TERM 3 WEEK 2

Principal's message

WELCOME to Semester 2 2023

STAFFING UPDATE:

We welcome Mr Chris Boyd as our new school Groundsman. Chris joins our team with a wealth of experience working in schools, having worked in a range of roles including temporary groundsman roles in schools throughout Cairns. We also welcome Ms Mapendo, our wonderful new African bi-cultural teacher aide. We are grateful to have both staff on board. Sadly, our social worker Ms Monique Satrick will be leaving us this week, having accepted a promotional position with another department. Monique’s calming presence will be sadly missed by many staff and students and her support of some of our most vulnerable students in her short time here has been sincerely valued and appreciated. Thank you, Monique.

REPORT CARDS:

Semester one report cards were emailed to parents last week. Note, printed copies will only be provided to parents who do not have an email address on file. Please use your child’s report card to discuss their learning progress with their teacher at three-way-interviews in week 3. This is also an opportunity to set learning goals and improvement priorities for the remainder of the year.

TEACHER INTERVIEWS:

(Tues July 25th): We have introduced a new online booking system for 3Way Interviews this semester. A link was emailed to parents on Tuesday  . Please use this system to book a time to meet with your child’s teacher. If parents have any problems using the online booking system, please contact your child’s teacher directly or the office to arrange an interview time. 

INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE:

 I am extremely pleased to announce our school has been successful in securing funding to upgrade our Junior Playgrounds, thanks to the State Government’s `Playgrounds & Tuckshops Grants’ program. This grant will enable our school to remove the two outdated playgrounds in the junior play area and replace them with a larger, more modern playground. We look forward to this work commencing later this year. I am also relieved to report our senior amenities building is finally finished and was opened this week with the demountable toilets removed over the holidays.

AFTER SCHOOL SPERVISION:

Families are reminded our school hours are 8:30am – 2:30pm. We provide supervision from 8:00am – 3:00pm. We cannot guarantee the safety and supervision of children outside of these hours and appreciate parent support ensuring children do not come to school too early and are collected by 3:00pm each day. I also request that parents do not leave children to wait unsupervised while siblings attend after-school sport (e.g. netball). Parent support around this is sincerely appreciated.

BIG BREAKFAST:

A big thank you to families who come along to our Big Breakfast last week. Your support of our school is appreciated.

SCHOOL REVIEW:

Our school is in the process of undergoing a quadrennial review. This year, Education Qld has introduced a new model of review for schools in low-socioeconomic demographics called Partnership Reviews. Based on the complexity of our culturally-diverse student demographic, our school will be involved in a Partnership Review. Through this model, we will be requesting support from parents and community organisations to be part of the review process. Selective representatives will join a team of `Community Connectors’ who will meet with parents, students and others to listen to community voice. Then, in Term 4 Week 1, the Review Team will conduct the review, including documenting community voice and present the findings to the school community to inform future planning. We look forward showcasing the great work happening in our school as well as identifying areas for improvement.

Yours in Education, Jason Evert

Deputy Principal - Teaching & Learning

What a brilliant Semester of Teaching and Learning we have had at CWSS in Terms 1 and 2! Reading your child’s report card and attending 3Way interviews on Tuesday July 25th is an excellent way to be updated on your child/ren’s learning and progress. Please know you are always welcome to speak to your child/ren’s Classroom Teacher or Support Staff to find out more about your child’s learning development and how you can support them with their progress. At CWSS we value that parents are a child’s first teacher and we strive to making strong partnerships with families to ensure the best outcomes for our students.  

At the 3 way interview evening, families will receive the CWSS Learn Now to Succeed overviews which provide an insight into the exciting learning your child/ren will be engaging with in class this term. You are also most welcome to speak to your child’s teacher about visiting your child’s classroom before or after school to visit the wonderful learning environments. Check out our school’s fabulous Facebook page which showcases the awesome learning and exciting events occurring in our school.

Learning occurs in every classroom everyday at CWSS and we encourage you to be part of the journey.

5 ways to help your child succeed at school:

1. Everyday counts at school. Learning happens every day in classrooms from 8:30am so unless your child is unwell try to send them to school every day.
2. Encourage a good night’s sleep and healthy food ready for a good day at school.
3. Talk with your child about school – What do they enjoy? What did they learn?
4. Read! Read! Read! And Learn! Learn! Learn! in the home (count, sing, move, play).
5. Work with the school to support your child to be the best learner they can be.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me or visit me at the school. I look forward to seeing you at Tuesday’s 3 Way interview event!

Megan Mitchell  -  Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning

Deputy Principal - Student Services

Hello families of Cairns West, 
Welcome back to Semester 2!  

