20 February 2019

Newsletter Articles

Across the Principal's Desk...

Building Resilience in our kids!

We have had such a wonderful start to the year with students and families settling well into the routine of school. Each student, be they prep or year six are all finding their way in a new classroom environment, with a new teacher and peer group. Each day they will experience engaging and exciting learning opportunities, have to navigate their way around social situations, collaborate, communicate and negotiate with a whole range of different people and personalities.

What is wonderful to see, is the commitment from you as parents to build your child’s resilience as they undertake their educational journey. It’s not easy to hear that the school day may have had a few little ‘hiccups’ and sometimes what we perceive to be a large issue, is forgotten by the child very quickly. Sometimes it is our response which determines whether a situation will be escalated or deescalated in a child’s mind. It’s very tricky and of course there is no definitive handbook for raising children! We do our best with what we know at the time.

The best learning that children can have is when they are posed the question ‘well, what do you think you could do to solve that problem?’

If we rush to their rescue with every issue that they face, we not only create angst and worry for ourselves, we undermine our children of an important skill and learning opportunity. With guidance, love (sometimes ‘tough love’) and a sensible measured approach from us as adults, our kids manage to navigate their way through school and the social situations which arise. Naturally, if an issue becomes a regular occurrence, then adult intervention is required. No one wants to see their child upset and not wanting to attend school. This may call for a more defined approach and specific strategies.

Should something like this arise at school, then please raise it with the class teacher in the first instance and if they are concerned about it being something they need advice on, they will bring it to the relevant member of the Leadership Team. Approaching other parents outside of school or in the playground etc. is not our preferred approach. This can often exacerbate an issue, when in fact we can deal with it at a student to student level and reach a solution.

There are very few situations within the context of school that we haven’t dealt with in the past, even though they may seem foreign or new to you as a parent.

Parent Information Sessions

It was wonderful to see so many parents joining us last week for the year level and class information evenings. The feedback I have received from so many parents was that these were very informative and a wonderful way to find out about what is happening in the year level and each classroom. We aim for consistency of practice across year levels and the school, however we also wish to honour the individual teaching style and ‘craft’ which every teacher brings to their classroom. It is really important that students experience a range of teaching styles and personalities over the course of their schooling as this will become even more relevant in secondary schooling.

Thanks for your continued support and partnership in the education of your children. We are so very privileged to be entrusted with their learning, in conjunction with you.

Student Leadership Induction

It was wonderful to present the many leadership and Student Councillor badges to our students on Monday’s whole school parade. I would like to once again thank our guest presenters, Councillor Andrew Wines from the Enoggera Ward Office and the school’s P&C President, Mr Craig Thompson, for giving up their time to attend. Congratulations to each and every one of our student leaders for 2019. I am confident they will do themselves, their family and their position proud.

P&C Executive for 2019

Congratulations to the P&C members below who were elected, or re-elected, onto the P&C Executive at this week’s Annual General Meeting (AGM)

President- Craig Thompson
Vice President Communications - Tracy Mills
Vice President Operations – Rebecca Tuplin
Vice President P-2 – Kate Bruce
Vice President 3-6 – Marissa Allan
Secretary- Delwin Tofts
Treasurer- Kirsten Annesley

Thanks also to the many parents who stepped up again to take on roles within one of our numerous sub committees of the P&C. Without these volunteers, our school community would be without numerous services including uniform shop, swim club, tuckshop, social events, supporters groups and numerous working parties.

I am looking forward to working closely with the P&C throughout 2019 and collaboratively improving the teaching and learning outcomes of students, improving school resources and facilities and providing social opportunities for our whole school community to come together.

PARADE CHANGES

A reminder to check the below Parade Schedule for Semester 1.
Monday’s parade (25 February 2019) will be for Year 3 – 6 only.

Staffing Update

Ross Philipps (our groundsman) went in for his long awaited back surgery last week and is recovering well, which is great to hear. It is still unsure when he will return, but we wish him a speedy recovery.

I am pleased to announce that Spencer will be replacing Ross until he returns. Spencer has recently graduated from an Environmental Management degree and has over 12 months experience in the field. We look forward to working with Spencer until Ross returns.

