21 April 2017

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Welcome to Term 2! I trust you had a great break. It is excellent to see students and staff well rested and ready for the term of learning ahead.

Once again, I commend and congratulate all of our students on a positive and calm start to our term. Coming back from break, students were quickly back in routine and ready to learn. Our student leaders have continued to model the high expectations at our school and it is fabulous to see our great team in full uniform. The senior shirts worn proudly by our Year 6’s look striking!

Our school website is our official school communication page and is currently being updated and will continue to take shape as the year progresses. On our website, the Executive Summary from our school review in Term 1 has been uploaded. This summary provides a snapshot of the celebrations and recommended actions for our school over the next Strategic Plan (2018-2022). The report can be found at our website.

Over the coming weeks there are a number of key priorities and initiatives occurring at our school.

Next Monday we are holding our ANZAC Day Ceremony at 2pm in the TCBC. This is a full school event and parents and community are welcome to join us. Please see further details in other sections of our newsletter. I look forward to sharing this occasion with you.

The Three Way Conversations with students, teachers and parents are a great opportunity for learning in Term 1 to be discussed and goals for student learning to be set in the upcoming months. If you need assistance to book or change your booking, the online tool will be closed as of last Thursday so please contact the front office if for any reason you are unable to make the appointment. Thankyou to all parents for your feedback around our online booking process – a very quick and easy way to secure the appointments.

The Life Education Program is visiting our school currently. This term Prep, 1, 3 and 6 students have the opportunity to attend this program. In Term 4 the program will be made available to Years 2, 4 and 5 (further information closer to the time). Payment for Life Education is necessary for students to participate.

In Week 3 the Mother’s Day Stall will be held. Information about times will be sent out to classes once the schedule is finalised. The Mother’s Day Stall is a major fundraising event for our P and C and we thankyou in advance for supporting this fundraiser. The stall will be set up in the TCBC and there are some fantastic goodies to treat our special mum’s, grandmother’s and carers.

Week 4 is the National Assessment in Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) for Years 3 and 5 students. This system testing is done annually and provides a point in time snapshot of student progress in literacy and numeracy aspects. A detailed information letter for Parents in Years 3 and 5 will be sent home so please look out for this in the school bag. Further information can also be found at the link below

There are many ways to stay connected with our school. Please like and follow The Willows State School P and C Facebook Page, download the QSchools and QParents App, register for our newsletter online and join us for our assemblies to celebrate the behaviour and learning of our students.

Kind regards
Helen McCullough
Principal

DATE CLAIMER

ANZAC DAY

ANZAC Day is nationally recognised as a day to pay respects and to acknowledge those Australian and New Zealand service men and women who have lost their lives in war over the past 100 years.

We have been invited to participate in the Thuringowa March. The Parade will go from The Willows Shopping Centre Carpark (near post office) to the Thuringowa Cenotaph outside the council buildings. The march is followed by a short ANZAC service with the event expected to finish around 10.30am.

Students will meet at The Willows Shopping Centre at 8.30am and we ask that they be picked up by 10.30am at the Thuringowa Council building (grassed area). We ask that students wear full school uniform, hat, sunscreen and bring a drink bottle.

If your student would like to participate they can collect an information note from the office or from Mrs Wheeler or Mrs Winter. The Willows has always had good numbers attend and it would be great to have even more students attend this year. We also welcome parents to march with their students.

ASSESSMENT AND ACCESS TO COMPUTERS

Just a reminder that the computer lab is still available every morning from 8 to 8.40am except Wednesday. If your student needs to access a computer or a quiet place to do homework please encourage them to come along.

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 have gone out to 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.

This year or students will do the following programs. Students in year 2, 4 and 5 will have the opportunity to participate in Life Education in November.

‘THREE WAY CONVERSATIONS’

Three Way Conversations are taking place later this term. This appointment is an excellent opportunity for you to discuss your child’s academic progress and next learning steps. We encourage our students to be ‘Active Learners” and participate in these conversations to strengthen the child’s ownership of learning as well as our relationship with parents as partners.

At the ‘Three Way Conversation’ the roles will be:

Teacher – reports back on academic progress and discusses their next learning steps.
Child – shares achieved goals and future goals.
Parent – discusses ways to support continual academic improvement.

If you have not already booked an appointment online you will need to contact your teacher directly to organise a time.

