2 IJGS PROSPECTUS
Nurturing young learners to become future leaders.
4 IJGS PROSPECTUS
Welcome to Ipswich Junior Grammar School Ipswich Junior Grammar School aims to embed a love of learning alongside our Grammar values, to guide your child to become the very best version of themselves.
As teachers we guide our students to feel good about themselves as learners, and as people. It is our desire that our students are happy to come to school, happy while they are at school and happy when they leave school each day… and, they are! Our students are highly engaged and want to come and learn each and every day. They enjoy discovering their world with explicit and directed learning through guided enquiry projects; and childdirected personalised goal setting that helps their ability to think creatively, solve problems, act independently and communicate their ideas effectively. At our school, children get more attention in every lesson, every day. Every boy and girl has a personalised learning plan that meets their social, emotional and academic needs. This plan is consistently monitored to build on their strengths and support their challenges to ensure they are making positive progress and we are developing the whole child.
The quality education at Ipswich Junior Grammar School is a network of partnerships. These partnerships work in harmony to achieve the best possible learning and personal outcomes for all students. We foster positive relationships between: our school and our parents; our staff and our students; our staff collectively and between the students themselves. At Ipswich Junior Grammar School we are a happy, friendly school with a warm and welcoming community. We are a family. I invite you to visit Junior Grammar to see for yourself why we are so proud of our students and our school. I look forward to meeting you and welcoming you to our Junior Grammar family. Mrs Nicolee Eiby
Head of Junior School BTeach(EC), GDipEdAdmin, MACEL
IJGS PROSPECTUS 5
Co-education at Junior Grammar Junior Grammar is south east Queensland’s only co-educational Grammar primary school. We share a campus with the heritage-listed Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School which was founded in 1892.
We offer boys and girls, siblings and friends, the opportunity to begin their learning adventure together. Through extensive educational research, we know a co-educational experience in the early years gives our children a greater chance to thrive. Boys and girls gain knowledge from each other. Interaction at school provides opportunities for each to learn various approaches, strategies and methods of learning. These give your child a well-balanced set of foundational skills and strategies for the real world. Co-education exposes our students to a range of male and female-oriented educational experiences and is one of the best ways to foster the resilience, respect, confidence and compassion that all boys and girls need as they learn and grow.
6 IJGS PROSPECTUS
IJGS PROSPECTUS 7
8 IJGS PROSPECTUS
Our Early Education Centre Ipswich Junior Grammar School’s Early Education Centre (EEC) is our fun and friendly co-educational Kindergarten and Pre-Prep community.
This is where the Junior Grammar journey begins for many of our boys and girls. Children start their learning adventure from Kindy (three and fouryear-olds) and Pre-Prep (four and five-year-olds) in a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment where quality care is our highest priority. The Centre adopts a Reggio Emilia approach to teaching, which places the natural development of children, as well as the close relationships they share with their environment, at the centre of its philosophy. The EEC’s caring team is highly qualified, enthusiastic and dedicated to creating a child-centred environment that is both stimulating and fun. We place great importance on continuity of care, meaning we have set rosters and your child has the same educators each day they attend. Children are integral to the running of the Centre and play an active role in planning and executing the day’s activities and identifying
topics to explore. The result is an atmosphere of community and collaboration that fosters a love of learning and inspires a sense of excitement and wonder about the world. The incorporation of the EEC into Junior Grammar allows our youngest learners to reap the benefits of the extensive resources of the wider campus, with girls and boys in Pre-Prep engaging in specialist Library, Digital Play and PE lessons. A supportive transition program in readiness for Prep means that our boys and girls continuing their Junior Grammar journey begin their Prep year familiar with their classrooms, peers, play spaces and teachers.
This is where the Junior Grammar journey begins for many of our boys and girls.
IJGS PROSPECTUS 9
10 IJGS PROSPECTUS
Foundation Centre As our young learners start their exciting formal learning adventure, we support them every step of the way. At Junior Grammar, our Prep and some Year 1 classrooms are in the Brockwell Gill Foundation Centre.
The Centre offers a safe, secure facility where your child can transition smoothly into their first years of formal schooling. Our dedicated teachers give your child more attention in every lesson, every day. They love what they do and are proud of what their students achieve. Smaller class sizes ensure we are meeting the individual needs of each and every one of our students and they are receiving the support, intervention or extension they need to make positive progress. The Foundation Centre is well-resourced and has its own dedicated play space where our boys and girls forge friendships, build confidence and strive to be the best they can be.
IJGS PROSPECTUS 11
Our Junior School Our purpose-built Mavis Parkinson Junior School houses our boys and girls from Years 2 to 5, and our Year 6 classrooms are adjacent, in the Walker Building.
The Junior Grammar Reception, our welcoming Angela Geertsma Junior Library and the Bright Sparks Workshop are located in our multi-level Mavis Parkinson building. Each of our spacious, air-conditioned classrooms has its own wet area and features abundant natural light, with views looking out over the Junior Grammar rainforest.
