Volume 8 - 9th June 2023

From Our Principal

Parent-Teacher interviews took place this Wednesday afternoon, with a record number of interviews. On behalf of our teachers, I would like to thank you for your attendance and support. Our students achieve the best outcomes when we work together in partnership. As always, please contact your child’s teacher if you were unavailable on the day.

The report cards will be emailed on Wednesday in Week 10. Based on our observations, teacher feedback and comments from parents following the interviews, we expect to see an improvement in whole-school data. I will share the data with you when it becomes available and look forward to celebrating our students’ successes.

For our students in Years 5 and 6, this will be the first time they get assessed on the knowledge and understanding of the Yugara Language based on the Language Revival Program in the Australian Curriculum. This is a significant moment in Leichhardt’s history.

One example of the great work our students are doing in Year 6 Technology is a toy that Noah, Assyriah and Codah created. You can see what it looks like below, but the picture does not do it justice as the blue buttons at the bottom turn to move the background creating an illusion of the bike rider actually riding on the road. What a wonderful piece of work!

Painting work on the A and B Blocks continues into next week. We are pleased with how the work has progressed this week and hope to have both blocks finished by the end of next week. With the work done in the gardens over the weekend, the new paint job looks even better.

Our students have shown great respect and gratitude for the work we have done to make the school environment more beautiful and calming. We are truly lucky to have such wonderful students and parents who support them!

From Our Deputy Principal - School Culture

Respecting our environment

World Environment Day is a special day celebrated on the 5th of June every year to raise awareness about the importance of taking care of our planet, Earth. It's like a birthday for the environment! On this day, people from all around the world come together to learn and do things that can help protect our environment and make it a better place to live.

For primary children, World Environment Day is a great opportunity to learn about nature, animals, plants, and how we can all play a part in keeping our planet healthy. It's a day to celebrate the beauty of nature and understand the importance of taking care of it.

Here are some simple ways to explain World Environment Day to primary children:

Nature Appreciation: Teach children to appreciate the beauty of nature around them. Take them on a nature walk or have them draw pictures of their favourite plants and animals. Help them understand that every living thing on Earth is connected, and we must take care of them.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Explain to children the importance of reducing waste, reusing things instead of throwing them away, and recycling items like paper, plastic, and cans. Encourage them to practice these habits in their daily lives and even create fun art projects using recycled materials.

Planting Trees: Talk to children about the benefits of trees and how they help keep our air clean. You can organize a tree-planting activity in your school or community to involve them in taking action for the environment. Let them experience the joy of planting a tree and watching it grow over time.

Saving Water and Energy: Teach children about the importance of conserving water and energy. Explain simple actions they can take, such as turning off lights when leaving a room, closing the tap while brushing their teeth, and using water wisely. Encourage them to share these tips with their family and friends.

Wildlife Protection: Help children understand the significance of protecting wildlife. Introduce them to different animal species and discuss why it's essential to preserve their habitats. You can organize a fun animal-themed activity, such as making animal masks or learning interesting facts about endangered animals.

By fostering a love for nature and teaching them to be responsible global citizens, we can inspire the next generation to make a positive impact on our planet.

Bus Safety

 Bus safety is of utmost importance for Leichhardt State School primary students. Riding the bus is a common mode of transportation for many children, and ensuring their safety is crucial. Here are some key reasons why bus safety is important that you can speak to your children about if they catch the bus.

Personal Safety: Bus safety measures, such as wearing seat belts (if available), remaining seated, and keeping the aisles clear, help protect students from potential injuries during transit. Following these rules ensures that children stay safe and secure throughout the bus journey.

Road Safety: Buses are large vehicles that share the road with other vehicles. Teaching children about bus safety rules, such as waiting for the bus to come to a complete stop before approaching or crossing the road, helps them develop important road safety skills. These practices keep them safe from potential accidents and teach them to be cautious pedestrians.

Behaviour and Respect: Teaching children about appropriate behaviour and respect while on the bus helps create a positive and safe environment for everyone. Rules such as speaking quietly, not distracting the driver, and showing consideration for others' personal space contribute to a calm and focused atmosphere, reducing the risk of accidents or injuries.

Driver's Focus: Bus drivers have the important responsibility of safely transporting children to and from school. By following bus safety rules, students help the driver maintain focus on the road, ensuring a safe journey for everyone. Minimizing distractions inside the bus allows the driver to concentrate on their primary task of driving safely.

Preventing Bullying and Harassment: Bus safety encompasses more than just physical safety. It also includes promoting a positive and respectful social environment on the bus. Encouraging kindness, empathy, and inclusion helps prevent bullying and harassment, ensuring that all students feel safe and comfortable during their bus rides.

Independence and Responsibility: Learning about bus safety empowers primary students with a sense of independence and responsibility. They understand the importance of following rules and taking personal responsibility for their safety and the safety of others. This fosters a sense of accountability and encourages them to make safe choices in other aspects of their lives as well.

By emphasizing bus safety and educating your children about its importance, we can help create a culture of safety, responsibility, and respect. Collaboration between schools, parents, bus drivers, and students is essential to ensure that every bus journey is a safe and enjoyable experience for all.

