29 March 2018

Newsletter Articles

DATE CLAIMER

PRINCIPAL’S NEWS

Dear Parents/Carers and Community

Last Friday it was great to see our school community get behind our annual fun run/cross country. The afternoon was certainly lots of fun and it was made all a bit more colourful thanks to our P&C Fundraising Committee and volunteers. Thank you to all participants, spectators, staff and volunteers for a very successful event. I particularly want to thank our staff – an event for 995 students running like clockwork is no easy feat – without the support of our staff and their top organisation the event would not be possible – thanks Team Willows.

How good was it to see students having fun? Their excitement was contagious and it was fantastic to see the high level of sportsmanship and student leadership shine! A very special thank you to our PE Teachers, Jenny Deuble and Cathy Pilcher and also Anita Hodgkison who worked relentlessly behind the scenes organising and also the Kirwan Fire Department for their support and participation.

As we draw Term 1 to a close the students of The Willows and their teachers are busily finishing their learning. Every day counts and we look forward to celebrating our term and learning on Thursday.

Kind Regards,

Helen McCullough
Principal

Respect our Staff

Resolving Issues School Fact Sheet

BEFORE SCHOOL ROUTINE

At 8am we have limited supervision which is why we have the following in place as part of our duty of care:

All students who arrive from 8am onwards are to go to the Main CPA.

At 8.20am Years 3-6 students are taken to TCBC where they wait until they are released to go to class. Prep-2 students remain in the Main CPA and are released in time to go to class by 8.45am.

No student should be arriving at school prior to 8am. The school is not open and there is no supervision provided.

The Outside School Hours Care facility is an option for parents to book/use and parents/carers who have early starts and late finishing times are encouraged to access this facility.

ATTENDANCE

Every student in our school is important to us and we are committed to providing personalised education suited to their needs. The very first step in that is maximising learning time and we believe that if students attend every day and every learning minute of the day we are improving their opportunities for academic success.

Students can come to school from 8am. If they arrive at 8am they go to the Main CPA. At 8.15am year 3,4,5, and 6 students are escorted by at teacher to TCBC. Students are expected to be at school in the classroom ready to start work at 8.45am. Students who are late to school are encouraged to complete any work missed in their own time. Please note that lateness and early departure have an impact on student learning.

THE WILLOWS WAY IS 100% ATTENDANCE.

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

YEAR LEVEL PARADES

This year our students will have year level parades weekly and full school parades as scheduled on our school calendar.

Note the time and place for all year levels.

Prep – Monday 8.45 am in Junior CPA
Year 1 – Monday 12.50pm in Junior CPA
Year 2 – Tuesday 8.50am in Junior CPA
Year 3 – Monday 2pm in TCBC Conference Room
Year 4 – Tuesday 2.30pm in TCBC Conference Room
Year 5 – Mondays 11.40am in TCBC Conference Room.
Year 6 – Mondays 2.30pm in TCBC Conference Room.

Parents/Guardians are most welcome to attend.

APPOINTMENTS WITH STAFF

Throughout the course of any day and week, the administrative and teaching staff of The Willows have significant commitments to the Teaching and Learning of our students. If you are needing to see one of the staff, please help us by arranging an appointment time at a mutually beneficial time. This can be done by contacting our office, email or by talking with us.

JCU Pre Service Teachers

This term we have had 8 student teachers from the James Cook University working with our teachers in the classroom. They have worked with year 1,2,4 and 6 classes. They have had the opportunity to collaboratively plan lessons and observe some excellent practice in our school. Many of them will visit us again later in the year.

TAFE Cert 3 Teacher Aides

This term we have had 5 Cert 3 Teacher Aide trainees working at our school to complete some of their required work placement activities. They have worked with teachers in Prep, year 1, 2 and 5. They will continue into term 2. They are doing a great job of assisting our teachers and students in the classroom.

Parent Volunteers

Parent Volunteers are an extremely important part of our school community and we appreciate any time that they can provide to assist us. This term we have completed our induction process for over 70 volunteers and they are actively assisting our staff in the school.

If you have some time or expertise that you can share with us please contact Mrs Patricia Winter (pwint5@eq.edu.au) or office staff. We will have another induction in the first week of term 2 on Friday the 20th of April in TCBC Conference Room at 2.30pm.

