1 December 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Pride

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Community Members,

Welcome back to Week 9 of Term 4! We are certainly on the countdown now with just 7 school days before the end of the 2021 school year. Swimming has now concluded for our Year 2 and 4 students, our Willows Warriors have held their graduation and our departing Defence students have participated in a range of farewell activities with Mrs Wheeler.

The next few weeks will continue to be busy with a range of special events such as our 75 Stars Reward sessions, No Majors Celebrations, Year 6 Graduation, Year 6 Rite of Passage. and Academic Excellence Awards to name but a few. We are encouraging our students to “finish strong.”

Last week students worked hard across the school to earn green WOWs by doing random acts of kindness for others (in line with our previous fortnightly PBL focus). All green WOWs became an entry form for holiday prize packs. These were drawn this morning with the winners being:

Prep – Brooke
Year 1 – Colby
Year 2 – Gabe, Ella & Eryn
Year 3 – Layla & Huxley
Year 4 – Nikolai
Year 6 - Liedyn

GOLD Rewards – Thursday (02/12) and Friday (03/12)

Students who have not had a ‘Major’ behaviour incident in Semester 2 have been invited to attend a fun reward session with their peers this week via a letter home. This year the ‘No Major’ ruling applied only to Semester 2 behavioural incidents. In previous years (and returning to this format in 2022) attendance at these sessions was based upon ‘No Majors’ for the entire school year.

The timing of these reward sessions is as follows:

Thursday, 02/12

Morning session: GOLD Star Disco – Year 3 and 4
Middle session: GOLD Star Carnival – Prep to Year 2

Friday, 03/12

GOLD Star Cinema – Year 5 and 6

Year 5 and 6 students will be leaving for the cinemas from 9am. Students must be on time to school to ensure they are present to catch the bus.

Attendance Rewards

In Week 10, to acknowledge and celebrate excellent attendance, students who have had above 95% attendance in 2021 will receive a letter of congratulations and a Zooper Dooper. There will also be a prize for the class with the highest attendance for the year with each student being awarded a small prize pack. All students with 100% attendance for the year will go into the draw for a number of small prizes to celebrate amazing attendance. Our whole school attendance for 2021 is currently sitting at 91.2%.

Student Personal Safety Messages

With school holidays coming up very soon and following some reports of a recent ‘stranger danger’ concern in the community, I have requested that all teaching staff review with their students’ personal safety messages in an age-appropriate manner. ‘Stranger danger’ messages such as how to respond to an approach from a stranger and walking with a friend/group (rather than alone) if moving about in the community are important points to convey. The conveying of these messages is certainly not intended to alarm, but to keep students informed and alert to good personal safety practices when not in the care of an adult. Your support in also reinforcing these messages at home would be much appreciated.

ARD Visit

I would like to congratulate all staff and students who engaged in, and assisted with, Mrs Pecchiar’s last visit to TWSS for 2021. The 2021 Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) Targets across multiple areas (Reading, LOA Data, PBL, NAPLAN and AEDC) were reviewed against final 2021 school performance data. The 2021 Investing for Success Agreement (I4S) Snapshot Report was also presented – this will be available for viewing on the school website this week. A DRAFT 2022 AIP was also presented to Mrs Pecchiar for her perusal and feedback. Following changes to the DoE School Performance Policy this year, the NQ regional expectations around AIPs have changed. The 2022 AIP will be a single A3 page and show clear alignment to the new School Strategic Plan 2022-2025. The DRAFT 2022 AIP will be shared with the P&C in the new school year for consultation and endorsement and then more broadly with the entire school community by being uploaded to the school website.

Reminder : School finishes for the 2021 school year on Friday, 10 December. The school office will re-open on Monday, 17 January, 2022. The first day of school for students in 2022 is Monday, 24 January.

2022 Class Teacher Meet and Greet and Stationery Pack Drop Off

Families are most welcome to come into school the previous week on Thursday, 20 January, 2022 between 2:00pm to 3:30pm to locate their child’s 2022 teacher and classroom (lists will be displayed from 1:50pm), meet the teacher and drop stationery packs off. This is a great way to remove some of the ‘busy-ness’ and anxiety often associated with the first day of a new school year. It would be appreciated if possible, that families take advantage of the opening of school classrooms on Thursday, 20 January, 2022.

Please remember however, as with every year, no class grouping is definitively able to be finalised until after Day 8 when classes may change due to varying enrolment numbers and subsequent staffing allocation adjustments by the Department of Education.

Academic Excellence Awards – Semester 2

The Semester 2 Academic Excellence Awards will be held in Week 10 on Wednesday, 8 December. Parents of student award recipients will receive an invitation to this event. We look forward to seeing as many parents/caregivers attending as possible to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of their children with us.

