10 February 2021

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Community Members,

Welcome to Week 3 of the 2021 school year. Students have been settling back into classroom and playground routines and we thank you for your continued partnership with us and support of the expected school behaviours of our students. It has been impressive to see our students wearing their school uniform with pride. We are a proud state school with a fantastic school community.

Out and about in our classrooms, we are seeing engaged, happy students who are trying their best and progressing and achieving in their learning. Already we can see that our students enjoy the range of curriculum offerings at our school and there is lots of excitement to experience different teachers across the week for Music, LOTE, Technology and PE. We are seeing significant long term improvement in our students reading and writing which is of top priority at The Willows. Fantastic work students, teachers, support staff and of course our parents/carers!

This year we have 37 classes across Prep-Year 6 and maintain our strong student numbers through the Day 8 Processes. There is minimal changes to the class structures and support that we already have in place at The Willows State School. The small changes, will now be managed through our Deputy Principals.

Additionally, we have already commenced to take enrolments for 2022 Prep with our Willows Warriors Program starting Wednesday 10 February and held weekly led by our Early Years Teacher, Mrs Tropea and Early Years Teacher Aide, Mrs Eddy.

I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that we will be publishing our newsletter EVERY week. We value ongoing communication to our parents and community. Every odd week we will provide quick updates, with our even week newsletters including all of the wonderful learning stories occurring at our school.

SOME IMPORTANT MESSAGES AND REMINDERS

COMMUNICATION

• Classroom – Your child’s teacher will communicate in many ways – emails, phone calls, messages home, homework, communication books, etc. Each year we have two formal parent-teacher meetings and two report cards. We certainly strive to communicate with all families.
• Newsletters – will be emailed to parents and can be accessed via our school website (thewillowsss.eq.edu.au) or the QSchools app (download QSchools app – select The Willows State School).

• QParents – this app can be downloaded for free. Contact the office for advice on registering for this one.

• QSchools – you can access information about our school, including calendar of events, newsletters etc.

• SMS text messaging service - for messages and absences. Parents/carers will be notified daily of an unexplained student absence via an SMS text message. You can then reply with the reason for absence.
• The Willows State School Facebook Page – like our page for regular updates and important messages directly from our school
• P&C Facebook page – join our P&C Facebook page for information and events including fundraising

A really great way to stay in touch with us, is by visiting ⭐️⭐️YEAR LEVEL PARADES⭐️⭐️

Every week our Year Levels hold short year level parades to celebrate Attendance, Behaviour and Curriculum Achievements with our learners. Our whole school parades are done online as we found this successful in 2020.

We welcome parents to attend these parades at the following times:

⭐️Mondays ⭐️

Prep (Junior CPA) 8.45am
Year 1 (Middle CPA) 8.45am
Year 4 (Middle CPA) 2.40pm
Year 5 (Multi-Purpose Learning Centre) 2.40pm

⭐️Tuesday’s⭐️

Year 2 (Junior CPA) 8.45am
Year 6 (Multi-Purpose Learning Centre) 8.45am
Year 3 (Multi-Purpose Learning Centre) 2.40pm

Parents entering school grounds must adhere to the Covid-19 guidelines including physical distancing. Parents attending 2.40pm parades come through main admin gate and must use sign in procedures.

STUDENT ABSENCES

Your child’s safety at school is very, very important to us. We have an SMS text messaging service to all parents notifying you if your child is absent from school without explanation. Please remember, learning starts at 8:55am. Any arrival after this time is identified as being ‘late’ for school. We are aiming to improve our 92% attendance rate by 1% each term and would like to see high attendance across our school and 0 unexplained absences. Thank you for supporting this very important target - Every day counts.

SWIMMING TRIALS

Good luck to all students who are trialling for the Inter-School team on Thursday 11 February from 7am-10am. We are looking forward to friendly and well-spirited competition and we know that all Willows learners demonstrate pride and excellent sportsmanship in all of our events. In advance, good luck and a big shout out to Mrs Deuble, Mr Madeley and Miss Hawkins for organising this event!

STUDENT LEADERS 2021

I am looking forward to celebrating with our Student Leaders and Year 3, 4 and 5 Student Council Representatives, their parents/carers and their fellow peers of Years 3-6 the Leadership Investiture where we present their badges, take the pledge and start to form the student initiative plans for the 2021 school year. This special ceremony is being held on Friday 12 February in TCBC Main Hall and an invitation for parents of these students has been sent out. Congratulations to all students who nominated in 2020 and at the start of this year – our leaders will appreciate your support throughout the school year.

Kind regards,

Helen McCullough
Principal

GENERAL NEWS

PARENT MEET & GREET

LIFE EDUCATION – YEARS PREP, 3 & 6

WILLOWS WARRIORS

VOLUNTARY FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION

UPCOMING EVENTS

Defence News

HELLO ALL DEFENCE FAMILIES

Welcome to Week 3. Hope everyone is settling in to their new surroundings. Parents please remind new students that this Friday we will be having a Meet and Greet in my room at L pod. All new defence students are welcome to attend at 2nd break. Preps will be collected by older students and walked to party at 2nd break and then returned to class. Great opportunity for students to get together, meet other students and have fun. Also looking forward to seeing parents at our Afternoon Tea on Monday 15th Feb. Please RSVP me. See you there.

Defence Parents Welcome Afternoon Tea will be held on Monday 15th February from 2pm-3pm in TCBC. Special Guests Jessica Stark EDLO and Meegan Lonergan FLO from DCO will be attending to talk about their roles. School representative may be present. Young children are welcome. Please RSVP me by Wednesday 10th Feb if attending and for dietary requirements. Please come along. Look forward to meeting you and having a chat.

Kidsmart Relocation Program will be held on Thursday 18th and 25th February from 3pm-4:45pm after school in L Pod. Program designed for students who have recently relocated. Strategies for how to manage change, stay connected with friends, meet new people, coping with feeling stressed and anxious and tips on how to handle emotions and relaxation techniques. Lots of fun and great opportunity to meet new friends. Facilitated with staff from DCO and DSM.

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 access tutoring up to 18 months from when you move to a new school due to a posting. Ring the Defence Family Helpline 1800 624 608, visit DCO website or collect the forms from me .More Information go to the link below.

OPEN ARMS GROUP PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Defence Family Helpline 24/7 1800 624 608

Open Arms call 1800 011 046

My hours are Monday to Friday 8:00am-3:30pm, phone me anytime for a chat on 4799 1333 ext 323, or e-mail me cwhee36@eq.edu.au

School is FUN for all students by staying positive and developing RESILIENCE

SKILLS AND FRIENDSHIPS.

Correna Wheeler
Defence School Mentor

KEEP SMILING