16 June 2017

Newsletter Articles

UPCOMING EVENTS

June/July 2017

PAYMENTS DUE

PRINCIPAL’S NEWS

Music Night

On Wednesday evening Aspley State School celebrated the musical talents of the school choirs, bands and ensembles who performed for parents and community members. The music extravaganza allowed students to perform and demonstrate their advancing musical skills.

Thank you to the students for their delightful performances. Harvey the dog was a very special favourite! Thank you to Ms Jabs, Mrs McIntyre, and Mrs Jerram who are exemplary in their field. Thank you also to the many teachers and parents including Mrs Hamm, Mrs Brown and Mrs Alick also volunteered their assistance to support this night of musical excellence.

Chess Tournament

This week students from Aspley State School participated in a local chess tournament held at Nundah State School. Our students enjoyed the opportunity to use their skills and learned strategies to play other students from local schools. Our chess club members can be very proud of their achievements. Thank you to Ms Lisa Oliver, teacher, who accompanied the students to the chess tournament. Each week Ms Oliver and a number of other teachers and parents volunteer their time to support the students who attend Chess Club.

Bush Dance

Students are eagerly preparing for the forthcoming P & C Association Bush Dance to be held in the school hall on 4 Aug. We are looking forward to a fun family night. Don’t forget to mark this forthcoming date in your calendar.

Word play is back

Students from Prep to Year 12 again have the opportunity to participate in Word Play, the annual Brisbane Writers Festival education program where students can explore other worlds via the year’s best literature and stories.

Engage with Australia’s finest literary voices including Jackie French, James Moloney, Steven Herrick, Wendy Orr, Leigh Hobbs and Anna Fienberg.

Find out more at the Word Play website.

Hot off the press: Queensland’s very own parenting magazine

The latest issue of Triple P’s Queensland-only parenting magazine, the Tippaper, has just been released. Get great tips for creating a safe, interesting environment for your kids, and see how positive parenting has transformed the lives of other families.

Read it online or pick up a free hard copy from your child health centre, local PCYC, library, or early childhood centre.

Staffing Update

This week we recognise the wonderful contribution of Mrs Dianne Groenhuijzen, Business Services Manager. Mrs Groenhuijzen has faithfully served the Aspley State School community for 22 years. As Mrs Groenhuijzen takes leave at the end of this Semester she considers her retirement and we are grateful for her significant contribution to Aspley State School over many years. Mrs Groenhuijzen has been the backbone of the school and she is highly respected in our school community.

We also sadly farewell Ms Marie Gregory, cleaner who is retiring next week. Marie has enjoyed her role as a cleaner and described to me that she has enjoyed the many years of service at Aspley State School. Marie said she has been delighted to see the students grow and now some students are parents of the school.

Mrs Christine Antoni, Deputy Principal has extended her leave for Term 3 2017. Mrs Boaler will continue in the role of acting Deputy Principal (Early Years) during this time. Thank you to Mrs Sally Agnew who is acting as Deputy Principal (Middle Years) during the last two weeks of term last as Mr Smith enjoys Long Service Leave.

Community Coffee Evening

Parents / carers, teachers and students are invited to attend an informative Community Coffee Evening on Wednesday 2 August 2017 at 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm. At this information night Open Eyes Social Media will give parents, children ranging from Year 3 – Year 6, and teachers a clear understanding of why they need to protect themselves and what tools are available to help create more secure accounts and use of these sites.

Please Select the below link to find out more information about the evening.

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S NEWS

Home Reading Program

Over the last 2 weeks a Home Reading borrowing scheme has been implemented in years 1 and 2. The aim of the program is to encourage students to read nightly with family members, enjoy the experience and independently manage their own borrowing.

Students will be able to borrow books from the Home Reading Corner on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8.00am – 8.30am during ARC time. They will also have the opportunity to exchange books on Fridays with their classroom teachers.

