Volume 20 - 9th December 2022

From The Principal

Welcome to the final edition of our newsletter for 2022!

End of school year is a great time to celebrate all the wonderful things we have worked hard for; a time to be grateful for all we have and all we share; a time to reflect, remember and reconnect with a common purpose. At Leichhardt, our purpose is very clear – to provide the best possible education for our students in partnership with our cherished community.

This year, our students have excelled yet again in their academic achievement across the learning areas of the Australian Curriculum. Under the guidance of their knowledgeable, caring and passionate teachers, they have achieved excellent results in all aspects of education – academic, social and emotional.

Our whole-school academic achievement data has improved, with the highest percentage of the A-C results on record. Since we started focusing on the non-negotiables around teaching and learning in 2020, our students are achieving more As and Bs in English and Mathematics than ever before.

Students achieving an A or B in English

Students achieving an A or B in Mathematics

These results are a great testament to the hard work of our students and teachers, as well as the support and partnership we have with our parents, carers and the wider community. They are more than numbers – they are a pathway to a better and brighter future for our students.

Our students have been successful not only in their curriculum learning, but also in the extra-curricular activities. One of the highlights this year has been Melicia’s entry into the Write-4-Fun competition where she managed to have one of her stories, Jack, The Friendly Ghost, published in the National Treasures collection book. Melicia kindly donated a copy of the book to our library.

Being an educator at Leichhardt State School is the most rewarding experience. Over the last few weeks, we have had many of our students and their families show gratitude for everything we do every day. An example of this was Alexis’ grandmother who kindly donated a book, which she perfectly crafted with Leichhardt State School logo. Our staff have admired the work that went into it, and I have decided to include it here for you to enjoy too.

I wish you all the best over the holidays – peace, love, hope and beauty! Take your time to enjoy being with your family and looking after one another. See you next year!

From The Head of Department - Reading

Reading Celebrations @ Leichhardt

Reading Eggs Award Celebrations!

Monday’s Week 10 parade was very exciting with November’s Reading Eggs Awards being announced.

The following students were acknowledged for their commitment to completing maps on Reading Eggs for the month of November.

We will be celebrating the December Reading Egg Awards at the first assembly next year!   If your child does not yet have their Reading Egg login details, please contact Mrs Finlay on the following email address:  efinl9@eq.edu.au

Happy holidays and happy reading!

Community Reading Celebrations!

Monday, Week 10, at second eating, the students from the ‘Reading with the Kindy Kids’ elective celebrated a successful elective term with pizza and juice.  Over the past nine Wednesday elective afternoons, these twelve Year 5 students have, read, drawn, helped practise writing names and sung with the kindy students. It has been beautiful to see the excited faces of the kindergarten students when the Year 5s have arrived each week at their centre.  The Year 5s are looking forward to being buddies for these students next year when they start Leichhardt as Preps.  Well done, Year 5s!

Leichhardt Prep Authors

The Leichhardt Preps, with help from Ms Simonds and Mrs Charmaine Clancy (Bremer State High School Year 7 Co-Ordinator and published writer) have published their own book!

Writing @ Leichhardt

At the Week 9 Assembly, Leichhardt State School celebrated the writing success of more than twenty senior students at recent writing competitions.  Mrs Charmaine Clancy, Bremer State High School, was present at the Assembly and congratulated students with a certificate on their high-quality entries in the Term 3 Bremer Story Writing Competition.  Melicia, Year 5A, was awarded a certificate and book-pack prize for her winning entry.  Well done, Melicia!  Well done, students!

Mrs Clancy also awarded students with certificates for their participation in the recent Tivoli Drive-In writing competition.  Students were required to write a story or poem on the theme ‘What Makes Me Happy’.  It was wonderful to see students including in their entries the poetic devices they had studied in class.

On Thursday, at the Awards Assembly, we look forward to the Ipswich City Library staff visiting to present the Story Sports Cup to our two amazing Story Sports teams!  Well done, Leichhardt!

