Volume 13 - 15th September 2023

From Our Principal

Our students’ efforts and positive attitudes to learning have once again resulted in strong academic results, especially in English and mathematics, which are our focus areas. Report cards went out this week and our parent-teacher interviews are scheduled for Week 2. The interviews will give parents a chance to discuss their child’s progress with their teachers and ask questions regarding the next steps on the learning improvement journey.

I am very pleased to inform you that next term, we will be starting Philosophy lessons with our students in Prep, Year 1 and Year 2. The lessons will be led by our Guidance Officer, Ms St Ledger, and supported by the classroom teacher. The first stage of the learning will focus on understanding what Philosophy is and how it can help us think deeply and behave respectfully towards others. The questioning skills students will develop will greatly assist them in the learning across all learning areas.

Over the holidays, we will have painters on site who will be painting the Administration Office area. The job should be completed before the end of holidays and we look forward to welcoming you to a brighter and neater office area from Term 4.

We hope you enjoy the holidays with your families and take time to relax and refresh. Take care of yourselves and others and we look forward to seeing you all in Term 4!

From Our Deputy Principal - School Culture

Safety During Spring Holidays

Ensuring that primary students have a safe and enjoyable spring holiday is essential for their well-being. Here are some tips and guidelines to help parents and caregivers ensure a safe and fun spring break for primary students:

Supervision: Always provide appropriate supervision for young children. Whether they are at home, in a park, or on a trip, keeping an eye on them is crucial for their safety.

Plan Age-Appropriate Activities: Choose activities and outings that are suitable for the age and developmental level of the children. This may include visits to child-friendly museums, parks, or interactive science centres.

Safety Precautions: Emphasize the importance of safety rules such as looking both ways before crossing the street, wearing helmets when biking or skateboarding, and not talking to strangers. Make sure they understand these rules and follow them.

Sun Protection: If your spring holiday involves spending time outdoors, ensure children are protected from the sun. Apply sunscreen, provide hats and sunglasses, and encourage them to stay hydrated.

Water Safety: If water activities are part of your plans, prioritize water safety. Make sure children are wearing appropriate life vests if necessary and closely supervise them near pools, rivers or the ocean.

Travel Safety: If traveling during the spring holiday, ensure car seats are properly installed for young children and seatbelts are used for older ones. Teach them about the importance of seatbelt safety.

Healthy Eating: Encourage healthy eating habits during the holiday. Provide nutritious snacks and meals to keep their energy levels up.

Limit Screen Time: While it's tempting to let children spend more time on screens during a break, set reasonable limits on screen time and encourage outdoor and physical activities.

Emergency Information: Ensure that children know how to contact emergency services or a trusted adult if they get lost or encounter an emergency situation.

Stay Informed: Be aware of any local restrictions, health guidelines, or safety concerns related to the destination or activities you have planned.

Allergies and Medical Conditions: If a child has allergies or medical conditions, make sure any caregivers are informed about these and have access to necessary medications or treatment plans.

Prevent Strain: If you plan for extended car rides or travel, encourage children to take breaks to prevent physical strain, and provide them with activities or entertainment during the journey.

Pack Essentials: Ensure you have essentials such as first-aid supplies, extra clothing, snacks, and water with you during outings.

Communicate Openly: Keep communication channels open with the children. Encourage them to share their thoughts and concerns about the holiday and any activities planned.

Encourage Rest: Ensure children get enough rest during the holiday to avoid exhaustion.

By following these tips and guidelines, you can help primary students have a safe and memorable spring holiday that is full of fun and learning experiences. Remember that safety should always be the top priority, and planning ahead can make the holiday enjoyable for both children and adults.

From Our Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning

The 2023 Premier’s Reading Challenge

The 2023 Premier’s Reading Challenge results for Leichhardt State School were finalised on Friday and submitted for processing.   We had 60 students, who had submitted consent forms, complete the challenge.  Thank you to staff for encouraging students to participate in the challenge.  Thank you to Ms Kayla and Mrs Chant for their work in following up on consent form submission.

