21 February 2020

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S PRIDE

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Community Members,

Welcome back to Week 4 of the 2020 school year. All classes are well and truly engaged in their Term 1 units of learning – it is wonderful to see students applying themselves to the tasks requested of them. There is minimal changes to our 39 classes at The Willows or to our support structures. Thank you to all parents/carers for continuing to choose our mighty and great state school!

Each fortnight, the newsletter provides a culmination of the fortnight just past and the weeks ahead. Our Facebook page has more regular celebrations and key messages so please make sure that you like the page to receive these updates.

Every Student is a Reader and a Writer

Each week our team is out and about in our school working alongside teachers and students in learning areas and focussing on the reading and writing skills required to be successful in their learning. You will see, across our school there are many ways that we celebrate success, progress and achievement. Each of our learners have a reading and a writing goal. Teachers have worked with their students to develop these and are regularly tracking and encouraging self-monitoring skills to track these. Ask your child what their goal is and if they cannot tell you, I strongly encourage you to speak with your child’s class teacher.

As a school we are focussed on:

• 90% or more of students in each year level achieving a ‘C’ standard or above in English, Maths and Science learning areas each semester.
• Raising the A/B Standard and Upper Band Data
• 90% or more students in each year level meeting/exceeding their year level reading benchmarks and transferring their writing skills with independence across each learning area of the Australian Curriculum.

I am already seeing confident readers and writers across our school and I thank each of our parents/carers for supporting students with homework tasks and modelling a love for reading!

Inclusivity: Everyone Counts!

Across our school there is a significant interest in the teaching and learning of Braille and Auslan to support our learners. This year we welcome to The Willows Leanne Hoffman-Mackenzie and Justine McEwen. Many staff are learning outside of school hours AUSLAN and Braille and together we share the journey to support our students and each other.

Transitioning over 120 new families to The Willows, means that the full suite of Student Support Services is in action. Our Defence Mentor, Indigenous Aide, Chaplain, Behaviour Support Team and Support Teachers Literacy & Numeracy have been working with our students to help a smoother and more seamless transition. The students of our school are always welcoming to new students and staff and it is fantastic to see new friendships form. I am continuously proud of our students and staff for the work they do to make people feel part of our great team!

This week we launched The Willows Warriors! This program is fully funded through our school to provide our future Prep students and their families to work alongside us each Wednesday. We also invite our kindy groups to join us. This is a fantastic opportunity for children to get ready for school, meet new friends and be part of The Willows well before day 1 of Prep. Mrs Tropea and Mrs Eddy cannot wait to see more Warriors each Wednesday!

Collective Leadership

A key focus at our school is “Collective Leadership.” Last week we inducted our Student Leaders to their positions at The Willows. It is always fantastic to see proud parents/carers/family members present their young person with their badge. Thank you to all of our community for attending this special ceremony and I know that our Student Leaders will do a fantastic job with a range of initiatives planned throughout 2020. One of our major initiatives is the partnership between Ronald McDonald House Charities who service 25 families per night through accommodation, transport, schooling and meals. We are already proud of the work our leaders have done to form the connection to the Townsville House.

Positive Behaviour and Partnerships

Last week our P and C Association met for their general meeting. It was fantastic to see new faces and discuss with our families the Explicit Improvement Agenda and priorities for our school in 2020. Our P and C is an active and positive partner and without their support we would not be able to provide the high quality resources required across our school for our students. The P and C have some fantastic ideas and initiatives planned for 2020 and I encourage you to join and be part of this team. Children are always welcome at our meetings and it is a great way to get to know other parents across our school.

This year, our classrooms were open on Monday allowing students to bring their families to view the great work that they have already started/completed and to meet their teacher/s. It was a fantastic turn out and it is always a great opportunity to see what’s inside the learning environment at our school. Throughout the year, there are plenty more opportunities to connect with our teachers, who are proud of their work and the work of their students.

