1 February 2019

Newsletter Articles

UPCOMING EVENTS

February/March

PAYMENTS DUE

PRINCIPAL’S NEWS

Welcome to the new students and their parents/carers who have joined the Aspley State School community this week. Welcome back to existing students and staff. It was delightful to see the 111 new preparatory students so eager to come to ‘big’ school. Students were excited to see their friends and move to their new classrooms.

We welcome new staff including:

• Mary Anne Davies, Internal Relief Teacher
• Ms Dianne Jones, Year 1 JB (Wed, Thur, Fri)
• Ms Claire Chalk, Prep CH
• Ms Paula Evans, Prep E
• Mr Andrew Robinson, Year 5R
• Welcome back Ms Laura Neil, Year 1N

Farewell:

This week we farewell long-standing teacher Mrs Nelma Wright. Mrs Wright has been a teacher at Aspley State School for 21 years. She has been a dedicated educator who has taken great pride in her teaching at Aspley State School. Mrs Wright has taught many children and even some of the parents at the school during this time! She has actively contributed to the student leadership programs, camps, Early Act, sporting, special event ceremonies and many more school activities. We wish Mrs Wright all the best as she enjoys her retirement from her teaching career.

Parent Teacher Information Evenings

Parents / carers are invited to attend the parent teacher information sessions to be held:

At these information sessions teachers will provide valuable information to assist you to support your child’s learning progress in 2019.

Bell Times

In 2019, the school bell times have been revised to make sure that the school operates within the Qld Teachers Industrial Award. The change to school times means that teachers work within their award and effectively mean that students remain at the hall for 8 minutes longer in the morning before they are released to go to class.

Students are now supervised at the hall by teacher aides each morning, as teachers prepare for their class learning program. Student rolls will be marked at 8.45 am and 2.15 pm each day. If students arrive after 8.45 am, they are required to attend the school office to get a late slip prior to attending their classroom.

Please see the below for a link to our bell times.

Swimming Lessons

In our Australian lifestyle, water sports and activities are a common pastime. It is important that students develop water awareness and proficient swimming skills as a valuable life skill.

Aspley State School invites students to participate in swimming lessons each year. Swimming lessons for years 1-3 operates in term one each year. Swimming lessons for Prep and years 3-6 operate in term 4.

Swimming lessons for students in years 1-3 commence next Thursday 7 February or Friday 8th February 2019. Please see the class timetable in Mrs Antoni’s, Deputy Principal News. Lessons are operated by Swim Solutions, who offer a quality, swimming instruction program. The class teacher attends each lesson. Parents are provided feedback about your child’s swimming progress after the swimming lessons conclude. Students who do not participate in swimming attend a buddy class and continue their learning. Swimming lessons are optional and do not replace physical education lessons.

International Baccalaureate (IB) –Primary Years Programme (PYP)

As an International Baccalaureate candidate school, teachers at Aspley State School have recently completed three days of professional development where they were able to learn new strategies to support an inquiry-based approach to learning. Teachers were able to build upon their expertise to plan, teach and assess the Australian Curriculum through a structured, transdisciplinary approach.

The aim of all International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognising their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. (International Baccalaureate, 2017.)

Students, with their teachers are exploring the IB Learner Attributes and are examining what it is to be: an inquirer; knowledgeable; thinkers; communicators; principled; open minded; caring; risk- takers; balanced; and reflective.

These learner attributes, together with our Aspley school rules:

• Show respect
• Be safe
• Value learning
• Act responsibility,

form the Classroom Essential Agreement that guides all students in their ways of working as an individual, with their peers and as a school community.

The International Baccalaureate works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

Structured, Inquiry-Based Learning

Inquiry-based learning holds the student at the centre of the learning process. It is purposeful and encourages students to be actively engaged in learning. Students will investigate important issues by proposing questions and planning ways of investigating these guiding questions. Utilising various resources, students will conduct their research and experiments, record their observations and then analyse their findings to generate their own responses to the issue they are investigating.

