transport of students to and from the camp venues each day. Carpooling is encouraged and should be arranged through you school. Please note: No supervision of students will be provided prior to 8:00am. All children must be picked up promptly by 3:30pm (Tuesday & Wednesday). Thursday will finish at approx. 2:45pm at the conclusion of the concert.

Students are to bring: All items brought to camp should be clearly named/labelled.

• Instrument in case
• Consumable items for the instrument, eg rosin, spare set of strings, etc
• Cello/Bass players need their own rock stop or piece of carpet
• Collapsible music stand
• 2 Pencils and a soft eraser
• Tutor Book
• Morning Tea, Lunch & Water Bottle each day
• Hat for outside play.

Camp Attire: Students are to wear appropriate free dress including closed in shoes.

Uniform for the Concert will be: camp issued t-shirt, full length blue jeans (no rips, preferably no embellishment) and closed in shoes. A camp t-shirt will be issued on the final day for students to change into before the concert.

Concert: Thursday, 8 June 2017 at 1:30pm (Finish approximately 2:30pm)

Entry is free. All are welcome.

Medication: If your child is already on medication from your doctor, you will be required to hand in your child’s medicine/tablets etc to the First Aid Officer on arrival, and then your child will report to him/her daily as required. The medicine is to be collected at the end of each day by a parent/carer if it is needed during the night. The medicine should indicate dose and application and be labelled with your child’s name. Please note that teachers can give medication only on the written request of parents/carers.

Queries: Should you have any concerns please don’t hesitate to contact the Music Resource Centre on 3354 0234 prior to the camp or call the Camp Coordinator during the camp, itself on 0490 420 174. Further information is available following the links from

Absences: As Camp days are classed as school days, if your child is unwell during this activity and unable to attend on a day the parent/guardian must contact the Camp Coordinator so that rolls can be marked accordingly.

We wish you all a marvellous time at this special string camp.

WOODWIND/BRASS/PERCUSSION

All Lessons and ensemble rehearsals will be as per the instrumental music lesson timetable.

STRINGS

All Lessons and ensemble rehearsals will be as per the instrumental music lesson timetable.

Happy Music Making

The Aspley Music Department

SPORTS DEPARTMENT NEWS

Metropolitan North Selection

Congratulations to the following students who will be representing Metropolitan North District at the Queensland School Sport State Championships –

1. William (Boys Hockey)
2. Kailee (Girls Soccer)
3. Jahrel (Boys Rugby League)

School Sport

2nd Gala Day – Week 6 (Friday 26th of May)
3rd Gala Day – Week 7 ( Friday 2nd of June)

LIBRARY DEPARTMENT NEWS

BOOK FAIR

Book Fair is coming this week! There will not only be an exciting range of new and classic books, but also posters, and school essential supplies including funky pencils and erasers.

The Fair will be open for parents on Thursday afternoon till about 3.30 pm. Classes will receive their Book Fair flyers on Tuesday or Wednesday. Please check your child’s bag for this.

Book Fair Times:

EFTPOS will be available or you may pay online. Please remember to return the receipt number to Fair if you pay online.

PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE

The school has once again been registered for the Premier’s Reading Challenge. All students are eligible to participate. Please encourage your children to do so.

Dates:

I will be purchasing quite a few of the books from the suggested reading list for each level and displaying these in the library for borrowing.

Students can read any book at their level for their tally. Parents can read aloud books for younger children to enjoy and these can also be included. Children coming to ARC can include the books they read there. Keep a list of the books read and return to the class teacher at the end of the Reading period.

Remember that this is a Challenge so students may set a goal of improving their Reading Skills over the course of the Challenge.

Hope Francis
Teacher-Librarian

ICAS NEWS

Competition Dates and Venue:

Please note the Mathematics Competition date is different to that published on the ICAS Website, we have requested a variation to enable those students going to Canberra to participate.

