29 June 2018

Newsletter Articles

UPCOMING EVENTS

June/July 2018

PAYMENTS DUE

PRINCIPAL’S NEWS

Happy Holidays

After a productive term of learning, the students and staff at Aspley State School can take a well-earned holiday! Students have been actively increasing their vocabulary and using this to enhance their writing, as a school priority.

BOOST has delivered short term, intensive improvements for all students in reading and writing. The music students performed at a high standard at the recent music performance night. There have been incursions for Kaboom Percussion, Phill Kettle writing incursion, Toon School cartooning workshop and social media safety information sessions.

Students have enjoyed their science specialist lessons and have applied their inquiry approach to learn more about their scientific world.

Sports Days

The Junior Sports Day was an outstanding success. The younger children really enjoyed the day and the senior students were exemplary in their efforts to support their younger team members. The staff enjoyed the subsequent pumpkin soup cook off that followed! Thank you to Mrs Antoni, the teachers and teacher aides for their energy and efforts to make this a fun day to remember.

The Senior Sports Days enabled students to demonstrate their abilities in the track and field events. Congratulations to the children in Kennedy who won the overall competition! Congratulations to the students who will go on to compete at the North District Track and Field on the 26 and 27 July 2018. Thank you to Mr Schmidt for his organisation of the day. Thank you to school staff and Mr O’Sullivan, our guest official, for officiating the events. Using the new Meet Manager software to seed the events, made the day run more smoothly.

After feedback from parents, staff and students the 2019 sports days will be refined to be held over two days. For example:

Day One

• P-1 Sports day in Session one
• Year 2-3 Sports day in Session 2
• Students Heats in Session 3

One week later: Day Two

• Year 4-7 Sports Day including a tabloid format of track and field events to maximise participation and reduce the time students are waiting to compete.

Special Thanks

My special thanks to the dedicated staff, the P & C Association, School Council , Aspley Foundation donors and importantly the many parent volunteers and local community members who have contributed to our school success this semester. Your contributions to be a class helper, tuckshop volunteer, painters at the working bee, assisting with music night, fundraising, and supporting students to attend before school sports, music and drama practices is greatly appreciated.

Aspley State School Foundation

A reminder that you can still contribute to the Aspley State School Foundation before the 30 June 2018 and receive a tax deductable receipt for this financial year. Every donation of money to the Aspley State School Foundation enables worthwhile refurbishments and building projects.

With your donation, our projects can be achieved! See the website to check out the targeted projects and the money raised to date! Thank you to those school community members who have already, kindly donated to these worthwhile projects.

2018 Malaysian Principal Leadership Programme

During the holidays, I will participate in the 2018 Malaysian Principal Leadership Programme led by Education Queensland International (EQI) which provides me the opportunity to visit a Malaysian school for a week. During this time, I will be able to experience school life and learn about the education system in Malaysia. In August, I look forward to host the Malaysian Principal and the Commissioner for Education, Malaysia, at Aspley State School.

School Summative Reports

The School Summative Reports (report cards) for Semester One 2018 will be sent by email late on Friday 29 June, 2018. Summative reports provide valuable information about your child’s progress to achieve the Australian Curriculum.

NAIDOC Week 2018

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

This year’s theme is Because of her, we can! The theme celebrates the essential role that women have played – and continue to play – as active and significant role models at the community, local, state and national levels.

NAIDOC Week is celebrated not only in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

At Aspley State School, we will hold our NAIDOC week celebrations in week one and two of Term 3. Students from Prep to Year 2 will take part in an incursion on Aboriginal Survival Technology provided by Phillip Green, a Naturalist.

Students from Year 3 –Year 6 have been invited to participate in the Virtual Reality incursion entitled Aboriginal Australians.

In 2018, the official NAIDOC Week runs from 8–15 July. Visit the NAIDOC website for more information.

