11 May 2022

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Pride

2022 School Explicit Improvement Agenda (EIA):
Every Student is a Reader and a Writer – Aim for the ‘A’
Inclusivity: Everyone Counts!
Wellbeing and Engagement for All

Welcome back to Week 4. I trust all the female caregivers in our school community had a wonderful Mother’s Day last Sunday. Judging by the beautiful gifts both being created by students at school last week and/or purchased through the P&C Mother’s Day Stall, I am sure all female caregivers have been deservedly spoilt. I would like to thank our amazing P&C and small band of parent volunteers for their organisation and running of the stall – without your many hours of work none of this would have been possible.

This week brings the commencement of NAPLAN testing for Year 3 and 5, a visit from Kirwan State High School staff for our Year 6 students, a STEM Punks excursion on Saturday, and brings us a little closer to Fanfare (Week 5), the Bill Nettle Rugby League Cup (Week 6), NQ Netball Cup (Week 6), Under 8’s Week Celebrations (Week 6), the Year 3 Excursion to Billabong Sanctuary (Week 6), and Year 6 Camp (Week 7). Further information about each of these events will be distributed to relevant classes.

COVID-19 Positive Cases Notification to School Community

Over the past week we have continued to be notified of positive test results for COVID-19 in our school community.

May I remind you to continue to:

• Monitor yourself and your family for COVID-19 symptoms that can include fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, headache, fatigue, diarrhoea, vomiting or nausea, loss of smell and/or taste.
• Stay home if displaying any symptoms, or feeling unwell. You should attend your local Queensland Health testing clinics where students are prioritised to get a free rapid antigen test (RAT).
• Continue to follow all Queensland Health advice.

If students become symptomatic while at school, you will be contacted to collect them. You will also be provided with a free rapid antigen test (RAT) to administer at home.

If your child tests positive to COVID-19, please follow Queensland Health guidelines for reporting the test result, isolation and quarantine.

Changes to quarantine requirements for close contacts - Department of Education notification

• Close contacts who do not have COVID-19 symptoms no longer need to quarantine. Students who are close contacts must notify their school that they are a close contact.
• For 7 days after becoming a close contact, students over the age of 12 must wear a face mask while outside of their home, including at school, and when outdoors if unable to physically distance. Queensland Health also recommends that children under the age of 12 wear a face mask when it is safe to do so.
• It is recommended that students undertake a rapid antigen test (RAT) on the first day they leave home, and every second day (e.g. days 2, 4, and 6) until they are no longer a close contact.
• Close contacts who develop COVID-19 symptoms must not attend school and should isolate until their symptoms resolve.

NAPLAN 2022 – Year 3 and 5 – Week 4 and 5

Our students in Years 3 and 5 will be undertaking NAPLAN testing online in Weeks 4 and 5. This will be the second year that our school has undertaken the tests online. Conducting NAPLAN online brings many advantages including a test design that offers test items tailored to students’ knowledge and ability.

Years 3 and 5 online test sequence:

1. Writing (paper for Year 3 only)
2. Reading
3. Conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation)
4. Numeracy

• Year 5 students must complete the writing test within the first two days of the test window.
• Each student must complete the reading test before they sit the conventions of language test.

NAPLAN Online numeracy, reading and conventions of language are tailored or adaptive tests. Tailored testing provides a more engaging test for students and a more precise assessment of student performance. Students at each year level start with a similar set of questions. Depending on each student’s answers, the next set of questions may be easier or more difficult, giving students greater opportunity to demonstrate what they know.

Testing will occur during the period 10 – 20 May, where students will complete one test every second day in most instances. Students will need to bring their headphones with them (this was listed as an item on the booklist).

Parents and caregivers of children in NAPLAN year levels will need to be aware of important information relating to privacy, which can be found on the NAPLAN Online Queensland website’s parent information page.

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to visit the NAPLAN Online Public Demonstration site linked below to view models of the online testing and provide students with opportunities to interact with the platform.

