26 September 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

The end of term three is always a pivotal point in the life of a school. It is as time when we collectively look back and reflect on the success we have secured and a time when we begin our preparations for the challenges of the new academic year ahead. Whilst our Y12 students ready themselves for the final push many other students begin to think about the changing demands as they travel through the year levels. In order to ensure that students are fully supported in their learning we are currently reviewing our timetable structure. Early next term we will be sharing any recommendations with our school community and any proposed change in the timings of the day will be presented for consultation.

I am pleased to report that our implementation of Daymap is progressing well and our teachers can now readily access a variety of both current and historic achievement data for each individual student. Our Y3-Y10 students have recently completed the 2017 Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) and this data will be available in time for our Parent Teacher interviews in week one of next term.

Finally, I would like to wish all of our families a safe holiday and I will look forward to seeing you all in term four for the next chapter of our learning journey.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

Secondary Report

Three more days and Term 3 is complete. Our Year 12 students are very close to leaving school forever, some are happy and excited and some are very nervous about what lies ahead. It is vitally important that all students seek help from teachers if they feel they are falling behind as all staff at QAS are willing to help our students succeed. If any parents have questions regarding the last few weeks of school please contact us.

We have commenced talks with the Year 11 students about their career pathways and possible subjects for next year. Early next term we will invite parents to come and discuss this further. Prior to this meeting it would be great if parents could speak to their child about their career and dreams so that we are on the same page. I have already learnt so much more about our students with the informal chats I have had with them.

Our Year 10 students continued their VET course at Pichi Richi during Week 9 supervised by Mr McDonald. We hope they all had another fantastic week and gained some valuable experience in the construction industry.

Matt Griffiths
Deputy Principal

Counsellor Report

Toastie Thursday

Place your order at the front office and come down to the Canteen at lunch.

Parents in Education Week

Parents in Education week is designed to promote and highlight the importance of parents being engaged in their child’s learning and education from birth through school, and to provide practical advice for parents on how to support their child’s learning. If you missed the webinar click on the following link to view Justin Coulson’s 9 ways to a resilient child.

Attendance Matters

Does attendance really matter? .... Absolutely it does.

1 or 2 days a week doesn’t seem much but.....

How about 10 minutes late a day?

Every day counts, if you want your child to be successful at school then YES, attendance does matter!

PODCAST: How to Implement a Routine without Being Rigid

Establishing a routine is important for children and adults. We do better and feel more secure when life is predictable, and we get more done.

A lot of parents don’t like the idea of a routine because they think it means there is no room for flexibility and spontaneity.

In this week’s podcast episode Dr Justin Coulson explains how to implement a simple routine that allows you to have fun and flexibility, but also gives you a framework to come back to when things aren’t going right.

PODCAST: Teaching Our Children to be Respectful

“When I was your age…”

We’ve all heard our parents say it and some of us may have even said it ourselves. Every generation believes children are losing the art of respect.

In this episode Dr Justin explores:

• the difference between obedience and respect and how it is unfair to our children to confuse the two
• how to deal with a child who has anxiety issues and whose behaviour may be perceived by others as disrespectful
• the problem with asking for respect in disrespectful ways
• the importance of modelling high levels of respect in our everyday lives

Aspiring to Inspire

Monique Carcuro
School Counsellor

Subject Report

Library

PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE 2017

Congratulations to the following students who have successfully read all 12, age appropriate books for the PRC. Some students managed more than the 12 and that is indicated by the number in brackets:

Jaquarra Chapman; Geri Tschirner (35); Matilda Heinrich (25); Michaela Harvey (22); Amaru Omonte-Kramer; Kayla Daly; Lara Filsell; Ella Maison; Cooper McMillan (34); Mia Crisp (25); Elsa Lyman (24); Riley Crisp (21); Maia Tschirner (20); Javier Grivell (19); Madison Hately (19); Sarah Anjum (14); Lieesha Stuart-Bejah; Jordan Baker; Zack Heinrich; Cheyanne Maher; Lachie McCarthy; Matilda Brooks; Ethan Filsell; Axel Rowney; Jaiy Hately; Jimmy Metzger; Ollie Heinrich; Codey Daly; Samuel Finlay; Noah Kruger; Quinton Moore; Shelby Finlay; Kylah Donald; Elias Ibrahim; Phoneque Wilton; Hunter Kalms; Acacia Donald; Lucas Bury; Georgia Shannon; Ebonie Werth; Mahli Allport and Brayden Shearer.

A special mention to Jaquarra who has successfully completed the PRC every year of her schooling so far, from Reception to Year 11 – well done!

The awards will be handed out sometime in Term 4.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR

Advance notice – the Scholastic Book Fair will be happening in the library in Week 2 of next term – Tuesday 24th October to Saturday 28th October.

Sport - Volleyball

On Wednesday 13th of September our Open Boys Volleyball team travelled to Adelaide once again to take part in the SSSSA State Knockout Volleyball tournament. Our team was slightly reduced due to injury and illness but we took 6 capable boys down to compete in the event.

We arrived to Unley High School where all the teams were and the boys (and I) were pretty overwhelmed by the size and number of our opposing teams. In our pool we had Immanuel College and Reynella East College, two very large schools with a huge number of people to choose from to make their open team. We had to umpire the first game and we soon learnt that those schools took volleyball very seriously with one of the schools having an ex-Australian League volleyball player as their coach.