3 WAY CONVERSATIONS

On the 3rd week of term 2 we will have our ‘Three Way Conversation’ 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.

Our three way conversations will be held in the TCBC and all students will receive a letter giving instructions on how to use the electronic booking system to make your appointment. Bookings can be made from Tuesday 17th April.

Student Council News

Earth Hour

The Willows State School participated in Earth Hour, on the 23rd of March. Earth Hour is an annual event, which focuses on the reduction of pollution and electricity.

In order for our school to have a fun and energy saving Earth Hour, each class came up with some ideas to save energy and pollution. These are some of the things that were done in classrooms.

Turned off lights, fans, air conditioners for an hour; planted some beans to take home; tidied up an area in the school to ensure there was no litter; no use of electricity for an hour; lesson under a tree; lesson outside so that lights were off.

Thank you very much to all the teachers and students who participated in Earth Hour. Having everyone reduce pollution and electricity can make a huge difference to the environment we live in.

Environmental Officers

PBL NEWS

Fortnightly Focus- Bullying – NO WAY

The students at The Willows are being explicitly taught what bullying is and is not. They are engaging in lessons on how we can look out for each other, report to adults and treat others respectfully.

We have noticed more students are walking calmly around the school buildings and are remembering our school expectations of ‘walk on the path’, ‘sun safe’ and ‘hands and feet to self’. Please ask your child/children if they have received a WOW lately for walking calmly, wearing full school uniform, or being respectful and kind to others.

We have had a fantastic term of acknowledging Safe, Respectful, and Responsible behaviour with fun reward days, celebrating excellent behaviour and learning.

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to a fantastic term 2!

PREP NEWS

Look at what we are learning in prep!

YEAR 1 NEWS

In Visual Arts Year 1 have been looking at Colour and Emotions. Students were asked to draw a picture of themselves with crayon and applied a wash with the colour that reflects their emotions. These pictures show the emotions of sad, happy, angry and excited.

There has also been some great writing as well!

YEAR 2 NEWS

WONDERFUL YEAR 2 LEARNERS

Year 2 students have been excited this term to learn about data and graphing in maths. They have been clever writers, eager to share their stories with others. The students have also been to the sheds looking at the difference between the mowing equipment of the past and the ones Steve uses now to keep our grounds looking so beautiful. Have a happy and safe break and we are looking forward to another term of learning after the holidays.

YEAR 3 NEWS

Over the last several weeks, the year three students and teachers have been working together to achieve success in using additive strategies to solve problems. The students have been developing the knowledge and skills associated with the split, compensate and jump strategies. 3FAH used a number line on the carpet to practise their ‘jumps’ to solve problems involving the use of the jump strategy – adding a ‘hands on’ approach to learning. There has also been peer collaboration during learning as students worked together to solve various word problems.

YEAR 4 NEWS

Science

Here today, gone tomorrow!

During this term, Year 4 have been learning to understand that natural and human processes cause changes to the Earth’s surface. We investigated weathering and erosion and made observations of our local, national and international environments. The students’ prior knowledge was always a welcome addition to our learning. We discussed our experiences of places we have visited like The Atherton Tablelands, The 12 Apostles and talked about recent natural weather events which caused sudden changes to our local area. In addition, we have made recommendations for solutions to erosion scenarios.

YEAR 5 NEWS

This term year 5's have been busy exploring various artists' use of animal representations and their relationships to environment as inspiration for sculptural artwork. The students have been designing and creating their masterpieces as their culminating task.

YEAR 6 NEWS

News from 6 OUT

We have been studying the works of Pablo Picasso, a Spanish artist born more than 120 years ago. Picasso is famous for being the co-founder of Cubism which is a style of painting where objects of the painting subject are broken up and re-painted in an abstract form. We created self-portraits featuring this unique style.

We have also been busily working on our Digital Technology task of creating a maze game that will help students solve a problem. We have used a series of commands such as branching, repetition and user input to allow students to move an avatar through the maze.

Here are some examples of our creations this term.

