12 May 2016
Newsletter Articles
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Dear parents and caregivers,
As parents, we all have those moments when we realise our children are growing up and recently I was reminded of this when our youngest scored a part-time job and last week went to work for the very first time. In preparation for going for the job we (her mother and I) helped her track down advertisements, made suggestion when she was writing her Curriculum Vitae (CV) and gave her interview practice in the lead up to her first ever job interview. As parents we wanted to write her CV for her, we wanted to do her interview for her and we were happy to select the jobs we thought were right for her. However, we didn’t do those things because if we had she wouldn’t have learned anything (the poor kid has two parents in the education game so everything for her is a lesson).
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, one of Australia’s highest profile psychologists and author of many parenting books, talks about the parental urge to ‘fix’ everything for your children. In talking about what is known as ‘helicopter parenting,’ Carr- Gregg says that ‘parents that want to smother their kids with so much love and attention …. that they (the children) never develop any self- reliance and can’t solve their own problems later on”.
It was important to my wife and me that if our daughter wanted a job, then it was up to her to make it happen. We didn’t write the resume that she asked us to write as that would have meant she was going to be reliant on us for job application success. As a person who has written many applications over the years, you have to learn to accept the disappointment of not being shortlisted for a job and work harder on your application to get it noticed the next time you apply.
As parents the best we could do was to support her, advise her, encourage her, give her feedback but ultimately, make her do it herself. Consequently she has learned a great deal from the process and we are proud of her. Resisting the temptation to ‘fix’ everything for your child does not mean you love them less, or are a poor parent, it means that you understand that to ’grow’ your child into a healthy resistant adult they need to experience both success and failure and know how to cope when things don’t go their way. Those lessons start from the day they are born.
Last week our rock band played at the junior assembly. It is tremendous to see how many students are willing to give up their personal time and commit to being part of a school performance group. Both the musicians and the singers were terrific and I’m sure that Mr Schimke has produced another great band in a long tradition of great rock bands at The Willows. Even after 30 years in education I never ceased to be amazed at the confidence and skill that students show when in front of the whole school.
Also last week saw our rugby league team take on Ryan Catholic College at a Wednesday evening clash at Brothers. The history over the previous 4 years is that the difference between the teams at the end of every game is always one try. Last week, our team won by 20 points. Congratulations to the whole team and to Mr Sanim for a mighty effort of concentration and teamwork. We look forward to seeing more of the team as the year progresses.
By the time of reading this our NAPLAN tests will have been completed and sent off for marking. Results for these will come during second semester and we will publish the overall school results at that time. Each child who undertakes the tests will receive a report on their individual progress. Please ensure that you keep these as many secondary schools ask for these results at enrolment time.
Lastly, parents of Year 6 students should be finalising decisions about where your children will be going next year for high school. It is important that you enrol your child for 2017 as soon as possible as this allows the schools to adequately plan for the influx of Year 7s.
Have a great week.
Jeff
YEAR 1 PROTECTIVE BEHAVIOURS PROGRAM
Act for Kids will be providing an in-school protective behaviours program to students in Year 1. The Learn to be Safe with Emmy and friends program has been run in close to 300 classrooms across the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Townsville, Cairns and Adelaide regions for a number of years and has received extremely positive feedback from teachers.
Learn to be safe with Emmy and friends teaches children the knowledge and skills to help them identify and respond to risky situations using interactive games, colourful resources and child-friendly language. The benefit of this program is having trained Act for Kids facilitators going into the classroom and teaching safety concepts across five weeks of one hour sessions.
Researchers from Griffith University and James Cook University are evaluating the program and will be conducting brief 10-15 minute interviews with each child in the program prior to the program as well as after the program is completed. Evaluation of the program will help us to see how effective the Learn to be safe with Emmy program is and to ensure children are learning how to keep themselves safe.
All children who return a signed consent form (regardless of whether permission is given or denied) will be given a $5 book. Please return consent forms to your child’s teacher as soon as possible.
If you have any questions about this program please feel free to contact your child’s teacher.
ASSEMBLY
Please note that the Senior Assembly scheduled for this Friday (13th of May) has been cancelled.
The next assemblies are ….
- Junior Assembly (P-2) on Friday the 20th of May
- Senior Assembly (3-6) on Friday the 27th of May
YEAR 6 CAMP
Our final camp numbers have been approved and we thank the many families who have either paid in full or have met the deadlines to our payment plan. The final payment is due on the 10th of June. Students who are going on camp will soon be receiving forms to be completed by parents/guardians.
If you have any concerns regarding payment please talk to Christine Shann in the office on 4799 1333. Please note that we have had some inquiries regarding invoicing. It generally takes our system from 2 to 4 days to process invoices as it is control by our head office. If you have made payments and they are not showing up on invoiced please take that into consideration.
