Term 4 Week 6
Principal Update
Welcome to the end of week 6. The term is flying by, with only 4 weeks left for the year (and less for our students heading off on work experience and 10/11s who finish in week 8. Schools are always busy places, however this time of year is particularly hectic while we work to finish the current school year strong, while also setting up the new school year for a successful start.
Next week we officially farewell our senior cohort of 2024. We will recognise them at speech night (Wednesday), formal/Graduation (Thursday) and final day parade/march out (Friday). Congratulations to our students who sat external exams, this is a challenging experience, and they did a great job. All students are successfully on track to attain their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE), an outstanding measure of their success for their schooling journey. When we reflect on graduating seniors, it is important to think about the village who have helped them achieve their education success. We sincerely thank families, all school staff and the wider community for their ongoing support of our students. It isn't always easy, but it is definitely worth it.
The end of term is quite interrupted. Please keep up to date with our Facebook page and your emails to ensure you are seeing all necessary information. Week 10 (final week) we will be hosting an alternate supervision week at school. Students will be combined in groups for general activities across the week. The program for the week is available on Facebook and further in this newsletter. The expectation for this week is as usual with uniform (except when noted on the program) and to please notify the office of student absences. We will be holding two transition up days in week 9 (Wednesday/Thursday) and a community break up party on Friday 29th November at the pool. Please reach out to school or myself if you have questions about any of these arrangements.
On Tuesday 26th November I will be hosting an information session to provide key information about 2025. This will cover iPad information (and will be the perfect time for parents to sign the iPad hire agreement), literacy structure, health and wellbeing program, support services available for students, key policies and procedures and IF POSSIBLE, a staffing update for 2025 (dependent on whether we are in a position to be able to provide this information). It would be great if all 2025 families are able to attend, to ensure you are well informed about the year ahead.
Speech night will be held next Wednesday. This will recognise our graduating classes of year 6 and 12, special award recipients and we will also announce our student leaders for 2025. They recently went through an application process which required a written application and speech. All candidates did an outstanding job, I commend students and families for their support of our aspiring leaders. All students, families and community members are invited to celebrate with us.
The ninja playground is now open for students. While this is a big attraction for our students, it is exceptionally hot to touch and usually by second break the students are unable to play on this. They are required to keep their shoes on and have a hat at all times. It would be great to have shade over this, and will certainly be on the project list for the school. However, this is a significant expense that is unfortunately something we cannot have done instantly.
As we prepare for new school year, if you are aware of changes to your student's enrolment in 2025 can you please notify us ASAP by email. This allows us to be well prepared for resources etc., for classes so we can hit the ground running in 2025.
Thank you as always for your ongoing support.
Take care
Meggin
Halloween with Kindy/Prep
This week we have been celebrating all things spooky in the Kindy/Prep class. We made witches goo slime and witches potions. We decorated witched bubbling cauldrons. We also did some Halloween drawing activities and a shared spooky brain break on Friday. We loved experiencing different textures in the slime and following step by step instructions to create our Halloween pictures.
Melbourne Cup with Kindy/Prep
On Monday we also made top hats and fascinators to celebrate the Melbourne Cup horse race.
60's & Better with Year 7/8
Our Year 7/8 & 9/10 students recently enjoyed a two special mornings with members of our local 60's & Better community. Together, they painted mugs and plates, shared stories, and bonded over morning tea. A huge thank you to Bronwyn and Victoria for facilitating these visits.
QATSIF Scholarship
Congratulations to Winton State School's first ever students to receive a QATSIF Scholarship.
Jacobie Allan, Zayden Dalton and Tilly Ellis.
These scholarships support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in their senior education, commencing year 11 in 2025. In this 16th round of scholarships.
2024 to 2025 Transitions
WEEK 10
Upcoming Calendar Dates
11 November- Remembrance Day (all students to attend)
13 November- Speech Night 6pm at the Winton Shire Hall
14 November- Year 12 Formal/ Graduation
15 November- Year 12 Last Day of School - Farewell Parade
18 to 22 November- Year 10/11 Work Experience
22 November- Last Day for Year 10/11
26 November- 2025 Information Night
25 to 29 November- Year 9 Work Experience
27 November- Year 6 Graduation Dinner
27 & 28 November - Transition up days
29 November - Community break up party @ the pool
6 December- Last Day of School for 2024