6 March 2020

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S PRIDE

Another great week at our great state school! I am continuously proud of the teaching, learning and teamwork at The Willows! I am exceptionally proud of the writing samples that I have seen across Prep-6 in Week 5!

The Annual Implementation Plan and Investing for Schools documents (now endorsed) outlines the baseline data and the data that we want to see by the end of 2020. These two documents will be available on our website in the next fortnight and I thank you for being part of our school improvement journey.

School Priority 1: Every Student is a Reader and a Writer

• Each morning we offer a before school reading intervention program. Letters of offer go out to our students and their families at the end of each term. Mrs Ginard is our lead person for this initiative and it is fantastic to see the program up and running for 39 of our students across the week.

• Each morning from 9-11am, our school invests time and resources in structured reading across Prep-Year 3. This is a significant investment and we are seeing great gains each week across our classes and year levels. In the early years, learning to read is our focus. Congratulations to all of our team for making reading fun!
• Each week, we monitor student reading and writing across the learning areas. One of my favourite units in Year 4 is when students write their own chapter to add to ‘The Twits’ by Roald Dahl. Exciting new chapters occurring in Year 4 – look out Roald Dahl fans, our 4’s have some innovative and cool chapters to add to an old favourite!

School Priority 2: Inclusivity: everyone counts!

Reports from External Specialists and communication between all partners in your child’s development assists to achieve the most successful outcomes.

Transparency and sharing of information and reports supports the school to:

• Understand your child’s needs and how they may impact on their learning;
• Provide staff with knowledge from specialist disciplines;
• Provide reasonable adjustments for your child;
• Provide feedback on recommendations in the report;
• Understand the motivation underlying a child’s behaviour;
• Consider additional supports for non-school activities such as camps and excursions; and
• Consider your child’s needs when forming classes each year.

Typical reports for children are received from audiologists, optometrists, paediatricians, psychologists, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists and general practitioners. Our preference is for reports to be received through the main office or to our admin@thewillowsss.eq.edu.au email account. This ensures that the report is disseminated to relevant staff working directly with your child as well as kept in a central location for continuity of information sharing when your child transitions year levels. Confidentiality is respected and if a report is of a sensitive nature, the school is able to restrict the level of access to the report. If you have a recent report of relevance, please see our front office staff who will copy the report and send through to the relevant staff members.

As a school, we are unable to provide space and supervision for external organisations to work directly with students. We are however, open to, consultation with external providers to support student needs.

School Priority 3: Collective Leadership

Leadership at every level in our school is an important driver for us to achieve good to great results!

For every student at our school to improve and achieve in their learning it takes a collective team to rise and be exceptionally clear on our purpose. This year we are focussing and chasing improvement in the C-B and B-A Standards in English, Mathematics and Science.

Every person at our school has a great contribution to make to the lives, happiness and educational outcomes of our students. This week I thank the voluntary staff who are assisting our students to practice and perform at the pool each training. I also thank our teachers who have stepped up to trial, train and coach students in extra-curricular sporting or music/cultural activities at our school. Our students are very fortunate and the work that goes in behind the scenes to provide these extras is much appreciated from all members of our school team.

In the coming week we have our Early Career Mentor Teachers at their second phase of the training with a focus on instructional coaching. We also have our Beginning Teachers at the North Queensland Beginner Teachers Conference. The opportunities across our Region to build strong state school educators is appreciated and I look forward to our participants sharing their learning with us.

School Priority 4: Positive Behaviour and Partnerships

At our school, we operate under Positive Behaviour Learning Framework and have three school rules that all members of our school are committed to:

Be Safe

Be Respectful

Be Responsible.

A SIGNIFICANT PARTNER – TRY FOR 5

Try for 5 is a state-wide program to raise the attendance data for our students. Our target is above 92% and 0 unexplained absences as a school in 2020. We can do it! We are fortunate enough to be in our second year of this program and our key contact is Ray Thompson. The Behaviour and Engagement Team as one of their roles and responsibilities is to co-ordinate the visits. This week Ray visited The Willows and worked with a group of students to deliver key messages around school pride. Further information is provided in the PBL section of our newsletter.