Digital Technology

Self Portraits (Picasso cubism style)

NEWS FROM THE GUIDANCE OFFICER

Bullying No Way

Make a Stand Together

At our school we aim to create a safe and supportive school community for everyone.

Sometimes, it can be difficult for parents or carers to know what to do when their child talks to them about bullying.

You are an important part of our work to prevent bullying and to respond effectively if it happens. Stopping bullying involves everyone.

If your child talks to you about bullying:

1. Listen calmly and get the full story. Your calm response is important to allow your child to tell you all about the situation. After they’ve told you their story, ask questions to get more details if you need to: who, what, where, when. Although you may feel some strong emotions about your child’s experience, try to keep calm to avoid more distress to your child.

2. Reassure your child they are not to blame. Many children blame themselves and this may make them feel even worse. You could say things like, ‘That sounds really hard to deal with. No one should have to put up with that.’ or ‘I’m so glad you told me. You should be able to feel safe at school; that’s not fair at all’.

3. Ask your child what they want to do and what they want you to do. A critical part of your response is to avoid jumping in to solve the problem. While it is natural to want to protect your child, helping them to find their own solution is a better option. It helps them feel they have some power in the situation.

4. Visit www.bullyingnoway.gov.au to find some strategies. The website has tips and ideas for different bullying situations. One idea is to practise strategies at home to help your child feel more confident.

5. Contact the school. Your child may be reluctant for you to do this, so discuss the idea and reassure them that the school would want to know and is able to help. Make an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher and, if you need to, ask to talk with the principal. Contact the school immediately if you have a concern about your child’s safety.

6. Check in regularly with your child. Keep the conversation going. It can take time to resolve issues, so check in regularly with your child about their experiences and their feelings. Your ongoing support is important.

P&C News

AGM

Thank you to those who attended our AGM on the 13th March. We are pleased to announce our executive committee for 2018 is as follows:

President – Jason Curtis (continuing)
Secretary – Rachel Ratten (new)
Treasurer – Wanda Austin (continuing)
Vice President – Melissa Thorburn (new).

We have continued with our subcommittee model (Tuckshop, OSHC and Fundraising subcommittees) and are still looking for more members. If you wish to be a part, come along to our next meeting! Date to be advised.

School Run4Fun Colour Explosion!

What an awesome day we had at the School Run4Fun Colour Explosion. Thank you to each and every one of you who supported or volunteered for the event – we couldn’t have done it without you.

Now the next exciting part - ordering your prizes. Students who raised $10 or more will be entitled to a prize. You can mix and match your prizes if you raised $20 or more. Please refer to page eight (8) of your Sponsorship Form/Booklet for more details.

You have two options to order your prize/s. However, any cash raised MUST be returned to the office by the end of this term (accompanied by the back page of the Sponsorship Form/Booklet) for you to be entitled to these prizes (please don’t forget to write your child’s name on the form!)

Option 1: Please complete and return the back page of the Sponsorship Form/Booklet to the office by Thursday 29th March (last day of term).

Option 2: Login or create a Profile Page at the link below by Friday 30th March.

The sooner we finalise the prize order the sooner the students will receive their prizes. Thanks again for your support.

For those who didn’t fundraise, we do still need you to return your Sponsorship Form/Booklet. Thrown it out? That’s ok, but we’ll need to send you a Stat Dec to sign.

We really hoped you enjoyed the Colour Explosion event. The P&C are excited to bring events such as this to The Willows family, and stay tuned for more exciting events that we have planned throughout the year!

Tupperware Eco Water Bottle Fundraiser

For a limited time until Thursday 29th March, purchase online through our Facebook group “The Willows State School P&C Tupperware Water Bottle Fundraiser” and 10% of your sales will go towards the P&C. This also includes the limited edition Glitter range, as well as the Active Carriers.

It’s easy to order. Send a join request to the Facebook group “The Willows State School P&C Tupperware Water Bottle Fundraiser” for all the details, and to order you can either send a pm to the group page, or email Naomi at naomijane75@hotmail.com, or call/text Naomi direct on 0405765162 (just let her know you are from The Willows State School). Don’t use Facebook? No problem, just use the email or phone options.

Why not take advantage of 20% off the standard Eco Water Bottle range?

