26 April 2023

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Pride

2023 Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) Focus Areas:
Educational achievement
Wellbeing and engagement
Culture and inclusion

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Community Members,

Welcome back to Week 2. This week marks the first of our two consecutive 4-day school weeks due to public holidays. I trust everyone is taking some extra time to look after their health and wellbeing, especially as we start to approach the cooler months of the year. Please continue to reinforce good hygiene habits with your children – hand washing, hand sanitiser, tissues etc to decrease the potential spread of illness for us all.

Celebrating Guidance Officer Week - Support, Inspire, Guide

This Guidance Officer Week (24 April to 5 May), we celebrate 75 years of guidance support in Queensland state school communities. Guidance Officers (GOs) provide counselling and advice on educational, career, personal, mental health and wellbeing issues for students. This week is an opportunity to highlight the great support our GOs provide in schools. I feel very blessed to have Courtney Chisnall as our Guidance Officer at The Willows State School to work with not only our internal student support personnel, but a range of external inter-agency connections to provide quality ongoing support for our most vulnerable students and their families. Thank you, Courtney – we very much appreciate everything you do.

ADVANCE NOTICE Calendar Changes

In Term 2, Week 9:

• Crazy Sock Day – Student Council fundraiser – NOW Wednesday, 14 June (was Friday) – students will potentially wear socks purchased through the upcoming Term 2 P&C Sockable Fundraiser
• Music Gala Evening – remains on Thursday, 15 June
• Inter-House Athletics Carnival – moved to Friday, 16 June. (was Thursday)

*Please also note: Inter-School Cross Country – Tuesday, 23 May NOT Tuesday, 16 May as previously advised

School ANZAC Day Ceremony and Thuringowa ANZAC Day Parade

On Monday we hosted our annual school ANZAC Day Ceremony in the TCBC Hall. It was wonderful to welcome the many parents and community members who were able to attend. Our students respectfully participated in the ceremony and received positive acknowledgement of their participation from our special guests. Sincere thanks to our Defence School Mentor, Mrs Correna Wheeler, and Deputy Principal, Mrs Patricia Winter, for their coordination of our ceremony, our school leaders for their facilitation of the ceremony, Mrs Fiona Coleman and the Senior Choir for their beautiful renditions of ‘Our Heroes Today’ and the Australian and New Zealand National Anthems, Chaplain Dan Dubbeld from Scripture Union Australia for the opening prayer and parent, Lieutenant Hannah Anderson, from 3CSSB Lavarack Barracks who spoke on behalf of the Australian Defence Force.

This year we once again also participated in the Dawn Service and THURINGOWA ANZAC Day Parade and Ceremony on Tuesday, 25 April. A very big thank you to our student leaders for their leadership at these events and respectful wreath laying. Thank you to all students, staff, parents and volunteers who also proudly marched with us – your support was very much appreciated.

P&C Mother’s Day Stall – WEEK 4 – Tuesday, 9 May-Friday, 12 May

Our wonderful P&C are once again running a Mother’s Day Stall for our students to be able to purchase gifts for the special female caregivers in their lives. Gift prices are very competitive, and all profits go towards school fundraising projects which include playgrounds, shade structures and resources.

This year payment can either be made with cash or vouchers purchased through your child's tuckshop account on Flexischools. Please see the P&C information regarding the stall later in this newsletter. Your support is much appreciated.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) Fortnightly Rule Focus: Follow staff instructions – first time, every time

Over the first two weeks of Term 2 our PBL school focus will be on following staff instructions – first time every time. Respect for, and compliance with, the requests of all staff at school is an important skill for students to demonstrate. Staff will also be reinforcing and revisiting general school rules, routines and expectations. Your continued support in enforcing these expectations with your child is much appreciated.

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 wonderful second week back at school and an enjoyable upcoming long weekend. School returns on Tuesday, 2 May after the Labour Day Public Holiday on Monday, 1 May and our next newsletter for Term 2 will be issued on Wednesday, 3 May.

Warm regards,
Michelle Donn
Principal

General News

U8’S DAY

PREP VISION SCREENING

Upcoming Events

Year Level Parade Times

Positive Behaviour Learning

Permission Forms

P and C News

Sockable "Crazy Socks" Fundraiser - Opens 2nd May - 16 May

We are running a Crazy Sock fundraiser through Sockables. This year the fundraiser will be all online.

