25 October 2017

Newsletter Articles

Across the Principal’s Desk…

CLASS ALLOCATIONS 2018

It has come to that time of year when we are looking at classes for 2018. You will find below a link for the 2018 Request for Consideration Form which is designed to allow you as a parent to express any important educational information which is NOT already known by the current class teacher. All forms must be submitted by Friday 10 November 2017.

I will reiterate that this is NOT a teacher selection process and any such requests will not be considered. Please read all the information on the attached sheet carefully before submitting your form. Please also note that if you have a child entering Prep in 2018, there is no need to complete this for them. All necessary information was gathered during the interview process.

There are numerous variables which need to be considered in placing students in a new year level and class. Often the class teacher/s will have the best idea in relation to this placement as they see your child in the class context each and every day. They see the social interactions and whilst you may think a friendship is positive for your child, it may not be the best dynamic in the classroom context.

This is your opportunity to raise any important educational information/concerns for the school to make an informed decision about class placements for 2018. If you're more than happy for the school to make an informed decision about your child’s class placement for 2018, you do not need to submit a form.

All of our teachers are highly professional, dedicated and bring their own unique teaching style to their classroom. After all, we want to have innovative and creative teachers, not a stock standard, one size fits all approach to teaching and learning at Windsor. It is healthy for a child to be with different teachers in their schooling as they will have to experience multiple teachers in secondary school and then multiple personality types when they enter the workforce.

The most successful children we see are those who are resilient and flexible with change.

We do however take specific circumstances into consideration and attempt to balance classes across a range of academic, social and emotional indicators. It is by no means a perfect science and our teachers spend many hours and weeks undertaking this process.

Class lists will be advertised from Tuesday 5 December 2017 (both on display boards and on the school’s website). There will be no changes made to the 2018 class lists once they have been finalised and advertised in Week 10.

2018 Year 4 BYO information evening

Just a final reminder about the upcoming '2018 Year 4 BYO iPad Information Evening' on Wednesday 25 October from 6.30 - 7.30pm in the school hall.

Please feel free to peruse the BYO documents that are available on the school's website. To ensure we cover what you need to learn about and answer any questions you may have, please ensure you complete the following RSVP, by clicking here.

Thank you to the families that have already RSVP'd for the event. The presentation will be emailed out afterwards if you are unable to attend the evening. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY

This coming Friday we celebrate World Teachers’ Day, which is an opportunity for our entire school community to publicly thank our teachers and support staff for the great work they do with our children. Each year we acknowledge and celebrate three teaching staff members through the very generous P&C Bursary of $1000, $300 and $300 - which is to recognise the outstanding contributions they have made to education at Windsor. The recipient this year will, as always, be announced by the P&C President, Mr Craig Thompson, at the staff breakfast on Friday morning. This breakfast, which is catered by the P&C, acknowledges each and every teacher for their dedication and commitment to the students at Windsor. Don’t forget to see your child’s teacher and show your support and appreciation.

I would encourage you all in some small way to thank your child’s teacher and all of the teachers across our school for their efforts over the past year. Just remember that there are many teachers who do not have a class as such, but perform specialist roles in our school who need to be acknowledged too.

2018 Prep Transitions begin

Last week, we had 73 of the 2018 Prep students participate in the first (of 4) transition mornings. It was a wonderful opportunity for the students to experience our Prep classrooms and see what life is like at Windsor. I am looking forward to welcoming our 2018 students to Windsor each week during these transition events. The students were so excited, some even wearing their uniforms ready for next year!! Many thanks to the staff involved in preparing for these events and most recently Mrs Jan Moore for her practical and informative session about Mathematics and Numeracy development that she presented for the parents.

Students leaving at the end of the year – please let us know

We are well underway in our preparations for next year. In order to ensure good planning, it is necessary for us to know student numbers in each year level and across the school. If you are planning on departing Windsor for next year, please let the office know as soon as you are able.

2017 Voluntary Contribution information

Please click here to view the letter that was sent out in February this year.