The Academic Excellence Awards CRITERIA are as follows:

Bronze Award – 4 or 5 A’s
Silver Award – 6 or 7 A’s
Gold Award – 8 or more A’s
Academic Excellence Medallion – Straight A’s

At the conclusion of the Year 3-5 Academic Excellence Awards, 2022 School Captains will participate in a ‘handover’ with their 2021 counterparts.

Teaching and Learning – Report Cards

The Willows State School will be emailing Report Cards again this Semester. To ensure all parents and caregivers receive their child/children’s Report Cards, it is important that the school has your current email address recorded in OneSchool. If you are unsure that the school has your correct current email address, please ring/email the office to confirm.

Report Cards will be emailed to all parent/caregivers recorded as receiving correspondence.

Year 6 Graduation Ceremony, Year 6 Pizza Party, Rite of Passage and End-of-Year Excursion

Notes have been distributed to all Year 6 students regarding arrangements for the Year 6 Graduation Ceremonies to be held on Tuesday, 7 December, the Year 6 Pizza Party on Wednesday, 8 December and the Year 6 End-of-Year Excursion and Rite of Passage on Thursday, 9 December. Please contact the school office if your child has not brought home a note as yet or you have any queries about these events.

REMINDER: Please collect your child’s medication from school before the end of year

Remember to collect your child’s medication from school before the holidays begin. Advice about storage of medications such as asthma inhalers and adrenaline auto-injectors (for example, EpiPens) is available at the NPS Medicinewise website. Please also check expiry dates before bringing medications back to school after the holidays.

Is your Prep-Year 5 student transferring to another school in 2022?

We are in the process of organising class composition for 2022. We would appreciate notice if your child, or children, will be transferring to another school in 2022. Please inform the office by phone on 47 991 333 or email admin@thewillowsss.eq.edu.au at your earliest convenience.

Requests for specific factors to be taken into consideration for your child when organising class composition for 2022 are also able to be emailed to admin@thewillowsss.eq.edu.au before the conclusion of the 2021 school year.

2022 NEW STUDENT ENROLMENTS – NOW OPEN FOR ALL YEAR LEVELS

Our school is still taking new enrolments for the 2022 school year. Please get your enrolment forms in as soon as possible. Should you know of friends or family looking to join our great school, please inform them that they are also most welcome to contact the school for further information and to obtain an enrolment package. Our next P-6 Enrolment Session will be held on Wednesday, January 19 2022.

Help keep a watch on our school these holidays

With the holidays fast approaching, your support in looking out for after-hours crime in our school is appreciated. If you see something suspicious, please don’t attempt to personally intervene. Call School Watch on 13 17 88 and let the local police or State Government Protective Security Service deal with the matter.

The School Watch program is a partnership between the Department of Education, the Queensland Police Service and the State Government Protective Security Service which aims to reduce vandalism, theft and arson in Queensland schools.

Tuckshop Closed

Please note that the school tuckshop will be closed on Tuesday 7 December, 2021. There will be no tuckshop service on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday of Week 10 of this term. Tuckshop will re-open in 2022.

Have a wonderful week. Our final newsletter for the 2021 school year will be issued on Wednesday, 8 December.

Warm Regards,

Michelle Donn
A/Principal

General News

WEEKS 10 EVENTS REMINDER – Year 6

Upcoming Events

Year Level Parade

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

Parents/Guardians are most welcome to attend.

P and C News

TUCKSHOP CLOSED

Our tuckshop will close on Tuesday 7 December, 2021. There will be no tuckshop service on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday of Week 10 of this term. Tuckshop will re-open in 2022.

NEXT P&C MEETING IN 2022

Our next P&C meeting will be on Tuesday 8 February, 2022 at 6pm in the TCBC.

