2 May 2019

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Congratulations team on an awesome start to Term 2 at The Willows! It is fantastic to work alongside very passionate team members who are bringing to the work the energy and solutions focussed thinking to make our place of work an amazing one.

Our playgrounds are taking shape and our students are eagerly watching as the pieces come together. A shout out to our P and C for their donation to our school. We look forward to continued support and partnership and I encourage all parents to get behind our P and C in their upcoming Fun Fair event and meetings. Our P and C are a great bunch and we welcome your participation.

ANZAC Day is always a very special day at our school. Thankyou to our special guests LAWC Anna Muncan, LAC Madison Dukes, LAC John Chapman and LAC James Elder all from 27 Squadron RAAF Base Townsville as well as Trish Winter, Corenna Wheeler, Trevor Schimke and Fiona Coleman and our school leaders for organising the ANZAC Parade at school and to all classes for laying the commemorative wreaths. It was also excellent to see our school colours across Townsville at numerous ANZAC parades. Thankyou to all students, staff and families for representing us.

I would like to congratulate Brad, Carleen, Jenny, Cathy and Aaron and Adam for their support of the sporting gala days held on Friday. It is excellent to see our students keen and eagar to participate and compete in these extra-curricula activities and I am really proud of the excellent feedback that I have heard firsthand from spectators, other work colleagues and organisers around the high level of school spirit and sportsmanship demonstrated by our students. A shout out to all involved and congratulations to our Football team who championed the Bill Nettle Cup this year. Go Team!

This week I had the privilege of touching base with the Willows Warriors initiative that will be launched very soon at our school. The high level of collaboration around producing a Pre-Prep initiative to support incoming families and their children is an area that is in high need and demand. A shout out to Sue Tropea, Amanda Souter, Kayla Hawkins, Kate Haines and Tanya Eddy for their work in this area. Please promote to any families with young children and encourage them to contact our front office.

Congratulations to Kayleigh Bradshaw, Joanne Thompson and Debbie Hewitt. Our reading team who have launched the coolest intervention program I have ever seen! On Friday I visited the groups and it is excellent to see the use of the sight words, letter recognition and response to text occurring in these interventions. If you have a child that you think will benefit from participation, please contact Kayleigh Bradshaw to discuss further.

Congratulations to our Student Services Team have been busy trialling and implementing a range of Tier 2 programs over the course of the last 6 months. We are confident in the research based programs that we have selected. If you have any questions, please contact Kate Haines to discuss. The programs include:

Girls with a Purpose

Girls With a Purpose is a personal development and life skill program. It aims to support girls to develop healthy and authentic self-worth by strengthening their identity and sense of purpose. ... The sessions offer participants the opportunity to develop a wide range of personal learning and group-work skills.

In the 5-week program, the core competencies addressed in the program include:

Respecting and valuing yourself
Respecting others and working together
Having purpose and helping others
Being grateful
Having healthy responses and making good decisions

The Girls With a Purpose program encourages learning through discussion, whilst engaged in hands on activities/tasks in small group situations. When engaged the girls learn resilience, compromise and self–reflection skills. Students may participate in this more than once.

Boys Brain Talk

The Brain Talk Curriculum teaches students about how their brain works in order to respond mindfully rather than react impulsively to situations.

Key messages are:

Your Thoughts lead to your Emotions/Feelings which influence your actions/behaviour
You can be a Thinker who Responds or a Doer who Reacts
We want to be Thinkers so we are taking time to think before doing
Doers react to situations without thinking about the best response

Brain Talk gives students the opportunity to understand what the brain does and how that matters in day-to-day life and the decision-making process. Students may participate in this more than once.