The approaches to learning, through the lens of the International Baccalaureate Primary (IB), Primary Years Programme (PYP), is that learning is:

• Based on inquiry
• Focused on conceptual understanding
• Developed in local and global contexts
• Designed to remove barriers to learning
• Informed by assessment
• Engaging, relevant, challenging and significant

The approaches to learning come from the belief that learning how to learn is fundamental to a student’s education. The essential elements of learning used in the PYP framework include the:

• mastery of skills (Thinking, Research, Communication, Social and Self-management skills that can be applied across all contexts.)
• acquisition of knowledge
• understanding of concepts that are transdisciplinary
• development of attitudes
• decision to take action

At Aspley State School, we implement the Australian and Qld Curriculums. Previously, we have taught in single disciplines or subjects e.g. Mathematics in Mathematics time. IB units of work are generally structured across two or three disciplines i.e. transdisciplinary. This means that a single unit will address multiple areas of the Australian Curriculum e.g. Mathematics, English and Science may all be covered in the unit Sharing the Planet.

In 2019, Aspley State School teachers will implement two units of transdisciplinary learning for students:

• Week 8 Term 1 – Week 3 Term 2 - Where we are in place and time
• Weeks 1-6, Term 3 – How we express ourselves.

Teachers will plan two new units each year, across the next three years. Our highly skilled teachers will continue to ensure that learning is across all areas of the curriculum and are at rigorous standards for all students. To this end, in 2021 students will be actively engaged in the Australian Curriculum through six units per year, which allow them to experience a variety of approaches to learning.

In 2019 students will experience the units:

• Where we are in place and time
• How we express ourselves

In 2020 students will experience an additional two units:

• Who we are
• Sharing the Planet

In 2021 Students will experience an additional two units:

• How the world works
• How we organise ourselves.

As teachers work toward the implementation of an IB education, classrooms will display the students’ exploration of the transdisciplinary theme, the central Idea for learning, the lines of inquiry, the teacher provocations that will drive these inquiries and the key concepts to be learnt. Students will engage through a structured inquiry to demonstrate their learning and meet the assessment standards as required by the learning program and the Australian Curriculum. These outcomes will be reported through our current modes of parent teacher interviews and written report cards.

2019 Booklist Supply Service

Thank you to those parents / carers who used the Leaning Pod as your booklist supplier. The aim of this service, is to make the process of equipping your child for school, efficient, cost effective and to enable the children to have quality school stationery materials. A small commission from each book pack is provided to the Aspley State School P & C Association.

To ensure an ongoing quality service each year, I am seeking feedback about the booklist services in 2019. This information will be shared with the booklist supplier to provide them constructive feedback and quality assure this service for families.

Please take the time to complete the survey below.

2019 School Photos

Aspley State School class and student photos will now be taken on 27th and 28th May 2019. Please note this change of date.

Year 6 Shirt

Each year, our year 6 students are invited to order a special commemorative, polo shirt with their names on the back. The shirt can be worn to school as another school uniform item and is also used for excursions and the Canberra Tour. Next week students will receive an order form for the 2019 Year 6 shirt. Please return your order form by Friday 15 February 2019. Payment is due by 15 March 2019.

Canberra Trip Payment

Parents / carers of year 6 families are reminded that the second payment for Year 6 Canberra Trip is due on 22 February 2019. An invoice will be raised for this amount next week.

School Review

Approximately a quarter of all Queensland state schools are reviewed by the department each year. The school reviews are an important part of how the department monitors and supports schools. The reviews are about providing schools with quality and independent feedback, tailored to the school’s context and needs .Each school is reviewed every four years, providing valuable opportunities for self-reflection and improvement. The reviews are conducted by the School Improvement Unit (SIU).

Aspley State School will participate in a school review on 11-13 February 2019. Reviews are undertaken by experienced educators trained in the use of the National School Improvement Tool (NSIT), a nationally-recognised framework for reviewing teaching and learning practices.

Reviewers look closely at each school’s performance data and speak with a wide range of staff, students, parents and community members to get an accurate picture of each school.

Unlike some other review systems, schools aren’t ranked or given a performance rating but are supported with a comprehensive report for consideration. The report outlines key findings and improvement strategies to maximise student outcomes. Principals are encouraged to share this information with their staff and school community to help shape the school’s strategic direction. The Review will guide the strategic planning for the school in the next four year period.

DEPUTY PRINCIPALS NEWS

Welcome

Welcome back to all returning Aspley families and a special welcome to all the new families to our school. We are very pleased to have you on board! It is especially pleasing to see all the new Prep families with their eager young children.

It is wonderful to see the children settled into their new classrooms, learning the new routines.

