Alyangula Area School Newsletter - Issue 7

14th May 2020

Alyangula Area School

Alyangula Community Library

Alyangula Area School: We learn for Life

Creative, resilient and self-driven learners, who collaborate, communicate and solve problems.

Department of Education Goals

GROW- Improve students two year gain in NAPLAN Writing in Years 5, 7 and 9 (Applies to Transition to Year 9)

 

2020 School Goal:

By the end of 2020, all teachers will plan (in their programs) and practice (in classrooms) a differentiated teaching and learning model for all English literacy lessons, through the practice of setting individual student goals, so that teachers are able to deliver targeted intervention and students are able to select learning activities and be assessed against their individual goals.

News from the Principal

Safety at Alyangula Area School

Safety is one of our Values at Alyangula Area School. There are many ways to model and practice this value daily at school by both adults and children.

Driveway to the canteen

This driveway is for school use only. Children are discouraged from driving their bikes on this driveway. Parents are also discouraged from using this driveway. Our school bus needs to park/drive in here. Our canteen supplies get delivered to the canteen through this driveway.

School crossing

The school crossing is meant for students and adults to cross our busy roads safely. Please do not use the crossing as a drop off zone.

We are very grateful for the new digital speed signs from South 32 also placed near the crossing.

Our School’s Reward system

Our students and staff have been trialing a new system of collecting and redeeming points. These points are gained by students when they are showing positive behaviours in line with our school values and expectations. Each class has a different way of recording these points. Every even week, students can choose to bank or redeem their collected points for a prize/reward. These rewards are displayed in your child’s classroom. The ideas for these rewards came from our students in 2019. This list is evolving and we will be adding more incentives to this list! Speak to your child or to your child’s teacher about our new system!

We will also be introducing a Values award! These awards will be colour coded - Redbacks and Scorpions. One award per class will be given every fortnight to a student who demonstrates one or more of our 5 school values. These awards are worth 10 points! As a result of this new system, our rising star awards will be phased out this term. I am confident that with the combination of our new points system and our new Values awards, our students will stay motivated and focused.

 

Our School Goal: What is Brightpath?  

By the end of 2020, all teachers will plan (in their programs) and practice (in classrooms) a differentiated teaching and learning model for all English literacy lessons, through the practice of setting individual student goals, so that teachers are able to deliver targeted intervention and students are able to select learning activities and be assessed against their individual goals.

 

Brightpath is a writing assessment tool that uses the Australian Curriculum to guide teachers in planning for students’ writing and assessing students’ writing to inform next steps for their own teaching points. These teaching points results in individual student goals for writing. The use of Brightpath has been instrumental to work towards our goal for a differentiated teaching and learning model. Staff regularly engage in professional learning in staff meetings (Tuesdays 2.50-4.00) to assign writing scores to students’ independent writing work samples through collaborative group discussions. Alyangula Area School is just beginning its learning phase with Brightpath and can clearly see how the correct use of this tool can enable us to fine tune our teaching and learning experiences for each student.

School Canteen

Our school council, our canteen manager Adrienne Murphy and our admin officer Jessica Parker, have been working very hard to redesign our existing school canteen menu so that students and families can access healthier choices. Our new menu will also align to the NT Healthy Eating policy that can be found here https://education.nt.gov.au/policies/health-of-students/school-nutrition-and-healthy-eating.

We will also be transitioning to QuickCliq- an online ordering tool for recess and lunch orders. I will be sharing messages about this very soon so that the school can support all families to transition into a cashless ordering system. While there will be a small number of items that can be purchased with cash as ‘over the counter’ items, ALL paid recess and lunch orders will need to be ordered via QuickCliq.

 

‘TOGETHER we RESPECT ourselves, each other, school and community, strive for EXCELLENCE, show COURAGE in all situations and demonstrate SAFETY in all that we do.’

