Alawa Primary School Newsletter

Week 6 is upon us and the excitement is building about our upcoming Sports Day on Friday 10th June. As the cooler weather has arrived our students are enjoying extra time outside learning the various team and ball games, running and throwing etc. We hope to see families all come along and join us for the day. Ms Tamra is still seeking a few volunteers for the early morning setup as well as to support the various rotations through the day. If you can help out at all please contact Ms Tamra through the front office or via email [tamra.caruana@education.nt.gov.au].

This Friday we say farewell for a short period to Mrs Bron Cleary and the Cleary children. They are heading overseas for an extended, long awaited family holiday. We look forward to hearing all about their journeys and to seeing them back with us at Alawa for the start of Term 3.

Year 5/6 Camp to Katherine

We were advised late last week this is now officially approved with the limits relaxed  a tad for excursions and camps. However we still remind families the requirement to provide a  negative RAT test the day prior is still in place and must be adhered to. Thanks to all the families that have made payments thus far - again a reminder the final balance is due very soon. See payment schedule below.

Soccer Champs

Huge congrats to our two soccer teams along with Mr Henderson and Ms Ros who attended the Darwin Region Soccer Gala Day last Friday. They returned to school undefeated and proudly displaying the two flags winning both divisions. I also hear terrific sportsmanship, teamwork and great attitudes all day were displayed.

NAPLAN finished

Huge thanks again to Mrs Donohue, all the teachers and all our fab students in Years 3 and 5.....a very calm approach to the National assessment program. Once results come back to the school we will share with families and students as always.

School Photos

Please ensure you return your envelopes for the School Photos - see details later in the newsletter.

Cheers & have a terrific week,

Sandy Cartwright [Principal]

Week 6

Hello everyone

Welcome to week 6.

NAPLAN is all wrapped up for another year. Congratulations to all those students who participated in these tests. They all tried their best and things ran smoothly throughout. Well done staff for your organisation and delivery of these tests.

LATES: There seems to be a lot of students coming in late to school which is of some concern. Please be aware that the beginning of the day is key learning time and students are missing out on instructions and connections with their class.

ENGLISH: With our whole school focus on English in reading and writing connections, I would like to let you know of an opportunity for your children to extend their reading and writing for a wonderful purpose….

The Letter Box Project is a National PenPal Program creating connection and companionship for thousands of people all over Australia. It is the only program of its kind that creates real, meaningful connection combined with safety, security and management. No identifiable personal information is shared and all letters are vetted through our team ensuring the safety of all writers and recipients. Participating in the Letterbox Project offers enormous benefit to students, encouraging our young community members to consider their wider community, and the vulnerable people in it. It develops an understanding of issues of isolation and loneliness, gives them an awareness of vulnerable populations, and teaches them that we can all make a difference in our community. It also invites students to discover the art of handwritten letters, a life-long skill. For more information clink on this link.

National Simultaneous Storytime will be celebrated this week. This year the book is called Family Trees written by Rosh Pyke and illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh. Classes will have an opportunity to participate in activities promoting this book.

I hope you all have a lovely week.

Gen Donohue [Assistant Principal]

School Photos have been scheduled for Week 9, Wednesday 15th June. 

This year we will once again be using ‘The School Photographer’ who will have 2 photographers on site. 

Packages can be purchased from $27.00 and all sibling orders MUST be in before the day to be  included in the day’s schedule.

Envelopes will be sent home with students this week. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate in contacting the front office.

Muster is held at Alawa after each recess and lunch break - this gives us an opportunity for everyone to settle from playtime, share any celebrations and work on consistency of messages and expectation.

Each week we allocate class points during Muster time recognising those students who were ready and waiting to go back to class calmly and quietly after break times. The winning class from each 3 weeks will receive ice-blocks from Ms Cartwright and get to choose 5 songs that will play before our bells for the following 3 weeks.

The class with the most points in Week 5 of Term 2 was....Year 4/5 Lawrence with 127 points!!!

Students at Alawa receive raffle tickets [house points] for their attitude and behaviour in the playground and out the front of the school at the end of the day. These are then counted on a Friday along with the points for students in full uniform, wearing house shirts etc.  At the end of each term we also include the points earnt through the recycling project and water bottle checks.

In Week 5 of Term 2 Finnis was ahead of Manton and Goyder with 4151 points!!! 

In the lead for the year...Finnis with 44089 points!!!

This term we have once again been successful in securing a Sporting Schools grant provided by the Australian Government. 

Sporting Schools programs are provided free to children and their families to help students build the confidence and capability to be active for life.

