28 June 2019

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Community Members,

Welcome back to another busy fortnight at The Willows State School. It has been a fantastic fortnight and we have much to be proud of as a school community! I am always proud to see the work of our students and staff and I would like to congratulate everyone on an excellent term of teaching and learning at our school. There is much to celebrate at our school and we thank each of you for the invaluable contribution you make each and every day.

THE WILLOWS STATE SCHOOL MUSIC GALA NIGHT

Please join me in congratulating our Music Department for a fantastic presentation at Gala Night. Our students were phenomenal and the feedback that I have received from a variety of parents, students, staff and visitors, was one of the best ever! I also would like to thank the team behind the scenes who are working to see the high quality standards of our events being actioned through the installation of the aesthetics of our school during key community and special events. The vision – Excellent is the Standard – is one that we will continuously grow as it is the small final touches that lift us from good to great!

THE WILLOWS STATE SCHOOL – OFFICIALLY A TRY FOR FIVE SCHOOL

This week we welcomed our inaugural Try For Five Cowboys visit. The Cowboys will be visiting The Willows State School, as part of our Try for 5! school attendance program each term. These visits are termly and recognise the achievements of the students and wider community towards improving overall attendance at school. Please promote this very exciting program to your students. The first class to have the visit was 3PRO who has the highest attendance at The Willows this Term. The students met Ray Thompson, received a special badge recognising their effort and had the opportunity to play a game with Mrs Haines, Ray and Russ Cook (Councillor Division 5). A great incentive, a great program, let’s work together in friendly competition for the next visit…which class/year level will it be? A special thank you M & J Chickens who have partnered with The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys to provide the Try for 5! program at our school.

POLICE LIAISON OFFICER PLEDGED TO THE WILLOWS STATE SCHOOL

On Friday, at our full school parade we also made official our partnership with the Queensland Police Service by a special ceremony to pledge our Police Liaison Officer (PLO) Tommy. Many of you will know Tommy who visits our school from time to time. If you are not sure whom he is, you will now know and you can be assured that when he visits our school he is a safe person, and he will often bring some of his police friends with him. When you see Tommy around our school, please make him feel welcome.

2018 School Annual Report – available for viewing now

Each year by June 30, schools are required to publish a ‘School Annual Report’ listing the major school achievements for the previous year. This is to be made available for viewing from the school website and via a direct link in the school’s newsletter by the end of term.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) – School Students with Disability

All Education Ministers from Commonwealth, State and Territory governments endorsed the implementation of a Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) in all Australian schools (government, independent and Catholic). This data collection will occur at the commencement of Term 3 and conclude at The Willows State School on July 27.

The nationally consistent approach to data collection provides all Australian schools, education authorities and the community with a clear picture of the number of students receiving adjustments because of disability in schools, and the adjustments they are provided to enable them to participate in education on the same basis as other students.

From 2018, the Commonwealth’s student with disability funding loading for schools is based on NCCD data.

Any questions parents/carers or schools have about the completion of the 2019 National Data Collection may be directed to the relevant education authority contact listed at:

A copy of the NCCD Guidelines for 2019 is available for viewing via the link below;
An information brochure is also included in this newsletter.

STAFFING UPDATES

As part of the midyear transfer systems, we farewell Mrs Emily Clarke and Ms Paula Andersen. As a school community we thank both of these special staff members and we wish them all the best with their relocations to Brisbane/Ipswich. We also farewell Mrs Lauren Palmer and thank her for her work in Semester One at our school.

Joining our team from Semester Two are the following teachers:

• Mr Tim Menzies replacing Mrs Maree Christensen
• Miss Ellie Pritchard replacing Mrs Emily Clarke
• Miss Erin Edmonds replacing Ms Paula Andersen
• Miss Imogen Guiney replacing Mrs Lauren Palmer (commencing Week 3 – arrangements for our Year 2 class for the first couple of weeks will be managed through our Heads of Curriculum who will start the learning).

Semester Two commences on the 15th of July. I trust you have an amazing last week and a very well deserved mid-year break.

Kind regards
Helen McCullough
Principal

GENERAL NEWS

Has your student lost their glasses?

We have a number of prescription glasses that have been handed in at the office. Please check with the office if your student has lost their glasses.

Woolworths Earn and Learn

Woolworths earn and learn program provides our students with lots great resources. Bring your stickers to school or put them in our school boxes at Woolworths. We are nearing the end of the collection period so keep those sticker coming.

Willows Warriors

The School Run4Fun Colour Explosion is this Friday 28 June 2019! The event will start at 1:50pm at The Willows State School oval. Don’t forget to bring a white t-shirt and a change of clothes as you will be covered in vibrant, non-toxic colour powder.

If you want more information on the colour powder we will use in our event, please request the Test Report at the School Office. The powder we will use is sourced from India, the home of Holi Powder. It’s non-toxic, environmentally friendly, biodegradable and skin safe. Only the best for our students!

It’s your last chance to raise funds for our great school. Jump online via the link below and share your Profile Page using the share buttons. You’ll achieve your fundraising goal in no time.

