Peter Helliar – author visit …

We are most privileged to have been selected by our local bookstore, Bright and Early books to host a visit by touring comedian and author Peter Helliar who is launching his new book “Detective Galileo”.  He is visiting to speak to our Year 3-6 students in the hall on Thursday 12^th June from 10 – 11am.  In preparation we have ordered copies of his books for the teachers to read to the students to prepare them for engaging with his quirky sense of humour and get them thinking about their curious questions for him to get the most out of the visit.

I Block renovation – Intentionally Inviting Classrooms

Our staff came offline this week to begin the research and creative process to design learning spaces where students can:

• Be focused
• Feel a sense of belonging and
• Do things that matter with voice & choice

Many thanks to the P&C for their support this proposal in giving us the opportunity to show what is possible in co-constructing quality learning spaces for our school.  It also reflects a substantial investment by DoE, school and P&C and is a once in a significant career opportunity for each teacher.  They are creating legacy spaces in which anyone can enjoy teaching and students enjoy learning. We also appreciate the business support we have had. When I know more you will get an invite to the official re-opening.

The mess during

Free Furniture very much appreciated

We were most fortunate to have received some free floor stock furniture (a truck load) from BFX recently.  The office looks a little softer in green, there are some more bookshelves around, and some junior classes have taken advantage of the new low folding group tables to support their skill development in the Ascot Assets – in particular the collaborator and communicator.

New offices for our Head of Department

As befitting their important roles and contribution to our school we have created individual offices for our Head of Dept (differentiation) – Mrs Trish Brannelly and Head of Dept (curriculum) Miss Kristine Atkins.   Kristine joined us upstairs in what was the meeting room, and we created an office and new meeting room in the Professional learning – learning support space downstairs.

Disco Fever

The P&C organised school discos have been a sensation with the students, and so fun to watch.  I confess to being disappointed that I no longer know all the songs, but they had a few that connected.   

The students were so excited and joyful.

C block Painting  - how about some new pics of front of school ?  

With C Block being painted soon, this will fresh the front appearance of our school, so it might be time to get some new – semi-professional shots of school with new paint job and some new signage which is coming. It would be great to use these on our newsletter and website etc. I am sure we have some skilled parents out there?  Any volunteers. Email me at dcox4@eq.edu.au if you are able to help.  It won’t be for a month or so until this is finished.

Under 8's Day 

The dreary weather did not dampen our joy as we celebrated early childhood Ascot style.  The atmosphere was full of energy as children traversed the school participating in numerous activities, organised by our dedicated staff.  We also had the pleasure of being joined by our local Kindy kids who enjoyed a morning at 'big school'. 

Thank you Mrs Luhrs, Mrs Cook, Miss Whitehouse, Mrs Allen and Mrs Tegg for co-ordinating this event we appreciate your efforts. Also, we thank Jabiru our Outside School Hours provider for organising an activity station for the day.

Congratulations to Ascot Chorale

After a wonderful evening of performances from all of our choirs last Tuesday night at Tunes on Tuesday, Ascot Chorale on Thursday competed in Fanfare. This gives our choristers the opportunity to perform external to the school, and also hear choirs from other schools.

In fantastic news, they were awarded Gold for their performance. We extend our congratulations to the choir, and of course their conductor Ms Anese. Thank you to the parents who attended this event with our students. Well done, everyone!

National Reconciliation Week Assembly

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

All members of our community are warmly invited to join us for our whole school assembly to recognise Reconciliation Week.

• Monday 2 June
• 9:15am
• Covered Games Court
  

What is ICAS?  

ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills. At Ascot, we offer families in Years 3-6 the opportunity to sit the competition in English, Maths and Science.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals.  

 Learn more about ICAS here. (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas)  

 How to participate in ICAS 

Families can elect to have their child/ren participate and must sign up before Monday 28 July. At this point, the payment portal closes, and no further entries can be taken. The cost of each competition is $20.95.

Please note, we cannot facilitate refunds or make alterations as all money is paid directly to ICAS Assessments.

