23 November 2016

Newsletter Articles

Principal's Report

Term 4 and the school year are quickly coming to an end. It is important to recognise students, teachers and volunteers that have supported us throughout the year. Our Presentation Evening will be held on Thursday 15th December in the school gym. The evening will begin with an Open Night from 5.30pm to showcase the students work from 2016. The Award Presentations will begin at 7.00pm and we encourage all families to attend. As this is a school function students are required to wear school uniform.

Thursday is also our Splash Day where the students can have a bit of fun with their peers at the swimming pool. Further information regarding this event will be sent home to families shortly.

I am pleased to announce that Sarah Bury has won the Deputy Principal position for 2017 however she is taking 6 months maternity leave for the first half of the year. This temporary vacancy has now been advertised internally and I will notify you all once this is finalised.

With the hot weather here it is important to review our hot weather and bush fire emergency policies.

We monitor the temperature at school and when it is over 38C, students stay inside at lunchtime in the air conditioning. We do not go off the forecast temperature because it is too inconsistent. We have a thermometer in an undercover area to accurately read the air temperature at lunch time. It is also important to mention that students need a broad brimmed hat to play outside at recess and lunch. Baseball caps are not appropriate.

On extreme bushfire danger days parents who live out of town need to notify the school if they decide not to send their children to school. Also, if a fire is in their area and they cannot pick up their children they need to have a nominated family or community member who can pick them up. This also applies for those parents who work out of town and can't get home safely. If there is an extreme emergency and we are notified that the school is threatened, we will be using the school app and the phone to notify families. The Kindergarten and Outdoor Education Centre are Emergency bushfire centres.

Please keep safe and keep in contact. We will cancel excursions on Extreme Bushfire alert days and we will not let any excursions occur in areas where there is a bushfire whether or not any alert has been declared.

Just a quick reminder again that Friday the 25th of November is a student free day as staff are working on curriculum and training in first aid on that day.

Keep Safe and it will be all good
Roy Winther

Secondary Report

Our Year 12 students completed their final exams last week and will now be anxiously awaiting their results. Results will be available to students online from the 20th December (according to the SACE Board). We wish them every success in their future and look forward to hearing about their achievements. The Graduation Dinner is being held this Saturday the 26th of November at the Standpipe Golf Motor Inn.

Next week will see our Year 11's begin their end of year exams. These will be held in the Yr 12 room and the timetable is as follows:

The Year 10 students will once again be involved in a week of work placement at Pichi Richi during Week 7. This placement will engage the students in installing window and door frames, insulation, second fix electrical and wall and ceiling cladding. It sounds like a busy week ahead for them!

The Year 7-9 campers will be heading off to Illawonga next Wednesday morning at 7am. There will be a final note home to parents this week to confirm details and a 'packing list'.

ALL PAYMENTS MUST BE FINALISED BY MONDAY THE 28TH OF NOVEMBER.

Congratulations to Jayde Finlay, Emily Eckert, Mackenzie Chapman and Lachlan Finlay who are representing QAS in the SAPSASA Tennis Carnival being held in Adelaide this week. This is an outstanding achievement as these students were handpicked from the region. Congratulations also to Declan Finlay and Bailey Stirling who were selected from the region for the SAPSASA Cricket Carnival also held in Adelaide this week. We look forward to hearing updates throughout the week.

Counsellor Report

Peer Leaders

Quorn Area School's Peer Leaders have done a fantastic job this year. They have developed leadership and teaching skills, increased responsibility and shown maturity when running activities and during meetings. I have been super proud of the way they interact with the students, both during lessons and within the schoolyard.

The gallery below is a collection of images captured during Week 4's activity session in the gym.

Peer Leaders Term 4 2016

VIEW GALLERY

Peer Leaders Term 4 2016

Click images to enlarge

End of Year Social

This year the end of year social theme is a Formal Masquerade.

Toastie Thursday

Toasties are still a hit for lunch orders on Thursday. Due to the warmer weather, ice blocks are available also on Thursdays for $1.00.

New SRC President Selection Process

In previous years at Quorn Area School, SRC members have assumed the role of leadership across the school, organizing many events and activities. House Captains have been nominated by their peers and active in leadership roles predominately during term 1 of each school year.

In 2017 we are looking at changing the structure of student leadership within the school, to assist students to further develop their leadership skills, voice their opinions, share their concerns and promote school spirit.

This year the Principal will appoint school captains with advice of senior students and staff. Thus, their appointment is a gesture of trust in them; that they will continue to show the character and ideals that led to their nomination.

School Values

As part of the grant funding for the gymnasium, signage was allocated for inside and out. The picture below is an example of the signage we have selected for the southern wall in the gym. Our school values are the predominant feature with some adjectives beneath to reiterate the meaning of the value.

