TERM 4 - WEEK 6

Principals message

Hello Families

SCHOOL HOURS: At Cairns West, school hours are from 8:30am – 2:30pm each day. Our school staff provide supervision from 8:00am – 3:00pm. We cannot guarantee the safety and supervision of children outside of these hours and appreciate parent support around ensuring children do not come to school too early and are collected by 3:00pm each day.

For information around `Outside School Hours Care’ (OSHC) please contact the PCYC 0437 170 515(or the school office 40 379 777).

2024 STUDENT LEADERS: This week a selected group of year five students joined our current year six student leaders at a Potential Leaders Day at Holloway's Beach Environmental Education Centre. The day enabled our year fives to engage in team building and leadership development activities in the lead up to nominations for the 2024 student leaders. Next week nominees will be presenting their leadership speeches. I acknowledge and thank our 2023 student leaders for the great job they have done this year and Mrs Thompson for her ongoing commitment to student leadership development.

SWIMMING: This week our prep and year one students are the last year levels to complete our 2023 swimming program at the Woree pool. Thank you to Mr Pudovskis and all involved in organising this very important program. Our swimming program creates significant disruption to our normal school routines and we appreciate everybody’s flexibility to ensure all of our students learn this crucial life skill.

SCHOOL REVIEW: Next week we enter the fifth and final phase of our partnership review. On Thursday 16 November, the senior principal reviewer, Kylie Smith will visit our school with our school supervisor Mandy Whybird and regional director Shirlee Gallo to unpack the review report with our community connectors and leadership team and support with the planning phase of our next four-year strategic plan.

Once finalised, the Review Report will be published on our school website. Again, I thank the parents and staff who engaged in the review as Community Connectors. Their interviews and feedback not only provided affirmations of the great work happening in this school, they provided valuable feedback and ideas to support our ongoing improvement journey. I also thank all of our community partners, students, parents and staff who engaged in this important process.

The consultation process included 286 interviews with 44 community members & stakeholders, 93 school staff, 65 students and 84 parents and carers. The report is a healthy snapshot of how our school is performing and a genuine effort to support our school to continue to improve our delivery of education to this community. Thank you to all involved.

DIWALI DAY: This Friday we will acknowledge Diwali Day. This important celebration is a reminder of the diversity of cultures that exist in our school and to be grateful that we are a school that encompasses such a rich combination of cultural backgrounds that flourish through education.

It’s great to see the effort being invested in classroom door displays and I can’t wait to see students in traditional dress on Friday. Thank you, Mr Deepak, for all your hard work coordinating this celebration and the families who generously share their culture through this important celebration. Your efforts are appreciated.

Yours in Education, Jason Evert  -  Principal

Deputy Principal - Teaching & Learning

Hello CWSS community,

As we approach the end of the year, teachers are busy assessing student progress. Every day counts at CWSS and ensuring your child attends school on time 5 days a week, is the best way to support their learning achievement. At the end of this term, your child/ren will receive their Semester Two Academic Report, which will provide point in time information about achievement over this semester. Being aware of your child’s progress and celebrating the distance travelled is an important part of being your child’s learning partner.

Reading has always been an important school skill but reading is so much more than a school lesson, it is a human right and has the potential to change life outcomes. At Cairns West reading is a school priority.

Recently Minister Grace released the Queensland reading commitment which will;

• ensure a consistent, evidence-informed approach across all schools in the effective teaching of reading;
• identify key checkpoints to provide early identification and support for students needing extra help, including the Phonic Check for Year 1 students;
• provide professional development in teaching and supporting reading for teachers, teacher aides, middle leaders and school principals; and
• provide guidance for families about supporting reading at home.

Reading is one of the most researched aspects of learning, because of this the way reading is taught has changed over time. At Cairns West State School we are committed to teaching reading in the most effective way possible to ensure our students master this important life skill.

Reading is taught through all learning areas and subjects of the Australian Curriculum.

Reading requires two very important skills; decoding (reading) the words on the page & making meaning from the words, sentences and paragraphs that are read.

Parents play an important role in helping children learn to read by both:

• listening to your child read aloud to practise decoding words,
• reading aloud to your child to build their understanding of language and literacy.