From The Head of Department - Teaching and Learning

It has been a wonderful week spending time with our new classes and as always it has been so fantastic to see many students across our school taking pride in their learning. Keep up the wonderful work, Leichhardt!

We look forward to continuing to build lifelong learning skills including organisation in 2023. Students in Years 3-6 will build skills including notetaking and school wide, organisation will continue to be a key focus.

Have a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you in 2023. 

From The Community Support Coorindator

Well, we have reached the end of the school year and we have all survived! Well done to all who managed to get their children to school on time and at school everyday even when the going got tough! Attendance at school matters and every time they are late or not at school means they aren’t learning.

Have a wonderful and relaxing holiday with your children and I will see you in 2023. Remember I am available for a chat if needed.

From The Indigenous Cultural Coordinator

Well, what a year it has been, with lots of wonderful families, Elders and students doing amazing activities in the Deadly Room. The year started with the Deadly Dancers displaying their ‘deadly’ moves in Brisbane Convention Centre at the 2022 PBL Conference. Leonee, Year 3 student, starting with the most amazing Welcome to country in Yuggera Language in front of a thousand people - too Deadly! The Deadly Dancers, who just get better and better, performing at Payne Road and showing their talent and knowledge about culture, dance and art.

Continuing with another wonderful performance at the Marburg Races and once again showing Minister Grace Grace how deadly they can be.

In Term Two we had the pleasure of Aunty Sharron and Jess from Indigenous complete a video project called Mawang Buwanha- Grow Together (Wiradjuri Language) funded by RADF Ipswich city council, which brought our Elders and community together alongside some of our students and teachers.  This gave the students the opportunity to experience how a professional video is created in front of and behind the camera, which will be shared and shown in the new year. Thank you so much, Aunty Sharron and Jess, for always choosing Leichhardt State School and for the opportunity to take part in this journey with you.

During this term, we also saw work on the Gathering Ground continue.   

 Term 3 saw another deadly Naidoc Day, which not only did we celebrate ‘Get Up, Stand up, Show Up’, we celebrated our most respected Elder, Aunty Sheryl Thompson, for her birthday. Aunty Sheryl has been an Elder for Leichhardt for many years. We thank her for her continued support and knowledge. For Indigenous Language Day we had traditional author, Trevor Fourmile, share his deadly books and knowledge of culture.

Term 4, the native garden of the Gathering Ground was established following the installation of totem poles, sandstone seating and a variety of native plants, which were planted by the students to enhance the Gathering Ground.

Term 4, we saw Yuggera Language being shared and taught by Uncle Henry and Aunty Larena. What a privilege! An excursion later in the term, saw the students learn the stories behind the naming of the animals and plants at Queens Park,  from centuries ago. Ending with students writing and reading sentences in Yuggera Language. We are looking forward to continuing the Yuggera Language journey in 2023.

We wish the Year 6 Jarjums farewell and thank them for being a part of this deadly journey. We wish them the very best, and encourage them to be a boomerang and come back. Finally, a big thank you to Miss Emma who has been the most amazing lady who continually helps, guides and works consistently with families and Jarjums to make sure that their needs are met. I thank you for the constant support you give me and our families and say you are truly amazing and if there was a ‘Deadly Award’, the Jarjums and I would definitely give it to you. To all the staff who have helped, thank you. We look forward to seeing you all in the new year. Wishing all Jarjums and families a very safe and Deadly Christmas from the Deadly Room

Yuthung  (Goodbye)

From Our Teachers

Prep A 

Last Friday both Prep clases celebrated the end of the year with a Christmas party. Everyone bought in a plate of food to share and dressed up in their favourite Christmas outfits. It was a fun day filled with so much laughter and food. We ended the day playing a big game of pass the parcle. 

Thank you for a wonderful year. It was a delight teaching and watching this group of students grow. Merry Christmas and have a safe and Happy New Year. 

Prep B 

As we come to the end of the year, we asked the students what they enjoyed most about Prep this. 

