8 August 2018

Newsletter Articles

Across the Principal’s Desk…

STUDENT LED CONFERENCES

A MASSIVE thanks to everyone involved in last week's student led conferences and the effort that both teachers and students put into preparing for these. 600 student conferences were held last week and I thank you for supporting this new initiative. The students did an amazing job and should be very, very proud of their achievements. I congratulated them yesterday during assembly and also spoke about 'persistence', ‘working tough’ and ‘positive self-talk’ with achieving their goals. I encourage you to speak with your son/daughter about their learning/goals and seek clarification from their teacher if needed.

I wanted to also thank the many parents that have emailed me their feedback about their experiences with the new reporting format. It has been wonderful to read your highlights and also ways that we could improve our methods in moving forward. If you would also like to provide some feedback on your experiences, please send me an email at admin@windsorss.eq.edu.au. The responses received will be collated and shared with staff for our discussions when we plan this experience next year. Please be assured that we carefully evaluate all responses as we strive to improve the learning experience for all children at Windsor.

WORKING BEE

A big thank you to the many parents and students of Windsor for helping at our annual P&C Working Bee on Sunday. We had close to 30 people throughout the morning spread 28m3 of softfall, sand and tea tree mulch across the school. The school gardens and playgrounds look amazing and are such inviting places to learn and play in. I want to personally thank our Groundsman Ross and everyone who made the morning run smoothly. The staff and students acknowledged your outstanding efforts on assembly yesterday with a big round of applause.

NEW SCHOOL CALENDAR!

Windsor State School has now transitioned to the Schoolzine Calendar. This is available via the newsletter page by clicking on the calendar icon at the top of the page. It has now also been embedded in our school website and is also available on the Schoolzine app (SZapp). You can filter the events that you see on this calendar by clicking on the coloured ‘tags’ (eg. Year 2, Whole School Events). This calendar is frequently updated. Please use this as your ‘point of call’ for all school event dates.

VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS

Thank you to all those who has contributed to the fund so far. The latest figures show we have received $26955.00. What a great effort. See links below for more information.

Grant Baker
Principal

WindsorFest

Announcing our Gold Sponsor for 2018

In case you missed all the Facebook posts this week, we have secured Garry Jones Harcourts Solutions as our Gold sponsor for WindsorFest 2018. We know he has some great ideas and we look forward to working with him for this great event!

Donations

We will not be asking for as many donations this year as previous years, so please help out where you can. We only need 2 things:

1. Soft Drinks: We’re after cans of soft drink in the 375ml size. Please avoid homebrand/plain brands as they don’t sell. Look for the specials as they come up at the supermarkets, to minimise your spend! Please take these directly to the hall storage room, there is a shelf marked “WindsorFest Soft Drinks”.
2. Chocolates: All kinds of wrapped chocolate blocks, snack size bars and share packs. These are for the lob-a-choc stall and need to be able to sit on a wire grid surface so flat bottomed chocolate bars are the best. These will be collected in each classroom by the teachers, hopefully they don’t get the 3pm munchies!

Crafters and Artisans of Windsor - The WindsorFest Craft Stall needs your talent (and your goods!)

The Craft Stall is a highly anticipated regular at our school fairs that provides a wonderful opportunity to showcase the talent that exists in our community, whilst raising important funds for the P&C.

We would love those who have talents with yarn, fabric, paper, glue, wood, glass, clay or any other art or craft medium to donate just a few items for us to sell.

We have identified about nine key categories of items which we are intending to focus on:

• Bags
• Christmas
• Baby, Kid & Toys (though this we have to be VERY careful with)
• Homewares
• Jewellery
• Ladies wear
• School-themed (or coloured!)
• Giftware

For more information, please contact the stall convenor, Jen Allen, on windsorfestcraft@gmail.com.

Side Show Alley Prize Donations

With the EOFY sales commencing, please keep a look out for new items that can be used as prizes for the WindsorFest Sideshow Alley Prize Stall. People play side show alley games to win prize tickets, save those tickets up and they claim a prize of varying value/size. We will have prizes for just 1 ticket right up to extra-large sized prizes worth 30+ tickets.

Prizes worth 1 prize ticket are things like gel pens, a small pack of hair accessories (like 2 or 3 ponytail holders) etc. with values of up to $2 or $3. We need a range of items, item sizes, and multiples of one type of item are fine. Sometimes you can get better deals if you buy a bunch of one thing, if you ask the sales people. Prizes don’t have to be only toys. Hair accessories, stationery, board games, sports gear (balls, handballs, jump ropes), inexpensive jewellery (like little earrings, fun bracelets), and outdoor gear (small torches, backpacks), are all great prizes. We would rather prizes be good quality - something that might last and you wouldn’t mind seeing your own child bring home from a school fair!

