7 August 2025

Principal’s Pride

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Community Members,

Welcome to Week 4 of Term 3. 

It is hard to believe we are into Week 4 of the term already! I would like to commence by congratulating our Garbutt Magpies Competition school AFL teams. The students represented TWSS with pride and passion last Friday, with one team finishing as ‘Runners Up’ for the competition – a wonderful achievement with an impressive trophy for our foyer to match. 

This week our school Athletics Team will attend Red Track (Friday), selected students will commence training for the Les Stagg rugby league competition (begins Monday, 11 August) and our Student Council continues preparations for their ‘Dress as your favourite superhero ‘gold coin fundraiser on Friday, 15^th August.

I would sincerely like to once again thank all our staff for their extra -curricular commitment to supporting, training and coaching our students for a diverse range of community sporting and cultural events and competitions.  Thank you also to all our parents who also significantly contribute to our Willows Pride by encouraging and cheering our students on!

2025 School Opinion Survey – Parents/Caregivers

The annual suite of School Opinion Surveys will be conducted in Term 3. All families, school staff and students (Year 5 and 6 only) will be invited to participate. We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what our school does well and how we can improve.

This year the Department of Education is running the state-wide School Opinion Survey process for staff, students and parents/caregivers similarly to 2024 procedures.  I have included some information about this below for your reference:

• Families with one or more enrolled children at our school will receive one invitation to complete the survey. The parent/caregiver to receive the invitation is selected based on information and email addresses in OneSchool. 
• Participation is by invitation only. There is no generic survey link that can be used by all parents. Each link is unique and can only be used once by the parent. One parent per family will receive the survey link via email.  No logins or passwords are needed.
• Parent survey invitations will be sent over a number of days in the week beginning Monday, 21 July. The survey will close on 22 August. The survey can be completed as soon as the invitation has been received.
• The survey invitation email uses the subject line: School Opinion Survey for parents/caregivers, 2025; parents should check junk email folders if it can’t be found. The email will come from the Department of Education, not the school.
• The survey will take approximately 5 minutes to complete using a computer, tablet or smart phone.
• Parents/caregivers who do not have access to the internet at home are welcome to complete their survey online at school. School computers/tablets can be made available upon request if needed.
• Translations of the Parent/Caregiver Survey are available online at https://intranet.qed.qld.gov.au/ResourceCentre/Statistics/schoolopinionsurveys/Pages/forms.aspx

School-led Review Validation – (Week 5 – Tuesday, 12/08 and Wednesday, 13/08)

As mentioned in previous newsletters, every four years, all state schools are required to participate in a full school review process. On this occasion, our school was selected to conduct a School-led Review.  Across the course of this year there have been several opportunities for staff, student and parent/caregiver input into our School-led Review.  Thank you to the parents who have previously provided significant input into this.

The School-led Review Evaluation Report has now been finalised and submitted to the SRR (School and Region Reviews) Validation Team for their consideration. The Evaluation Report includes a synopsis of our school’s improvement journey (findings), affirmations and suggested improvement strategies against each of the nine domains of the School Improvement Tool (SIT).

The Nine Domains of the SIT are:

Domain 1: Driving an explicit improvement agenda
Domain 2: Analysing and discussing data
Domain 3: Promoting a culture of learning
Domain 4: Targeting school resources
Domain 5: Building an expert teaching team
Domain 6: Leading systematic curriculum implementation
Domain 7: Differentiating teaching and learning
Domain 8: Implementing effective pedagogical practices
Domain 9: Building school-community partnerships

Members of the SRR Validation team will now attend our school site for two days on Tuesday, 12 August and Wednesday, 13 August to conduct several staff, student and parent interviews to ‘validate’ our school-led review findings and seek to identify any blind spots and additional areas for improvement.  Validation team members may approach parents in the morning or afternoon at drop off and pick up times for a quick conversation about the school.

