Around Ironside
Year 6A – The Year of Last Firsts
What an exciting beginning to our Yr 6
journey!
This first week has marked a series of “last firsts” for your children—their final first day of primary school, the last time they will meet their primary Drama, Music, Health and Physical Education teachers for the first time, and the beginning of their final year learning and growing with the cohort many have been with since Prep.
It has been a meaningful and memorable start.
I am delighted to share that the class has demonstrated outstanding behaviour, enthusiasm and maturity.
They have approached every new expectation with confidence and respect, and I am incredibly proud of how they have begun their final year of primary school.
This week, they have successfully sent their first email to their new class teacher, completed and submitted their first assignment, and learned the updated school expectations related to eating, play, classroom routines, fire drills and lockdown procedures.
Each student has taken these responsibilities seriously and shown great readiness for the year ahead.
We have also completed several assessments to help me better understand their learning needs and tailor our teaching effectively.
I look forward to a wonderful and productive year together.
Warm regards,
Cath Priday
6A Classroom Teacher
Meet Mr Mak - Ironside’s new Guidance Officer
NAPLAN 2026 – Information for Parents and Carers
Dear Families,
Over the coming months, our students in Years 3 and 5 will be participating in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).
NAPLAN is an annual assessment that measures key literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning through the school curriculum.
It includes tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy, and helps us monitor individual progress as well as whole-school learning growth.
NAPLAN is not about “passing” or “failing” but about understanding how your child is progressing in these essential areas. The tests are completed online and are designed to engage students and provide precise results.
NAPLAN Timetable
Closer to the testing period later this term, we will distribute a detailed timetable showing specific days and times for each year level’s NAPLAN sessions so you can plan ahead.
How You Can Support Your Child at Home
While NAPLAN is not something students need to “revise” for in the traditional sense, there are simple and meaningful ways you can support your child’s confidence and skills in the lead-up to the tests:
•Practice typing skills using tools such as Typing Club to help with online test responses and general digital literacy. https://www.typingclub.com/
•Work on editing and planning written texts; encourage your child to brainstorm, draft, and revise their narrative and persuasive writing pieces.
•Build reading comprehension by reading together daily and asking questions about meaning, main ideas and inference to strengthen understanding.
•Engage in numeracy problem-solving through everyday tasks and open-ended maths questions to reinforce number sense and reasoning.
Supporting your child through these everyday literacy and numeracy activities builds confidence and aligns with the kinds of skills NAPLAN assesses.
If you have any questions about NAPLAN or how best to support your child, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.
☀️ No Hat, No Play
We are noticing an increasing number of students arriving at PE lessons without a hat. Our spare hat supply is very limited.
Please ensure your child brings their own clearly named hat to school every day. Hats are an important part of our SunSmart policy and are required for outdoor activities, including PE.
Thank you for helping us keep our students safe in the sun.
Student Absences
Please be aware that our student absence email is absentstudents@ironsidess.eq.edu.au, not studentabsence@ironsidess.eq.edu.au.