1. Between 2 May and 16 May, visit the Sockable Fundraising website from the link below.
2. Choose your socks in your size
3. Select The Willows State School at the checkout
4. Add your Child's name and class so we can deliver their socks

Mother’s Day Stall

The P&C are running a Mother's Day Stall in Week 4 from Tuesday 9 May - Friday 12 May. Each class will be allocated a time and day to visit our stall and purchase gifts for their loved ones. A note with the day your child's class will visit the stall will be sent home.

Small gifts will be available with prices ranging from $1 - $12. Prices are very competitive, and profits go towards helping the P&C fundraise for school projects.

This year payment can either be made with cash or pre-sold vouchers. Keep an eye out on Flexischools as vouchers will be available soon. Vouchers must be purchased by Friday, 5th May.

Can you help run the stall? Tasks are simply helping our students select gifts, checking they aren't going beyond their budget, and generally helping keep the tables stocked. If you can help for only a couple of hours, or even a couple of days, we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at willowspandc@gmail.com or visit our sign up page and enter your name in the time slots provided:

Facebook

Did you know that the P&C has a Facebook page? Follow us to view details of upcoming fundraising events, and meeting times:

Defence News

HELLO TO ALL DEFENCE FAMILIES

Last Monday we commemorated Anzac Day with our school ceremony. It was a beautiful service with special thanks to all students who participated. I would also like to thank Hannah Anderson for being our guest speaker and Chaplain Dan Debbeld for attending. All students were very respectful and had many questions about Anzac Day before and after the ceremony. Well done to all students.

I have included some photos from the day. It was also great to see so many students, parents and staff attend the Thuringowa March on Tuesday. We have also completed our Postcards of Honour which was run by RSL Club. Paul Willis from the RSL delivered the postcards to the students here at school. The Year 3 students were involved in drawing about Anzac Day and writing a message to a Veteran. The students completed 160 postcards for Veterans to read and keep. Ramon Fenton from the RSL has collected these postcards and they are on display at the RSL Club, then they will be distributed to Veterans in our local area. It was a meaningful activity which created conversations around the meaning of Anzac Day. Thank you to Year 3 students, your support is always appreciated.

If you have posted into location in the last 18mths you can still access Education Assistance Scheme. This is available for all school aged children who may require support in Maths and English. Contact the Helpline on 1800 624 608 for all details on how to apply. Just complete the form online and send an email to the teacher. With approval, your child can have access to 14hrs of tutoring for both Maths and English through a private tutor. You can also contact me with any questions. See attached flyer for details.

Defence members are always busy with going on exercises or training for an extended period of time, please contact me so I can support your child while they are at school or call me for a chat.

Open Arms has released their Group Programs for January to July, so check out their website at OpenArms.gov.au for all the details.

Kookaburra Kids is in Townsville - this organisation supports kids living in families that are affected by mental illness. For more details on activities contact Hannah Galliner on 0484 544 451 or check out the website www.kookaburrakids.org.au.

For what’s coming up - DON’T FORGET to Register NOW to receive newsletter and updates at dmfs.townsville@defence.gov.au or follow them on Facebook.

Geckos Family Centre – North Queensland is at Lavarack Barracks and is open to drop in. They have weekly events on, a huge brand-new playground area outside, stop in and meet the friendly staff for a chat and a cuppa. Follow them on Facebook to keep up to date with the activities and events held throughout the year or phone them on 07 4411 7031 for more details. See flyer below for details.

TO BE UP TO DATE WITH WHATS ON IN TOWNSVILLE CHECK whatson.townsville.qld.gov.au

DATES TO REMEMBER

SAVE THE DATE – NATIONAL FAMILIES WEEK EVENTS

The DMFS Townsville team have arranged a variety of events and activities for Defence families in Townsville to enjoy during National Families Week! Married, single, MWDU or empty nesters. No matter what your family make up is, there’s something for everyone. Tickets for all DMFS events during National Families Week will be published on Eventbrite on Thursday 20 April. To avoid missing out on tickets, follow our Eventbrite page to receive an instant notification when events are released.

IMPORTANT CONTACTS

Defence Family Helpline 24/7 - 1800 624 608 - Need Help give them a call

DMFS Office at Nathan Business Centre on Ross River Rd, call 07 4430 3879

Open Arms support former and current serving ADF personnel and their family members can use the service – office is at the Nathan Business Centre or call 1800 011 046 www.openarms.gov.au

Mates4Mates – Townsville FRC 4771 9600 townsville@mates4mates.org

Café now Open from 9am-12.30pm every day, you are welcome to attend for a chat and to have a look around.