Thank you in advance for your considered engagement in this process as we seek to celebrate both our significant distance-travelled since the last school review (2021) and the accomplishment of a number of goals in our current Strategic Plan 2022-2025. Your assistance in contributing your voice to envision the future for our school and develop our new Strategic Plan 2026-2029 is much appreciated and vital.

2026 Enrolments – NOW OPEN FOR ALL YEAR LEVELS 

Our school is now taking enrolments for the 2026 school year, please get your enrolment forms in early, to inform school planning. Should you know of friends or family looking to join our great school, please inform them that they are also most welcome to contact the school for further information and to obtain an enrolment package.

Prospective 2026 Prep students and parents/caregivers may like to consider attending a Willows Warriors Pre-Prep Program session on a Wednesday to support the transition and orientation process to school. Please contact our school office to obtain further information about this free program and the availability of spaces.

DATE CLAIMER: 2026 Prep Bulk Enrolment Interview Session is coming up SOON!

On Thursday, 21 August (after school) we are conducting a bulk enrolment interview session in the TCBC for all 2026 Prep enrolments who have submitted their enrolment paperwork. If you have a prospective Prep student for our school for 2026, please contact the school office to secure you and your child’s place in this interview session.

Is your Prep to Year 5 student transferring to another school in 2026?

We would appreciate early notice if your child, or children, will be transferring to another school in 2026. Please inform the office by phone on 47 991 333 OR email admin@thewillowsss.eq.edu.au at your earliest convenience.

2026 BYOx Expression of Interest Process

Over the next few weeks, letters will be distributed to all current students in Years 3 to 5 regarding arrangements for 2026. As in previous years, BYOx Parent Information Sessions will be offered in Term 3 and early Term 4 and reminders will be distributed advising interested families of these dates and times.

For your advance notice, the Term 3 BYOx Parent Information Session currently scheduled to be held in the TCBC Conference Room will be held on Tuesday, 19 August at 5:00pm.

ADVANCE NOTIFICATION: Bullying No Way National Week of Action School Assemblies

This year the Bullying No Way National Week of Action theme is ‘Be Bold. Be Kind. Speak Up.’ 

It takes courage to spark change.

Bullying is everyone's responsibility. It takes a community to be brave and address bullying behaviours, within and beyond the school gate.

Students can be bold, kind and take a stand to support others being bullied. While parents and teachers are there to support children and young people learn how to behave in a positive way.

In our community and in our school, we want a place where everyone can belong, a place that celebrates everyone, and where bullying is never accepted.

This Bullying No Way Week, we're asking students, schools, families and communities to be bold and say something, be kind and support someone, and be proud to take a stand against bullying.

For more information about Bullying No Way Week and bullying prevention, visit the Bullying No Way website.

On Friday, 15 August, parents are most welcome to attend our Prep to Year 2 National Day of Action Assembly from 9:15-9:45am and our Year 3 to 6 NDA Assembly from 10:00-10:30am in TCBC.

Have a wonderful week.  Our next newsletter for Term 3 will be issued on Wednesday, 13 August.

Warm regards,
Michelle Donn
Principal

Upcoming Events

Year Level Parade Times

Positive Behaviour Learning (Safe, Respectful, Responsible)

Fortnightly Focus

We will continue with the fortnightly focus "Kindness is Contagious". The expectation at TWSS is that we treat others with respect, use kind words, and help one another. We listen, share, and include everyone so our classroom is a safe and happy place for all.

"Kindness is Contagious" means that when one person is kind, it makes others want to be kind too.

For example, if you help a friend pick up their books, they might feel happy and then help someone else. It spreads like a smile or laughter — when you do something nice, other people catch it and want to do something nice too! Just like a yawn or giggle, kindness can travel from person to person. So one small kind act can make the whole day better for many people! 

Icy Cups

Icy cups were sold on Thursday at 2:55pm from the TCBC kitchen for the Year 3 to 6 students and Junior CPA for the Prep to Year 2 students for this week only.