I would like to acknowledge and thank Jim for stepping in the past fortnight and helping out across the school.

Grant Baker
Principal

From the Deputy Principal’s Desks…

NEW! RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR PLAN 2019-2022

In 2018, our School Culture committee reviewed the Responsible Behaviour Plan for 2019-2022. The final document will be endorsed by the School Council and P&C at their first meetings of the year. The updated plan is embedded below for all parents/caregivers to read and will be uploaded with all attachments to the school website post endorsement. Please take your time to read the embedded document carefully and have conversations with your children at home. Thanks for your support!

Pastoral Care: Social Emotional Learning @ Windsor SS

Universal Support for Students

Through our Whole School Pastoral Care program, we teach and assist children in developing the 12 Positive Attitudes (previously known as Habits of the Mind) and 5 Social-Emotional skills (Getting Along, Organisation, Persistence, Confidence and Resilience) they need to reach the top of the triangle. The ultimate goals (see above) are for all children to achieve to the best of their ability, develop positive relationships and behaviour and experience the highest levels of wellbeing.

For all young people to reach the Goals at the top of the triangle, they need to also have moral Character; that is, possess Values/Strengths, positive attitudes as well as social and emotional learning skills. Values generally indicate the degree of importance of some thing or action, with the aim of determining what actions are best to do or what way is best to live, or to describe the significance of different actions. The 6 Strengths are what positive psychologists refer to as ‘Virtues’; categories consisting of different character strengths (see the link below). There are 24-character strengths (virtues) that are incorporated under the six categories:

1. Wisdom and Knowledge: creativity, curiosity, judgment, love of learning, perspective
2. Courage: bravery, perseverance, honesty, zest
3. Humanity: love, kindness, social intelligence
4. Justice: teamwork, fairness, leadership
5. Temperance: forgiveness, humility, prudence, self-regulation
6. Transcendence: appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humour, spirituality

Environment is extremely important; therefore, the efforts of family, school and community are recognised as important in helping young children to attain positive outcomes. The unique contribution of this YCDI! Education is in strengthening the mindset and social-emotional strengths all children need to realise their full potential.

Connie Confident; Oscar Organisation; Pete Persistent; Gabby Get Along; Ricky Resilient help students understand the positive attitudes they need to be successful

The You Can Do It! Education Social and Emotional Learning frameworks (see “The Windsor Way” below) address aspects of the psychological functioning of young people that lead to poor learning, behaviour and social and emotional outcomes. Negative Attitudes and under-developed Character (values and strengths) create negative Social-Emotional Blockers (Anger, Worry, Feeling Down, Procrastination, Not Paying Attention).

Symmetrically, the frameworks also represent the corresponding Positive Attitudes and Character (values, strengths) that support five essential Social-Emotional Skills all contributing to positive Social-Emotional Skills (Getting Along, Organisation, Persistence, Confidence, Resilience). It is important for students to fully understand both sides of the framework to be able to counteract the blockers and develop the positive attitudes and skills (see below).

“The Windsor Way”- based on YCDI Education! Social & Emotional Framework

Code of Conduct @ Windsor SS

Behavioural Expectations

Behaviour at Windsor State School is NOT simply related to compliant/obedient children, our goal is to fully develop all positive attitudes and social emotional skills. Behaviour results on end of semester report cards are directly linked to each student’s ability to achieve a particular Behaviour Level (A = Gold; B = Silver; C = Bronze). Students are encouraged/coached to use the Code of Conduct criteria sheet to strive for positive growth and excellence.

The behavioural expectations criteria (see WSS Code of Conduct below) are used by teachers to teach, encourage, reinforce and coach students to improve and become happy and successful. Teachers use these criteria to directly assess and assign a Behaviour rating at the end of each semester. (see our new Code of Conduct & Positive Behaviour poster below)

The school acknowledges positive role models of behaviour in many ways throughout the year (merit badges; public acknowledgements). This year, we will celebrate students’ efforts and achievements in class and at special parades throughout the year.