The Oasis Townsville for Ex-ADF Community in Townsville hello@theoasistownsville.org.au

Dirty Books Café – 1 Staging Camp Avenue, Oonoonba – 07 4759 8777 is currently under renovation

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

DSNG Defence Special Needs Group - 1800 037 674 www.dsng.org.au

Beyondblue.org.au www.australia.gov.au

Geckos Family Centre Nth Qld Lavarack Barracks - Contact for enquiries on 07 4446 1238 or follow on Facebook

Kookaburra Kids Charity Organisation Mental Health Service - 1300 566 525 www.kookaburrakids.org.au or contact Hannah Galliner 0484 544 451/1300 566 525

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

My hours are Monday to Friday 8:00am-3:30pm. Please phone me anytime for a chat on 4799 1333 ext 323, or email me cwhee36@eq.edu.au. I look forward to meeting you.

Correna Wheeler
Defence School Mentor

Anzac Day on Tues 25th April, Thank you all Veterans for your Service.

Music News (The Pitch)

Willows Warriors News

Prep News

Welcome to Term 2!

This term in Prep, we are learning the names of 2D shapes and sorting them according to how many sides and corners they have and also if the shape has straight or curved sides. Every day we enjoy counting and representing numbers using different objects.

In English, we are learning to retell a story (Lost and Found) in front of our peers and talk about the characters in those stories. Daily, we are working on the sounds different letters make which is helping us to develop our writing further.

Year One News

It has been a very busy start to Term 2 in Year 1. Students have been exploring the features of 2D & 3D shapes. They have enjoyed making 3D objects using hands on materials and also engaging in activities using the iPads. So far, we have looked at a sphere, cylinder, rectangular prism, cone & cube.

In English this term, Year 1 students have been learning how to write a character description. Students are working towards understanding nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs to write about how the character changes in the text from the beginning to the end.

Year Two News

We have all returned from our school holidays refreshed and keen to start a new term!

In English, we are learning to compare two characters in a similar story and express a preference for a character. In 2A, we read the book Cinders Rox, then sequenced the events in order while identifying important words from the text that we can use for our learning wall.

We also spent some time discussing Anzac Day, and the importance of commemorating this day. We have been busy making a wreath to lay for our Anzac Day Assembly.

Lastly, we have been focussing on the PBL rule “Follow Instructions - First Time, Every Time.” We practised this rule by playing a game of ‘Simon Says,’ where we had to listen very closely to the instructions of the teacher, then move straight away. We even added some new location and direction vocabulary (north, east, south and west) that we have been learning about in our HASS unit.

Year Three News

HASS

Our Unique Communities

This semester students will conduct an inquiry to answer the following inquiry question:

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

There are four parts to this task

Part A: Pose questions
Part B: Locate information
Part C: Sequence events and examine information to identify a point of view
Part D: Creates a text explaining why Anzac Day is significant for different groups.

We must say a big thankyou to Mrs Wheeler who arranged for Mr Paul Willis from the RSL to come and speak to the students about the importance of Anzac Day. Mr Willis answered lots of questions and handed out postcards for students to write a message to our veterans.

Over the next few weeks, it would be great to take your family down to Anzac Park to view the cenotaph and visit the Jezzine Barracks Museum.

Year Four News

Welcome back to term 2!!!

The Year 4 students have had a fantastic start back this term! This week 4E have been having a great time during HASS looking at sustainability in our country.

Task: To conduct an inquiry to answer the following question: How can people use environments more sustainably?

Students have been working together to identify what is a sustainable practice and what is an unsustainable practice. In the coming weeks, students will propose action in response to a waste management issue.

In Term 1, students had a visit from Councillor Russ Cook, who informed them of the roles of local government and what they are doing to become a more sustainable city.

Year Five News

Year Six News

Term 2 has started strong in Year 6 with all classes taking off with lightning speed towards their goals!

In 6A, students have been creating amazing persuasive advertisements on a holiday destination of their choice. Students have been working on selecting images and using evaluative language that will make their target audience want to visit the destination with no hesitations.

In Science, students have been having a great time getting hands on creating circuits and testing materials that are insulators and conductors. So much fun!

We are looking forward to a great Term 2!

Community News

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