We look forward to the special Assembly, to be held Monday, Week 5 next term, to celebrate our students’ wonderful reading achievements.  

Write a Book in a Day Competition!

On Monday, seven students, four from Year 6 and three from Year 5, competed in the Write a Book in a Day Competition, run by The Kids’ Cancer Project. This challenge not only provided the opportunity to develop collaboration, creativity and time management skills, but also gave our students the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of kids with cancer.

The completed book, after judging, will be shared digitally with children in hospitals across Australia.

(L to R) Back row:  Sahara (5A), Hayley (6B), Melicia (6A), Apiwat (6A)

(L to R) Front row: Angelica (5A), Zye (6A), Christianna (5B)

Below are students working diligently on their chapters and illustrating.

There was also time for pizza and fruit box juices.  Well done, students!

We hope you enjoy the story they wrote in six hours!

Trouble in the Rainforest

by The Leichhardt Writers

Chapter 1 Forest Inspection

On a cold Sunday morning, Daniel is traveling to his new construction site as an engineer. This is his first day on the job after graduating from university the week before. As he is driving up to Kuranda Rainforest, one of Australia’s most beautiful rainforests, he takes a call from his boss. He pulls off to the side of the road, and he is anxious as he answers the call. He takes a deep breath and answers the phone. When he answers he gets an earful from his boss warning him about this crazy psycho tree hugging woman, who is also a gymnast, that will protest and not let them build the resort, which is why Daniel is travelling to the rainforest to see if it is a suitable site for the resort. His boss emphasises that he must persuade the woman that the resort is an amazing opportunity for the community and must let it happen. Daniel agrees and hangs up.

Daniel starts to shiver and feels sick as he does not do well with confrontation. He rings his older brother, Jacob, as he is also an engineer but a lot more confident than Daniel. Jacob says that it is understandable that he is scared but he has to do it anyway to pay off his expensive loans. Daniel puts on his favourite TayTay song and regains his confidence to do his job.

He starts the car and drives, determined to face his fear of confrontation.

CHAPTER 2        The Meeting

Abby is waiting impatiently knowing an engineer will soon show up to inspect her beautiful rainforest that she has been caring for since she was five years old.  As she is waiting, Emmy comes up and pecks at her leg. Abby says hello to Emmy, a pet emu that she has been looking after for seven years. Emmy sits next to Abby. Abby twists her ruby ring as she shivers at the thought of her trees getting cut down and Emmy getting hurt.

As Daniel drives up to Kuranda Rainforest, he sees a short, brown-haired girl wearing a colourful and sparkly leotard and ruby rings. As he drives closer, he sees an emu staring at him with its soulless eyes.

Abby sees a red-haired man with a long red beard drive up to the forest and Abby walks straight up to him and she demands he stops what he is doing and he must leave the forest. Daniel introduces himself to Abby and he says that his name is Daniel and he works at New Horizons and he is just inspecting the forest. He is not cutting it down. Abby does not believe him and she says that he is just getting started and getting ready to cut down the trees. Daniel has enough and tells her that she needs to leave or he will call the authorities.

Abby realizes that she needs to be smart and she then invites him to Kuranda Boathouse for lunch to discuss cutting down the trees and the forest. Daniel agrees to go but before he leaves, he needs to inspect the forest but Abby says that if he does, she has to be there with him the whole time while he inspects.

Abby walks with him as he inspects the forest and tells him about the animals that live there and if the company he is working for, cuts down the trees, the animals will lose their homes and they will probably die. Abby tells Daniel about Emmy, her emu, and how she found Emmy when she was a chick on the side of the road with Emmy’s mother nowhere to be seen. Daniel says that he doesn’t really care about her emu and he could not, honestly care less, no offense of course. Abby takes that personally and she gets angry and yells at him for saying that.