Canberra Trip

Year 6 students are excited about their forthcoming trip to Canberra in August. The students have been completing Bob-A-job to earn money to pay for their trip. It has been wonderful to talk to the students about their self-pride as they describe their completion of a variety of tasks including gardening, baby-sitting and car washing. The money each student earns is deducted from their individual trip invoice. Students will be provided a final invoice on 23 July 2018.

Respect our staff, respect our school

The Queensland Government is committed to tackling the growing issue of violent and abusive behaviour across school communities. The Respect our staff, respect our school campaign aims to create safer and more respectful communities across Queensland State Schools.

We all have different beliefs, expectations and experiences, so there are inevitably going to be times where conflicts or disagreements occur in schools.

How we handle those conflicts can make a significant difference to the learning and development of our students and the positive environments we aim to foster.

The safety of our students and staff is the number one priority and we can all play our part in ensuring that our schools are safe and respectful places to be.

Violent or abusive behaviour will not be tolerated in our schools. It's not just a courtesy. It's the law.

Tips for resolving issues respectfully at school:

ACTF 2018 My Place short story competition

Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) is launching the 2018 My Place short story competition, a national contest for Years 3–6 students, opening on 20 July. Students create an imaginary character in the 2018 My Place series and write about them.

Entries close 31 August 2018. For more information, visit the ACTF website

Additional languages now included in Premier’s Reading Challenge

This year booklists in four additional languages are available for the Premier’s Reading Challenge.

Prep to Year 3 students will be able to select from a list of books available in Chinese, French, German and Japanese.

The booklists are now available on the Reading Centre website.

DEPUTY PRINCIPALS NEWS

Newsletter Items

ARC (Aspley Reading Club)

It has been a long term for the children but they have worked hard and should all be proud of the reading improvement they have made. Some children might not have increased in their reading levels but they have become more confident readers. They are also willing to risk-take and use word attack strategies when they come across words in the text they do not know. Please encourage them to keep reading in the holidays and it does not have to be a physical book. It can be through the online programs we offer through the school or magazines, which interest them.

Please be informed that these are the ARC dates for Term Three.

What we said on Assembly: -

We reminded the students to stay safe during the holidays. The students were encouraged to continue reading, writing and making words using Word Mania.

Next Term, during assembly, the classes will be taking turns to show case their learning. It will be exciting to see and hear what the children do in their classrooms in the different subject areas. We will begin in week 2 with 1N and 6D.

3 – 6 Sports Day

Once again, I want to congratulate all students for their behaviour during the recent sports days. Most students stayed in their sports houses and demonstrated positive sportsmanship. I also want to thank students for making sure that the each area was litter free at the end of the day. Well done!

Thanks also to the P and C and the tuckshop for their support during both days. The food available was plentiful and delicious.

Curriculum News

Science

Scientists in action: Topics covered in Term Two

Another busy term of learning and investigating.

Thank You
Alison Wakeford

Year 1

Last Friday the Year 1 students took a trip to the Caboolture Historical Village. They had lots of fun learning about how people lived in the past. We did some foraging for gems; we were held up by bush rangers who were after the gold on our train; we were shown how our clothes were washed and learned that people only bathed once a week. Mrs Neill narrowly escaped the cane from the Head Master, Mr Bell for not knowing God Save the King!

This term, Year 1 students have had two visits from our local fire brigade. The children were taught about fire safety and the importance of knowing their address for an emergency. We even got to play with the fire hose and learnt a lot about the equipment on the truck.

Thank You
Naomi Harvey

Student Absences

NEW ABSENCE TEXT MESSAGE MOBILE NUMBER – 0427 286 794

With the introduction of ID Attend to help us streamline absence notifications for students, we now have a new mobile number that parents can send a text message to, so we are notified of upcoming absences.

Please put this number into your mobile phone as “Aspley SS ID Attend Absences” and send the school a text message for any absences (including future absences) with the following information:

Name of student
Class
Reason for absence (for example… sick, family reasons or holiday, etc)
Date of absence/s

This new text messaging line is the preferred method to notify the school of student absences.