Thank you to everyone who has already contributed this year. Payment can be made by direct deposit into the school bank account BSB 064 114, Account 00090145 or by EFTPOS or cash at the office.

Grant Baker

from the Deputy Principal…

Playground Before and After School

A reminder that children are not to play on the playgrounds before school. If in the Early Years’ area, students are to wait with their parent/carer before school until the bell rings. No students are to be on the playground at this time. If your child has a younger sibling, please be aware that our Prep and Year 1 students are working hard from the start of school and seeing younger children playing on the equipment outside the classroom windows during class time can be quite a distraction during learning time.

From 8.30am, students are supervised under Main Building (in the warmer months) and near the 5 Keys (in the cooler months). With the exception of before school programs, if your child is to be dropped off to school prior to 8.30am, she/he will need to be enrolled in before school care.

If supervised by a parent/carer, students are welcome to use the play equipment after school until 3.30pm. Helping Hands uses these spaces for their afternoon programming, so it is important that these play spaces are cleared by all students and siblings by 3.30pm.

ENROL NOW FOR PREP 2018!

Have you got a child born between 1 July 2012 and 30/6/2013? Enrol them now for Prep!

As our school is officially at capacity, our Enrolment Management Plan must be totally enforced. We can only offer places to students in our catchment area.

Places in Prep for 2018 are limited to 100 students, unless more students live in our catchment area. We no longer provide students in the Lutwyche Gordon Park area with guaranteed enrolment. Please check that you are in our school catchment online, at the link below.

I ask all parents currently at the school with siblings due to start school in 2018 to ensure enrolment forms are completed as soon as possible.

Gala Day – Back-up Wet Day

The Gala Day back-up wet day has been scheduled for this coming Friday, 27th October 2017.

It is crucial that the buses leave on time so that students do not miss games, so we ask that all Year 4-6 students arrive at school promptly on these mornings. Supervision will be provided from 8.30am. We will begin boarding the buses at 8.50am and the buses will be unable to wait for late arrivals.

Please remember to send sunscreen with your child to reapply throughout the day. It is important that they take responsibility for their personal sun-safety.

Day for Daniel

On Thursday the 26th of October will be Day for Daniel at Windsor State School. For a gold coin donation, students are invited to wear red to school on this day to support the Daniel Morcombe Foundation. The foundation aims to help raise awareness about child safety and protection. It aims to help empower children to Recognise, React and Report if they feel something is not right.

This is not just a ‘Free Dress Day’. If your child does not wish to wear red to school on this day, they are to wear normal school uniform. Wearing red could be anything from a complete red outfit to a red hair ribbon!

National Bandana Day

Thursday the 26th of October is will now also be National Bandana Day at Windsor SS. Bandanas will be on sale for $4.00 before school near Constitution Building Monday-Thursday of that week. The money raised from the sale of the bandanas goes to Canteen, to help support young people living with cancer.

No matter our career paths… doctors, lawyers, accountants, self-employed, School Principals, we would not be in the position we are today without the work and effort of the inspirational teachers who helped us and prepared us for our future careers. Thank you to our teachers and staff for the job they do to change and improve the lives of our children.

Windsor’s Got Talent!

Have you got a talent that you want to showcase? Preparations will soon be underway for the annual Windsor’s Got Talent! Students can start to think about entering the event and what performance they may like to prepare. Nomination forms can be collected from Ms Fernie’s room and close on the 1st of November. Closed auditions will be held towards the end of term and the final performance will be on Wednesday 6th December (Week 10) from 11.40am. Parents are welcome to come and watch the show!

RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR & CODE OF CONDUCT

Encouraging Kids to Take the Perspective of Others

Most children are not renowned for empathy. When it comes to seeing another child’s perspective or understanding their feelings, a very young child’s ability to empathise is yet to develop. Coming to understand that others have thoughts, perceptions and feelings that are separate from their own, along with the ability to explicitly infer these mental states in others, are important developmental milestones for kids.

Researchers at the University of Western Australia undertook a study to see if parenting practices contributed to a child’s ability to empathise. The study investigated whether more empathic mothers are more likely to encourage their child to take the perspective of others and whether this would be associated with increased child empathy and prosocial behaviour.

