Dernancourt School R-7 Newsletter

Staffing News..

Kane Watkins will be on leave until the 22nd March as he and his partner, Jade,  welcome their second child. Claudine Green has been appointed to the Acting Deputy Principal position during Kane's absence. Lauren will be continuing the Science program as Claudine planned it. Lauren and Claudine have met to discuss the program and ensure a smooth transition and minimum disruption to learning. We look forward to working with Lauren and welcome her to Dernancourt.

We are thinking of  Kane and Jade during this exciting time and wish them love, joy and bliss as they begin this new chapter of their lives as a family of 4.  We look forward to sharing a photo and the baby arrival details soon.

We are beginning to notice an increasing number of unsupervised students in the yard, so take this opportunity to remind everyone that:

Before School...        

Teachers are on Yard Duty from 8:30am until lessons begin at 8:50am. There are 2 teachers on duty, 1 supervising the asphalt area in the Early Years and the other is supervising the Primary asphalt. Breakfast club is available from the canteen on Tuesday and Wednesday and from the gym on Thursdays.  Students are encouraged to play with small tennis/hand balls, or catch up with their friends; the equipment in both areas is out of bounds. It is important that younger siblings are also discouraged from using equipment.

After School...

Teachers remain on gate and crossing duty until 3:15pm, any students still in the yard at 3:15pm will be taken to the front office, where they are to sit quietly and wait to be collected. We will attempt to contact families to collect these children, if we are unable to arrange collection by 4pm Crisis Care will be contacted.

Today the online booking link for our Term 1 Parent/Teacher Discussions was activated. Discussions are a part of the Department’s requirements for reporting student’s progress to families. I would like to remind families that it is important that you make an appointment to hear about what the highlights for your child have been and what their goals and challenges are for the remainder of the year.  Term 1 discussions are an opportunity to meet with teachers to discuss you child's individual learning needs to develop a shared understanding your child’s learning journey and how in partnership we can ensure they achieve in 2019.

 Thank you to the parents who have already committed to a booking time for 2019. If you have not done so yet the details are included again in this newsletter and we strongly encourage you to book a time.  I understand that some parents may find it difficult to book an appointment in the times provided by their child’s teacher. I encourage these families to make contact with your child’s teacher to arrange a time to meet or have a phone discussion. This can be done via a phone call to the Front Office or emailing the teacher directly.

 We would like to have 100% of parents sharing in their child’s 2019 learning journey, we value your input.  

Go to www.schoolinterviews/com.au

The code is awvc8

Congratulations to these students who make up our Student Representative Council (SRC) for semester 1, 2019. 

The SRC presents ideas which are of benefit to all students and updates classes of any important information which affects the student body. Another purpose of the SRC is to teach students how the school works, how decisions are made and how to achieve changes.  Being on the SRC teaches skills which you can put to use in later life.  In the past, Year 6/7 representatives have been very active and worked proactively on some important negotiations with the Principal and Deputy Principal.

Students participating in the SRC need to be well organised and prepared to work towards having input in the running of the school.

Congratulations to our Semester 1 Representatives:

J2 Luca & Anabelle

J3 Max & Purcell

J4 Max & Georgia

J5 Nate & Inayah

J6 Lincoln & Drishti

J7 Andre & Bableen

P2 Sujan & Rannvir

P3 Isaac & Nishka

P4 Zayde & Kyla

P5 Zenia & BJ

P6 Ethan & Angas

P8 Isabelle & Floyd

P10 Bradley & Reikaya

P12 Brook & Jay

P14 Isabella & Ryan

There will be a special presentation at our Week 9 Assembly.

All Year 5-7 students completed crossing training in week 3 as part of their Leadership Day. Trained students aged 10 and over are now eligible  to become a crossing monitor and once they have returned their parent permission slip will begin their role. 

Students rostered for a week of duty (Friday-Thursday).

Traffic Duty is one of the ways DSR-7 students are able to demonstrate their student leadership skills and participate in community service. We appreciate their commitment to keeping our community safe.

These students are issued with a SAPOL certificate.

Reason 1 : Nearly one in every eight road deaths in South Australia is a pedestrian. In addition to fatalities there are on average just under 100 pedestrians seriously injured as well as many more who receive minor injuries each year.

Reason 2 : Your child will learn about pedestrian safety by watching you, so use safe behaviour around cars, roads, footpaths and car parks. Always stop, look, listen and think before crossing a road, and use pedestrian crossings wherever possible. Always cross at the safest point, even if you have to walk further out of your way to cross at the lights.

Reason 3 : Queensland’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety recently conducted an Australia-wide survey of parents focused on keeping kids safe around roads and cars. They found until the age of NINE, children’s perceptual and cognitive abilities are not sufficiently developed to enable them to make sound judgements when they are crossing roads. Holding hands with your children is the best way to keep them safe around a school crossing.

Reason 4 : The Australian Road Rules state that if you are within 20 metres of a crossing (including a school crossing) you must use that crossing to walk from one side of the road to the other. And the other 107 reasons? 107 is the number of dollars an expiation notice (fine) will cost you if you are detected breaching the above Australian Road rule. So keep an eye out for any hazards and keep holding hands until you’re all safely in the school yard or in the car.

This article has been prepared by A/Sgt Nigel ALLEN of the Road Safety Section, South Australia Police, If parents have any questions about school crossings please contact the Road Safety Section on the telephone number 82076586.

Congratulations to the following students who received an assembly award today.

J2-Aidan, J3-Jakob, J4-Callum, J5-Harrison, J6-Lincoln, J7-Dominic

P2-Massimo, P3-Isaac, P4-Tanvi, P5-BJ, P6- , P8-Aryan, P10-Larissa, P12-Harper, P14-Eleanor

Well done!  Our next assembly is Thursday 28th March (Week 9) 2:10pm start. Parents please come from 2:00pm for prompt 2:10pm start. 

The Annual General Meeting of Dernancourt School R-7 Governing Council will be held n the staffroom on Tuesday 12th March at 7:00pm. This is open to all parents/caregivers. The 2018 Site Annual Report  and Governing Council Committee Reports are presented at this meeting before electing our 2019 Governing Council.

Attending the AGM does not mean that you have to become a member of Governing Council, however if you would like to nominate to become a council member or to volunteer on a Governing Council committee, please complete a nomination eform on the skoolbag app.

Please read leaflet below for information about an upcoming 'Disability Policy & Programs Parent Forum'.  Further details are available from front office.