Hi Everyone,

Welcome to 2026! I hope you've had a wonderful holiday and that you are a fresh and ready for another school year. We have been busily together here as a staff, getting ready for a great year and we are really looking forward to it.

A huge SPECIAL WELCOME to all new families to Ironside State School, we hope you have settled into our area well and feel ready to start the school year!

At the end of last year we farewelled several staff and of course, that means we are now welcoming new members of our team!

Welcome to:

Ms Ashley McMillan who is an experienced teacher joining our Prep team.

Ms Leanne Nebe who is an experienced teaching joining our Year 1 team.

Mr Harrison Gable who is a beginning teacher joining our Year 2 team (you may have seen him last year doing relief teaching at our school).

Ms Tzigane Latter who is a beginning teaching joining our Year 2 team.

Mrs Annabelle Houlahan, who we are welcoming back from maternity leave and is an experienced teacher here at Ironside. Mrs Houlahan is joining our Year 2 team 2 days a week.

Ms Taylor Wilton who is an experienced teacher joining our Year 3 team.

Ms Sequoya Miller who is a beginning teacher joining our Year 5 team.

Ms Celine Garibaldi who is an experienced teacher joining our EAL/D team, teaching our children with children as a second language.

Mrs Debbie Smith, who we are welcoming back and is an experienced teacher, joining our Support Team.

Mr Cliff Makemson, our new Guidance Officer, who has many years of guidance experience.

We are so excited to have all these people with us.

There are a couple of changes that are important for you to be aware of; we have changed assembly to Monday afternoons, beginning at 2:10pm.

Also, though I am putting today’s newsletter out today, from week 2 onwards, it will be on a Friday.

I always talk about being school ready and to be school ready, in my mind there are 5 things.

- Full School Uniform (children need full school uniform including white socks and black shoes, no coloured nail polish and no extra jewellery, long hair neatly tied back with blue ribbons etc to match Ironside State School uniform colours)

- Broad brimmed hat and sunscreen

- Healthy lunchbox (minimal packaging) - for those choosing to give your children Tuckshop, please make sure you have put your child’s order in via the QKR app.

- Well rested and organised with expected schools tasks completed

- Be at school every day possible and on time.

To be on time though, you need to know the bell times. This is what they are currently:

8:55 am – Getting ready for class
9:00 am – Session 1 begins
11:00–11:10 am – Eating time
11:10-Play time
11:25 - Getting ready for class
11:30 am–1:00 pm – Session 2
1:00–1:10 pm – Eating time
1:10– Play time
1:35- Getting ready for class
1:40–3:00 pm – Session 3

It is vital that every parent and caregiver remember that our gates are locked until 8:30am each morning, which is when staff commence duty to supervise the children in undercover areas. We need to be very strict with this for the children's safety, so please do not send them to school before this. I know many of the children here are accessing the wonderful services of Outside Hours School Care (OHSC). If your children need to be at school before 8:30am, please be sure to contact OSHC to enrol them, so they can enjoy the activities and care provided.

At 8:30am onwards our school supervises different areas. Our Preppies can be down in their own area and Year 1 to Year 3 can safely play under G Block or on the front grassy patch. For our children in Year 4 to Year 6, they can be on the oval or under the library basement. No matter what year level you are in, I believe you can head to the library and enjoy reading a book!

At the end of the day, is to remember that for safety reasons, it is important for children to go home as soon as possible after 3pm, unless they are enrolled in OHSC or are part of an after-school activity being run on the grounds here at Ironside State School. Thank you for supporting us to keep all our children safe.

Each year I remind everyone that all of our funding is tied into the Day 8 Enrolment Return. If you have friends who you know are intending to enrol their children, get them to contact us immediately please! Ironside is not like other schools; we have so many students come and go all the time, so our funding is even more crucial - please, please, please spread the word!! If children are enrolled after Thursday the 5th February, we do not receive funding for them for 2026.

There are some things that are incredibly important to me as the principal of the school that I like to share at the beginning of each year.

· I am a huge believer in clear communication, so that we all know what is happening. Please note my email address is akell58@eq.edu.au if you need to give me some specific feedback.

· Positive relationships are paramount - children, staff, parents, families, the wider community. Everyone is welcome at Ironside State School. Every child, family, volunteer and staff member is valued. I am huge believer in welcoming volunteers, they are very rare in the busyness of 21st century and we applaud and want to welcome them.

· I believe we should love learning and being challenged - both children and staff. An outstanding education is one where you reach just beyond your grasp and that you are supported with the next steps to improve.

· Every child should have at least one friend at school and feel they belong and are safe. Schools should be a place of joy and kindness

· I know the importance of the natural and physical environment. We need to strive to have excellent facilities that are beautiful and maintained - rubbish put into bins and belongings named and cared for and school equipment treasured. We are custodians of our planet.

· Lunchtimes are an incredibly important time for children, they need to be fun, safe and a variety of activities available

CALENDAR

Sincerely,

Angie Kelly

Principal

Prep 2026