12 IJGS PROSPECTUS
In Junior School, our boys and girls continue to thrive in an inspiring community guided by enthusiastic, highly qualified, talented teachers. Our rigorous academic curriculum continues to focus on building numeracy and literacy skills. It also caters to a wide range of learning styles and interests. In addition, our instrumental music program sees every child in Years 3 to 6 learn a different instrument, provided by the School, each year including strings, keyboard, brass and woodwind.
IJGS PROSPECTUS 13
Learning at Junior Grammar At our School every child is known, inspired and challenged. Our decisions are guided by one question: What is best for the children?
The care that our dedicated teachers invest in each student’s academic and personal development sets us apart from other schools. Our Junior Grammar teachers guide our boys and girls through a rigorous, fun and engaging curriculum designed not only to help them achieve academically, but also to nurture resilience, respect and responsibility. Warm and vibrant classrooms foster a safe environment where your child can thrive. Classroom behaviour is well managed, and our boys and girls have opportunities for extension, or intervention, as they navigate through their learning adventure. At Junior Grammar, your child won’t be overlooked. Our positive approach to learning includes a personalised learning plan and goals for each student that focuses on their holistic development and identifies areas of strength and challenge in their knowledge and skills base. Our teaching and learning programs align to the Australian Curriculum with a rigorous focus on literacy and numeracy skills. All students, from Prep to Year 6, benefit from the embedding of both Language (ChineseMandarin from Prep) and E-STEAM programs into our curriculum. Specialist teachers in specialist classrooms deliver lessons in Performing Arts (Music, Dance, Drama), Library and Physical Education. Digital technologies offer your child huge learning potential. Our integrated e-learning opportunities are enhanced with interactive whiteboards in each classroom and the School provides classroom sets of iPads from Prep to Year 2 and laptops to all students in Years 3 to 6.
14 IJGS PROSPECTUS
At Junior Grammar, your child won’t be overlooked.
IJGS PROSPECTUS 15
16 IJGS PROSPECTUS
Nurturing Your Child At Junior Grammar we know that a caring and stimulating environment enhances our boys’ and girls’ efforts to do their best, whatever their age, stage or ability.
That is why our Junior Grammar staff includes highly qualified classroom teachers, specialist teachers, a psychologist and registered nurses who understand the developmental needs of young children. Our staff work as a dedicated team to nurture your child’s special talents and support their challenges and individual circumstances. The close relationship between our classroom teachers and their students ensures our boys and girls get the individual care and attention they deserve.
As a result, our students are happy, positive children who feel like they belong.
IJGS PROSPECTUS 17
Natural play spaces Ipswich Junior Grammar School boasts an abundance of open and natural play spaces that engage our students’ senses and provoke wonder and intellectual stimulation.
Every Centre has its own dedicated play space where our boys and girls create, imagine, discover, wander, run, jump and interact with each other and nature. Children picnic and play in the variety of green spaces and, most importantly, enjoy having fun together. Our Junior Grammar rainforest features a boardwalk, raised canopy, totem pole, scramble net, trees, plants, rocks and large expanses of lush, green grass. The enormous split-level Foundation Centre play space features a yarning circle, water
18 IJGS PROSPECTUS
pump, slide, frog pond, balance logs, tepee, monkey bars and lots of space for imaginative play. The variety of outdoor spaces also allows Junior Grammar teachers to take the classroom outside for scientific exploration, literacy stimulus and physical activity to improve mental focus. The outdoor Junior Grammar amphitheatre provides the ideal venue for everything from impromptu lunch-time concerts by budding performers, to an end of year performance for our Junior Grammar families to enjoy.
IJGS PROSPECTUS 19
20 IJGS PROSPECTUS
Opportunities We know all boys and girls have special talents and we give our students every opportunity to discover them both in and out of the classroom.
From netball to robotics, soccer to violin, Junior Grammar’s vast selection of co-curricular activities complement our students’ academic curriculum and play an important role in their all-round education. Our comprehensive program has long been recognised as a way for our boys and girls to discover talents and abilities, nurture relationships and develop leadership, social and organisational skills in a safe and caring environment. Through these programs your child learns resilience and to value the ideals of good sportsmanship. Participation is voluntary; however, we actively encourage the exploration of sporting, academic, Arts-based and community service activities - both team and individual, competitive and non-competitive. Among the many sports available to our boys and girls are: Andrews Cup meets; Britton Shield meets; before-and-after-school clinics such as Cricket Blast, AFL Auskick, Brisbane Roar Active, NetSetGo, Hot Shots Tennis Coaching and Swim Squad. Private tuition is also available in Music (various instruments), swimming and tennis.