Please place the items in the cardboard boxes labelled “Prize Stall” at the School Office.

Thanks in advance!

Who’s Getting Hungry?

We’ve secured a couple of great food trucks for this year’s event:

• Catch & Kiss Seafood (which was a hit last time)
• Steamed (homemade dumplings, Shumai and buns)
• Q Roasters Coffee (always good!)

As always the P&C will be running our food own stalls:

• BBQ
• Hot Dogs
• Toasted Cheese Sandwiches
• Pulled Pork Rolls
• Snow Cones
• Fairy Floss
• Cakes & Jams
• Sweets
• Strawberries & Cream
• Soft Drinks
• Bar

Rides Pricing

As usual, we will have an unlimited rides wristband. This enables the wearer to go on as many rides as they want during WindsorFest for one price. Wristbands will be $35 during the pre-sale and $40 on the day. We have rides for all ages, whether you’re a thrill-seeker or not:

The tickets will go on on August 20, so keep an eye out and start planning ahead.

Follow us on social media

Make sure you follow us on Facebook to stay up to date:

Join us!!

If you want to get involved or even if you just want to come along and find out what's going on, join us for our next meeting. We're having it at the same time as the senior disco, 7pm Thursday 9th Aug, meet outside the Library.

We thank you for your support.
WindsorFest Committee

RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR & CODE OF CONDUCT

Resilience is key to coping with adversity. We all need the ability to bounce back and put things into perspective. As parents, we can focus not only on language and activities that promote positive development and resilience, but also create opportunities where our kids’ parents, teachers and friends can do so as well. Resilience involves behaviours, thoughts and actions that can be learned over time. When our kids experience the power of positive emotions, the community they move in has the opportunity to do so as well.

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

INSTALL THE SCHOOLZINE ‘SZAPP’ ON YOUR PHONE?

Our newsletter is now available each fortnight either via email or by accessing the Schoolzine app. Details on how to download the app are available on the attached file.

Any families who are unable to access either the emails or app, please contact the school office.

STUDENT COUNCIL DISCO

The Student Council welcomes everyone back to the New Semester with a Disco on this THURSDAY 9th AUGUST, the last Disco for 2018. This Disco helps to raise money to support our Year 6 trip to Canberra and the snow, so the theme for this disco is WINTER WONDERLAND!

Students are invited to dress up in their snow gear or even a snow man… get your white clothes ready and let your imagination run wild!

Tickets will be available in the Early Years Precinct, before 8:50am in the week leading up to the Disco ($5.00 single ticket; $10.00 family ticket- 2 or more). Pre-purchasing tickets makes it quicker and easier to get into the disco.

The Disco times are as follows:

All Prep-Year 2 students must be accompanied by their parent/guardian at all times during the Disco. Parents/Guardians, you are responsible for your own children. Teachers will supervise at the Year 3-6 Disco. Parents are not required to stay at this Disco, but must collect students promptly at 8:30pm. Food and drink will be on sale at the Disco.

BOOK WEEK – NEXT WEEK!

Next week, from August 13th – 17th, Windsor State School will celebrate Book Week. This year’s theme is “Find your Treasure”. There are some exciting events occurring during the week and these our outlined below.

Book Week Character Parade – MONDAY 13TH AUGUST AT 9AM

This coming Monday at a special time of 9.00am, we will hold our Book Week Character Parade. All students are invited to dress up in a Book Week costume on this day with an opportunity to showcase their costumes at this special parade on Monday morning. We hope to see you there!

Author Visit for Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 Students

On Thursday 16th August, as part of our Book Week celebrations, our Prep - Year 2 students have the opportunity to participate in an author visit. This year, our special guest author is Ben Long. Ben is always working on new ideas and is currently writing about a boy who wants to be in the circus. Our Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students are invited to listen to Ben share his stories and his secrets to writing. The cost of the event is $2.00, which is to be handed to the classroom teacher on Monday 13th August.

If you would like your child to attend, please complete this online form.

Author Visit for Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 Students

On Tuesday 14th August, as part of our Book Week celebrations, our Year 3- Year 5 students have the opportunity to participate in an author visit. This year, our special guest author is Simon Higgins. Click here for more information about this event. If you would like your child to attend, please click here to complete this form. The cost of the event is $2.00, which is to be handed to the classroom teacher this Friday 10th August.

If you would like your child to attend, please complete this online form.