Arrival time: 7.30 am - Please be on time!
Competition Start time: 7.45 am

Make sure you have a good ‘brain food’ breakfast, and bring your water bottle and tissues if required.

If this is the first time your child is participating, please see me for a practice student answer sheet, as filling out details can be rather daunting for the first time.

The majority of the competitions are marked by computer. Papers are returned to the University promptly. Students may not take their question booklet home on the day of the competition, but they will be returned with your student’s results.

Hope Francis
ICAS Co-ordinator/Supervisor

JAPANESE STUDENTS HOST FAMILIES

Aspley is again hosting Japanese students this year in August/ September. Please find attached the relevant information.

SPARROWS SOCCER PROGRAM NEWS

Sparrows training Thursdays 7.30am

Training is back in its usual spot following a short break during the NAPLAN assessment period. Remember to get your name marked off the Sparrows attendance list and bring your best smile!

Focus and fun at training

Story follow up: Angus @ QCSA State Titles

We recently shared that Grade 4 Sparrow, Angus, would represent North District Zone in the Under 10’s Rep team at the Queensland Christian Soccer Association State Titles. All the May long weekend, Angus and team played action-packed matches, not allowing a single goal to be scored against them. After securing a Grand Final berth, they placed runner-up. What a fantastic achievement!

Angus with his State Titles medal

A big Mexican wave for Sparrows volunteers

The Sparrows soccer program would not exist without the enthusiasm and dedication of staff and volunteers from the Aspley State School community. It’s fantastic to see this commitment rewarded by the number of students that continue to attend the program every week and give training their best shot.

Here’s an opportunity to get to know the invaluable staff and volunteers who contribute their time and energy to training around 100 Aspley students enrolled in the program.

Introducing … “Sparrow in the Spotlight”

This week: volunteer coach for the girls’ squad, Andrew Revie

Andrew has been involved with the Sparrows Soccer Program since it began in 2014. The program was designed to offer girls at Aspley State School exposure to soccer, with the opportunity to learn basic skills and grow their confidence to participate in the game. Over time the program has gone from strength to strength and has evolved to include boys too.

Andrew brings to the Sparrows a solid history of playing Division 1 soccer in Brisbane. Inspired by his passion for the game and as a father to 3 daughters, Andrew saw the opportunity to help girls learn to play soccer and took on the coaching role for the girls’ teams. Within this program Andrew has been able to introduce many fledgling players to both soccer skills and the spirit of the game – always with the goal of learning through fun.

As Andrew’s eldest daughter moved into high school, so too has his coaching. Along with continued help to Aspley Sparrows, Andrew also holds a coaching position with grade 7-9 students, and is exploring further qualification options to continue building and honing his coaching skills. His mix of experience across varying levels of age and soccer talent means our students can learn oodles from this dad.

The Sparrows are incredibly fortunate to have volunteers such as Andrew, so a big shout out to our Sparrow in the Spotlight, Mr Revie, whose contribution is enormously appreciated.

If Andrew’s story encourages you to lend a hand with Sparrows soccer training sessions, please see contacts below. Every contribution counts no matter how big or small.

Volunteer Coach Andrew, since 2014

Contacts for Sparrows information:

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

Jodie McLagan, volunteer program liaison, jodie@ozrig.com.au | 0403 186 609

LOST PROPERTY

As winter has arrived, please ensure your child’s belongings are clearly named as many jumpers are being removed during the play breaks and being misplaced. Lost property is situated on the eastern side of the hall outside the Uniform Shop. If the items of clothing are clearly named, they will be returned to your child. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Life Education

Parents who will be attending the life education session, the date will be Friday the 2nd of June. This is a correction to the information that was sent home.

P & C News

P&C News May 15, 2017

Congratulations to Jodie Parke and her team of volunteers on the organisation of this year’s Mother’s Day Stall. We hope all the Mothers and Grandmothers enjoyed the gifts as much as the students did in choosing them.