There are a number of strategies that you can use at home when listening to your child read that will benefit them. You can:

• talk about the cover, title and pictures to predict what the story might be about
• discuss what has been read so far and what will happen next
• ask questions about the story and the pictures
• take turns when reading a harder book
• explore unknown words by Pausing (give your child time to work out the word), Prompting (looking for clues in the text or pictures, looking at the first letter, sounding out the word or identifying the word), and Praising (focus on the effort even when mistakes are made)

P – 2 Sports Day

All Prep to Year 2 students will participate in Tuesday’s Sport development day with a combination of sprint races and games rotations. The day will start at approximately 8.40am with a March Past. Sprint races for Prep to Year 2 will commence immediately after this.

Community Sporting Organisations have been organised to conduct rotation activities at 15 minutes per sport. This includes:

• Tennis
• Rugby League
• Squash
• AFL
• Cricket

Year level times are as follows:

• Prep – 11.00am to 12.20pm
• Year 1 – 12.20pm to 1.20pm
• Year 2 – 1.40pm – 3.00pm

Awards

At assembly we honoured Ethan H and Gina W for reaching an achievement in the Aspley Reading Club.

We also recognised 6 students in year 2 who exhibited some exemplary behaviour at break time, picking up rubbish and keeping our school clean. These students were – Abbie S, Lilly H, Mia L, Tahlia M, Amy P, Lilly R.

Stop, Drop and Go.

It has come to our attention that some parents are not following the correct road safety procedure with our drop off zone’s on Maundrell Tce and outside the Hall area. It is vital that our parent community adhere to the guidelines to ensure the safety of our children.

The beginning and end of the school day are busy times for pedestrians and vehicles outside schools. Parking signs are planned with your child's safety in mind.

It is helpful for everyone if you park safely, even if you have to walk further to the school gate. This is a good time to model positive road safety behavior and physical activity for your child.

Drop your child off and pick them up on the school side of the road. Calling out to them from across the road is dangerous – they may run to you without checking for traffic. This will help keep all children as safe as possible during the busiest times of the school day.

You should always:

• park legally
• avoid dangerous manoeuvers such as U-turns and three-point turns
• give way to pedestrians, particularly when entering or exiting driveways
• avoid using the school car park or driveway
• avoid parking in the school bus bay
• make sure your child uses the Safety Door (rear curb-side door) to get in and out of the car

Dangerous driving behavior around schools puts children at risk.

Model safe and considerate behavior for your child – they will learn from you.

MEET OUR STAFF

Curriculum News

Recently some of our students have been doing some creative writing samples, and have been working on techniques to capture their audience. Here are some examples from our year 6 students, Luciella, Haley and Saskia.

Creative Writing with 6F

Pobble365

The students of 6F have been working enthusiastically to produce some quality writing inspired by the fantastic Pobble365 imagery.

The selected image is displayed using an overhead projector to allow students to share individual interpretations and inspirations prior to being required to write a short (maximum 150 words) narrative ‘about the image’. The quote: ‘A picture says a thousand words’ is introduced and discussed as a class.

Writing is focused heavily on improving students’ use of adjectives, adverbs, their spelling, and their grammar and punctuation. Restricting narrative to just 150 words helps students to target those previously mentioned areas without repetitively making the same writing errors and to tighten sentence structures and meaning.

Prior to the final draft being written, students use the Aspley State School Year 4-7 Editing Key to proof-read their own work. They then swap with a partner and proof-read each other’s writing and provide appropriate and constructive feedback. This has been very well received as a learning tool among the 6F students.

Once the final product is completed, students are required to draw their own image to represent their individual narratives. This is particularly interesting as another actuality discussed in class is how a good writer can produce images in the reader’s head of the text / story / surrounding being told.

When students go from imagery to text to imagery, the process is both fun and informative.

Pobble365 has a wealth of excellent imagery to apply to the above process which has been very well received by the students.

MR Kym Farrow

EARLY ACT CLUB

The Aspley State School Early act Club was established in 2015 with the support of Aspley Rotary Club members, Margaret Buchannan and Brian McIntyre.

The aim of the club is to promote student community service to benefit others within our school, local community and overseas.

Previous projects conducted by the club include; supporting The Smith Family Christmas Appeal, a book drive to support less fortunate students in neighbouring Pacific islands, and various other school-based activities.

This year the Early act Club is looking to support the charity organisation Our Rainbow House based in Zambia, Africa. Our goal is to raise $760 to sponsor a student to attend this school for a full year. This amount will cover all tuition fees and provide a child with two meals a day.