The existing school absence line, email absence address and Q Parents are still functioning.

We appreciate your help with this matter to ensure all students are attending school and safe.

Road Safety

Library News

New Lunchtime Activities Roster For Term Three

The feedback we have received from students on the lunchtime activities has been very positive. Look out for the new Term Three Roster in the next newsletter.

Holiday Reading

Thursday 21 June was the last day for borrowing this term and we asked for all books to be returned to the library by Wednesday 27 June. There will be no borrowing from the school library over the school holiday period; instead, we would encourage students to make use of the local Brisbane City Council Libraries. The link to find your nearest BCC Library is found below:

Date Claimer!

This year we are celebrating Book Week from 17 to 24 August. Our special assembly, featuring a parade of all students from Prep to Year 6 who want to dress-up as their favourite story character, will be held on Monday 20 August. The theme this year is “Find Your Treasure”. More details will be available at the beginning of next term.

ICAS

We have two ICAS assessments remaining with both scheduled for early next term. Tuesday 31 July is the date of the English task. Year 3 and 4 will be in the A-Block Computer Lab and Year 5 and 6 will be in the Administration Computer Lab.

On the following week, Tuesday 7 August, the Mathematics test is scheduled. PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE FOR THE MATHEMATICS TEST. This test will be split between three venues due to the large number of students taking part. Year 3 will be in the Library (there will be no BOOST this day), Year 4 will be in the A-Block Computer Lab and Year 5 and 6 will be in the Administration Computer Lab.

Both days start at 7:30am and it is important that children participating arrive at school on time. All equipment required is provided.

Overdue Library Books

The stocktake of the Library is now complete and letters will be going home in the next few weeks detailing the arrangements for lost and missing library books. If you have a query about your child’s overdue book/s please come and see the staff in the library or email us on lhami65@eq.edu.au

Library Opening Hours

The library is now open every morning before school from 8:00 – 8:30am for parents to bring their children to borrow. After borrowing, the student must return to the waiting area at the hall. The Library is also open for student borrowing every day after school until 3:15pm, excluding Tuesday. We are also open during both play-breaks unless it is a “wet-weather break”. Please remember that your child can only borrow if they have a waterproof library bag with them.

Linda Hamilton
Teacher in Charge of the Library

Sports News

Congratulations and well done to all students who took part in the Aspley State School athletics carnival. Our final house points total was:

1. Kennedy – 1002
2. Oxley – 943
3. Mitchell – 788

Mitchell house was successful in winning the shield for the circular relays, Kennedy won the day with the highest accumulated house point’s total. Well done!

Our Age Champions are:

Music News

ASPLEY CHORAL PROGRAM

Thank you to our young choralists for a fabulous first semester of music making. Mrs Macca is looking forward to working with our young singers for upcoming performances throughout Term 3 and Term 4 of 2018 including the Education Queensland Sing fest for our Year 4 – Year 6 Choral singers and a very special Anzac Concert to be held at Aspley State School in Term 4.

FAREWELL MRS NAPUR

The Aspley Music Department this week farewells Mrs Rosanna Napur who was worked with our young Aspley Choristers over the last year as well as taught various classroom music lessons for lower years Prep, Year One and Year Two. We thank Mrs Napur for sharing her musical knowledge, expertise and passion with our students and wish Mrs Napur all the very best in the future.

EDUCATION QUEENSLAND SINGFEST

Senior Choir and Boys Choir members in Years 4 – 6 will be invited to participate in the Education Queensland Singfest performance event on Friday 31 August 2018 to be held at the Old Museum Building, Bowen Hills. Singfest is an annual massed choral event for State School Primary students in Years 4 – 6 in the Metropolitan Region. Over 1800 students participate in this event each year from State Primary Schools across the region. On the day of the event, each school comes together to workshop learnt repertoire in a massed choir, culminating in a performance concert. This performance is an exciting opportunity to participate in for our young vocalists.

