22 March 2019

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Dear Parents/Carers and Community

Congratulations to The Willows State School Students, Staff and Community who showed significant pride and support of our school’s National Day of Action: Bullying No Way campaign for 2019. The campaign, while runs on the 15/03/19 nationally, is a way of being at our school. We take bullying seriously and we thank our parents and students for bringing to our attention issues so we can problem solve and work together to make our school even better.

STRATEGIC FOCUS AND DIRECTION

OPEN CLASSROOMS – PARTNERSHIP ACROSS OUR SCHOOL

Congratulations to our students, parents and teachers! Our Open Classrooms were amazing and we really enjoyed showcasing the teaching and learning of our school. Thankyou also to our teams who presented reading and PBL – a great turn out! Well done.

WILLOWS WARRIORS PLAYGROUP

As part of our areas of school improvement, The Willows State School will be offering a pre-prep playgroup from Term 2 onwards. The Playgroup will be offered firstly to Prep 2020 students of our school. Enrolments have been opened.

The Playgroup will be staffed by The Willows State School, an Expression of Interest has been internally instigated and the outcome of this will be announced once the process has been followed and confirmed. This teacher will be responsible for working with children and their families to develop school readiness, oral language and a love of learning.

While in the early stages of planning, it is pleasing to see that there is significant interest in this initiative from the recent Facebook Poll. I now encourage our parents who would like to take advantage of this offer to contact Mrs Souter (Deputy Principal) and place their name on the list, along with their child’s name and contact email and phone numbers.

Please note, that this initiative means that parents will stay with their child for the program. We envisage that there will be two groups running (morning and afternoon). Further information will be provided once the initiative has a teacher and time has been provided to work with Mrs Souter and myself around the finer details.

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION Day 8 – OUTCOMES

2019 Class Arrangements TERM 2

• The ‘Day 8’ census delayed due to the wet weather event this year has now been finalised. Our submitted enrolments were 931 students across Prep to Year 6. At the commencement of the school year our students had been distributed across 40 classes.
• Unfortunately, due to a reduced staffing entitlement on final enrolment numbers we have had to make some class changes in Prep. The school will now have 39 classes across Prep to Year 6.
• There have been NO CLASS CHANGES to Year 1-6 classes.
• In term 2, The Willows State School will operate with 5 Prep classes and we will be re-allocating one class across remaining classes with a priority to student groupings in clusters (3-5 students). Students who will be moved into their new classroom and teacher arrangements will be transitioned in the last 3 days of term to provide an opportunity for them to meet their teacher and new classmates for the remainder of the 2019 school year. All Prep parents of students moving will be contacted by end of Week 9 once staffing arrangements have been confirmed.

We thank-you in advance for your ongoing support, understanding and co-operation. Please don’t hesitate to contact Amanda Souter (Deputy Principal) and myself to discuss further.

Thanks for your support to make The Willows a great school for everyone.

Kind Regards,
Helen McCullough
Principal

Bullying No Way!

At The Willows State School we aim to create a safe and supportive school community for everyone.

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

It is important to stress that all reports of bullying will be investigated and acted upon, with appropriate sup-port and consequences implemented. Many great resources provide information and tips on addressing bullying. One such resource is the ‘Bullying.No Way’ Website. This site provides specific information for parents on how to best help prevent and respond to bullying.

To understand what constitutes bullying we ask students/parents/staff to think about the following:

When someone says or does something unintentionally hurtful once, that’s RUDE (Patchin 2014)
When someone says or does something intentionally hurtful once, that’s MEAN (Patchin 2014)
When someone says or does something intentionally hurtful, and keeps doing it, that’s BULLYING (Patchin 2014)

Cyberbullying is using a computer or cell phone to intentionally be rude, mean or bully repeatedly (Patchin 2014). The most effective process to address cyberbullying is to save any screen shots, do not respond to any comments, block people and report the incident.

A great resource for parents on Cyberbullying is the Government eSafety Website.

An excellent general online safety resource is the Government iParent Website.

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: 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 the website below 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.

If you are looking for support for yourself to deal with a bullying situation, you will find ideas on the Bullying. No Way! website for parents. As well, please feel free to contact the school if you would like to discuss any aspect of our approach to preventing bullying.

