Alawa Primary School Newsletter

Week 3

Principal Update

Welcome to our Week 3 News!

Our staff all had  a very busy day last Friday reviewing our strategic improvement agenda and setting directions for 2023. We celebrated many achievements and identified some divergent paths we have travelled down this year in response to various circumstances such as COVID. For 2023 we are planning to steady the directions again with a clear, explicit focus on the following:

  • A consistent clear approach to the teaching of English [Connecting Reading, Writing and Oral Language]
  • 21st Century teaching and learning through an inquiry based approach for HASS and Science and the continued focus on the ALLE learner dispositions [Reflect, Problem, Solve, Persist, Communicate and Collaborate]
  • Quality Curriculum through the implementation of the latest release of the Australian Curriculum.

World Teachers Day

Australia will celebrate the teaching profession on World Teachers’ Day on Friday 28 October 2022.   Our teachers have shown great resilience during challenging times, all so they can give Australian students the best future possible.

Hats off to teachers this World Teachers’ Day! 

Share your “hats off” selfie to celebrate teachers and tell us what they mean to you.

We are encouraging students, their families and the community to celebrate teachers. What do teachers mean to you? 

On Friday 28 October, you can show your appreciation to teachers by posting a “hats off” selfie on social media, either on your own or with family or friends. Use these tags: #WTD2022 @aitsl 

Parent and Student Perception Survey

As you can see in the snapshot below I have started sharing responses from the surveys undertaken back in August. It was terrific to note the Year 5 and 6 students all agreed teachers expect them to do their best - maintaining a high standard through the school. They also all felt the teacher supports them in their learning which is a credit to the quality teaching team at the school.

We will be unpacking / discussing with students their perceptions about how behaviour is managed to listen to their thoughtsabout how this could improved. We will also ensure they are aware and have ready access to avenues for support if they have concerns.

Parents were generally very positive in their responses about the school appearance and maintenance and also in how they believe their child feels safe and has a range of opportunities available.

Not all parents feel they have the opportunity to have a say in the direction of the school - as always we share our directions through the School Council and seek feedback and through the newsletter. You are always welcome to come along to Council or come and have a chat with me. The next Council meeting is Monday 28th November where we will present our draft plan for 2023 and seek feedback.

As with the last 3 years the two lowest rating items from your feedback were about children managing their emotions and staying  safe online.

  • We have had an explicit focus this year again on Cybersafety through all classrooms and have shared readings, resources and tips for parents in the newsletter. We ask that parents also make this a priority at home as this is when the children are mainly accessing devices and the internet unsupervised.
  • From Preschool to Year 3 we have implemented and developed an understanding of the Zones of Regulation to help children manage their emotions. We will also continue to share ideas for families through the newsletter and Facebook. Our data at the school does show improvement in this area and quite a few children have this as a goal in their Education Adjustment plans. Parents can also accfess fantastic resources online such as Mind Ninja which is promoted as 'The Perfect Solution To Having Your Child Manage Their Own Emotions, Even If You’ve Tried Everything Before"
     Mind Ninja! (lifelessonsglobal.com)

Have a fantastic week and see you around the school

Sandy Cartwright [Principal]

2022 Parent & Student Perception surveys: Snapshot 1

School Start Time: Gates NOT open till 8am

Just a reminder to all families our school start time is 8:30am

Children can arrive, connect with friends and play sport when we open the gates at 8am. This is 30mins prior to the start of the day bell and staff are on duty to ensure safety and wellbeing of all from that time.

We ask that children DO NOT get dropped off / arrive prior to 8am unless a prior arrangement is made with Gen Donohue or myself. Recently we have had upto 30 children sitting in the front office from 7:45am onwards - simply too early and way too congested for the office.

Thanks

Sandy Cartwright

Assistant Principal Update

Hello everyone, welcome to Week 3.

As you are aware, our staff participated in our Professional Learning day last Friday. I wish to thank our community for their support in allowing us to have these days. It was a very productive day where we worked together to further develop our knowledge and skills to allow us to prepare and plan for opportunities in our classes to provide rich teaching and learning opportunities for our students.  We also worked together to review our Annual School Improvement Plan and consider the next steps for progress and achievement for our school in 2023.