For further information regarding NAPLAN Online, including privacy statements, please visit

FREE PARENTING SEMINAR

Raising Resilient Children – find out more about cyber-safety

Tuesday, 17 May 2022: The Willows SS TCBC – 6:30pm-8:30pm

Many parents worry about what their kids are doing online but aren’t sure how to best protect them. We all do our best to supervise our children’s online activities, but there are also other steps we can take. That’s why we’re proud to be hosting a Triple P Seminar to help all Townsville families give their children useful skills and strategies to manage their emotions, overcome challenges, and handle situations such as unpleasant online interactions. Whatever stage of life your child is at or what challenges you are facing as a parent, the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program can help make raising kids easier, and help you guide them towards a happy and successful adulthood.

Triple P’s Raising Resilient Children Seminar offers tips on how to develop your child’s ability to cope with problems, now and in the future, in real-life and online.

HELP YOUR KIDS COPE WITH LIFE’S UPS AND DOWNS – INCLUDING ONLINE

• Problem-solve with your child, to help them stay safe and manage risks online
• Support your child’s ability to manage emotional ups and downs
• Manage screen time and set age-appropriate boundaries
• Know what actions to take if your child is being bullied online
• Help your child cope with stress and setbacks and stay positive

The seminar is fun and friendly and it’s FREE! It’ll help kids AND parents take the drama out of family life (and screen time) so everyone can deal with issues calmly and more confidently. Light refreshments will be provided.

REGISTER NOW FOR THE FREE SEMINAR: visit the Triple P website to learn more and book your free spot.

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Over Week 3 and Week 4 of Term 2, our PBL school focus is on showing respect through words and actions. At The Willows State School we promote showing respect to everyone in our school community by using our kind words and actions. We are reinforcing that respect means showing that you care about someone else’s feelings, wishes and rights. Your support in discussing these values and expectations with your child is also much appreciated.

Coming up at the end of Week 5, we also have our 75 Star Awards. I look forward to the vast majority of our students achieving this milestone.

The Willows State School Attendance Strategy – Every Day Counts!

School attendance is compulsory under the Education Act. If children are going to be absent from school for any reason, parents are requested to inform the school by phoning 4799 1333 or emailing admin@thewillowsss.eq.edu.au

If your child is absent from school on any given day and we are unaware of the reason for the absence, an SMS message will be generated asking you to contact the school regarding your child’s absence. Students are encouraged to come to school on every day they are well enough to attend.

Have a productive week. Our next newsletter for Term 2 will be issued on Wednesday, 18 May.

Warm regards,

Michelle Donn
A/Principal

General News

SCHOOL DENTAL VAN

The school dental van will be here from Monday, the 16th May, 2022. Dental forms were sent home with each student in Term 1.

The Offer of Dental Treatment is not compulsory and is an individual decision for each parent.

If you would like to access this service and have not already returned your form, please do so as soon as possible.

Additional forms are available from the office.

UNDER 8’S DAY

SPORT ROTATIONS FOR YEAR 5 (Term 2) AND YEAR 6 (Term 3)

This term we are giving Year 5 a sporting experience every Thursday. They have the opportunity to choose between 4 sports (Rugby League, Netball, Hockey and AFL) and the sessions run for the last hour of the day. We are running this on a 2 weekly cycle (5A KRO, 5B CRO, 5C AND first week: 5D LES, 5E TER, 5/6F EVA second week) for 8 weeks so each class will have 4 weeks of sport for the rest of term.

The sessions are delivered by local coaches with the aim of providing the children with opportunities to learn new sports and skills whilst developing social skills such as cooperation, empathy, resilience and positive communication.

Year 6 will be participating in this style of program in Term 3 and we hope this will build our sporting profile and allow us to enter more inter-school competitions and compete at the highest level.

FREE PARENTING SEMINAR – RAISING RESILIENT CHILDREN

Upcoming Events

Positive Behaviour Learning

Student Council News

CHARITY FUNDRAISING EVENT – PJ DAY

Our Student Council have brainstormed, voted and planned our next school fundraising event. The students have decided on a PJ day! It will be great to see all the staff and students come to school, dressed in their favourite pjs. The Student Council hope to raise $1000, so come dressed up and bring your gold coins. All funds raised will be donated to our school charity, Ronald McDonald House.

