Dear parents, friends and students,

World Events
The current situation in the Ukraine has far reaching consequences politically and economically across the globe. The uncertainty of what may or may not happen is something that will be on everyone’s minds including our students who engage in watching the news and world events. Any conflict creates a sense of dread and this may be deeply felt by some of our students. If your child brings this up, I would encourage you to engage in conversation with them. We have a number of support mechanisms at the school as well and are happy to talk with you about supporting your children through their understanding of this situation and how they are feeling about it.  Please contact your child’s teacher or sector deputy if you would like further assistance.

COVID Restrictions easing
The Premier announced this week the easing of restrictions from 6pm on the 4^th of March.

That means from Monday the 7^th of March students and staff will no longer be required to wear masks at school. We’re all looking forward to that and being able to see each other properly.

I would like to thank and acknowledge the great work of the Woodcrest College community in following the current restrictions as a way of keeping all of us safe. We continue to promote hygienic behaviours across the campus and have designated cleaners onsite all day constantly sanitising high touch areas, like door handles, handrails and desks.

If your child/ren display any COVID symptoms, we ask that you keep them at home and get tested. The College will continue to provide RATs when sending a student home with any COVID symptoms. The government continues to promote vaccinations for anyone over the age of 5 as an important step in keeping our entire community safe.

Quality Teaching
The overarching frame of our Annual Improvement Plan this year is ‘Quality Teaching’. This work is focussed on embedding a high level of teachers’ knowledge and skills into every class to develop successful students into global citizens. The actions and commitment to this ideal that I have seen in the short time I have been here, fills me with confidence that all the students at Woodcrest are being given every opportunity and support to be successful in their work. The focus across the College from the foundation work in prep through to the rich variety of pathways offered in senior means that every student’s learning needs are catered for and extended. The total commitment of the College staff to ensuring we have a P-12 focus is being realised each week as various teams work together to activate the seamless education vision and celebrate our inspiring students. The choice to have your children educated at Woodcrest is an excellent one.

The four pillars at WSC underlying Quality Teaching are;

• Culture- A high performing culture focused on enhancing the learning for all members of the community.
• People- A community of leaners that has high levels of confidence in the expertise of the staff to deliver Quality Teaching and Learning throughout the College.
• Alignment-College community members actively collaborate to deliver a seamless journey for leaners from pre-prep to pathways.
• Ingenuity- Our classrooms are engaged communities of resilient, curious and creative thinkers.

Uniform
It’s very pleasing to see that the overwhelming majority of our students and families are supporting our College by wearing the uniform in line the P&C agreed policy. It is through doing this we look smart, feel smart and send positive messaging to everyone across this part of Springfield that we are proudly Woodcrest.

Kind regards

Jeff Jones
Executive Principal

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the 2022 school year in primary at Woodcrest State College. It was fantastic to finally have the vast majority of our students back after the delayed start to the year. I was able to get to all classes on the first day back and was delighted to see our students showing school pride with all students having the correct uniform and respectfully displaying our class expectations at a high level.

Welcome to our 2022 Prep students and families. I have been really amazed by how well these students have settled into their classrooms and how they started on the first day with such confidence. I am pretty sure there were very few tears from students, rather more tears form parents.

Welcome also to all of our new students and families arriving in Years 1-6 this year. We are so pleased that you have chosen to enrol at Woodcrest and excited for your contribution to culture and learning at the school.

We have quite a few new staff members in primary this year and we welcome them also to our school community.

Miss Stephanie Lumley – Year 2
Miss Taylor Potockyj – Year 2
Kirstie Maguire – Year 3
Meera James – Year 4
Montana Sansby – Year 5
Anna Jacob - Year 6
Sue Goto – Japanese
David Pullen - Music

School Start Time
We are now three weeks into the school year with all students attending and I need to remind families that our school now starts at 8:50am. I ask that parents/carers please get students to school on time, preferably by 8:45am, so that valuable learning time is not lost. Each time a child enters the classroom late, it disrupts the class during the peak learning time.

Attendance
Our college goal is to reach 92% attendance across P-10. Every hour missed adds up over time and the best teaching and learning can do nothing for a child who is not in the classroom. Attendance is so essential for high student outcomes. Let’s give our students the best chance to be successful by supporting a high level of attendance each and every day. 

School Values
Students have been busy in these first weeks learning or revising our school values:

• Respect
• Responsibility
• Resilience

These values form the foundation of how we do things at Woodcrest and guide students and adults in the way we think, communicate and act.

School Staffing
Each year schools are allocated teaching and support staff according to the number of student enrolments.  In most cases, school decisions relating to staffing predictions and class compositions made at the end of the previous year, are usually quite accurate making for a smooth transition for all families when beginning a new school year. 

In 2022, we had to make a change that impacted on our Year 2 and Year 3 students as there were a some over sized classes which led to a Year 3/2 class being formed. Thank you to the wonderful students, families and staff who were able to adapt for this change to occur. A perfect example of our value of resilience.   

