Volume 12 - 2 August 2024

From The Principal

Welcome to week 4. This week I had the honour of applying for the role of Principal on a permanent basis.  Next will be an interview and then wait. As part of the application, I wrote a potential statement that outlined what I would do if I secured the position. I thought it would be very worthwhile to share my goals with the community.  This is my promise.

Potential Statement: As the Principal of Leichhardt State School, I will:

Enhance the current pre-prep transition program

Build the capability and effectiveness of our school's teaching team and leadership team

Improve A-E data

Enhance flexible learning spaces to engage all students

Continue the Implementation of PBL

Establish strong community connections

Develop senior student leaders’ program

This week, although it has been very cold at times, I have enjoyed continuing to meet more of our students and their families. Currently our attendance is at approximately 79%, our target is 90%.  There is no greater effect on a child’s education than attendance, they need to be at school. When children attend school on a regular basis they develop connections with their teachers, friend and staff members which helps them develop a feeling of belonging, therefore they want to come to school more.  Please continue to encourage your children to be at school every day.

Thank you

Andrew Goldie
Principal

From The Deputy Principal

Attendance @ Leichhardt

The Week 3 Assembly saw 4A take out the Senior Attendance Lion again with an average week attendance of 84.35%.   Only 4.65% of the 90% target!  Congratulations, 4A!

3B took out the Junior Attendance Lion with an average attendance percentage of 86%.  Only 4% off the 90% target!   Well done, 3B!

 The Week 4 Assembly saw 6A take out the Senior Attendance Lion again with an average week attendance of 84.29%.   Only 5.71% of the 90% target!  Congratulations, 6A!

3B again took out the Junior Attendance Lion with an average attendance percentage of 90%.  They made the 90% target!   Well done, 3B!

Ensuring regular school attendance is essential for your child's growth and development. Consistent attendance not only enriches their academic experience but also nurtures critical social skills and establishes a strong foundation for future accomplishments. By prioritizing their presence in school, you are contributing to their educational journey and instilling habits of responsibility and structure that will serve them well in the long run.

We appreciate your dedication to making education a priority. Together, we are committed to creating a brighter and more successful future for our students.

Awards @ Leichhardt

What are LSS students learning in English this term?

At the Monday, Week 3, Assembly, Nova from 3A shared the marking criteria for the Year 3 English task and gave examples of what Year 3 students need to demonstrate to achieve an A B and C for English this term.  Thank you, Nova!

At the Monday, Week 4, Assembly, Alexys from 4A shared what 4A are working on for English and how this term their English Unit links with their Science Unit.  Year 4 students are writing persuasive advertisements to convince NASA to buy their spacecraft.  There were some impressive designs and convincing arguments being crafted.  Thank you, students!

Premier’s Reading Challenge

It was wonderful to see five more students added to the list of those who have successfully completed the Premier's Reading Challenge.   With only three 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).

Book Week Parade 2024

The end of the Premier’s Reading Challenge culminates in Leichhardt’s Annual Book Week Parade!  Please start discussing costume ideas with your child now in preparation for the Book Week Parade, Friday Week 7 at 8:50am in the Hall.  The theme of this year’s Book Week is ‘Reading is Magic!’

From The Head of Teaching and Learning

 Positive Behaviour for Learning

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 the link below. https://behaviour.education.qld.gov.au/supportingStudentBehaviour/PositiveBehaviourforLearning/Documents/pbl-in-practice-family-engagement.pdf

A big shout out to Miss Robinson’s and Miss Lee’s Year 6 classes who have been participating in the PBL lessons. They have participated in class discussions, used Y Charts and practised the skills of learner and teamwork. Students have also been practising to ensure devices are stored safely and charged ready to go.

High 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.

Year 5 and 6 reminders

To assist our Year 5 and 6 students for high school, students have been 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, are 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. 

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

From The Community Support Coordinator

NAIDOC Day Celebrations

NAIDOC Is an annual celebration that honours the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

Leichhardt State School celebrated NAIDOC Day on Friday the 19th of July. Our Students, Staff and Families learnt about the rich cultural heritage of Indigenous communities with the help of our local Elders and Guests through various events such as, exhibitions, cultural performances, educational activities and community gatherings. 

A special thank you goes to our very own Miss Anna, who shared her Indigenous ancestry story with us. 

A Message from Aunty Marly

Once again NAIDOC Day was a great success with everyone enjoying the day and having fun! Big thank you to Aunty Larena and Traditional Students for sharing their culture to all. Special thanks to Aunty Sharron for a wonderful performance which had everyone singing and dancing. If you would like to listen and see Aunty Sharrons music with your children and families, the links are below.

Thank you to Uncle Henry Thompson Junior, Rhan Hooper the Ipswich JETTS, Ipswich State High and IRON TRAX, and to the staff who helped on the day.  Without you, all this would not have been possible.  Where would we be without our amazing community.