All three way conversations will be held in the TCBC this year. We look forward to seeing you and sharing your student’s progress.

YEAR 6 SENIOR SHIRTS

Another order for senior shirts will go in Wednesday the 26th of April. Students interested in purchasing a senior shirt have been given notes to take home. Please complete and return the form with either a $10 deposit or full payment by Wednesday the 26th of April. It is very important that you read the information regarding sizing very carefully to ensure that your student gets the right shirt.

STUDENT WORK SAMPLES

Pirate by Cadence M

I paced up to the village news board to check the date, Tuesday the 14th. Today was as foggy as the tip of a freezing mountain. I leaned against a cold grey stone wall, and sorted through what I had. I had little gold coins in my small sewn coin pouch. I knew these coins could not possibly buy enough, to satisfy my hunger but it was better than nothing. I picked myself up and moved forward to the marketplace, men, women and children dressed in woollen coats, were busily, buying and noisily selling goods. I searched for the shop I would buy from…Cheese shop! There was an old wrinkled woman at the icy counter, who seemed to be freezing in this bitter weather. She was counting silver and gold coins. “Excuse me may I please buy a small slice of cheddar cheese?” I Inquired. We exchanged coins and food and I left. I sat in the corner of a building where I watched villagers go past. I held the slice of cheddar in my handkerchief, I let the cheese come closer to my mouth to smell before taking a luxurious bite, which exploded with soft salty flavour, I took another bite and relived the blissful experience. It was not long before the food was gone, and I felt a little sad. I was about to leave to work but something strange caught my eye. There were two, oddly dressed men in conflict. “Clouse! If we don’t hurry up an get enough of food to store soon, Captin’ aint’ gonna be happy…” “I don’t know what you are so worried about Frederick.” Said the more carefree of the duo. “These people fear us, they’ll give us whatever we want to keep us happy, and themselves alive. Most of them know we are pirates, we’ll be fine” I was truly curious so I followed. I wanted to be a pirate. It was probably better than staying here.

But then I thought ‘Is my life here really worth leaving behind?’ I recalled the times when Gertrude looked after me when I was little, she wasn’t really like a mother to me. My family died when I was a baby, I never knew them. Gertrude looked after me when I was little but it was mostly casual. She often couldn’t afford to feed me every day. That’s when I decided to work for a carpenter, hauling massive back breaking loads up the hill to the carpenters shop. ‘Could I do this all my life?’ work long gruelling hours only for a few miserable coins? To afford only a sliver of cheese or bread? All my life, cold bit my face mercilessly in this village island. I never had a real home. I need to leave.

I decided to follow the pirates, they seemed to know the direction they were headed, but I had never been to this part of the village before. I started hearing waves lap against granite rocks on shore and the smell of sea salt filled my nose. The mist cleared to reveal a structure made from smooth polished wood, glistening with sea spray and the lower part speckled with barnacles, and the mast raised highly over a sapphire blue sea. It was a pirate ship. It was not just a pirate ship, it was incredible! “Woah...” I gasped. “WHAT?!” “WHO is THERE!” shouted one of the pirates. Summoning all of my courage I stepped into the light so I could be seen. “Who. Are. You?” One of the pirates questioned mechanically. “Thresh.” I replied. My mouth went dry with dread. A thought stumped me. ‘What if this was a mistake?’ “Watcha’ doin’ ere’ boy?!” I was rooted to the spot. I tried to make words come but I couldn’t force them out of my mouth. The man in front of me with copper hair and red cuts on his chin shouted aggressively “Well?!” “Well…” I desperately tried to find words. “I followed you here because, I want to be a pirate…” I said feeling hot with embarrassment. I likely looked like a fool. “Ha!” “You?! A pirate?! That’s a laugh ye so skinny you wouldn’t even make good shark food!” The other pirate frowned at him and said more gently “Erm, what Frederick meant to say is yer’ too little to be of much help and being pirate is tough work it’s not a game, it serious work. Besides wouldn’t yer’ mam and pap be heartbroken that their son went away to sea, never to return?” Said the kind hearted pirate. I stared at them straight and said “I have no parents.” “It’s not worth stayin’ here for me.” “And I’ll do my best, I look scrawny, but I’m very strong for work I have to carry massive loads of wood at a time that weigh a tonne. EVERY DAY.” “Prove it!” Yelled the distrustful pirate. I observed a large log of wood, I crouched down, placed my hands under the log and lifted it, and I raised the log to my chest. I had done it! The two pirates exchanged impressed looks and said “My names, Clouse an’ he’s Frederick welcome to our crew!”

