14 July 2017

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Dear Parents/Carers and Community

Welcome to another Term at The Willows. Being 3 days into the term it is fantastic to see our students enthusiastic, ready to learn and well settled. There are a number of new faces and we welcome our new families to our school. It is fantastic to see students helping their new classmates and being friendly and kind.

In the last week of school we celebrated NAIDOC and I would like to congratulate Cathy Hughes and Mandy Berghoef for the activities they provided across the week including our breakfast. It was excellent to see so many people support and engage in this work. Over the week the students painted three canvas paintings to represent ‘Our Languages Matter’. These are impressive and worth having a look at when you are in the office area. The School Choir accompanied by Mr Schimke and Mrs Coleman sang many traditional songs at our NAIDOC gathering. Fabulous!

On Tuesday night at our P and C Meeting we commenced discussing our 4 Year School Plan. Our P and C are an active team in our school and came up with some fabulous ideas for improvements in some of the key areas of our school. The consultation process includes staff, students, parents and citizens and takes into consideration the School Improvement Unit recommendations (found on our website). At the end of this term our Strategic Plan will be endorsed and ready for implementation from 2018-2022.

Please be on the lookout on Facebook/Website for many school events that are coming up in Term 3 including: Year 5 Charters Towers Trip; Red Track Athletics; Challenge Games; Lego Mindstorms; OptiMinds; Science and Technology Expo; Fun Fair; Eistedfodd and Stories Galore. Our school is an amazing place, thanks for being part of it!

Kind regards
Helen McCullough
Principal

LIFE EDUCATION

This year we again offered students the option of engaging with Life Education ”Talk About it” program regarding puberty. The school recognises that you are the primary educator of your child on issues surrounding their sexuality, however we believe we can work together to help children stay safe by encouraging healthy attitudes. The TALK ABOUT IT program by Life Education includes information on puberty incorporating physical growth and emotional changes, relationships and the concept of self. It is designed to help students understand and cope with this important phase of development. The lessons have been progressing with year 5 classes throughout the week. Our year 6 students will have their lessons in term 4 and more information will come out about that later. On Tuesday night we had our parent information session for year 5 and 6 students and we thank those families for coming along. If you have any queries regarding the program and were unable to attend the parent information session please email Patricia Winter (pwint5@eq.edu.au) and I would be happy to assist.

SCHOOL PHOTOS

Next week we will have school photos taken by MSP Photography. We will stick as close a possible to the timetable below. Please ensure that your student is in full school uniform, hair neatly presented with appropriate footwear. Senior students can wear their senior shirts if they wish for their class shot. Year 6 students will also have a whole year level photo taken later next term. Reminder also to bring your photo envelopes to submit to the photographer.

LEARNING STARTS AT 8.45AM

THE WILLOWS WAY IS 100% ATTENDANCE.

Just a little bit late doesn’t seem much but did you know…….

Please remember to inform the office if students are not coming to school.

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

P&C NEWS

Fun Fair

Our Fun Fair is getting closer! Keep 25th August free, and come along for a great night of entertainment and fun. If you know of any businesses looking for exposure who would like to help or donate, please contact Tanya on tmeddy@bigpond.com

Please collect your clean empty glass jars and fill with useful items to donate for the popular tombola store. (Labels need to be removed!)

Tuckshop Convenor

Congratulations to Gaynor, our new acting Tuckshop Convenor! Gaynor will be in this role while Rosie is on maternity leave, and brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge that will help her and the team.

OSHC News

Our OSHC families will notice some new faces and role changes, as Cathy and Mandy take on acting roles as Coordinator and Acting Coordinator, and Jessica moves into a permanent role as Assistant Educator..

Facebook

Search for “The Willows State School P&C” or click the link below. This page has school announcements and information as well as P&C related matters.

Next P&C Meeting

P&C Meetings are the second Tuesday of the month, so the next meeting is 8th August, 6pm in the TCBC.

See you around!

DEFENCE NEWS

Welcome all Defence Families to Term 3.

Hope everyone had a most enjoyable 2 weeks holiday and managed to spend some quality time with your families. Maybe you had the chance to experience one of the many activities on around town or the holiday program that was at Geckos. I bet every child is refreshed and ready to start a new term. LET’S GO!!

For the first 3 weeks of this term I will be not be at school as I will be spending some time with my husband who is posted to Darwin. During this time Brooke Thomas will be filling my position as DSTA here at school. She has had experience in the role as she has spent time in Katherine where she was the DSTA. Please make her welcome and if you have any concerns you can contact her through the office or in L Pod. Brooke will be available most days from 9:00am-2:00pm. Welcome Brooke Thomas.

Thank you to everyone who attended our morning tea last term. Special Thanks also to Jess from DCO and Barbara from Defence Health. They bought goodies for parents and lots of discussion around program coming up at DCO. If you want to know about upcoming DCO programs, events, and activities or information about events and services in the wider North Queensland community you need to be on the mailing list. You can e-mail DCO office in Townsville dco.townsville@defence.gov.au and leave details, name, member name, address, email, mob/home number, children’s names or collect a form from me. I have attached a copy of the form below. Our next morning teas will be on Friday in week 5 and week 9. I look forward to seeing more defence parents. The morning is very relaxed and also great opportunities to talk and meet other parents and form some networking.

It is that time of the year again. Deployments are a part of the Defence Force family lifestyle and the impact of a parent’s absence due to a deployment can have a huge impact on the whole family, especially children. Sometimes, children lack the language to communicate or understand their feelings and can often express themselves with behaviour that is inappropriate or out of character. At TWSS we aim to support students during parental absence due to a deployment by:

• engaging the children in a variety of activities that allow them to identify the emotions they may feel during a parental absence
• share their experiences with other defence children who may also have a parent away
• read books especially written to help children cope with deployments
• create craft items at Kids Club to help the child communicate with the absent parent.

Make sure you let your child’s teacher and DSTA know if you or a partner will be away for an extended period of time. Having this knowledge will help to support the student at school.

IMPORTANT FOR STUDENTS - 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. You have 18 months from starting at a new school to access and complete the tutoring. This scheme is very beneficial for students. Please see me if you would like assistance to complete the form. You can also 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 operates 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

Positive Partnership has a 1 day FREE Workshop- for school staff and families of a young person on the autism spectrum in Townsville on Tuesday 25th July. Registration is essential.

The Lavarack Barrack Open Day and Trail Run-will be held on Saturday 2nd September. Gates to open at 8am, gold coin donation on entry. Run for legacy 10km/21.2km, 5km short course and obstacle course. Registration closes 1st September at trybooking.com

Yoga Classes @ Geckos on Mondays 18.30-19.30 cost $5/session

Bootcamp Tuesdays and Thursdays @Geckos 18.00-19.00 cost $10/session.

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

Stay safe and have a great week
Correna Wheeler