Bravehearts – Every child has the right to be safe

We are committed to ensuring the safety of our students. Ditto will be meeting our Prep to Year 2 students as part of the 'Ditto's Keep Safe Adventure Show' on March 11.

Ditto will provide students with these messages:

• We all have the right to feel safe with people
• it's ok to say no if you feel unsafe
• there is no secret that children cannot tell someone

Letters to parents and carers with an opt out have been provided. Parents/Carers are more than welcome to attend these sessions also!

In the next fortnight, our P and C will be holding the Annual General Meeting on 10 March 2020, where the executive positions are declared vacant. Further details about this are available on the P and C Facebook Page. I encourage parents/carers to actively contribute to our P and C. The contributions can include meeting attendance, joining a sub-committee (Tuckshop, Fundraising and OSHC) or simply contributing time to the various fundraising that occurs at our school. In partnership, we achieve fantastic results for our students. Over the past three years, the P and C have significantly contributed to the learning for each student by assisting with upgrades to play areas, playgrounds, technology, reading books and schemes and supporting the facilities plans such as security fencing, front of school re-development, branding and of course our new Multi-Purpose Shade Structure. I look forward to the continued support of our students in 2020 and beyond.

Have a great fortnight ahead and in the meantime, stay up to date through our Facebook Page.

Kind regards
Helen McCullough
Principal

DEPARTMENTAL MESSAGES

NAPLAN ONLINE

Our students in Years 3 and 5 will be undertaking NAPLAN testing online in May this year for the first time, with Year 3 still completing the Writing test as paper-based testing. Moving to NAPLAN online brings many advantages including a test design that offers test items tailored to students’ knowledge and ability.

We will also be participating in a national practice test in March. This is an excellent opportunity to fine tune any technical and logistical needs, as well as familiarise students and teachers with the online testing process. If you wish to look at the NAPLAN Online examples with your child, please head to the NAPLAN Online Public Demonstration Site.

Actual student data will be used for the dress rehearsal and the May tests. Before testing, please read the information relating to privacy, which can be found on the NAPLAN Online Queensland website’s parent information page. You can also download the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority’s (ACARA) factsheet on how student personal data is collected and protected and the ACARA privacy notice.

RACQ ROAD SAFETY PROGRAM

WILLOWS WARRIORS

GENERAL NEWS

Parents are encouraged to apply mosquito repellent to their children before school.

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.

If you would like to attend the parent session please RSVP on the letter going home or you can use the following hyperlink to advise you are attending.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR AND PARTNERSHIPS

At The Willows State School, we are committed to ensuring the safety of our students. We are so excited to be welcoming Ditto, from Bravehearts! Ditto will be meeting our Prep to Year 2 students as part of the 'Ditto's Keep Safe Adventure Show' on March 11.

Ditto will provide students with these messages:-

• We have the right to feel safe with people
• It’s ok to say not if you feel unsafe
• There is no secret that children cannot tell someone

Letters to parents and carers have been sent home. A copy of the note is attached.

Please return the permission form to the office if you DO NOT want your child to participate.

SCHOOL PARKING

We are aware that pick up and drop off times can be difficult due to the size of our school. We are working closely with the Queensland Police and the Townsville City Council in relation to the current parking and pick up issues. To ensure the safety of all who access our school, please note the following:-

• Do not park in no standing zones. Please see the below map
• Please use the pedestrian crossings and encourage your child/children to use the pedestrian crossings as well
• Do not walk through the traffic at the Stop, Drop and Go area
• Staff provide supervision at Stop, Drop and Go until 3:20pm every school day. These staff are responsible for ensuring the safety of your children inside our gates.
• Please be mindful of residential properties that surround our school – please do not park across their driveways
• Do not park on traffic islands or footpaths

Queensland Police have advised that they will be doing regular patrols and issuing infringement notices.

Thank you for your support in this important issue.

HEARING AWARENESS WEEK

Don’t let hearing loss limit your child!