At our welcome assembly this afternoon, the children were introduced to the new staff at Aspley. You would have been proud of your Prep child at their very first assembly. Our assemblies are on Mondays from 2.15pm to 2.45pm

Parent Teacher Information Sessions

Next week the teachers are holding their information sessions for parents and caregivers.

The schedule is as follows:

Prep – Tuesday 5pm-6pm (PJ classroom)
Year 1 - 3 - Wednesday 5:30 pm (hall); 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm in class
Year 4 - 6 - Wednesday 6:15pm (hall); 6:45pm – 7:15pm in class

Teachers share information about the classroom routines and procedures for the year at these sessions.

Congratulations

Oliver (6H) attended the super 10s performance camp and competition in Melbourne from 23 January to 27 January 2019. Oliver was one of four boys from Queensland who formed a team and played against the other states. Oliver’s team won the competition and he received an award for best tactical understanding. Oliver had the opportunity to be backstage and have assessments done like professional tennis players. He watched the women’s semi-final and met players such as Rafael Nadal, Thanasi Kokkinakis, John Millman and Leyton Hewitt. Congratulations Oliver, what an achievement!

Tissues & Tim Tams

It was a pleasure to attend this year’s Tissues and Tim Tams morning tea for families new to the school. As usual, the P and C catered very well for everyone and the conversations buzzed. Whilst there were many Tim Tams consumed, the tissues were a bit neglected. Your students are in expert hands and will have a great year of learning.

Welcome back to all of the students and congratulations on starting the year with a positive outlook. It is exciting to listen to students talk with each other about what the year will look like and ponder on the achievements that they are aiming for.

Swimming (Year 1,2 and 3)

Please see below the swimming times for your child’s class. If your child is not participating in the program, they will be supervised in a buddy classroom during this time.

Please be advised, if your child has a lesson that falls in a break time they will be provided a break prior to their swimming lesson.

Early start (On Entry) testing

All Prep children will be working on Early Start in the next couple of weeks. Early Start is a Queensland Government initiative used to track progress and measure growth in literacy and numeracy at the beginning and end of the Prep year. The information is used by the teachers to tailor their teaching and intervention in the classroom.

Curriculum News

6D – Act of Kindness

Lately in 6D we have been learning about our kindness cards and learner profiles. We reflected on how much the administration staff liked our ‘Groot Plant’, so we decided to use this opportunity to do a random act of kindness. Thank you for all your hard work!

6D

Microsoft Office for Students (It's free!)

The Queensland Department of Education have secured an arrangement to provide Microsoft Office 365 for enrolled Students. It is available to install at home on up to five devices for free.

Instructions to download and install the Microsoft Office applications is available in the following two documents:

Finance Matters

PAYMENTS FOR SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Aspley State School has a variety of options available to parents and caregivers to pay for the many excursions and activities in which your child participates.

For each activity or excursion that involves the collection of a payment, the school chooses a due date for payment. We make this date as close as possible to the date of the activity, taking into consideration cut-off times for final numbers. This is usually one week prior to the excursion, unless it involves overnight stays, which requires more notice to the provider. We are unable to accept payments after this due date because the cut off time is the absolute latest we can confirm the number of participants.

The school has many activities and excursions happening and often the due dates for payments overlap. A due date is set so the office staff have sufficient time to reconcile payments and provide to the teachers a participant list and relevant medical details. The due date will always be clearly marked on the letter sent home to the parent / carer. It is the parent / carer responsibility to ensure that the payment is made on or before the due date. If you require a payment plan, please contact the office BEFORE the due date, so a plan can be negotiated.

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

Welcome back to another exciting year of learning at Aspley State School. For those families that are new to our school, welcome, and to our returning families, welcome back!

We are fortunate at Aspley to have an amazing library. For our new families, below is some of the information about how our library operates that you may find useful. For our returning families, some things have changed since last year so please take the time to read what follows.

Parent Help in our Library

We welcome parent help in our library. This could be covering books, shelving or counting resources. There are also some take-away jobs that can be done at home and then brought back. If you would like to volunteer or would like more information, please come and see the friendly team in the library.

Caring For Our Books By Always Using a Waterproof Library Bag.

One of the easiest ways we can care for our library books is to always have a waterproof library bag when borrowing and returning our library books. Your support in ensuring that your child uses a waterproof library bag rather than a calico/cotton bag or a plastic folder is appreciated. The Uniform Shop sells the recommended library bag (green) for $15.00.

When can we borrow?

