Dear parents, friends and students,

It’s amazing how time flies especially at the beginning of the year and it’s hard to believe we’ve made it through to the end of Term 1 already. Once again, I would like to extend my gratitude to the staff and community for your understanding, flexibility and support during the difficult circumstances that this term has thrown at us all. Each week we hope that things settle a bit more and that we get back to a more consistent level of normality than we have recently experienced with the large numbers of absences of students and staff. Our primary hall is back up and running and we also have renovations occurring in our secondary hall very soon. We are very lucky to have our two halls and auditorium for use across a wide variety of activities and events

The College remains committed to aligning our work across the campus to provide a seamless approach to education. Both sectors have worked together to ensure more consistency of practice paving the way for smoother transitions from primary to secondary. Our transition meetings have already begun for our prep staff into the surrounding early childhood centres and our secondary staff into our feeder primary schools.

COVID update
When we return after the break the following COVID rules will apply.

• If a person has isolated as a positive case and is then identified a close contact within 12 weeks of leaving isolation, they are not considered a close contact and do not need to quarantine.
• For 7 days after ending isolation or quarantine, staff and students (12 years and over) who return to the College after having COVID-19 or as a close contact, are required to wear a facemask anywhere indoors or outdoors when unable to physically distance.
• Mask wearing in school is not mandatory at the moment except in the circumstance mentioned above.

The Chief Medical Health Officer continues to promote the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccines by children over the age of 5. Australia is one of the most highly vaccinated countries in the world. Around 95% of Australian adults are fully vaccinated. Vaccines reduce potential disruptions to learning, allowing children to continue to attend school and extracurricular activities. 

The Vaccine Clinic Finder can be used to book a vaccination appointment for children and more resources are available on the Department of Health website at:

https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/who-can-get-vaccinated/children

Uniform
With the change in season coming on, we want to thank parents for continuing to support our Student Dress Code. The Dress Code was developed in conjunction the P&C and reflects our community ethos. Of particular note is what is acceptable as outer wear (warm clothes) during the cooler and cold months ahead. Please note that hoodies are not acceptable and are not permitted.

Finally I would like to wish all students and their families a very relaxing Easter break full of fun and laughter.

Jeff Jones
Executive Principal

Farewell Mrs Diedre Smith
Yesterday we said farewell to our P-2 Deputy Principal, Mrs Deidre Smith, after her recent announcement of retirement. Mrs Smith has worked in education for 40 years in various schools, private and public and in both primary and secondary throughout her career. Mrs Smith came to Woodcrest in April 2017 and worked mainly in the Prep – 2 area throughout that time. She certainly loved working with children and really loved working with the students and staff at Woodcrest. It was a very difficult decision for her to finish up and yesterday there were lots of tears and hugs. The students gave her a rousing standing ovation and three cheers that lifted the hall roof to celebrate a wonderful career. The entire college would like to thank Mrs Smith for all she has done to make student lives better and wish her every happiness for her retirement.

Deputy Principal Restructure
As a result of Mrs Smith’s retirement and the staffing allocation for the primary school, we will be ceasing the third deputy principal position. From the start of Term 2, Mr Fields will be deputy principal responsible for Year P-2 and Miss Yager will be deputy principal responsible for Year 3-6. As our administration team have always worked very closely together a smooth transition to this new structure is expected.   

Mid-Semester Interim Reports
Term 1 has certainly been a challenge for everyone with so many disruptions and only roughly seven weeks of possible learning time. I realise that many people have wondered what impact this may have had on children and their learning, but I have been amazed by the resilience shown by our students throughout this challenging time. Parents and staff have been outstanding role models for our students during this time.

Teachers have had to adapt the curriculum to ensure that key elements of the curriculum have been covered. Additionally, to support students and parents with feedback around student progress, we are going to provide a Mid-Semester Interim Report in Week 2 of Term 2 for the key learning areas English and Mathematics only. The interim report is, as mentioned, a progress report and the rating provided is to be used as a guide to what students may receive on their End-Semester 1 Report. There will be no written comments from teachers, just a proposed rating only. The interim rating will allow students to set a clear direction for learning in Term 2 and with support from parents and of course school staff, students can achieve the best grades possible by the end of the semester.

The interim report will be followed by the opportunity for parents to book Parent/Teacher interviews through SOBS (School Online Booking Service) to be conducted in Week 3 of Term2. The support for students from both home and school working together will provide students the best opportunity for success.

Thank You
A huge thank you to students, parents and staff for all your hard work and tremendous effort throughout Term 1. This truly is something to celebrate given all that has been thrown our way over the last few months. With everyone continuing to work on our college values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience we have made it through his difficult start to the school year and with continued perseverance we will push on once again next term working together to achieve success and Inspire Students.  Have a wonder break and enjoy time together over the Easter.

