26 May 2021

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Welcome to week 6. Firstly, congratulations to all Year 3 and 5 students and teachers. Across the last 2 weeks our school has engaged in NAPLAN online. Our students did their best and were well settled and had fun during this testing regime. Way to go Willows! I would particularly like to thank Miss Kayla Hawkins and Mrs Trish Winter for their outstanding organisation throughout the NAPLAN 2021 period.

As we head into the last part of semester one, students and teachers are working hard to finalise their teaching and learning in readiness for academic reporting. It is excellent to see that our school-wide student attendance remains at 92%. Every day counts! Thank you to our parents/carers for your continual support towards the attendance and academic outcomes of your child/ren.

In Week 7, our teachers will be working alongside Weir SS and Rasmussen SS as part of a social moderation process. This enables teachers from all 3 schools to collaborate and discuss teacher judgments and marking standards. Our 3 schools work together on a range of school business so we are looking forward to extending the network to our teachers.

In Week 8, the Year 6 teachers of The Willows will run the same process with colleagues from Kirwan State High School providing opportunity for collaboration, discussion of the standards and transition considerations between our schools.

Report Cards will be sent to parents in Week 2, Term 3 allowing the leadership team and support staff to proofread these. Please ensure that your email details are up to date by our office as reports are distributed digitally. To update your details please contact admin@thewillowsss.eq.edu.au

The Academic Excellence Awards will be held in Week 3, Term 3. Parents of student recipients will receive an invite. The Academic Excellence Awards CRITERIA are as follow:

Bronze Award – 4 or 5 A’s
Silver Award – 7 or 7 A’s
Gold Award – 8 or more A’s
Academic Excellence Medallion – Straight A’s

Over the coming months, we have a number of teachers who have planned leave. This is an entitlement of all teaching staff and given many life-events were placed on hold during 2020, it is understandable that plans changed for people. We also have a number of staff who are expecting new additions to their families. As a school team, we actively recruit teachers throughout the school year. In advance, your support of our staff as people first and foremost is always appreciated.

Next week our Year 6 students and teachers head to Magnetic Island APEX student leadership camp. It’s a fun filled adventure for our students. Thank you to teachers and staff for your support and dedication to this year’s camp.

Kind regards,

Helen McCullough
Principal

GENERAL NEWS

UNDER 8’S DAY

CHECK IN QLD APP

We’re using the new Check In Qld app to help keep you COVID safe the next time you attend an event at our school.

All you need to do is:

• download the app www.covid19.qld.gov.au/check-in-qld
• enter your details once
• open the app when you next visit us

• select ‘Check in Now’ and hover your smartphone over our QR code

Done!

Using this digital check-in means your details are stored securely by the Queensland Government for fast COVID-19 contact tracing if needed. #CheckInQld

AUSTRALIAN EARLY DEVELOPMENT CENSUS

Australian Early Development Census
Playing our part to build a national picture of child health

In early 2021, our school, along with thousands of others across the country will begin preparations for the fifth Australian Early Development Census (AEDC).

The AEDC gives us a national picture of the development, health and wellbeing of children in their first year of full-time school. Since 2009, the census results have helped communities, schools and governments plan services and develop better policies to target support for children and families.

Children don’t miss any class time, and parents/carers don’t need to supply schools with any new information for the census. The AEDC gives us data at a school and community level - it isn’t an assessment of individual children.

Some teachers have also noticed that completing the assessments made them more aware of the needs of individual children and the class as a whole and that the census results are useful in planning for transitions to Year 1 and developing class programs.

Participation in the AEDC is voluntary. Parents/carers don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census.

To find out more about the census and how communities are using the data to help children and families visit the AEDC website:

If you have any questions, you can contact Deputy Principal Amanda Souter through our office.

WILLOWS WARRIORS

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.

GATE SUPERVISION

Gate C (Sandstone Drive) is locked at 3.15pm. Any students remaining at 3.15pm will be escorted to Gate A (Stop, Drop, Go) where supervision is provided until 3.30pm.

P and C News

Mother’s Day Stall

Thank you to everyone for their support for our annual Mother’s Day Stall. We hope that you enjoyed all of the carefully chosen gifts on the day. Our stall raised over $7500 with all profits going towards school upgrades.

The lucky winners of our Mother’s Day raffle were: Jett S, Tyrell W, Darcy G, Carmen H, Tyler T, Celeste P and Bailey Mc.

SchoolBuy

We have recently renewed our partnership with SchoolBuy as a fundraiser. SchoolBuy has partnered with hundreds of great retailers to turn online shopping into money for schools. Shop at over 200 online stores listed on SchoolBuy and a percentage of what you spend goes to your chosen school.

School Banking

The Queensland Government has decided to discontinue school banking programs in Queensland government schools from 31 July 2021. As a result, the CommBank School Banking program will no longer operate at our school after the end of this term. If you are unsure of other methods of depositing to your child’s account, please feel free to contact the Bank’s general enquiries hotline on 13 2221 or alternatively visit your local CommBank branch.

If your child is eligible to receive a reward, please notify our School Banking Co-ordinator by emailing willowspandc@gmail.com prior to Thursday 24 June 2021.

We would like to thank you for your participation and support throughout the School Banking program.

The Willows State School's Crazy Colour Day

Get your white t-shirts ready for our school's colour run which will be held in the last week of Term 3. Information and fundraising notes will be sent home with students closer to the date.

Uniform News

Feeling the winter chill yet? School Jackets - high quality, embroidered, zippered jackets and zippered pockets - are now available from the School Locker for $38 each.