Heartlyn - I liked learning about pool safety in Health

Bonnie - I liked learning about numbers and how to count

Jack - I liked learning how to write  a letter to Santa. I also liked handwritting 

Anastasia - I liked learning about pool stuff in Health 

Evie - I liked learning how to write rhyming words

Dante - I enjoy doing Reading Eggs

Savannah - I liked that we got to write our names after we trace it

Zarah - I liked writing about my favourite book

Chase - I liked learning how to be safe while swimming 

Hunter - I liked leanring how to write and stay in the lines

Noah - I liked learning maths, it is my favourite subject

Lyla - I liked learning to write my name 

Kaluaka - I liked doing handwriting and doing it neat in the lines

Thank you for being a wonderful class, enjoy the holidays and we will see you in the New Year. 

Dear Future me 

Earlier this term Mrs Finlay and Miss Simonds met with Charmaine Clancy, the Year 7 Co-Ordinator from Bremer State High School. Mrs Clancy walked us through the process of how to create and publish our very own books. After the meeting the Preps started working very hard on writing letters to their future selves and drawing pictures to go with their letter. Mrs Clancy then put all of our hard work into the correct format so that we could uploaded for publishing. Once our books were ready to print, we were able to order them.  The Prep copy is already in the school library awaiting for borrowing in 2023 and we are hoping the copy of the Year 5 and 6 poetry that Mrs Finlay and Ms Ebert uploaded for publishing, will arrive soon!

The Preps are very proud to see their work in a book and we are extremely proud of their efforts!

Should you wish to buy your own copy of this book, please advise the school Office.

1A 

Wow, its time to say good bye to 1A !! The students showed appreciable improvement in all areas of learning and development this year!! The students participated in a wide variety of experiences and demonstrated excellent development socially, emotionally and academically. We wish a happy and safe holidays to each and everyone and we will see you all next year !!

Year 2

What a year and to finsh it off, the year 2's had a magical end of year celebration with treats and Christmas cheer. We had an amazing year with you all. Stay safe and healthy over the holidays and we look forward to seeing you back at school next year. From Miss Greenwood, Miss Rivett and Mrs Bowater. 

5A

5A school family have had a wonderful year enjoying life in E block! Many highlights include daily affirmations, excursions, having a variety of teachers and building confidence in preparation to be leaders in 2023.

5B

This year 5B persevered through early Covid and flooding delays and completed a colourful and creative year. They learnt about Eureka Stockades and the importance of democracy while also studying the solar system and were lucky enough to experience the planetarium. They completed creepy short stories and news feature articles. Eventually they ended the year with an I Am Poem creating statements about who they are, where and who they have come from and what changes they will do in the future. Year 5 took to this poem and showed great leadership, readying themselves for their turn next year as leaders of our school. Tied in with this, we were lucky enough to have multiple students from our class achieve leadership positions for next year. I know myself and the rest of our class are excited to see them in this role next year.

From 5B we wish you all a Happy Holidays.

Excursion to Parliament House 

On Monday, Year 6 travelled to Brisbane to visit the Parliament House. On arrival, we were greeting by their friendly staff and began our tour of Parliament House. The students were very intrigued with the history, architecture and special features within Parliament House. We also had a special visit from Mr James Madden which was wonderful. All students were amazed to see the building ceilings covered in real gold and the large crystal chandelier. A highlight amongst most students was the mock trial they got to play out. Students were given a script and played out some daily processes that occur in Parliament House such as discussion on creating new laws. All students were involved in having their say by stating either “Aye” if they agree with a statement or saying “No. Shame!” if they disagreed. After the tour was complete, we visited the Botanical Gardens and had lunch. After exploring the gardens we walked across the Goodwill Bridge to South Bank. We then had some time to relax, listen and dance to music while we waited for the bus to return to school. On arrival back to school the students played handball under E block. To settle disagreements that occurred in the game, the students used methods learnt at Parliament House earlier in the day to ensure everyone came to agreement. This was done by students saying “All in favour say ‘Aye.’” It was a great day and the students had a wonderful time.  