Defence News

HELLO ALL DEFENCE FAMILIES

UPDATE for Week 9 - End of school nearly here and I know it is a very busy time for those families leaving at the end of the term. Moving, packing, organizing a new school, care for pets who are moving and answering lots of questions from children about where we are going and what the new school will be like. Transitioning can be made smoother for students if you can contact the new school before you leave, but if you are not sure which school don’t panic wait until you have an address and make contact then. When you have your enrolment interview ask to meet the DSM for a tour and chat about any concerns your family may have. This is a great first contact for the children and then the DSM will know to make sure the new student has a buddy from their class for the first day to assist them with their transition. Hope your family has had a memorable time at The Willows and I would like to wish you all the very best in your new adventure. Moving school checklist below and Stay Positive as settling into a new school will take time. Last Friday Year 6 defence students all had an awesome time as they attended their Pizza Party Farewell. We ate Pizza and made a Salt Sculpture which they took home. Smiling faces all around. It was great to catch up with them and reminisce about the years past and what next year may hold at High School. It has been a pleasure to get to know them during their time here, I wish them all the very best in the future and I will miss them all. I love it when students decide to fill my board with positive quotes see the picture below. Great Job Matilda from Yr 6 and a Yr 5 student awesome quotes. This Friday 3rd Dec Defence parents are invited to attend an afternoon tea from 2-3pm in L Pod for a cuppa and a chat to wish all Safe Travels, Happy Holidays and A Merry Christmas. Please let me know if you are attending for catering. Over the next 2 weeks I will continue to check in with those students posting out and answer any questions they may have. Parents please contact me with any questions. Defence Holidays NQ is a great place to talk to about planning a holiday with your family, give them a call. They offer great deals for defence families to access.

Posting If you are posting out soon don’t forget to contact schools in your area for enrolment packs. Check out school websites now and contact the EDLO at DMFS in your posting area. Also remember to ask at the school, if they have a Defence School Mentor. Always ask to meet them to have a chat when you arrive at your new school. Contact me if you have any questions. Students can become very emotional leading up to their move and have lots of questions for you. Parent talk should always be positive about the new locations. A must-see website is with great resources with what to see and do in your new area. Happy Moving.

REMEMBER OPEN ARMS is available to YOU and your family - Veterans and Families Counselling Former and current serving ADF personal and their families can use the service. Call 1800 011 046 for more information.

DCO is now DFMS (Defence Families and Family Support) Townsville office call on 07 4430 3879. Online you can find them at the link below Facebook @DefenceMemberFamilySupport. Defence Member and Family Helpline is 1800 624 608. Defence Social Workers are available for you to access at DFMS office. Appointment required.

Geckos Family Centre at Lavarack Barracks is a tri-service facility providing services, support and activities to enhance family resilience in the North Queensland Defence Community. Geckos offers a range of formal and informal activities catering to Defence members, partners and families such as playgroups, parent groups, boot camps, yoga, and sewing group. Check out their Facebook page to keep up to date with the activities and events held throughout the year. Check availability due to exercise.

Please remember to sign up to the mailing list for what’s happening for defence families at dfms.townsville@defence.gov.au or to register, collect a sheet from me.

EVENTS TO REMEMBER

Thursday 2nd December - LIVE VIRTUAL ADF MEMBER AND FAMILY TRANSITION SEMINAR - Thinking about transitioning from the ADF? Get all the information you need or speak one on one with representatives about your circumstances all in the one place. For more information and register visit the link below:

Saturday 12th February - ADF FAMILIES WELCOME TO TOWNSVILLE EVENT HELD AT TOWNSVILLE STADIUM - All recently posted to Townsville and looking for what the region has to offer are welcome to attend. There’ll be a huge range of activities for kids of all ages and information about a range of local government services and community groups. If you are recently posted to Townsville this is a great opportunity to see what Townsville has to offer. Look forward to seeing you there. Register at the link below:

Friday 3rd December 2-3pm - DEFENCE PARENTS AFTERNOON IN L POD

You are invited to attend for a cuppa and chat while we celebrate the past year and talk about all the plans for the holidays and 2022. Please contact me if you are attending and have any food allergies. Look forward to seeing you then.

TO BE UP TO DATE WITH WHATS ON IN TOWNSVILLE CHECK the link below, follow on Facebook or call 07 4411 7031.

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

DMFS Townsville Office: 07 4430 3879
Need to find them online? New home is

Defence Family Helpline 24/7 call 1800 624 608 memberandfamilyhelpline@defence.gov.au

Open Arms call 1800 011 046

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

The Oasis Townsville - 1 Staging Camp Ave, The Village, Oonoonba, Townsville hello@theoasistownsville.org.au 07 4759 8777 and Facebook

DFA (Defence Families of Australia) nth.qld@dfa.org.au Larissa Ostermann 0418 796 561

Geckos Family Centre-Nth Qld Lavarack Barracks, contact WO2Nicole Lickorish 07 44446 1238

Kookaburra Kids Tvl- 1300 566 525

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

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 full of learning and FUN for all students when they stay positive. They also develop RESILIENCE SKILLS AND FRIENDSHIPS.

Correna Wheeler
Defence School Mentor

Community Events & Notices

TOWNSVILLE GIRLS CRICKET COLOUR BLAST

SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM - CRICKET

LITTLE LIFESAVERS HOLIDAY PROGRAM