I would also like to say a huge thank you to all the teachers who support our Deadly Dancers.  The feedback from all the schools and events we attend has been outstanding as the Deadly Dancers continue to display excellent behaviour and shine brightly as they represent Leichhardt State School with pride.  This cultural inclusion is possible with the support of our families, our leadership team and our teachers. These performances are an amazing educational experience for each student, not only contributing to the wellbeing of each and every child through song and dance, but enhancing student confidence, their ability to speak and perform in front of large crowds, their sense of pride, their self-awareness, ability to work in a team, problem solving skills and community engagement, just to mention a few. They do us proud. 

Keep the fire burning everyone!

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Deadly Dancers

The Deadly Dancers have had an exciting lineup of performances, showcasing their talent and passion at several significant events. They not only recently performed at our NAIDOC Day but were invited to perform at Brisbane Central State School and Fernbrooke State School NAIDOC Day Celebrations.

The Dancers also took to the stage at Ipswich Little Big Day Out, bringing their unique style and energy to a family-friendly festival.

Additionally, the Deadly Dancers performed at the Amberly Air Base, entertaining service members with their dynamic moves and engaging performances.

These events not only allowed the dancers to showcase their skills but also helped to foster a sense of community and celebration wherever they performed.

Instrumental Music Program

Sports News

On July 18 and 19 Our school sent a team of 9 students to compete at the Ipswich North and South Zone Track and Field Carnival. Daymon, Sam, Andantez, Will, Israel, Utah, Rylen, Kensi and Tahlia all represented their school extremely well over the 2 days. All students who competed in Shot Put, Discus and Long Jump managed to improve on their performances from our school carnival and training sessions.

I would like to pay special attention to the following students due to their exceptional performances on the day.

Daymon - 6^th in the final of the 12yrs Boys 100m

Kensi - 7^th in the final of the 12yrs Girls 100m

Israel - 4^th in the 11yrs Boys Shot put.

Utah - 7^th in the 10yrs Boys Discus.

Mr Woody, Mr Scott and all of Leichhardt are extremely proud of all these students' efforts over the 2 days. 

Soccer

Well done to all our future soccer superstars who received a medal for their selection in our interschool sport soccer team. We are so proud of you all for the way you played together as a team and represented our school to the Ipswich community!!

STUDENT SPORTING SPOTLGHT

Daymon Rangi - 

One of our students, Daymon Rangi is one of the best upcoming junior Muay Thai fighters in Qld, if not Australia.

Daymon has been training since 2022, out of the Underground Gym. Daymon had his first fight on June 11th and came out with a win! Ever since then it's become his passion. Daymon trains 4 nights a week Monday - Thursday and sometimes Saturday if there is an upcoming bout.  That's about 13hrs training a week!!

Daymon's fight record is 4 Bouts, with 3 wins and 1 draw!! What an amazing achievement!

Daymon has an upcoming fight on Sunday August 11 with the Q1 Muay Thai Amateur Series, this fight will be taking place at Nissan Arena. We wish Daymon all the best in his upcoming Bout.

Ruby Halls - 

Ruby Halls could be the next Hockeyroo! We are incredibly proud of Ruby for her outstanding hockey season. Ruby was selected to play for Ipswich in the U14s Hockey State Championships during the winter holidays and is now competing at the Southern Cross Carnival in Brisbane for the U12 Ipswich Stars. Best of Luck this weekend Ruby!!

NRL GALA Day

A big thank you to Gloria and the team from the NRL Development Squad, who came and spent two days with our students teaching them new skills and tactics for the footy field.  Our students worked together as a team, had fun and look forward to putting their new skills into practice!

From The Teachers

Prep

Prep B have been learning to retell an important event for their upcoming English speaking and listening assessment. They have been working on including details such as: What happened? Who was involved? What did you do first? What happened next? What was the best part? How did you feel about the experience? as part of their retell. Students have also been practising speaking in front of the class and sharing retells of personal events.
During mathematics lessons, students have been exploring the concept of division. They have been engaged in various activities involving sharing equal amounts. Their favourite activity so far has been equally sharing "frogs on a log." We continue to work on number recognition, counting, and adding numbers up to ten.
This week, the students had a fantastic time participating in our NRL Gala Day. They developed many skills, including passing and catching the football, how to play the ball and the correct way to pull off the opponents tag. It was a great opportunity for all our preps to interact together.

Prep A has been exploring 2D shapes this week.  We used paddle pops to make shapes such as triangles and squares as well as rectangles.  We then experimented making other items such as a sun, a flower, a jellyfish and a car using paddle pop sticks.  We had so much fun learning through play and using our imagination.

Mrs Krings and Miss Amy

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Year 1

1A has been exploring 2D shapes. We played ‘Guess the shape’ where a student selects one shape from the bag and needs to use their knowledge of corners and sides to describe the shape for their peers to guess. The Students also made 2D shapes using match sticks and named them once completed.