In our first game, with no-warm up, we had to play Reynella East who were a really good opponent. We lost that game in 3 sets only going down by 8, 4 and 5 points in each set. The second game we played Immanuel College who were a really well drilled outfit. We also lost to them in 3 sets going down by 9, 5 and 6 points. The boys played some extremely good volleyball in all of our games showing some great talent and perseverance. All students who attended this game learnt a lot about volleyball and were amazed at the standard that other students their age were playing at. It has given them something to strive for in the coming years.

Once again all of our students were really well behaved and acted in a way that the whole school community is proud of. Thank you to Mrs Baker for her help in organising the transport and accommodation and also thanks to Josh Forbes for coming on the trip and supervising our students.

6th in the state is an amazing effort for a school of our size boys, you should be very proud of your achievements.

Choir

Quorn Area School weekly practise

For choir we had weekly practise at school so that we could get prepared for the big Port Augusta concert. In our school practise we would sing a song and then our choir teachers would tell us if we have to sing louder or softer and then we would practise that. Sometimes we practised the Nutcracker suite of songs as well because some people from the school had acting parts in it and we had to practise those songs as well. After we had finished our practising Mrs Taylor would talk to us about how we were going with the songs and then Miss James would say how she thought we were going as well.

By Mackenzie Chapman

Over the last two terms, schools from Port Augusta, Stirling North and Quorn have been joining each other in Port Augusta to sing, learn dance moves to some of the songs, learn new songs and meet new friends. We went to Port Augusta primary schools to practise with other kids before the big dress rehearsal and performance.

By Matilda Heinrich

Port Augusta Choir concert dress rehearsal

In week 7 on the Wednesday, our Quorn Area School choir went down to Port Augusta to the Lea Memorial Theatre for a dress rehearsal. Other Port Augusta schools came along to practise for that night’s concert. When we got there we had to get into lines from shortest to tallest. All the soloists then got put on the end of the rows so it was easier from them to go on and off the stage. The practise went well. We had Peter Brown as our piano player. He is really good, so is the PASS band. After, when all the Port Augusta schools left, our Quorn choir stayed behind to practise for the Nutcracker suite. It went well. It was better than all the other ones because we dressed up in our costumes. After that was finished we hopped into the bus and came back to school.

By Brooke Maison

On the 7th September all primary schools travelled down to the Lea Memorial Theatre to practise for the concert. It was so scary. We had a white t-shirt, black shoes and black pants. We played a warm up game. Then we got into our order and we got on sage then we sang really well. Some of the songs we sang were Sea of Flags, Into a Fantasy and Migaloo. One song, It feels Good when I Sing a Song, was from Sesame Street. Anna Beach was our conductor.

By Renae Churchill

Port Augusta Choir concert

On the 7th September the choir kids went to the Lea Memorial Theatre to sing with all the other Primary School choirs in Port Augusta. Miss C, Mr Griffiths and Andrew came and watched. We sang songs from the beginning of our choir book to the end. In between some of the songs there were other musical items. A man called Blake played an amazing song on the piano and the PASS band also played. My favourite part was the band playing between our singing and the song that the band played as we walked off stage. All the Quorn choir kids got a photo off stage. It was a happy night.

By Kayla Daly

There were schools from Quorn and Port Augusta in the concert. The concert was held at the Lea Memorial Theatre. At the concert we had to wear a white t-shirt with black shoes and black pants. When we went on stage I got really hot because of all the lights. I could only see the backs of the people acting. There were different breaks during the concert. There was a guy on the piano who played a song. There was not a lot of sitting down for the choir.

By Richard Lyman

This year our 2017 Quorn Area School choir group put all their hard work together and performed with the other Port Augusta schools in the region at the Lea Memorial Theatre. Our school choir of 19 kids all performed on Friday 7th September. A group of kids from our choir did the acting for the Nutcracker suite and did an amazing job. Our conductor Anna Beach was excellent and was joined by the pianist Peter Brown and the PASS band. It was a great night!

By Geri Tschirner

On the 7th of September all the choir kids went to Port Augusta for their concert. Songs 6 to 12 were the Nutcracker suite. The characters were Professor Drosselmeyer played by Mackenzie Chapmen, Thomas played by Zac Heinrich, the Mouse King played by Alisha Medlam, Lieutenant Squeak played by Amaru Omonte-Kramer, Martha played by Emily Millington, the Narrator was Brooke Maison and the Nutcracker was played by Emily Taylor. Ella Maison also sang a solo in Into a Fantasy. It was really fun because we got to express our characters as much as we could. We weren’t nervous at all because we couldn’t see much of the audience due to all of the lights. We didn’t have many props so it was like charades with sound. I really liked it and I hope I get to do something like that again.

By Emily Millington.

Quorn Show Performance

At the Quorn show this year some of our choir students sang in the showground hall. The songs we sang were: Into a Fantasy with the solo part sung by Ella Maison and Geri Tschirner, A Soldier’s Life which was part of the Nutcracker suit and also Live Louder where Alisha Medlam and Emily Millington did the solo parts. Live Louder has some action moves to it. That day we all wore our school uniforms to show that we are a proper school choir. We practised at school to perform at the show because very few of us students performed. We had fun singing at the show. But we were in luck because if we sang we got to get into the show for free which was awesome. If you were at the show and heard us sing I hope you enjoyed it.

By Ella Maison

Choir Performance

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Choir Performance

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