 Abby calms down and says that she will meet him later at the Kuranda Boathouse to discuss this further.  Daniel agrees and Abby drives off.

Chapter 3        The Lunch

Abby suggests they meet at the Kuranda Boathouse for some tasty lunch later on in the day to talk more about the situation. Abby is in her room resting her head on her soft pillow thinking about what could happen. Abby then jumps up as she hears her dogs, Biscuit and Coffee, barking. She runs outside just to find Daniel who has come to give her a lift to the Boathouse. Abby says that she does not want to be seen with Daniel out in public more than she has to. Abby then asks him to leave and says she will see him at 12:30pm at the Kuranda Boathouse.

As she gets ready, she is thinking about what she is going to say to Daniel. Abby is stressing on a speech that she is trying to make persuasive enough.  She finally puts the right words together. She plans to tell him that animals deserve to have a safe place to live. Animals deserve to have a house for not just themselves but for their babies.  She also plans to tell Daniel to imagine what it would be like if he got kicked out of his home.

Abby walks out of her house and jumps in her beat – up, old car that she has had since she got her driver’s licence two years ago.  She cannot afford anything better as she is still getting money together for her gymnastics studio.   She drives through the forest and finally gets to the café.  She cannot see Daniel anywhere and she gets worried that he might be back at the rainforest cutting down trees, but she still goes inside anyway. After thirty minutes she sees Daniel walk through the door. Abby feels a shiver all down her back. Daniel asks her what food she would recommend. She says that the tacos are really tasty.

Daniel walks up to the counter to order the food. They get their food and stare at each other across the table. Abby then tells Daniel that animals deserve to have a house for not just themselves but for their babies. Daniel replies that it is his job to do the inspection properly. Abby replies to him to think about how he would feel if he lost his house and imagine if no one was helping him.  Daniel thinks this is exactly what will happen if he does not finish the rainforest inspection properly.

Without Daniel knowing, Abby has organised for a bunch of her supportive gymnast friends to come to convince Daniel to stop the inspection.  As the group walk in and start saying these animals need to be looked after, Daniel faints. Abby yells out to someone to go get a sponge.  Abby rings out the wet sponge and places it on Daniel’s head. He wakes up and runs from the Boathouse.  He runs to the car and puts his head on the steering wheel. Everyone follows him but Abby yells out to stop and to leave him alone.

Abby‘s anger melts seeing Daniel so upset. Abby asks if they could go back inside to discuss this further. He agrees and they calmly walk inside together. They both are very sorry and realise they need to work together.

Chapter 4 The Agreement

Daniel and Abby are sitting at a table in the Kuranda Boathouse ready to talk.  Daniel starts to share about who he really is. He explains that he has always wanted to be an engineer because of his older brother, Jacob, who is also an engineer and a very brave, kind and warm-hearted person. Abby does not have much interest in what Daniel is saying as she is too worried about what will happen to the animals and their homes if the resort is built. Abby is so stressed that she has to get her statement out. Daniel stops talking as he can see Abby wants to talk. Abby finally is able to get her statement out and she tells Daniel that she cannot stress enough about how important the rainforest and the animals are to her. Daniel understands her concern and suddenly he thinks of the perfect idea that they could both agree on. Daniel tells Abby that New Horizon, the company he works for, could still build the resort but with one important condition.  This would be that all animals who have to have their homes taken away would be relocated to a new home that was still in the rainforest but just away from all the chaos of the resort. Abby is still not sure but she is happy to know that her point has finally gotten across to Daniel.

Abby agrees to this but wants to see the paperwork before she supports it.  Daniel is glad that he could convince her but he needs to call his boss and let him know that the forest is all clear for the resort to be built on but that the company must agree on one important condition. 

