26 March 2024

Principal’s Report

We are excited to see so many caregivers onsite during drop-off in the morning and collection in the afternoon. The informal gatherings under the shade of our newly landscaped areas allow for interactions centred on the wellbeing and engagement of our young people. It is pleasing to see the return of these informal interactions that support us in receiving feedback and engaging more effectively in our ever-changing world. We always seek to maintain open and transparent communication channels between school staff and caregivers. This includes regular newsletters, emails, phone calls, our dedicated school website and the Schoolzine app, where caregivers can access important information about school events, policies, and learning updates. In addition, we invite specialists to speak to caregivers about the support processes available to assist learners and their families in navigating or connecting with agencies to help learners engage with school and community now and in the future.

Next week, our Learner Action Team will meet with the landscapers designing our new junior primary and upper primary/secondary playgrounds. We aim to create an area that allows learners to explore, get active, and be curious during recess and targeted lessons. We will share the designs with our community before commencing the work in term four. In the meantime, we are excited about the progress of the building work in the junior primary area, which is due for completion in late May. In addition to this significant structural work, we are preparing to install new water fountains and outside table tennis tables during the forthcoming school holidays.

Finally, with the Easter weekend approaching, followed by the school holidays, we seek your support in ensuring the security and wellbeing of our school. We ask that you be vigilant and proactive in protecting school property by reporting any suspicious activity or signs of vandalism to the school or authorities outside our regular business hours.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

QAS Autism Inclusion

Australian Early Development Census (AEDC)

House Captains & House Points

We are working on a system to collect points for your team.

For example:

• During Secondary PE lessons, you can earn a point for your team if you wear your sports shirt.
• If you attend a lunchtime session (run by the House Captains) in the Gym, you can get points for your team and also individual points based on your participation.
• We will run an art competition next term to create the Front Cover of the 2024 School Magazine. Keep an eye out for more details in Term 2.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Stay tuned for the points criteria we are working on in the background. 

Children’s University

Just a friendly reminder about our lunchtime session with Richard from Children's University on Wednesday. We'll dive into the fascinating world of fossils and explore their significance. It promises to be an engaging and educational session, so make sure to bring your curiosity along!

For those who have not yet logged a session in your passport, this will be your first. Remember to bring it along so we can approve the session with a CU stamp.

Learner Action Team

The Learner Action Team has started a new initiative this Term: “If You Can Be Anything Be Kind”. You may have seen a few of us wearing yellow hats during the breaks, and this is to indicate who is a LAT member.

We are looking to run kindness activities on Thursdays and Fridays next term. 

Any learner can approach someone wearing a yellow hat if they have concerns or need help. We do not tolerate antisocial behaviour within our school premises.

School Prefects Report

On Monday, March 25th, we donned the attire of our beloved superheroes to support a meaningful cause. Muscular Dystrophy (MD) encompasses a spectrum of rare, intricate genetic disorders within a broader category known as neuromuscular conditions (NMCs), comprising over 75 distinct ailments. These conditions relentlessly diminish muscle strength and functionality, often leading to severe disability over time.

A huge thank you to Parents & Friends for opening the canteen to sell Hot Dogs and fruit boxes.

All proceeds and donations will be sent to the MD Foundation Australia.

Primary Report

News from the Year 2/3/4 Class with Mrs Reed

Numeracy

We have been busy using Numicon to learn about number patterns and inverse relationships.

Spanish

We have had two new readers this term.

La Fiesta de Cumpleanos de la Serpiente Sergio (The Birthday of Sergio the Snake) was all about animals we see at the Zoo. We wrote sentences about the animals we would like to visit at the zoo.

Encuentro en el Aula (Find Me in the Classroom) is all about objects we can find in the classroom.

Music

Music has seen us picking up from where we left off last year, continuing to learn different rhythm patterns and starting to investigate how music is used in different cultures around the world.

PE

We have been learning some basic floor gymnastics. The learners started by learning different balances and static poses. Then they moved on to learning how to move our bodies safely to create different floor routines that included forward and backward rolls and even cartwheels!

Health

In Health, we have been learning about Identity, what it means to us, how we see ourselves and things that influence this. We have also learned to recognise when we feel unsafe or uncomfortable (warning signs).

Literacy

One of our photos shows the learners who graduated from their initial RWI group this term. We have also focused on borrowing books from the library that count towards our Premiers Reading Challenge. Learners have been writing some great Narratives for Big Write, and we have been learning how to give appropriate feedback to our peers during Break-down Buddies. We are now learning how to use that feedback to improve our writing.

It has been a busy and exciting time in our class this term. We hope everyone has a wonderful Easter, and we will see you at our Assembly in Week 11.

Senga Reed
Class Teacher

Learner Disposition Recognition

Michelle Densley, Ellie Buchanan and Senga Reed have instigated a system to remind learners of our Learner Dispositions. Learners, SSOs, teachers and visitors are encouraged to nominate learners when they see them doing something representative of our Learner Dispositions. Nominators must be able to explain why they have nominated the person for that learner to be eligible to go in the draw.  At the end of the week, Ms Densley, Miss Buchanan, and Mrs Reed get together to draw the winners. Winners have their photos on display for a week in the foyer and their pictures in the newsletter. There has been much excitement among the learners and much positive feedback. 

Congratulations to the winners of Week 8:

Lucas Werth won the Collaborative Cam nomination from Miss Buchanan for collaborating with Zaiden.
Lara Cuffe won the Adaptable Ash nomination from Mrs Reed for being willing to try different things to solve problems.
Jed Kelly won the Ownership Ora nomination from Mrs Reed for taking responsibility for his learning by reacting to teacher instruction and showing his full attention in class.
Khianna Ahuja won the Persevering Pete nomination from Blake for concentrating on her learning tasks and trying to solve problems.
Ava Perry won the Reflective Rae nomination from Miss Buchanan for working hard to reflect on her Big Write and improve her work.
Ellie Bury won the Inquiring Ivy nomination from Ms Densley for being willing to ask a question in MAPPEN and 'put herself out there'.

Congratulations to all of this week's winners. We can't wait to see who gets nominated for next week.

Senga Reed 
Primary Teacher

Secondary Report

MNSEC Athletics

Students from Quorn Area School travelled to Jamestown on Thursday, 21st March, to compete in the MNSEC Athletics carnival.  Among the participants, Ella Holtham, Sam Finlay, Noah Kruger and Joel Finlay were selected to compete in Adelaide, representing their school and the wider region.

There were remarkable performances from all schools and across various disciplines, demonstrating the students' dedication and hard work. Booleroo Centre did exceptionally well, walking away with the overall shield, handicap shield, all age group pennants, and, of course, with those results, the male and female champion athletes.

One standout achievement was by Sam, who not only broke his own long jump record from the previous year (OR – 3.69m, NR - 3.92m) but also set a new one in the triple jump (OR – 8.29m, NR – 8.53m). Sam's remarkable feat highlights his skill and the pursuit of personal bests. 7:30 am morning practice sessions, with record markers in the jumping pit, were worth it in the end. 

Thank you to all the parent volunteers who drove athletes to the event and Tanya Finlay, who helped at the long jump pit all day.

Parent & Friends

Our Easter Camping Raffle will be drawn tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for contributing to our fundraiser.

Miscellaneous Items

Port Augusta Table Tennis

Port Augusta Coastcare – Community Education Day