Leadership Passport Check in Week 4 and 5

Over the next two weeks Mrs Barra and Mrs Nosworthy will be checking in on the Year 5 students who have collected a passport for the 2026 leadership positions. We are looking forward to seeing where the students are at with completing their passports.

Date Claimers for Term 3

Student Council – Free Dress Day (Friday, 15 August)

• Dress as your Favourite Superhero to say No to Bullying
• Gold Coin donation
• We are encouraging students to spread kindness and stand up to bullying

Student Council Meeting

Last week at our Student Council Meeting students were getting organised for our National Week of Action against Bullying. They were busy designing flyers for promotion that will be displayed around the school. We love their final creations. You can see how busy they were below.

Mrs Menzies joined us to work on some artwork that will be displayed in Week 5 and we thank her for giving up her time.

We are encouraging students to spread kindness and stand up to bullying.

Defence News

Hello and welcome to all Defence families/caregivers and students,

This week has been very busy and exciting for myself and students as many students have visited and spent time in their new big Defence Room. The dress up area and Legoland have been very popular. Students are also enjoying the many games, activities and crafts to do with friends.

POSTING TIME IS HERE AGAIN, if your family will be leaving the school for another location, please let me know. Phone, email or call into my room for a chat. A time can be made to chat with students if required.

Positions Vacant – Defence School Mentor (DSM) – The Cathedral School and St Benedict’s, Townsville - The Cathedral School and St Benedict’s Catholic School are seeking compassionate and proactive Defence School Mentors (DSM) to join their teams. The roles are part of the national Defence School Mentor Program (DSMP), funded by the Defence Member and Family Support (DMFS) Branch of the Commonwealth Department of Defence. For more information and to apply, head to the job ad for The Cathedral School on Seek. The link to the ad for St Benedict’s is in the DMFS Newsletter. Interested? Don’t hesitate - applications close soon!

Education Assistance Scheme is available to access for tutoring within 18months of posting to a new school. This is available for all primary and high school aged children who may require support in Maths and English. Contact the DMFS Helpline on 1800 624 608 for all details on how to apply. With approval your child can have access to 14 hrs of tutoring for both Maths and English through a private tutor. Contact me with any questions. Flyer below with details.

The Partner Employment Assistance Program (PEAP) is again available to partners to claim reimbursement up to $1500 per financial year for a variety of employment services. More details and how to register are on the Defence Website or you can ask me for a flyer. 

Kookaburra Kids Townsville, is a fun organisation that supports defence kids living in families that are affected by mental illness. For more details on activities contact Hannah Galliner on 0484 544 451 or the website www.kookaburrakids.org.au   

Families with Special Needs you can access support through the Defence Special Needs Support Group (DSNSG) www.dsng.org.au or call 1800 037 674. 

Geckos Family Centre - North Queensland is at Lavarack Barracks and is open for parents and families to drop in. Organised daily activities on offer. See Facebook or phone 4411 7031.

TO BE UP TO DATE WITH “WHATS ON IN TOWNSVILLE” CHECK     whatson.townsville.qld.gov.au

IMPORTANT EVENTS/DATES TO REMEMBER

Child of the ADF Medallion Ceremony

Come join us for a special medallion ceremony to honour the children of our ADF members. This in-person event will take place at the Wirraway Club at RAAF Base Townsville. This event is a small but important way of recognising the children who go through the emotional, and at times, difficult experience of having a loved one serve in the ADF. Participation in the Child of the ADF Medallion program is open to all recognised dependents of full time ADF members aged up to 18 years of age. Children are only eligible to obtain the medallion once, so if they have already received a Child of the ADF Medallion here in Townsville, or any other location, please do not register them again.