Here are some tips to support deaf and hard of hearing people:

• Speak clearly
• Face people when speaking to them
• Minimise background noise
• Ensure good lighting

For more information go to the link below.

World Hearing Day is held on 3 March each year to raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and promote ear and hearing care across the world.

SCHOOL PHOTOS

Please note there is an error on the Advanced Life Photography envelope. The date for photos is the 26th and 27th March, 2020.

THE WILLOWS STATE SCHOOL & KIRWAN STATE HIGH SCHOOL RUGBY LEAGUE PROGRAM 2020

What is it?

Late last year we approached Kirwan State High School in the hope of kicking off a strong and meaningful partnership that supports students on a range of fronts. We decided that rugby league would be a good avenue for this to start off with, so we immediately got in contact with Kirwan Bears coaching staff. This is a strategy that links heavily to our Annual Implementation Plan.

Who is involved?

This year it is limited to the students involved in the 2020 Willows Rugby League team (students born in 2008 and 2009). We envisage this program growing over the years and involving an increasing number of students from a range of sports.

Why are we doing it?

Link to the Annual Implementation Plan:

• Inclusivity – Everyone counts: This program aim to be inclusive of a range of cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, range of abilities and genders.
• Collective leadership: This program will build staff capacity by exposing staff to key extra-curricular legislative documents and in turn leading extracurricular activities. For our students, it will teach students about sportsmanship and respect on and off sporting fields. It will build an understanding of an important role sport can play in the community.
• Positive behaviour and community: This program will provide as a tier 2 and 3 strategy for students within our PBL framework. It is a key community partnership that will support student’s transition to high school and promote community awareness for both Willows and Kirwan students and parents. We are also hoping to re-engage with some of our ex-Willows students, who will hopefully gain a sense of pride and in turn, support their own engagement. This is an opportunity for student engagement on both ends, with possibilities of Kirwan students running training sessions with Willows students. We are foreseeing this being beneficial to the learning of both Kirwan and Willows students.

When are we doing it?

This work will commence on the 10th of March when Kirwan SHS have invited us to watch them play against Ignatius Park College from 10:30am – 11:45am.

Another event that has been set includes a “Breakfast with the Bears” where we will watch them train, participate in some drills and finally eat breakfast with the Kirwan Bears players before heading back to school. We will also undertake a fitness test which will be revisited throughout the year. This will take place on Wednesday the 18th of March.

It has also been proposed that some Kirwan Bears players could come over to our school in Term 2 to assist with rugby league training.

How can I be involved?

If you are interested in being involved in this initiative, please contact Brad Theodore.

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

Defence News

HELLO TO ALL DEFENCE FAMILIES

Thank you to all that attended our Defence Morning Tea. It was great to see and meet the families. A big thank you to our guest speakers, Jessica and Kim from DCO and Chandelle from DFA. They shared information regarding what is coming up and how they can support defence families.

Our Kidsmart program started last week and it was great to see students being involved in free after school activities to assist with integration into a new school. Some students are still having difficulty with settling into their new school. Be patient and remember some students can take longer than others to adjust to the new routine and new surrounding of a school. Keep routines the same and don’t get caught allowing students to stay home because they don’t want to come to school. Be persistent and remind them that they must attend school to learn and they are not allowed to stay away from school because they want to. If you are having difficulties please speak to teacher or contact me to make arrangements to arrange a morning routine for your child. This can be a difficult time for all but persistence is the key. Please also talk to teacher and myself for support when a parent is way as this can affect the daily routine of a child as they are constantly thinking about where that parent may be and that their parent is away for a long time.

KIDS CLUB is being attended by many students, some for the first time. This week we are painting hands to print on paper for Harmony/No Bullying Day coming up. All students have loved being involved. New Lego has been popular with students who enjoying building new pieces. Also many new board games just purchased have proven very popular. We will be starting Easter activities soon.

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. For more Information go to the link below.