Key findings:

• The development of children’s cognitive empathy skills is influenced by parenting practices.
• Mothers who more regularly take the cognitive (thinking) perspective of others are more likely to encourage their child to do the same, and this facilitates a child’s ability to take the cognitive perspective of others.
• The development of cognitive empathy skills enables children to become more responsive to cues about the thoughts and feelings of others, and this heightened sensitivity facilitates sympathy, which motivates prosocial behaviour.
• In the interests of their kids’ prosocial behaviour, parents should encourage their children to take others’ perspectives as well as practising warm/sensitive/responsive parenting, particularly in infancy.

Things you can do:

• Discuss book or media stories as opportunities for kids to practise recognising the perspective of others – what do the characters in the story think, believe, want or feel?
• Play games where you the parent pull a face or act in a certain way so that kids can identify and empathise with the emotion or body language being displayed. Then give the kids a turn and you do the guessing.
• Role model tolerance and acceptance of diversity.
• Talk about how beliefs, thoughts, desires, and emotions can motivate behaviour.
• Be selective with terminology when assessing inappropriate behaviour of others.
• Initiate discussions about other kids living with disadvantage and disability.
• Help your kids to understand that the world doesn’t revolve around them – encourage chores and helping around the house.
• Encourage talk around the ‘how would you feel’ theme by helping kids discover what they have in common with other people. Encourage them to tell you how they would feel if they were that person being victimised, bullied, or ignored.
• Raise awareness of ways that kids can help other kids – simple acts of sharing, caring, helping, cooperating.
• Help kids develop an A-Z of feeling words.

Source: Farrant, et al., Infant and Child Development 21 : 175-188 (2012).

For more information and resources on positive and effective parenting, visit:

Active School Travel

Every family has received a Windsor State School Active School Travel Map. This map shows different Active School Travel routes, bikeways, crossings and more! There are also suggested routes where you can park outside the 6-8 minute walk radius from the school gate and walk or ride the final part of your journey. Part way is okay! You can download a copy of the map below. This map makes it easy to for parents, students and staff to find their best walking, riding or public transport route to school. Families may also like to use the map on the weekend to re-discover the local area.

Follow Windsor SS on Facebook & Twitter!

Get the most up-to-date information and school alerts by following Windsor State School on Facebook at the link below and Twitter @Windsor_SS

You can also access important school information and alerts, including Facebook/Twitter, via the QSchools app! Download it now and keep informed of everything that is happening at our school.

QParents…please get on board!

Our school also has QParents. Parents will receive an invitation email or letter to register this week. Prep parents will also receive a Student ID card containing an EQ ID number to register.

If you do not receive an invitation (QPAO), please advise Admin ASAP. QParents is one of the ways we communicate with parents, get on board to enjoy the ease and convenience that QParents offers.

QParents is also the means by which parents access Student Reports. It is important to register now as printed reports are no longer sent home at the end of each Semester. Help us become more ‘paper-less’ by registering for QParents now!

Master Teacher’s Report

Master Teacher / STLaN Update

Age Appropriate Pedagogies: Event-Based Learning

WSS Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea

Father’s Day Breakfast at WSS

What is an Event-based approach to learning?

It is where:

• Children’s ideas and decision-making are central to learning
• Children are encouraged to plan and enact events in real-life contexts drawing on their experiences.

This approach has positive impacts on literacy and numeracy learning for it

• Evokes children’s interests and experiences
• Orients children towards the staging of an event
• Guides careful planning, preparation and often rehearsal
• Encourages children to exercise agency throughout
• Encourages collaboration and cooperation
• Scaffolds children’s designs and plans
• Models context-specific language and behaviour
• Uses questioning to extend and challenge children’s thinking and promote problem-solving
• Provides open-ended resources for children to construct/co-construct setting and props for event
• Directs and/or stage-manages only when required
• Engages in role-play when asked and/or as appropriate

What will it look like?