Younger Stronger Smarter

The Younger, Stronger, Smarter (YSS) program has a core focus on wellbeing , attendance , recognition of culture through a strength based approach to student relationships and connection within self, family , others and school life through setting high expectation of relationships between the selected participants and the program facilitators. In the 9-week program, the core competencies addressed in the program include:

Flagging our Foundations - Who are we and what do we stand for
Strong and smart thinking
Reflection of assumptions, decisions and choices
Pride in community
Change and resilience
Courage and strength

YSS involves a sequenced set of strength-based activities, which build upon self-awareness, awareness of others and the wider world and provide the skills to equip students to overcome challenges and build personal capability for student holistic growth, inner spirit and self - awareness. Students participate in this once only.

We have much to offer at The Willows and I thankyou for being part of our school team. Have a great fortnight!

Kind regards
Helen McCullough
Principal

GENERAL NEWS

QUEENSLAND READY READING

The Queensland Ready Reading team are offering parents and community members an opportunity to learn how to support children’s reading.

The Willows State School will host free training in Ready Reading on Wednesday 8th May, 2019.

Whether you would like to support your own children at home, or feel you would like to provide volunteer support in our classrooms listening to children read, you are invited to attend the training in May.

Reading is a powerful tool to help children grow their vocabulary, language skills and imagination. It helps them to develop life-long skills that will support their future growth and learning.

Please register your interest by calling the school or email Jodie Gausden at jgaus1@eq.edu.au.

RACQ Road Safety Education Program

Willows Warriors

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

SCHOOL WATCH

We need everyone to look out for after-hours crime in our school. If you see anything suspicious, please don't attempt to intervene.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Positive Behaviour Learning

Our Safe, Respectful and Responsible students have started Term 2 with excellent behaviour. They have been receiving WOWs for moving around the school calmly and safely, remembering to stay on the paths. Ask how many WOWs you child has in the box. This fortnight our PBL school focus is following adult instructions the first time. All classes have lessons teaching what this means to re-inforce the high expectations that we have for all students at The Willows.

Every student has the goal of Week 5 Reward time by earning at least 75 Stars. The teachers and students are organising activities to celebrate excellent effort in learning, behaviour, and attendance.

At the end of last term students were invited to participate in an anti-bullying poster competition being held by Interrelate. Many of our students from prep to year 6 participated and these were sent to the organisers in New South Wales, during the holidays. After judging, schools will be notified if a student has been selected as a finalist. Finalists will be invited to attend an Awards Ceremony at Government House in Sydney in June. You may see some of the entries on display around the school as reminders for students to be kind and respectful to others. Congratulations to all the students who participated.

Well Being

“It’s not fair”, “You’re an idiot!” and “He cheated!”: Kids and teens ‘angry talk’: teaching them what to say instead

By Kirrilie Smout

When we are angry, we have a strong instinct to express our outrage and needs in strong and emphatic ways. We use our words to defend ourselves, attack or defeat someone – or something.

As adults, we are (sometimes) able to disguise or dampen these themes, but in younger people (without fully developed brains) they are often expressed loud and clear.

• James and his brother were playing a ball game which ended in them both yelling “You’re a cheater”, “this is stupid” and “Shut up!”
• Ruby wasn’t bought something she desperately wanted at the shops, and she stomped, cried and shouted “This is so unfair” and “You are so mean” to her Mum.
• Jordi was furious at Sara for telling others something told to her in confidence and texted her:“You’re a liar” and “Don’t ever talk to us again”
• Tom* was asked to get ready for school three times until Dad took the ipad away from him which prompted him to yell: “Give it back to me” and “You’re horrible”

• Unfortunately, while it is entirely normal for young people to speak like this at times - not only does it often make them feel worse, it makes people around them less likely to want to be with them, negotiate with or support them. Which in turn makes them feel worse.
• As parents we know this of course – and we generally hate hearing our young people speaking this way. Most of us tend to intervene quickly when we hear this kind of escalating language.
• “Don’t speak to your brother like that!” or “Don’t call people that!” or “Go and calm down!” we will cry.
• Unfortunately, trying to stop angry young people in the heat of the moment from speaking angrily to others is only slightly helpful. It’s true we need to try to halt the damage they are doing to others and themselves right then and there, but it does nothing to develop the more important skills they need to communicate effectively - and our timing is way off.
• It’s like our young person is riding their bike full pelt down a hill trying to slow down by putting their feet on their tires – and we are yelling at them to get their feet out the wheels. Instead we should have taught them (yesterday!) how to use their brakes.
• In other words, we need to teach young people – not just what not to say when they are angry – but how to effectively, assertively and kindly communicate their needs and wishes when they feel life is unfair. Here are three ideas to do this with our kids and teens.