ACTIVE SCHOOL TRAVEL

Active School Travel promotes clean and green, active and healthy school travel modes such as walking, cycling, carpooling and public transport. Over the next three years, our school will receive a range of free resources, tools, incursions to enable active travel to and from school.

By leaving your car at home, at least one day a week on our active travel day, we can reduce traffic congestion at the school gate, improve our students’ road safety awareness, create a cleaner environment, and improve our health and fitness!

Students can actively travel and participate in ‘Walking Wheeling Wednesday’ or ‘Fun Fit Friday’. Also, each week on parade, the AST trophy is awarded to the class that had the highest percentage of active travellers that week.

In addition to these incentives, there will be a number of special events this year to help further promote actively travelling to school. These include:

Term 1: 22nd March – Windsor SS celebrates Ride2School Day “Bling Your Bike/Scooter”
Term 2: 17th May - Walk Safely 2 School Day “Crazy Socks Day”
Term 3: 30th August – AST Scavenger Hunt (more info to come)
Term 4: TBA

QParents

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!

Follow Windsor SS on Facebook & Twitter!

Get the most up-to-date information and school alerts by following Windsor State School on Facebook by click 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.

Curriculum Corner

Term 1, Week 4

The importance of feedback

Feedback is one of those ‘buzz’ words often bandied about in many domains today, but in the education realm, feedback is key. John Hattie found, in his meta-analysis of educational research data, that effective feedback as well as metacognition and self-regulation have some of the highest effect sizes on student improvements (Visible Learning, 2009). At Windsor, we have incorporated many opportunities for students to experience feedback and use it to ‘bump up’ their work. The language of feedback is now becoming embedded in our classrooms and students are precociously adept at delivering useful feedback to others. We are working towards achieving transfer of those skills, which would see students apply the language of feedback when reviewing their own work and seamlessly move between their criteria, prior knowledge and use of models/exemplars to automatically improve their work at all times and in all areas.

Shirley Clark - Feedback

Last newsletter, we mentioned the Austin’s Butterfly project whereby students undertake an art project to practise the skill of giving and receiving feedback. By now, most students will have completed that project and understand some of the key features in giving feedback: being specific, relating to criteria, being honest and being ‘doable’. In order to do this well, students first need to be very sure of what it is they have been asked to do or what the criteria for demonstrating their learning is. Therefore, teachers are clear about the learning intentions and success criteria of lessons. At Windsor, we use the W.A.L.T (We are learning to…) and W.I.L.F (What I’m looking for) acronyms to articulate the learning expectations/success criteria of lessons.

We also talked last issue about the Bump it Up Walls, which are a feature of all classrooms at Windsor at various times of the year (usually when English assessments are being written). Students now look for models of texts to aid them when reviewing their work and with the help of documents such as these as well as the ‘Text structures; language features’ charts and Writing folders (digital and paper), our students have every opportunity to seek feedback on their own work. These practices are beginning to be used fluidly across all subject areas, so that seeking, receiving and responding to feedback is fast becoming common-place and a natural part of learning.

One of the consistent terms that we use across the school when delivering feedback is ‘2 stars and a wish’. This involves sharing with the students two things that they are doing well and one thing that they could do next to ‘bump up’ their work. This is a simple framework that you could use at home with your child’s homework pieces or his/her own creative writing, experiments or physical activity. This would reinforce the language used at school and help transfer the concept of feedback into the ‘outside world’.

Curriculum Coordinators,

Anna Thygesen (Prep-Yr2)
Lisa Heard (Yr3-Yr6)

Enrichment

2019 Enrichment Update

QUEENSLAND ACADEMIES

Windsor State School is a Queensland Academies Partner school. This partnership provides many opportunities for our students to participate in rigorous and challenging programs held outside school hours. Please see the Queensland Academies website for more information. Below is a flyer to attend their SMT Campus open day on 28th February.

ICAS

The University of NSW have made some major changes to the implementation of ICAS. We will keep you updated with when/how/if we can accommodate these changes.

