Leichhardt State School eNewsletter

From The Principal

Welcome to our first Newsletter for Term 3! I extend my heartfelt thanks to the entire school community for the warm welcome I've received since starting as Principal just eight days ago. I have been a principal for about 21 years in a variety of schools from one end of the state to the other and I have learnt something in all of them.

On Friday I met with Brett Shackleton (my boss) and he asked what was my first impressions of Leichhardt State School. I told him that I could see straight away that there are a lot of good people here. Our staff, students, parents and community members all working together.

Last week, I had the pleasure of accompanying the Deadly Dancers group, and it was inspiring to witness their leadership and pride in their culture. There was a time during our groups demonstration that Aunty Marly had to take a call, without missing a beat the students immediately took over and continued the activity, they were wonderful.

We had our first P&C meeting for the term on Thursday which was well attended by our parents and community members. Thank you to those who were able to attend on the day, our students and our staff appreciate your support.

Talking with students in classrooms, discussing their learning and interests, is a highlight for me. Equally enjoyable is connecting with parents and carers, as I firmly believe that through collaboration and mutual support, we can achieve remarkable outcomes together. I look forward to working with you in the future.

Cheers

Andrew Goldie

From The Deputy Principal

Paw Parade – Celebrating 100 Days of School Attendance

At our Week 2 Assembly, we proudly celebrated our Prep students who have achieved 100 days of school attendance. Leo the Lion, Leichhardt State School’s beloved mascot, joined us to share in the excitement and congratulate the Preps on this significant milestone in their educational journey. Leo enthusiastically helped distribute the special paw badges to our dedicated students.

For those Preps who have yet to reach this milestone, we will hold a second Paw Parade in Term 4 to celebrate their achievement. Keep up the great work, Preps!

Online Awards Celebration @ Leichhardt

Week 1 Assembly saw many students receiving online awards. Also, it was wonderful to acknowledge the below students who completed Reading Eggs activities over the holidays.

Here are just some photos of students receiving awards for the month of June.

Teacher Engagement Award for June for Reading Eggs goes to Mrs Krings (1B). Year 1B students completed an amazing total of 101 Reading Eggs lessons in June! Well done, Mrs Krings! Well done, 1B!

Ashton (456LLP) won the June EP award for completing 2 hours-worth of lessons over the month of June! Excellent work, Ashton!

If you would like your child to work on the online resources (Reading Eggs, Mathletics and EP) at home and you do not have their login details, please contact your child’s teacher.

Attendance @ Leichhardt

The Week 2 Assembly saw 6A take out the Senior Attendance Lion again with an average first week attendance of 88.89%. Only 1.11% of the 90% target! Congratulations, 6A!

Indigo-Jane (6A) proudly holding the Senior Attendance Lion for her class.

1B took out the Junior Attendance Lion with an average attendance percentage of 83.16%. Only 6.84% off the 90% target! Well done, 1B!

Hazel and Cayde (1B) proudly holding the Junior Attendance Lion for 1B.

What a great attendance start to Term 3! Well done students! Well done parents/carers!

Regular school attendance is crucial for a child's academic success and overall development. It provides them with a consistent learning environment, helps them build essential social skills, and lays the foundation for future achievements. By getting your students to school, you are not only supporting their academic journey but also fostering a sense of responsibility and routine that will benefit them throughout their lives.

Thank you for your partnership in making education a priority. Together, we are shaping a brighter future for our students.

OREOs

What are LSS students learning in English this term?

Term 3 is the persuasive writing and speech presentation term in English! On Week 2 Monday’s Assembly, Year 3 students shared how they are writing a persuasive letter, using the OREO format (please see below, as it is not the cookie!), to convince their families to move to another state or territory in Australia. This links beautifully to their study in HASS where they are investigating Australia’s states and territories.

Well done, Year 3s, we look forward to sharing your persuasive letters in upcoming newsletters!

Transition to High School

On Thursday, Sarah Lake (Deputy Principal from Ipswich State High School) and Teresa Starkoff (Enrolments Officer from Ipswich State High School) presented information about transition to high school at Ipswich State High School (ISHS).

Students were very engaged during the session and excited to hear about all the different subject opportunities in Year 7.

Please remember that students need to have enrolment forms completed to attend the onsite Term 4 transition days at either high school.

Teresa Starkoff, the Ipswich State High School Enrolments Officer, stated that if parents/carers were interested that Ipswich State High School staff could come onsite here at Leichhardt to assist with the completion of enrolment forms at the end of the school day. If this is something that Year 6 parents/carers would be interested in, please contact Ms Trish Ferguson (Community Support Co-ordinator) on 3813 3222.

(L to R) Teresa Starkoff (ISHS Enrolments Officer) Sarah Lake (ISHS Deputy Principal)

Premier’s Reading Challenge

It was wonderful to see four more students added to the list of those who have successfully completed the Premier's Reading Challenge. With only five more weeks to go, let’s get as many of our students as possible across the Reading Challenge ‘finish line’.

What is the ‘finish line’ for the Premier’s Reading Challenge?

