Leichhardt State School eNewsletter

From The Principal

Leichhardt State School’s 2024 Annual Implementation Plan prioritises a multi-tiered system of support for our students’ behaviour and wellbeing for learning. We proudly operate within the Positive Behaviour for Learning Framework, which emphasises our willingness to better understand our students’ behaviours, and work with our students and their families to address the issues that may be hindering positive engagement with school. We believe that each student is an individual with unique needs, and we always try to offer the best possible support for our students to achieve academic success at Leichhardt.

As part of the multi-tiered system, we focus strongly on wellbeing for learning and have invested in a new wellbeing support position – Youth Support Worker. As a result, I am excited to announce that Ebony Van Gerven will be joining our team from Monday 20 May 2024 to commence in this role on a full-time basis. Ebony has extensive experience in supporting children to engage positively with learning and help them develop key social and emotional skills.

Our NRL program is developing strongly with the support of NRL Australia who are working closely with our teachers, Ms McQueen and Mr Woodford. We have received support for our program through provision of equipment for our students and valuable experiences. It is wonderful to see our students’ excitement and commitment to rugby league.

Our school has an excellent opportunity to get feedback and guidance around the next steps from the Department in the form of a School Review, which will take place from 27 May until 30 May. The reviews are done every four years and they help schools develop future directions based on the feedback from staff and the wider community. I will communicate more about this closer to the date.

We are so lucky to have the wonderful people on our P&C contributing to the wellbeing of our community and our school. This week’s Mother’s Day Stall that ran over three days was a great success. The P&C has also ordered new hats for our students and staff shirts for our teachers and support staff. It is wonderful to have this support. I encourage you to join our P&C team to help out when you have time. Go, Team Leichhardt!

From The Deputy Principal

Attendance @ Leichhardt

Regular school attendance is vital because it directly impacts a child's academic performance and overall success. When students regularly attend school, it ensures consistent access to learning opportunities, interaction with peers and teachers, and participation in classroom activities crucial for their intellectual, social, and emotional development. Additionally, attending school regularly instils discipline, responsibility, and time management skills, which are essential for success in both academic and professional settings later in life. Overall, consistent school attendance is fundamental for maximizing a child's potential and preparing them for a bright future.

Reading Eggs, Mathletics and Education Perfect Awards for April @ Leichhardt

At the Week 4 Assembly the below pictured students are just some of the children awarded certificates for their engagement with Online Learning Resources over the month of April.

Reading Eggs Teacher Engagement Award was again awarded to Mrs Krings (1B). Students in Mrs Krings’ class had spent an amazing 38 hours engaging with Reading Eggs for the month of April. Well done, 1B! Well done, Mrs Krings!

If you have questions regarding home access to Reading Eggs or any of the other Online Learning Resources, please contact your child’s teacher.

Parent-Teacher Interviews @ Leichhardt

We acknowledge the dedication of our teachers in preparing for last week’s parent-teacher interviews. Their commitment to understanding and supporting every student shone through in their thorough preparation and personalized guidance. Likewise, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all parents and caregivers whose attendance underscored their unwavering commitment to their child's education. Your active participation strengthens our school community and reinforces the importance of collaboration in fostering student success. Together, we create an environment where every child can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Thank you for your invaluable partnership.

Below are images of teachers prior to the commencement of the parent-teacher interview afternoon.

The Preps now know the following letters and their sounds: s a t i m n o p b c. At the Week 3 Assembly, Tehillah (Prep B, pictured below) amazed the audience with her confident blending and segmenting of sounds and her reading and writing of consonant-vowel-consonant words. At the Week 6 Assembly we will be again showcasing the Prep’s reading and writing progress and I look forward to sharing it with you in the Week 6 newsletter.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your Prep student’s reading and writing progress, please contact their classroom teacher.

Student4Student Program @ Leichhardt

On Wednesday afternoons from 1:30pm to 2:00pm, the Students4Students Program team from Faith Lutheran College visit to read with a number of our Prep students. Reading with high school students can be highly beneficial for prep students in a number of ways including: enhancing engagement and interest in reading and promoting social skills. Overall, reading with high school students offers our prep students a valuable learning experience that not only enhances their reading skills but also nurtures their social, emotional, and cognitive development.

If you wish for your Prep student to engage in the Student4Student Program on a Wednesday afternoon, please contact Mrs Elena Finlay (Deputy Principal – Teaching and Learning) at efinl9@eq.edu.au.

Head Of Department - Teaching And Learning

Teaching And Learning

Over the last two weeks, we have seen a number of exciting, hands-on learning throughout various curriculum and learning areas. Students have continued consolidating their AVID skills with students setting up their notes, including margin and the date, and using two and three column notes to organise information when appropriate. Students have used devices for collaboration work in The Arts and creating graphs to display data in Mathematics. Students have continued their non-negotiable reading after each play break.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) is a whole-school framework that promotes positive behaviour across a school and helps schools develop safe and supportive learning environments. At Leichhardt State School, we uphold four key values: gratitude, respect, teamwork and perseverance and promote the three expectations of: be kind, be safe, be a learner.

On a weekly basis, we select one key value and one key expectation. Throughout the school day, staff take a proactive and preventative approach to ensure all students are explicitly taught and understand the expected behaviours that link with the focus of the week value and expectation.