Our connection to the Cowboys Try for 5 initiative continues in 2020. This year, Ray Thompson is our key contact and his visits to The Willows are always fun and inspirational! The attendance of our students at The Willows is always high (around 92%) and we are aiming to lift this by 1% this year and have all absences reasonably explained. All parents and carers can assist by contacting our office when children are home sick. Exemptions from schooling applications can also occur for students who will be away from school for greater than 10 days. In advance – Thankyou parents/carers for helping us to raise the roof on our attendance strategy!

In 2020, the Responsible Behaviour Plan for students will be reviewed. Department wide, the move towards a new Student Code of Conduct will be required by start of 2021. We are proud to be part of the DET Positive Behaviour Learning Framework and in the coming months, consultation with key stakeholders will occur. In the meantime, the current Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students is the policy that we go by. This document is available on our website below:

As always, unashamedly proud of our school – it’s students, staff, parents, carers and community! Have a great fortnight ahead.

Kind regards
Helen McCullough
Principal

COMMUNICATION AT THE WILLOWS

At our school we communicate to parents/carers using multiple media and forums. The main ways we communicate are as follow:

1. Social Media – Facebook
2. School Website
3. Newsletter published and emailed each fortnight (even weeks)
4. Letters home usually with permissions
5. Emails
6. Telephone Calls
7. Text messages for absence follow ups and/or alerts
8. Email for alerts and whole of government messages
9. Class communication books/diaries and letters
10. Parent/Teacher Interviews (one per semester) or by special request and appointment.

WILLOWS WARRIORS

GENERAL NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS MADDI!!!

On the 15th February Maddison Zonta represented Townsville in the Qld Sprint Swimming Championships. She qualified for 50m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke and 50m Butterfly. She worked hard in all events and swam a personal best for her 50m Freestlye. What a great experience. Well done Maddison.

LIFE EDUCATION

The Willows State School has chosen to partner with Life Education, a specialist health education provider. The Life Education Mobile Learning Centre will be visiting our school for Prep, Year 3 and Year 6 from the 24th of February to the 2nd of March. They will be engaging with all of our students over the year in some exciting and memorable learning experiences, which are aligned with the Australian Health and Physical Education Curriculum.

Life Education is a health promotion charity and the largest non-government provider of health and drug education to children. They work in partnership with schools to enhance and reinforce children’s learning about nutrition, the benefits of physical activity, staying safe online, the health impacts of smoking and alcohol and strategies to cope with peer and social pressures.

Life Education is about prevention through education – providing your child with important knowledge, skills, confidence and self-esteem to help them live a healthy, safe life. The mobile classrooms make the program accessible, exciting and memorable. They use up-to-date technology and teaching methods, and engage the students through interactive games and activities. Healthy Harold the giraffe, their much loved mascot, helps to deliver their message to primary school children.

Please ensure that you return permission notes as soon as possible. Students attending the program pay $7.00 and will be invoiced.

CYBERSAFETY IN QUEENSLAND STATE 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 Monday the 23rd of March. 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 Monday the 23rd of March from 3.10pm 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.

NOTES AND PAYMENTS

Please encourage your student to return their permission forms and notes directly to the office at the student windows. All payments should be paid direct at the office and not to the class teacher. This ensures that all money is receipted and families are issued with receipts immediately.

Payments can be made at the office every day between 8:00am and 3:30pm, using cash, debit or credit cards.

Direct deposits can be made using the following details:-

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.

SCHOOL PHOTOS

Please note there is an error on the Advanced Life Photography envelope. The date for photos is the 26th March, 2020.

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 1, 2020 displaying excellent behaviour in both the playground and the classroom. They have been receiving WOWs for displaying the high standard of behaviour expected.

This fortnight our PBL Fortnightly Focus is ‘Be in the Right Place at the Right Time’. Throughout the fortnight this focus reminds students how to be safe at school, we do not play on equipment before or after school, we proceed to the correct areas in the morning and afternoon and are only in classrooms when supervised by an adult. All classes have lessons teaching the Fortnightly Focus to re-inforce the high expectations that we have for all students at The Willows.

The Year 2 students have been busy learning the importance of being in the Right Place at the Right Time. They have created posters from their discussions to display as reminders.

