WILLIAM DUNCAN STATE SCHOOL · Dear Parents and Carers As 2018 draws to a close we would like to acknowledge and thank you for all of your support during the 2018 school year. 2018

Email: [email protected] Website: www.willduncss.eq.edu.au Phone (07) 5581 4888 Fax (07) 5596 5947

William Duncan State School

WILLIAM DUNCAN STATE SCHOOL

11 December 2018

WEEK 10 TERM 4

UPCOMING EVENTS

12 Dec Prep -Santa Around the World

12 Dec Yr 6 - Zone Bowling

14 Dec Last day of school

Dear Parents and Carers As 2018 draws to a close we would like to acknowledge and thank you for all of your support during the 2018 school year. 2018 has been another amazing year for William Duncan State School. During the year, we have continued to make significant progress towards achieving a personalised learning approach for all of our students. Our school’s IST staff have worked tirelessly to ensure all of our students and staff have the resources available to implement proactive and responsive curriculum programs. The Centre for Musical Excellence Program has continued to grow in strength. We sincerely thank our music department for their amazing leadership and their dedication towards the students of our school and are excited for what will come in 2019. We wish to acknowledge our dedicated teaching staff (Teachers and Teacher Aides) of William Duncan State School for their ongoing commitment to improving the quality of education your child receives on a daily basis. At William Duncan we are incredibly fortunate to have so many caring and compassionate staff members dedicating their lives to providing every opportunity for your child to succeed. We thank all of our staff members for the way in which they performed their duties in 2018 and trust they will all enjoy their well-deserved summer vacation. We look forward to many of our teachers returning in 2019. We would like to also thank Mary Jackson and her amazing tuckshop and uniform shop volunteers for their service to our school community throughout the year. The team have done an outstanding job feeding, watering and clothing our students, putting in countless hours behind the scenes. Enjoy a well-earned summer vacation. As a school, we would also like to acknowledge our amazing office, grounds and cleaning teams for the pride and dedication with which they do their jobs. Their ongoing support for our school through their tireless work both behind the scenes and as the front of our school cannot be understated. Thank you for all you do! School Captains At the final assembly for the year we gave a vote of thanks to our outgoing 2018 School Captains. I wish to personally applaud Grace, James, Lilly and Isaac for the way in which they have led our school during this year. Late last year these students gave a speech to our community outlining what they would do as a School Captain. It has been extremely pleasing to see that these four students have exceeded our expectations. Our school community owes these four students much gratitude for their commitment to improving our school. We wish these students all the best at High School in 2019.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.willduncss.eq.edu.au/



In addition to recognising the contributions these students have made to our school it also gives us the opportunity to transition our 2019 School Captains into their new roles. It gave us great pleasure while on parade this week to announce the following students who were successful in being elected as a 2019 School Captains:

Torrance and Brock (Captains)

Madison and Jesse (Vice Captains) On behalf of our school community we congratulate these students and look forward to assisting them to further develop and refine their already outstanding leadership qualities. Sports Awards Last Friday at our Semester Two Sports Assembly, we acknowledged the achievements and efforts of our sporting teams. Best and Fairest and Most Improved trophies were presented to each of our Interschool Sports teams and for Home Sports. We wish to acknowledge the work of Ms Roberts, our outstanding HPE teacher, for her tireless work in ensuring our teams are nominated, buses are organised and teams are prepared for Interschool Sports. We would also like to recognise our teachers for their commitment to regular training and their efforts on match days. Special mention also to our Home Sport teachers who ensure all students not involved in Interschool Sports participate in an enjoyable competition here at WDSS. We look forward to continuing our Interschool and Home Sports programs in 2019. 2019 Staffing 2018 has been another busy year for William Duncan State School. Our students continue to achieve great results and as mentioned above, our investment in Inclusive Support Teachers has provided a very high level of support and consistency into all of our classrooms. We are pleased to announce that we will be continuing to invest in these officers and look forward to Belinda McIntyre, Stephanie Evangelinos, Donna Yaun, Sarah Kursav, Megan Hughes and Karen Ruck working in these roles in 2019. Mrs Amanda Murphy (Head of Inclusive Education) will again lead this very enthusiastic and energetic team. In 2019 we welcome returning staff as well as some new staff to William Duncan and say farewell to some of our current staff. Firstly, we say farewell to Mrs Alana Carmody who has been working at Pacific Pines State School in 2019. Mrs Carmody has transferred to PPSS and we wish her every success in her new school and sincerely thank her for her years at WDSS. We also wish Mrs Jennifer Taylor farewell. Mrs Taylor has been both Master Teacher and Head of Curriculum and WDSS over the last three years. On behalf of our school community, we wish Mrs Taylor all the very best for her future and thank her for her support of the staff and students at WDSS. We wish to acknowledge her work with improving ours skills around problem solving as well as guidance in navigating the Australian Curriculum. 2019 Classes All parents are advised that our school is currently continuing to experience a fluctuation in enrolment numbers in each year level. This fluctuation has resulted in extreme difficulty in confirming our 2019 class structures. We sincerely thank all of the parents who have contacted our school and notified us of a change to enrolment and also those parents who have completed enrolment forms for the 2019 school year. 2019 class lists and classrooms will be displayed under the covered area near the tuckshop on Thursday 24 January and Friday 25 January. Parents wishing to purchase school uniform in 2019 should be aware that the Uniform Shop will be open on the following days prior to school returning in 2019:

Tuesday 22 January (8:00am – 12:00pm)

Wednesday 23 January (8:00am – 12:00pm)

Thursday 24 January (12:00pm – 4:00pm)





The Gift of Giving As we rapidly approach the Christmas period, we would like to acknowledge the work of Prep B and the generosity of the students and their families. The students and families of Prep B have been collecting a number of items to share with our service members deployed overseas. Prep B manage to send away 30 packages to the troops for Christmas. This generosity is humbling and the lesson of paying it forward is strong. As we take the time to enjoy the company of our loved ones and share in the joy of the festive period, the lessons learnt from some of our youngest students reminds us of our impact on the wider community. Well done students and families of Prep B!

Keep a watch on our school these holidays With the holidays fast approaching, we need you to look out for after-hours crime in our school. If you see anything suspicious call the School Watch on 13 17 88. The School Watch Program is a partnership between the department and the State Government Protective Security Service. It aims to reduce vandalism, theft and arson in schools. Call the School Security Program on 3237 0874 for more info. Final Note On behalf of Ms Buhner, Mrs Derrington, Mrs Murphy, Mrs Darragh, Mrs Cleal, Mrs Trinder and Miss Neville, we thank you for the support you have shown to our school’s administration team this year. Our students and I am truly fortunate to work with such a passionate and committed administration team. On behalf of our administration team, we wish everyone a happy and relaxing summer vacation and look forward to seeing all of your children’s bright smiling faces return on Tuesday 29 January 2019. Have a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year. Have a great week Regan Gant





Music Report – Ms. Melissa Cole

On Monday night, our Choir sang beautifully at our annual Cushion

Concert. Thank you to all of the parents, carers, relatives and friends who

joined us for the last Choir performance for 2018 and sang a selection of

Christmas carols with us. It was a wonderful way to finish out our year and

I thank the Choir for all of their hard work and dedication in 2018.

Ms Marten and I also had the privilege of announcing the 2018 Choir

Award recipients, congratulations to:

Encouragement: George Mihjalovic / Isabella Noda-Bell

Most Improved: Claire Meneghel

Most Valuable Singer: Lottie Stockwell

Outstanding Commitment: Kylah Wilkinson

Leadership Excellence: Amelie O’Connell

I can now confirm our rehearsal times for 2019.

Yr.4 Beginner Band - Wednesday 7.45am

Yr.5/6 Senior Band - Tuesday 7.45am

Yr.3 Beginner Strings- Friday 8am

Yr.4/5/6 Senior Strings - Thursday 7.45am

WDSS Choir – Monday 8am

Further information regarding rehearsal and lesson start times will be sent home early next year.

Thank you for a wonderful musical year. We have accomplished a great

deal this year and I look forward to soaring to even higher heights in 2019.

Have a relaxing holiday break and I look forward to seeing you all return

safely next year.





FINANCE

2019 Student Resource Scheme will be invoiced at the

beginning of Term 1, 2019.

DON’T LIKE WAITING? Education QLD’s preferred payment method is via BPOINT. BPOINT is an internet web link you can use as a method of paying school invoices securely from your own

computer. Just click the link at the bottom of your invoice and follow the prompts.