Students may borrow BEFORE school from 8:00am until 8:40am. After borrowing, the student must return to the waiting area at the hall. The Library is also open during playtime at second break for borrowing, browsing, scheduled activities or quiet reading. We also are open in the afternoons, Monday to Friday from 3.00 – 3.15pm for students to borrow. It is anticipated that Prep students will begin borrowing in week three.

When are Class Lessons or Borrowing Times?

At this stage, the following borrowing times are confirmed. More classes will be advertised in the next newsletter.

Monday: Prep/1 C, Prep J, Prep CH all have information literacy lessons and borrowing
Tuesday: 1J/B have information literacy lessons and borrowing.
Wednesday: No classes in the library.
Thursday: Prep S, Prep E have information literacy lessons and borrowing.
Friday: 1D, 1N, 1H and the year one students in 2/1T have information literacy lessons and borrowing.

Second Break Activity Roster for Term One

Students are welcome to come into the library to read, browse and borrow. In addition, we have a lunchtime activities roster. Please see below for the activities available.

New Look To Our Library

Staff were busy over the holidays moving the library around to better support learning and playtime supervision. If you haven’t been to the library in a while, why not bring your children to borrow their books before or after school and have a look. We also have some comfy chairs so you can read a story with your child if you like!

Overdue Student Library Books and Continued Borrowing

At Aspley State School, we are committed to encouraging students' reading in its many different forms. Promoting responsible borrowing of our library resources is a critical element. Thank you to those families who have been unearthing missing library books over the holidays and returning them to the library as this ensures that we have resources that are available for others to use.

As we want to encourage students to read as much as possible, students who have one overdue book will be placed on Restricted Borrowing. This will allow them to borrow one book while they have one overdue book.

Students who have more than one book overdue will be unable to borrow until the overdue books are either returned or the invoice is paid (if one has been issued). This will also apply to students who still have carry-over overdue book/s as of the start of 2019.

Please note:

• Roll Class Overdue Notices are printed fortnightly and class teachers remind students and communicate with parents via their regular communication channel e.g. Class Dojo, email, class newsletter, notes home etc.
• Invoices for the replacement of the overdue book are issued via the parent's email address when it is overdue by six weeks. They are also issued by the request of a parent when the book is known to be lost or damaged.
• Once the book is returned or the invoice is paid, the student will then revert to the regular borrowing allowances for their year level.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the staff at the library on library@aspleyss.eq.edu.au.

Linda Hamilton
Teacher in Charge of the Library

Sports News

North District Swimming Carnival (week 3, Thursday 14th of Feb)

Good luck to our school swimming team (26 students) who will be competing at the North by North West Swimming Championships at Lawton. Parents, please fill out the forms and return them to the office with $5 by Monday the 4th of February 2019. Our Chaplain will be there on the day as our school manager to help get the students ready for their events. Food is also available from the canteen.

Sporting Schools (Term 1.) Athletics and Tennis

This term Aspley will be offering free afternoon sessions for Athletics and Tennis. Please stay tuned for more details and how to register. Athletics is open to all students in Grades 3-6, and Tennis to Grades Prep – 2.

District Sport

Important District Trial Dates Coming Up:

**Any students that would like to attend these trials will need to see Mr Schmidt to get all the necessary permission forms and information. Parents you can access the Met North website for all details for any of the sports trials this year for North District.

Sparrow Soccer

In 2019, Sparrows soccer will continue as a very popular, before school, soccer program for students enrolled at Aspley State School. In 2019 the program will be led by the trained staff from Pro Football Academy. The program will operate in Terms 1, 2 and 3 and will run in weeks 2-9.

Students are invited to register for the 2019 program:

• year 3 and year 4 students - Friday mornings at 7.30am – 8.25 am
• year 5 and year 6 students - Tuesday mornings at 7.30am – 8.25 am

To register for Sparrows in 2019 please visit the link below or enquiries to Jaimie Phone 0420 590 479

For additional information please see the attached flyer

Music News

A warm welcome to continuing/beginning young musicians, choralists and musical families to the Aspley Music Program for 2019. Mrs McIntyre, Ms Jabs and Ms Jerram hope you all have a magical year of musical learning and development participating in our various music programs and ensembles here at Aspley.

