Weir State School Newsletter

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OUR JOURNEY THIS YEAR – As this is our last newsletter of the year I would like to thank the Weir State School staff, parents, community, students and P&C for their overwhelming support throughout the school year. I would like to formally and respectfully acknowledge the work of previous and longstanding Principal, Mrs Vanderjagt.  On Friday of last week, I was officially appointed substantive Principal of Weir State School which means my tenure at Weir State School is now permanent.  It has been an exciting journey which will definitely continue in 2020 as there is still much to achieve as our school reputation continues to grow.  I am proud to be part of such and outstanding school community and it has been an honour to have had the role of Acting Principal of Weir State School and now, substantive Principal.  I believe our school is ready to take the next step and continue our momentum to lift the academic result of our students and build upon our strong school culture. Some of the great initiatives that have contributed to our renewed school focus success have been:

• A clear and consistent message on student expectations which has had a definitive impact on school culture and behaviour within our student body

• 4 lesson sequence within the teaching of reading from PREP -2 which has seen elevated student reading results and a noticeable impact on learning engagement

• Touch TVs within the PREP classrooms

• A renewed focus towards music, PE and resourcing of the specialist areas

• Strong ties in the early learner space through connecting with Early Learning Centres and C and K

• Installation of hall PA and AV systems in the hall

• Traditional recognition through the ‘Gabul’ grounding ceremony

• The Weir Strong Youth Engagement Program  

• Increased wall signage and school artefact promoting our school ethos – STRONG , SMART , CONNECTED  

• A 1 to 2 ratio of XO infinity LAPTOPS in years 1 and 2

• 80 ED QLD managed laptop computers in readiness for NAPLAN online

Initiatives to take our school to further success in 2020 will be:

• Employment of extra coaching staff to increase teacher professional knowledge and curriculum delivery

• Continued focus on reading and writing

• Strong connection with families to increase expectation within attendance

• XO infinity laptop roll out to target prep and year 3  

• NAPLAN online

• Touch TVs in Year 1 and 2

• ½ million-dollar refurbishment of block 5 in our school

• A full time Head of Special Education Services

• Weir Strong youth engagement program

• Continue with the Stronger Smarter program building staff capacity

• Focus on having volunteers assist with school event and student learning

• Full overhaul and repair of irrigation throughout the school

• Working with our local MP, Aaron Harper, to have a security fence placed around the outside of our school for safety  ..........and much, much more…. Exciting times ahead for our great school!

XMAS CONCERT – Another year for our first Xmas concert! Thanks so much to Mrs Wilson and thanks very much to all of our students and parents who joined our school on Tuesday evening for this great event. The carols were amazing and the amount of families present was absolutely wonderful. Thanks to everyone for making our annual event a memorable one!

A FOND FAREWELL - Like many schools, Weir State School is going through another year of change with within our staffing.  It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to a host of teachers leaving through transfer, retirement or taking a new path in life. They are as follows:

• Mrs Vanderjagt  

• Mrs Marano  

• Ms Grant

• Mrs Russell

• Mrs Nicolls

• Mrs Carlsen

• Mrs Megaw

 Other staff taking extended leave that may return later in 2020 or in 2021 are :

• Mr Cavanagh

• Ms Baer

• Ms Court

• Mrs Burgers

• Mr Turton

Thanks to all of these wonderful people for caring, supporting and making a difference in so many children’s lives. You will all be greatly missed. A HUGE Weir THANK YOU from all the community.

NEW STAFF FOR 2020 – As we have had staff leaving our shores at Weir, we also have some new faces coming to join our piece of paradise. They are as follows:

• Prep – Ms Rebecca Crotty

• Year 2 – Mrs Sharon Lambert

• Year 3  - Ms Kayla Roberts

• Year 6  - Mr Lachlan Bakkers  

There will be new school middle management and a couple more new teachers that may join our school next year that will be announced when we return in 2020.

I, along with the rest of the Weir community, would like to welcome them all……….

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS THAT TEACH - It’s almost Christmas again and the children are starting to write their wish lists and letters to Santa. There are many fantastic, educational games that could be included on these wish lists. Sometimes the little, inexpensive gifts are the ones most loved by children. Consider some of the following when you are out shopping:

Try these ideas for developing your child’s physical strength and coordination:

• skipping ropes

• totem tennis

• balls of different sizes

• vortex rockets

• tennis racquets, hockey sticks, cricket bats

• roller blades

• Frisbees

• set of jacks or knuckles

• badminton, boule or croquet sets

For their musical talents:

• recorder, tin whistle

• karaoke sets

• keyboards and xylophones

• guitar or drums

• harmonica

For mathematics, logic and strategy skills:

• chess, draughts, Connect Four, checkers

• battleships, mastermind

• packs of cards, Uno

• play money sets

• dice games

• puzzle books

For language skill development:

• books, audio books, story tapes

• jigsaw puzzles

• blackboards and chalk

• puppets

• farm or zoo animals

For creative and artistic skills:

• craft packages

• paint sets

• watercolour pencils

• play doh

THIS WEEKS PROVERB  - “ It’s better to give then receive “

In closing I would like to wish the entire Weir State School community a safe, happy Christmas and New Year period and I look forward to seeing all returning, and new, students and their families in 2020…..how very exciting!