In Prep we are learning to ‘Be in the Right Place at the Right Time’. We are lining up safely for library. When we are at the library, we know to sit in front of the teacher and not sit on the couches.

In Prep, we take our students for walks around the school to show them the right places. This is where we can play! We know the correct area to eat as well.

75 Star Reward Time – Week 5

Every student has the goal to attend Week 5 Reward time by earning at least 75 Stars. The teachers and students are deciding on activities to celebrate excellent effort in learning, behaviour and attendance. Some of the suggestions so far include; undercover play, construction, computer activities, STEM, science, board games and outdoor games.

Defence News

HELLO TO ALL DEFENCE FAMILIES

HELLO and Welcome to all our new defence families to our school. Hope everyone has settled in and is finding their way around out wonderful city. Nice to see so many familiar faces this year. The year has started very busy and I apologise for the cancellation of the scheduled Morning Tea. Welcome Morning Tea is now scheduled for Monday 24th February from 9-11 in L Pod Defence room. Guest Speakers from DCO and DFA delegate are attending. Food and drinks are catered and small children are welcome. Please RSVP to me for catering. I look forward to seeing you there.

The first weeks are always very busy meeting new students and touching base with defence students. Welcome packs have been distributed with information about Kids Club being open at break times for students to attend with a friend, a map of the school, stickers and notes for parents. During Kids Club, we have the opportunity to chat about any concerns with moves and settling into a new school. It has been exciting to see new as well as current students attending Kids Club. We have been painting coral and meeting new friends. Tutoring Assistance is also available for students who have moved to a new school due to a posting. Details are below. Please contact me at any time if you have concern about your child.

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, visit DCO website or collect the forms from me. Also paperwork is required in the form of reports from leaving and gaining schools. For further, visit

KIDSMART RELOCATION PROGRAM-being held Tuesday 3rd March for 2 sessions from 3:15pm-4:45pm in L pod/Defence room at The Willows State School. This program is specifically designed to help primary school defence children manage issues arising from posting and relocation. Children learn how to manage change, meet new people, cope with feeling stressed or anxious and learn relaxation. Flyer below. Complete registration form and send to me at school. Contact me with any questions. Fun afternoon with other defence students, DCO Social Worker and myself.

Please remember to sign up to the DCO mailing list for information on what’s happening for defence families at dco.townsville@defence.gov.au If you have any questions please give me a call at school/email or stop by my room in L Pod any day of the week for a cuppa and chat. Any questions regarding postings and deployments please contact me anytime during school hours.

If you have a partner who has or will be Deployed and your child is not coping with the change please send me an email or call me to discuss your concerns. This time can be very traumatic for a child who is missing this special person. I can talk to them and we can put some ideas and strategies in place to assist with coping at school and home. Remember the 3 “R”’s RULES, RITUALS AND ROUTINES. Also talk to the teacher.

Kookaburra Kids is new to Townsville and gives defence kids a break in a fun, positive and safe environment and provides an opportunity for them to meet other kids aged 8-18 in similar families and develop new friendships. Anyone can refer a child to the program either online or by contacting the local office during business hours, at the link below or Townsville Co-ordinator Louisa Calvert on 0410 896 923 (Tues & Wed 9-5 and Mon & Thurs mornings). Donations and volunteers are also welcome. Lots of fun. FREE activities.

The link below is an amazing on-line resource with loads of information for defence members and their families if you are trying to find clubs, groups, activities for children, and what to see and do on their new and present location. A MUST DO.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Thursday 20 February -Coffee & Conversation

If you are new to Townsville and would like to escape the heat and meet other Defence families or you missed out on a ticket for Coffee Connections, join us for a cuppa and a chat. We would love to meet you.

19 March-Eat, Drink, Repeat (Dinner)

21 March-My Dad & Me: Sundae Funday

29 March-Dogs Day Out

21 April-Dr Seuss Picnic

7 May-Let’s Do Lunch

Coming in June-Think Pink – Ladies Wellbeing Event

OPEN ARMS- holding courses throughout the year. Check out website or Facebook for more details.