Year 2

2A demonstrated excellent skills in learning English, Maths and Technology. In English, the students learnt structured writing to persuade the reader.

In Maths, the students demonstrated how to cut shapes into halves, quarters and eighths. The students also learnt how to share a number of items equally.

In Technology, the students enjoyed manipulating bee-bots and learnt how to give right directions to move the bee-bots across the alphabet mat.

Year 3

Year 3A is learning all about opaque, translucent and transparency in Science this term. They are going to be creating sundials to track the movement of the sun for their assessment. For some fun, 3A began tracing their shadows with chalk (pulling some poses) and then played a game of shadow tag for a fun afternoon.

Year 3 HPE

They took part in the respectful relationships program with Miss Steph, this week the topic was about personal boundaries! 

Year 4

Students chunking words, during reading groups.

Students are learning about the different types of forces and whether the force is contact or non-contact.  Here are students experimenting with Air Resistance

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Year 5 Math

In Year 5 we are learning conversions! The Year 5’s have been working hard on converting fractions to decimals and then decimals to percentages!

Year 6 Math

Year 6 are working on adding and subtracting equivalent fractions with like denominators. They’re working very hard and are well on the way to completing their assessment!

Year 6 

The year 6s took part in a comprehension competitive game called Trashketball, this was inspired by the start of Olympic Games. 

Health and PE at Leichhardt

Term 3 Welcomes Indigenous Games

This term, Leichhardt is welcoming its favourite topic of traditional Indigenous games. It’s fair to say that our students are loving these cultural activities! They are learning to play Emu, Jumpinpin, Arrkene Irreme, and Kabi Kabi Buroinjin.

The students have shown great enthusiasm and have thrived in these games, all in preparation for the Indigenous Games Carnival in Week 10. During the carnival, our houses—Acacia, Banksia, and Kurrajong—will compete and showcase their skills in these traditional games.

Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to the carnival!

In the Classroom

Our senior students are hard at work with their Respectful Relationships modules. Each year group is focusing on different areas:

• Year 4: Positive Coping Strategies
• Year 5: Conflict Management
• Year 6: Recognise, Respond, and Report - Safety in Offline Contexts

These are really important topics, so please check in with your students on how these lessons are going. It's wonderful to see our students engaging in these important topics and building a foundation of mutual respect and empathy.

Mr Scott & Mr Woody. 

Year 6 - Passport to Success

The Year 6s have been working hard every Tuesday in the passport to success program. This lesson we myth busted any conspiracies about high school that the students might have. 

Electives

Our students are enjoying their Electives this Term. Electives can enhance critical thinking, creativity, and practical skills, providing a more well-rounded education. Additionally, they offer a break from the rigidity of curriculum, making learning more enjoyable and engaging for students.

Reading with The Kindy Kids

Gardening Club

The Gardening Club's Garden is thriving with lots of vegetables being harvested and new gardening beds being put in place.  The students have been busy replanting some fruit trees which needed to be moved.

From The P&C

We'd like to start with a massive thank you and appreciation to our committed volunteers who have been working in the tuckshop and behind the scenes to have Tuckshop & Uniform shop up and running very successfully with a fabulous new menu!

Also, a huge thank you to our families who have been supporting the P&C as we get a handle of how to run and operate a P&C, as we are all new to this, this year.

We are currently working on fundraising for Year 6 Camp with a small event coming up on the 14th of August in relation to the Ekka beginning on the 10^th. Stay Tuned!

We run Online Ordering through the QKR! App.  Parents could you please take a moment to double check your child’s class and information as some are coming through as last year's classes.

The Uniform Shop is also available through the QKR! App. We are awaiting new stock to arrive in the coming weeks. We also have a new hat design which is a reversible sports bucket hat available in all 3 house colours, hopefully arriving in the coming weeks. If you’d like to see a sample, please feel free to head to the tuckshop during opening hours or feel free to place a pre-order.

We are still in the cooler weeks of winter and still have some jumpers available to purchase starting from just $10 (size14 & 16) as we will be ordering a new design coming into next year's winter months.

If you have ever thought of volunteering, PLEASE feel free to come and have a chat! We welcome anyone who is willing to come and give it a try.  You do not have to commit! We are looking for Tuckshop, Breakfast Club and Reading with the Kids Volunteers. Enquire at Main Office. (Blue Card Required)

From The Community

StoryArts Festival Ipswich 2024 - Family Program

Presented by the Ipswich District Teacher-Librarian Network, the biennial StoryArts Festival Ipswich (SAFI) brings together award-winning authors, illustrators, storytellers and performers from all over Australia to deliver an exciting program of literary experiences.

Supported by Ipswich Libraries, and sponsored by Ipswich Festivals, SAFI is back with an exciting array of FREE events in 2024!