I want to share with you information around our Social and Emotional learning programs that we teach here at Cairns West.

The  two programs that are taught help to develop our students Social and Emotional Wellbeing.  We use the Social Skills Improvement Systems (SSIS) program to teach our schoolwide rules and expectations.  The SSIS units are chosen based on behaviour data that is analysed at PBL (Positive Behaviour for Learning) meetings, so students are being taught explicit expectations and positive behaviours.  Teachers also award their Student of the Week award to students who can competently demonstrate the new skills learnt. 
The other program is The Resilience Project (TRP).  The Resilience Project is committed to teaching positive mental health strategies to prevent mental ill-health and build young people's capacity to deal with adversity.  Teachers and students engage weekly in lessons and activities around the key principals of Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Emotional Literacy to build resilience. 

I encourage you to discuss these two programs with your children and practice TRP at home.   TRP@HOME is a place filled with inspiration and activities for the whole family,  to help improve your wellbeing and build resilience. 

Our FNQ regional attendance goal is 85%.  The only way we can achieve that is by you supporting your child every single day to come to school.  You must get them up, ready and to school.  If you are having trouble or need some support please contact our Student Services team who are more than happy to help make a plan to best support your child's needs.  Education is key and they aren't going to achieve success at home.  We understand that children get sick and need to stay home and rest, please message the Absent line on0429 272 048 to report your child's absence or reply to the absence SMS.  We need to account for all students every day.

Lastly, our wonderful community space is really starting to shine.  Please pop in and see Ms Annie in the community room.  Take a walk through the garden, have a cuppa and a yarn. We truly want family input and feedback and value the support you have to offer.  

A massive thank you to the Cairns West community for being the best!

Hayley Lawton - Deputy Principal Student Services

What's Happening this Term

• 2023 FNQ Futsal Titles (boys) -  Thursday 27 July - Redlynch Central Sports Stadium
• Trinity Coast Central Athletics Carnival  - Friday 28 July - Barlow Park
• All Abilities Sports Day  -  Thursday 31 August - Barlow Park

TryFOR5!

100% Club

47 students attended Pizza with the Principal last week to celebrate being part of the 100% Club. It was a huge success.

I look forward to welcoming more students to the 100% Club at the end of the Term. 

Katie Hughes  -  Head of Department – Student Services 

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Dear parents, guardians and carers 

Re: Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) 

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).  

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes: 

• year of schooling 
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional 
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive. 

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability. 

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy. 

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal. 

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.  

Kind regards 
Kelly Muffett, Head of Special Education Services 

Cairns Safer Streets - Term 3 Program

Visiting Pre-Service Teacher

Hello there,

My name is Livia Grau, and I'm a 21-year-old Swiss pre-service teacher. Currently, I'm studying in Zurich and will soon start my third year at the University of Education. In Switzerland, I already teach in a 5th-grade class. In our training we’re supposed to do an Assistant Teachership in an English-speaking country. So I wanted to choose something special and decided to go to Australia.

I'm really excited to do my three-week-long practicum at CWSS. I am enjoying my time in Soyraya Cook's class. It's fascinating to get a glimpse into a school on the other side of the world. There are some similarities, but there are also many differences between the two school systems. I really appreciate the mindset and values like "be respectful, be safe, and be a learner" at CWSS, and I might bring some of these ideas and perspectives back to Swiss schools.

I'm looking forward to spending two more weeks at Cairns West........Livia

Congratulations to Whitney Thomas in 5A for her entries in this years Cairns Show.  Whitney placed third in the portrait section and Highly Commended for her action shot..........                               Amazing photos Whitney😍

Our Community Co-creating the here and now through Education and Opportunity

Adopt a Spot in some of the offerings at our school
Wuchopperen Community Playgroup
Each Friday morning Wuchopperen visit our school to free host free playgroup for Parents and children aged between 0-5

Find us in the Community Room beside the Community Garden, Mayers Street entrance
Please join us to 

• meet new people 
• play with your child with all the awesome t
• yarn with others about all the things 

Our Community Food Garden is generating interest within our community and families are Adopting a Spot to collectively grow food to share with their families and each other.
The garden is on the Mayers Street boundary of the school and is made up of raised beds for easy access.
Plots are available for individual families or you can be part of the communal bed.
Please feel free to wander through and if you are interested in seizing the opportunity to grow some food please find Annie to yarn further 

 Annie  -  Community Connector

Running and Walking Group                                                Every Monday and Wednesday Morning
7.00am – 8.00am

Take the opportunity to join with us to move our bodies, fill our lungs and wake up our thoughts.
In fine weather we are on the oval, wet weather we are in the hall.
Whole family participation is welcome