1. Help young people know what unhelpful angry language sounds and looks like

• Young people need to know in advance what language doesn’t help when they are angry - and why.
• When I’m talking with young people about this in the clinic, I tell them that when we are angry, we feel like using “fighting talk”. “Fighting talk” is when we speak more loudly than usual and use two particular types of sentences, “Negative Labels” and “Demands”.
• Negative Labels are very short (often one word), simple and negative descriptions of a person or a situation. In the examples above, the negative labels are the words “cheater”, “stupid”, “Not Fair”, Horrible”.
• Kids and I usually have quite a lot of fun coming up with negative labels they and others have used (sometimes I do need to reign this in J) about situations and people.
• Demands are short sentences telling someone what to do with no explanations, no consideration of what the other person needs or feels. The demands in the examples above were “Give it back”, “Don’t talk to us again” and “Shut up”.
• It’s interesting to discuss with young people the differences between demands and requests. Even younger children are often skilled at being able to distinguish between the two.
• Once we’ve identified negative labels and demands, we then talk about what they do to people around us, and how they make us feel when we use them.
• Recognising unhelpful language is also very helpful for young people giving clear clues about how they are feeling.
• I talked to a teenager in the past who said to me: “I didn’t realise I was so angry until I heard myself using one of those negative labels”.

2. Help young people know what constructive and helpful language they can use when they are angry

• As explained above, it’s not enough to tell young people to not use demands or negative labels – the important – and often missed – step is to tell them what to say instead.
• I’ve often heard adults tell kids to just stay silent (“If you can’t say anything nice….”, “Walk away and come and get a teacher”, “Keep your mouth shut when you are mad”). As much as this is often the smart thing to do – realistically, it’s very tough for most young people to do it.
• Furthermore, there are situation in which we do NOT want young people to walk away silently: we want them to assertively and kindly speak up.
• I talk with young people less about “not talking” when they are angry - and more about the idea of using “cool talk”. Cool talk is expressing how we feel, what we would like and what is happening for us – but in a calm and kind way.
• Here are two types of cool talk I teach to young people.
• First, the “I think and I feel…because….” sentences.
• These are sentences which start with the words “I think” and “I feel”, and have “because” (or sometimes “when”) in the middle (I feel I may have over explained that).
• “I think/I feel …because...” sentences express an opinion or an emotion and also give some details and explanation about those thoughts and feelings. They go beyond a simple “I’m angry” and let others have more information about what is happening for us.
• For example, instead of “You’re a cheater”, an “I think/feel…because” sentence might be “I feel disappointed I lost because I didn’t understand that was the rule”.
• Instead of “This is unfair”, an “I think/feel..because” sentence might be “I feel frustrated that I’m not going to be able to finish this game because I’ve been working on it for an hour now and if I stop now I’ll go back to the beginning”
• Instead of “Shut up”, an “I think/feel..because” sentence is: “I feel worried that you are going to talk about that thing that happened which will make me feel really embarrassed”
• Using “I think/feel….because…” sentences invites others to connect with us. They provide information to other people which help them understand us. They turn situations from a win/lose situations into joint problem solving situations.
• It’s also interesting to note that “I think/feel…because” sentences require concentration.
• Young people have to pause, and reflect and think about what they think and feel and why. This concentration and reflection in itself is helpful because it redirects energy and attention away from primitive anger centres in the brain and helps them calm down.
• Another type of cool talk is the “Would you please….because…” sentences.
• “Would you please….because…” sentences are sentences which assertively express what we would like from others, but in a way which acknowledges other people’s needs, and respectfully provide context and background to the request.
• For example, instead of “Go away” a “Would you please….because” sentence might be “Would you please let me have the remote for now because I’ve just started this show. Then I will give you a turn in a minute”.
• Instead of “give it to me” a “Would you please….because’ sentence is “Would you please let me show you how to use it first because I am worried that will break.”
• Instead of “I hate you”, a “Would you please….because sentence might be: “Would you please let me have some space for a few minutes, because I feel really overwhelmed”
• A personal favourite of mine of these “Would You please sentences” is the (shortened) and simple “Would you please give me a hug?” Obviously it’s not always appropriate for all situations – however I have many families who have told me they’ve had a lot of success after teaching their children to use this simple sentence when they are angry.