Chapter 5 The Conversation

Daniel calls his boss to tell him about the agreement and that the animals will be relocated to another part of the Kuranda Rainforest.  The boss does not like this because it would cost more money to relocate every animal close to the construction site. Daniel tells his boss to come to meet Daniel at Kuranda Rainforest. Daniels’s boss is not satisfied with the way that Daniel had been working and tells him that he regrets not sending out a more experienced engineer and that Daniel is dismissed from this job on the resort site.

Daniel is heartbroken to hear this news but he is not going to give up that easily. Before Daniel hangs up the phone, he continues to try to get across to his boss one last time why this is important. Daniel states that there would be no point in sending out another worker because the tree hugging gymnast lady, Abby, would not let them even try to inspect the forest or start any work without a fight. Daniel’s boss does not really care but he tells Daniel that he can discuss this further as he has another meeting to attend.  However, he is not happy about the delay.

Daniel rushes to tell Abby the bad news, and explains to her he is prepared to lose his job if his boss will not help him.  Daniel says he can see why it is important to advocate for the animals and the rainforest to stay peaceful. Abby is shocked how much Daniel actually cares about the animals and the rainforest and explains that he should not leave his job.  She says they should try to come up with valid reasons why his boss should make a change to the plans to help and save the animals and their habitats. Daniel agrees with Abby and he asks Abby to come with him as he needs to finish the remainder of his inspection.

Abby is hopeful as they walk off together.  She believes that if they both put their minds to it, a suitable solution will be reached.  The illustration under the blurb will show the outcome of Abby’s and Daniels’ hard work.

The Blurb…

Two characters get in a disagreement and try to work out their story.

Abby and Daniel try to agree to find a way to keep the forest alive.
Daniel tries to sort out a way to make sure the animals are safe in the forest without losing his job.

Abby stays passionate but is prepared to listen to Daniel.

This story is recommended for readers 10 to 16 years of age.

Street Science

To celebrate National Science Week, ‘Street Science’ visited Leichhardt and presented two shows on Wednesday.  The shows were not only entertaining but extremely educational.  Students learnt about the many properties of physics and electricity.  The shows were definitely given the ‘thumbs up’ by both both students and staff!

Celebration of Learning @ Leichhardt

Monday’s Week 10 Assembly celebrated students’ achievements in Reading and Maths with the August Reading Eggs and Mathseeds Awards being presented to proud students.  Pictured below are just some of the award winners.   

Congratulations to Mrs Krings (Prep)  on her August Reading Eggs Teacher Engagement award!  That is two months in a row!  Well done, Mrs Krings!

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. 

Bremer Extension Science @ Leichhardt

On Tuesday, Bremer Year 7 Extension Science students and their science teachers, came to Leichhardt to share the properties of physics with the Year 5 students.  Students thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with the O-Wings (Tyler (5A) and Liam (5B) pictured below holding an O-Wing).  They found that changing the circumference of the pink/yellow and blue rings changed the distance at which the O-Wing could be thrown.

In the Hall, students experimented with balloon size to determine how far and how fast a balloon, attached to a straw, could move along a wire.  Here are Daymon (5B), Breeanna (5A) and Liam (5B) preparing their balloons for the experimentation.

The students had a fantastic session and we are very grateful to Bremer Science teachers, Ms Taggart (Head of Department – Science) and Mr Bell (Shadow Head of Department – Science) pictured below, and the Year 7 Science Extension students for visiting and sharing these fun physics activities.

Story Sports News!

On Wednesday, Week 9, two Leichhardt State School teams attended the annual Ipswich Story Sports competition, hosted by well-known children’s author, Brian Faulkner, at the Ipswich Library.

Six teams, two Leichhardt and four St Mary’s teams, battled it out over an hour and a half session, writing and presenting their responses to different questions.  The ‘Story Writers’ team, pictured below, achieved full marks from the judges for one of their witty and well-presented responses to a question.

Both Leichhardt teams worked very diligently, with the ‘Story Writers’ team placing second at the end of the session.  As only the winnning team for the session was to proceed to the finals, we thought it was all over for another year of Story Sports.  However, the ‘Story Writers’ team were invited back for the finals on Wednesday as a ‘Wild Card’ entry.