Orders will be distributed the first week of Term 2

Label Partners

If you’re buying Tupperware bottles from our fundraiser, perhaps you need some personalised labels to put on them!

We have partnered with two personalised label companies (Stuck on You, and Bright Star Kids) and a percentage from every sale goes towards the P&C, providing you select our school’s details at the checkout. Stuck On You - At checkout, click "Have a Crew/Fundraising Code?" link, type in "thewillowsstateschool" (no spaces).

Bright Star Kids - At checkout, click "Link a Fundraising Account", enter "Willows" in the search and select our school.

These suppliers also have many other products available other than personalised labels, such as t-shirts, bento boxes and party supplies.

Entertainment Books

Entertainment Books are available through the P&C!

These are great value - a fantastic way to check out most popular restaurants, attractions, shopping, travel and more, and save money along the way.

Available in book or digital memberships, so you can just flash your phone and save!

Order through the P&C directly at this link:

Once ordered online, if you opted for the book version, they will be available to collect from the office or the OSHC.

Another option for ordering is to collect an order form from the office, and collect your book immediately (or an email will be sent to you for the digital version).

Mother’s Day Stall

We will be holding our annual Mother’s Day Stall again this year from the 8th to 11th May. More details will be in the next newsletter.

Family Movie Night

We are still working on a date for our Family Movie Night that was postponed earlier in the year due to wet weather. We hope to bring you news of the finalised date soon. Watch this space!

School Buy

Do you shop online generally? Perhaps you use Millers, Petbarn or Woolworths? Maybe even Webjet, Interflora, Australian Geographic or Smiggle?

SchoolBuy has partnered with hundreds of great retailers to turn online shopping into money for schools. Shop at over 200 online stores listed on SchoolBuy and a percentage of what you spend goes to your chosen school. It’s fast, it’s easy and it can make a difference!

There are millions of items that can be bought through SchoolBuy to support our school – and every purchase helps. Just remember to visit SchoolBuy first before shopping online. Simply by clicking the link on the SchoolBuy site, the online store you are visiting will know that SchoolBuy sent you and which school you want to support. Plus you still get all their best online deals and can take advantage of any special offers or sales on the retailer’s website. You don’t pay any extra, and just by doing your usual shopping, you can fundraise for the school!

Just go to the link below and select The Willows State School.

The Athlete’s Foot

If you are needing to buy shoes, for yourself or your kids, don’t forget our support from Athlete’s Foot. For every pair of shoes you buy, The Athlete’s Foot will donate $5 to our school! Simply mention that your kids go to our school when you buy shoes from the Castletown or Willows stores.

Facebook

Like us on Facebook to keep up to date with school and P&C events. (Search for The Willows State School P&C.)

See you round!

Chappy Chat

I hope the end of Term 1 is going well for you. If I haven’t met you yet this year, my name is Libbie, around here I get called Chappy Libbie, or Chappy. Chappy is short for chaplain.

My role at The Willows is to provide social, emotional, spiritual and educational support where required or desired to students, staff and their families.

I have the pleasure of working with and chatting to many students across our school about a range of issues – bullying, friendship problems, family separation, and more.

I work from L Pod, Wednesdays – Fridays. I hope to meet you soon. Please contact the school if you would like to chat with me about anything.

Year 6 Camp

I had the pleasure in Week 7 of attending Year 6 camp. I’d like to acknowledge the enormous bravery, resilience and joy the students showed despite the situation and rain which can easily get anyone down. It was a pleasure to get to know the 72 students very well on camp and I look forward to working with each of them until their time at Willows has finished. I also can’t wait to spend time with the remainder of the Year 6s when they get to go on camp.

Chappy BBQ

Thankyou for supporting chaplaincy through our end of term sausage sizzle. It is always a great success thanks to the kindness and generosity of our school community. Chaplaincy is only partially government-funded so every dollar raised goes towards maintaining a 3-day/week service.

Easter

Here’s an interesting article I found on how the tradition of the Easter Bunny came about and what it’s got to do with the Christian Easter traditions.

Holidays

Please keep safe and have an enjoyable time over the Easter weekend and the school holidays. I can’t wait to see you back here in Term 2.