Ask your child’s teacher how you can best support your child to develop their superpower & lifelong love of reading!

Thank you for being a partner in your child's learning journey.

Megan Mitchell  -  Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning

Deputy Principal - Student Services

Hello Cairns West Families,

Mobile phones, social media and the internet all play massive parts in our day to day lives.  It is how we communicate, watch TV shows, play games and it is how teenagers socialise and communicate with each other.  As parents it is crucial that we monitor what our children are doing online - who they are talking to, sending snapchats to, playing games against.  Once photos are posted/sent they belong to the social media platform and even though it gets deleted it remains in the world wide web.  

Snapchat has been causing a lot of issues in the upper grades at the moment  with group chats and cyberbullying.  The minimum age for a snapchat account is 13 years old.  I urge you to discuss this with your child and decide if the account is having a positive or negative impact on them mentally and physically.  If it is not having a positive impact then discuss the necessity of having the account.

Our teachers have been discussing this with students this week and if there are issues with cyberbullying you need to report it to the police.  

At the moment the policy for Cairns West State School students is they hand their mobile phone in at the office and collect it after school.  We remind parents to discuss this with their children.  The Department of Education has implemented a new policy that will roll out Term 1 2024 where mobile phones will be 'away for the day'.  Students will not be allowed to have their phones on during the day but will be able to access to contact family before and after school.  

We will be monitoring this very closely for the remainder of the term and encouraging students to make positive choices.

The year 6's will be participating in a U Choose program delivered by the Police in week 7,8 and 9 to inform students about online safety and the realities of cyberbullying.  It is a fantastic program that will inform students and give them tools to cope with being online.

If you have any questions about the above mentioned, feel free to contact myself or Mr Gleave.

Year 6 End of Year Events

Term 4 is such an exciting time for our year 6 students.  They have many events that take place in the last week of term:

Week 10 celebrations:

Monday 4^th December - SUGARWORLD for the day - please make payment to the office as soon as possible

Tuesday 5^th December - Presentation day and Year 6 Graduation - more information to come

Wednesday 6^th December - Yr 6 High School orientation day - Students go to their High School for an orientation day.  If you have not enrolled your child in a High School they will miss out.  Please contact Mrs Hughes if you need support to complete their high school enrolment

Thursday 7^th December - Debrief from transition day at CWSS

Friday 8^th December - LAST DAY of Primary school 

We thank you for supporting your child through their education journey and look forward to celebrating their completion of Primary School.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact the office to discuss.

Take care 

Hayley Lawton - Deputy Principal Student Services

Visual Arts Department

Students in Prep to year 2 have been using materials with different textures to cover boards and then they have been experimenting with what it’s like to paint these different kinds of textures. Warm coloured paints were used and then we made prints from the boards. 

Some of these amazing art pieces will be on show at the STEAM show case this week.

Kathy Laurila  -  Visual Arts Teacher

Visual Arts

Instrumental Music 2024

The Instrumental Music program at Cairns West State School in 2024 is offered to students in years 4, 5, and 6 who want to learn an instrument.

An Expression of Interest letter will be sent home with year 3 students next week inviting them to apply to participate in the program.

Tuition is available on the following instruments: Flute, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, trumpet, trombone, percussion.  

Nathan Christodoulides - Instrumental Teacher

The Salvation Army Australia - Food and Gift Support

Christmas is meant to be a time of celebration and joy, but if finances are tight, it can be challenging, stressful and isolating.

Contact us if you are experiencing a crisis, unsure if you have enough food for Christmas, or don’t know how you will afford presents for your kids.

Your local Salvo centre and churches may be able to support you with food, toys, gifts and vouchers. We want to help you and help you believe in good for Christmas and for the year ahead.

Confirm your eligibility by reaching out to us.

We also offer emergency food hampers throughout the year and other urgent financial assistance such as grocery and fuel vouchers, clothing and furniture vouchers, and food hampers. Alternatively, you may wish to have a free, confidential conversation with a financial counsellor to help you with debt and money management for a stress-free Christmas.