In order to raise funds, the Early act Club will be organising a free dress day on Friday 28 July (Week 3 Term 3). The theme for this day is to come to school dressed in all the colours of the rainbow. Students in free dress will be asked to donate a gold coin.

On Friday 28 July we hope to see everyone dressed in their brightest to support a child in need.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT NEWS

SEMESTER ONE MUSIC PERFORMANCE EVENING

Congratulations to our Senior Concert Band, Junior Concert Band, Senior String Orchestra, Senior Choir, Junior Choir and Boys Choir for their exceptional performances last night at the Semester One Music Performance Evening!!! Miss Jabs, Miss Jerram and Mrs Macca are so very proud of your efforts.

Thank you to the many teachers, parents and friends who supported our music evening last night, the performers and music teachers loved performing to you all and appreciate your support so very much. Thank you to Ellaways Music, Morris Music Brothers and The Aspley Coffee Club for donating items for our fabulous raffle.

We are looking forward to performing to you all once again through-out Semester Two and at our Music Evening in November.

CHORAL REHEARSALS – WEEK 10

Please note that Boys Choir and Senior Choir will be cancelled next week on Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st June due to the Aspley Sports Day Carnival.

For week 10 ONLY the Senior and Boys Choir will have a combined rehearsal at big lunch on Thursday 22nd June from 1.15pm – 2.00pm in readiness for the upcoming Education SingFest to be held in Term 3. Junior Choir will be on as per usual on Friday 23rd June.

CURRENT AND UPCOMING MUSICAL EVENTS - TERM TWO/THREE 2017

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

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC NEWS

EDUCATION QUEENSLAND NORTHSIDE BAND BLITZ WORKSHOP & NORTHSIDE JUNIOR STRING CAMP

Congratulations to our young instrumentalists for their participation in the Education Queensland Northside Instrumental Music camps! Hearing our young beginners create music together was just fantastic and seeing their smiling faces – what a fantastic time! An experience I am sure they will remember!

WOODWIND/BRASS/PERCUSSION

Please ensure that you note the changes to the Instrumental Music Woodwind/Brass and Percussion Lesson timetable for:

Monday 19th June – Junior Band is on as per usual.

Wednesday 21st June – ALL Instrumental Music Lessons and Senior Concert Band are cancelled due to the Aspley State School Sports Day Carnival.

Thursday 22nd June - Senior Band workshop from 2 – 3pm

Honours Music Camp Auditions:

Instrumental Music Teachers have invited suitable Senior Instrumental Music students to audition to attend a senior, primary schools’ instrumental music camp which will be held from Tuesday, 5 September 2017 to Friday, 8 September 2017 at Everton Park State High School Hall, 668 Stafford Road, Everton Park. The camp will be non-residential, starting at 8.00am and conclude at 3.30pm on day one to three, and after the concert on day four. Places will be offered for woodwind, brass, string and percussion instruments.

Camp activities will include performing in concert bands, combined choirs, string orchestra, specialist tuition in instrument groups as well as the opportunity to perform new and challenging music with other performers of a similar level. Guest tutors have been scheduled to work with students throughout the week. The camp will conclude with a free concert for parents/carers the final day of the camp at Everton Park State High School Hall, 668 Stafford Road, Everton Park commencing at 1.30pm.

Students who have indicated that they want to audition please remember to return your permission slips by the 14th July.

Audition videos for Woodwind/Brass/Percussion students ONLY will be recorded on Thursday 22nd June from 11.15 – 12.30pm. (schedule to come).

Audition videos for String players will be held on Thursday 20th July (Week 2 of Term 3).

Semester Two Instrumental Music Woodwind/Brass/Percussion Lessons

All students will receive their Semester Two Instrumental Music Lesson timetable next week. The Semester Two Instrumental Music Woodwind/Brass/Percussion timetable has also been emailed to parents. Please ensure that your instrumental music student brings this timetable home in readiness for Semester Two lessons with Ms Jabs.

STRINGS

Congratulations to Jasmine Barnett for receiving a credit for completing her AMEB Second Grade Practice of Music Violin Recital.