• may include investigations, problem-solving, and play
• a context for learning that is sustained for the short or long-term
• children to connecting knowledge and practice (draw on knowledge and experiences that are socially and culturally significant from home and the community)

Reading: Making a Mental Image or Visualisation

Over the term, I will be writing about a comprehension strategy to improve your child’s comprehension.

When we use the making a mental image strategy, we are creating images, taking photos or making movies in our mind by thinking about the five senses: see, hear, taste, smell and touch. Making mental images helps the text to “come to life”. It helps the readers become a part of the story. It is a strategy used before, during and after reading. Readers are successful when they can think and talk about what they see, hear, taste, touch and feel when they read. To do this, readers need to be encouraged to find the words or vocabulary in the text that help describe these findings. Readers need to combine the words with the visual features such as punctuation and images to give evidence as to how these images were gained from their readings.

Attached is a parent help sheet for this strategy.

Before school Reading Intervention

Thank you to the parents who made an appointment to discuss their child’s reading.

All before school reading programs, have started again for Term 4.

Our Playgroup, the Windsoroos

Our playgroup begins again on Friday 13th October.

2017 Timetable for the Windsoroos:

On Friday 3rd November, week 5, Catherine Chapman, our school’s Speech Language Pathologist will talk about children’s language development and any questions you may have. Catherine will be at Windsoroos at 2:00pm.

For more information about our playgroup, please click on the attachment below.

We look forward to having fun and growing with you and your child/children at the Windsoroos Playgroup.

Enrichment News

INNOVATORS of TOMORROW

Round 2 has kicked off with over 100 students participating in the workshops. Students are partaking in the two new art programs and are learning how to code a circuit using LittleBits. The Spheros and Dash’s are back and sold out in record time. The budding Entrepreneurs are busy preparing for the upcoming market day and the Preppies are learning how to code using SCRATCH for the first time. The STEM Club is, as always, challenging their group with fun, hands on Science and technology activities.

How fantastic to see Wednesday and Thursday afternoons buzzing with excitement and enthusiasm for learning.

Thanks must be given to the parents facilitating the junior art class and to the teachers who are giving up their afternoons to help support this very worthwhile initiative.

Design a 3D Christmas Ornament Competition!

Only 61 days till Christmas!!!

Only 33 School days left…..

It time for Windsor State School’s very first Design a 3D Christmas Ornament Competition!

Please see the flyer attached. I will work out a time where I can have the computer lab and run a few lunch time ‘how to’ sessions. The children will be notified of these times.

Basically, the children,

• use TINKERCAD. https://www.tinkercad.com/. You will need to create an account, but it is free. Check out YouTube tutorials to help you learn the program.
• design an ornament (they can modify one but it still must be original)
• save as a .STL file
• email to me ekemp14@eq.edu.au
• a panel will judge the design (see the below checklist and able to be printed…. )
• children submit the design with the below checklist by November 24
• the top 20 get printed

Happy Tinkering!!!

AN AMAZING DISPLAY OF TALENT

Only one week to go until Soiree en Blanc!

Next Saturday’s Soiree features an impressive line-up of artists, all from within Windsor State School’s parent and teaching body. Only last week, Karin Schaupp (guitarist and WSS parent) together with Katie Noonan won the Aria for Best World Music Album. Click here for the Artists Bios.

Come wrapped in white for an evening of song, music, dancing, food and friends. You will be entertained by extraordinary singers, Spanish and Latin guitarists and a host of other instrumental surprises.

The night doesn't conclude there, festivities and music continue into the night with a DJ spinning vinyl and bar open til late.

The Soiree is brought to you by the P&C Music Supporters Subcommittee and funds raised from this event will support the Windsor State School Music Program.

Date: Saturday 28th October
Time: 5pm Drinks & Canapes, 6pm Concert, 7pm DJ & Party
Ticket Info:

Purchase your tickets now via TryBooking.

* Strictly no door sales, pre-purchase tickets only.

Cash bar and EFTPOS available on the night.

For further details click here to view the event flyer. Any queries regarding this event should be emailed to music@windsorsspandc.com.au.

Jo Hodge Swim School