24 March 2021

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Dear Parents, Carers and Community,

Welcome to the last stretch of an exceptionally productive school term. It is exciting to see our students thriving in extra-curricular based initiatives such as the Interschool Swimming Carnival, Cross Country Trials and our Bullying No Way Campaign. A shout out to all of our amazing staff who made these events and initiatives happen!

Our Swim Team brought home the shield after weeks of early morning training. A dedicated group of students, staff and parents indeed! Thank you to Caroline Terz, Paul Madeley, Jenny Deuble, Barbara Anderson, Vanessa Hall, Cameron Tod and Kayla Hawkins for your support and dedication. Our students were commended for their exceptional sportsmanship and team spirit at the carnival. A fabulous representation of our school!

The Bullying No Way campaign has been exceptional! Thank you to Sam Carter, Teresa Swensen, Rachelle Tyers-Smith, Jackie Nosworthy, Erin Edmonds, Amanda Rabbitt and Angela Faulks for your amazing work and of course to all of our classroom teachers and students for getting behind this campaign!

Last week, Lesley Pecchiar, Assistant Regional Director Schools Performance visited on Wednesday. Lesley had the opportunity to observe Student Work At the Table (SWAT) and affirmed to our leadership team through her observation and feedback that this strategy has significantly and positively developed our instructional leadership, monitoring of student writing and provided a powerful opportunity through clever resourcing and vision for teachers to engage in authentic ongoing collaboration to track and improve student writing. The high level of teacher professionalism, reflection and identification of strategies for next steps were evident and she congratulates all leaders and staff of The Willows State School for the exceptional work and dedication to our students.

Over the last 8 weeks we have seen significant improvement in our student writing and incidentally, student reading is also chugging along well with many of our young learners progressing in their reading skills as a direct result of excellent implementation of our learning to read and oral language strategies. A shout out to all of our teachers, teacher aides and PitStop Crew! A fantastic collective effort so please take the time to celebrate with your child.

This week, I went and checked out a Year 3 and 6 Buddy Class arrangement where students were sharing their writing and getting feedback from their older peers! This was powerful…not only was it fantastic to see the excitement and engagement of these interactions, but the open willingness and pride to share a piece of writing and have an older peer take on peer feedback was exceptional! A shout out to 3FAH and 6DAV!

The Beginning Teacher Conferences and Beginning Teacher Mentor Programs provided opportunities for members of our staff through quality professional development recently. Erica Davies, Jayde Griffith and Greg Anderson all participated in opportunities recently offered. As part of our celebration of our inclusive education journey at The Willows, Cate Bridson was also selected recently and attended the ACEL Conference on behalf of region in readiness for her HoSE Inclusion Role (based at The Willows) in Term 2.

Continuing to build our collective leadership at our school, means that we extend invitation to our staff for opportunities of growth and development through the Annual Performance Development Planning phases. Our Deputy Principals are all engaged in regional professional development through QELI over the next few months and I extend my thanks to staff who recently provided feedback through the GENOS survey. Over the next semester, a number of our teachers are also engaging in the QELI Middle Leaders Program. I am looking forward to hearing the learning experiences as our teachers, Sam Carter, Stephanie Clarke, Kylie Faherty, Kayla Hawkins, Kate Haines, Timothy Menzies, Sarah Platt, Amanda Scuderi and Bonnie Nagy, engage with their middle leaders learning over the coming months. Fantastic work!

In week 10, I am in Brisbane working with the Education Improvement Branch as Principal Peer Reviewer for 4 days. I have appointed Amanda Souter as my designated and delegated Officer In Charge.

I look forward to seeing you all in Term 2.

Kind regards,
Helen McCullough
Principal

GENERAL NEWS

NAPLAN ONLINE

SCHOOL REVIEW AND PLANNING

Early in Term 2, the Education Improvement Branch reviews our school over 3 days and our team is excited to share the fantastic work that The Willows as a collective team have achieved. Once the review is finalised, our school receives a report which then enables us to work with all stakeholders to develop the 4 year plan (2022-2026). Further information about the review can be found at the link below and in future information through our newsletters.

PARENT CODE OF CONDUCT

WILLOWS HOUSE POLOS

YEAR 6 SENIOR SHIRTS

WILLOWS JACKET

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 3:30pm 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.

MARCH ON SCHOOL CHALLENGE

This year, our school has decided to take on the March On with Soldier On – Schools Challenge to help prevent veteran suicide and support our modern-day veterans and their families who have been impacted by their service.

Who is Soldier On?

Soldier On is a national not-for-profit organisation who directly support veterans and their families with mental health support, employment and education support and social connectedness. These vital support services help contemporary veterans and their families secure their futures.

To support Soldier On, we will be asking 96 students in our school to walk 1km in solidarity on Monday 29th March – this will be a collective total of 96km, which is the length of the Kokoda Track. To show your support, we ask you to make a donation to the following link:

The money raised will allow Soldier On to provide more services to more veterans and their families in our very own community, and in communities around Australia.

Fundraising for Soldier On will be the ultimate way to honour those who have served our nation, those past, present, and more importantly, our future.

Our school thanks you for getting behind Soldier On this March.

If your child would like to participate, please ask them to see Mrs Wheeler, Defence School Mentor to register.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Year Level Parades

Prep – Mondays 8.45am in Junior CPA
Year 1 – Mondays 8.45am in Junior CPA
Year 2 – Tuesdays 8.45am in Junior CPA
Year 3 – Tuesdays 2.40pm in Multi-Purpose Learning Centre
Year 4 – Mondays 2.40pm in Main CPA
Year 5 – Mondays 2.40am in Multi-Purpose Learning Centre
Year 6 – Tuesdays 8.45pm in Multi-Purpose Learning Centre

Parents/Guardians are most welcome to attend.

Defence News

HELLO ALL DEFENCE FAMILIES

PLEASE REMIND CHILDREN that next Monday 29th March (week 10) at 8:15am on Oval 1 the March On with Soldier On – Schools Challenge will be held. Please encourage students to register their name with me at L pod asap. As soon as they arrive at school on Monday morning make their way to the oval. There we will walk around the oval as a group. This venture is to support Soldier On, we will be requiring 96 students in our school to walk 1km in solidarity on 29th March – this will be a collective total of 96km, which is the length of the Kokoda Track. of 96 for 1km. Upon completion students will go to class. To show your support, we ask you to make a donation to the following link at the link below to help prevent veteran suicide and support our modern-day veterans and their families who have been impacted by their service. If your child would like to be one of the 96 students marching at school, please contact me. Looking forward to seeing students being involved in this great venture.

Who is Soldier On?

Soldier On is a national not-for-profit organisation who directly support veterans and their families with mental health support, employment and education support and social connectedness. These vital support services help contemporary veterans and their families secure their futures. The money raised will allow Soldier On to provide more services to more veterans and their families in our very own community, and in communities around Australia. Fundraising for Soldier On will be the ultimate way to honour those who have served our nation, those past, present, and more importantly, our future.

Our school thanks you for getting behind Soldier On this March. Donate now!

GECKOS AT LAVARACK BARRACKS - are offering a school holiday program. Please contact asap for details if interested.

OPEN ARMS GROUP PROGRAM SCHEDULE-please check out the wonderful programs that are FREE and being held at Open Arms. Programs include Mental health, Relaxation, Relationships, Anger and Parent Coaching. Something for everyone.

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

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

Community Events & Notices

SCHOOL WATCH