Please ensure that you note the changes to the Instrumental Strings Lesson timetable for:

Thursday 22nd June – there will be no string lessons or ensemble rehearsals on this day due to the morning Aspley State School sports carnival events and regional moderation. However, please note that Ms Jerram will be holding a special workshop on Thursday 22nd June from 11.15pm – 12.15pm with 2nd year string players in Years 4 and Years 5.

Happy Music Making
The Aspley Music Department

SPORTS DEPARTMENT NEWS

On Tuesday the 13th of June Aspley SS recognised the students who made it to the Metropolitan North and State level of District Sports. It was great to see so many of our Aspley State School students represent in a wide variety of sport. We would like to acknowledge their efforts and let them know how proud we are of their achievements. Well done!

2017 Athletics Carnival

Students are excited as they prepare for the athletics carnival to be held on Tuesday 20th and Wednesday the 21st of June 2017. Students are required to wear their sports house shirts, shorts, bring a bottle of water, and be prepared to cheer for their team mates. Parents are welcome to attend.

SCIENCE NEWS

Matter, mixtures, materials and melting – the students have enjoyed the Chemical Science Units this term. Activities across the year levels included constructing spaghetti and marshmallow towers, investigating melting and freezing and testing properties of materials and changing states of matter. Lots of hands-on investigations proved to be fun and engaging for the students.

STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS - Keely who has been selected in the Metropolitan North 11 years Netball Team to play in the State Titles in July. We wish her and her team all the best.

Lolly Bags for Sale on Sports Day- On Tuesday and Wednesday of Week 10, during our Sports Days, the Senior Leaders will be selling lolly bags at $1 a bag. Money raised goes towards the Year 6 Canberra Trip. Thank you for your support.

Entertainment Books - All Entertainment Books should have been returned to the office by now if you are not intending to purchase one or if you are buying a digital copy. If you have not already done so, please return your unwanted book to the office immediately. Thank you for your support of this fundraiser.

Nelma Wright

CHESS CLUB

Chess Club will be finishing in Week 9. There will be no Chess Club in Week 10.

Chess Tournament

Congratulations to the children who represented Aspley State School at the Interschool Chess tournament on Thursday. Over 320 children from all over Brisbane participated and there was some tight competition. Three teams of four children from Year 1-6 were entered into different grades depending on ability level. The children all played 7 games throughout the day. They conducted themselves with sportsmanship and made our school very proud. Aspley Team 3 came 3rd place overall and Aspley Team 1 came 2nd overall. Alekhya, Saigrik, Jason, Aum and Joshua all received special merit ribbons for achieving at least 5/7 points and Saigrik also came 2nd in the individual placements overall for his group.

Thanking you

Lisa Oliver

JAPANESE STUDENTS HOST FAMILIES

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

P&C NEWS

Congratulations to the amazingly talented Aspley students and staff who participated in the Music Night recently. Thank you to the Aspley Music parents who helped on the night to ensure a fuss-free event for all those attending.

With only 1 week left of Term 2, Aspley Events are looking forward to rounding out the term with a fantastic Sports Day Bake Stall on Tuesday 20 June, 8.30am to 2pm. In addition, HART Sports has donated an amazing prize pack with a “Just Add Water” theme, for us to raffle. See Upcoming Events for more information on how you can help on the day.

Part of the P&C’s role is to manage the Tuckshop operations and a recent review of operating costs highlighted the need to review our prices in line with continually increasing food prices and wages. It should be noted that the new pricing structure was agreed upon at the last P&C meeting. Please keep an eye out for a note coming home regarding the changes, with a new Tuckshop price list, starting in term 3.

Securing the future of the Tuckshop

June 2017

The tuckshop is operated and managed by the P&C Association, and provides a valuable service to the school community through the provision of a range of affordable meals and snacks for many of our students. A recent review of operating costs highlights the need to review our prices in line with continually increasing food prices and wages.

Historically the tuckshop has operated on the basis of achieving a break-even financial position, however this is no longer achievable under the current pricing structure. As the P&C is committed to the long-term viability of the tuckshop, the proposal to review prices was discussed and accepted by the community at the May P&C meeting. It should be noted that not all items on the menu will increase.

