25 February 2016

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Dear parents, friends and students,

We have already reached the middle of the term and we are very pleased to see our students progressing into assessment tasks and showing us their very best work. Students are being asked some very important questions regarding their learning.

What are you learning?
How are you going?
How do you know?
How can you improve?
Where can you go for help?

These questions are focussed on our continued attention to building active learners. Our teachers are assisting students by putting together comprehensive learning walls to share the learning journey with students. Students are using their learning walls to build their understanding as assessment literate learners.

Last week was a very exciting week with our school swimming carnivals. Our students were most impressive and staff at the pool commented on their excellent behaviour and school spirit. A huge thank you needs to go to Mr Cameron Tod our Physical Education teacher who organised the event and our professional teaching staff who supported our students and made the day flow without any hiccups. There was definitely a lot of cheering and it was lovely to hear students praising other students for their performance in the pool.

FINAL RESULTS – Acton, Callaghan and Sinnot Family Shield

TEAM SPIRIT – Glenn Buchanan Team Spirit Shield

Another fantastic day had with The Willows family was our Investiture ceremony. We are so pleased that families could join us on this important day to pin the badges on our new leaders. It was wonderful to see so many very proud parents and guardians and our students were excited to be able to share this experience.

The rest of our term holds many important community events. We have our School disco on the 10th of March, National Day of Action against Bullying & Violence on Friday the 16th of March and Harmony Day on Monday the 21st of March. Our student leaders will be working hard to promote these important events around the school.

As we fast approach the end of the term I would also like to remind our families of the importance of attendance. Being on time, making it to school and staying for the whole day is a big step toward educational success. If you are considering travelling away for the Easter break please try to ensure that students are at school until the last day and arrive back the first day for the start of the new term.

Thank you to all of our families for an excellent start to 2016.

Patricia Winter

ATTENDANCE

HOW ARE WE TRACKING SO FAR THIS TERM WITH ATTENDANCE?

Current Attendance data indicates that our absences are generally increasing.

Congratulations to our preps, year 1, year 2 and year 5 classes who are meeting our attendance benchmark of 95%.

Students arriving late and leaving early miss valuable learning time. We can clearly link poor results to poor attendance.

ASSEMBLY

The next assemblies are

• Senior Assembly (3 - 6) on Friday the 26th of February.
• Junior Assembly (P - 2) on Friday the 4th of March.
• Senior Assembly (3 - 6) on Friday the 11th of March.
• Junior Assembly (P - 2) on Friday the 18th of March.

2016 INVESTITURE CEREMONY AND STUDENT LEADERS

Congratulations to all of our school leaders who received their badges at the Investiture ceremony. Six of our leadership team, our School Captains, Vice Captains and Student Council Captains represented The Willows State School at the “GRIP Conference” held at the Mercure Inn on the 9th of February. The GRIP Student Leadership Conference is unique in that it concentrates specifically on preparing our leaders for their leadership roles. Students participate with other schools, share ideas and learn about goal setting, standards and issues of importance in the school environment. Our Student leaders had a fantastic time and came home with plenty of great ideas. Thank you to Mrs Winter and Mrs Andersen who assisted on the day.

“The Grip Leadership Conference was a really informative and educational experience. During my time at the conference I learnt many things that will help me in my leadership role. My personal favourite was the ‘Bye, Bye Bullying” session. It showed us how to make our school a better place by stopping bullying. We learnt how to spot it out, say it out and report it out. This was a simple and effective method to stop bullying.”

“At the conference we learnt about how to grow as a leader. The Grip team showed us 4 main points that all great leaders should know; core values, combine with others, contribute to what’s around you and constant input. These were very significant leadership tools that I feel none of us will forget.”

“They told us about ‘Traffic Light Leadership”. Red is about the things that have to be stopped for example running on the concrete, playing without a hat. Orange is for things that should be slowed, for example, people forgetting to wear their uniforms. Green things are really important things that need to be done to move forward for example prep reading program and anti-bullying campaigns. I like this way of looking at leadership.”

LIFE EDUCATION

The Willows State School has chosen to partner with Life Education, a specialist health education provider. The Life Education Mobile Learning Centre will be at our school in the first week of term 2. Information and permission forms will be going out to students next week for students in prep, year 1, 3 and 6. Life Education is a health promotion charity, and the largest non-government provider of health and drug education to children. They work in partnership with schools to enhance and reinforce children’s learning about nutrition, the benefits of physical activity, staying safe online, the health impacts of smoking and alcohol, and strategies to cope with peer and social pressures. Life Education is about prevention through education – providing children with important knowledge, skills, confidence and self-esteem to help them live a healthy, safe life. Life Education is well known by its mascot ‘Healthy Harold” the giraffe.