For Week 6-10 this term we have:

• Tuesday lunchtime sport - Touch football with Ms Ros
• Wednesday lunchtime sport - Table Tennis with Mr Brent
• Wednesday after school sport - Cricket with Mr Daryl [Year 3-6]
• Thursday lunchtime sport - Basketball with Ms Gina
• Thursday after school sport - Tennis with Ms Gina [Transition - Year 2]

Our dramatic play spaces are constantly changing and evolving. The children have a big part in coming up with new ideas. After a collaborative brainstorm the blue preschool group have transformed our home corner into a doctors surgery. In this play space there are opportunities for children to be patients, doctors, nurses, and the very important job of taking bookings at reception.

Children have enjoyed exploring this space and we have seen lots of cooperative play as children share the different roles in the play space. There are some budding healthcare professionals in the preschool. They may need a little work on their first aid skills but definitely have lots of potential! So much learning  takes place when children are engaging in dramatic play experiences.

Have a great week.

Emma, Emma and Kelly and Flor [Preschool Team] 

The dry season has brought productivity all round. Our Duccle chickens have hatched 16 babies over the weekend. They are all doing really well, with  2 proud hens and roosters protecting them. We currently have 17 more Duccle chicken eggs in the incubator with 4 chicks cracking out today and wabbling around onto top of the other eggs.

Mummy duck is also sitting on 9 fertile duck eggs and we hope to see those hatch in a few weeks. The chicks and ducklings will be on sale sometime in the future. We will let you know when they are ready to purchase.  We have 6 new baby quails and hope to get some more quail eggs for the kitchen and café.  We are also hoping to get a mating pair of Guinea pigs in the coming weeks.

The farm is looking amazing after the working bee as we now have the weeds under control and are able to put more time and energy into growing and harvesting some great produce like rosella, okra, apple cucumbers, citrus, zucchini and corn. Each Thursday after school you are able to purchase excess produce from our Market trolley which is located at the main school entrance. As always, we would love you to come and spend some time with your child at their farm class. We could use the help and your child will love you working with them. If your keen, please contact the office.

This week we celebrate National Simultaneous Storytime. The story this year is Family Tree written by Josh Pyke and illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh. While the country will come together at 11am AEST on Wednesday the 25th of May you can join in reading this beautiful story online or in your home at any time on the 25th or during the week. Written from the perspective of a tree planted in a suburban family garden, Family Tree is a celebration of family, community and the seasons of life.

If you do not have the story at home there are a few libraries who have posted videos of the story being read online. You can find activities associated with the book on websites such as:

https://learnfromplay.com/national-simultaneous-storytime-2022-book-activities/ and

https://www.cleverpatch.com.au/nss-2022

Miss Sacha [Library and ICT Manager]

We are on the hunt for these items if anyone is doing a clean out at home:

• Beach shells
• Washed ice cream sticks
• Empty glad wrap tubes
• Old/scratched CD's
• Foil tart and pie trays
• Boxes for building
• Old plates and tea cups [real not plastic]
• Dress ups
• Baskets
• Old Tupperware containers with lids
• Corks
• Old or spare buttons

 As always, we are excited to take any items you are happy to donate that are not listed, these are just some things we have identified we will be needing. Thanks to everyone who has been sending things in. Don’t forget to pop them in the donation boxes so you can get points for your house. 

Thanks for everyone across the school who has been dropping in donations, we really appreciate it! We have been making lots of interesting creations with everything coming in.

Angela Henschke, Kate Hughes, Mr Brent and Ms Flor [Transition team] 

Our Mission - is to provide the Alawa School community with delicious healthy meals and snacks and to create meaningful links to our kitchen garden program. We will do our best to ensure we order the same products as advertised but occasionally have to change due to stock availability.

Cafe Specials Weeks 6-10

LUNCHTIME SPECIALS:

Available every day lunch only:

- mini beef burgers  $3.50

- spaghetti bolognaise small serve $3.50 or large serve $5.50 /Gluten Free Spaghetti $6.50 [Wed and Thu only]

Wednesday – Homemade Sushi, tuna and corn or chicken and avocado -  $5.50

Thursday – Shepherds pie - Large size $5.50, Small $3.50

Friday – Homemade Sausage roll- One size $3.50

A reminder that our school Cafe is open Wednesday to Friday ONLY. Closed on Monday and Tuesdays. 

Order online at www.quickcliq.com.au

*Special sports day lunch special Friday 10th June

The café will offer a special Sports Day lunch once again this year. Order forms will be coming home this week and are to be returned to the front office by Friday 3rd June 2022. Alternatively you may place your order via the online ordering (opening 25th May, closing 3rd June).

$6.00 - Sausage in a bun, popper and icy pole.

$6.00  - Piece of vegetarian quiche, popper and icy pole.