From Our Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning

Celebrating Learning Success @ Leichhardt

Sight Word Success for Preps A students

In Week 6’s newsletter we celebrated Prep B and Year 1 students’ sight word success.  In this newsletter we celebrate the amazing Prep A students’ sight word knowledge.  Mastering sight words is essential as these words form the building blocks for reading and writing fluency.

The students listed below achieved the following sight goals:

Prep Term 2 Sight Word Goal Achievement:  Reading 15 sight words with automaticity.

Kaedan, Tyson, Mason and Erin (pictured below)

Prep Term 3 Sight Word Goal Achievement:  Reading 52 sight words with automaticity.

Ziyah, Noah, Skylar and Avah (pictured below)

Please remember to practise reading and spelling of sight words at home with your child. Together, we can empower our students to become confident and proficient readers.

Celebration of Learning @ Leichhardt

Monday’s Week 8 Assembly celebrated students’ achievements in Reading and Maths with the May Reading Eggs, Mathseeds and Mathletics Awards being presented to proud students.  Pictured below are just some of the award winners.

Please encourage your child to engage daily with Reading Eggs and the online Maths programs.  These are excellent tools for helping your child develop strong reading and maths skills.  They are engaging, effective and tailored to your child’s individual learning needs.   If you do not have your child’s password for any of the online programs, please contact your child’s teacher. 

Recycling @ Leichhardt

At the end of Week 7, the Leichhardt State School Recycling Project had successfully raised sufficient funds to purchase an iPad!  The Recycling Project commenced in Term 3 last year and slowly and determinedly, with a lot of support from the cleaners pictured below, and Mrs Rae (3A teacher) also pictured below, raised sufficient funds  to purchase an iPad.  Well done, Team Leichhardt!  The student leaders will meet to determine what their next recycling project will fund.  Well done student leaders!

Parent-Teacher Interviews @ Leichhardt

On Wednesday afternoon, the Hall was a buzz with parents and carers meeting with teachers discussing their children’s progress with their learning.  It was wonderful to see so many parents and carers attending the session and teachers sharing students’ learning this term.  If you were unable to attend the parent-teacher interview session, but wish to discuss your child’s learning with their teacher, please make contact with your child’s teacher.

Pictures below of just some of our teachers preparing for the interviews.

Thank you, teachers for your dedication and commitment to our students’ learning!

From Our Head of Department - Teaching and Learning

Leichhardt, it has been so fantastic to see and hear the wonderful work you are doing with your bookwork! Each day when I enter a classroom, I am greeted by students extremely proud and excited to show me their bookwork and it is so fantastic. We continue to encourage students organisation with both belongings and their bookwork. Taking this even further to promote lifelong learning, students are continually encouraged to understand the thinking behind their notetaking through T (Taking Notes). This is shared through discussions, examples and tasks in the classroom. We look forward to continually celebrating the wonderful learning.

From our Positive Behaviour and Learning Coach

Last week we celebrated our students who had reached their attendance goal on our Pawrade! We were lucky enough to have Leo visit and congratulate the following students on their outstanding attendance.

Prep – Jasper, Myles, Kevyn, Kobe, Leon, Hayden, Riley, Makayla, Mia, Leah, Noah, Tyrone, Tyson, Skylar, Ava.

Year 1 – Dante, Jayden, Zoe, Debora, Heartlym, Phoebe, Ivan, Kaluaka, Jozenna, Jack, Chaice, Hunter, Blythe, Noah.

Year 2 – Eva, Connor, Kairen, Ethan, Helena, Carmen, Dominyk, Khloe, Dennis, Jeremy, Bison, Chelsea, Nova, Theo, Paton, Lilith.

Year 3 – Tanna, Mason, Theo, Azarlia, Jada, Annabellah, Tyce, Zavier, Skylar, Sylar, Jade, Isabella, Rowan, Nathaniel, Marry-Elizabeth, Sophie, Matilda, Charlie, Ushindi, Wilhem, Evelyn-Rose, Ryker, Eliana, Cooper, Braxton, Archer.

Year 4 – Ayden, Karen, Gerard, Jumanne, Logan, Annie, Blake, Kaden, Kailyn, Israel, Fedor, Mia, Skye, Julie, Phoenix, Aubin, Jett, Shaunak, Utah, Jewelistah.

Year 5 – Will, Aaron, Aybell, Angelica, Nitalia, Ruby, Jahnarah, Paige, Coolan, Georgia, Indigo-Jane, Christianna.

Year 6 – Trezell, Maci, Hailey, Apiwat, James, Chris-Anjo, Leah, Alexis, Hanna, Lyllith, Nikeeta, Ava, Liam-John, Amelia, Hayley, Lucas, Jacquis, Kirra-Jane, Matthew, Jaxx.

Stay tuned for our next Pawrade in Term 4!

From Our Community Support Coordinator

We extend our heartfelt thanks to City Hope Church for partnering with Leichhardt State School to beautify our gardens. Their team came in on Saturday alongside our staff and we worked on three main projects.