Prep to Year 4: 20 picture books.

Year 5 and 6 students: 15 chapter books.

If you have any questions, regarding the Premier’s Reading Challenge, please contact Mrs Elsje McQueen, Leichhardt State School’s ambassador for the Challenge (emcqu3@eq.edu.au).

From The Head of Teaching and Learning

We have had a fabulous start to Term 3 and I am sure it will be another busy term. Students have been settling well in getting back into their classroom routines. Students have engaged in their tasks via different ways and it has been great to see students learn in and out of the classroom.

To assist our Year 5 and 6 students for high school, next week students will start taking more responsibility for their supplies, such as their pencil case and ruler, between classes. Please remind your student to ensure their ruler, pencil case, complete with lead pencils and an eraser, is in their bag each morning before they leave for school. Thank you, Miss Greenwood for creating our posters to remind students to organise their belongings.

PBL focus of the week

We have noticed that students have been seeking peer attention. We have carefully planned PBL lessons, which teachers have been facilitating in sessions. These sessions have focused on students interacting with each other in a positive way and building their teamwork skills to become successful learners.

Best Class on Parade

The ‘Best Class on Parade’ Trophy goes to the best class who demonstrate SHELL during Parade and leave the hall the quietest.

S – sitting quietly

H – hands together

E – eyes facing the speaker

L – listening ears on

L – legs crossed

Week 1 – Best Class on Parade Week 2 – Best Class on Parade

5B – Ms Gold 6B – Miss Lee

Hi Five

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 Head Of Special Education

What a lovely start to the term. It has been enjoyable visiting classrooms and seeing how engaged students are with their learning. What a great start to the term.

I wanted to inform you all of the upcoming Nationally Consistent Collection of Data that will be occurring this term. Below you will see what information is provided and collected during this time.

Just a friendly reminder around requests for external providers. If you require a behaviour history or an observation letter, could you please see Miss Anna in the Main Office or Miss Emma in the Sanuctary to complete a Consent to Share form and an External Providers Request. We also require a minimum of two weeks notice to complete these, as it does take time to collaborate with teachers to obtain the information you require for your appointment.

Dear parents, guardians and carers

Re: Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

year of schooling

category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional

level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools

consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools

develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.

From The Community Support Coordinator

Guidance Officer

Hi, my name is Miss Cathy and I am the new Guidance Officer at Leichhardt SS. I am here on a Monday and Wednesday. I have worked in different schools in Ipswich, Central QLD and the UK. I used to be a Forest School teacher so I’m looking forward to visiting the LSS Forest School. Fun fact about me… I have a really big dog called Milo who is goofy, lots of fun and thinks he’s a person. I believe that there is always more than one solution to a problem but I understand that sometimes it's hard to see all the options when everything feels overwhelming. I really enjoy being a Guidance Officer and helping out where I can.

Miss Lee - Year 5 & 6

Hello everyone!

My name is Lauren (Miss Lee). I am thrilled to be joining the school community as the Math teacher for Year 5B and 6. In addition to my love for numbers, I am passionate about sewing and creating things! I believe creativity plays a crucial role in education, and I'm excited to integrate it into our learning experiences!

Miss Ebony

Hi, my name is Ebony, the new Youth Support Worker. I bring positive energy and fun vibes as I create and deliver programs for students.

I enjoy doing a lot of outdoor activities such as hiking, exploring, playing sports and hanging out with my dog.

Instrumental Music Program

Band Bootcamp 2024

Jett, Ruby, Fedor and Nathaniel attended Band Bootcamp at Ripley Central State School this week and played in a band of 100 students!! Band Bootcamp was a great opportunity for these students to improve their musical skills, make new friends and prepare for performances. Well done guys!!

Sports News

Term 3 is my favourite term of the year for HPE at L.S.S. Students from Prep to Year 6 will be taking part in Traditional Indigenous Games during their PE lessons with either Mr Scott, Mr Woody, Mr Birch, Miss Robinson or Miss Goldstein. The students first learn about where the different games originated from, how Indigenous people played these games and the equipment they had to use. Students then get to take part in all the games, developing the skills necessary to have success and enjoy these fantastic traditional indigenous games.

At the end of the term students will wear their house colours and compete against each other in a variety of traditional indigenous games to see who will be crowned our 2024 Indigenous Games Carnival house champions.

Mr Woody

From The Teachers

Year 1

This week in Digital Technology, 1A have been learning about hardware and software. The students explored the different parts of a computer in the computer lab and then with a partner, made a replica of a computer using a range of resources. The student used their developing skills of team work to be successful.

Year 5

Year 5 students have been diligently mastering fractions, showing impressive dedication and understanding as they tackle the adding and subtracting of fractions with like and unlike denominators! Their progress is inspiring to witness, and I'm excited to see their confidence grow in handling fractions fluently.

Year 6

Year 6 students are currently diving into the fascinating world of comparing best buys, meticulously examining discounts between two popular stores, Coles and Woolworths. Their enthusiasm and engagement have been remarkable as they explore the variety of items available in both catalogues.

Volume 11 - 19 July 2024