Senior Polos are available for $35 each. School backpacks are available for $45 each.

A percentage of all purchases made at the School Locker go back to The Willows State School so don't forget to mention which school you are from when you pay.

Next P&C Meeting

Tuesday 8 June at 6pm in TCBC conference room.

If you love to make a real difference and get involved in our upcoming fundraisers please come along to our next P&C meeting. All are welcome.

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 2.40pm in Multi-Purpose Learning Centre
Year 6 – Tuesdays 8.45am in Multi-Purpose Learning Centre

Parents/Guardians are most welcome to attend.

Positive Behaviour Learning

Music News (The Pitch)

Prep News

English

In English preps are learning to retell their favourite story, make connections to the story and present it to their friends.

Mathematics

In Mathematics preps are learning to sort 2D shapes. Preps are sorting shapes by the shape name, number of sides, number of corners, straight sides and curved sides.

Science

In science preps are learning about living and non-living things and what they need.

HASS

In HASS this Semester preps have been learning about special celebrations. They were asked to bring two items that are special to them and tell us why they are special.

75 Star rewards activity

To celebrate getting 75 stars, preps had an outside play activity session. There was an obstacle course, blocks, chalk drawing, hoops, dinosaurs and many more things to play with. Everyone had lots of fun.

Year 1 News

What’s happening in Year One?

The Year 1 children have been learning about describing characters in stories. Mr Wintergarten is a lonely, mean, old man who changes at the end of the story due to one act of kindness from the little girl who lives next door.

In maths we have been learning all about 2D and 3D shapes. We have been describing the features of 3D shapes and discussing the 2D shapes found on 3D shapes.

Year 2 News

In English, Year 2 students have been exploring two different versions of the fairy-tale ‘Cinderella’. Students are learning to sequence events according to narrative structure. Year 2 have been learning that when we sequence events they need to think about the orientation, complication and resolution. They have also been focusing on applying spelling and editing strategies to their writing.

Year 3 News

In Year 3 Maths, the students have been working on addition and subtraction number facts and mapping skills.

We had a blast exploring technology and working together in teams to complete a Kahoot quiz recalling our addition and subtraction number facts.

We have been exploring how to read mapping keys and plot those references on a grid. Chloe thought she would create her own key and map out a beautiful flower.

Year 4 News

Year 4’s were learning about angles and mapping this term. They had to understand what right angles are and then show non-right angles. 3/4D grasped this concept easily; knowing that right angles are 90 degrees, equivalent to a quarter turn. At the end of the unit, we tested our skills on the technology department’s spheros. Students used these programmable robots to show right angles and non-right angles. The students worked well together and demonstrated their knowledge well.

Year 5 News

In Science (Unit 2) the Year 5 classes are learning about the ‘Exploration of the Solar System.’

We have learned to describe key features of the solar system and how scientific knowledge develops from different people’s contributions. We have discussed how scientific developments and technologies have affected people’s lives

e.g. memory foam in shoes & pillows, space medicine, invisible braces, wireless headsets and scratch resistant & UV-blocking glasses.

The children have enjoyed researching facts about planets and other celestial bodies in the Milky Way such as asteroids, comets, satellites, meteoroids and moons. They have participated in making models, reading books and watching movies / slideshows to gather information.

Year 6 News

Year 6 students have been tirelessly working in their classes to produce high quality pieces of writing. 6DAV has taken their first steps in understanding their new Unit of English for Term 2. Students are required to evaluate the language used by a series of new presenters to determine how powerfully they influence their audience. They are working to achieve this by having a thorough understanding of the Guide to Making Judgements and through analysis of multiple sample articles.

Additionally, Year 6 students have recently attended a presentation targeted toward cyber safety, anti-bullying and safety in online spaces. The students were very enthusiastic throughout the presentation and were ready to ask many questions relating to their own safety in this space. Students in Year 6 learned about alternate social media platforms targeted toward their age groups and discussed strategies on how to remain safe while playing online games with friends. We thank Sam from the Department of Education for taking the time to help Year 6 in increasing our awareness on this matter.

Finally, Year 6 are gearing up for a fun filed few days on Magnetic Island with Camp fast approaching. Students are excited and have selected their cabin groups for the event. Reminders were given in class as to the appropriate supplies to bring for this event. Another fun few weeks in Year 6 ahead!

Community Events & Notices

THE SMITH FAMILY – SAVER PLUS

Ease the pressure of school camp costs with Saver Plus and get $500 in matched savings to help out.

What is SaverPlus?

Saver Plus is a free ten month savings program that provides financial education and matches your savings up to $500 for educational expenses.

Can you join?

To be eligible to join Saver Plus you must:

• be 18 years or over;
• be a parent or guardian of a student attending school, or be attending vocational education yourself;
• have a current Health Care card or Pensioner Concession card;
• be receiving a Centrelink benefit, allowance or payment;
• have some form of regular income from work (you or your partner) OR receive child support;
• not have completed SaverPlus before.

Who do I contact to join?

Debbie Mitchell
Townsville Saver Plus Coordinator
Phone 0418 201 533
Email debra.mitchell@thesmithfamily.com.au

GRANDPARENTS CONNECT

POSITION VACANT – TEMPORARY CASUAL CLEANER

20 hours per week until June 2021 with the possibility of extension

10am to 2pm Monday to Friday

Working with Children Blue Card essential and must be obtained prior to commencement.

Prospective employees must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or hold a permanent residence visa.

To apply, contact Barbara Anderson – Email: bsm@thewillowsss.eq.edu.au Phone: (07) 4799 1333