When:             Friday, 19 September
Time:               5.30pm – 7.00pm
Where:            Wirraway Club, RAAF Base Townsville
Tickets:           Eventbrite – Child of the ADF Medallion Ceremony

***This event fills quickly so register now***

Textured Art

ADF members and partners over 18 years, unleash your inner artist at our Art Inspired Laugh and Chat Night, where we will be creating a stunning textured wall art. Get inspired, and let your imagination run wild! Whether you are a seasoned artisan or a curious newbie, you will find joy in every texture and embellishment, creating a unique masterpiece to adorn your wall. Unleash your inner artist and let your imagination run wild in this playful and relaxing environment.

When:             Friday, 22 August
Time:               6.00pm
Where:            Geckos Family Centre, Lavarack Barracks
Register:         Eventbrite – Textured Art

***This event is strictly for adults only (18+)***
VP80 Commemorations

Friday 18 August - VP DAY

• Commemorative Service and Wreath Laying at Anzac Park Cenotaph 10.00 -11.00. Come along and join me in representing our school in this commemorative event.
• Re-enactment of the War is Over Speech-Flinders Street 12.00-12.30.
• Joint US/Australian Commemorative Service-5^th USAF Memorial, Kissing Point, Jezzine Barracks 15.30-16.30.

Saturday 19 August

• Community Open Day at Jezzine Barracks - Historic and vehicle display, Museum tours 11.00-16.00.
• Exercising Freedom of Entry to the City-5^th USAF, along The Strand TBC 15.00-15.30.
• Late afternoon Parade of Veteran Vehicles - Bands of 1RAR and USAF, marching contingent from 3^rd Brigade and RAAF Townsville along The Strand16.00-17.00.
• Aircraft Flypast-Historic Aircraft and Current 17.00-17.30.
• VP 80 Concert - Music of the War Years, Strand Park 17.30-19.00.
• VP 80 Sky Salute-Pyrotechnics Display on The Strand 19.00-19.30.

Sunday 17^th August

• 31^st Battalion Assoc Annual Commemorative Service, St James Cathedral, 9.00.
• Pilgrimage to the Townsville War Cemetery - Belgian Gardens 10.00-11.00.
• Historic Sites Tour Self-Guided all day per published map.
• Ceremony at Cowboys Home Game - Qld Country Bank Stadium time TBC.

IMPORTANT CONTACT DETAILS

Defence Family Helpline 24/7 - 1800 624 608 - Need Help give them a call    

DMFS Office at Nathan Business Centre on Ross River Rd, call 07 4430 3879 or walk in  

Open Arms support former and current serving ADF personnel and their family members can use the service – office is at the Nathan Business Centre or call 1800 011 046 www.openarms.gov.au

Mates4Mates – Townsville FRC 4771 9600 townsville@mates4mates.org

Dirty Boots Café now Open from 9am-12.30pm every day, you are welcome to attend for a chat and to have a look around.

The Oasis Townsville for Ex-ADF Community in Townsville  hello@theoasistownsville.org.au

DFA (Defence Families of Australia) NQ Delegate Eden Santos 0418 796 561 nth.qld@dfa.org.au

DSNG Defence Special Needs Group - 1800 037 674  www.dsng.org.au

Beyondblue.org.au www.australia.gov.au

Geckos Family Centre Nth Qld Lavarack Barracks - Contact for enquiries on 07 4446 1238 or follow on Facebook

Kookaburra Kids Charity Organisation Mental Health Service - 1300 566 525   www.kookaburrakids.org.au or contact Hannah Galliner 0484 544 451/1300 566 525

Defence Holidays NQ at Lavarack Barracks (opp the Gym) - 07 4725 3842 admin@defenceholidaysnq.com.au

My office is open for a private conversation and cuppa anytime or alternatively phone me any time on 4799 1333 ext 323, Monday to Wednesday or email me cwhee36@eq.edu.au

Have an awesome week!

Correna Wheeler
Defence School Mentor

The Pitch (Music News)

Music News – Issue 12 Term 3 Week 3 / 4

Eisteddfod Week is Almost Here!

We're now only a few weeks away from Eisteddfod Week and excitement is building! Permission notes will be sent home this week. Please return as soon as possible.