NAPLAN 2019

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests were first implemented in May 2008 when national tests were held in literacy and numeracy for all students in Australia in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

These tests replaced the previous State and Territory-based assessments and have the support of all Education Ministers.

The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has been appointed to manage the tests. It is responsible for monitoring and reporting progress of the project and for the development of:

individual items and tests
agreed marking standards

quality control standards and risk management.

Although ACARA manages the national tests, the QCAA as the Test Administration Authority (TAA) for Queensland coordinates the administration, marking and reporting of the assessments for this state.

Purpose of the tests

The NAPLAN tests are designed to assess the skills of Australian students in literacy and numeracy. The specific purposes are:

to collect data from the population of Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students for reporting to parents/carers and schools for systematic reporting
to accommodate the assessment of students against national minimum standards.

What is tested?

A series of tests will assess areas of literacy and numeracy.

The following areas of literacy are assessed:

Language conventions - spelling, grammar and punctuation
Writing - knowledge and control of written language
Reading - comprehension.

As in other years, students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will be required to respond to a stimulus in the NAPLAN Writing test.

In numeracy, the content areas assessed are:

• Number and algebra
• Measurement and geometry
• Statistics and probability

Results from the tests will provide important information about children's progress in literacy and numeracy. Following the tests, schools and students will receive a statement of performance in relation to the national minimum standards.

Format of the tests

The program is conducted on 14, 15, 16 May.

For Years 3 and 5 there will be 4 tests: Language conventions, Writing, Reading and Numeracy.

For the Writing test, students will be given a stimulus and asked to write a response to the task in a maximum of three pages.

The response formats for questions on all other test papers will be either multiple choice (shade a bubble to indicate the answer) or constructed response (write the answer in a box or on a line). Online test items may also include other response types such as hotspot and drag and drop items.

Eligibility to sit the tests

All eligible students in Years 3, 5, 7 or Year 9 enrolled at State, Catholic or Independent schools must sit the tests unless they are exempt or withdrawn by parents/carers.

A Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 or Year 9 student is one who is:

• enrolled in Years 3, 5, 7 or 9 and recorded as such in the admission register, or
• recorded as ungraded but undertaking a Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 or Year 9 program, or
• of equivalent chronological age to a "typical" Year 3, 5, 7 or 9 student and involved in a special education facility or program.

Adjustments for students with disability

Adjustments are available in NAPLAN tests for students with disability to support students’ access to the tests.

ACARA has developed a number of scenarios to explain some of the available adjustments for students with disability.

A student may be granted access to multiple adjustments, and adjustments may be different for each NAPLAN test. For example, the adjustment(s) approved for the NAPLAN reading test may be different to the adjustment(s) approved for the NAPLAN writing test.

As the scenarios show, there are many adjustments available to students with disability, but not all students with disability are eligible for all, or even some of the adjustments. Please note these scenarios are examples only.

In most cases, adjustments should reflect similar support and assistance provided in the classroom for assessment activities. An example might be a NAPLAN support person filling in bubbles at the direction of the student. However, not all adjustments provided in a classroom setting are applicable for NAPLAN.

Parents of students with disability should meet with their child’s teacher and discuss the adjustments that may be suitable for their child.

The provision of adjustments must in all cases comply with the National protocols for test administration.

Withdrawing from NAPLAN

Parents or carers may withdraw their child from the tests to address issues such as religious beliefs and philosophical objections to testing. It is recommended that withdrawal be considered in consultation with your child's school. States and territories have different ways of managing student withdrawals, but formal notification must be received by the school principal prior to testing.

More information

Please contact the office for information.

GENERAL NEWS

ATTENDANCE – THE WILLOWS WAY IS 100% ATTENDANCE

Our student’s academic success is very much reliant on active participation and it is great to see our students arriving to school on time and staying for the whole day. We understand that some appointment occur during the school day so please ensure you are coming through the office.

CYBERSAFETY IN QUEENSLAND SCHOOLS

Cybersafety refers to online behaviour that is safe, appropriate and responsible. To help prevent cybersafety incidents, students are taught how to use technology appropriately and responsibly and behave in ways to enhance their own safety.