And then…the practice begins!

Introducing demands, unhelpful labels, I think/feel…because and Would you please..because sentences is important for young people. There are other kinds of language we can introduce to older young people about assertively and kindly communicating when angry, but these are a good start.

But there is something more important than introducing any more concepts for young people and that is the practice. Practice looks different in different families, for children of different ages but might include:

Asking them to notice when as parents/caregivers we use demands and unhelpful labels – and to pull us up on it!

After angry conversations (when they are calm) asking them if they noticed any demands or unhelpful labels they used and how they worked.

Asking them if there were any “Would you please…because..” or “I feel/think…because” sentences which might have worked better

Having conversations where we use these cool talk sentences ourselves in front of our young people (and point it out later, in case they didn’t notice it at the time).

Noticing when young people use cool talk and thanking them for doing so – and pointing out how these sentences helped them and others.

Asking kids/teens to think about what might make them frustrated in the next day, and to come up with some cool talk ideas they might use in these situations

Having a visual reminder in the form of a sign on the fridge with these sentences on them

We spend many hours teaching children to use their brakes, and ride bikes safely. Helping them use constructive language while angry is another task which takes our time and patience. But even just a few minutes every few weeks working on this can help avoid many crashes!

For more information
mon@developingminds.net.au

Defence News

HELLO TO ALL DEFENCE FAMIIES

Hello and Welcome back to Term 2. Hope you had a fantastic holiday and Easter bunny delivered lots of chocolates. Looking forward to a busy, fun filled term. Mother’s Day is almost here so I would like to take this opportunity to wish all MUMS a very happy day. May your day is filled with lots of love and special memories with your family.

If you have posted into Townsville this year please be aware of the Education Assistance Scheme available for families to access tutoring for students. Contact the Defence Family Helpline for details on 1800 624 608 or contact me for more details.

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who contributed and was part of our Anzac day ceremony. Special Thanks to RAAF personal from 27SQDN for attending and being our guest speaker. It was also fabulous to see so many parents attending. I must also commend our Year 6 students Jenna C, Mitchell H, Tiffany K and Hall-Ray D who delivered the ceremony. Special mention to Jenna C for her memorable bugle playing, what a terrific achievement.

Still trying to find clubs, groups, and activities for children, what to see and do, you must look at the website 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.

RSL Queensland Employment Program for Partners. RSL Queensland has launched a new Employment Program to help the partners of current and former Defence members find meaningful employment

Are you a Defence partner and looking for work?

The nature of Defence service can present employment challenges for the partners and spouses of current and former service personnel. Families move extensively while Defence personnel are serving. As a result, partners’ careers are often interrupted, making it difficult for them to find meaningful employment. Tailored to your specific needs, the Partner program will help you open the next chapter in your career.

Changes to Partner Employment Assistance Program

IMPORTANT INFO: Guidelines have recently been updated. Eligible ADF partners can now access PEAP funding within 2 years of a posting

Posting soon or just posted to a new location, or is your ADF partner transitioning on medical grounds? The Partner Employment Assistance Program (PEAP) can help if you are looking for work or changing jobs. PEAP aims to help eligible Australian Defence Force (ADF) partners with the immediate difficulties of finding employment when they are relocated with their partner as a result of their partner’s service.