Rehearsals have been stronger this week, which is great to see. However, we still had a few students absent. It's vital that all children attend rehearsals so they’re fully prepared for their performance. Being part of the Instrumental or Choral programs comes with the expectation of full rehearsal attendance. If your child is unable to attend a rehearsal, please communicate this directly with the ensemble teacher via email, phone call, or a written note.

Please be aware that students who miss too many rehearsals may not be invited to perform at the Eisteddfod. In the past, we’ve had some disappointed students who didn’t realise how important rehearsal attendance is. Let’s work together to avoid this by ensuring students are punctual, prepared and present at all sessions.

On the day of the performance, it’s essential that your child arrives fully prepared. Please double-check the timetable at the end of this newsletter to ensure they have everything they need - lunch, water bottle, instruments, music, costumes and anything else specific to their group. Buses are running on a strict schedule to coordinate with school transport, so punctuality is key.

Students are also required to wear the correct school music uniform: navy-blue skorts, skirts, or shorts (for boys), white crew socks, black closed-in shoes, and hair accessories in teal, navy, or yellow/gold.

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch. Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm this term. With everyone's commitment and energy, we’re looking forward to a fantastic Eisteddfod performance!

Eisteddfod Assembly
Wednesday, 3rd September, 2025
TCBC - 2pm to 3pm

You are invited to our whole school parade on Wednesday, 3^rd September to watch the bands, Orchestra, various Instrumental Ensembles and Choirs perform as Pre-Eisteddfod practice.

INSTRUMENTAL RECRUITING 2026

We need more students to step forward and join our Instrumental Music Program! This year, recruitment is starting a whole term earlier, giving your child an exciting opportunity to begin learning an instrument in 2026.

Applications were sent home in Week 1 — if your child hasn’t applied yet, now is the time! Don’t miss out on this chance to be part of an amazing musical journey.

Year 2 students can apply for the Strings program only, while students in Years 3, 4 and 5 are invited to apply for Brass, Woodwind, and Percussion.

Learning an instrument is not only fun—it builds confidence, improves focus, and develops lifelong skills. We strongly encourage all interested students to apply.

To help you understand more, we will hold an information session in week 8 this term with all the details you need. Make sure to mark your calendars and watch for further updates.

Let’s get those applications in and start making music together!

Music Photos
Thursday 21^st and Friday 22^nd August 

Children are expected to be part of the music photos for each group they are involved in.  Please ensure they have their black shoes and white socks for their day and hair tidy with matching coloured ribbons etc.  Music shirts will be handed to them at the photo session to change into.

Date Claimer

Junior & Senior Choirs  
Fiona Coleman

Rehearsals are becoming more challenging, and we’re all feeling the effort! It’s normal to feel a little tired, but your patience and dedication are really paying off. Keep pushing through — the hard work you’re putting in now will shine when you perform at the Eisteddfod. Heads-up that some costume items may be required to help bring the novelty performance to life on stage.

A note outlining costume details and requirements will be sent home as soon as final decisions are made. Costume needs will be simple and cost-effective.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the Senior Choir’s polished performance and sharing their wonderful new pieces at the Eisteddfod!

Musically Yours,
Fiona Coleman

Great performances are built on hard work and rehearsal."
"Practice doesn’t make perfect.
Practice makes progress."

The Pulse (PE News)

Garbutt Magpies Cup 30/7/2025

On Wednesday 30^th July, The Willows took two teams of children along to take part in the Garbutt Magpies cup at Gill Park.

The teams were placed in two groups, with the experienced Year 6 team competing for the Garbutt Magpies Cup and the development Year 5 team competing for the Garbutt Magpies Shield.

The Year 6 team had a tough group and began with a loss to North Shore but bounced back with a convincing win over Aitkenvale. The next game against Bowen however was a different story with Bowen running out as convincing winners. After lunch there were narrow losses against Heatley, Cranbrook, and overall Cup winners St Anthony's.