Paul Jarman will be the guest conductor for this event in 2018. Paul Jarman is a widely acclaimed Australian composer, performer, musical director, conductor and educator. His music has inspired singers and audiences around the world. Mrs Macca is very excited to have our young Aspley choralists working with Paul Jarman for this event. Choralists will receive a parent information letter regarding this choral event in early Term 3. Be sure to mark this special day in your diaries!

ASSEMBLY PERFORMANCES

Congratulations to performing students in the Senior String Orchestra and the Senior Choir for their fabulous performances on assembly. We are so proud of your achievements. Our ensembles look forward to performing to you on various assemblies throughout Semester 2.

CURRENT AND UPCOMING MUSICAL EVENTS - TERM THREE 2018

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC NEWS

2018 ASPLEY INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC TOUR – FRASER COAST

Instrumental Music Students participating in the Music Tour to the Fraser Coast will this week receive a parent information letter outlining further details of this exciting music tour. Important information outlined in this letter will include performance venues, home bake, gala concert performance information and outlines due dates for the final payments. Please ensure that the final balance of $145.00 is paid to the school office by Friday 24 August 2018 accompanied by the payment slip and home bake form.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC TIMETABLE

Instrumental music lessons will resume in Week 1 straight after the school holidays.

Happy Music Making to you all
The Aspley Music Department

Sparrows Soccer

Even the coldest of Winter mornings cannot slow down our Sparrows! This Term, our eager soccer players and coaches have attacked each training session with enthusiasm and passion for the game. The students are very lucky to have the support of a dedicated group of professional and keen parents, who manage drills, teach new skills and guide friendly matches each Thursday morning. We are extremely appreciative of you all!

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Testa family for the generous gift of brand new soccer goals. Each Sparrows year level playing on Thursday mornings now have a set of goals to compete between. The children are in awe of the privilege not to have to share! We feel rather blessed and grateful.

Sparrows will continue in Term 3. Our first training session will be the first Thursday back after the holidays on 19 July 2018. We look forward to seeing you then and, in particular, Year 4 students wearing their brand new Sparrows shirts!

School Study Tour 2018

Our school will be hosting a Study Tour this year. A study tour is a group of international students coming to Australia (Aspley SS) to learn English and be immersed in the cultural experience of going to an Australian school and staying with Australian host families. The group of 17 Japanese students aged 14-15 years old, will be arriving on the 19th of August and departing on the 1st of September. This particular group of students are from a prestigious school in Japan called Ritsumeikan Uji Junior High School, which is located in the Kyoto Prefecture.

An important aspect of Study Tours is in providing “homestay” for the Japanese students. Information about providing homestay and the application form follows this message. If families are interested in providing homestay, please complete the application form and return it to the Administration Office.

I will keep you all up-to-date with any details regarding the Study Tour in future newsletters. Miss Mira Ponti (LOTE Teacher) has recently been accredited as an Officer of Study Tours and she too will be working with me on this Study Tour. We both hope that you will be able to help us in providing homestay and that it proves to be a rewarding experience for you and your family.

Thank you.

Rowena Mina (6M) and Mira Ponti (LOTE Teacher)

Camp Australia

P&C News

We made it! After a very busy 11-weeks, we’ve reached the end of term exhausted but exhilarated! Thanks so much to all of our community who’ve stepped up and supported the numerous activities conducted this term. Check out the Events Wrap-Up section below to know more!

STUDENT REPRESENTATION AWARD POLICY

At the last P&C meeting, our community voted to support a Student Representation Policy. This Policy awards a student who reaches a State or National representative level at a Queensland Department of Education sanctioned event. To see more information about this policy, please see here:

FATHER’S DAY STALL DONATION DAY

Our Father’s Day Stall coordinators are seeking your help to make some really SUPER gift packs for our dads. Please bring your donations to school in Term 2 Week 2 – for our Donation Day Friday 27 July.