Regards, 
Peter Lund
Primary School Principal

Dear Parents & Carers and Woodcrest Community

As we move into the Easter break, I’d like to thank all of our families for their resilience and commitment to ongoing learning for our students, throughout a term that presented a range of challenges. While we continued to navigate the impacts of the pandemic, we were also able to create a range of fantastic experiences for our students. Highlights included our Student Leadership Investiture Ceremony, High Achievers & DUX 2021 assembly and Year 7 Camp. It was wonderful to finally welcome back visitors into our school and to be able to once again take our students outside the gates of the College for excursions and camps. We look forward to be able to offer many more of these kinds of learning experiences in term 2.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank staff who are leaving us at the end of this term to take on other roles and opportunities beyond Woodcrest. We wish the following staff farewell and thank them for their dedication to the College:

• Ms Jessica Maxwell
• Ms Tracey Waitere-Cotter
• Mrs Loren Buchanan

Farewell to Long Serving Staff Member – Loren Buchanan
It is with great sadness that we farewell Mrs Loren Buchanan who has been staff member at Woodcrest State College since 2005.  Ms Buchanan came to Woodcrest to take up the role of Head of Department – Senior School and has played an instrumental role in creating and supporting pathway opportunities for our students over many years.

Ms Buchanan has been a dedicated member of the Woodcrest State College leadership team and her passion for improving student outcomes has motivated her to provide excellent learning experiences for students, particularly in vocational education. She has led a range of initiatives for our students including work experience and supported students to obtain traineeships and apprenticeships and progress their learning through partnerships with local businesses and training providers.

In addition to her work in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) space, Ms Buchanan has also been a hardworking member of the Humanities Department and a Head of Middle Secondary, supporting students to engage with learning.

While we are sad that Ms Buchanan is leaving us, we are excited for her to be able to enjoy this next phase of life.  On behalf of Woodcrest State College, I thank Ms Buchanan for her outstanding service to not only our school, but to the Queensland public education system.

We wish her all the best in her travels and life beyond Woodcrest. Ms Buchanan has promised to come back and visit us and when she does, we look forward to hearing about her exciting adventures. 

Reporting & Parent-Teacher Interviews
Teachers are currently finalising the marking and moderation of assessment across Years 7 – 12. After the Easter break, interim report cards will be issued to students at the beginning of Week 2, with Parent-Teacher interviews scheduled to take place the following week on Wednesday afternoon 4^th May.   We encourage parents/carers to take this opportunity to engage with their student’s teachers through these interviews. More information will be provided next term.

High Achievers & DUX 2021
On March 21^st it was with pleasure that we invited back to the College the following students to recognise their outstanding achievements in 2021.

Congratulations to the following students who attained an ATAR result of 85.00 and higher.

• Ruth Cyril
• Leah Flores
• Angie Le
• Lana Ortlipp
• Christian Risco
• Jackson Trennery

Finally, a huge congratulations to our 2021 Year 12 Dux, Christian Risco! Christian is currently studying Maths/Science at the University of Queensland. He is enjoying University life and looks forward to what the future holds. During the assembly, Christian gave a speech in which he encouraged students to follow a path that inspires them to be the best version of themselves and make the most of every opportunity that comes their way, as they may never know where it may lead them. We thank Christian for his wise words and wish all of our students all the best for their studies, future careers and lives ahead.

Next Step Survey – Year 12 2021
Next Step is a statewide post-school destination survey of all students who completed Year 12 last year in Queensland.

Insights gained from Next Step assist schools to review and plan their services for students, and school system personnel to evaluate education policies as they affect the transition from school to further study and employment.

The survey information helps:

• parents and the wider public to know student outcomes in the year after leaving school and to appreciate the range of options available to students
• schools to review and plan their services for students, especially in the senior years of schooling
• school systems to review their education policies as they support student transitions from school to further study and employment
• training bodies, universities, business and industry, local government and regional planners to plan their services.

This year’s survey of 2021 Year 12 completers opened on 21^st March 2022. If your school leaver hasn’t already done so, we ask the parents and carers of our 2021 Year 12 students to encourage them to complete the survey. All students should receive a letter inviting them to participate in the survey online. If they do not complete the survey online, they will be phoned by the Queensland Government Statistician's Office and offered the option to complete the survey over the phone. The data is reported in a way that school leavers cannot be individually identified by any of the information in the Next Step survey results.

Further information about Next Step is available at www.qld.gov.au/nextstep/.

Regards, 
Kelsey Oakes
Secondary School Principal