CHAPPY WEEK FREE DRESS DAY
Here at The Willows, Chappy Libbie is an integral part of our school community. The school provides a chaplaincy program endorsed by the schools’ Parents and Citizen’s Association and Chappy Libbie participates in a wide range of school activities, including ceremonies, camps and sporting events. She also liaises with community youth and welfare groups. The Chaplaincy program is funded through donations. On Friday the 20th of May we will hold a free dress day. Students who come in free dress can make a gold coin donation.
RSPCA DRIVE
Did you know that the RSPCA relies on donations and community support to fund 99% of their annual costs? Every year our student council run the RSPCA food Drive which delivers much needed resources. Over the past few years our support has been very generous and we have been able to help many animals in need. Please assist our students with their drive by donating any animal food products, old blankets or towels or pet toys. Bring your donations to the office.
THE WILLOWS OPEN DAY
NATIONAL WALK SAFELY TO SCHOOL DAY 2016
National Walk2School Day is the perfect opportunity for Australian students and school communities to embrace a healthier start and to try walking and riding to school for themselves. The Willows State School will be participating in this activity on Friday the 20th of May. Students will meet at the Junior Rugby League Car Park on Kern Brothers Drive at 7.45am. We will take a group photo at 8 am and then as a group will walk the trail to school together. Students will receive an “Active Kids are Smarter Kids” sticker. We would appreciate the assistance of any parents who would like to accompany their students on the walk. Remember that sun safety is important and all students should be sun safe with hat and sunscreen.
DENTAL VAN
Just a reminder to return any dental forms to the office ASAP. A large number of forms have not yet been returned. If you do not wish your child to visit the dental van, please return the form anyway so it can be noted on your child’s record.
STUDENT BANKING
There is a special competition running from 16th May – 10th June. If a student banks 3 times during this period they will go into a draw to win a prize.
At the end of the activity, the school will receive a list of students who have made their 3 deposits and we will draw out a winner.
The prize will be a Dollarmites prize pack.
BOOK FAIR
Coming Soon to your School Library!
Library will be open for purchases from:
Monday 23rd May – Friday 27th May only
Purchases can be made:
Before school from 8 – 9am each day
During lunch breaks each day and
After school each day from 3 - 4pm.
Cash, credit card and online payments accepted.
All Last Stock Items will be ordered on the last day of the Book Fair and will arrive back to school within 2 weeks.
P&C NEWS
Shirt orders have been sent to the supplier and we will distribute these to classes as soon as we can. We had a good response with an order of nearly 400 shirts. Another order will be put through in 4th term.
Thank you for the great efforts of our school community for raising just over $12,000 for our Fun Run fundraiser! Handballs were handed out this week to all students who raised $10 or more and had their forms returned by the due date. Highest fundraiser winner was Maleia from 2ZON.....congratulations!
We held our annual Mother’s Day stall last week.....it was a great success with lots of excited children buying for mums. A big thank you to Maria Rayment for taking over the coordinator role for the stall this year and a big thank-you to the band of tireless volunteers who gave up their time to make it all happen. A special mention to Kaylene Hunter, Natasha Williamson, Lauren Curtis, Emiko Mason and Erin Wells who were Maria's right hand ladies for the week! Without volunteers giving up their time the P&C could not run such a successful stall. We will let you know how much we raised in upcoming newsletters.
We have our next P & C meeting Tuesday 17th May.
TUCKSHOP NEWS
What a flying start to Term 2! Thank you to our awesome volunteers for all your hard work and efforts. The specials board is back up. Our first special is going to be Taco Tuesday which will run from 17th May to 31st May. The cost will be $3.50 for a Taco Boat (mince lettuce, tomato and cheese). Later on we will be having SUSHI available for over the counter sale only. So keep an eye out for the specials!
Cheers.
The Tuckshop Ladies
DEFENCE AND MOBILE FAMILIES
Welcome to All Families
We are steadily making our way through Term 2. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a long weekend every week?
DCO NATIONAL FAMILIES WEEK – DAY IN THE COUNTRY
DCO is celebrating National Families Week with a day in the country. Defence families are invited to attend a free event at Melville’s Farm for a country experience like no other! Mark May 15th in your calendar.
COWBOYS ANZAC GAME 23RD APRIL
Two of our Defence students were lucky enough to participate in the ANZAC game. Megan D and Harry M came out onto the field through a Cowboy guard of honour amongst many other Defence children from Townsville. Both students enjoyed the event immensely.
TABLE TENNIS
Close and exciting games have dominated the semi-finals this week. Malachi and Zade will go head to head for the Year 4s, Kieran and Patrick for the Year 6 and we have one more final to go for the Year 5s. Grand finals will be held Thursday and Friday with some great prizes on offer.
KIDS CLUB
Over the last 2 weeks we have been doing Mother’s Day Activities. We hope all the recipients enjoyed their handmade gifts. 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. They are welcome to bring a friend with them.
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 ends.
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.
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