The Cybersafety and Reputation Management team plays a key role in maintaining the integrity of the department's reputation with regards to cybersafety and reputation management issues. The team have developed programs to help primary students understand and remember what they should and shouldn't do online:

The Cybersafety and Reputation Management team from the Department of Education will be visiting our school on the Tuesday the 2nd of April. Cybersafety relates to our Technology and Health curriculum and all students in years 4, 5 and 6 will be participating in this visit. The team will also be holding a 30 minute parent session on Tuesday the 2nd of April from 12.45pm in TCBC conference room. This is a great opportunity to have all your cybersafety and online do's and don'ts questions answered by the Departments specialised team, as well as find out more about the trending online platforms your children are using.

Letters were sent out to all students in year 4, 5 and 6 on the 11th of March with information about this session. Please return the RSVP slip to the front office no later than Wednesday 27th of March.

SCHOOL PHOTOS

All students have received envelopes for school photos. These will be take on Tuesday the 2nd and Wednesday the 3rd of April. Please ensure that students are in full school uniform. If you have any queries regarding photos please contact MSP Photography NQ 161 Ross River Road, Mundingburra 4812. Phone (07) 47252999

NOTE: Year 2,3,4 and 5 will have their photos taken on Tuesday. Prep, year 1,6 and all student leaders will have their photos taken on the Wednesday. REMEMBER THAT IT IS FULL SCHOOL UNIFORM. NO SPORTS UNIFORM ON WEDNESDAY.

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. Parents/Guardians are most welcome to attend.

Open Day at Prep

VOLUNTARY FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION

General Information:

• A voluntary financial contribution operates at The Willows State School. Parents/caregivers are strongly encouraged to participate as your contribution makes a direct difference in the resources available for your child/ren. It assists us to provide them with an enhanced range of learning materials and equipment.
• The purpose of the contribution is to enhance the level of resources available so that maximum student outcomes can be achieved by providing Library and Reference Books, Home Reading Books, Art and Craft Materials, Sporting Equipment and Classroom Technologies.
• All contributions to this scheme are gratefully received and make a significant difference to the education opportunities of all students.
• Payment does not cover items such as general stationery, admission to sporting venues, excursions and transport costs.
• Payment is now due to enable us to be a great school for your child/ren and every cent will be used to support your child/ren this year at The Willows State School.
• The Willows State School has maintained the current contribution of $40.00.

Specific Conditions:

• Parents who are experiencing financial difficulties may make a Payment Plan with the Business Manager to pay the contribution via regular instalments. All discussions will be held in confidence.

How can you pay your contribution?

Payment can be made at the office every day between 8:00am and 3:30pm, using cash, debit or credit cards. You may also pay your contribution by direct deposit into the school bank account.

Details are as follows:

The Willows State School

BSB: 064 823
Account: 1022 1460
Reference: (Student's surname and Roll Class) e.g. Brown 2BOU

Important: If you use the direct deposit option, please ensure you USE A CLEAR REFERENCE. We will be unable to receipt your account if we don’t know who the deposit belongs to.

We thank you for your support of our voluntary contribution scheme. Please read the following information about the scheme. Please don’t hesitate to contact the office if you require any further information.

Barbara Anderson - Business Manager

2019 NAPLAN Testing Brochure

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

From 14 to 16 May 2019, Year 3 and 5 students will be sitting the 2019 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Tests. These nation tests provide information on how students are performing in the content strands of numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, punctuation and grammar. Please find the brochure link below with more information about NAPLAN for your perusal.

NAPLAN testing will be conducted on paper in 2019. It is imperative that all Year 3 and 5 students arrive at school on time and prepared for the tests.

Please ensure that your student has the following materials that all participating Year 3 and 5 students will require to complete the NAPLAN tests:

• 2B or HB pencils
• An eraser
• A sharpener

To enquire about special provisions or exemption from NAPLAN for you student, please contact Claire Franklin (Head of Special Education) before 3 April 2019. Should you have any further queries regarding NAPLAN, please contact Mrs Patricia Winter (Deputy Principal Years 3/5) or Kym Clay (Head of Curriculum).