At the finals, the competition was fierce! The Story Writers worked hard, but Blair State School’s writing team took out the Story Sports Cup.   Well done to Blair! 

As can be seen from the bottom photo, the Story Writers were very pleased with their efforts.  Well done, Sahara, Ava, Melicia and Violet!

Sight Word Success @ Leichhardt!

At Monday’s Week 10 Assembly, Zarah (1B) was congratulated for her success at reading the First 100 Magic Words with automaticity.  Well done, Zarah!

If your child is still learning to read, please encourage them to practise their sight words at home.  All students, Prep to Year 6, are encouraged to engage in daily home reading for 10 minutes.  If you have any questions regarding your child’s reading development, please contact your child’s teacher.

Education Perfect is here! 

For our Year 4 to 6 students, we have a new online resource.  It is Education Perfect!

Education Perfect is a powerful learning platform designed to enhance your child’s educational journey in exciting ways. With Education Perfect, you child can unlock a world of benefits that will help them excel in their studies:

Personalized Learning: Education Perfect tailors lessons to your child’s unique learning style and pace, ensuring they grasp complex concepts with ease.

Interactive Content: Students can engage in fun and interactive activities like quizzes, games, and videos that make learning enjoyable and effective.

24/7 Accessibility: Your child can study anytime, anywhere, on any device. Whether they are at school, home, or on the go, their education is always at their fingertips.

Wide Range of Subjects: From Maths and Science to Languages and Humanities, Education Perfect covers a wide array of subjects, helping students excel in all their studies.

Incorporating Education Perfect into your child’s learning journey will not only boost their academic performance but also make the learning process even more enjoyable and rewarding. 

If your child needs assistance with Education Perfect login details, please contact your child’s teacher.

Semester 2 Parent-Teacher Interviews

Semester 2 Parent-Teacher Interviews are scheduled to take place on Tuesday 10 October at 2:45 p.m. in the School Hall.  

Semester 2 Parent-Teacher Interviews Booking Sheets have been sent home with students.  These forms need to be completed and returned to your child’s class teacher/CNN teacher by Tuesday 3 October.   Class teachers/CNN teachers will then send home letters confirming meeting times.

As Year 5 and 6 students having subject specialist teachers, please ensure that both the names of the teachers and the preferred times for the meetings are circled.

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs Elena Finlay (Deputy Principal – Teaching and Learning) on efinl9@eq.edu.au.

Indigenous Literacy Day

To celebrate Indigenous Literacy Day, Leichhardt State School welcomed local Indigenous author, Trevor Fourmile, Cultural Lead and Community Engagement Officer at Hymba Yumba Independent School, to share his beautiful new book, ‘Gurril – Storm Bird’ with students.  

Trevor also shared his journey to become an author and encouraged students that if they have a dream to write, to pursue that dream and to not to give up.   Trevor is currently working on a new Indigenous Dreamtime picture book which he hopes to have published in March next year.

Thank you for sharing your books, Dreamtime stories and enthusiasm for writing with our students, Trevor!   A big thank you to Aunty Marly for organising Trevor’s visit with us today.  

Recycling @ Leichhardt

A big shout out to Richel, cleaner at Leichhardt State School, for all of her support with recycling.  Most recently her recycling support has helped students fundraise for the Kids’ Cancer Project.  In order to enter the Write a Book in a Day Competition, which students entered this week, students have to fundraise $240 and with Richel’s support half that amount was raised just through recycling.  Thank you, Richel! 

From Our Head of Department - Teaching and Learning

Well done for another great term of learning. I can't believe we are heading into our last term for 2023. We will continue to work on our STAR notetaking and 'O' organisation of belongings in Term 4, in particular making sure we have our pencil case with a pencil, rubber, ruler ready for learning. Earlier this week we had our AVID Australia coach onsite to deliver Professional Development to our staff and engage in a learning activity with our Year 6's. We had some wonderful feedback about the work we are doing and the engagement of our Year 6 students. Well done, everyone! Keep up the great pride in your learning and I look forward to celebrating our learning successes more in, Term 4! 