 

Noella Goveas

Principal

School Uniforms

It is policy that all students in Northern Territory Government schools from Transition to Year 12 are required to wear an authorised school uniform whilst on school premises and when attending official school activities during and after school hours.

Uniforms consist of:

- A broad brimmed sun safe hat and/or bucket hat with school insignia when outside.

- An approved Alyangula Area School shirt and navy blue shorts/skorts or skirt:

o   Navy blue uniform top, with insignia and navy blue shorts, skorts or skirt (Primary)

o   Light blue uniform top, with insignia and navy blue shorts, skorts or skirt (Middle School)

o   Middle School uniform or NTSDE green and blue uniform top (Senior School)

o   Green (Scorpions) or Red (Redbacks) sports shirt and navy blue/black shorts, skorts or skirt (all students) NB: Sports uniforms can be worn throughout the week as part of the school uniform except for formal occasions.

- In the event of cooler weather, plain navy blue jumpers, jackets, pants or leggings are acceptable to be worn.

- Enclosed footwear is preferred and may be necessary for stipulated locations or activities e.g. when working in the Technical Studies/ Kitchen/ Art classrooms for safety reasons. However, sandals are acceptable footwear Thongs or slides are not to be worn at school at any time.

 

The school has a policy of ‘NO HAT, NO PLAY’. Students must wear a hat when outdoors and must wear appropriate shoes to school. For safety reasons, students without appropriate clothing, shoes or hat must remain in the assembly area or multipurpose room/ library and may not play in the open playground.

Alyangula Area School Council Item Proposal – Next meeting 28th May

Date:

Name of Item Proposer: 


ITEM NAME:

 BACKGROUND: (What has happened in the past?)

 

 

 

 

CURRENT SITUATION: (What is happening now?)

 

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION: (Suggestions, alternatives, what would you like to be happening?)

 

 

 

 

Please note: Agenda item proposals are welcome at least 2 weeks before the date of the scheduled council meeting. You can approach any of the council members to propose an item or email your item to alyangula.admin@ntschools.net

School Drop off and Pick up

This term we have been implementing physical distancing measures across the school based on advice from the APHHC and Department of Education. One of the measures is reducing time on school grounds during parent drop off and pick up times. Please try to avoid gathering in groups outside classrooms and near buildings. As always, thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this difficult time

This week from Parenting Ideas: ‘Establishing a personal learning centre at home’ by Michael Grose

With many students learning remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic a suitable home workspace becomes a significant issue. Meal tables, breakfast benches, even couches are now being turned into place of learning. Many parents report that their children have difficulties concentrating for significant periods and are easily distracted by digital games and videos. These concentration issues may be due to your child’s choice of workspace rather than with lesson difficulty or mode of learning.

Location carries memory

If you’ve ever established a dedicated children’s play space in your home then you’ll know how powerful location can be for shaping attitudes and behaviour. Your children will have learned to associate play with those designated areas – as location consistently carries memory of use. The same principle applies with school work. If your child is working in the same place that they normally eat a meal then it’s more than likely they will associate that place with pleasurable family activities rather than learning.

Establish a personal learning centre at home

The same principle applies with a child’s learning or work space. At Parenting Ideas, we recommend that you establish a personal learning centre at home so that your child will begin to associate learning with that designated space. The concept of a personal learning centre is central to the notion of establishing a lifelong learning mindset in your child or young person.

Features of a personal learning centre

A personal learning centre can be established anywhere in a house or apartment, including in a child’s bedroom or any quiet space. (Check with your child’s school to find out if a bedroom is recommended.) It has some or all of the following features:

  • Comfortable place for reading – bean bag, couch or chair
  • A bookshelf with a variety of fiction and non-fiction books
  • A digital screen (portable or fixed) for research
  • Materials for writing, recording and note taking
  • Digital device equipped with age-appropriate apps and programs that enable learning, research and content creation
  • A place for a water bottle or jug of water
  • Table or desk and suitable lighting


What’s in a name?