Aspiring to Inspire

Monique Carcuro
School Counsellor

Subject Report

Tech Studies Projects

Foot stools by Declan Finlay and Kolt Fraser

Outdoor BBQ Kitchen Julian McCarthy

Wall shelf by Ethan Baker

Vocational Education

Choir

Last Thursday our choir visited Flinders House for the second time. We sang four songs; Que Sera, Towards Infinity, The Bee Bop and A Healthy Home reprise. We also sang an impromptu song in the main hospital where a few elderly people gathered as they were unable to attend at Flinders House. It was a very rewarding experience for us all. Our next performance will be at the Carols by the Billabong.

Students have been invited to take home a note about registering their commitment to participating in our choir next year. In addition to Year 4, 5 and 6 students, we are also inviting Year 7 students to be part of choir in 2017. The following students have returned that note, and so their choir books and accompanying CD have been ordered for them at no cost to families. If your child would like to sing in our choir next year but is not on the list below, they can still commit by either picking up a note from Miss James and returning it asap or having a caregiver ring and leave a message with the school.

2017 choir students with corresponding 2017 year levels

Year 4 – Molly Agnew and Hannah Moosha
Year 5 – Max Agnew, Richard Lyman, Ella Maison and Geri Tschirner
Year 6 – Lara Filsell, Mackenzie Chapman, Brooke Maison, Alisha Medlam, Emily Millington and Emily Taylor
Year 7 – Kathleen Medlam and Jayden Thomson

Vennessa James and Sharon Taylor

Recorder

The following thirteen students from Years 2 to 6 have been extending their recorder playing beyond the basics that they have learnt in class with Miss James this semester. They each auditioned for a place in the Recorder group last term and since then they have been meeting a few mornings a week in Care Group time to learn some new notes, songs and skills. At their debut performance at the Primary Assembly last week they played Hot Cross Buns in a "round". Playing in a "round" entailed splitting the group in half and the second half of the group beginning to play the song part way through that of the first half of the group. In this way the second half of the group both started and finished the song later than the first half of the group. It sounded very impressive and showcased the practise that they have been doing. They also played Mary had a Little Lamb at the Assembly and are now learning some new songs in preparation for future Primary Assemblies and a performance at Flinders House.

Year 2 – Matilda Brooks (replacing Lachie McCarthy) and Maia Tschirner
Year 3 – Molly Agnew and Hannah Moosha-Hancock
Year 4 – Kayla Daly, Richard Lyman, Ella Maison and Geri Tschirner
Year 5 – Mackenzie Chapman, Anthony Ibrahim, Brooke Maison and Emily Taylor
Year 6 – Kathleen Medlam

Vennessa James

Library

The last service for this year will be 6pm Tuesday 20th December and the first service for next year will be 10am Tuesday 10th January. Please arrange your holiday borrowing around these dates. The out-of-hours return chute will be open during this time and the W-Fi will be on. You can receive the Wi-Fi in the carpark.

Make sure your device has Wi-Fi enabled and look for 'Public Library RF'. The key is PublicLibrary (capital P, capital L and no space). Your password is your library card barcode and PIN number.

PREMIER'S READING CHALLENGE

Congratulations to the following students for completing the PRC in 2016. The certificates and medals shall be handed out at the final R-6 assembly (Lesson 6, Friday Week 8, Term 4):

SMITH FAMILY CHRISTMAS APPEAL

The Library is collecting books as Christmas gifts for under-privileged children in South Australia. The books need to be new (not second-hand), unwrapped and targeted at children aged 0-12 years of age. We will forward these on to the Smith Family who will distribute them as part of their Christmas Appeal. The books will need to be dropped into the library before 4pm Monday 5th December (Week 8) - Thanks

Is your child getting enough Vitamin N?

We would be interested in parent's feedback after watching this video.

Thanks,
Sharon Taylor

Sport - Change to two teams

At QAS it was becoming increasingly difficult to try to fill three teams of athletes for both our swimming and athletics carnivals. Looking at predicted numbers for the years to come it was in the best interest of the students and school that we reduced the sports teams to two sides in an attempt to make the competition closer and fairer for the students. This also allows more opportunities for the students to participate in as many athletic and swimming events as they can.

Governing Council along with the QAS Sports Committee have approved this proposal with the new team names being Yarrah and Kanyaka which are two names previously used by the school many years ago.

We will aim to have House Captains nominated by the end of the year plus inform all students about their new team and the colours they will be. If you have any questions about this please contact Matt Griffiths on 8648 6101.

Miscellaneous Reports

REMEMBRANCE DAY CEREMONY