COMMUNICATION

The avenues used for communication for the Aspley Music Department are:

• Aspley State School Newsletter (main avenue for communication). Please ensure that you read the fortnightly school newsletter to keep informed regarding the various music programs here at Aspley State School.
• Parent Information Letters sent home with students regarding upcoming events throughout the school year.
• One on one communication with Mrs McIntyre, Ms Jerram and Ms Jabs via letter/email.
• Music Noticeboard outside the music classroom.

Aspley Choral Program

In 2019, Aspley State School is hoping to continue with its strong traditions in choral training. Mrs McIntyre will be conducting the various choral ensembles at Aspley State School - Junior Choir (Year 2 and Year 3); Boys Choir (Year 4 – Year 6) and the Senior Choir (Year 4 – Year 6). Throughout 2019, choirs will be involved in assembly performances, workshops, local performances and music evenings.

All choral ensembles will commence rehearsals in Week 3, 2019 and continue rehearsals on the same day each week throughout the school year (unless notified of a change).

Please take note of rehearsal days and times for the various choral ensembles below:

Students in Years 2 through to Years 6 interested in participating in the Aspley Choral Program will receive a parent information letter during the first choral ensemble rehearsal in week 3, outlining the finer details of participating in the Aspley Choral Program.

MUSIC PERFORMANCE UNIFORM

All students participating in Junior Choir, Senior Choir, Boys Choir, Senior String Orchestra, Junior Concert Band and Senior Concert band will receive a letter in upcoming weeks outlining the Aspley Performance Uniform for the 2019 school year. The Aspley Performance Uniform will be available for purchase through the Aspley Shop.

The Aspley Performance Uniform is worn by all performing ensembles at Aspley State School (excluding Beginner String students. Beginner String students are required to wear the formal school uniform when performing). All other performing students are required to wear the following Aspley Performance Uniform – Long Black Dress Pants, Long Sleeved White Dress Shirt, Black Socks and Black Shoes.

Continuing String/ Woodwind/Brass/Percussion and Choral students should have the necessary uniform requirements.

CLASSROOM MUSIC NEWS

Mrs McIntyre has very much enjoyed being back in the music classroom with students from Aspley during this past week, singing & making music- welcome back everyone!!

A reminder to parents and caregivers to please ensure that your child/ren brings the following necessary equipment to the music classroom for their weekly music lesson to ensure a successful learning experience:

Year 1 – My Mini Music Book Level 1
Year 2 – My Mini Music Book Level 2
Year 3 – My Mini Music Book Level 3, Black Belt Recorder Student Book 1 (Yellow), Recorder, Pencil Case
Year 4 – My Mini Music Book Level 4, Black Belt Recorder Student Book 1 (Yellow), Recorder, Pencil Case
Year 5 – My Mini Music Book Level 5, Black Belt Recorder Student Book 1 (Yellow) PLUS Recorder Magic Book 1 (Yellow), Recorder, Pencil Case
Year 6 – My Mini Music Book Level 5, Black Belt Recorder Student Book 2 (Red) PLUS Recorder Magic Books (if still have), Recorder, Pencil Case

My Mini Music Workbooks will be kept in the music room in readiness for students weekly classroom music lessons.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Woodwind/Brass and Percussion students will be issued information via the group email list. Please ensure you are receiving these emails. Contact me on cjabs1@eq.edu.au to be added to the mailing list. As I service three schools, email is the most effective and preferred way of communication. Instrumental Music Teachers do not have a work mobile.

• Woodwind/brass and percussion beginners start lessons in Week 2. Please ensure all students have the accessories, method book and cleaning equipment on the list provided in 2018. Students will not be able to take their instrument home without these items.
• Continuing students and Senior Band commence in Week 3. Senior Band is 8am – 8.50am on Wednesday morning in the hall. Please note that students are not to arrive before 7.45am, as teacher supervision will not be available.
• String beginner lessons commence in Week 2. Please ensure all students have the necessary accessories provided in the Aspley Handbook in 2018.
• Continuing students and Senior String Orchestra commence in Week 3. Senior String Orchestra rehearsals are held from 8am – 9am on Thursday mornings in the hall.
• Please ensure that all items are named and instruments are not left in the shelving outside the music studio out of teaching hours.

Queensland Teachers Union – Instrumental Music Industrial Action

Queensland teachers and our union are committed to ensuring every state school can deliver great outcomes for our students, including through our state’s instrumental music programs.