IJGS PROSPECTUS 21
22 IJGS PROSPECTUS
Our House System Each Junior Grammar boy and girl belongs to one of the School’s five Houses; Armitage, Carter, Connell, Hunt and White. Prior to commencing enrolment, students will be allocated to one of the Houses. Family connections are maintained so that children can be in the same House as their relatives who have attended Junior Grammar. House spirit is on display at each of our interhouse sporting carnivals where students are encouraged to support their teammates and wear their House colours!
Outside School Hours & Vacation Care We provide a safe, supervised and accredited Outside of School Hours Care (OSHC) service for our Prep to Year 6 students through the Helping Hands Network. Our OSHC operates in air-conditioned rooms on the ground floor of the John Hancock Centre (underneath the gymnasium) and has a dedicated play space for our OSHC children. It is open from 6.00am to 8.30am and 3.00pm to 6.15pm Monday to Friday and from 6.00am to 6.00pm on school holidays and pupil-free days. A dynamic program is coordinated each term by the qualified OSHC childcare professionals of the Helping Hands Network. Activities make use of our school’s extensive facilities and may include swimming, arts and crafts and indoor and outdoor games. Vacation Care may include educational and recreational excursions and theme days.
IJGS PROSPECTUS 23
Private buses and transport Junior Grammar shares a campus with the heritage-listed Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School (IGGS), in the heart of Ipswich overlooking the Bremer River.
We are located on the corner of Queen Victoria Parade and Chermside Road, East Ipswich. Our main entrance and Junior Grammar Visitor Car Park is accessible from Torch Street. The Ring Road is our dedicated, fully supervised, drive-in, drop-off and pick-up zone for Junior Grammar students and is accessible from Torch Street. To keep traffic flowing, we ask parents to keep their engines running while students disembark or get into their car. Our staff are there each morning and afternoon, helping boys and girls in and out of cars. Junior Grammar also provides a private bus charter service for students from Years 1 to 6 that we share with Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School and Ipswich Grammar School. Each year, our bus routes are revised in consideration of where our students live and how many pick-up points can be accommodated along a route. Buses deliver students in time for the 8.15am start of the school day and depart from the School shortly after 3:00pm. Late buses, departing at 4.30pm, are available Monday to Thursdays for students who participate in activities after school. Our website contains the most up to date bus routes and fares.
24 IJGS PROSPECTUS
IJGS PROSPECTUS 25
Parent checklist Step 1: Submit your Enrolment Application Form Apply online along with payment of the $110 application fee Provide supporting documents:
• Birth Certificate or Current Passport • NAPLAN (Years 3 or 5 as available)
• Student’s last two report cards - if applicable • Student’s VISA – if not an Australian citizen • Specialist or Medical reports – if applicable • Court orders – if application
Step 2: Attend interview
Upon review of your application you may be invited to attend an enrolment interview with your child.
Partnership and communication At Junior Grammar, we believe education works best as a partnership between school and home, which is why we are committed to keeping our families informed of their child’s progress and maintaining open channels of communication.
• • • • •
Fortnightly Junior Grammar Newsletter
Weekly This Week @ Junior Grammar
Classroom teacher emails
Parent Lounge online portal Student Diary
Weekly parade
26 IJGS PROSPECTUS
You will be offered a place if your child's application and interview are successful. To accept this place, please return the signed Acceptance of Offer form, along with payment of a non-refundable confirmation fee (for children in Prep to Year 6), or refundable Bond (for EEC). • For boys confirming through to Year 6: $250 • For girls coming through to Year 12: $500
• For Early Education Centre: Bond (refundable) equivalent to a fortnight's fees
We provide: •
Step 3: Respond to Offer of a Place
• • • • • •
Parents & Friends Association meetings
Junior Grammar Supporter meetings Parent-Teacher feedback sessions School website School app
School social media – Facebook and Instagram
Step 4: Orientation and Medical Forms
• Complete Orientation and Medical History forms and return to Enrolments Registrar prior to commencing. • Attend any relevant orientation sessions/days
• Purchase unifrom and stationey requirements
Congratulations! Your child is now ready to join our Ipswich Junior Grammar School community!
Our School Values Diligence
Staying focused until the job is done.
Integrity
Constantly demonstrating high moral and ethical standards.
Excellence
Striving to achieve the highest standards possible.
Care
Attending with kindness, compassion and sensitivity to the needs of others.
Respect
Acknowledging the worth of every person and what matters to each one.
IJGS PROSPECTUS 27
Nurturing young learners to become future leaders. Cnr Queen Victoria Parade & Chermside Road East Ipswich QLD 4305 T: +61 07 3454 4401 E: enrolment@juniorgrammar.com.au juniorgrammar.com.au
Thank you for your interest in an Ipswich Junior Grammar School education for your child. We understand
choosing the right school for your son and/or daughter is an important decision. Please visit juniorgrammar.com.au or call us on +61 07 3454 4447 to speak with our Enrolments Registrar or to arrange a personal school tour. CRICOS Provider Number 00533D