From Our Community Support Coordinator

Yay, well done! We have made it through Term 3. Just remember “Attendance Matters”!  See you back in Term 4 commencing Tuesday 3 October.

If you need assistance throughout the holidays, check out Beacon Community Hub.

http://beacon.org.au/beacon-community-care/

Prep 2024

From Our Teachers

Year 1

We can't believe another term has flown by. We are so proud of how much effort and progress Year 1 has continue to make this term. We continue to work hard on our writing (alphabet), and reading to set us up for success. In English next term we will be focusing on Information Texts. In mathematics we will continue to build addition and subtraction skills as well as learning about time. We strongly encourage Year 1 to use Reading Eggs over the holidays as well as practicing their writing as often as possible as this will help our students be prepared for their last Term of Year 1. 

Year 4

We've had an incredibly busy and productive term in Year 4 and can't wait to share some of our highlights with you.

This term, our young readers and writers dove into the adventurous world of Cressida Cowell's "How to Train Your Dragon." Not only did we enjoy the adventures of Hiccup and his dragon Toothless, but we also took a closer look at Hiccup's character development throughout the story. Students worked on crafting thoughtful character analyses, focusing on how Hiccup grows and evolves.

Fractions have been our central theme in Maths this term. We've had some great hands-on experiences exploring equivalent fractions and plotting fractional amounts on a number line. In a creative crossover with our English studies, students designed their very own Viking shields featuring symmetrical patterns. This was a great way to help students grasp the concept of symmetry while tying it into our Viking-themed literary adventure!

Our young scientists have been hard at work this term investigating the strength of different materials in Science. The objective was to design a package capable of protecting a fragile object—specifically, an egg—from a considerable drop. The students were committed to their projects, conducting multiple trials to test the sturdiness of their designs. We're pleased to report there were fewer "egg casualties" than expected!

In Technology, students explored the forces that influence movement by working together to create their own marble runs. The objective was to design a track where a marble could race for over 10 seconds! Students tweaked and modified their designs iteratively, learning about friction, gravity, and momentum in the process.

Using technology, students researched countries from Africa and South America this term in HASS. They compared various cultural, social, and geographical aspects to gain a broader understanding of environments and biomes. The project was enlightening for all, and we encourage parents to ask their children about the fascinating facts they've learned.

Thank you for your ongoing support, and we look forward to another fantastic term ahead!

Science Olympiad at Bundamba Secondary College

On Friday, ten senior students attended the Science Olympiad at Bundamba Secondary college. There were 8 groups in total in which 3 of them were Leichhardt students.  The students performed extremely well in two maths competitions, building bridge competition, and making a water haulage device competition. Each team tested the efficiency of their creations in an outdoor area. We are proud to say that our school students scored first, second and third in the total competition. Well done to all the participants!!

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HPE - Swimming Term 4

Swimming lessons will start in week 2 of term 4. Please make sure you have returned your child/s signed permission form and made payment at the office. Please remember to pack the items below and have all items clearly named. More details will follow early in Term 4. 

Mind Body Character Day

What a fantastic day was had today at our end of term Mind Body Character Day! Students rotated around many engaging and exciting activities, culminating in our annual colour run. It was great to be out in the beautiful sunshine celebrating our hard work this term. Thank you to all staff involved in organising the activities, especially Ms Jaya who put so much effort into making sure the day was fabulous for all!

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From Our P&C Tuckshop

Please note that the Tuckshop will re-open in term 4 from week 2 as the Tuckshop ladies need to restock the supplies. Thank you for your understanding. 

Out In Our Community

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

School Watch

With the school holidays starting on Friday 15th September, 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 term 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.