The new prices for the current menu will be published on the P&C section of the school website shortly, taking effect from the start of Term 3.

Tuckshop is available every school day and can be ordered online through Flexischools and from 8:30 - 9:00am each morning over the counter.

The P&C welcomes your feedback or suggestions on this or other matters via pandc@aspleyss.eq.edu.au, or join us at our next P&C meeting at the school library on Tuesday 18 July.

IGA McDowall are supporting Aspley State School P&C through their Community Dollars program. Simply shop at the McDowall store – scan your barcode (available from the Uniform shop and tuckshop) – and IGA will donate 1% of your spend back to the P&C. Any family or friends can support us by using the barcode – feel free to share!

Finally, the Aspley Hotel are also proudly supporting the school via a $1 token that you can hand in when you place your meal order. The P&C will receive one dollar for every token returned. This is an ongoing program so please keep an eye out for information on how we will get these tokens to you!

If you have any feedback or questions about the P&C, please contact Brenden, P&C President on 0412 405 462, or email pandc@aspleyss.eq.edu.au.

REMINDERS:

TUCKSHOP

There will be a special Sports Day tuckshop menu available on Tuesday 20 June and Wednesday 21 June. The normal tuckshop menu will NOT be available.

Volunteers to help at the tuckshop on both days would be greatly appreciated. Contact Judith tuckshop@aspleyss.eq.edu.au to volunteer

UPCOMING EVENTS:

SPORTS’ DAY BAKE STALL
Tuesday 20th June

We have many wonderful volunteers offer to bake many sweet and savoury goodies to feed the hungry spectators. A reminder to please include a description of the ingredients of your baked goods (deliver to the Tuckshop on 19th June before 9am; or to the stall on 20th June from 8am).

If you have 30 minutes to spare on the day, please email Tee at AspleyEvents@gmail.com to volunteer. Many hands make light work and we appreciate your time! #1thing

“Just Add Water” Raffles tickets to win HARTS pool equipment will be available - $2 for 1 ticket, $5 for 3 tickets. The prize will be drawn after lunch on Tuesday 20 June 2017.

Hot beverages from Jumping Bean Café served from 8.30am

TERM 3

LOOSE CHANGE FUNDRAISER 14th July to 28th July

Start collecting any Australian coins to participate in the easiest fundraiser of the year. The outdoor learning spaces around the school need significant work, and we are fundraising to ensure we do it right! The class that collects the most change will win a special morning tea.

(insert Loose Change Fundraiser flyer)

P&C GENERAL MEETING – 18th July, 7pm, Library (only meeting for Term 3).

Come and be a part of the decision-making process of how the P&C supports the school.

FAMILY BUSH DANCE FUN NIGHT – 4th August 5.30pm to 8.30pm

Yee-haw…get ready to keep warm by boot-scooting and do-si-do-ing around the school hall. Lots of fun games planned – mark your diary now!

Pre-purchase your tickets and $AVE!!! Tickets = $5 on Flexischools (Adults/Children) available for purchase from 1 July to 1 August or $6 on the night. Invite the grandparents and other family members for a night of fun.

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

TERM 4

P&C GENERAL MEETING – 17th October, 7pm, Library

ASPLEY ART AFFAIR – ART SHOW & AUCTION – 20th October 2017

Mark your calendar – this is one event you will NOT want to miss. This inaugural event will showcase every students’ creative side.

P&C GENERAL MEETING – 21st November, 7pm, Library – Final meeting for 2017

See the link below (you can view the posts on this page without having a Facebook account) or keep an eye out in your inbox if you have opted in to Aspley Spirit Communications.

CAMP AUSTRALIA NEWS

Vacation Care Timetable

SPARROWS SOCCER PROGRAM NEWS

Term 2 wraps up with Gala Day Grand Finale

A stand out performance for Sparrows!

Soccer players, including many girls and boys from the Sparrows Soccer Program. The Students did Aspley State School proud in their Gala Day efforts with spectacular sportsmanship leading the way.

With all teams trying their very best, congratulations go to a standout performance by a Sparrows squad made up of Grade 5/6 girls. Fuelled by a half-time inspirational talk, the girls overcame an ordinary start to boldly turn the match around from 1-0 down to win. For the remainder of the day, this team never faltered.