Potato peeling, was not exactly what I had in mind. Still, it was better than slaving away at back breaking work back at the island. I shuddered at the thought. It had been four days since I left the village docks and the memory of hunger and exhaust was still fresh in my mind. I unfortunately was left with the smelly job of potato peeling and cleaning up the deck where birds gather to rest their wings, feast on food scraps and land their droppings… I peered out of the kitchen deck window and watched the others practise sword fighting and punching each other and some even wrestling. Clouse said ‘being a pirate is no game’ but it still looked absolutely fun on the oak deck. Suddenly, one by one, everyone stopped. The shaggy black haired pirate, the captain was the first to break the silence. “Iron Raiders…” The pirate captain muttered with regret. Everyone seemed to know what to do, all of them picked up weapons of swords, hatchets, daggers, bows & arrows… it was not long before a dark shadow loomed over our ship and a hostile voice called out “So this is yer ship eh?!” “Very nice model! Right boys?” shouted the conflicting captain. The enemy’s comrades laughed in agreement. “What do yer want now metal head?!” insulted our brave captain heroically. The conflicting captain looked rather taken aback by the harsh insult “Metal Head” Clouse rushed to me in the kitchen. “Hi Thresh.” He greeted “Captain says a battle with metal head is about to start and he needs you to help.” “How can I help? I inquired. “He needs you to go and fill the cannon and make first attack.” “Thanks Clouse.” I was about to sprint to the cannon but Clouse stopped me. “Also don’t let anyone see you otherwise they will make first attack, when they do it, it won’t be an easy fight, they are a grisly lot they are.” I dashed to the cannon to start, there were colossal curved boulders lined in a row in a hollowed out oak log. I, with great difficulty picked up a cannonball and placed it in the hole. There was a long line of rope attached to it for lighting. ‘I need a match’ I thought. I looked around searching for a packet of red tipped matches. A wooden compartment which read “Flamings’s red tipped matches!” I pulled open the box and quickly pulled a little stick out. I rubbed it down the spotted area of the box hastily and the peak set on fire. The flame was orange in the middle with yellow for the exterior with a red glow surrounding it. I put it close to the rope so it could catch fire. The flame spread. It lingered at the edge of the rope for a moment and then ran along the rope like a wild horse. I suddenly burst into action and pointed the cannon at the opposing ship, and finally a rock exploded out of the opening and fractured the enemy vessel which left a burnt, broken mark where the cannonball hit. The rival commander screamed with fury. “ATTACK!!!!” suddenly units from both crews sprang at each other in a frenzy of punching and kicking. Captain described these people as ‘Iron Raiders’ the description was somewhat correct as the foes all wore an iron glove. Lizzie ran at an Iron Raider and knocked him out of the ship with a splash. The captain of the Iron Raiders growled “Retreat!” the raiders slithered back to their own smashed ship. “This is not over! You are only target practice in battle before we take over Faria! We were practicing our army strength! When we take over the Kingdom Of Faria your ship will be next in line and you will be thrown in a sinking ship to drown!” shrieked the captain of the Iron Raiders indignantly. The Iron Raider’s ship raised the mast and sailed away.