Yours sincerely

Helen McCullough
Principal

UPCOMING EVENTS

Positive Behaviour Learning

The Willows State School strives to create a safe and positive learning environment for all students. As a school community we work together to enable students to engage in learning through our Positive Behaviour for Learning Plan (PBL). The primary goal of this plan is to promote consistency in our high standards fostering our school rules of being Safe, Respectful and Responsible. The students learn about PBL through fortnightly lessons that target our behaviour expectations. These lessons also feature at our whole school and year level parades. The school has signage in each area to inform and remind the students of The Willows expectations.

Students, classes and cohorts are continually acknowledged and rewarded for displaying Safe, Respectful and Responsible behaviours throughout the year. Please regularly ask your child if they understand the expectations in different locations around the school and celebrate the rewards your child receives.

Students have a goal to collect 75 stars each 5 week cycle and then will be able to attend that 5 week cycle reward activity. Also if they have had no major behavioural incident in the term they can attend an end of term celebration. The teachers and students are currently deciding on the mid-term and end of term celebrations for their cohorts.

Our school expectations are printed on signage around the school for teachers, students, parents and visitors. This is so we have a calm and consistent environment conducive to learning.

Parents play a crucial role in helping their children be successful in school. When schools and parents work together as partners, students reach even higher levels of success. It’s vital for parents to support their child’s education. One of the most effective ways to do that is by using Positive Behaviour interventions and supports.

Well Being

From The Guidance Officer

Why it is important to collaborate with your child’s teacher

Collaborating with your child’s teacher can have a powerful impact. When you and your child’s teacher have a good relationship and communicate regularly about their learning and attention issues, it is easier to work together to help them succeed in school. It makes it easier for both of you to share concerns and celebrate successes.

How working with the teacher can help you

Working with your child’s teacher is one of the best ways to support their learning. You share a common goal, which is to provide the best educational experience for your child. You know your child best however collaborating with the teacher can give you an even better understanding of your child. It gives you the chance to share with the teacher the concerns you may have or things that you are seeing at home that they are not seeing in the classroom. You can share information about what is happening at home. Your child’s teacher can provide information about how things are going at school. By keeping each other informed, you can come show consistency across settings.

How working with you can help the teacher

Understanding your child’s learning and attention issues can help the teacher develop a more personalized approach to their learning. It can help the teacher predict what might be difficult for your child and to determine what type of accommodations might be necessary and helpful for them.

How your collaboration with the teacher can help your child

Building a partnership with your child’s teacher can benefit them as well. Knowing that school and home are working together to help them succeed can help them feel more confident. Having shared expectations with the teacher and a common language around your child’s challenges can help them feel like everybody is on the same page. That can make life less confusing for him. If you’re working with the teacher, your child may be more willing to self-advocate and ask for help when they needs it. That helps them be a more empowered and independent learner.

How to start collaborating with your child’s teacher

If you’re unsure how to start partnering with your child’s teacher, parent-teacher conferences are a good time to get the relationship going however if you’d like to speak to the teacher sooner, you can also call her, or informally request a meeting time or send an introduction email. You may also want to ask the teacher what their preferred mode of communication is.

Source:

I hope you find this information useful.

Narelle Thomas, Guidance Officer

Defence News

HELLO TO ALL DEFENCE FAMIIES

It has been a busy time at school. I have spoken to many students and parents with concerns for a family member being away. Some students have been a little upset during the day but after a chat and somewhere to come at break times things are going smoothly at school. Parents please let me know if a family member is away for an extended period of time and you are experiencing some problems at home. As I can have a chat with student and we can work through strategies on what to do when they feel upset. The Kidsmart program has been going along wonderfully and students are having a great time. The students are learning many strategies and skills to use when they move to a new school. Keep a look out as I will be holding another session in term 4 when families are being posted. We have been super busy at Kids Club painting hands and messages on our school Bullying-No Way banner. Everyone has had lots of fun creating this. My door is always open if there are any concerns you wish to discuss please give me a call, drop in or email me cwhee36@eq.edu.au anytime.