6 A and B 

This week, our Year 6 students get to experience a number of ‘lasts’ for their primary school journey. They will be able to celebrate their 7 years of schooling with a graduation dinner on Wednesday night with their parents, friends and staff. Over the past few weeks, they have been reminiscing about their time at Leichhardt and have been reminded of so many positive memories. Here are some of their most fond memories:

• My favourite memory about Year 6 was the camp. My best friends were in my cabin and we got to do lots of teamwork activities like laser tag.
• Prep was my favourite because we got to play and didn’t have to do hard work like Year 6.
• Awesome teachers!! (Mr Woody & Miss Curwen)
• Filming movie trailers & having fun with my friends.
• Camp! We had so much fun doing laser tag & stand-up paddle boarding.
• A favourite memory of mine was the colour run. There were so many colours and so much laughing. Even though I only came to Leichhardt at the beginning of the year, being at this school is my most favourite memory.
• Thinking I was the coolest kid in the school because I had a Spiderman pencil case in Prep.

We wish our Year 6 students all the best with their transition to high school.

Mind, Body & Character Day - 9/12/2022

2022 Awards Ceremony 8/12/2022

On Thursday 8th December, the Leichhardt Community celebrated the achievements of our students. Students in Prep to Year 6 were awarded with Perseverance and Academic Excellence Awards. We also had students across Prep to Year 6 who were presented with some of our prestigious awards, which included our PBL Awards, Reading Excellence, Accelerated Learning Award, Indigenous Leadership, AVID Award and LikeHeart All Rounder. Other awards donated and presented by our special guests included the Salvation Army Award, CWA Future Women's Award and the Wellbeing Commnity Hub Award. We are so proud of our students who have excelled over the year and are so excited to see what our students can achieve next year. 

Prep 2023

The 2023 prep students who attended the morning tea on Wednesday were able to meet their new teachers and do some fine motor activities in their new classroom.  After some delicious fruit and sandwiches, they had a quick play in the OLA area.  Then they went back to their room to listen to a Christmas story and do some colouring in.  The students had fun meeting their classmates and are excited about coming to school next year after the holidays.  Miss G and Mrs Krings

Breakfast Club 2022

As we come to the end of another school year, I would like to thank our past sponsors, Ipswich FoodBarn and our current sponsors YMCA Breakfast Club Program for their supply of donations which make our Breakfast club possible. I would also like to acknowledge and thank our staff and students who have given their time and support to make Breakfast club a success for 2022. I wish you all a safe and Happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you again when school resumes next year. 

Thank you also to the following business and local charities supporting our school lunch program -  Thank you to Ipswich Rotary and Tony from Brassall Fruit Shop for their ongoing support and supply of a weekly fruit box.

Thank you to Luke and the sponsors of the Eat Up Program for their donation of Cheese Sandwiches (Cheese Toasties), fruit and lunch snacks.

These donations are greatly appreciated and are available to support our students when needed.

City Hope Church 

I would like to take this opportunity to give a shout out and  say a huge “Thank you” to Michael and friends of City Hope Church for their generous donation of 50 Hampers to pass on to families within our school. We have had the pleasure of working with City Hope Church throughout the year with their volunteer program. Michael and his wife Tess have kindly helped out in our school Breakfast Club and earlier in the year the City Hope Community group helped to beautify our garden at the front of the school. We are looking forward to continuing this partnership moving into next year.

Miss Anna 

Out in the Community

School Watch

With the school holidays starting on Friday 9th December, empty schools provide an opportunity for criminal activity – becoming targets for unlawful entry, arson, stealing, graffiti and property damage offences.

All of these have the potential to delay the new school year starting off.

The School Watch Program is a partnership between the Department of Education and the Queensland Police Service (Protective Services).

The program aims to reduce criminal activity in Queensland schools and encourages everyone to look out for after-hours crime in our schools.

If you see anything suspicious, please don’t attempt to intervene. Instead, call the School Watch number of 13 17 88. If you see a crime in progress, please call Triple Zero (000).

Let’s all work together to help create safer school communities and ensure children get off to a great new year of learning.