The Westwood Word
108 Herbert Street, Westwood
P.O. Box 5 Westwood 4702
Ph: 49347682
Fax: 49347605
Principal – Lachlan Moore
WEEK TWO Term 1 – FRIDAY February 6th 2015
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
We are looking at having students achieving at
level average to the nation in reading and writing.
We are using the ‘Seven Steps to Writing Success;
program as well as the ‘CAFÉ Reading program
to help students to continue to improve.
Welcome all to the start of the 2015 school year, I
hope everyone had a good holidays.
At
Westwood State School we have had a great start
to the year. Our enrolments are up from last year,
with 12 students enrolled by the end of day eight
of the school year. I believe enrolments are up
due to the efforts of the Westwood community
promoting the great students, resources, staff and
learning opportunities we have at the school to
others outside the community.
Staff
There is only a small change in the staff at
Westwood State School this year. We have a new
P.E. teacher Matthew Harrison joining us.
Matthew is based at Gracemere State School and
travels out every Friday morning to do lessons
with the students. We are hoping to incorporate
Westwood State School into a number of sports
carnivals with Gracemere State School. Carnivals
discussed include cross country and swimming.
Having a P.E. teacher and this relationship with
Gracemere State School will hopefully give
students the opportunity to represent the school at
higher levels such as district trials for Capricornia
teams. More information on the possibility of
these carnivals will be discussed at P&C
meetings.
Prep Students
Welcome to our Prep Students Sophie, Jack and
Jacob. They have had an excellent start to the
year! The Preps have been working very hard on
following the Westwood Winning Values and
getting into a routine. Over the past two weeks
Prep students have worked on the letters Mm and
Bb working out graphemes and phonemes. They
have also worked hard on learning numbers 1-4.
Being a small school we are very excited to have a
large cohort of Prep students at the school.
School Focus
As a community it is important to know what we
are focusing on as a school for the 2015 year.
Having a focus allows us to plan for improvement
in these areas. Our focus is very similar to last
year.
Our 2015 School Focus
 Reading
 Writing
 Number Facts
Homework
With the start of the school year comes the start of
homework.
I want to make it clear that
homework should be simple work that the
students can do easily at home. If your child is
struggling please let me know. Students should
experience success when it comes to homework,
it should be something enjoyed by both the
student and parent not avoided. Below is a guide
for the amount of time students should be
spending on homework:
Preps – 10mins
Year 1,2,3 – 15mins
Year 4,5,6 – 20-25mins
Once again we have had a great start to the year at
Westwood State School as we continue to ‘Strive
to Succeed’.
Regards
Lachlan Moore (Principal)
92.4%
Westwood State School Playgroup
Playgroup Dates for Term 1, 2015!
Where: Westwood State School (108 Herbert St)
When: Tuesday 8.30am-10.00am
Cost: Free!
Playgroup participants are involved in fun
filled activities such as painting, singing,
dancing and obstacles courses. New
participants are welcome to attend.
Any queries do not hesitate to contact the
school using the contacts listed above!
98.9%
Student Of The Week
Well done to our upper and lower school students
of the week!
Lower School Student of the Week:
Sophie Keller
PLAYGROUP DATES
24/2/2015
3/3/2015
10/3/2015
17/3/2015
24/3/2015
31/3/2015
https://www.playgroupqueensland.com.au/
For an excellent understanding of the letter Bb.
Sophie can write the letter confidently and give
the sounds. Sophie also has an excellent
knowledge of the sight words ‘I’ and ‘the’.
Draft Education Accord
2015 School Holidays
Have your say on the draft Education Accord
Public consultation continues on the draft
Queensland Education Accord.
Term
Dates
Length
Term
1
Tuesday 27 January Thursday 2 April
10
weeks
Term
2
Monday 20 April - Friday
26 June
10
weeks
Term
3
Monday 13 July - Friday
18 September
10
weeks
For more information visit the Queensland
Education Accord website.
Term
4
Tuesday 6 October Friday 11 December
10
weeks
http://deta.qld.gov.au/about/educationaccord/inde
x.html
Above is the term start dates and holidays. Please
note that there a number of public holidays that
fall in term 1.
Attendance – Every Day Counts
Remember each school day counts and this year
we want to work really hard fulfilling that
message at Westwood State School with
attendance improving significantly last year. Visit
the ‘Every Day Counts’ website below, for more
information:
education.qld.gov.au/everydaycounts/
2014 Attendance
2015 Term 1, Week 1.
You are encouraged to have your say on the 30year vision for education in Queensland by
completing the online survey.
Important School Dates and Community
Events
P&C Meetings
 11/2/2015 – General Meeting 2.30pm,
Wednesday, Westwood State School
 4/3/2015 – Annual General Meeting
2.30pm, Wednesday, Westwood State
School
Leadership Ceremony
 18/2/2015 – School Captain Parade,
9.45pm, Wednesday, Westwood State
School
Parent Information Night
 18/2/2015 – Information night on the
2015 School year, 5.00pm, Wednesday,
Westwood State School