8 November 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.

Final Parades for the year

I wanted to inform the school community about the final parade arrangements for 2018.

Week 7 and Week 8 parades will be at the normal start time of 2pm.

Week 9 parade will be held 9am as this parade includes the 2018 Student Leadership speeches.

Week 10 parade will also be held at 9am as this is our special end of year ACE Award ceremony.

Soirée En Blanc

Last week those present at the annual Music Soirée witnessed a truly memorable evening with the evening’s MC Donna Field and star performances by Jillian Didemus, Karin Shaupp, Alica Cush, Kim Fanning, Paul Kucharski and Giac Giacomantonio. Special mentions also go to Crystal Cooke, Tracy Mills, Teesh Kennedy, David Rowcliff (Sound/Lighting), Pete Fanning (organising the bar) and every other Music Supporter volunteer for their work in preparing and ensuring that the night was an outstanding success. Your combined efforts are very much valued by the Windsor school community. Well done to all involved!

World Teachers’ Day

As mentioned previously, we recently celebrated World Teachers‘ Day, which was an opportunity for our entire school community to publicly thank our teachers for the great work they do with our children. Each year the Leadership Team and P&C nominate three teachers for the very generous P&C Bursary of $1000, and two bursarys of $300, which is to recognise the outstanding contribution made to the school. This year we awarded this honour to…

$1000 BURSARY - LESLEY TOMKINSON – Head of Special Education

The major award recipient is to be congratulated on her ongoing ‘inclusive’ and professional approach with the students, teachers and families of Windsor. The recipient is committed to building a community that values, celebrates and responds to diversity. Her approach is underpinned by respectful relationships between learners, both students and teachers, and school community members. After 13 years at Windsor, her communication, personal approach and immense knowledge and skills, continue to be an asset to the entire school community. It is my pleasure to present the 2017 $1000 P&C Bursary award to Lesley Tomkinson.

$300 BURSARY - KELLIE ROBERTSON – Year 4 Teacher

Helping launch our Bring Your Own device pilot this year, this teacher has taken both challenge and opportunity in her stride. Experimenting and reviewing new approaches to teaching and learning through the use of technology, she has continued to build a respectful, differentiated and engaging learning environment. I congratulate this teacher on both the varied learning opportunities she has created for her students and also the professional learning journey she has taken this year. Congratulations Kellie Robertson.

$300 BURSARY - ROBIN BRANDIS - LOTE teacher

This teacher has moved from a classroom role to a specialist teacher across Prep to Year 4. Starting a junior languages program at Windsor from scratch, she has embraced the challenge with positivity and innovation, creating a highly engaging and enjoyable Japanese program for our Early and Middle Years students. This has allowed for new learning opportunities for our students that we were previously unable to offer. Congratulations Robin Brandis on your team work and hard work to make our new whole school Languages program such a success.

2017 Voluntary Contribution information

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…

Reminder - 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.

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.

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!

WGT 2017 AUDITIONS - Week 8

Auditions will be held on Monday 20th November – Thursday 23rd November 2017 at both first and second break.

We will watch only a small segment of your performance as we have many auditions to get through.

Please bring your music with you on a USB on the day!

YOU WILL EAT FIRST, WAIT FOR THE BELL AND THEN WAIT OUTSIDE THE HALL UNTIL A TEACHER ARRIVES

Audition Timetable – please refer to Timetable

(Outside Miss Fernie’s classroom)

Costumes are not needed for auditions

Finalists will be listed outside Miss Fernie’s room on Monday 27th November 2017

Remember to

• Practise regularly – make sure if you are singing that you know your words, and it is best to use a karaoke version of the song.
• consider the stage size and make sure you are using the space wisely
• introduce yourself and your act
• look at the audience and use exaggerated facial expressions/dance moves etc

RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR & CODE OF CONDUCT

Persistence

Things to Say to Encourage Persistent Behaviour

• “You didn’t give up!”
• “You kept trying. Great effort.”
• “Making that extra effort will help you learn.”

• “Your effort is important. It will help you succeed.”
• “See, persistence pays off.”
• “I see you understand that to be successful, you sometimes have to do things you don’t feel like doing.”