FAMILY EDUCATION SESSIONS

Please find below information about Family Education Programs that are being facilitated in the school Hall during Term 3. Please note that if you register for a session, it is to be attended by the child and at least one parent/carer.

These family sessions will take place on the following dates and will cover:

True Relationships and Reproductive Health (True), formerly known as Family Planning Queensland, delivers family education sessions that are aimed at developing open and healthy communication about relationships and sexuality between parents/carers and children. These sessions provide age appropriate information to help build children’s self-esteem. The purpose of these sessions is to facilitate open communication about sexuality between you and your children.

All sessions are provided by trained experts and are designed to cater for specific ages and year levels. However, if you would prefer your child to attend a session that is suggested for a year level other than their own, you are able to register for that session.

There are limited spaces available for these sessions so please indicate as soon as possible your intention to attend. The cost will be $17 per student. Please follow the links above to complete the relevant digital Expression of Interest form as soon possible as we only have 30 spaces per session available. An invoice for $17.00 will then be issued to the first 30 families to complete the online form.

If you have any questions please contact me at the school or contact True Relationships and Reproductive Health directly on 3250 0240 or check out their website at the link below.

Jump Rope for Heart

Windsor State School is participating in the Heart Foundation Jump Rope for Heart program and we would love your support! The House Captains are running this exciting initiative. Heart Foundation Jump Rope for Heart is an exciting and non-competitive program which encourages children to become more active through skipping, learning new skills and raising vital funds for heart research and community health programs. We also receive 10 per cent of the funds raised to use here at school. Jump Rope for Heart is also a great way to encourage children to get involved in our community and support Australia’s leading heart health charity, the Heart Foundation.

If you choose to register your child online, a secure fundraising page will be created as soon as you register, and you can then share this link with as many people as possible. This is an easy, safe way for your child to monitor their progress, receive bonus prizes and even receive sponsorship from family and friends who are further afield. Please be mindful of Cyber Safety when setting up your child’s registration page. For example, you do not need to display full name/s or photos on your child’s sponsorship page.

As students raise money, they not only help support the Heart Foundation and the school, but they are also rewarded with exciting Thank You Prizes! These include skipping ropes, soccer balls and even trampolines and flying cars! Thank you for joining us in the fight against heart disease!

The list of Thank You Prizes can be viewed at the link below.

School Opinion Survey

The annual suite of School Opinion Surveys will be conducted 30 July to 24 August 2018. All families, school staff and a random sample of students will be invited to participate. We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what this school does well, and how this school can improve.

Access details for the Parent/Caregiver Survey have been sent home with students. School computers will be available, upon request, for parents/caregivers who are unable to complete the survey at home.

Survey queries or requests for translations can be directed to admin@windsorss.eq.edu.au or (07) 3866 4333.

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.

Remember to watch out!

Driveways can be dangerous places. Make sure your children stop, look, listen and think before crossing a driveway. Please ensure that if you are walking in/out of the school with your child that you use the footpaths around the school, as walking through the carpark areas poses unnecessary risks for children and adults.

Remember the AST Crew’s four steps to safely cross the road are:

STOP - at least one metre from the kerb
LOOK - right, left and right again
LISTEN - for the sound of close traffic
THINK - is it safe to cross and am I holding and adult’s hand?

Parents, please practise these steps with your children EVERYTIME you cross the road.

As adults, we lead by example so it’s essential that we do the right thing when we cross the road. This year, everyone will have more opportunities to practise their road crossing skills when they leave the car at home and actively travel to and from school.

Walking Wheeling Wednesday EVERY Wednesday! Let’s get active Windsor!!

The classes with the most Active Travellers last fortnight are:

Week 3: 4C, 3B and 1D
Congratulations!

Children can claim their AST prizes by presenting their AST passports at the office after checking by their class teacher. Don’t forget to choose an active way to travel to school that keeps the cars off the road!

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXCITING ACTIVE SCHOOL TRAVEL SCAVENGER HUNT EVENT FOR THE MORNING OF THE 29TH AUGUST IS COMING SOON!

Illegal and dangerous parking

Parking rules and regulations are used throughout Brisbane to maintain the safety of all road users and pedestrians and also to ensure that street parking is available for all to use.

An illegally or dangerously parked vehicle, is any vehicle parked outside of Brisbane City Council's parking rules and regulations or any vehicle that maybe creating a public safety problem.

A vehicle that is parked illegally or dangerously can be issued with a parking fine or even towed.

Report illegal parking

To report an illegal or dangerously parked vehicle or if you think your vehicle has been towed, phone Council on 07 3403 8888.

Illegally parked cars around the school will be reported to Brisbane City Council every time!

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.