8 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

The recent trip to National Radioactive Waste Management Facility at Lucas Heights was extremely successful. It offered our learners the opportunity to actively engage with some of Australia’s leading tradespeople, scientists and researchers. As well as the careers and STEM focus of the trip there was plenty of time for our students to experience the challenges of travel and the delights of many of Sydney’s famous landmarks. Now they have returned safely to Quorn I hope our learners begin to think about the opportunities ahead and focus their attention on the work required to build their pathway towards a successful future.

In the coming days we will be inviting all caregivers to complete a questionnaire on the possibility of reinstating an Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) at Quorn Area School. You will have the option of completing an online survey or a hardcopy. If there is sufficient demand within our community we will continue to investigating the possibility of a private provider offering this service at our site commencing in late 2018. If you do have any questions relating to this matter please feel free to contact Monique Carcuro or myself directly.

Written reports were sent home at the end of last term and they contained detailed information on your child’s learning. If you have any concerns regarding the report please contact the teacher concerned to either discuss over the phone, or in person. I am pleased to confirm that all high school students can now access Daymap from home and their access includes details of assessments, attendance, reports, grades, etc. We will be opening the Daymap Parent Portal in the coming weeks and we will run short information sessions for caregivers from June.

Finally, if you visit the school office please take the time to view the Vincent van Gogh inspired art work of our Reception students. The quality of this work coupled with their ability to speak so eloquently about their learning is something truly inspiring.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

Secondary Report

Term 1 has flown by which means that one third of the school year is already complete for our Year 12’s. All students are, and will be very busy completing their assignments before the end of Term 3. This may be a stressful time for all of our Year 11 and 12 students so if you have concerns about specific subjects please make contact with those teachers to discuss this.

This term has a few key dates coming up; the annual NAPLAN testing taking place in Week 3 for all students from Year 3-9. This year we are going to run NAPLAN tests for all students in those year levels to allow us to gather the data on the growth of our learners in school. If you have any questions about the NAPLAN testing please make contact with your child’s Home Group teacher.

At the end of Week 8 we have our semester change where some of our Middle School students will change over their elective subjects ready for Semester 2. This may provide some opportunities for students to continue with subjects or make some changes to subjects that they would like to try in preparation for Year 12. If any subject selections change I will make contact with the parents to ensure you are informed. If you have any questions about this, please make contact with me.

A couple of special mentions to;

• Jaquarra and Abraham who, during the school holidays, represented Quorn Area School at the traditional ANZAC Day service held here in Quorn. Both students jointly laid a wreath and each raised flags during ceremony.

• Our Year 12 students who were offered the opportunity for a Sunday study session to push towards the completion of their Research Project. It was great to see the students commit to their studies out of hours.

ANSTO Report

On Sunday 8th April, seventeen eager students from Quorn Area School embarked on a trip to Sydney to visit the ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) site in Lucas Heights. Once we boarded the bus it seemed like an eternity until we actually left school grounds however we were on our way to Adelaide airport to board our plane to Sydney.

Once we arrived in Sydney we were greeted by Michael Rose one of the main organisers of trip. He guided us to the bus and then took us to our accommodation in Lucas Heights where stayed for the next 4 nights.

On our first full day in Lucas Heights we all boarded the bus to the Royal National Park where we were met by Bruce, who was our tour guide and taught us about the Aboriginal Heritage of Sydney. It was a perfect way to start our trip being able to see so much beautiful scenery along the way. Once we returned from the National Park we were given a brief tour of the ANSTO facility to lay the foundations for the days to come. We were able to see some incredible things such as the Opal Reactor and the Neuron Scattering facility which are both state of the art scientific instruments.

Day 3 began with a careers panel held in the lecture theatre where we had a range of people from ANSTO talk with us about their careers. We had the Director of Waste Management, a 4th year metal fabricator, a 2nd year electrician and a 1st year metal fabricator. These employees provided us with an insight into their career pathways and fielded questions from all our students. After lunch we returned to the secured facility and took part in some ‘hands-on’ experiences involving waste disposal programs, water sampling and treatment.