DON’T FORGET to Register for DCO mailing list NOW at dco.townsville@defence.gov.au

Defence Family Helpline 24/7 1800 624 608

Open Arms call 1800 011 046

Mates4Mates – Email: townsville@mates4mates.org or call the Townsville FRC on 4771 9600

Current or ex-serving members of the Army, Air Force or Navy who have experienced a physical injury or mental health issue. As a direct result of their service can access services from Mates4Mates to assist with recovery. Immediate family members can also access a wide range of support services. The services we provide are:

• Physical Rehabilitation,
• Psychological Services,
• Social Connection Activities,
• (RAC) Rehabilitation Adventure Challenges, and,
• Employment and Education Support Services.

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 923

Kookaburra Kids Tvl-Louisa Calvert 1300 566 525/0410 896

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

If you notice any changes with your child, please be sure to contact the class teacher or myself to enable us to support them at school. My hours are Monday to Friday 8:00am-3:30pm. Phone me anytime on 4799 1333 ext 323, or e-mail cwhee36@eq.edu.au.

Aim to assist to support defence students at school by developing their RESILIENCE, CARING, FRIENDSHIP AND TRUST. Students who develop these life skills will be ready for the future.

Correna Wheeler
DSM Defence School Mentor

“IT TAKES A BIG HEART TO HELP SHAPE LITTLE MINDS”

Music News (The Pitch)

Prep News

In Prep Row we have been learning how to represent quantities to 10. The children have enjoyed counting and making different amounts.

We have also begun looking at words and how words make up a sentence with a capital letter, finger spaces and full stops. The children have begun learning various letter sounds and how to write these.

In HASS PYROW has been looking at who is in our family. The children have loved talking about the special people in their lives.

In English, PYROW have been discussing their likes and dislikes about their favourite stories.

Year 1 News

Science:

In science, students in year one have been learning to describe changes in their local environment and how different habitats meet the needs of living things. To respond to questions, make predictions and share their observations with others.

Student will know they have been successful when they can:

1.Investigate different habitats thinking about:

• Describing how the needs of living things are met (Food, water, shelter, light, air)
• Describing changes in a local habitat (School)
• Identifying that changes in a habitat affect living things
• Explaining how a change in a habitat affects living things

2. Respond to questions and make predictions thinking about:

• How a habitat can change
• How a change in a habitat will affect the living things

3. Share observations with others thinking about:

• Using appropriate scientific language.

Year 2 News

Year 2 students continue to develop reading and writing skills in all key learning areas. Through visual resources students build an understanding of the health content and reinforce the expectations around our school indoor and outdoor areas. This involved written and image content to allow inclusivity in our classroom. Also students have begun to work on their reading and writing skills with exploration around innovating poetry. This involves manipulating sound combinations, rhythmic sound patterns, word patterns and rhyme patterns.

Year 4 News

SCIENCE NEWS FOR TERM 1

LEARNING INTENTION: To describe the natural processes and human activity that cause changes to Earth’s surface. To plan, conduct and report on an investigation of the erosion process. To apply science understandings to formulate control strategies in real life situations.

So far this term, we have been looking at the different types of rocks and soils found on Earth. Whilst investigating these areas of science we have learnt how to draw annotated scientific diagrams. Here are examples of the learning walls and annotated diagrams drawn whilst investigating, ‘What happens to soil when it is disturbed by moving water.’

Year 5 News

In Science this term Year 5 students have been analysing the structural features and behavioural adaptations that assist living things to survive in their environment. Year 5C have been investigating the structural features and behavioural adaptations of animals such as frogs and polar bears. They have been closely studying how those features (adaptations) assist the animals to survive in the environment in which they live. While studying polar bears, 5C LES investigated how the blubber of polar bears keeps them warm.

Year 6 News

Welcome to Year 6!

We have started the year with a bang! We have been reading some very humorous short stories, learning about different data displays, understanding the significance of federation and investigating changes to materials’ states of matter when they undergo a heating or cooling process. We are also loving playing games and getting to know each other! Year 6 are looking forward to an exciting and successful last year of primary school.

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