WHAT DOES THE PROGRAM COVER If you’re an eligible ADF partner, you can apply for funding assistance of up to $1,500 to access professional employment services and re-registration costs. Professional employment services can include: development of a personalised résumé and/or résumé coaching, identification of transferrable skills, employment options and job placement advice, job search techniques and strategies, development of an online employment profile, application and selection criteria coaching, preparation and presentation coaching for interview. Professional re-registration costs include: mandatory fees for professional reregistration where required when moving interstate under state or territory legislation.

ELIGIBILTY The program’s key eligibility requirements are that you are a recognised ADF partner and are accompanying your partner on posting to a new location. ADF members must have received their first posting notification following completion of their initial training. Applications can be made following the receipt of a posting order and should be lodged within 2 years of the effective posting date.

Completed Forms can be sent to: DefenceFamilyHelpline@defence.gov.au

DATES TO REMEMBER

7th May FamilySMART: Military Life Workshop. Tuesday 7 May 10.30am – 12.30pm or 5.30 – 7.30pm. ADF members and their partners in Townsville are invited to our FamilySMART: Military life workshop. This two-hour interactive workshop is designed to help new Defence couples adjust to military life. Topics include challenges and opportunities of military life, maintaining healthy relationships, self-care and support options.

9th May Coffee Connections: Mocha Mecca

14th May FamilySMART: Absence Workshop

16th May Eat, Drink, Repeat….Dinner with a Difference (This will be a child free event)

21st May Mad Hatters Tea Party

4th June Resume & Cover Letter Writing Workshop

16th June Dogs Day Out – venue TBC

DON’T FORGET to Register for 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.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

Correna Wheeler
DSM
Defence School Mentor

P and C News

General Meeting

Our next meeting will be held 14 May 6pm in TCBC Conference Room.

The role of the P&C includes helping people come together, making suggestions to/asking questions of the Principal, getting to know each other, feeling that you can contribute to the school & having fun during this precious time of your child’s life. The more members we have actively participating in the P&C association the better we can achieve our objectives.

Please consider coming along to a P&C meeting and getting involved – it’s a great way to meet new people and really contribute to your child’s school experience.

School Banking

School Banking day is Wednesday

Remember, Wednesday is School Banking day and students should bring in their weekly deposit.

For every deposit made at school, students will receive a silver Dollarmites token (electronically). Once students have individually collected 10 tokens they can redeem them for an exclusive School Banking reward item in recognition of their regular savings habits.

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.

If your child has lost their book, they can bring their money to school in a sealed envelope with a note on the next School Banking day. We will issue them with a replacement.

Thank you for supporting the School Banking program. We would also like to thank Kelly and Christine who volunteer as our School Banking Co-ordinators and process our banking every week.

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 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.

Mother’s Day Stall

We will be holding our annual Mother’s Day Stall again this year from the 7th to 10th May so that students can purchase a special gift for their mother, grandmother, or other important person.

Gifts range from $0.50 to $10 and students are asked to bring along no more than $20 to spend. We advise that money should be brought to the stall (not the office) in an envelope with the student’s name on it.

PY to Year 5 classes have been allocated a time to attend the stall and make their purchase. The stall is also open at break times all days for Year 6’s, or for those who wish to shop with siblings, or for those who missed their allocated class time. Notes with your child’s class visiting time have been sent home.

We are also needing helpers for the stall. This involves helping the children selecting the items, calculating they have enough money, and sending them onto the cashier to pay. It’s a bit of fun, and a chance to meet other parents. If you are able to spare some (or a lot!) time, please sign up via:

You do need to create a log-in first, but rest assured, your details will not be used by SignUp Zone at all, it’s purely so the P&C can contact you for the purpose of this stall only. You also will need to sign in through the school office on the day, and have had completed the mandatory volunteers induction.