At the end of a very busy day all the students returned to the common room where we organised and competed in a fuzeball tournament. There was a high level of competiveness come out of our quietest students. The Grand Final was a display of immense skill and prowess and after a hard fought game, the victory belonged to Tahlia and I, defeating Meggan and Zoe.

Day 4 began with us once again entering the secured ANSTO facility to walk through the workshops where the trades people and engineers complete their work. It was fascinating to see the work that is able to be completed, with some of the most sophisticated machines I have seen.

The second part of day 4 allowed us to head into the CBD of Sydney to check out some of the major attractions such as the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge which was followed by a Sydney Harbour boat cruise on which we had a 3 course meal while accompanied by all the people that had been involved in our visit to ANSTO.

On day 5 we took part in another ‘hands-on’ workshop with the Environment Monitoring group that are based at Lucas Heights. Students had the chance to collect and sample soils to check for radiation exposure and learn about the health of the environment that comes in contact with radiation. Then we boarded the bus to the airport, flew back to Adelaide and returned home to Quorn.

This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to see more career opportunities that lie outside of Quorn and open their eyes to some cutting edge science that is taking place in Australia. The team at ANSTO were welcoming, friendly and very helpful and made our stay an amazing experience. I think that it opened our students’ eyes to the many other career paths that they may choose to follow.

As a part of a joke with our students we kept stats on some of the things that happened on the trip:

• Over 4500km travelled
• 1 Nuclear reactor visited
• Jaquarra fell over 3 times
• Tom had 7 good ideas
• Macey kicked her thong off her foot and hit 1 lady
• 5 Pizzas were ordered
• 4 silly comments from Ethan
• 3 Australian landmarks visited
• 2 students locked out of their room (Meggan and Jaq)

Jaquarra – The most interesting part for me was learning about and taking part in the environmental monitoring that the team at ANSTO conduct.

Aiden – Being able to view the live feed of the nuclear reactor at the OPAL facility and of course the Sydney Harbour cruise was amazing.

Kaleb – The best part was seeing how the nuclear waste is stored safely and how the particle accelerator works. My favourite part was exploring the Sydney CBD.

Taitum - Going to the museum as well as being able to spend time in the city. It was really interesting to see the trade workshops and see how it all relates back nuclear science.

Blake – getting a good and precise background on the processes and the way the storage facilities worked. The different occupations explorations was also really good as well as the trade workshops. My favourite part was the museum and going through the city.

Philip – I found when we were touring the particle accelerator to be one of the most interesting activities due to learning about the more technical side of the science that is conducted at ANSTO.

Macey – the highlight of the Sydney trip was to experience the how the nuclear waste was stored and categorised, and meeting new people.

Tom – the best part was seeing how everything works and how nuclear waste is stored safely.

Meggan - The best thing about this trip was being able to travel interstate and visit a state of the art science facility with my friends, but my overall highlight was the dinner cruise around the Harbour.

Chloe – The best part was seeing how everything worked at ANSTO and how nuclear waste is stored safely.

Haymish – Being able to see the benefit that the rest of the world has through Australia’s innovations at the ANSTO site, including creating medications for hospitals.

Tayla – Being able to learn about different career paths through ANSTO and other areas we can potentially study. I also really enjoyed wearing the stylish white suits.

Kaitlyn – taking part in part in the hands on workshops while wearing the full body white suit. I also enjoyed taking in the sites of Sydney CBD

Jayde – Being able to learn a lot about science careers and ask questions about the proposed waste dump

Zoe – getting to walk through the fabrication area and asking the engineers questions about what they are working on

ET – Having a guided tour of the science facilities in ANSTO including the OPAL reactor.

Mr Griffiths – My highlight was easily getting to travel interstate with an amazing group of students. I was blown away with how polite, respectful and responsible each and every one of them was. It was a great opportunity to get to know the students away from school and learn about the people that they are, not just what they do at school.

Matt Griffiths
Senior School Coordinator

Middle School Report

Welcome back to what proves to be another very busy and rewarding term for our Middle School students. It has been fantastic to see classes continuing their engagement with the learning programs after the holiday break.