“They forgot someone!” Lizzie’s brother barked with pleasure. He held a wet dripping skinny person up by the scruff of his coat. “Alrighty spill it!” demanded captain. “No!” Yelled back the fearful prisoner. “You have two options.” Began the captain. Speaking as smooth as honey. “you can refuse to tell me a thing about your captain’s plans involving The Kingdom Of Faria and get a dagger to the throat or… You could tell me everything I want to know and we will drop you at the next village island with a bag of 5 golden coins…” the captain said temptingly. “Make it 10’ an we got a deal.” “Okay, deal.” The prisoner looked at the captain and asked “What do you want to know?” “What I want to know is, if they couldn’t even defeat us, how do they plan to take down a WELL ARMED KINGDOM?! Interrogated the captain “Like he said you was only practise, they have a secret weapon, they are just testing their strength, not their weapon. Besides he doesn’t want other pirates such as ye knowin!” Laughed the imprisoned Iron Raider. “What is this secret weapon?” questioned the captain. The prisoner looked as though he was about to refuse to tell anymore but it seemed he thought it was better not to refuse. “Well, it’s a sword… we got it made from a magician, a powerful one, the blade is not meant to necessarily kill… captin’ says that u can die from it but only if you are weak, when the blade cuts you, you fall into a crippling sickness which gives you a terrible stomach ache and blurres your vision. The blade doesn’t even need to properly cut you just a scratch will do.” This information sent a shudder down my spine and seemed to give the others a jolt of fear. “Is there a cure?” the captain asked hopefully. “A cure!? Of course but you would never guess!” The imprisoned raider grinned. “It’s salt! Any salt! You don’t need nothing fancy, sea salt will work!” “You could even use sea water!” “You put it on where you were scratched and yer cured!” This news seemed to calm the lot down a bit but they were still looking shocked. “We have to help them!” I yelled desperately “The Iron Raiders will completely take over!” “Thresh-“Clouse tried to calm me “No! We need to help them!” “Thresh-“ Clouse continued “only one scratch and we are down, we won’t be able to treat ourselves if we can’t move.” I thought about this for a moment. He did have a point knowing the cure would not help if we were immobilised “What if we had armour, captain?” “I suppose that would work…” “But, why should we help?” he queried “Because if we go to the ruler before the battle commences we could ask the monarchy of Faria that we will help if we are payed.” Everyone smiled, they believe the plan will work! We were dressed in armour from the ships treasury I picked a metal helmet with soft leather lining on the inside and a rectangular hole for eye vision and a mouth hole which started from the top and curved towards the bottom and my chest plate, was tough leather, to test it I tried to prick a hole through it with a pin. No success. There were no tough leggings left so I tied strips of old stiff cloth around by legs. Our boat gradually pulled into the Faria’s harbour. I climbed to the top deck and the cool air blew my face. I saw magnificent spires of rock rocket from the ground with lush green grass coating the back with gushing crystal water cascading from the top to the ocean floor. Little islands dotted around the larger main islands with castle turrets with smooth orange roof tiles at the peak. The smaller ones had collections of grand houses and people floating on boats to get from one island to another. “We need to consult the ruler of Faria.” Acknowledged our captain in about twenty minutes our ship came to a stop. We all climbed out of the ships cabin. Some of us fell over. I did. My legs felt unsteady and bendy, they were difficult to control. “Sea legs.” Frederick muttered. In the midst there was the central area of the palace. It had creamy walls and eight men guarding the entrance and others dotted around the field. I followed captain to the entry. We stopped at the door. “We need to see ye monarchy of great importance.” Captain explained. “Okay, Michael and Thomas will escort you to Queen Margret, to ensure her protection…” The guard looked at us through narrow suspicious eyes and handed us over to the men. Our escorts took us to a large room with a wooden throne and velvet fabric seat. A woman was sitting there playing chess with her butler “Good move Margret.” Her butler remarked quietly. “It’s nice here.” I thought. She clearly heard us come in, when she looked up to see who was there. “Thomas, Michael who are these people?” she asked calmly. “They say they have an issue of ‘great importance’ to discuss with you.” Answered the guard. “What is there to discuss?” she asked looking at our captain. “Your kingdom is in danger Queen Margret. No one knows about it yet except us, we interrogated a prisoner from the Iron Raiders and he says that they have swords that when they scratch someone, they become extremely ill and their vision becomes impaired, he says they plan to come to Faria and use this weapon to take over the kingdom.” Captain explained calmly. “We know the cure for this illness but if you are struck you can’t move.” The Queen seemed to take this in and then looked very concerned.” “The cure is salt, put it to the scratch and the sickness is cured.” “Thank you for telling me, but our army is small right now, by any chance would it be possible to gain your help?” The pirates looked as though they were hoping she would ask that. The captain replied. “We would like to get paid 30 gold coins each please, we have already dealt with them recently and its tough work an’ it’ll be even tougher when they use their new weapons…” “Ok do you know when they are coming?” Suddenly a giant vessel Crashed into the harbour and Iron Raiders began rushing out of the ship and running toward the castle grounds blades in hand. “Prepare for battle!” Captain roared.

LOST PROPERTY

Lost property will be displayed on Monday 24th April from before school until end of second break. Please remind your student to go and have a look if they have lost anything this year. All un-named property at the end of the day will be sent to a charity.