We continue to carry out enrolment interviews for 2023. We still have some Preschool positions available but they are fast filling up. We are able to let you know your group for next year if you have been accepted, so if you have not been informed please contact the front office.

Maria Vandergeest has been running our Playgroup sessions on a Friday for the last 5 years. Thankyou once again to Maria for her time and energy. Playgroup is a great opportunity to become familiar with other children and the environment before the children begin Preschool. Maria has decided to finish up this year and we are looking for someone to take over this role. If you are interested, please speak with Maria or myself to find out more about what this role entails.

Have a wonderful week.

Gen Donohue [Assisting Principal] 

Message from the Alawa School Council

Meaningful Maths at Alawa

Thanks to the 12 people who responded to the survey. You will by now have received an email with updates and offers for responding to your queries. We will be hosting a Parent Information session and Family Maths evening at the start of 2023.

Cheers

Alawa Maths Team

Sandy Cartwright, Jed Henderson, Georgia Block, Maddy Ward, Ange Henschke & Leanne Griffin.

Honour Awards

32 students will be presented with an Honour award along with Miss Ameliah Howard receiving an Honour Distinction award this week at assembly, 28th October. 

Mia-Teresa Evans Shaw

Asha HughesArmin VafiShannon Gleeson
Simone HansmanAnthony BlackBianca McGowanEileen Amarant
William HubbardHien Nhan TaDakoda TweedieTommy Jenner
Gabriel BriggsBethany QuintnerLily KokkinidisDorcas Muhawe
Lydia McCreadyPreston Wesley-AragonCharlie FrawleyMatilda Cleary
Ellie BuiSkylah HopkinsAlena ChauArchie Flanagan
Gemma DaveyMarkus PattersonHunter Agnew-Auld

River Vickery

Dieume PwisaEleanor Dwyer

Nicholas Taylor

Ethan Grieve

This makes the award total for 2022 thus far 212 Student Honour Awards.

This means that 2120 Alawa Merits have already been redeemed for the Honour Awards.

We are certainly proud of all our students for their ongoing positive attitude towards learning and their time at school. 

Preschool News

Being guided by the children’s interests, the red and blue preschool groups are exploring very different themes this term . The blue Preschool room is transforming into a jungle as we learn about all the animals that live in this wild habitat. The red preschool group are learning about life under the sea and have already created some beautiful jellyfish with colourful tentacles.

Both groups will use these themes to explore informational texts and learn about fiction and non-fiction books. We are really enjoying learning interesting facts about Jungle animals and sea creatures though books and educational videos. We also love to explore and learn in a hands-on way through small world and sensory play and fun craft activities which develop our fine motor skills. 

Emma Connelly, Emma Churchman & Kelly Crawford [Preschool Team]

Preschool Orientation Sessions

Transition Information Night

Events calendar

 
Friday 28th October

Assembly hosted by Year 2 Ward

World Teacher's Day

8:40am

All day

Tuesday 1st NovemberAfter school cooking fun [Session fully subscribed]3pm
Tuesday 8th NovemberAfter school cooking fun [Session fully subscribed]3pm
Friday 11th NovemberAssembly hosted by Year 1 Bullock - Remembrance day8:40am
Wednesday 16th November

NT Learning Commission - Pitch to the Minister

Preschool Orientation session

Transition Information evening

All day

1:30pm - 2:30pm 


5-6pm

Monday 21st November - Thursday 1st DecemberEarly Years Swimming ProgramAll day 
Wednesday 23rd NovemberPreschool Orientation session 5-6pm
Friday 25th November

Assembly hosted by NT Learning Commission students

Free dress day - hosted by Defence students

8:40am

All day

Monday 28th NovemberSchool Council meeting5:30pm - 7:00pm
Wednesday 7th DecemberPreschool Graduation5-6pm
Thursday 8th DecemberYear 6 Graduation5:30pm - 6:30pm
Friday 9th December

Assembly hosted by Transition Henschke

Year 6 Graduation fun day

8:40am

All day

Tuesday 13th December

End of Year Presentation and Awards assembly 

Volunteers Morning Tea

Class Parties

Reports to go home with students

9am

10:30am

All day

Thursday 15th December

Year 6 Farewell and Dance

Bonus house point accessories day

Last day of Term 4 and 2022 school year

1:45pm

All day

Volunteers needed!