SMADD NQ 2018 – June/July School Holidays - Song, Music, Art, Drama, Dance = SMADD!

If you would like information on a creative arts camp I am running this year, please email me at: nqsmadd@sucamps.org.au.

9-13 July 2018, Grades 5-12

Have a safe and happy Easter.
Chappy Libbie

DEFENCE NEWS

Happy Easter Everyone,

Just like to wish all families a wonderful break. If you are heading off on holidays have a great break, safe travels and hope you get lots of chocolates.

What a fabulous day last Friday at the Colour Run. Thanks to all involved.

It has been a busy term for students with many parents on deployment and courses. Students have been very focused in class and enjoy the lunch break activities that are planned. The students are coming to Kids Club and L Pod to have a chat, play games with friends and make a craft to send to parent.

PLEASE REMEMBER our lives can change in a second. There is always support for you to access. Call or e-mail me if you are not sure of where to go for support and I can put you in touch with the agencies or support people for you. A PROBLEM SHARED IS A PROBLEM HALVED. My door is always open and I am here to listen in times of difficulty.

Thank you to those parents who have been e-mailing me in regards to parent being away on deployment or other work related absences. It is always helpful and beneficial to know those students and be able to support them when they may be feeling sad, lonely or when there are other changes. Defence Community Organisation is available to all Defence members and their families. Defence Family Helpline operates 24-7 on 1800 624 608 or e-mail defencefamilyhelpline@defence.gov.au or Contact VVCS on 1800 011 046 for support.

Deployments are a part of the Defence Force family lifestyle. PLEASE LET ME/TEACHER KNOW IF A LOVED ONE IS GOING AWAY. 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. 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 go towards supporting the student at school.

Tyla Craven-Griffiths from Kirwan High (winner of The Premier Anzac Prize) has returned to collect the 5 crosses she left with us 4 weeks ago. Unfortunately not all defence students were present as this was the afternoon that some students had Inter School sports. When Tyla returns to our school after her trip hopefully all students will be at school. We wish her all the very best in her travels and look forward to hearing all about her journey next term.

Defence Families noticeboards are located in the office and Junior CPA and contain flyers and information relating to all things defence. Please stop and have a look anytime.

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. 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. Or you can ring the Helpline for updates 1800 624 608.

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

Defence Family Helpline operates 24-7 on 1800 624 608 or e-mail defencefamilyhelpline@defence.gov.au or Contact VVCS on 1800 011 046 for support.

Defence Families noticeboards are located in the office and Junior CPA with flyers and information relating to all things defence. Please stop and have a look anytime.

You are always welcome to come to L pod for a chat/cuppa, any day from 8:00am until 3:00pm. The office can phone ahead to make sure I am in my room or you can email me to arrange a time.

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. 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. Form attached.

Are you on the DCO mailing List?

Join DCO Townsville mailing LIST NOW if you want to receive updates from DCO. Contact them directly at dco.townsville@defence.gov.au or phone 07 4753 6539.

GECKOS FAMILY CENTRE is holding another KIDS MEDALLION PRESENTATION on Wednesday 18th April. RSVP by 12th April. More information details are on flyer attached.

IMPORTANT NUMBERS AND CONTACTS FOR YOU TO ACCESS.

Defence Community Organisation is available to all Defence members and their families. Defence Family Helpline operates 24-7 on 1800 624 608 or e-mail defencefamilyhelpline@defence.gov.au.

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

You are always welcome to come to L pod for a chat/cuppa, any day from 8:00am until 3:30pm. The office can phone ahead to make sure I am in my room or you can email me (cwhee36@eq.edu.au) to arrange a time.

HAPPY EASTER AND SPEND THE TIME WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

Correna Wheeler
Defence School Transition Aide

Move It Festival - Local Charity Event

The Townsville Hospital Foundation is hosting the Move It Festival next month on Sunday 29th April to replace the Run Townsville event from 2016.

We are currently trying to promote the event to families to encourage them to register and get moving for a healthy lifestyle.

It would be greatly appreciated if your school was able to help us spread the word by including one of our ads attached in your School Newsletter or on your Website.

Should you have any questions about the event please call our office on 4433 1337.