HOW TO ORDER YOUR PRIZE? EASY!

You have two options to order your prize – either by completing and returning the back page of the Sponsorship Form to the (LOCATION) or login or create a Profile Page via the link above, You have 7 days from (INSERT MONEY DUE BACK DATE) to order your prize.

@austalianfundraising #colourexplosion #schoolrun4run #colourblast #schoolcolourexplosion #schoolfunrun #australianfundraising

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.

CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

The following document outlines the curriculum for Term 2 for all year levels.

We hope that you have enjoyed the many articles from all of our year levels showing you our curriculum, teaching and learning in the classroom. The first newsletter for next term will include a curriculum overview for term 3.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Positive Behaviour Learning

As Term 2 comes to an end we wish to thank our families for their on-going support of positive behaviour for learning. The consistent messages from home and school around high expectations for behaviour allows our students to feel supported and have success. We also acknowledge how our students are striving to achieve. They have been modelling positive behaviours, treating members of our school community with respect and applying themselves to their learning.

Our school celebrations of positive behaviour for learning will be towards the end of Week 10. The mascots are very excited to be involved in all the activities and also can’t wait to see everyone at the Colour Explosion Fun Run. The PBL team wishes everyone a safe holidays.

No Major Behaviour Rewards- Week 10

Art in a Suitcase

Recently our students were lucky enough to have a talented artist named Cassie Harris attend our school and work with students from Years 2 to 6. This activity is organised in conjunction with the Perc Tucker Gallery and this year the student work will be part of a display in the upcoming Strand Ephemera 2019 from 26 July to 4 August. Students participated in a 1.5 hour workshop to create air-dry clay artworks of baby sea turtles. They were engaged in new learning, asked interesting questions and were very creative. As well as learning new artistic skills they also learnt about the life cycle and sea turtles. We really appreciated the time and knowledge Cassie shared with us at The Willows, the students had a fantastic time.

After creating the turtles, many students have expressed an interest in making further models. Here is some information and steps to create air-dry sculptures at home.

How to make your own Baby Turtle

Requirements: Air-dry modelling clay (white), Felt tip pens

1. Take a small amount of clay. Break into sections according to the colour you require them to be. Use felt pens to colour the clay. Work the clay by squeezing and rolling to disperse the colour.

2. Decide on the way your sections fit together and mould each part.

3. Once you are happy with your design, join parts together to make your sculpture.

4. Leave to air-dry.

Well Being

Packing a school Lunchbox

When children eat well they behave better, are able to listen well and concentrate for longer. Packing a healthy school lunchbox will help children to learn and play well and be happy at school.

Steps to planning a healthy lunchbox

1. Make time to prepare. Have fresh fruit and vegetables, milk and yogurt, bread and crackers all bought in advance.
2. Shop wisely and save money. Buy fresh fruit and vegetables in season to ensure good quality and value for money.
3. Make your own snacks. For example snack packs from fresh ingredients which you can buy in bulk.
4. Look after the environment. Put sandwiches and other items in reusable containers. This uses less packaging and creates less rubbish.
5. Choose a variety of foods from the 5 food groups (see table below).
6. Include a bottle of water. No need for sweetened drinks such as juice, cordial or soft drink as these contain too much sugar which is not good for teeth. Non-water drinkers usually start drinking water with the example of other children. Freeze a small quantity each night and top up with cold water in the morning for a cool summer drink.
7. Keep food cool. In warm weather freeze a water bottle or put a small ice pack in the lunchbox.

Remember to involve your children. Take them shopping and let them help choose fruits and vegetables for their lunchbox. Let them help prepare and pack their own school lunchbox.

Nutrition Australia

Narelle Thomas
Guidance Officer

Defence News

HELLO TO ALL DEFENCE FAMILIES

Term 2 has come to an end and I would like to wish everyone a very happy holidays. If you are travelling, have a safe and enjoyable trip. Hope you get the opportunity to spend some much deserved break time with loved ones. If you don’t, just remember when life gets too busy to take time out for yourself and stay healthy. See you all back in term 3.

Kidsmart Deployment program is on after school in term 3, starting on Tuesday 27th August and Tuesday 3rd September (goes for 2 sessions). Program covers issues relating to children who find it challenging and emotional when parent is on deployment/absent from the family. The program is held over 2 weeks and issues around emotions and resilience are discussed in a group environment. Fun program for all ages. If you would like your child/ren to attend please contact me to reserve a spot. Flyer attached.

There are lots of activities happening through DCO and Geckos this month, so keep an eye out

LOVED ONE AWAY ON DEPLOYMENT/COURSE. If you know that you/member will be away for a period of time please contact me so I can support the student here at school. This information is important to the extra support that we can offer here at school and to assist in the positive learning and emotional wellbeing of the child at school. This can be an emotional rollercoaster for most students when a loved one goes away. It is important that they know they have a support person at school they can turn to when they are feeling sad/upset. We can work together to make this transition as smooth as possible. Please contact me through the school office 47 991 333 or email cwhee36@eq.edu.au. My door is always open for a chat.