A reminder to families to contact your child’s care group teacher in the first instance if you have concerns about your child’s learning. It was pleasing to read the Term One progress reports of all middle school students which reflected the achievements and growth that students have made in each curriculum area, as well as the recommendations highlighted as areas of improvement.

Last Wednesday the Leadership team attended a valuable training day based around John Hatties’s popular concept of ‘Visible Learning’. Families will begin to hear more about Visible Learning in the near future and there will be some common and consistent language associated with this concept being used within our classrooms at QAS. According to John Hattie, ‘Visible Learning and Teaching occurs when teachers see the learning through the eyes of the students and help them become their own teachers’. It is important for student understanding to have the learning intentions and success criteria visible to students during lessons. Learning intentions and success criteria ensure all students know what they are going to learn and where they are heading. It also provides guidance to teachers on what their chosen teaching and learning activities are seeking to achieve.

All staff will be involved in a further training and development day on May the 21st (Student Free Day) and we look forward to moving ahead with our Visible Learning journey in the very near future.

Sarah Bury
Middle School Coordinator

Primary Report

Welcome back to Term 2, I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and refuelled for a busy Term 2. The primary cohort welcome Annelise Perry to the team who is completing a placement in Mrs Ikiua-Brooks' 1/2 class, we hope you enjoy your time here. A few of the upcoming events for this term are:

• Mother’s Day Stall
• Walk Safely To School Day
• NAPLAN
• National Simultaneous Story Time
• Cookbook Submissions
• NAIDOC week
• Flinders House visits

Assembly Schedule

A quick reminder about our Primary Assembly Schedule, below are the classes hosting this term. We look forward to the students hosting and sharing the work they have completed so far this year.

Congratulations to all award winners at the end of term 1 assembly.

Flu Reminder

Just a friendly reminder about the upcoming season and the easy steps you can take to keep your family and our school healthy. Anyone can get the flu, but it is more common among children and can be worse for people with some health conditions. We encourage you to take the preventive actions to cut down on the spread of the germs that cause it.

Everyone plays a role in stopping the spread of germs that cause the flu. You can do the following to help:

• Get your yearly flu vaccine
• Wash your hands often
• When you cough, cough into your elbow or tissue
• Stay home if you are sick

Please talk to your children about washing their hands often, coughing properly, not sharing their personal items (such as chapsticks, water bottles and food) and keeping their hands away from their mouths. Remember your children cannot come to school if they have a fever and can only return 24 hours after it goes away without medicines.

Thank you for your help – together we can all stay healthy.

Messy Art

We have had fun exploring mediums across all year levels already this term. So far the favourite is soft pastels and acrylic with gesso. Check out some of the action from the Art Room.

Mother’s Day Stall

This year Mother's Day will be celebrated in Australia on Sunday May 13th

The tradition of giving gifts to mothers on Mother's Day in Australia was started by Mrs Janet Heyden, a resident of Leichhardt, Sydney, in 1924.

She began the tradition during a visit to a patient at the Newington State Home for Women, where she met many lonely and forgotten mothers. To cheer them up, she rounded up support from local school children and businesses to donate and bring gifts to the women.

Every year thereafter, more support was raised by Mrs Heyden with local businesses and even the local Mayor.

The day given to mothers for Mother's Day has since become a celebration. Traditionally, the chrysanthemum is given to mothers for Mother's Day as the flower is naturally in season during autumn and ends in "mum"!

Traditionally men would wear a chrysanthemum in their lapels in honour of mothers.

Join our Picture Products Project at QAS!

Turn your child’s treasured memories into durable, high-quality melamine Pictureplates that will last a lifetime!

For a functional keepsake, a melamine Pictureclock or MDF Small Clock can be mounted on the wall to keep your child’s precious artworks permanently on display. We are also offering a range of other products decorated with your child’s artwork, such as plastic or ceramic mugs, water bottles and calendars.

More information will follow shortly regarding the ordering process and payment details.

Your child can use photos, markers, hand and footprints and paints to create their artworks, and you can order as many copies of your products as you’d like, so it’s a fantastic gift idea for grandparents and family members. What will your child draw?