Please ensure clothing worn is appropriate for school, sun-safe and students are wearing normal school footwear (no slippers).

PJ Day is on Friday 10 June 2022 – Gold Coin Donation

BACKFLIPS AGAINST BULLYING

Music News (The Pitch)

Prep News

This week in Prep, we have been practising our reading and writing. We are getting very good at stretching out the sounds in words and writing them down.

In Maths this term, we are learning about shape and different ways shapes can be sorted. We have practised sorting shapes by the number of sides and the number of corners. We have also spent some time making different pictures out of shapes. We have made shape robots and shape towns.

Year One News

We have been very busy this Term in IB SCU! In Maths we have been learning about 3D shapes and how they have three dimensions of length, width and height. We had the opportunity to make our own 3D shapes using match sticks and clay.

In Science we have been learning about materials and their properties as we are going to make a boat that floats.

Last week we focused on ‘strength.’ To do this we explored the concept of strength and how we can adapt and change certain materials to make them stronger. We investigated how to make paper stronger in order to hold different materials inside.

Year Two News

In Term 2, Year 2 are becoming poets. We are exploring a variety of poems to help us learn about how poetic devices such as rhythm, syllable count, rhyming pattern, alliteration and repetition can make engaging and interesting poems. Year 2 will innovate, change a known poem while keeping the same rhythm and rhyming pattern. We will include alliteration and repetition to help make our new poems appealing to our audience, when we present them to our class.

Year Three News

HASS-Humanities and Social Sciences

Our Unique Communities

This semester, for HASS students will conduct an inquiry to answer the question:

How and why are Anzac Day commemorations significant for different groups?

Students will:

• Pose questions about the significance of Anzac Day and locate information.
• Sequence events and describe the changes they can see in photographs of Anzac Day parades.
• Identify the aspects of community parades that have stayed the same or changed over time.
• Examine information to identify a point of view.
• Write a narrative about why Anzac Day is significant for different groups?

Did you know the Townsville Cenotaph was unveiled by the Governor of Queensland, Sir Matthew Nathan, in April 1924? On each of the memorial’s four faces are 173 names of Townsville's deceased soldiers who lost their lives in WW1.

Health

In Health, we have focused on individual identity and the changes that take place due to our family and environmental influences. We have investigated positive interactions and emotions related to these interactions.

This unit of work has linked to our Positive Behaviour Learning focus of Kindness.

Some of the Year 3’s watched a little story about ‘Chrysanthemum’ to demonstrate the effect of negative interactions by screwing up a heart every time someone said something nasty.

BILLABONG EXCURSION

On Wednesday the 25th and Friday the 27th of May, our Year 3 students will have an excursion to Billabong Sanctuary. This aligns with our curriculum in the following way:

English – Students wrote a persuasive letter regarding a visit to the Billabong Sanctuary
Science – Students looked at grouping living things based on their features.

A copy of the note sent home with permission and medical forms can be found below:

Year Four News

In Year 4 this term, we have been reading a variety of traditional stories from Asia. Students have been learning about morals and lessons that have been written into stories and passed down for generations. The students in Year 4 will be writing their own traditional story and sharing these with the Preps and Year 1 classes towards the end of the term.

Year Five News

Year Six News

Year 6 Science

In Year 6 Science this term, we are learning to analyse the requirements for the transfer of electricity in a circuit and describe how energy can be transformed from one form to another to generate electricity. You will also use scientific knowledge to assess energy sources selected for a specific purpose.

In 6A DIB, we have been working hard to design and construct electrical circuits.

We have had to draw labelled circuit diagrams of our circuits using scientific symbols.

Simple Circuit

Series Circuit

We have also been busy creating posters to describe how energy can be transformed from one form to another when generating electricity.

We are really enjoying this Science Unit.

KIRWAN HIGH OPEN DAY – YEAR 6