Stay Strong, Smart and Connected Weir Community  

Mr B  -  Principal

Farewell and Good Luck to our Year 6’s… With the end of the year, comes another time for us to bid farewell to the leaders of our school. We have a group of students who have been together as a STRONG group of students for a year, who will now part ways and embark on a new journey of schooling of their own. From Kirwan SHS to Thuringowa SHS, Ryan CC, Pimlico , Heatley SC and more… our Year 6 students will spread themselves within the wider high school community of Townsville and take with them all they have been taught in their time at Weir.

 We wish all of our graduating Year 6 students all the very best and hope to see them come back and visit some time to show us how much more they have grown. Congratulations… and good luck!!!

Rule of the Week…

We will continue our work from last week around Being Safe, to take us through to the holidays. This is always an important expectation to reiterate to our students: 

BE SAFE

‘Keep hands, feet and objects to yourself’

Congratulations to the students of Weir who continue to work hard on meeting school expectations, particularly around ‘Keeping hands, feet and objects to yourself’. This term, we have seen a significant decrease in behaviour incidents involving physical misconduct. Well done kids. Thanks to the parents who have continued to support the school in its work to have students coming to school and not only being SAFE, but being RESPECTFUL and RESPONSIBLE in the way they are dealing with their problems when they arise. A great finish to the year.

Speaking of the end of the year… Like we said last week, it is so important that we encourage our students to stay SAFE during the holidays. Teachers have been spending time with students, going over how to keep safe during their time off. Please take the time to stress the importance of making STRONG and SMART choices and being SAFE when having some holiday fun.

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With our Year 6s moving on to begin their High School journey, to finish the year… we’ll take a look at:

Teenage Peer Groups…Friends and acquaintances are an essential part of a teenager’s day to day life. Groups may appear to be a distraction, but they give security in coping with emotional problems. A sense of normality is gained by comparing themselves with peers. Teenagers feel abnormal when they are different to their peers, and this threatens their sense of self. The peer group often seems to be their life support system. They need to be with peers, just as they previously needed to be with their parents. This is normal, though some teenagers have difficulty getting the right balance between peers and family.

Interest in music, fashion, sport or skateboarding—even if done alone—can give the support of shared experiences of the peer culture. Parents who oppose peer influences cause intense conflict and often lose the battle because the teenager feels the parent’s opposition is a threat to their survival. Parents help best when they share their teenager with peer groups. Rather than competing with peers’ influence, adults need to develop good communication with their children’s friends and give the teenagers time to form their own judgements of peers and evaluate the group dynamics from their own perspective and experience.

The best gift you can offer teenagers is patience and understanding while they travel through the trials and tribulations of adolescence. They need to have firm boundaries and to know that you are there to support them. They will make mistakes, we all do, but they need to learn from these mistakes in a positive and loving environment.

Merry Christmas and Thank You… I just wanted to wish everyone in our amazing community a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. From the Deputies and other office support staff, thank you for everything you have done in supporting the teachers and staff at our great school as we strive each day to give our students every opportunity to succeed.

As Mr B has said, we have accomplished a lot this year and there is even more to come in 2020. Everyone is looking forward to a well-earned rest, and the chance to connect with family and enjoy some down time… We’ll then hit the ground running in the New Year to begin our work and continue taking the school forward.

Please take care over the holidays and we will see you all in 2020. Merry Christmas!!!

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Mr Coey’s Joke of the Week…

Q: What can you get if you eat Christmas decorations?

A: Tinsel-itus

• Tuckshop is now closed for the school year and will reopen on Monday 20th January 2020 for the purchase of hats ($13.00), library bags ($10.00) and handwriting books ($14.00). Opening times will be advertised on skoolbag and facebook closer to the date.

• Family Portraits are now back and available for collection from tuckshop.

• Bookpacks will be arriving any day now. Keep an eye on the skoolbag app and facebook for collection times.

• Due to supply issues with microfibre brown school shorts, P&C, along with Administration, have made the decision to allow blue shorts/skorts/skirts to be worn as part of the Weir school uniform.  These are readily available from uniform shops and department stores such as Big W, Best and Less, K-Mart etc.  Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any concerns or questions.

The P&C would like to thank all students and parents for their support throughout the year. Have a wonderful holiday and we look forward to seeing you in 2020.

 Our school target for attendance is 92%.

Students with attendance levels below 85%  have been placed on a 5 week attendance improvement plan.

·         Family Networks

Information and support to explore their needs, mentoring, share experiences and ideas, investigating options for support.

·         Community Inclusion

Short term coordination, planning and connection to community

·         Transition support

Identifying services and support required to transition through the child developmental growth stages, service coordination, case management, counselling and access to specialist services.

Parent Connect support includes:

·         My Time -  a local parent support group providing time for themselves while the children are supervised in play.

·         PlayConnect - playgroups for children 0 -6 years who may have anxiety, sensory or developmental delays in communication, social skills and behaviour.

·         The Secret Agent Society (SAS) Computer Game Pack and Small Group Program help kids crack the code of emotions and friendships. Junior Detectives graduate from SAS equipped with the skills to feel happier, calmer and braver while making new friends and keeping them.

·         Workshops and special events – includes FunFlight, Ability First Australia – First Steps and Autism workshops.

Contact us for further information or to book an appointment on 0439 182 567 or 07 4759 2008 or email parentconnect@cootharinga.org.au

Find us on Facebook – parentconnectnq or our website

For information on how to access the Parent Connect service, upcoming workshops and events please do not hesitate to contact myself or Jane Grant on 4759 2008 or 0439 182 567 or email parentconnect@cootharinga.org.au