We are looking for bus drivers to help out with the Early Years Swimming Program starting on the 21st November. 

If you are interested and can help out for a day or 2 [between 8:30am and 1:30pm] please contact Ms Tamra with your availability. 

tamra.caruana@education.nt.gov.au or 8997 7666

Please note you will be required to have appropriate license to drive a 21 seater coaster and hold a current ochre card. [Ms Tamra can help secure an ochre card if needed] 

After School Kitchen Workshop Week 2

The Alawa After School Kitchen Workshop had a great start again last week.

They made delicious chicken risottos. One group made a vegetarian one with pumpkin and pinenut one which turned out really well

They were so yummy and a lot of fun to cook. There was a certain who group almost had no bacon left to put into their risotto because they kept eating it!

The recipe was adapted from https://www.recipetineats.com/chicken-and-mushroom-risotto/

We look forward to the next Kitchen Workshop where we will be making Brownies.

Tina Sullivan [Kitchen Specialist]

Class Points

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 expectations.

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 2 of Term 4 was....4/5 Lawrence with 133 points!!!

Attendance

Primary School Average for Week 2 Term 4: 90.33%

The class with the highest attendance for Week 2: Year 3 Block with 96.30%!!! Amazing job!!!

In the lead this term...Year 3 Block with 97.04%

Lates

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

There were 19 late arrivals in Transition—Year 6 in Week 2 Term 4!

For Week 2 the classes with the least lates were: Preschool Blue Group and Year 3 Block with 0 lates each!!!

In the lead this term...Year 1 Bullock, Year 2 Ward and Year 5/6 Baines with 1 late arrival each!!!

Recycling Points

Alawa Recycling is not only an important part of our fundraising activities here at Alawa with all proceeds going directly back into the farm, but also a vital step in helping us achieve the goal of creating a more sustainable farm and garden program.

Items can be deposited into the house bags in the back car park and  each item earns a point for each house. 

Defence School Mentor news

In week one’s newsletter I mentioned some helpful tips for posting and how couples can support each other through the process. This week I would like to follow on from that with some suggestions for helping children through the relocation process. This week’s suggestion are specific to preparing to leave your current location. Next fortnight I will include some tips for once you are in your new location.

  •  Talk about the posting – early and often. Give your child as much information as possible before the move, as far in advance as possible; more lead time means more time for the child to get used to the idea.
  • Encourage children to express their emotions. Accept their feelings and respond with understanding. By expressing your own feelings in healthy ways, children will recognise that they are not alone in their feelings.
  • Encourage children to create a scrapbook of their former community, school, home, and friends. Allow children to maintain contact with former friends as long as necessary (telephone, mail, postcards, photographs).
  • Be prepared for signs of stress from children of any age. Pre-schoolers may regress to thumb sucking, baby talk or other behaviour they had left behind. School-age children may intensify natural habits: a shy child may become shyer, an aggressive child more aggressive.                     
  • Involve children in some of the decision-making. Keep options within your range of acceptability while giving your child a sense of participation. Be prepared to honour their decisions
  • Read stories about moving to younger children. Use a toy truck or dolls to act out the packing and moving process.
  • While packing for the move, respect your child's need to keep some items before you throw them away. These items may represent security to your child.                                     
  • Host a farewell party for the children. Plan the party with a theme in mind that connects with the new location (landmarks eg. Sydney Harbour Bridge, state flower, sport team, etc.). Create activities that focus on moving, for instance, "Pin the House on the State.”
  • On moving day, keep some special items (favourite doll, toy, teddy, blanket, etc.) with you for ready access.

*Suggestions Credit: Ken Welsh: NSW Regional Education Liaison Officer.

Katie Wedel [Defence School Mentor] 

Library news

Last Book Club for the year is due this Friday the 27th of October.