REQUEST DEFENCE PARENT TO SPEAK AT ANZAC DAY CEREMONY AT SCHOOL. Every year I parent kindly volunteers to speak at our ceremony. It is always very meaningful for the children and is a great connection with our defence community. This year again I would appreciate the service of a parent Guest Speaker for the ceremony to be held on Wednesday 24th April at the TCBC. If anyone is interested please contact me ASAP. As we need to lodge forms for approval from your Unit. Your support is much appreciated.

Medallion Presentation for Military Kids is on 15th May at Geckos family Centre. If a serving defence member has recently returned from deployment you child/children may be eligible to receive a Kids Medallion. More information and how to register please refer to attached flyer. RSVP must be received by 29th march so medallions can be ordered.

Still trying to find clubs, groups, and activities for children, what to see and do, you must look at the link below this is an amazing on-line resource for defence member and families to find information on their new location.

Rex D Dog Welcome Packs are available for the first time from Defence Housing in Townsville. If you have just arrived and would like a pack for your child, please contact them.

Moving schools can be a difficult time for children and parents alike, so be patient as it will take time to adjust to a different environment. Remember to listen and talk with children about their feelings for the new school. They may have some worries and questions about their new school and it is important to talk them through. This will assist with their transition and provide them with resilience skills which they may use in future years. Any concerns talk to me or you can contact the Defence Family Helpline 1800 624 608 and Open Arms Office 24/7 (ex VVCS) 1800 011 046.

DATES TO REMEMBER

30 March My Dad and Me Playgroup-Geckos family Centre, 9:30am-11:00am, call 4753 6539 to register or dco.townsville@defence.gov.au for more information

29 March Battle of the Brains Trivia Night

4 April Coffee Connections – Oliver Brown, The Strand, Come along for a chat and relax

4 & 6 April First Aid Course at Geckos Contact Geckos for further information on 4411 7031.

7 April Dogs Day Out

27 April My Dad and Me Playgroup-Geckos Family Centre call 4753 6539 to register

DON’T FORGET to Register at DCO mailing list NOW for all the upcoming events in your local area.

GECKOS AT LAVARACK BARRACKS is a place for defence members, partners and families to build friendships, socialise and access information to assist with the challenges of the defence lifestyle. Open most days with lots of events organised. A great place to meet other defence spouses and the younger ones can play together. Host of events and activities are organised.

Defence Family Helpline 24/7 1800 624 608

Open Arms call 1800 011 046

DFA (Defence Families of Australia) Chandelle Derham 0418 796 561 nth.qld@dfa.org.au

Geckos Family Centre-Nth Qld Lavarack Barracks Contact for enquiries on 4411 7031

Defence Holidays NQ 07 4725 3842 at Lavarack Barracks opp Gym admin@defenceholidaysnq.com.au

If there are any changes with the home dynamics, please be sure to contact the class teacher/or myself so we can best support the student at school. I am available to talk anytime at school. My hours are Monday to Friday 8:00am-3:30pm, phone me on 4799 1333 ext 323, or e-mail me cwhee36@eq.edu.au anytime.

My aim is to assist to empower students at school by developing RESILIENCE, CARING AND TRUST. Students with these life skills will be ready for the future.

Have a great week and GO THE COWBOYS

Correna Wheeler

DSM
Defence School Mentor

P and C News

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Thank you to those who attended our AGM on the 12th March. We are pleased to announce our executive committee for 2019 is as follows:

President – Jason Curtis (continuing)
Secretary – Rachel Ratten (continuing)
Treasurer – Wanda Austin (continuing)
Vice President – Damian Helander (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!

General Meeting

Our next meeting will be held 2 April at 7pm (note time change) in TCBC Conference Room.

Get involved in the School Banking program.

The P&C is excited to offer the Commonwealth Bank School Banking program to all students.

School Banking is a fun, interactive and engaging way for young Australians to learn about money and develop good savings habits. Children who deposit money into their Youthsaver account through School Banking earn Dollarmites tokens, which they can save up and redeem for exciting rewards.

The rewards available during 2019 are:

• Scented Stackable Highlighters
• Snowy Origami Set
• Icicle Slapband Ruler
• Yeti Fluffy Notepad
• Arctic Owl Fluffy Keyring
• Scratch Art Cards
• Water Skimming Bounce Ball
• Polar Pencils & Pencil Toppers

School Banking is also a great fundraiser for our school. Our school receives a Regular Savers Contribution of $5 for every 10 deposits processed per student as well as an Annual Contribution which is based on the number of students who made at least one School Banking deposit in the prior year.