POSTING are starting to come through to members and families. If you know you are going to be leaving the school throughout/end of the year. Please contact me and the school with the details. I can support the student with the transition to a new school.

Tutoring Assistance- There are changes to the EAS forms for families to access tutoring for students who have posted in to a new school. You can ring the Defence Family Helpline 1800 624 608 or you can collect the forms from me. Also extra paperwork is required in the form of reports from leaving and gaining schools. Refer to PACAMAN Chapter 8, Part 4, Division 2

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.

DATES TO REMEMBER

8 August Dinner with a Difference – Games night @ The Courtyard (This will be a child free event) Registrations opening soon

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.

ADF Member and Family Transition Seminars – North Queensland

Refreshed, family-friendly ADF Member and Family Transition Seminars are now available nationwide and are open to members and their families at any point throughout their military career. To better meet the needs of transitioning members and their families the format of the now one-day event has been changed, with members able to “pick their own adventure” and select the sessions they are most interested in learning more about.

Members keen to attend an upcoming seminar are asked to register via Campus.

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.

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

Correna Wheeler
DSM

P and C News

General News

Please note that there will be no banking for DOLLARMITE week 1 of term 3.

Prep News

Science

In science this week we have been learning about the needs of animals. Abbie Briddon (Vet Nurse) came into the classroom to show us how to care and look after animals if they are hurt or sick. The students had the opportunity to ask Mrs Briddon questions and also learn about the many ways to check to see if an animal is okay.

Year 1 News

This semester the year 1 students have been learning about Digital Technology. This term students had to create an algorithm to program a floor robot to complete the following task…

The robot needs to:

• start at the X
• take as few steps as possible
• pick up both the frogs
• put the frogs in the pond.

Below is an example of 2 algorithms created by students in 1 Annert.

How did the students go creating an algorithm to complete the above task?

Year 2 News

Year 2 have been busy this term learning how to tell the time. To be successful they need to tell the time to the quarter hour. This has involved learning how to recognise digital, written and analogue time. In this lesson students made a watch and represented an analogue time. The students placed their watches on their wrists, collaborated with peers and asked other students what time was on their watch. The students then wrote this time in digital form, in words and drew the hands on an analogue clock face.

Year 3 News

Health this term for Year 3 has seen many of our students investigating the how emotional responses vary and asks them to understand how to interact positively with others. Throughout the unit the students in 3DAV have used decision-making and problem-solving skills to select and demonstrate strategies that help them stay safe. Year 3 classrooms have been using Age Appropriate Pedagogies to increase student engagement, enjoyment and understanding. Students engage collaboratively and creatively to ensure they are able to become active citizens within the school to promote safety and emotional well-being. Students from 3DAV engaged in an agentic approach to develop strategies to interact positively with members of their class and the school community. These ideas contributed to a learning wall that students could access as reference to meet the success criteria of the lessons that followed.

Year 4 News

This Term in The Arts, year 4 students have been focusing on Dance and exploring how the elements of dance and choreographic devices are used to represent a story. The year 4 students have been learning to create a cohesive dance and structure movements into dance sequences. As a starting point in the unit, the fabulous year 4 students selected a story as stimulus to devise their own elements of dance relevant to the story and work collaboratively in small groups to perform their dances. It was fantastic to see the students in 4CHR engage the audience with their performances and perform confidently in front of their peers!

Community Events & Notices

KIRWAN STATE HIGH SCHOOL YEAR 6 INTO 7 - INFORMATION NIGHT

Parents/Caregivers and students interested in enrolling in Year 7 at Kirwan State High School in 2020 are invited to attend an Information Night on Tuesday 30th July at 6:00pm in the school Performing Arts Block.

If you have any questions please contact Geraldine Glazier on 4773 8123.

Register your interest through our Facebook event.

Experiences of Parenting

Are You A Parent of a Child Aged 2 to 12?

The Parenting and Family Support Centre at the University of Queensland is conducting research into parents’ opinions about parenting and parenting programs. If you have a child between 2 and 12 years, we would love to hear your views on parenting and the services that are available to you as a parent. You will need to complete a short survey. To find out more or to participate please visit the link below:

My Time

Hosting Opportunity

Townsville Shell Club Free Holiday Activity

Townsville Shell Club will be hosting its 50th annual Shell Show on the weekend of July 7th and 8th. We invite all students to come along to the Orchid Society Hall on the corner of Charles Street and Bamford Lane, Kirwan (opposite the Red Rooster) and be amazed at the wondrous world of shells in the displays and on the sales tables. Experts are available to answer any questions students may have about their own shells. The displays reinforce many STEM concepts taught in schools by providing concrete examples that will focus on improving performance of students of any age but are so interesting the kids will never know it’s learning!

There are age-appropriate activities organised for children. All children who attend will be given a free bag of shells. The Shell Show will also provide parents with a quiet sanctuary away from the roar of V8 engines while they view the exhibits.

Visitors are welcome on Saturday from 10am to 4pm and on Sunday from 10am to 2pm. Entry is FREE for students and adults only have to pay $2.00.

For further enquiries: call Marian on 4723 4925 or find The Townsville Shell Club on Facebook.