CHAPPY CHAT

Happy Easter to you all! Welcome to Term Two, I hope it’s a great one for all of you.

Coming up this term

Saturday 22nd: Cowboys Carparking Fundraiser at Northreach Baptist.
Monday 24th: ANZAC Assembly.
Tuesday May 2nd: Local Chaplaincy Committee Meeting. Any supporters of chaplaincy welcome. 8am Willows Presbyterian Church Hall
May 9-11: NAPLAN
Week 5 May 15-19: Chappy Week Events and Fundraisers
Week 10: End of term BBQ

One Million Stars Project

In the last few weeks of term one and continuing this term, students from year 4-6 and I will be creating woven paper stars. We will give these to the 1 Million Stars Installation next year at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Let’s stand together against violence in our community. All welcome to help! See Chappy Libbie.

Kids and Social Media

Almost every day I hear students telling me of stories from the weekend that happened over social media and apps. Legally, most apps require the user to be 13 years old.Here is a great website that can help parents to know a bit more about what kids are downloading, the risks and suggestions. Please give this site a visit to be best informed.

“Did you know most apps have some sort of GPS tracking system enabled in them”

Have a wonderful term, I hope to see you soon.

Chappy Libbie.

DEFENCE NEWS

Hello to all Defence Families

Welcome back to Term 2. Hope you all had a very enjoyable holiday break with family and friends.

Our Anzac Day Ceremony will be next week on Monday 24th April. It will commence promptly at 2:00pm. All family and friends are welcome to attend in the TCBC.

All students are invited to attend The Thuringowa Anzac Day March on Tuesday 25th April. We will be forming up at 8:30am in the carpark of The Willows Shoppingtown near the Post Office. The parade will step off at 9:00 am where we will march along Thuringowa Drive to the Cenotaph outside the council chambers. There will be a short service and is expected to finish around 10:30am. Students marching are expected to wear full school uniform, hat and sunscreen and bring a bottle of water.

To celebrate this I am holding an Art for Anzac Day here at school. All students and staff are encouraged to make, draw, and create a piece of art. This is a great opportunity for budding artist to show off their talents to the school. It will be awesome to see all pieces of art on display here at school. Entries close on Friday 21st April and prizes will be awarded. There have been many great entries so far.

The Memorial Box from the MTQ is on display in the library for students until the end of next week. All classes have enjoyed the great display of items. I also have a box of army memorabilia in L Pod for students to dress up with and handle. This has been a lot of fun for students and they have enjoyed dressing up immensely.

EDUCATION ASSISTANCE SCHEME

All defence families can access financial assistance for education costs incurred as a result of postings. Students may be entitled to up to 14 weeks of tutoring in any subject that has been identified by the school as representing a gap in learning. We may reimburse fees for tutoring required to fill any gaps in understanding or curriculum caused by changing schools. Please see me if you would like a copy or you can ring the Helpline for updates 1800 624 608

Are you on the DCO mailing List?

Join DCO Townsville mailing LIST NOW if you want to receive all updates from DCO.

Contact them directly at dco.townsville@defence.gov.au or phone 07 4753 6539.

If you have any enquiries or require assistance, the Defence Family Helpline will continue operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can be contacted on 1800 624 608 or email defencefamilyhelpline@defence.gov.au.

Townsville Gone Troppo Newsletter

DCO Townsville's Gone Troppo Newsletter is available to view on the DCO website and click on the latest edition to download

DATES TO REMEMBER

April is Autism Month. Information sessions are available with new speakers. Please read flyer attached.

CONTACTS

Defence Community Organisation is available to all Defence members and their families.

Contact Defence Family Helpline operates 24-7 on 1800 624 608.
Mates4Mates (Family Recovery Centre) 40 Anne Street – 4771 9600
Support and Mental Health Services for ADF Families
Townsville Community Mental Health- 4433 3000
Centacare-4772 9000
Relationships Australia-1300 364 277
Veterans and Veterans Families – 1800 011 046 www.dva.gov.au/vvcs
(eligibly criteria applies)
DFA Defence Families of Australia – 1800 100 509 www.dfa.org.au
National Delegate for Northern Queensland - nth.qld@dfa.org.au

Remember I am available anytime from 8:00am until 3:00pm, Monday to Friday.

Parents are very welcome to stop by L Pod or contact me via email or phone. Students can call into L Pod throughout the day.

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

Correna Wheeler