OUR STUDENT SERVICES OFFICERS

Hello,

Our names are Casey Summers and Tahlia Verry and we are the 2016 Student Services Officers.

Our new role is about helping students and we have already started the year with two important programs – before school lower school supervisors and prep/year 1 activities supervisors at break times. Our team of students look fantastic with our new leader bibs. Over the next few weeks we will be looking at other ways we can help students around the school.

SPORTS CAPTAINS FEEDBACK

HEATWAVES

At the 2016 Swimming Carnival Heatwaves performed really well. All of our house members showed great team spirit and tried their best. We can’t wait for the next carnival. GO HEATWAVES!!!!

LIGHTNING

Congratulations to Lightning for not only winning the swimming part of the carnival but for also winning the spirit award. You all did a great job on the day. Thank you to all the staff who helped out. We also want to thank all the teams for participating as it was a great and fun event. A huge thank you to Mr Tod who organised the day.

CYCLONES

Thank you to all the houses for their participation in the swimming carnival. Well done Cyclones. You cheered loud and we all had a great time.

THUNDER

Well done Thunder. We were a great team with lots of cheering and we are proud of everyone and their participation on the day. Congratulations to all the other teams. The swimming carnival was a big success and it was great seeing so many students participating in all the races.

WELCOME BREAKFAST FOR INDIGENOUS FAMILIES

On Tuesday morning, an amazing breakfast was prepared by our Year 5 and 6 leaders in OSHC to welcome our indigenous families to The Willows. The breakfast included fruit, muffins, yoghurt and pikelets…..all prepared by our talented students.

It was great to meet families and spend time getting to know each other. A big thank you to Cathy Hughes and Mandy Berghoef for organising the morning and to Aaron Davies for the fabulous mural. Also thank you to Karen Garbutt for sharing the OSHC building for the occasion. We plan to have another breakfast later in the year.

SCHOOL DENTAL FORMS

The Dental Van will be here term 2. Each prep student should have received a Dental Form giving permission to be seen by the Dental Van staff. If you have a new student at the school and would like them to have a visit to the Dental Van please pick up a form from the office.

P&C UPDATE

Our first P&C meeting for the year saw us welcome on board a few new faces! Hopefully we can continue to build up our numbers so that we don’t need to reduce our fundraising activities. Please save the date of the 8th March and come along to our AGM. We need the resounding support of The Willows State School families on this night. Together we can continue to extend the facilities, improve the outside environment and contribute to the policy decisions around the school.

Our last meeting saw the commitment to the Fun Run again this year and forms have been distributed for this event. The Fun Run will be held on Wednesday 23rd March. The Fun Run donation forms and money are due back on the 18th March. You must return your form even if no money has been collected. Please check your child’s bag if you have not received a sponsorship form. Spares are available from the office.

Another item on the agenda was looking at upgrading two of the playgrounds at the school. The senior playground in the centre of the oval and the playground in front of K Pod are in need of some attention.

We are also looking for a parent to assist us with the Mother’s Day stall. Without support we will need to reduce this to a sell-off of stock, rather than the beautiful stall we usually run.

So come and jump on board!! P&C’s Queensland recent report into Parent Engagement in schools by the University of Qld and P&C’s Queensland confirm that the more parents are engaged with their child’s schooling, the better the educational outcomes for their children. All of us on the committee would agree that we have built life-long friendships with others that have the best interests of children at heart.

Looking forward to your support for a great 2016!

DEFENCE AND MOBILE FAMILIES

Welcome to All Families

We have had a busy couple of weeks with our swimming carnival and L pod activities.

Thank you to those families for attending the Welcome Morning Tea; by all accounts it was a lovely morning. I apologise for being unable to attend. Defence students enjoyed a ‘Birthday Party’ during first break on Feb 12th; many of the students have birthdays during February and March so we thought ‘why not’. We had a lovely morning and thank you to the students for remembering it was my birthday too!!

