5 September 2019

Newsletter Articles

Keith Warwick, Principal’s Report, kwarw2@eq.edu.au

Crossing Re-Development

The Brisbane City Council has fast-tracked planned safety enhancements to the small Woodville Street pedestrian crossing adjacent to the car yard opposite the school. These commenced this week.

NAPLAN 2019

2019 was another year of outstanding NAPLAN results. I am particularly proud of the growth in “Writing”. Student achievement at ISS counters the trend of writing decline observed in some states and territories. Students continue to perform well in the “Top 2 Bands”. Growth in Year 5 writing “Top 2 Bands” has been particularly strong this year.

Green indicates above National Performance. Blue indicates similar to National Performance. It is challenging for us to get 100% meeting National Minimum Standard (NMS) as students who are exempted from NAPLAN, are automatically deemed as not meeting NMS.

Whole school and year level results aside, the real value of NAPLAN is in drilling down into individual student results to identify strengths and next steps for learning. NAPLAN data is triangulated with other school data to further refine the picture we have of each student and their performance.

Indooroopilly SS ranked 5th this year in NAPLAN when compared to all state and non-state schools in Queensland. Considering that there are 1402 state and non-state primary schools, this is an excellent result.

Future Problem Solving 2019 Nationals

I am very proud to say that three teams have qualified for the National Future Problem Solving finals. Congratulations to the following curious learners; Solomon H., Katherine L, Anushka V., Aaron W., Ethan M., Max L., Oliver R., Siddharth A., Akshara S., Kaylan D., Makenzie G., and Aneesh P.

This year’s finals are in Brisbane, taking place from Friday 18 October to Sunday 20 October 2019 at Moreton Bay College. Indooroopilly SS has reached the finals every year since 2015. Thank you to FPS teacher mentors Louise Kliese, Sarah Webster, Drew Williams and Eldon Pascoe.

Amy Howkins Acting Principal of Riverview SS

Congratulations to Amy on her appointment to Riverview SS as Acting Principal. Amy will be in this role until the end of Week 1, Term 4. Head of Curriculum Sarah Webster will act as Deputy Principal Year 5-6. Eldon Pascoe will teach 5E fulltime during this period.

School Council Meeting

This week our School Council convened for its Term 3 meeting. Our agenda included: a. 2019 School Budget Status, b. Enrolments, c. Annual Implementation Plan 2019- Implementation, d. Policy Matters, e. Facilities , f. School Review, g. Curiosity and Powerful Learning, h. NAPLAN 2019. Thank you to the school council for their considered reflections.

Regards
Keith

Amy Howkins, Deputy Principal, Years 5 & 6 ahowk1@eq.edu.au

Year 5 Poetry Analysis

Following on from last week, the Year 5 students have completed their poetry analysis of Uluru, by Eva Johnson.

Guan-Ao has very succinctly captured the features of the poem that appealed to him, as detailed in the conclusion of his analysis.

‘I thoroughly enjoyed the lyrical poem ‘Uluru’ by Eva Johnson. I value the precise language, such as ‘jagged crevices’ and ‘ochred walls’ as they create great imagery. The message of the poem is that Uluru is important to the Aboriginal peoples and I like how Eva portrayed this using precise poetic devices like verb and noun groups in the lines ‘to crystal pools, where women sing, wash, dance.’ I agree with the message, as I feel Aboriginal people have not got much respect in these past years. Overall, Uluru is an enjoyable poem, rich in message and in language features.’

More Year 5 Writing

The Year 5 students are currently working at turning a poem, ‘The Wild Colonial Boy’ into a narrative. When I visited 5A earlier this week, Mr Power had the students all eagerly engaged in a writing warm up. He had stimulus questions for the students to ponder and discuss within their group, with a scribe taking down ideas, then another member of the group sharing with the whole class. When speaking with the groups, it was excellent to hear them referring to prior knowledge. When asked about the characters’ possible motivation for moving from Europe to Australia in the 1800’s, Shub referenced his Year 4 HASS learnings; that at that time in Europe, there was a lot of poverty, famine and poor living conditions for those who were not wealthy. It is wonderful to see students making these connections within the Australian Curriculum.

Reminder!

The payment and forms for the Year 5 camp are due at school on Friday, 13 September. We need to submit final numbers and details of specific medical and dietary requirements to the venue by this date. Please ensure that all documentation and payments are received by this date if you want your child to be included in this experience.

Happy Holidays!

I look forward to returning to Indooroopilly in Term 4 to share my leadership learnings with the rest of the team. I have no doubt that Miss Webster will do a great job in my absence, as she will be supported by the rest of the wonderful Leadership Team. Have a fantastic break

Julie Bliss, Deputy Principal, Years 3 & 4, jmbli0@eq.edu.au

Year 4 Camp

On Monday, 11 September, Year 4 students begin their camping adventure. This week a final camp letter will be sent home. The letter includes the packing list (as a reminder) and gives details about the time to arrive at school to catch the bus (8:15am). All medications must be given to Mrs Bliss on Monday morning, labelled and placed in a plastic ziplock bag. Please remember to provide morning tea on Monday because we are travelling to the mangroves at Wynnum where we will eat morning tea before we travel to Kindilan. Children can be collected at Taringa Parade on Wednesday at 3:00pm.