The massive 40 page Catalogue is packed full of great deals with many individual books priced at $10 and under. There are Halloween reads, Advent Calendars, Christmas books, Graphic Novels, Best of 2022, Book Sets and much more. I always like to have a couple of gift options up my sleeve whether for my kids or one of their friends as there is always a Birthday or someone who pops in around Christmas time that I do not have a gift for. Here are some ideas from the catalogue for if you want to get a couple of extras just in case:

Gift Ideas:

  • For those that love Minecraft – Minecraft the Ultimate Builder’s Collection
  • Everyone loves a joke – The Craziest Christmas Crack-ups Ever!  Gigglers Christmas Jokes, Dinosaur Joke Book , Horrible Christmas (Horrible Histories – Facts and Jokes) , Horribly Hilarious Joke Book (Horrible Histories) 
  • For those interested in non-fiction – sharks, rocks and minerals, Egyptian Myths, reptiles, food, baby animals, general facts, Atlas, dinosaurs, Australian animals and Deep under your feet 
  • Activity Kits – Lego Race Cars, Spy Kits, 17, 19, Cookies and Cupcakes, Card Making , Construction Vehicles , Candle Making, Make your own Nerf Launchers, Macrame Kit, Sew your own ice cream animals, Cross stitch , Pom Pom Food Animals, Crochet Kit, 3D Paint and Mould Dragons, Construct it Flexibles Tower Crane, STEAM Lab Color Science 
  • Those who love to write and draw – Diaries , Learn how to create Manga drawings ,  Stationary , Lettering/Calligraphy , Watercolor Pencils , You can Draw Anything
  • Other fun kits: Dog Tricks and Training , Adventure Telescope 
  • Story books are always great to have around as an option with authors like Julia Donaldson, Nick Bland, David Walliams, Anh Do, Cressida Cowell, Aaron Blabey and Philip and Laura Bunting to name a few all having written some awesome books. It looks like there are some great and different options of these and other authors in the current catalogue.

Remember if you want to place an order but do not want little hands and eyes getting into it before Christmas we have the option below for you 😊

Christmas Gift Orders: When you order online you can choose the Gift function so that when your order is delivered to the school it will be marked as a gift and be set aside for you to collect separately. If you are ordering through the school please let us know when you order if you would like your order set aside when it arrives and we will contact you.

Orders are due back by Friday the 27th of October. You can view the catalogue and order online through the Scholastic Bookclub website at scholastic.com.au/LOOP, download the LOOP app From Google Play or from the App Store or return your order form and payment to the office. Spare catalogues will be available at the office if you miss out.

Please feel free to give me a call if you have any questions.  

Miss Sacha [Library and ICT Manager]

Playgroup - Position Vacant

We are seeking a new Playgroup Coordinator for 2023!

The Playgroup coordinators role is to establish an appropriate playgroup program which strengthens relationships with the local families and supports the successful transition of children to Alawa Preschool.

Playgroup runs on a Friday morning in the Preschool and the successful applicant will be required for 3 hours from 9am - 12pm each week [weeks to vary dependent on term] 

For further information please contact Gen Donohue on 8997 7666 during school hours. 

Cafe

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.

Available every day lunch only:

- mini beef burgers $4.50

- spaghetti bolognaise small serve $4.50 or large serve $6.50 /Gluten Free Spaghetti $6.50 [Wed & Thu only]

Wednesday – Sushi – Chicken and avocado or Tuna and corn - $6.50

Thursday – Chill Con Carne with corn chips - Large size $6.50, Small $4.50

Friday – Homemade Beef burger - One size $6.50

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

Order online at www.quickcliq.com.au

2023 Intentions: Please advise if leaving Alawa

If you have plans to leave our school for 2023 we would really appreciate early notification as this can assist with our class planning and structure and budgeting.

Please just email or phone the front office to advise.

Stealth Vaping ...it's a thing

Stealth Vaping is a term used for vaping in a secretative or discreet manner with the aim to avoid detection. It is fast becoming more popular amongst vapers that want to or perhaps can’t stop themselves vaping in areas that vaping is not allowed. In many cases it is even being considered an “art form” amongst vapers.

Within Australia, vapes and e-cigarettes are classed under the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998 (the Act) and at state levels they’re subject to that states smoking laws.

Stealth Vaping ...it's a thing — #notevenonce®

Check out this interesting article I came across to stay informed.

Sandy Cartwright [Principal]

Community notices