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please:  

1. Read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (com/products-icas/) 
2. Read the Privacy Collection Statement below.
3. Read the terms and conditions here: (com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-ICAS-Assessments-Schools-TsCs_S2023.V6-1.pdf) 
4. Go to the Parent Portal to sign up to chosen subject areas here: (icasassessments.com/pages/pps)  
5. Enter our school’s access code – VUI251
6. Enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment.  

Please note that the ICAS tests shown for selection are at the school’s discretion.   

After payment is made via the Parent Payment System, you will receive an order confirmation email, please keep this for your records. 

ICAS sitting dates

We sit the tests before school in the week of testing nominated by Janison. Below are the test weeks and will we confirm which day we will sit the test in the next newsletter.

We will do our best to work around our music rehearsals, however it is impossible to avoid clashes. If you wish your child to sit ICAS, and the time conflicts with their attendance at their band rehearsal, please contact the teacher and make your child’s apologies for that week.

• English – Week beginning Monday 11 August – Day TBA - 7:15am for a 7:30 start
• Science - Week beginning Monday 18 August – Day TBA - 7:15am for a 7:30 start
• Mathematics – Week beginning Monday 25 August - Day TBA  - 7:15am for a 7:30 start

ICAS Results and Certificates 

We will notify you when your child’s ICAS results are ready. Once we have received your child’s ICAS certificate, we will send it home with your child.

The back of the certificate shows ICAS results and the login details, “TAP ID and Pin”, that you and your child need to enter the Results Portal orti.icasassessments.com/ortiStudent  

 Read the terms and conditions here: (icasassessments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-ICAS-Assessments-Schools-TsCs_S2023.V6-1.pdf). 

Privacy collection statement  
The following information is a privacy notification about how your child’s data is kept private and secure.

ICAS Assessment is owned by Janison Solutions Pty Ltd (We, Us, Our).

To deliver assessment products, Janison will require your child’s School to obtain your consent to provide Janison with certain personal information of students. Janison will collect, store, use, disclose and otherwise deal with such personal information in accordance with its privacy policy (below). We are aware of our responsibility to protect personal information related to children and students from being disclosed when we deliver an ICAS Assessments product. Unless you, as the child’s legal guardian consents, we will not:

• collect any personal information or data of children other than the information we need for the successful completion of an assessment, test, or exam.
• transfer any personal information we obtain from a child in the delivery of assessments and tests to any jurisdiction outside of Australia.
• share any personal information relating to children with any third parties (except for those third parties necessary for us to carry out our Services or provide our Products e.g., medal engraving).
• use any personal information or data relating to children for marketing purposes.

You can view our full privacy policy at https://www.janison.com/privacy-policy/.

We may retain personal information and data relevant to a child for their future purposes or for research purposes by Janison for the duration of the school life cycle of the child. However, if you or your child at any time wish to have their personal information or data removed from our systems, they or you may opt out by simply contacting our Privacy Officer at privacy@janison.com or by contacting icasassessments@janison.com.

These students impressed their teachers with their approach to learning in a variety of ways over the past week. Congratulations!

Week 5

Week 6

Congratulations to these students who are mastering our school expectations and earnt a Boarding Pass that put them into our weekly draw at Assembly. With thanks to the P & C for their support, our winners receive an ice block or home bake from the Tuckshop.

Birthday Book Program

YEAR 1 & 2 - ARE YOU READY TO PARTY?!

It’s time to get your GLOW on so be sure to come along dressed in your favourite fluoro or neon accessorised with some of the super cool light-up glow options that we have available for purchase.

Tickets are available now on Flexischools along with a range of light-up bracelets and rings with all funds raised going towards Ascot SS (Please note, light-up items contain button batteries).

Disco tickets also include a packet of chips and a drink and children are also welcome to bring their water bottles.

All tickets and items must be pre-purchased on Flexischools as these will not be available for purchase at the door. Also, due to safety reasons NO BYO GLOW PRODUCTS are permitted.