One team worked on the sign out the front of the school and washed it with a pressure hose and then repainted the stone. They then readied the soil and levelled it and placed coir matting and logs to assist with weeds and erosion. Finally, they planted plants donated from Ipswich City Council Plant Program.

The second team worked on the gardens in the OLA. They planted many little native plants to help stop the mulch being washed away. Others in the team in that area tidied up other gardens.

Finally, the third team cleaned out the shed near G Block, sorted out the equipment in there, washed it and repacked the shed in an organised manner allowing room for our gardening equipment to fit in there as well.

We really appreciated the lunch that arrived as well as we had worked very hard!

Thanks again City Hope for your day of service to our school.

Prep 2024

If you have a child born from 1^st July 2018 to 30 June 2019 then they will be starting Prep in 2024. We would love you to connect with the school and collect an enrolment pack from the front office. Prep is a full-time program in primary schools. Children attend Monday-Friday 8:30am – 2:30pm.

Leichhardt State School extends an invitation to future Prep students and their parents/carers to attend our Prep Open Days for 2023.

From Our Student Media Liaison

On the 8/06/2023 9 students went to Readers Cup at Blair State School. We had two teams and versed 10 schools. We tried our best at answering questions about the books we have read. We got our books signed by the author Nat Amoore who wrote the children’s book: We Run Tomorrow.

Well done to all of the students that did Leichhardt proud with their representation in Readers Cup.

From Our Teachers

Prep B 

Prep B have been busy practicing writing and reading sentences, cutting and gluing words to make sentences and then writing our sentences to help students learn how sentences are constructed. The students then read their sentences to teachers and other students to practice sounding out and blending their sounds.

Prep B students are showing fantastic progress with their reading and writing.  

Year 1A

Students in 1A have been engaging with the ABC Reading Eggs program, throughout the year and love it!  Students have further developed their reading skills by using this interactive, highly rewarding and scientific based program. Student logins to ABC Reading Eggs will be re-sent for home use over the holidays. 

Year 1B

1B have also had many discussions about how we can look after our gardens after the beautiful work that was done on the weekend. After a class brainstorm it was decided that we should make signs to put in the gardens to remind others of how to be kind and respectful to the plants! This was such a beautiful activity that the Year 1's loved doing. Well done, 1B on your great ideas!

Year 1A and 1B 

Year 1's have loved having the Ipswich State High school students come to read with them. We often talk about how important it is for our students to know their alphabet and be able to write their names. This is exactly what they spend time doing with the high school students! 

Year 2A

On Tuesday, 2A wrote a recipe on Fairy Bread. Students got to make their own slice of fairy bread, then eat it. 

Year 4A 

This term in 4A we have been continuing and growing as “Kind, Safe, Learners”.  In English we have been writing our own narrative stories and reading The Twits. In mathematics we have been focusing on multiplication and division. In the arts students have been creating their own worlds and using recording in Minecraft. Last week we learnt about reconciliation and discussed the different cultures within our school being united.  In science this week have been looking at the life cycle of seeds. We conducted and experiment with wind, water and wool. We got to visit Aunty Marly and learnt about seeds and life cycles from an Indigenous perspective. Students from indigenous backgrounds, including Leonne and Declan, shared their knowledge of country and animals with the class.

Year 4B 

We've been busy bees in Year 4 over the past few weeks, filling our days with fun and exciting learning adventures.

In English, we dived into the silly world of 'The Twits' by Roald Dahl. Students absolutely adored the story and the funny tricks the characters play on each other. Drawing inspiration from the book, they created their own story chapters, complete with their unique pranks! Their creativity truly shone in these stories.

In Maths, we have been sharpening our skills with times tables and measurement skills. It's not just about memorising, but really understanding multiplication. We've used a lot of exciting games and activities to help us remember and apply them. Students are getting more confident with multiplication and measurement every day!

In Science, we turned our focus to plants and seeds. We learned about the life cycle of plants - how they grow from a tiny seed into a big plant. Also, we discovered the amazing ways seeds can travel, sometimes even ending up miles away from the parent plant! This exploration really opened our eyes to the wonders of nature all around us.

Last but not least, in Media Arts, we stepped into the virtual world of Minecraft. The kids worked on making their own Minecraft videos, which was a ton of fun! We learned about planning a story, designing our scenes in the game, and bringing our plans to life in a video. It's been a great way to mix creativity with technology.

We're looking forward to even more learning adventures in the weeks to come.

Year 5 Science

We have had a busy couple of weeks in Year 5 Science! We conducted an experiment to see how the surface area effects the water temperature and many of the students were surprised to find out that the container (larger surface area) dropped temperature quicker than the cup. It was great to practice working our skills of how to read a thermometer and record data. 

Sports Day 

Don't forget to come dressed in your house colours!

Bremer State High School News

Out in Our Community

School holiday ideas 

Check out this great article for the upcoming June/July school holidays, for your family.

It shares a bunch of free, low cost and 'special treats' to give you some ideas of what is happening in Brisbane and surrounds this winter schools holidays.

https://www.familiesmagazine.com.au/school-holiday-activities-brisbane/

Early Years Expo