woodlinks newsletter - woodlinks state school€¦ · 16/10/2019 · state school woodlinks only...

1

D A T E C L A I M E R S :

From the Principal’s Desk

WoodLinks Newsletter 16 October 2019

Only Our Best,

Everyone,

Everyday

STATE SCHOOL

WOODLINKS

Only Our Best, Everyone, Everyday

Cont.

ASSEMBLY

Every Mon 2.15pm YR 3-6

Every Fri 9.00an 1—2

Mon 21st October

Pupil Free Day

Friday 25th October

Day for Daniel

Saturday 26th October

Jacaranda Festival

Friday 01st November

P&C Halloween Disco

Playgroup in the Hall

Tue and Thur 9:00am

Little Learners in the Hall

Every Monday 9-10.30

2019 Uniform Shop Hours

Mondays 8.15—9am

Wednesdays 3.10—3.45pm

EFTPOS AVAILABLE

Prep Transition

The Prep Transition Program has been running twice a week since before the

holidays and will wrap up this week. These eight sessions have provided the

children who will start their learning journeys with us next year with

invaluable insights into what they can expect from school. The sessions

allowed them to know where the important things are and they have formed

a bond with our school. This goes a long way to them feeling comfortable

with their transition into school.

At the same time, parents and families have been able to access sessions

about the school, the way that it operates, information and about how

children learn and the programs that our school offers. It also allowed

families to build relationships with the staff members and families of our

school community.

I have also appreciated the way that this program is organised, with the

current Prep students being able to spend time in the spaces outside the Prep

area, so that they understand what next year will look like for them. This is a

facet of this program.

My congratulations go to everyone involved in the planning and running of

this exceptional program.

Student Leader Process

The Student Leader Process kicks off this week, with students in Grade 5

able to apply for school and sports leadership positions. I wish all of the

candidates the best and look forward to seeing the results.

Community of Practice

At the end of last term Mr Gallagher and I attended a meeting with leaders

from 4 other schools, as well as some folks from our Regional Office and

Central Office, in a program that is called a Community of Practice.

At these meetings we share our work and the people present give us

feedback, allowing us to refine our work even further. We then do the same

for other schools.

This is a great program, as it quality assures what we do against the work of

our Region and the State.

2

S c h o o l B a n k i n g


GREG NOBLE

Acting Principal

Only Our Best, Everyone, Everyday

Life

I often hear people describe themselves as “a morning person” or “a night owl”. Inevitably, these

conversations swing around to a discussion about how to be more like the one that they are not.

Want to be more of a “morning person”? How you get out of bed can set the tone for the whole

day. If you start off rushed and cranky, your whole day can follow suit. How can you set yourself up

to feel spacious and supported instead? Here are some suggestions.

Rise early enough so you don’t have to start the day in a rush. Yes, that may mean going to bed

half an hour earlier, but it’s worth it! If you are a night owl, put some energy into re-setting

your body clock, so the mornings aren’t so tough.

On waking, start the day with some self-appreciation, by acknowledging the qualities and

abilities that you possess. Feeling valued is one of our core needs and you can take

responsibility for meeting that need by regularly appreciating yourself, rather than relying only on external recognition. Carry this awareness of your inner resource-full-ness into your day.

Notice the way you get out of bed. Get back in and this time step out with respect for your

body and with a quality you’d like to take into the day. Calm? Centred? Harmonious?

Once out of bed, see if you can get some direct sunlight first thing, maybe as you exercise, or

commute to work. At a minimum go outside to brush your teeth. Morning sun helps you wake

up naturally, signalling to your body clock that it’s time to release alertness-inducing hormones.

Solar energy is a source of renewable energy for the human body as well as the planet.

Review your breakfast – does it nourish and sustain you? How do you eat it – mindlessly, on

the run, or consciously?

At work or home, make someone’s day by acknowledging them. Be specific about what you

appreciate about them. Research suggests that in order to flourish, personal and workplace

relationships need a ratio of 5:1 positive: negative comments.

If you feel really stressed thinking about the day ahead, get pro-active about lining up someone

to talk to.

Next week I’ll share some night time tips.

3


NEWS FROM THE PREP COHORT


We are full steam ahead in Prep! This term in English we are learning to write a letter. We are focussing on

understanding what is required to make a good letter - a greeting, a message, a suggestion, personal

connection, a sign off and an illustration to match. We are learning to self-monitor when engaging in sentence

writing by using our move on up walls and ensuring we have used a capital letter for the start of a sentence

and names, finger spaces, full stops and making sure it makes sense. Each of the Prep classes have created a

space for a post office to engage the children’s interests. We would love it if you could encourage your child

to write letters to friends and family at home. Our assessment task this week focuses on reading a text and

answering comprehension questions.

In Maths we are learning to understand numbers through number patterns such as sequencing and identifying

missing numbers. We are learning to understand that we do not always need to start at one to count a

collection of objects and, sequences can start from any number. We are using manipulatives and concrete

materials such as blocks, play dough, pasta, unifix cubes and mini whiteboards to assist us with our learning.

This term is focusing on understanding numbers and representing them in different ways to aid in the

understanding of early addition. Practising simple addition at home with your child using household items is a

great way to embed this learning.

In Science this term, we have a focus on materials. We are learning about materials such as wood, metal,

fabric, glass, rubber and others. We are learning to identify their properties and what things they could be

used to make. Discussing this at home will reinforce your child’s learning in a fun and engaging way, for

example, you could ask your child if it would work to make a house out of paper and to justify their thinking in

relation to its properties.

We all hope you have a wonderful week!

4


STEPHANIE ALEXANDER GARDEN PROGRAM


Welcome back to Term 4.

Cooking will start in Week 2 for the Year 6s. We will be making

different recipes from last term. Each class needs at least 5 volunteers

to help with the cooking. Cooking is a fun few hours at school and

you get to sample what everyone has cooked on the day! Please let the school or the class

teacher know if you are available to help out. Please remember that all volunteers other than

parents of the students are required to have a Volunteer Blue Card.

Woolworths seeds are growing well and these are a few tomatoes

that have be picked from the plants at school. This Term we will be

making Pasta in our Cooking class.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

5


PBL NEWS


Welcome back WoodLinks Heroes! This term we will be focusing on being an 'Upstander.' Throughout weekly

behaviour lessons, our students will be learning how to define and recognise bullying. They will categorise a

range of incidents as being either 'mean' or 'rude' and also learn the High 5!

This term our students are also working hard towards incident free weeks to attend the end of term

celebration. Eligible students will attend a wet play session just in time for summer! Students who have

also had a semester of excellent behaviour will receive their badge in Week 10.

6



7



8



woodlinks newsletter - woodlinks state school€¦ · 16/10/2019 · state school woodlinks only...

Documents