Communicating with Teachers
Please respect teacher time before school as they are busy preparing for the day ahead. If you need to speak to the teachers, please use the teacher email or Class DoJo addresses provided by the teachers and for in depth discussions, make an appointment with the teacher for a suitable meeting time.

I look forward to working with you throughout the term.

Peter Lund
Principal - Primary

It was a pleasure this week to officially recognise our student leaders for 2022 at our Leadership Investiture Ceremony. During this ceremony we presented our Senior and Junior Leaders with their badges and students undertook their leadership pledge.  

Our senior and junior leaders are exceptional young people who have been chosen by their peers to lead the student body for 2022. Being a leader of our College is a great honour, one which comes with high expectations. We have every confidence that our leaders will uphold the College values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience each and every day and model the way for their peers. We wish all of our student leaders all the best for their leadership journey in 2022.

Reaching the final year of high school is a milestone moment in a student’s learning journey. This week we acknowledged this milestone by presenting our Year 12s students with their senior badges. It was wonderful to see their excitement, as they pondered the challenges and moments of celebration to come throughout the year. Our Year 12s play an important role in supporting our student leaders and we know they will do a wonderful job encouraging and modelling the Woodcrest Way to our younger students. Congratulations again to our Year 12 students. We look forward to recognising and celebrating the achievements of our Year 12s throughout the year.

Attendance
The attendance goal of our College four-year plan is that all students maintain a yearly attendance rate of 93% and above. The research tells us that students who attend school regularly experience better life outcomes, particularly in terms of health and employment. Students who attend school all day, every day: learn better, make friends, are happier and have a brighter future. We appreciate during this pandemic student will fall ill and we ask that you follow the health advice to ensure students stay home when sick. However, unless sick, it is more important than ever that students stay connected and attend school every day to maintain their learning and engagement with school.

Kind regards

Kesley Oakes
Principal - Secondary

SHARE Reading Dogs is a program that aims to motivate and encourage students with reading difficulties. SHARE, which stands for ‘Special Human Animal Relationships in Education’, involves a dog and its handler working with either individual students or small groups of students who need a little extra help with their reading in class.

The program provides students with the opportunity to read aloud to the ‘reading dog’ for a set amount of time each week. Reading aloud to a ‘non-judgmental’ audience such as dog has shown to give students extra confidence and motivation, especially those who struggle with reading.

A bond is encouraged between the child and the dog by having the same child read to the same dog each week. The dog allows children to gain confidence and self-esteem by providing his or her attention in an atmosphere free of criticism. Such an environment allows children to feel less self-conscious, as dogs don’t worry if a child stutters or mispronounces a word.

Animal Welfare League of Queensland (AWLQ) are looking for new dog & handler teams, specifically for Woodcrest State College & potentially other schools within the area. Any age or breed of dog are welcome to apply and the dog will need to pass a 'skills assessment' at the AWLQ Gold Coast Rehoming Centre & the volunteer will need to be eligible to apply for a blue card. Please contact Kathryn Calthorpe;  education@awlqld.com.au  should you be interested in joining this fabulous & rewarding programme.

This term our Year 9 science students are exploring body systems and how our bodies respond to changes in our environment to keep us healthy and functioning for life. Students explored their body responses to: icy cold water dripped down their neck, feathers tickling their skin, 5 minutes of non-stop exercise and holding their breath for as long as possible.  Students also simulated how sweat is important for the body to cool itself down.  In groups, students predicted how their bodies would respond and then collected data to prove or disprove their predictions.  Students are realising just how amazing our bodies are and the important processes they perform to keep us alive each day; helped by the positive choices we make.

Dear Families

I am excited to inform you that our school will be reopening the Homework Centre in Week 6 (1^st March) this term and will operate during Weeks 2 – 9 each term throughout the year for students in Years 7-12. 

The Homework Centre provides families with an opportunity for students to complete homework activities, assignments or activities, supporting school-based learning at no cost.

The Centre is designed to:

• Support students to develop good study habits and provide additional learning time for students with their peers
• Support student learning, development and engagement in school
• Forge positive links between home and school
• Ease the burden on working families by providing a supervised and supportive setting away from home to complete school work

We know finding time to complete homework done can be challenging for busy families.

To help assist, student can now complete homework in a supervised learning environment before returning home from school. Catering for up to 24 students in each homework session, they are free and healthy snacks will be provided.

Our school’s Homework Centre will be supervised by a teacher and teacher aides in the school’s Resource Centre (Secondary Library) and will be open:

• Tuesday from 3pm – 4pm
• Wednesday from 3pm – 4pm
• Thursday from 3pm – 4pm

Should you wish to register your child, please complete the attached registration form and return a signed copy to HomeworkCentre@woodcrestsc.eq.edu.au . The registration form can also be located in the document library on the College website.

Please be aware that specific information is required regarding departure times and if the student is allowed to sign themselves out of the Homework Centre. 

More information regarding Homework Centres can be found online at www.qld.gov.au/homeworkcentres.

If you have any questions regarding the Homework Centre, please do not hesitate to contact the school via email on HomeworkCentre@woodcrestsc.eq.edu.au

Yours sincerely

James Somerville

HOD of Student Engagement and Wellbeing