Students are encouraged to use the ‘High Five’ when needed. This is reviewed every assembly as well as in class and in the playground, in order to support our students in making good behaviour choices.

I would like to thank our families for partnering with us around Positive Behaviour for Learning. The Department of Education has outlined the benefits for students of family-school engagement including: improved academic outcomes, stronger relationships with adults and peers, better social skills; and improved mental health. When families and schools work together to reinforce positive behaviours, students benefit from clear expectations and consistent reinforcement both at home and in school. This collaboration helps to create a cohesive approach to behaviour management, fostering a sense of community and shared responsibility for students' well-being and success.

If you would like any more information regarding PBL in practice, family engagement. Please visit this link https://behaviour.education.qld.gov.au/supportingStudentBehaviour/PositiveBehaviourforLearning/Documents/pbl-in-practice-family-engagement.pdf

From The Community Support Coordinator

Ms Ferguson - Community Support Coordinator

On Thursday 9^th May Leichhardt State School partnered with Mission Australia to hold the Parent & Child Friendly Expo in our school hall. We had stall holders from many agencies that enabled the parents to connect with local services and to see what there was available. There were many children friendly activities including face painting, photo booth, activities from the Ipswich Library and free goodie bags. Our Deadly Dancers did us proud and Jahnarrah did an outstanding job of the Acknowledgement of Country in the Yugara Language.

The 2024 Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) has started. Permission notes will have come home this week. If you have not received a note please contact your child’s teacher.

This year’s PRC ambassador for Leichhardt is Ms McQueen. She is very excited about the challenge and encouraging students to read as much as possible. While every student will receive a certificate who completes the challenge, there is a special morning tea at the end of the challenge to celebrate the students who have gone ‘above and beyond’ in their reading.

In the picture below is Jack (2A) who has almost read 20 books already and the challenge has just started. Well done, Jack!

Jack (2B) has nearly read 20 books already and the challenge has just begun!

Athletics Carnival

Junior and Senior Athletics Carnivals are being held in week 9 of Term 2. All students from Prep to Year 6 have begun training for the Carnivals during their HPE lessons. Students will be taking part in a variety of events including running races, relay races, jumping activities as well as throwing activities. It is always great to see students wearing their sports house colours so I encourage all of you to try and get your child a house coloured shirt before week 9. Sports house lists will be sent out to classroom teachers at the start of week 5 in case your child is unsure what colour they are in.

Soccer Program with Mr Scott

Leichhardt Soccer fans!

I'm thrilled to share the fantastic news with you all. Our girls' and boys' teams absolutely rocked their recent matches against Ipswich West, clinching victories with impressive scores. The boys secured a tight 2-1 win, while the girls dominated with a commanding 3-1 triumph. What a display of skill and determination!

This remarkable achievement sets the stage for an exciting journey ahead. As we approach the halfway point of the season, both teams are gearing up for their next challenge against Silkstone. It's a crucial fixture, and our players are ready to give it their all.

With each game, our teams are proving themselves as formidable contenders. The prospect of reaching the finals is within our grasp, and I couldn't be more proud of their dedication and hard work. Let's continue to support and cheer them on as they strive for success on the field!

Go Leichhardt!

Instrumental Music

Ruby Halls and Jahnarrah Kemp are two of our budding young trumpet players. We have been working this year on learning our note names and producing sound on the instruments. We have been working this term on how to play one beat notes (crotchets) and two beat notes (minims).

Thank you parents for your patience as our beginner brass players learn how to not sound like elephants.

From The Teachers

Year 1

1A has been learning about different ways we can make a number. We explored this by separating 8 blocks onto 2 piles and then record it as a number sentence on a whitebaord. This allowed us to represent 8 in many ways.

Year 4

In year 4, students are embarking on an exciting researchproject that combines both Englishand HASS curriculum. The project is to explore various counrtries in South America and Africa, aiming to broaden students' knowledge of different cultures, languages and geographical features.

Throughout this term year five HASS have been learning about the Eureka Stockade. The name ‘Eureka Stockade’ derives from a rebellion involving the Victorian government in 1854. Eureka was the name given to the mining place and diggings and ‘stockade’ was the structure that the gold miners built to protect themselves from colonial forces.

Year five Math have been learning about data, statistics and graphing. Students have been conducting survey’s during learning time to answer the question ‘Is Our Class SunSmart?’ They then used the data to create digital graphs.

Year 6

In year 6 English class, students have been delving into the topic of migration, particularly exploring the narrative of Luigia de Lazari and her timeline.

From The Deadly Room

The Deadly Room has been a hub of actvity as the year 1 students have been busy learning cultural dances, year 5 and 6 learning Yuggera language and all year levels engaging in arts and craft activities.

Our Deadly Dancers have been hard at work practicing their traditional Dances for various ceremonies and most recently performed at the opening of the Mission Australia Parent and Child Friendly Expo.

Once a week we have the pleasure of welcoming the Deadly Jarjums from the daycare across the road. They bring a sense of joy and energy with them as they learn all about "Big School" and provides us with a connection to the community.

Electives

Netball Program

During netball training, Students are refining their techniques in both defensive and offensive manoeuvres when engaging with the ball. They have been practicing these skills by playing mini half court games.