Getting involved in School Banking is easy!

All you need to get involved in the School Banking program is a Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account. You can open an account for your child in one of two ways:

1. Online
   Visit commbank.com.au/schoolbanking and click on the link to open a Youthsaver account.
2. In branch
   Visit a Commonwealth Bank branch with identification for yourself and your child, like a driver’s licence and birth certificate.

If your child has an existing Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account they can start banking straight away. They just need to bring their deposit in every week on School Banking day using their Dollarmites deposit wallet.

School Banking day is Wednesday. Each week you need to take your banking book and deposit to the tuckshop (through your class tuckshop box). Do NOT send your bank book and deposit to the office, as it cannot be accepted by the office, only the tuckshop. If this is your first time and your child hasn’t received a deposit wallet yet, send in your account number.

If you would like to know more about School Banking, please visit this website:

Thank you to our new banking coordinators, Kelly and Christine!

School House Shirts, Hats and Water Bottles – available from our Tuckshop!

School House polos are available in various sizes in all house colours for $30. For any new families to our school (and our new Prep 2019 families), these are not a compulsory shirt, and if purchased are only to be worn on Wednesdays and official school sports days.

Water bottles are available in all house colours - $5 each.

These hats are a brand new style with an adjusting toggle (as sold at The School Locker) available in four different sizes in all house colours on the reverse side - $15 each

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 Food 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.

2019 Fun Fair – 16 August

We have the wheels in motion to organise this year’s bigger and revamped Fun Fair! It is a team effort and isn’t possible without volunteers. If you are available to help with either the planning or assistance with little jobs along the way, please get in touch!

There will be something for all the family, so keep the date free - Rides N Slides, Pop Up Food Trucks, Market Stalls, School stalls, Cake Stall, Glow in the Dark Disco, Entertainment, Bar, Cafe Quiet Zone and more! Lots of new concepts, but we will also revisit a few old favourites.

We are wanting to hear from market stall holders who may be interested in holding a stall at the Fun Fair. We are also after entertainment options, such as performers or sports demonstrators. Please spread the word and contact us if you are interested.

We will once again be holding our ever popular Tombola stall. Tombola is a great stall where you buy a ticket, and have a 50% chance of winning a jar of goodies!

We'd love if you could start collecting glass jars (and their lids). Any size jar is fine, big or tiny, it's all part of the fun. Removing the label would be a great help to us too, and please ensure that the jars and their lids have no smell (i.e. no garlic jars please!)

Perhaps you might also start collecting knick-knacks to fill the Tombola jars. Ideas are: stationery items, chocolates (Freddo frogs, other varieties), USB sticks or small electronic goodies, chalk, novelty games, hair ties, costume jewellery, puzzles, basically anything that will fit in a glass jar. Any foodstuffs will need to remain inside their packaging within the jar.

We will also be holding a Children’s Second Hand Book Stall. If you are having a clean out of your kid’s book shelves, please consider sending the books to us. Please note – children’s books only, no adult fiction.

Thank you!

Contact us!

Like us on Facebook to keep up to date with school and P&C events. (Search for The Willows State School P&C.) You can contact us by sending a pm to the page. Alternatively, you can contact us via email at willowspandc@gmail.com.

See you round!

Prep News

Math

This week we have been learning about sorting in Math. These are some photos of Prep McL sorting by colour, shape, feel and size.

Writing

In our writing we have been practicing how to sound out our words as well as using full stops, finger spaces and capital letters in our sentences.

History

In history we have been learning about our family’s past. Students have also been identifying similarities and differences between their family and their friend’s family.

Year 1 News

‘Teen Numbers’ is one of the areas of maths that we have been learning about in year 1 this term.

Did you know that teen numbers have a group of ten and some extra ones?

For example, 13 has a group of ten and three extra ones.

Teen numbers also start with a 1.

To be successful students must recognise, model, write and order numbers to 20, locate numbers on a number line and partition numbers using place value.