ALSO…KEEP YOUR EYES & EARS OUT FOR THE FOLLOWING – more details to come in Term 3:

We have a few exciting projects that we have been working on including:

• GO GREEN Day to help support the school’s Composting and Garden program (Date to be announced)
• Oral Care Waste Collection Day (date to be confirmed) to help us win a Community Garden and contribute to the #WarOnWaste
• And a SUPER event for Friday 14th September (evening event)

UNIFORM SHOP NEWS

• Winter uniforms are finally here. The windiest days are yet to come, so grab a new warm jacket.
• A reminder that Semester One Gala Day and Rep Shirt hire uniforms are now overdue. Shirts can be returned with the student’s name and class attached, which will allow a speedy refund process. If your student has an appropriate rep uniform that they will use for District Sports Representation, please email Uniforms.AspleySS@gmail.com to advise the convenor – you can keep that shirt and return it after the event.
• Uniform Shop will reopen Monday 16th July. Normal hours are Monday 8-9.45am; and Thursday 3-3.45pm. Email: Uniforms.AspleySS@gmail.com if you have any enquiries.
• Uniform Shop Volunteer Roster: Help is needed to sort stock and serve:

TUCKSHOP NEWS

• We invite Expressions of Interest for the role of Tuckshop Assistant. This is a casual role, for up to 6 hours, for employment on a Tuesday only. Applicants should submit a covering letter to pandc@aspleyss.eq.edu.au detailing their experience as outlined in the position description. Applications close midday Thursday 12 July, with short-listed applicants notified soon after. If you have any queries regarding this role, please contact us via the same email address.

• Tuckshop Volunteer Roster: Thursdays and Fridays are our busiest days. Just two parents per class = one shift per term. 8.30-10.30am. Thanks so much to our existing volunteers! New helpers welcome – no experience necessary. Please help us:

SAVE THE DATES:

P&C General meeting: Tuesday 31 July 2018, 7pm, Library.

P&C Communi-Tea: Monday 15 August 2018 9.30am to 10am (after assembly) – Camp Australia/OSHC – an opportunity to ask questions, find out more about what’s happening, and give feedback. RSVP to AspleyPC@gmail.com if you are planning on attending.

Father’s Day Stall: 30 August (8.45am – 1.15pm) and 31st August (8am-9am). Volunteers welcome -

Did you know?

Aspley State School P&C Association has 4 executive members (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer), 3 endorsed subcommittees – Aspley Swimming Club, Aspley Spirit (Fundraising and Events), and Aspley Building and Maintenance, and approximately 50 members made up of parents, staff, and community citizens. It costs nothing to join, just an interest in supporting our school and community, and the chance to have your say and vote on decisions we make. Of course, you can still volunteer, help and give feedback without being a member. Contact us if you have any questions and we’ll do our best to help.

Looking for a JP?

Mr Stephen Solly, P&C Member and School Council Chair, is a qualified Justice of the Peace and can be available to sign documents before or after school by appointment. Contact Stephen via email: practice@agpr.com.au or mobile 0410 149 473. Thankyou Stephen for making yourself available to help our community!

EVENT WRAP-UP:

• Prep-2 and Years 3 to 6 BBQ and BAKE STALL: A massive shout out and THANK YOU to Sonja M and Reshma K for their efforts in coordinating the donations and supplies on these two days; to all our bakers for their scrumptious donations; and the many volunteers who really gave so much time to cook and serve the students and families. A big thank you also to our Tuckshop Helpers on Friday who assisted Jane in serving on the Oval Side.
• Due to the significant donations for both days, we were able to raise over $1600 from the BBQ, plus an additional $400 from the bake stalls. Thank you to local businesses: T-Bones Aspley, Bakers Delight Aspley Hypermarket, our local Coles (Aspley Village, Westfields Chermside and Stafford Heights) and Woolworths (Westfields Chermside, Carseldine, and Chermside Markets), and Brumby’s Carseldine for their support of our school. Please say “Thanks” to them next time you visit!
• We’d also like to thank Grassroots Espresso, MAD Coffee Company and Ute Beaut Coffee for supporting our sports days and keeping all our spectators caffeinated.
• As mentioned earlier, it’s been a crazy busy term starting with our rainy Movie Night, Aspley Swimming Club Presentation Night, Mother’s Day Stall, the Working Bee, P&C Day Breakfast – with guest speaker Richard Holt from Holt Bolt, Raffle Bonanza, P&C Day Morning tea, Prep-2 and 3-6 Sports Days BBQ and Bake Stalls, and our Prep Tea Towel Fundraiser. If you’re on Facebook – check out our P&C page for a video summary of this very busy term! We will have an update on our fundraising efforts in the newsletter after our next P&C meeting (Tuesday 5 June).
• Be informed! Be involved!
• Check our P&C News Feed by downloading QSchools, or email , to receive a weekly update on upcoming events and news, or follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AspleySSPandC (you can view the posts on this page without having a Facebook account).

COMMUNITY NEWS

Vipers Netball

Kinetic Kids

Holiday Tennis Clinics

Latest Queensland parenting magazine out now

The latest issue of the free Queensland Triple P Tippaper is out now.

The theme for this issue is ‘Assertive Discipline’ so there are some great tips on effectively guiding children's behaviour.

Look for free copies in your community or read it now online.

EKKA competitions for students

If you are looking for free school holiday activities, it is worth taking a look at the 2018 Royal Queensland Show (EKKA) competitions for young people.

Ideas include contests to design a showbag, race around EKKA to film an advertisement, bush poetry and homemade cheese.

Visit the EKKA Education website for more information.

Calling all children and teenagers growing up in Queensland

The Growing up in Queensland project gives children and teenagers a voice about their community, the opportunities and challenges they face and what they need as they take their steps into the future.

Children and young people aged between 4 and 18 years can participate:

• 7–18-year-olds can become a citizen journalist.
• 4–6-year-olds or students attending special education primary schools can express their views through an art activity
• 13–18-year-olds can complete the online survey

Check out the Queensland Family & Child Commission website for more information. Submissions close on 22 July 2018

Museum of Brisbane Holiday Fun

Inspiring your child's inner artist is our passion at Museum of Brisbane and this winter our artist educators have created a holidays program inspired by our beautiful city. From 30 June - 15 July, the Museum has a blockbuster program of hands-on art, craft and design fun for children and young people of all ages.

Highlights include immersive and live theatrical performances by Folly Games of A Convict's Hope, Young Creatives workshops and City Build.

Swim Solutions

Go Sports

GO SPORTS Coaching Term 3

Join us for all the FUN!Learn a new game or just improve skills.

NETBALL: Grades 1-3 commencing Tuesday 31st July (7.45-8.30am)

SOCCER: Grades Prep-2 commencing Tuesday 31ST July (7.45-8.30am)

To Register go to the link below and click on Register Online

Lyrebird Language Tutor

Based in Brisbane, Lyrebird Language Centre has helped many children learn Mandarin and Japanese since 2008.

While Japanese is still the most taught foreign language in Queensland, Mandarin is also getting more and more popular.

Whether it’s for beginners who want to learn Mandarin or Japanese which is taught in your school; or for students need tutor for their Mandarin and Japanese study at school, we are here to help.

We have three level’s Mandarin Classes on Saturday morning at Aspley State School Library. We also can organise afterschool or before school class or private tutoring to suit your needs.

Our classes are all in small group so everyone can have enough time to practice.

Please call us on 0405-073-523 or visit our website for more information.

Language is fun; just mimic it like a Lyrebird.