The Year 5 team however had a very good run of games in their group. They started strong with a 44-1 win against Bowen 2's. They then backed this up with a 22-0 against Kelso before racking up a big 49-0 win against Vincent. After lunch they continued where they left off by beating Ayr 59-0. The last 2 pool games saw them come away with victories against Bwgcolman 13-0 and Shalom 21-0, to put them in the Shield grand final against St Michael's.

The final was hard fought and very tight, with Willows coming in 6-1 at half time. The second half was just as tight but St Michael's got 2 quick goals and took the lead. On the siren the game finished 13-7 to St Michael's with the Year 5 team finishing as Shield runner ups.

All of the children showed a huge improvement in their skills throughout the tournament, they displayed great sportsmanship and teamwork which lead to a bunch of very tired but happy children returning to school at the end of the day.

Prep News

What a busy few weeks in Prep. Four of our five classes have moved rooms and we are all enjoying the luxury of our new learning spaces.  Our 100 days of Prep was also achieved and we loved celebrating it with our families.

PYB have been learning and exploring 2D shapes in our environment. We have been working on our presentation skills to retell detailed and organised stories on events. In HASS, we have been drawing maps of our room and have just started to explore materials in our environment for Science. 

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Year One News

In English in 1B this week, we have been choosing an activity and trying to convince Teddy as to why he should also choose this activity. We have been coming up with some amazing reasons and we are also taking care to change our voices and use body language to express our opinion.

In Maths, we have been working out how many objects we can pick up with two handfuls and showing this information in different ways.

In Science, we are learning about the changes and the features we can see in the sky and landscape during the day and night.

For PBL, we have been discussing the different ways that we can be kind to our friends.

Year Two News

Students in Year 2 have been working hard on all aspects of the curriculum this fortnight.

In English, they have been busy planning a persuasive text, ensuring they are using expanded noun groups, a range of sentence types and high modality verbs. They will also need to present their persuasive texts this term to their classmates making sure they use an engaging tone of voice.

In Science, they are looking at force and will be participating in many experiments to determine what affects the movement of a toy. They will be constructing their own toy towards the end of the term so if you have any small boxes or washed milk bottle lids we would appreciate you sending them in.

Multiplication has been the focus in many Year 2 classes this week. Students are learning to solve multiplication problems using a range of strategies and have been using some hands-on manipulatives to assist with this.

Year Three News

HASS

Exploring Places Near and Far

This semester students are learning to represent data about places and compare places. They will explain the importance of making decisions democratically and the role of rules in the community. They will devise an action in response to an issue.

There are three parts to this assessment

Part A: Representing data and identifying places

• Use a map to find information
• Represent data in tables and on graphs

Part B: Identifying similarities and differences between places

• Use information to compare two places

Part C: Making decisions

Describe the importance of rules and making decisions democratically

Year Four News

We have well and truly hit the ground running with this term’s English unit. In this unit, the Grade 4’s are to create a spoken text to present an argument for an action that can be taken to enhance the sustainable use and management of renewable or non-renewable resources in their school (for example: reducing waste, worm farm, compost, recycling). 4/3F’s topic is about erosion prevention. Below are some samples of some writing.

Year Five News

This term in Health, the Year 5’s have been exploring multiculturalism and learning about the diverse backgrounds that make up our community. Students have shared where they and their families come from, discovering the many different cultures represented in our classroom. Through discussions, activities, and stories, we have developed an understanding of how our own traditions, languages, and celebrations connect us and make our community unique.

Year Six News

Term 3 has been full of exciting events and great achievements!

Camp Fun

Our Year 6 camp was a big success! Students enjoyed raft building, catapulting, archery tag, and team challenges. They showed great teamwork and had lots of fun.

Athletics Carnival

Well done to all students for their efforts at the athletics carnival. A big congratulations to Team Cyclones for winning overall!

NAIDOC Week

We celebrated NAIDOC Week by learning more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Students took part in meaningful discussions and creative activities.

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