• “The more you practise, the better you become.”

Persistent Behaviour

• Continuing to try even harder when schoolwork is hard

• Not being distracted by others
• Checking schoolwork when finished to make sure it is correct
• Trying and completing work found to be ‘boring’
• Listening to instructions
• Finishing work instead of playing
• Not giving up too quickly
• Doing what you said you were going to do
• Returning phone calls
• Putting things away

Teach the Following Types of Thinking

• I Can Do It: When trying difficult activities, it is helpful if you think you are more likely to be successful than to fail.
• Giving Effort: The harder you try, the more successful you will be.
• Working Tough: To be successful in the future, you sometimes have to do things that are boring or not fun in the present.

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 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: Project Learning

What is a project approach to learning?

• exploration of a topic
• maybe child or teacher initiated
• maybe individual, group or whole class
• maybe short-term or long-term depending on the level of children’s interest
• creation of a specific outcome - poster, spoken report, multimedia presentation, a demonstration or display
• students control their learning
• a three step process: planning, exploration and culmination

What will it look like?

• Active
• Collaborative
• Explicit
• Learner focused
• Responsive
• Scaffolded
• Playful
• Language rich and dialogic

Reading: Comprehension – Asking questions throughout the reading process

Asking questions while reading helps clarify and review what has happened and confirms or creates new predictions in the reader's mind. It is an essential comprehension strategy. Modeling the questioning process while reading with your children is a very effective way to embed this strategy.

Attached is a parent help sheet for this strategy.

Also attached are the four types of questions:

• Right there in the book
• Think and search
• Author and me
• On my own

Parent Interviews for Term 4 Reading Groups will be offered Monday and Tuesday of Week 10. Please email me if you would like to book a time.

Our Playgroup, the Windsoroos

A big thank you to Catherine Chapman, our school’s Speech Language Pathologist, for a very informative session on oral language development last Friday. The playgroup parents truly appreciated your time.

While the parents were with Catherine, the little ones enjoyed playing “What’s the time Mr Wolf”, dancing, singing and exploring the early years’ playground, in particular the firemen poles. Congratulations Eddie for independently sliding down the pole!

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.

Design a 3D Christmas Ornament Competition!

Only 51 days till Christmas!!!

Only 23 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!!!

BOOK FAIR 2017

Windsor’s annual Book Fair will be held next week from Tuesday 14 – Monday 20 November. This is Week 7 of Term 4. There will be a wide range of books from junior fiction, fiction and non-fiction. All age groups and reading levels will be catered for. The books are very reasonably priced and just in time to start your Christmas gift shopping.

Students will have the opportunity to browse during class time and may write a short ‘wish list’. However, please be assured, there is no obligation placed upon parents or students to purchase ‘wish list’ books. If you wish your child to purchase from their ‘wish list’, just send the money along with them if you can’t make it to the fair yourself.

Parents are welcome to view (and purchase) the books at the following times:

• before school each morning from 8:20- 8:50am
• in the afternoon from 3:00- 3:30pm on Tuesday - Monday

Book Fair will close after 3:30 on Monday 20 November

As well as cash, books may be purchased using EFTPOS or credit cards. Proceeds from the Book Fair will be used to purchase new resources for the library. Last year’s Book Fair was a great success and raised approximately $1800 for library resources.

Helping Hands

Hey Everyone

Just a brief one this week :) We are definitely getting down to the business end of the year with our Yr 6’s leaving us very soon and our new group of Preps for 2018 getting ready to join us. With this in mind, we will be at the Prep Transition Session this Friday 10/11/17 to answer any questions and for you to pick up enrolment packs to start the process ready for January 2018.

We also eagerly anticipate the arrival of our upcoming Vacation Care brochures which will be out very soon, please keep an eye out for these in the next newsletter. If you would like to get your hands on one of these sooner, be sure to drop us a line at windsor@helpinghandsnetwork.com.au and we can send you a copy fresh off the press.

Enjoy the next couple of weeks

The Helping Hands Windsor Team