While their success rode high on the shoulders of a team effort, some individual performances were notable. Georgina fulfilled her captaincy role by showcasing a soccer skill set, leading by example and encouraging her team all the way. Excellent corner kick-ins, tackling, running and several goals under her belt certainly proved Georgina a worthy captain.

Other formidable forces included Indi, playing with total commitment, outstanding leadership and encouragement of her team mates. In true Indi style, she ran all the day long and finished with a ‘bag’ of goals. Courageous Charlotte and Steph played much ‘larger’ than their small stature; Charlotte tackled hard and Steph proved vital in defence with a strong presence on the field, running fast to stop many opposition attempts at goal. Sierra and Emma also played excellent games, and together as one, this whole team reaped the rewards of their combined effort.

The real “win”, however, was for the great sportspersons these students displayed themselves to be. The team received many compliments about their spirit for the game. “Everybody – other school teachers, coaches, parents etc… commented on how hardworking, disciplined and skilled they were. The girls were absolutely amazing and they did Aspley State School very proud” (Mr Farrow).

Aspley girls: great team of good ‘sports’

Not to be out-dazzled, Aspley’s boys teams also pulled out all the stops with a performance to be proud of. Hallmarked by their determined spirit, the boys displayed an abundance of skill and sportsmanship. All teams organised their own team positions and selected a captain to oversee the line-up.

The Grade 6 boys encouraged each other, changing their positions nearly every game and confusing the opposition. They supported each other when the play was threatened and, when positioned correctly, they’d be a tough team to beat.

Most striking was the encouragement within the team, in particular the Sparrows boys helping students who are not in the Sparrows program. They offered instruction and supported one another to play their best game.

Overall, the boys squads were exceptional in every way. They played with Aspley spirit and pride. Although not triumphant in all their games they were crowned “players of the Gala” in their coaches’ books and set a great example, earning positive remarks from other spectators on their polite manner.

Our boys: sportsmanship at every turn

Thanks supporters!

Opportunities to play against other schools at Gala Days are invaluable in helping coaches to see where the Sparrows need to focus their training. These events wouldn’t be possible without the commitment of teachers and other school staff, coaches, parents and other helpers that support these days as referees, supervisors and cheer squad. A HUGE Sparrows shout out of thanks to all involved.

Happy holidays Sparrows, see you next term!

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

COMMUNITY NEWS

NO DIRT DANCE

TRL JUNIORS

PREMIER CRICKET CLINICS

HOLIDAY TENNIS CLINIC

Come and join our team of experienced coaches these school holidays for some fun, laughter and tennis development. Running 9am - 3pm daily our clinics are aimed and bringing friends together to grow, learn and improve their game of tennis.

Our Hot Shots Tennis clinics are designed to keep everyone active, engaged and having fun through games that promote and develop tennis techniques and skills.

Come and spend the mornings working on techniques and skills and spend the afternoons learning tactics through match play.

26th - 29th June @ Shaw Park Tennis Centre
3rd - 7th July @ Clayfield College

Don't forget to enrol for our FUN DAY/COMPETITION DAY for some extra fun, games, a tournament and lots of prizes. These will be held on Thursday 29th & Friday 7th.

NIDA

National institute of Dramatic Arts

The national institute of dramatic arts (NIDA) is Australia’s leading centre for education and training in performing arts. NIDA open gives people of all ages and experience the chance to benefit for NIDA’s world renowned training methods and explore their own creativity.

For more than 50 years we have been recognised for our practical and creative approach to dramatic arts education and training. Since 1990 we have been opening our doors to NIDA open short courses and holiday workshops. Our team of course managers, tutors and staff are all professionals with experience across theatre, film, entertainment and education.

If you are interested in finding out more information about our holiday workshop classes please visit the link below.

MK 13 Soccer

MK13 Soccer will be hosting nine June/July holiday camps this school holidays to help promote The World Game and get as many students as possible, active and healthy throughout their break.

Our camps are for boys and girls aged 5-14 and are all-inclusive, which allows for the beginner all the way to those who excel in the sport, to enjoy and learn.

Hear Me, See Me, Express Yourselves!