For more information please visit

Everyday enrichment

Enrichment and Extension is embedded in every class throughout the school. We are fortunate to have a number of support staff and teacher aides available to assist teachers in implementing in class enrichment. However, my role in this area is:

• to provide an extra challenge for students in year 5 and 6,
• assist teachers in identifying gifted and talented students across the whole school
• support teachers in understanding and provisioning for these students.

We might all think our children are gifted; however, making a mess, spending our money and eating us out house and home is not counted here at school. I will include some more information on this topic in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I hope your child is settling into the school year, is happy and enjoying their time at school.

Warmest regards,

Emma Kemph

Instrumental Music

From the Prep – Yr2 STLaN

Reading: Year 2 Before School Reading

This year, we are offering reading extension for the year two’s in Semester One and Two, on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning. We will be running three groups. Each group consists of six students. That means we are able to focus and extend the reading comprehension of 18 students. The groups will be called The Year 2 Reading Rockets.

Throughout the program, we will be targeting twelve specific reading comprehension strategies: finding the main idea, recalling facts and details, understanding sequence, recognising cause and effect, comparing and contrasting, making predictions, finding word meaning in context, drawing conclusions and making inferences, distinguishing between fact and opinion, identifying author’s purpose, interpreting figurative language and distinguishing between fact and make-believe.

These are the critical tools students require when reading any texts.

Student selection was based on a plethora of data: report card data, Probe Reading Level, the Sages and the Cars and Stars Placement Tests. As well as the academic data, we have carefully selected students who are enthusiastic, motivated, exhibit excellent behaviour, self-control and persistence to improve and succeed!

Mrs Jeanette Hides, a very experienced teacher aide, will be implementing the reading program. Regular assessment will track the children’s progress and Jeanette and I will continue to liaise, monitor and reflect on the students’ progress.

The lessons will be in the Learning Hub, the room opposite 1C's room.

Before school, we are also offering some of our students in Year 2 a chance to complete the MiniLit Literacy Intervention Program which they began last year. There are 6 students in this group and they will work with another of our very experienced teacher aides, Felicia Wenham on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in The Learning Hub.

If your child cannot make the session, please email jmoor66@eq.edu.au . Punctuality is vital to the success of our programs.

My door is always open. If you have any concerns about your child’s learning, please contact me via email or phone the office and I will return your call.

Windsoroos

Windsoroos begins this Friday 22nd February 2019 at 1:30pm under Constitution Building. Look for the signs! It’s a great way to start preparing your child for school and making the connections with our Windsor community.

Our playgroup is for families of children, 0 – 5 years, who reside in the Windsor State School catchment area. The cost is a gold coin donation to help cover the costs of the consumables.

2019 Timetable for the Windsoroos:

As the Early Years precinct will be a learning and teaching environment every Friday afternoon, we ask that the Windsor community respect the students, teachers and the young Windsoroos and stay away from where they are playing in the Early Years Playground. It would be appreciated if you waited under the buildings or the meeting place until 3pm.

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.

Helping Hands

Tuckshop

Tuckshop Reopens This Week

Tuckshop’s full-service re-opened on Tuesday 19 February. Yay! Whilst we have a tuckshop convenor and assistant we rely on volunteers to support the tuckshop. Your child’s class has been allocated a specific week on the volunteer roster. It’s a great way to meet and bond with other parents in your child’s class.

Please check the link and add yourself to the week your class is on duty – or any day that you can help. Volunteers are always appreciated! No expectations, any time you can give - even just for an hour before school benefits the daily production.

Tuckshop roster available here.

Should you have any queries regarding any of the above please email pandc@windsorsspandc.com.au .

Uniform Shop

Uniform Shop is open during the School term on Mondays 2:30pm – 3:30pm and Wednesdays 8:30am – 9:30am. Uniform Shop orders can be placed online using the online ordering system, Munch Monitor. Online orders can be picked up from the Uniform Shop or delivered to your child’s class for them to bring home.

Signing up is very simple; a Munch Monitor fact sheet is available here . As an external supplier with a dedicated account management team they are able to assist with your account enquiries via help@munchmonitor.com .

Please provide any feedback regarding uniforms to the retail sub-committee at retail@windsorsspandc.eq.edu.au