Last Friday, May 12, was P&C Day so, to celebrate, we invited our P&C community and volunteers to join us for a breakfast treat. Thank you to our principal, Mrs Griffith-Baker for her donation of muffins and juice, and to Judith, our Tuckshop convenor, for preparing some scrumptious sweet and savoury delights. We also thank our volunteers for making the time – we appreciate you!

We look forward to seeing you at the Hawaiian Disco this Friday, 19 May. Tickets are available at the door for $6, or bring your booking confirmation from Flexischools for fast-tracked entry. Food will be served from 5.30pm, with doors opening at 6pm. We welcome any help on the night – many hands make light work! Please note, this dance is for Aspley State School students (younger siblings may attend however parent supervision is required).

If you have any feedback or questions about the P&C, please do not hesitate to contact Brenden, P&C President on 0412 405 462, or email pandc@aspleyss.eq.edu.au.

REMINDERS:

TUCKSHOP

• The Tuckshop is always looking for volunteers. Get in touch with Judith to help support our school community. You will be surprised how little is involved.
  tuckshop@aspleyss.eq.edu.au

UPCOMING EVENTS:

HAWAIIAN DISCO

Friday 19 May, 6pm to 8pm, School Hall.

• Not long to wait until the Hawaiian disco on 19 May at the school hall
• Food and drink sale starts at 5.30pm with pizzas - $2 per slice (gluten free available), corn cobs - $1, slushies - $1.50, cold drinks - $2 and hot drinks from the Jumping Bean. $6 tickets on the night with doors open at 6pm and last dance finish at 8pm.
• Come in Hawaiian costumes and hula the night again or just enjoy the mystery teacher dance off.
• DJ Brad will be entertaining the crowd with lots of games and fun music.
• Don’t forget to check out our selections of glow products, lei and candies for sale.
• #1thing Volunteers needed from 5.30pm to help. 30mins of time is all it takes to help everything run smoothly – why not tag team with another parent to keep an eye on your children? Email AspleyEvents@gmail.com to offer your time.

SPORTS DAY BAKE STALL

Tuesday 20th June

• Sports Day Bake Stall is on again this year, 20 June starting at 8.30am.
• We’re seeking donations again of baked goodies to be dropped off at the Tuckshop on 19 June or at the Bake Stall from 8am on 20 June. Please send in disposable containers or containers marked with your name and contact details. We would also appreciated a description and ingredients contained in your baked goods.
• Volunteers are also needed so if you can spare 30mins or more, please email aspleyevents@gmail.com with your contact details and availabilities.
• #1thing Are you handy in the kitchen? Looking for donations of sweet and savoury baked goods to sell at the Sports Day.
• #1thing Are you planning on being a spectator? Can you spare 30minutes to help on the Stall? We’d love your help.
• If you can help, please email AspleyEvents@gmail.com or message us on Facebook.

WORKING BEE – Saturday 27th May 8am-4pm.

Term 3

LOOSE CHANGE FUNDRAISER – July - Start collecting those 5c coins and other loose change now!

P&C General Meeting – 18 July, 7pm, Library (only meeting for Term 3).

The P&C community met on 16 May and agreed on key ways it will support the school financially this year. The follow items were all approved in principle for support – a total of $90,000 support!

• Drainage work for the Hall and Netball court areas. This will greatly alleviate all of the water that constantly floods our early year playground area, and paves the way for a permanent solution to that area.
• Replacement of a trailer for school maintenance (the old one is falling to pieces)
• General grounds and maintenance tidy-up allocation
• Co-contribution to the upgrade of 2 class room (jointly with the school)
• Early year playground contribution – to be confirmed once the drainage work above and plans are finalised.

It’s a great reflection of the School and P&C relationships that we have a plan to work towards achieving some things that will make a real difference to our children.

FATHER’S DAY STALL – Thursday 31 August; before school Friday 1 September

See https://www.facebook.com/AspleySSPandC (you can view the posts on this page without having a Facebook account) or keep an eye out in your inbox.