Instrumental music teachers regularly perform out of hour’s work that includes conducting ensembles, attending meetings and running music camps. While we know that the success of instrumental music programs is reliant on these tasks, our teachers are frequently called upon to work above and beyond their allocated hours of work.

The results of ever increasing teacher work and work intensification throughout Australia’s teaching profession are sometimes reported as contributing to teacher burnout. We also know that teacher working conditions are identified as one reason that insufficient numbers of people are entering the teaching profession that is contributing to a looming shortage of teachers.

These are some of the reasons that the Queensland Teachers’ Union has directed Instrumental Music Teachers and Instructors to work-to-rule. That means Instrumental Music Teachers and Instructors will be taking their entitlement to a meal break, and it means that they should not be working before 8:00am or after 4:00pm

The ‘work to rule’ action will not have a direct impact on the delivery of the Instrumental Music Curriculum at Aspley State School. We will be simply making choices in the every-day running of the program to reduce the workload across the several schools we visit.

Christine Jabs – Instrumental Music
Happy Music Making
The Aspley Music Department

P&C News

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

If you know the title and artist to the song lyrics above, send me an email at AspleyPC@gmail.com and the first person with the correct answer will win a special prize!

So…WELCOME! Welcome to all our new families – and welcome BACK to all our current families. The P&C had the pleasure of hosting our third annual Tim Tams & Tissues morning tea and it was lovely to see everyone mingling and chatting, and hopefully getting to know someone who will become a familiar face!

The BIGGEST news for Term 1 is our Splash and Dash Family Fun Day – 24th February 2019.

The brain-child of Mrs Felicity T, working with our Swim Solutions Director, Mrs Janelle L, our inaugural Splash and Dash Family Fun Day details are HERE. Check out the details below:

You’ve heard the rumours, now let’s set the record straight…

“What is the Aspley Family Fun Day?”

We are kicking off the year with some fun!

Join us at Aspley State School on Sunday 24th February 2019
The day will commence with our ‘Splash and Dash’ event from 6.00am 10.00am
Register and nominate to swim or run (or walk) with a goal in mind – it might be one lap, or it might be 10!
Participants will have one hour per event to travel as far as they can.
This event is as (non) competitive as you like (why not team up with another family so you can walk together?)
All ages are welcome (minors must have a legal guardian present during their laps)
Grand Finale: once all laps have been walked/ran or swum, we will tally the combined total distances for the whole event
This will set our benchmark that we will aim to beat next year!

Imagine if our school community could travel the distance to Sydney…
Or even Tasmania!
Have we got your attention?
Keep reading…It gets BETTER!

There will be an EARLY BIRD Lucky Draw: Register and pay on or before Wednesday 20th February to go in the draw
There will be some random prizes for those in costume: something beginning with the letter ‘A’ for Aspley
Win $100 Cash in our Lucky Duck Race - Buy a numbered duck for $5, the first duck across the finish line wins! (Limited ducks available!)
Fantastic Raffle Prizes will be drawn at noon at the event

How can you join in?

It is just $5.00 per ‘Splash and Dash’ activity
Participants must nominate a one-hour timeslot in which to participate (for safety reasons, timeslots will be capped, so don’t miss out!)
Raffle Tickets can be purchased with your registration
Let us know if you’ll be staying for the BBQ (for catering purposes only, payment for the BBQ will be accepted at the event).

Payment for all activities can be made by:
Cash - to the school office (ensure your name, phone number and “SPLASH AND DASH” is on the envelope so we can link it to your registration).
Cash - limited to the availability on the day
Flexischools via our Family Fun Day event link.
You can top up your Flexischools account via credit/debit cards, direct deposit, and PayPal.

The Fun Part:

Once the ‘Splash and Dash’ event is over, the whole community is invited to come and join in our other FREE activities from 10.00am – 1.00pm. Representatives from our other community partners will be there to showcase what our great Aspley Community has to offer outside school hours.

The Lucky Duck Race in our School Pool will kick off the Fun – come along and cheer on your duck!

There will also be some great interactive activities and stalls to check out
The P&C will host a BBQ, and there will be a coffee van, snow cones!

It’s going to be lots of fun and you’ll also have an opportunity to meet some of our amazing Aspley teachers and staff!

With these events, help is required, and we would love your support! Can you spare an hour of your time on Sunday 24th February 2019?

Help will be needed with:

BBQ cooking – Can you handle the heat?!
BBQ serving – no experience necessary
BBQ selling (cash handling)
Dash (run) officials – if you have a finger that can push a button… We want you!!