SPOUSE PASS FOR LAVARACK BARRACKS

Please find attached forms to obtain a spouse pass to enable entry to Lavarack Barracks. This will allow spouses to attend functions, activities and services on base. Simply download and fill in the attached application form and follow these instructions:

1. Contact pass office to make a booking 4411 8812
2. Contact Geckos on 4411 1741 to arrange for them to greet you at the gate.

Alternatively, see Louise or Correna in L Pod for assistance and forms.

DCO INFORMATION

Sign up for the DCO mailing list to ensure you receive a Calendar of Events, the Gone Troppo magazine (a must have) and any relevant DCO information for our Defence Families. It is essential to be on the mailing list as information cannot be forwarded due to the privacy regulations. Find attached the mailing list authority form.

SMART PROGRAMS – GECKOS

Please peruse the attached flyer for the upcoming FamliySMART deployment, SMARTRelocation program, KidSMARTDeployment workshop along with DCO North QLD Workshops. These programs are held at the GECKOS facility on Lavarack Barracks.

AUTISM QUEENSLAND WORKSHOPS

A presentation for families supporting individuals with ASD

Additional information for other family programs from Northern Connect Centacare

TUTORING

Education Allowance Scheme – Remember it’s never too early to begin tutoring, you have 18 months from your posting date to take advantage of the Education Assistance. Don’t leave it until it’s too late. Tutoring can begin at any time of the year for students so be sure to take advantage of this scheme before your 18 months is up.

Well done to all those students who have got straight into tutoring, we know you will be well rewarded for all your hard work. Remember to get tutoring started soon so you do not miss out on entitlements. This assistance is very valuable for your children. Most children find it builds confidence and they enjoy it very much. This scheme is aimed at minimising the disruption to a child’s schooling, caused as a result of a defence posting. Reimbursement can be provided for tuition for primary and secondary students within the first 18 months of enrolment at the new school. The entitlement is 14 weeks at 1 hour per week per subject. Forms are available online or from the DSTA here at school. There is a list of teachers available for tutoring before and after school. Please ask your teacher or email your DSTA for further details.

KIDS CLUB

Kids Club is held every Monday and Tuesday during FIRST break on the verandah of the Outside School Care building. Kids Club is filled with exciting activities ranging from colouring in, board and card games, trucks and cars, and various craft activities each week. Kids Club is a great way for children to get to know each other in a friendly, supervised environment. Please encourage them to come along and have some fun.

GARDEN CLUB

Due to the heat and water restrictions we have decided to put gardening on hold until term two. Instead we have come up with some inside activities and competitions to keep us busy until it cools down and rains.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Each year we hold a morning tea to celebrate IWD and raise funds for United Nations Women’s cause, Pledge for Parity (equal pay for equal work). The committee decided we would fundraise for education for girls in the fields of science and mathematics. We will look at famous female scientists past and present and hopefully host an OP 1 graduate studying to become an astronautical engineer. This event will be held on 4th March at 11am for young women in Years 5 and 6. It will be a gold coin entry.

GUESSING COMPETITION

To raise funds for this cause there will be a guessing competition outside the canteen from Monday 29th Feb. Students must guess the correct number of purple lollies to win the jar. Guesses are 50c each. The committee will announce the winner Friday 4th March at parade.

DEPLOYMENTS AND ABSENCES

Please make sure you let your Teacher, the Office and DSTA know if you have a member away. We like to ensure all students are supported during what can be a challenging time and allow them the chance to share their experiences with other students going through similar events. Additionally, if you are having difficulties or would like a chat, come in and see us or contact us via phone or email.

Your Defence Aides are located in L Pod behind the Outside School Building and families are most welcome to drop by any time for a chat. The lovely ladies at the office can direct you or give us a call if you would like our assistance. Again, please make contact as we are here to help in any way we can.

CONTACTS

Defence Community Organisation is available to all Defence members and their families. Contact can be made on 1800 624 608 24 hours.

Veterans and Veterans Families – 1800 011 046 www.dva.gov.au/vvcs
DFA Defence Families of Australia – 1800 100 509 www.dfa.org.au
National Delegate for Northern Queensland - nth.qld@dfa.org.au

Remember Louise and Correna are available morning and afternoon. Parents and students are very welcome to stop by L Pod or contact us via email or phone as listed below.

The Office on 47 991 333 or via e-mail - Louise on lwhit325@eq.edu.au or Correna Wheeler cwhee36@eq.edu.au

Kind Regards
Louise White and Correna Wheeler

TEACHER AIDE POSITIONS