A quick glance at the list above may have you thinking that a personal learning centre is basically a desk with a few fancy gadgets attached. On one level this is correct however there are three advantages a personal learning centre has over a simple work space or desk. First, the name says it all. A personal learning centre is a place children can go to learn, not necessarily to work. Second, the nature of a personal learning centre implies that it’s something to build upon rather than a finite entity. You can start a personal learning centre very simply by establishing a bookshelf and some comfortable chairs, and build from there. Third, a personal learning centre is a concept that your child can take into adulthood that’s easily adapted to suit any situation. When I travel, my personal learning centre consists of a phone, a book and any comfortable couch or chair I can find. It’s the idea rather than the furniture and physical setting where the learning magic lays. The changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic offer a great opportunity to try new ideas. The establishment of a personal learning centre is an idea worth trying as it will help establish in your child or young person’s mind that learning is a lifelong journey rather than something that happens during the school years.

Huge congratulations to all of our award winners from our last assembly!

A quick message regarding student absences

If your child is unwell or is not attending school on a particular day, you must notify the front office or your child’s teacher for EVERY DAY that your child is going to be away.

The school uses codes to cover absences. Here are some examples of codes:

U: unnotified absences (when student is away and there has been no notification provided)

S: sick (when student is away and parent/carer has notified the school that the student is sick)

N: sanctioned absence (when student is away e.g. holidays off Eylandt and the parent has notified the school. Please note that authority to sanction sits with the Principal)

X: unacceptable reason (recreational activities, non-valid reason)

 

If you would like more information on attendance codes and what they mean, please send an email to alyangula.admin@ntschools.net

Our 2020 School Electives have well and truly begun! The students have been having an absolute blast learning new skills and participating in fun and engaging activities. This year’s Electives are:

Sketching with Mr G
Stopmotion with Mr Roger and Miss Wallis
Yoga and Meditation with Miss Steel
Chess with Mr C
Maori Language and Culture with Mr Forman
Craft with Miss Smith
Sketching with Mr G
Stopmotion with Mr Roger and Miss Wallis
Yoga and Meditation with Miss Steel
Chess with Mr C
Maori Language and Culture with Mr Forman
Craft with Miss Smith

COVID-19 Information - Term 2 in the Northern Territory

From 20 April 2020, all Northern Territory students are expected to physically attend school.

Students who are unwell must remain at home.

If your child falls ill during the day, parents/carers will be contacted by the school and required to arrange for them to be collected as soon as possible.

Where families elect not to send their child to school, the child must be learning from home and parents must notify the school and fill out a Home Learning Registration Form. 

Safety at school:

·        If your child is sick, we ask you to not send them to school.

·        Children who fall ill during the day will be required to be picked up by parents/carers.

·        We will continue to promote a regular handwashing schedule.

·        Extra cleaning and disinfecting of high touch surfaces regularly will continue

·        All students MUST bring their own water bottles that are clearly labelled. Water bubblers are closed until further notice.

·        Physical distancing measures will be applied within classrooms and the playground.

·        Adults visiting the school are asked to adhere to physical distancing. Signs for pick up and drop off zones will be displayed in Week 1. If you need to enter buildings or grounds, keep your time on site to a minimum.

Preschool Assembly Item - Recently the Preschool Students have been learning how to write their names. Well done guys!

Attention!!!

We have these signs around our school oval. While we understand that our lovely school oval looks inviting, please avoid using our school grounds as a dog exercise area. Should your dog accidentally go to the toilet while you are walking past our oval, please do the right thing and pick it up. Our school gardeners and grounds staff are working very hard to keep our school clean and hygienic for our students.



We have also noticed members of the public using the school oval as a thoroughfare between Poincianna St and the Arcade during school hours. Please note that if you do so, you are TRESPASSING. All visitors to our school need to sign in at the front office. Entering Alyangula Area School without lawful reason is strictly prohibited. We look forward to your support in this regard.