COME ALONG FOR A LAP, AND STAY FOR THE FUN!

So, in summary:

#STEP 1: Register for the Splash and Dash event at:

#STEP 2: Make your payment via Flexischools and purchase any raffle tickets or lucky ducks at the same time.

#STEP 3: Keep your eye on Facebook and the next newsletter for more details about the Family Fun Day and Raffle Prize Draw.

# STEP 4: Let us know you can help by signing up at:

UNIFORM SHOP NEWS – Convenor: Mrs Jodie Parke

• Thank you to everyone for your patience during the very busy past two weeks. Big thanks also to all our volunteers who helped parents size up the little ones and sort stock!
• Email is the best way to get in touch with the Uniform Shop – Uniforms.AspleySS@gmail.com if you have any questions or need assistance.
• Regular Uniform Shop Hours will continue as per last year: MONDAYS 8-9.45am and THURSDAYS 3 to 3.45pm. If you cannot make it to the school during these times, please consider ordering via Flexischools – Jodie is happy for your student to collect, or make arrangements for it to be sent via the class teacher.

TUCKSHOP NEWS: Convenor: Mrs Jane Mulrooney; Assistant – Mrs Natalie Maul

• Our Tuckshop is open Tuesday to Friday, for both first and second break. Our preferred method of ordering is via Flexischools.
• Many thanks all the families who donated containers to our Tuckshop – we really appreciate your support. We are still looking for 20 sets of these 4.x400ml containers available from Kmart. If you can assist, please drop them into the Tuckshop or Uniform Shop during open hours.

• The menu has been updated with regular specials. The weekly specials begin in week 2 and are available Wednesday to Friday. Please check Flexischools or Facebook for updates.
• Regular volunteer help is essential to ensure the day to day running of serving meals to our students and staff. The tasks are not hard and it’s a great opportunity to learn new recipes and skills; plus it’s a great way to meet other parents. You can check out and sign up for the roster at our sign-up link.

Finally, in 2019, we’re working smarter – you can SIGN-UP to help at any of our events at the SAME LINK:

Whether it’s volunteering for the Uniform shop, Tuckshop, or for the Family Fun Day – bookmark the above link NOW! We appreciate your support!

The P&C are trying to do our sustainability bit by reducing the number of notes being sent home. We use the school newsletter, Facebook, and opt-in emails to try and keep you updated about P&C events and school activities. Please contact us at pandc@aspleyss.eq.edu.au to reach all members of the executive; aspleypc@gmail.com to reach Alice (President) directly; Uniforms.AspleySS@gmail.com for Uniform Shop enquiries; Tuckshop.AspleySS@gmail.com for Tuckshop enquiries. For school activities, the school office is your best point of contact: 07 3863 9111 or admin@aspleyss.eq.edu.au.

COMMUNITY NEWS

School Banking

We are seeking volunteers to assist with school banking for approximately an hour on Wednesday mornings. If you are interested in helping, please contact the office on 3863 9111.

Please see the attached newsletter

School Banking will commence on Wednesday 6 February 2019.

Thank You
Aspley State School

Book Club

Lyrebird Language Centre

Our teacher:

The teacher has more than 30 years’ experience at universities, high schools and primary schools in China, Japan, Singapore and Australia.

Our Program based on new YCT is an international standardized test of Chinese language proficiency. It assesses young foreign students' abilities to use Chinese in their daily and academic lives. The new YCT consists of a writing test and a speaking test, which are independent of each other.

2019 timetable

For more information please contact Ellie on M 0405 073 523
Email: admin@languagetutor.com.au

Kinetic Kids

Tennis Gear

Young Engineers

Top Chess

We are very excited to welcome Alexander Stahnke into the school to personally teach our students all of the rules and strategies to do with Chess. Alex is a former Australian Junior Chess Champion (U12 & U14), author of Chess Made Fun and one of the strongest ranked coaches in QLD. This is a great opportunity for students to learn and further explore the educational benefits that Chess has to offer.

Classes cater from Prep to Year 6 (beginners to advance). Chess club will be held on a weekly basis every Friday afternoon (3-4pm) in the library. Dates: February 8 to April 5 (9 weeks). The cost for term 1 is $99. If you are interested, then please visit our website and click the “REGISTER’ button.

Swim Solutions