If you would like to come along and help out at your child’s disco, please sign up on the link below (Please note, only signed up volunteers will be allowed to remain in the hall once the disco starts): https://volunteersignup.org/4JP73

A huge thank you to the local businesses that generously donated the amazing prizes for our Raffle. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without their support so please help us return the favour by shopping local.

Also thank you to all those who supported our fundraising by purchasing tickets and congratulations to all of the winners.

SUPPORT ASCOT STATE SCHOOL AT GRILL’D THIS JUNE!

We’re taking part in the Grill’d Racecourse Rd Local Matters Program for the month of June.

There’s never been a better time to give yourself the night off cooking dinner so head down to Grill’d to feed the family and pop your tokens in the Ascot SS jar to help our school bring home the win.

Ascot State School, with the support of the P&C, would like to offer you a unique opportunity to recognise your family's time at our wonderful school with a special Commemorative Plaque. The plaques include your choice of inspirational quote or family motto, family name and years of attendance or association with Ascot. They are cast from bronze and will inspire future generations of Ascot students, teachers and families. This will be displayed near the entrance to the Administration Building and will last the test of time.

All funds raised from the Commemorative Plaques contribute to Ascot's Building Fund and are tax deductible. Your kind donation will be used to enhance and maintain Ascot's quality education and learning facilities for years to come.

To secure your plaque at Ascot State School please click on the link to complete the order form: https://forms.gle/unVHKys3788EsxDU9

Sport Carnival Dates/ Gala Days -Term 2, 2025

Schedule of Athletic Events Prior to Yr 3 – 6 Athletics Carnival

Due to time constraints at athletics carnival, some events are run prior to carnival day. Children will nominate for these events in P.E. lessons and these events will be run this term as follows on Thursday afternoons (2:15 – 3 pm), weather permitting. Congratulations to our 2014/ 2015 high jumpers who competed over the last 2 Thursdays and to our placegetters.

Met North Cross Country

Congratulations to Ava, Finn and Katherine on competing at the Metropolitan North Cross Country trials last Tuesday. We know they would have competed to the best of their ability in achieving the following results: Katherine finished 2^nd to be selected in the Met North team for state trials, Ava finished 13^th and Finn came in, in 25^th place. Well done to all students and good luck to Katherine at states.

Yr 5 – 6 Gala Sport Days (May 30 ,June 6 and 13)

Fingers crossed that wet fields and weather don’t prevent the rest of our gala days from proceeding. Yr 5 and 6 students need to be at school before 8:30 for Gala Day buses with hats, sunscreen, water and food. The venues are listed below:

Tag League  

Venue: Norths Cricket, Shaw Park

Soccer

Boys Venue: Brisbane Grammar Playing Fields, Northgate

Girls Venue: Virginia United Soccer Club – Northgate

Netball

Venue: Downey Park, Cnr Northey St & Green Tce, Windsor

Prep Perceptual Motor Program (Term 2)

Children have been enjoying the PMP program (see photos below) and we have one week left before we start on preparation for our athletics carnival in week 9. Thank you to all our volunteers. The order of classes on Tuesday is as follows:

9:00 – 9:30       Prep D                                               10:30 - 11:00    Prep E

9:30 – 10:00     Prep A                                               11:45 – 12:15   Prep B

10:00 – 10:30   Prep C

                                                                                                                                                                            

Congratulations, Lara!

Lara K in Year 6 recently competed in the gymnastics Queensland Senior State Championships. She achieved the following: 

• Silver All Around
• Silver on Bars
• Bronze on Beam, and
• placed 6th on Floor for her level

As a result, Lara has qualified for the 2025 Queensland Border Challenge Team. The Border Challenge is a prestigious interstate event where selected gymnasts from NSW, WA, VIC, SA, and NT come together to compete against Queensland’s top Level 7 athletes. 

We wish you all the best for this competition, Lara.

This newsletter section provides a great opportunity for local businesses to engage with our parent community. If you would like your business to be a part of this or for more information, please email us at comms@ascotsspandc.org.