Volume 10 - 21st July 2023

From Our Principal

In celebration of our First Nations people and their culture, our school put on a wonderful display of learning experiences and fun activities for our students, staff and special guests. We are so grateful to Elders who attended today in great numbers, The Thompson family, Aunty Sharron, Rhan Hooper, Bruce from Murri Tukka, Theresa Harding - Mayor of Ipswich, Jim Madden – Member for Ipswich West, Cr Andrew Fechner – ICC, Cr Marnie Doyle – ICC, Ashley and Rita from The Salvation Army, staff and students from Payne Road State School, Brisbane Central State School, The Ipswich State High School and Bremer State High School, Metro South Region representatives, Tamarah and children from Ipswich Early Learning Centre, and Aunty Michelle and Cassie from Goodna State School who all came today to help us honour and celebrate Our Elders. We started the day with Leonee welcoming us to Yuggera Country followed by Smoking Ceremony led by Henry Thompson Junior. We feel privileged and honoured by their attendance.

We are so lucky to have two very strong high schools in our area, whose kind and respectful students are always willing to come to Leichhardt and teach younger ones about their culture, dance and games.

Over the last two weeks, our Deadly Dancers performed in five different places around Brisbane and Ipswich to help other schools and organisations celebrate NAIDOC. Next week, they will be visiting Brisbane Central State School for a full day of sharing their knowledge of culture and dance with BCSS students. Last week, they did a similar thing at Payne Road State School, where they contributed to discussions around Indigenous Ways of Learning and shared stories of their Elders.

As you are aware, Leichhardt State School is a strong Positive Behaviour for Learning School, and every year staff from the Region visit to conduct surveys with students and staff to see how we are progressing with being positive and clear about our behaviour expectations. This year, our feedback has been better than ever across all areas. We have identified some aspects of the PBL that we want to strengthen and I will be writing about our way forward in the future. It is very important that our parents and carers are part of this journey and I thank you in advance for your participation.

I am sure that many of our parents are aware that we have been successful in winning Queensland Government funding worth $500,000 to build a new Prep Playground behind B Block. We are busily planning the project with a view to finish it by end of June 2024. For quick updates, please check our Facebook page.

Thank you for your support and partnership. We look forward to a successful Term 3!

From Our Deputy Principal - School Culture

Queensland Rail came and presented a safety talk to students this week here is a brief overview of the messages they spoke to the students about:

Supervision: Children should be supervised by a responsible adult while traveling on trains and at train stations. Parents or guardians are responsible for ensuring the safety of their children during the journey.

Child-friendly facilities: Many Queensland Rail trains are equipped with child-friendly facilities, including designated areas for families with young children, accessible toilets, and baby-changing facilities.

Safety briefings: Queensland Rail often includes safety briefings and announcements that highlight important safety information, including guidance specific to children. Listen to these announcements and educate children about train safety.

Hold hands: Encourage young children to hold an adult's hand while boarding, alighting, and moving through the train and station areas. This helps prevent accidental falls or wandering off.

Mind the gap: At stations, be mindful of the platform gaps between the train and the platform. Always ensure children step on and off the train safely, especially when using strollers or prams.

Secure belongings: Ensure children's belongings, such as toys, bags, or strollers, are safely stowed and not obstructing walkways or exits.

Emergency procedures: Familiarize children with emergency procedures, including how to use emergency intercoms and evacuate the train safely if necessary.

Avoid leaning out: Advise children to avoid leaning out of the train windows while in motion, as it can be dangerous.

Respect the rules: Children should be taught to follow all posted safety rules and guidelines while on trains and at stations.

Report concerns: If any safety concerns arise during the journey, report them to the train crew or station staff immediately.

It's essential for parents and guardians to take an active role in educating children about train safety and ensuring their well-being while traveling. Additionally, Queensland Rail may have specific safety initiatives or programs for children that you can explore on their official website or by contacting their customer service. Remember to stay up-to-date with the latest safety information and guidelines from Queensland Rail to ensure a safe and enjoyable journey for everyone, including children.

From Our Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning

Notices for Term 3

Prep Hearing Screening to take place on Thursday, 24 August.  Please return consent forms to the Office as soon as possible.

If you have a child in Year 1 to Year 6 whose hearing you are concerned about, please contact Mrs Elena Finlay (Deputy Principal – Teaching and Learning) on efinl9@eq.edu.au.

Premier’s Reading Challenge ends on Friday, 25 August.  Please return Premier’s Reading Challenge forms to the Office as soon as possible.

Book Week Parade to take place Friday, 25 August in the Hall at 8:50am.

The theme of this year’s Book Week is Read. Grow. Inspire.

School Opinion Survey

The annual School Opinion Survey will be conducted this term and will close on 18 August 2023. All families, school staff and students in Years 5 and 6, will be invited to participate. We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what our school does well, and how we can improve.

An invitation to complete the Parent/Caregiver Survey will be emailed to one parent/caregiver per family in the week beginning 17 July.  The invitation will be sent from the Department of Education, not the school, and it will have the subject line School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2023.  Check your junk email folders if you cannot find it.  The survey can be completed as soon as the invitation is received and will take approximately 5 minutes using a computer, tablet or smart phone. 