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.

If you are ready to send in any goodies, please send these to our OSHC.

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

English

This term we are learning to retell stories using sentences and pictures. This week PYRAB have been adding details into their drawings so that people can ‘read’ them successfully. We have become experts at drawing The Little Red Hen and have been learning to read and write key words from the story.

Anzac Day

All of the Prep classes participated for the first time in our school’s Anzac Assembly. They should be commended on how respectful they were during this service.

Year 1 News

Learning intent: We learnt to measure two objects using comparing, and decide which is longer and which is shorter.

In Maths, we have been learning about measurement using informal units. The first step was to compare an object to our pencil, and decide if our pencil was longer or shorter than the object. We had lots of fun measuring pointers, books, desks, posters and cushions. Everyone was successful as we remembered to line the two objects up at the bottom, and then wrote down our findings.

Year 2 News

Students in Year 2 have been working on a “Poetry Alive” Unit, which involves devising, performing and responding to drama related to situations and ideas expressed in a poem. The poem called ‘My Shadow’ was a springboard into numerous activities where students performed role-play to display their ideas about where their shadow may have gone. As a part of the performing and responding phase, students needed to perform a shadow puppet play to their peers. Success in this task involved students varying their voice, movement and space to enhance the performance and portray believable characters. Students performed entertaining plays and, through experimentation and practice, used movement to create larger and smaller shadows to help portray ideas in their play. They also had a lot of fun while learning!

The dinosaur shadow puppet proved to be the most popular character to use in their plays!

Year 3 News

At the end of last term the year 3’s celebrated their rewards sessions including the 75 star reward and no major reward. After a very eventful term 1 with all of the added unprecedented events, it was so great to see the students come together to celebrate how safe, respectful and responsible they were in the first term of the year. Each class celebrated the 75 star reward which included a variety of games and lots of fun was had! On the last day, there was lots of excitement from the students as Mr Davies’ classroom was turned into a mini cinema and the movie ‘Hop’ was showing. All 6 classes came together to celebrate the no major reward and as expected, the students were a delight while watching the movie and we all had a wonderful afternoon enjoying Zooper Doopers to finish off a term of resilience and hard work!

The year 3 teachers are looking forward to seeing the positive learning attitudes continue and hope the students feel a sense of pride for their amazing efforts. Well done and thank you!

Year 4 News

At the end of last term, Year 4 students enjoyed an afternoon of Easter activities to celebrate having no major behaviour incidents throughout Term 1. We made Easter bonnets, Easter biscuits and enjoyed an afternoon of movies and games. Students (and teachers) had a wonderful afternoon. Make sure you stay on track for no major behaviours this term.

Year 5 News

This term year 5 are examining media texts. Specifically we are investigating how authors of feature articles use language devices and structural features of a text to influence or change an audience’s point of view. We have learned already that this is called manipulating text. We have discovered that two authors can write about the same topic but have very different effects on readers because of the language choices, structure and even images they employ.

Our learning Intention is to analyse information from a feature article and to select information and create a multimodal feature article that presents a particular point of view about an issue. One of our first tasks was to sort text into categories depending on their degree of formality. We learned that the formality of a text depends on its intended audience. Did you know that some vocabulary can indicate whether a text is formal or informal? We found that out too.

Formal Text Types

Informal Text Types

Year 6 News

Hello from 6 OUT

We are so excited to be back after what was hopefully a relaxing break for all. 6OUT are looking forward to a very busy but fun filled term 2!

Term 1 was a very interesting start to the year but we managed to squeeze in a lot of work, fun and play. Please take the time to have a look at our fabulous Term 1 in photos.

75 Star Reward

We were very busy making spreadsheets

We investigated the effects of screen time on our health

We had fun investigating reversible and irreversible changes

Our English Learning Wall

Community Events & Notices

My Time

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