BPOINT offers several payment options as below: Ø Internet Payment (single payment) via Web Link www.bpoint.com.au/payments/dete which is located on the

School Webpage under Quicklinks

Ø Re-occurring direct debit (payment plan) - Authorise to have your credit or debit card in a secure environment for approved payment plans (e.g. school fees, etc.)

Ø Phone - 1300 631 073 - You will be directed to the Bpoint interactive voice response to make your payment by credit card. Please ensure you have the invoice number and your customer reference number with you.

OTHER PAYMENT OPTIONS INCLUDE:

$ Centrepay Deduction – can be arranged through the school office.

$ Direct Debit – Payments can be made directly into the school bank account.

BSB: 064-430 Account No: 00091086 * Please ensure that your child’s name is used as the reference ID.

$ In Person – EFTPOS, cash or cheque at the FINANCE WINDOW.



http://www.bpoint.com.au/payments/dete



If you are experiencing financial hardship please make an appointment with the Principal BEFORE the due date.

If you have any queries, please contact Tricia, on 5581 4888. Please be aware that in 2019 STRICT GUIDELINES will be implemented in the receiving of excursion payments by the

due date. NO PAYMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE DUE DATE – NO EXCEPTIONS.

2019 FINANCE WINDOW OPENING TIMES TUESDAY & THURSDAY 8:00am – 10:00am

SPORTS AWARDS





SCHOOLS PLUS This week School Plus had a special visitor, an elf called Elfie that came to stay until Christmas and is monitoring the children’s behaviour so that he can report back to Santa. No one should touch Elfie or he will lose his magic! On the first day the children couldn’t resist and so, he did lose his magic. On the second day the children wrote him letters wishing he would get his magic back and overnight, luckily, he did. Although he has caused a bit of chaos putting toilet rolls all over the floor! The children have been so excited to see him each day and what he has been up to. Watch this space!

The children have enjoyed the grass area and skipping in the undercover area. The school have given us some giant outdoor games made of wood, the children spent all afternoon playing them. Home Corner has been popular with the older children this week with them including crutches, moon boot and the first aid kit in their play.

The children are excited with Christmas being just around the corner and had fun decorating the Giving Tree this year for the Salvation Army. We have also had some fun doing Christmas craft such as pop stick Christmas trees and cooking Christmas Delights while still enjoying the hall and Skills Plus.

Next week is the last week of term and we will be discussing our year of memories together as well as our School Plus friendships!





P&C NEWS

We would like to thank everyone for your ongoing support during 2018. The P&C have achieved some amazing things this year and we could not have done it without you.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Be sure to have a happy and safe holiday. See you all again in 2019.

Thank You

WDSS P&C Committee

TUCKSHOP/ UNIFORM SHOP NEWS TUCKSHOP WILL BE CLOSED THURSDAY AND FRIDAY THIS WEEK – We will be open until then but will have limited

stock available. Your child will be contacted with alternate choices.

Merry Christmas to all and a happy and safe festive season. We look forward to seeing you in 2019.

Mary and the tuckshop volunteers

2019 Uniform shop opening hour’s week before school starts on the 29th January

22nd January 2019 8am -12pm 23rd January 2019 8am -12pm 24th January 2019 12pm - 4pm

Thank you

Mary Jackson

SCHOOL BANKING

Volunteering for 2019 - If you are available in the new year to help for an hour on a Wednesday to process deposits, can you please text Vanessa 0414 661 076.













COMMUNITY NEWS

Are you due for your breast screen? The Breast Screen Queensland Gold Coast service offers free breast cancer

screening to women, without current breast cancer symptoms. Women aged 50 – 74 are strongly encouraged to

attend, with women 40+ eligible to attend. Please remember to book in these school holidays, either online

www.breastscreen.qld.gov.au or by phoning 13 20 50. Their office will be closed over the New Year period 22

December until 2 January 2019, however bookings can still be made online.



http://www.breastscreen.qld.gov.au/













Documents

WILLIAM DUNCAN STATE SCHOOL · Dear Parents and Carers As 2018 draws to a close we would like to acknowledge and thank you for all of your support during the 2018 school year. 2018