Parents/caregivers who do not have access to the internet at home are welcome to complete their survey online at the school.  Please contact Mrs Elena Finlay (Deputy Principal – Teaching and Learning) at efinl9@eq.edu.au if this support is required or if you have any questions regarding the survey.

Writing Workshops @ Leichhardt

On Tuesday, the Years 4 to 6 students participated in an online writing workshop facilitated by Nova Weetman, published author.  Students were excited to collaborate with Ms Weetman to bring characters and plot ideas to life.

On Thursday, Years 4 to 6 will have another creative writing opportunity when Ms Charmaine Clancy, Bremer State High School teacher and published author, comes to facilitate three creative writing workshops at Leichhardt.  Ms Clancy presented last year at Leichhardt and students reported thoroughly enjoying the presentation, with many students inspired to enter their writing in the Bremer State High School short story competition.

We look forward to sharing the photos of this event in the next newsletter!

Celebration of Learning @ Leichhardt

Monday’s Week 1 Assembly celebrated students’ achievements in Reading and Maths with the June Reading Eggs and Mathseeds Awards being presented to proud students.  Pictured below are just some of the award winners.   

Well done, Preps!

Congratulations to Ms Everingham (2A) and Mrs Krings (Prep B)  (pictured below) on their June Reading Eggs Teacher Engagement awards!

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. 

From Our Head of Department - Teaching and Learning

I can't believe we are already in our second week of Term 3 and what a busy term it is shaping up to be. It has been wonderful to see the students straight back to focusing on their routines and structures with a key focus on how they are organising their books for the term ahead. In Term 3, students will continue to build their skills in STAR, focusing on 'T' (taking notes) which includes using graphic organisers to assist their learning. 

We are also excited to share that we are having a bookwork competition! Students will be able to nominate a book to be in the competition to win a prize! Please encourage your child to talk to their teacher or myself if they are interested in nominating their work.

From Our Community Support Coordinator

Welcome back to Term 3. It was lovely to see all the families back and the children with happy smiles. Please remember you need to give the school a reason for your child/children’s absences. You can ring the school and leave a message on the absentee line (38133222), reply to the text message or use the school stream app. This is a requirement from the Department of Education.

Please make sure you read the information regarding the free internet and see if you qualify. There are links that you can click on to check it out. If you require a paper copy to fill out I have them in my office, so come and see me. If you already have NBN at your place you are not eligible for this offer.

School Student Broadband Initiative –

Australian Government

To boost educational opportunities and narrow the digital divide, families without home internet are encouraged to apply for the School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI). Access to internet at home can support children to build their digital skills and participate in a world that is more reliant on digital technology.

The Australian Government is supporting the National Broadband Network (NBN) to implement the SSBI to provide free home internet for one year for up to 30,000 unconnected families across Australia with school aged students.

To be eligible for SSBI, a family must:

• Have a child living at home that is enrolled in a Queensland state school in 2023.
• Not have an active internet service at home. Having a mobile internet service does not affect eligibility.
• Be referred by a nominating organisation such as the Department of Education (the department).
• Agree their child has access to a device and has the digital skills to use the internet safely or will be supervised.
• Live in a premises that can access the NBN via a standard connection – this will be checked by NBN.

Referral through the department

The department is pleased to support the nomination of families for the SSBI. If you would like to apply for the SSBI please contact fill out the application (online or paper form). The paper forms can be collected from Student Reception Office.  Applications must be submitted by 1 September 2023.

If you are looking for some free or low cost food don’t forget to check out Food Barn Ipswich, they can be found on Facebook and they post when they have put free food outside. Here is their webpage address however Facebook as all the up to date information. https://www.foodbank.org.au/meet-a-member-charity-ipswich-foodbarn/?state=qld

Families that have students that are scholarship recipients in The Smith Family Learning for life program should register through The Smith Family portal. The Smith family has information about the School Student Broadband Initiative and how to register at TSF Learning for Life help centre – About the School Student Broadband Initiative.

Prep 2024 

From Our Teachers

Year 1 

Year one has been learning about Queensland Rail safety, during the week. The presentation by Queensland Rail encouraged safe behaviour on and around trains.  

Remember... "I'm staying fine, well behind the yellow line!". 

Year 3 

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Excursion

On Thursday 13^th July 2023 Year 3 students went on an excursion to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary as part of their Science and English units. Students learned about the role of Flirt the sheep dog, listened to a Backyard experience talk where students were given the opportunity to pat a koala, a stumpy tailed lizard and a snake. Even Mrs Rae was brave enough to pat the snake! We also listened to a raptor bird show where an eagle and two different kinds of owls flew over our heads.

We all had a great day and learned so much about animals and their natural habitats.

On our excursion to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary we saw a koala. We got to pat the koala. My favourite animal there was the turtle. Turles have a hard shell and they live in the water and on the land. 

By Jade 3A

On our excursion to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary we got to know that boy koalas have a brown patch on their chest and girl koala's have a white patch on their chest. All koala's eat eucalyptus leaves. They have very soft fur. Koala's have very long claws and their ears are a semi circle. They have big eyes and a round nose. 

By Skylar 3A

NAIDOC Day Celebrations

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Out In Our Community

Please note that the below workshops and programs are not affiliated with Leichhardt State School.

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