Cairns Safer Street Activities - Term 4

STUDENT OF THE WEEK  -  TERM 4 week 5 & 6

Week 5 - Student of the Week

Week 6 - Student of the Week

TRY FOR 5! Attendance - Term 4 - week 4 & 5 students

Each week 1 Student from each year level who has achieved 100% attendance for the week will receive a Try For 5! Prize.

Students will be announced at parade and given their certificate and prize.

Cowboys TRYFOR5! is an inter-school challenge, designed to address short and long term impacts of students missing foundation learning in their primary years through poor school attendance.

TRYFOR5! motivates and rewards individual classes and schools for their attendance record during the challenge period, and engages students and families using the club’s profile and ambassadors.

Cairns West State School is very excited about being a part of this initiative.     

                                          Whole School attendance TRYFOR5!  GOAL  = 75.60% 

Try For 5 Winners – Each fortnight 1 class from the Junior school (P-3) and 1 class from the senior school (4-6) class with the Best/Most Improved (alternate fortnight) attendance will be rewarded with a class set of Try For 5! Prizes. The classes will be announced on parade and prizes delivered to classes.
 
Weeks 1 and  2– Best Class Attendance (announced in week 3)
Weeks 3 and 4 – Most Improved Attendance  (announced in week 5)
Weeks 5 and 6 – Best Class Attendance (announced in week 7)
Weeks 7 and 8 – Most Improved Attendance (announced in week 9)
Term 4 – Best Junior, Middle and Senior attendance for Term 4 (announced in week 10)

The Junior class with the MOST IMPROVED ATTENDANCE for weeks 4 and 5 is 2C with an increase of 9%.

The Senior class with the MOST IMPROVED ATTENDANCE for weeks 4 and 5 is 6D with an increase of 7%.

End of Term Grand Prize– Trampoline 

There are 1274 names in the draw so far! 

Next week the junior and senior classes with the BEST IN CLASS ATTENDANCE will be acknowledge and rewarded.

Year 6 - Trinity Bay State High School Orientation Day, 6th December 2023

YEAR 6 - END OF YEAR CELEBRATIONS

Checking in with Miss Annie

Adopt a Spot

The Cairns West Community Food Garden is undergoing quite the transformation. 

Families have taken the opportunity to Adopt a Spot and are growing food with great success. Relationships are being formed and gardening techniques shared as we learn and grow together

The garden is at capacity at the moment but there may be some plots to adopt next year, so stay tuned.

If you would like to dabble and join in the fun you can be part of the communal garden bed where we all work together to plant, weed, water and harvest. 

At our most recent meeting we finalised our Mission Statement

The Community Garden Mission Statement:

Our focus is on sustainable and organic gardening, learning and sharing with each other

We welcome people from our community, promoting friendship and well being

We strive to be without judgement and to be inclusive regardless of ability, race, religion or gender

We tend our garden with care and take care to keep the garden space tidy and hazard free

Playgroup at Cairns West

Adopt a Spot in one of our playgroups, happening in the Community Room twice a week.

Both playgroups are in the morning, the Wednesday group starts at 9:00am with Uniting Care and the Friday group starts at 8:30am with Wuchopperen.

If you are dropping off other students to school you are most welcome to come into the Community Room early.

Cairns West Thrift Shop

Our Community Room offers a small thrift shop to our Cairns West families.  There are always new items coming and going and it’s always worth a look.

Come and have a browse........

I am beyond proud of the efforts put in by our group of runners who continue to work on their                 individual best.

This is a 7:00am start twice a week so big thanks to all the parents and carers that support their children to attend, you too are awesome.

Such consistent attendance, solid efforts and promoting an environment where we all belong will be celebrated next Wednesday with a before school breakfast.

From Mr Ling, Steph and myself 2023 is a wrap

Stay tuned if you would like to Adopt a Spot in the group in 2024.

Walkers and runners of all abilities are welcome

COMMUNITY NETBALL CLINIC

 * FREE *

Date -Saturday 25 November 
Time- 9:30am-10:30am 9-12 yrs Girls
10:30am-12noon -13-16 yrs Girls
Cairns West SS Netball Court (senior hall)

Guest presenter- Vicki Wilson
Experienced or new to the game welcome

More information contact Heather  -  0448 559 269