Please remember to sign up to the DCO mailing list for 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

19 March - Eat, Drink, Repeat (Dinner)

21 March - My Dad & Me: Ice Cream Sundae Funday

29 March - Dogs Day Out

2 April - Coffee Connections

18 April - My Dad and Me

21 April - Dr Seuss Monrign Tea TBC

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

Kookaburra Kids Tvl-Louisa Calvert 1300 566 525/0410 896 923

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

Last Friday we celebrated achieving 75 stars by having some fun playing some games outside such as dressing up, chalk drawing, block and lego play!

Students in prep were lucky enough to have a visit from the Life Education van and Harrold the Giraffe. Harrold spoke to the children about building friendships and healthy food choices. All the children had a great time and loved giving Harrold a pat!

Literacy:

In Prep Tre, we are learning a new letter sound a day and having a go at writing the beginning sound in words. Some children are blending known sounds together to read words. Children are practising their formation of letters and are having a go at writing words in sentences!

Numeracy:

In Maths this week, we have been learning to identify, represent and count numbers to 10. The children are enjoying counting each day as well as the different activities to practise numbers.

Science:

In Science, we have been looking at different types of weather. We have been focussing on what types of clothes we wear and how the weather affects our activities as well as living things.

Year 1 News

Maths

In maths we are learning about Chance – will happen, won’t happen, might happen. We are having lots of fun with the won’t happen senarios!

We are also exploring addition through concrete materials, writing a sum and putting the information into a part-part-whole box.

HASS

In HASS we are learning about milestones and important events in our lives.

Year 2 News

In Science this term, students have participated in the ‘Mix, Make, Use’ unit. The Year 2’s have been exploring different materials, and linking their properties to their purpose. We have explored many concepts through inquiry based lessons, such as ‘What material is strongest?’ and “Which material is waterproof?” The Year 2’s had to apply this knowledge to make a water-resistance lunch box that could carry a sandwich and an orange over 5 metres. All students enjoyed this task, and showed great skill in creating original designs. Students also reflected on the effectiveness of their lunchboxes, and how they could improve it to make it even better.

Year 3 News

Over the first few weeks of Year 3 students have been working on developing and improving their literacy capabilities through targeted activities and student-centred goal setting. Many classes within the Year 3 cohort have begun explicitly teaching the process surrounding setting measurable and achievable goals for both academic, social and behavioural success. As a result, students have been able to focus their efforts on achieving in all areas of their schooling. Year 3 teachers are happily assisting students to meet these negotiated goals and whole classes are celebrating success through acknowledgement and praise. This has created a series of safe and comfortable classroom environments where learning and being an active class and school citizen are being emphasised. By doing this teachers and students have been working collaboratively in making our school a brighter and happier place to learn.

Students from 3DAV have begun their literacy learning journey with goals associated with re-reading and editing their work using consistent editing symbols. We have been focussing specifically on the fundamentals of sentences to provide a scaffolded approach for later learning. Furthermore, students have also used this opportunity to improve their writing by adding descriptive adjectives, re arranging sentences for clarity and experimenting with alternate forms of ending punctuation to create emphasis and effect.

Year 4 News

YEAR 4: DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

Year 4 have been working on Digital Technologies this term. Our learning is divided into 3 parts.

Part A involves collecting and manipulating data to create information. We have been collecting and recording data about our lunch rubbish. This data is then entered into a spreadsheet using the Excel program and colour coded according to environmental factors. The students then use the spreadsheet tools to create a column graph.

Year 5 News

This week in Year 5, we have had a visit from some very cool creatures. As part of our Science assessment, we need to discuss structural and behavioural features of different animals. Ranger Jackie from Hands on Wildlife brought in some snakes, some different types of lizard, a squirrel glider possum as well as a baby saltwater crocodile. It was an awesome session and we learnt lots about these animals’ different adaptations, and how they survive in the wild!

Year 6 News

English

We have been very busy learning to analyse and compare text structures and language features authors use to influence readers. Next, we will be writing an imaginative and entertaining short story.

Science

We have also been learning about reversible and irreversible changes.

Year 6 Camp

To secure your child’s place for the Year 6 Camp, please complete the consent form and make your deposit of $50 by the 17th March, 2020.

A copy of the note is included for your information.

Community Events & Notices