Writing in Year 4

Year 4 students have been writing an historical recount. Here's Nandhan's (4C) recount.

The First Fleet

My name is John Hudson. I was born in London 1787. I am a convict. Before, I used to be a chimney sweep but life strikes hard when you’re doing that sort of job. London 1787 was a place of disease and misery. The reeking smell of the sewers wafted through the rat-ridden streets. Thick smog clouded the sunshine and made it a dim gloomy place. It was cold, with old crumbling brick buildings towering above the rough, gravel-laid, paved cobblestone sidewalks. It was not pleasant to live there. You would experience the gruesome smell of dark smoke and you could almost never spend a single day without coughing in it. Starved out like me, many people digressed into theft.

It was a foggy morning that day. I could smell smog when a different aroma went up my nose: the smell of a lovely steaming potato. I peered out to see what it was. I silently crawled on all fours until my knees were bleeding red raw from the jagged cobblestone. Then I got up on my feet and before I knew it I was up against the brick wall of a house. I looked into a kitchen window and saw a loaf of bread and a glass of water as well as a steaming potato.

"Must be their breakfast," I thought. If I was going to survive, then I’d better take it. So I grabbed my To-Be breakfast and shot back to my home. I took a sharp stone and cut the bread into two pieces, put the potato between the pieces and took a bite out of it. Stale. Nothing came for free in London. Not even the stalest bread came for free. I guzzled down the water and went out to steal from somewhere better.

Then out in the distance, I saw a well-dressed figure clad in a blue and red suit. He wore a tie over his white raised collar and a black striped top hat. He stood menacingly, watching me. He must have seen the bread in my hands. He was a Bow Street Runner. He was like the police of the street. If he saw a convict, the thief was immediately sent to court and for a trial.

“I’m damned and as good as dead if I don’t make this run,” I whispered to myself. I sprinted. But to no avail. I tripped on a rock and slam-dunked my head on the sidewalk. I blacked out.

I woke up in court.

“The trial has begun. The sentenced has woken,” boomed the magistrate. He read my crime from a note and sentenced me to death by hanging. I winced. But the jury stood up.

“He is too young to be put to death” they said.

“It’s true. I’m only nine,” I agreed.

“Fine” said the magistrate. “Transportation”.

I gulped. I was going to New Holland. The judge ended the trial.

“Order in the court,” he said.

We departed soon after my trial. We were on the Charlotte. We had departed from London and we still had eight months to go. Harsh rays of sunlight streamed in from the flimsy decks and the suffocating heat was unbearable. At day it was burning. At night it was freezing. Rats scurried everywhere, and disease spread quickly but we would be there soon. At New Holland.

It was the morning of the 24th of January, 1788. Everything was normal, when suddenly a loud ‘BANG’ followed by severe rattling was heard. Shuffling and moving as well as a lot of commotion was heard. The Friendship had crashed into our ship. Soon we evaded this and came ashore. We had landed. My new life was about to begin ...

Karen Newton, Deputy Principal, Years 1 & 2, knewt18@eq.edu.au

Magnificent Mathematicians – 1H

In Year 1, we are learning to describe durations of time and make comparisons between events that take a long time or a short time to complete. Time is a measure that is a different from other measurement concepts in that it cannot be seen or touched. For these reasons it can be a challenging concept to master. There are two aspects of time students must develop:

• time as an instant which can be named, for example, 7:15am
• time as a duration which describes an amount of time that has passed, for example, a minute, the afternoon, the year.

To help learn about time duration, Sarah and Amelia in 1H have constructed a table to compare events that take 1 minute, 1 hour, 1 day or 1 week to complete. Amelia can quickly eat a banana in one minute!

Radical Writing – 2D

Compound sentences can make our writing rich and colorful. In Year 1, as beginning writers we learn to construct simple sentences. In Year 2 we learn that compound sentences provide added detail and tend to make paragraphs more engaging. So, in our current unit of work about information texts, we have been joining together at least two independent clauses that have related ideas. We use coordinating conjunctions to help us. However, as authors in Year 2 we know that the type of details we add to an informative text are different to the details we add to an imaginative story. We have been working hard to build compound sentences using noun groups that suit an informative text type. In these examples from 2D Sarah, Nathan and Harry have constructed some very interesting compound sentences about Mallard ducks.

Wendy Fender, Deputy Principal, Prep, wfend1@eq.edu.au

Making Paper

As part of their Science learning about materials and their properties, Mrs Fehervary and the students of Prep A have been making paper. As well as developing an understanding of how paper is made, they have observed how the properties of the materials change as they are shredded, soaked, drained and dried.

Lighthouse Art

Students in Prep B have manipulated and utilised different materials to create beautiful lighthouse artworks. A beautiful picture book, “The Magic Beach”, by Alison Lester, was the stimulus for their creations.

