Alawa Primary School Newsletter

Welcome to Week 6 - not tooooo long now till our fab 'We are One' Community Night.  Our students are all getting the hang of their dance routines and the majority are super excited to be performing for you all in just under 2 weeks [1st September]. Please check carefully the flyer later in the newsletter with details of what children in each class are asked to wear on the night.

The children are all busy in Art with Ms White finalizing their special projects which will be showcased as well on 1st September and hung in trees, under spotlights etc. The art work can then be taken home at the end of the evening.

Thanks to all in our school community for your support, understanding and flexibility last Friday during the period of industrial action. The timely communication from parents who chose to keep their children home was appreciated.

Vapping

A growing issue for teens and adults across Australia. Please see the information further in the newsletter.

Note: Alawa is a VAPE free zone - no Vapping at all on school grounds.

Meaningful Maths

Are you unsure of how to help your children with their developing numeracy skills? I can fully understand that as the way they are taught today is significantly different from when I went through school and I imagine for many of you. I can assure you our students are engaged in a quality program and our results continue to improve across the school since the implementation back in 2014.

In the past we have offered family Maths nights and the opportunity for parents to come in and observe a Maths session in operation in the classrooms. We are very happy to offer these again.

If you would like to know more about our Alawa maths approach please respond to these quick questions in this survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3NR8BSS

Survey will close Friday 2nd September.

In the meantime for those interested here are some links to further information:

Alawa Approach to Maths

Maths | Alawa Primary School | Primary School Located in the Northern Suburbs of Darwin

 Parent Information

Families and whānau | NZ Maths

Learning Commission

Last week our Senior Student Commissioners shared their findings for their Line of inquiry with other schools. This Friday they will share with our school community at Assembly - How Do Alawa Students engage with their data?

Interschool Sport Gala Days

As some parents are aware the Hockey and AFL Gala Days were postponed last Friday due to the industrial action. The Hockey is now on Friday 9th September. The AFL has been rescheduled to a date we cannot commit to. We also have 2 further gala days planned for September 23rd - Volleyball and Tennis. I have spoken to all students in Years 4-6 about this and explained the reasons for the decisions. I have assured those who wanted to go to AFL: that if they meet the criteria for participating in gala days based on attendance and behaviour they get first dibs on a spot in any of the other 3 Gala days. If they choose not to be involved in any of those their money can be refunded or put across to Graduation or any other expense at school,

Cheers and have a fab week,

Sandy Cartwright [Principal]

I will sneak a little quiz question into the newsletter each week. If you are a student and know the answer send me an email to have the opportunity to earn 50 bonus house points.

Week 6 question: Can you name 5 things you would be saying or doing if you were Problem Solving as a 21st Century Learner?

Sandy Cartwright [Principal]

The Department is committed to a smoke free environment - this includes VAPPING. To promote the health and wellbeing of students and staff, smoking is not permitted in, or on, any departmental premises or within 10 metres from an entry point to, or boundary of, a school. For the purposes of this policy smoking includes electronic cigarettes. 

We would appreciate everyone adhering to these guidelines both during school hours AND at after school events. 

If you have any questions or concerns please contact the front office during school hours - 8997 7666

This is a friendly reminder to complete the NT School Survey. With only a week to go, it is important that you take the time to complete the survey before it closes at midnight Friday 26 August.  The survey is easy to access and only takes about 10-20 minutes to complete. The results from the survey will be taken seriously and will be used to assist us in continuously improving our school. So far, we’ve had 55 responses which is very low compared to previous years.

To complete the survey please click on the below link:

https://www.schoolsurvey.edu.au/s/AlawaPrimarySchoolParentSurvey2022/LogIn 

All individual responses are anonymous and confidential and strict rules are in place to safeguard this at every stage of the survey. All survey responses are stored securely by the NT Department of Education in line with the Information Act. I would like to thank those of you who have already taken the time to complete the NT School Survey and I look forward to your feedback

Sandy Cartwright 

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 3 was....Year 2 Ward with 95 points each!!!

In the lead for the term we have Year 2 Ward with 210 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 3 Finnis was ahead of Manton and Goyder with 2395 points!!! 

In the lead for the year we still have Finnis with 71733 points!!!

Arriving late for school has a significant impact on your child’s learning and engagement in the education program.

There were 34 late arrivals in Transition—Year 6 in Week 5 Term 3!

For Week 5 the classes with the least lates were: 4/5 Griffin and Preschool Red Group with 0 lates each!!!

In the lead for the term we have...Preschool Red Group, 4/5 Griffin and 5/6 Baines with 3 late arrivals each! 

We had such a blast at Playgroup last Friday. We met some new friends this week which was wonderful. We had fun showing them round the preschool room and playground. This week we really enjoyed our craft and used stickers and scissors to decorate our creations, we drew with texta and pencil and took our works of art home with us. We also baked scones together. This is now a firm favourite and often the children ask when we are going to make scones. This week we enjoyed making roads and tracks for cars and machinery and many of us enjoyed our time outdoors. We played on the bikes, jumped on the trampoline and riding the tricycles. Some Preschoolers also enjoyed showing their siblings around ‘their school’.

Next week we will visit the Farm so be sure to remember your hat. 

Miss Maria [Playgroup Coordinator] 

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 – Asian paw paw salad -  $5.50, Small $3.50

Thursday – Beef Nachos - Large size $5.50, Small $3.50

Friday – Homemade Chicken burger - One size $5.50

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

Order online at www.quickcliq.com.au