Year 2 News

For Science this term year 2 students are learning to investigate the combination of materials used to make a lunchbox which will hold a sandwich and an orange that can be carried for 5 metres. Before making their lunchboxes the students need to investigate how strong certain materials are to see whether they would be suitable for this purpose. We carried out the strength test on fabric, paper, foil and cardboard. We predicted that fabric and cardboard would be strong because they are used for making objects that can be carried, for example bags and boxes. We were surprised to see that paper ended up being quite strong as well. The foil broke easily so we wouldn’t make our lunchboxes out of foil. To carry out the experiment we had to attach a small plastic bag with string to the material being tested. The students enjoyed adding marbles into the plastic bag until the string broke the material. They also had to keep counting the marbles until the bag of marbles fell into the box. The fabric broke after 129 marbles were added to the plastic bag but the foil broke after just 15 marbles were added.

Don’t forget to start collecting your materials to make your lunchbox and bring them to your classroom so that you can complete your Science assessment

Year 3 News

Maths this term for Year 3 has seen many of our students investigating the connection between addition and subtraction and learning how to add and subtract numbers using a variety of exciting strategies. Year 3 classrooms have been using Age Appropriate Pedagogies to increase student engagement, enjoyment and understanding. Children have been working collaboratively, actively and have been using rich mathematical language to express their learning.

Here are a variety of photographs that show students from 3DAV engaging in an inquiry based approach to ordering and adding three digit numbers. Look at how active they were as they measured their peers!

Students in 3DAV enjoy using physical manipulatives and working in peer groups to represent the solutions to their addition and subtraction problems. Maths is fun in Year 3!

Year 4 News

4 Experiment with Weathering and Erosion

Our first unit of work for Science this year, is about the changes that take place to the Earth’s surface through Weathering and Erosion.

We have learnt that there are 3 materials that make up soil – sand, clay and loam.

We have used our scientific knowledge to

• predict what will happen in our experiments
• investigate different types of rocks that make up the earth’s surface
• experiment with materials that represent the 3 types of weathering in our environment
• observe and record the changes that occur
• analyse our results and compare them to our initial predictions.

These are some photos of 4 JOH conducting experiments and investigating materials that contribute to different types of weathering in our natural environment.

Can you identify from the photos what types of weathering these experiments may be representing?

Chemical, Natural or Physical weathering

Year 5 News

In year 5 in English, we are learning to write the first chapter of a fantasy novel creating a good and evil character, and establishing setting. Therefore, 5DIB have been working hard in English on making deliberate use of figurative language, for example similes, metaphors and personification, to develop and enhance description of characters, setting and events. Here is some examples of our work. We had lots of fun with personification…

Similes:

• as brave as a knight in armour…
• as fearless as a fire breathing dragon…
• as strong as a beast…
• as heroic as a Prince…
• as brave and as fierce as a lion…
• as tough as a loyal soldier…

Metaphors:

• her rose red lips…
• her sly tiger look…
• she has hair of fire…
• her thin arrow eyebrows…
• her sharp eyebrows…

Personification:

• the castle stands tall on the lonely, isolated, cliff face…
• the screaming light through the eyes of the castle…
• the lightning running directly at the castle…
• the vicious dragon throwing fire at the castle entrance…
• the dark storm sucking up the castle into the mysterious, evil clouds…
• the dark clouds swallowing the castle…

I can’t wait to see what we come up with as we unleash our inner writers…

Year 6 News

With only three weeks to go until the end of term, all of the Year 6 students are busy learning and completing assessment across many different Key Learning Areas.

We have also had a successful start to Season 1 sport with both the A and B Netball teams having success on the court and our A and B Rugby League teams also having success on the field. All members of the sporting teams are playing hard and training hard. Don’t forget that parents are more than welcome to come down and help support our teams.

Back at school, many students are enjoying our current Science unit. They are learning to plan and conduct an investigation into reversible and irreversible changes to different materials. There are many investigations throughout the unit where the students learn about the effect of heat on melting and the solidification

Community Events & Notices

Saver Plus Programme

Hosting Opportunity

Western Suburbs Rugby Union Club

Indigenous Carers Needed