Prep Writers of the Week: Gordon, Lincoln and Mitchell from Prep C

Sarah Webster, HOC, swebs31@eq.edu.au

Moderation – consistency of teacher judgement on student work

When teachers mark student work, they use a detailed marking guide for that specific task. This marking guide explains what elements a piece of work needs to include (e.g. complex sentences, accurate scientific language) in order for it to be assessed as an A, B, C, D or E.

To ensure consistency across the marking from teacher to teacher, each year level team is involved in a moderation process where they collaborate to match evidence from the students’ work to the marking guide elements. If teachers disagree that a piece of work is a certain mark, they further discuss the whole of the task to find more evidence of the elements. Any student samples that the teachers are unsure of will be left for discussions with the HOC and relevant deputy before being assigned a final grade.

Louise Kliese, Challenge and Extension Coach, lklie4@eq.edu.au

Australian Maths Trust Program

Congratulations to the students working through the Ramanujan, Newton, Dirichlet and Euler level programs. Your grit and determination in achieving your best with each of your test problems is admirable. Please be sure to complete all eight problems by the due date: Monday 16 September. All eight problems must be attempted in order to achieve an award. Certificate levels include: High Distinction, Distinction, Credit and Participation.

ICAS Online Competition 2019

Please be punctual to all ICAS tests to avoid any disappointment. Arrive at 7:20am for a 7:30am start. We cannot admit late arrivals.

Bring a pencil to do any working out on the spare paper we provide you.

Practice Tests

Feel free to work through some of the practice tests in the upcoming week:

Students have been shown how to use the interactive ruler and the calculator tools embedded in the Maths test. It is optional to bring a mouse to use on the day.

Parents, please note UNSW privacy notification for your information

*Privacy notification: UNSW Global stores, uses and modifies the ICAS Assessments data in order to generate reports, conduct research and analysis, and improve its products and services. UNSW Global will not hold or use ICAS Assessments data that constitutes personal information for longer than 15 years. As the parent or guardian of a student who intends to sit ICAS Assessments, you consent to the school collecting the ICAS Assessments data that relates to the student, disclosing it to UNSW Global and to UNSW Global’s use of it in the manner outlined above. You also consent to the school assigning this consent to UNSW Global.

Interschool Debating

Schedule

Lunchtime Clubs

This broad selection of clubs should provide an interesting addition to your child’s weekly activities where their curiosity may be sparked in a project with enthusiastic peers. All students are welcome to come along, there is no selection process. Simply check the grade levels listed to determine participation options and contact the listed teacher for further clarification if necessary.

Margaret Hoey, Music Teacher, mhoey5@eq.edu.au

Serenading at Singfest

Last Thursday, 47 Year 4 students attended a combined choral day at The Old Museum. Despite a long workshop day with an evening concert performance, the students remained engaged, displaying a delightful sense of wonder, curiosity and concentration. The students stood proud on stage and sounded like angels. Bravo to all the Mezzo Voices.

Dateclaimer Choir Musical

Our choir musical is coming. Don’t miss the swash bucking story of Pirates VS Mermaids on Wednesday October 30 at 6:30pm in the school hall.

P & C News,

Indooroopilly Swimming

Indooroopilly Swimming offers Holiday Intensive classes during this school holidays. Come and learn to swim in our heated pool. Classes are available at all ability levels. We welcome all new students who must attend a free assessment before booking any lessons. Assessments are available at 8am and 3pm each day. Please email indooroopillyswimming@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Uniform Shop, Hong Xie, indrouniformshop@gmail.com

Embroidered Hats

All orders of the embroidered hat were delivered to classes last week. If you have not yet received your order, please contact the uniform shop immediately.

School Administration

Are your contact details up to date?

Parent email addresses

Recently an email was sent to all parents and some were undeliverable. If you did not receive an email dated 27/08/2019 from the school, we do not have your current email address. Please contact administration to update your details. You can also manage changes to your contact details via the QParents smart phone application.

Parent phone numbers

During the school day the school may need to contact parents, sometimes urgently. If there are changes to any of your phone numbers; personal mobile, work phone or home phone, make sure to immediately update these at administration or via QParents.

School Calendar

A full calendar is kept on the school website at:

Payment Due Dates

A current list of invoices to be paid via BPOINT is available on the website at:

Year 5 Camp invoices have been distributed. Payment is due Friday 13/09/2019.

Year 5 ‘Cool Companions’ Incursion invoices have been distributed. Payment is due Friday 13/09/2019.

Community News

Toowong Hands and Hearts Fair

Toowong Hands and Hearts Fair is this Saturday 7 September at Toowong State School from 11:00 am. Michael Berkman, the Greens MP for Maiwar, is speaking on-stage at 12:00 noon. He also volunteered to sit in the water dunking machine from 12:15 - 12:45 pm.

What swimming costume do you suggest he wear? Click the link and vote now! Please share the link with your family, friends, work associates and local community.

BSHS Music and International Food Festival

Kenmore District Kindergarten

Kenmore State High School Fundraiser

Kenmore State High School Colour Blast - Chaplaincy Fundraiser

When: Friday 13 September, 3:30pm – 5:30pm
Where: Kenmore State High School Oval

Brookfield Country Markets