Alawa Primary School Newsletter

Hard to believe but we are already into the 4th week of our final school term for 2022!

Huge thanks to all in our community who supported and showed appreciation for our team last Friday for World Teachers Day' - they all felt very special. The cherubs from 2 Ward along with Ms Ward set the standard with a fab assembly, naming and sharing a special little bit of information about each teacher and they then shared their video of poems via our Facebook page. Although I did have to chat with Tilly about how she seems I am 'Irresponsible sometimes' - she assured me there were occasions I was just a big kid at school!

If you did not get a chance to hear the cherubs sharing their poems feel free to check them out through this link:

https://www.facebook.com/AlawaPrimary/videos/587515606483636 

Assessments

All through the school at the moment students and teachers are engaged in assessment, this is our opportunity to see what progress individuals have made with their learning and then in so many cases we are celebrating the achievement of their learning goals at Muster or more privately if they prefer this. We do ask you continue to have your child at school, on time and ready for learning each day. Our core programs continue right through till the end of Week 9 when we then take a breath and enjoy more chill activities and social opportunities in Week 10.

Perception Survey Snapshot 2

This week the snapshot is our feedback about Relationships - critical in school communities. Take a few minutes to have a look and reflect on the questions posed in the snapshot below.

Leaders Summit

I will be out of the school Wednesday & Thursday this week - at the annual Department of Education Leaders Forum where I will be connecting with colleagues from across the NT and sharing best practise in our schools. The theme this year is 'One Sky: Many Voices' with key speakers from around the globe including Yemi Penn - 

author, global speaker and entrepreneur. The power of voice… voice of students, voice of community and voice of self will be the focus over the 2 days.

Have a fab week,

Sandy Cartwright [Principal]

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

As always, the farm is a dynamic place. Despite the crazy heat, we still manage to have a lot going on. Transition students are learning all about worms with a visit from Tonyi, an interactive worm who helps children  learn about sustainability, composting and reducing waste. Tonyi is the genius mastermind of Jasmine Thomas, Mum of Joe and Ellie who attend Alawa.

Year 1 students have finished their beautiful mosaics which are now feature pieces in the kitchen garden, shed and farm. Year 2 are constructing recycled garden art with old bike rims donated to us from the Jingili school farm teacher. Year 3’s are building their farm skills and making more recycled art with a wooden cut out of a cow and bottle caps.  Year 4/5 students set up the market stall produce and maintain the aquaponics and wicking beds. Many of the Year 5/6 students are coming to the end of their inquiry projects and will present their work in the coming weeks. The beehive is finished and just waiting for the bees to arrive which will happen soon. We just need to build a shelter for them.

We have an abundance of jack fruit on the trees at the moment so please let us know if you would like to buy some. We are still in need of old tins of house paints and pool fencing for various projects. Please think of us before you are throwing out any construction or gardening materials.

We are so grateful to the wonderful volunteers who spend hours at the farm either during class time, weekends or on school holidays. In total we have 37 helpers, 5 of which we see each week in farm classes.  

Linda Conder [Farm Teacher] 

Last Friday we celebrated our latest Honour Distinction Award winner and Principal for the day Miss Ameliah. Here is what she had to say about her day...

"I had the best day as Principal of Alawa last Friday. I did many things including having lunch with the Teachers for World Teachers day and a special Massage for 15mins.

I also helped out with Ms Cartwrights’ early years extension maths group and went to the farm with my own class.

During elective time I joined Ms Ros for soccer and we did some headers and we played a 30min game.

I handed out lots of merits to people displaying the Alawa Value and using the ALLE tools in their learning and I helped Ms Cartwright do the house point count after lunch at Muster."

During our inside Investigation sessions the preschool children have loved exploring the listening post station. At the listening posts we have had familiar texts available to read, listen to and follow along with. When there is a new, unfamiliar text the teacher reads it to the class first also modelling what you do at the listening station.

 

Children have loved having the opportunity to pop on some headphones and become immersed in a storytelling experience that seems like its created just for them! As children have listened along to the story they have been invited to draw a picture or have a go at writing their favourite part of the story. The result is a wonderful collection of visual responses to the texts. Oral language is such an important feature of Literacy in the early years and a natural way to foster a love of reading and language.

Emma Connelly, Emma Churchman, Ms Flor & Ms Kelly [Preschool Team] 

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] 

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 3 of Term 4 Finnis was ahead of Goyder and Manton with 2840 points!

In the lead for the year we still have Finnis with 87293 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 3 of Term 4 was....4/5 Lawrence with 159 points!!!

The winning class for Weeks 1-3 is..... 4/5 Lawrence with 458 points!!!

Apple for the Teacher – voting now open!😎The following super star teachers have been nominated for this year’s Hot 100 Apple for the Teacher competition:

🍎Miss Connelly

🍏Miss Churchman

🍎Miss Hughes

🍏Mrs Henschke

🍎Mr Henderson

Follow the link below to take you direct to the voting page and vote for your favourite teacher now! https://www.hot100fm.com.au/win/apple-for-the-teacher-2022/#enter-now

Nikki Greenberg is an Australian Author based out of Melbourne who has a number of books out including The Detectives Guide to Ocean Travel Shortlisted in the Younger Readers CBCA Book of the Year Awards this year. This review is based around another of her works a picture book called Miss Kraken. We have recently acquired this book for the Library and it is a book the younger classes are getting to enjoy as they come in for their class time. The story is about Miss Kracken [an octopus] the crankiest teacher in the whole school and her class, and follows them on an excursion to the Aquarium. Miss Kracken disappears, the class runs amok and the unexpected occurs! The illustrations throughout the book are detailed with many humorous elements. They are primarily monotone with a pop of colour on each page and with pictures taken at Sea Life Melbourne incorporated into the depiction of the excursion. This book is one which can lead to rich conversations around Sea Life, Habitats, what makes us happy and how the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Other books by this author include: Bitsy, I’m Fabulous Crab!, Morris the Mole, and The Naughtiest Reindeer. Happy Reading 😊

Miss Sacha [Library and ICT Manager]

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. 

We had a wonderful Friday morning at Playgroup. It was filled with arts and craft, wonderful teal-coloured play dough, and lots of pretend play in the pet grooming station!

We are meeting new 2023 Preschoolers every week now which is a lot of fun. They already love their preschool. 

We also made scones this week which we all enjoyed. We really love to contribute a helping hand. It was so much fun to mix and stir, knead and cut out the scones. And of course it was wonderful to eat them too.

 Next week we’ll visit the Farm. 

See you Friday,

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.

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