How to get involved

We’d love for you to join in this exciting and creative activity. Just choose which products you’d like to order, and how many of each product you would like.

Fill out and bring in your order form on the next page with cash or a cheque made out to the school in an envelope marked ‘Pictureproducts’.

OR pay online using the following link:

At Quorn Area School, we’re publishing our very own COOKBOOK!

Calling all Local Businesses

To encourage healthy eating, to help with our ongoing fundraising efforts, and to help our members and their families become proud published authors, we are excited to announce that we are working with a specialist cookbook publisher to create the community cookbook. As important and valued businesses in our local area, we are seeking your involvement by advertising your business in this much anticipated community publication, for a small donation. Please contact the school if you would like to be involved.

Monday Morning Coffee

Drop in and grab a coffee at our next catch up between 8:30 and 9:00 on Monday 4th June

Seeking your interest

We are considering establishing an Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) service at Quorn Area School and are conducting a survey to determine the need for care in the community.

OSHC services provide supervised recreational activities for school age children which encourage children to interact with friends, learn life skills, problem solve and be challenged by new experiences in a safe and relaxed environment.

Attendance in OSHC can be on a casual, part-time, regular or emergency basis. There is a cost for care and varies depending on the fee set by the service and the income of the family. Families of children attending an OSHC service may be eligible for financial assistance towards the part payment of child care fees through the Australian Government’s Child Care subsidy.

The survey is available in hard copy from the Front Office

Monique Carcuro

Subject Report

Sports

SAPSASA Football & Netball

On Friday the 6th of April, students from Years 5-7 participated in the SAPSASA netball and football carnivals held in Port Augusta and Stirling North.

Students from Hawker joined our school to make up numbers and both netball teams (division one and three) participated in a number of matches throughout the day. All players put in 100% effort and worked amazingly as a team. It was a pleasure to be associated with our students. I would like to thank Michelle Baker and Dani Chapman for assisting with coaching and umpiring on the day. Events like this cannot happen unless we have parent volunteers.

Congratulations to Mackenzie Chapman who has been selected to represent the district at the SAPSASA Netball Carnival later this term, held in Adelaide. This is a fantastic achievement and Mackenzie is well deserving of her selection.

The boys played their football matches at the Stirling North Primary School and merged together with Hawker and School of The Air to fill a whole team. Each student represented our school in a positive light and enjoyed the competition and the chance to demonstrate their skills throughout the day. Thanks to Mr Buckingham and Tanya Finlay for organising the boys on the day with coaching and goal umpiring.

Isaac Finlay, Brodie Stirling and Joel Finlay were invited to try out for the district SAPSASA football team. The team hasn’t been finalised as yet, and we wish the boys the best of luck with their trials.

SSSSA Athletics

On Thursday 12th April, two of our students represented our school in the combined MNSEC Athletics carnival in at SANTOS Stadium in Adelaide. The team competed in the A2 division and finished 8th overall. Congratulations to Jack Hancock and Bailey Stirling for their efforts, thank you also to their parents for the supervision and transport allowing both boys to participate.

Sarah Bury
Middle School Coordinator

Young Environmental Leaders 2018

Congratulations to our new Young Environmental team this year. Students will partake in term by term forums run by the Rangers from Natural Resources Management. Focus issues include the impact of waste on the environment, water quality of our estuaries and plant and animal habitat.

This year’s project for QAS will be an aqua-ponics setup which will include a vertical garden wall and fish tank, replacing the existing terrapin enclosure (on the corner of the AB ED room). The Young Environmental Leaders will be required to engage other students in a “Kids teaching Kids” role, where knowledge and skills they have acquired are handed on using fun activities that highlight their researched topics.

Matthew Buckingham and Sharon Taylor

Art

Budding Artist

A big congratulations to Lorie Paynter who was awarded 1st place for her 'Chequered Horse' in the recent Youth Week Art competition. Lorie is passionate about visual arts and I can’t wait for you to see her work on display at the Quorn Area School Showcase later in the year.

Yuras and Photos - A Project by Rebecca Richards

On Monday 7th May, Rebecca Richards PhD student at the University of Adelaide, hosted a workshop displaying artwork and photographs of the Adnyamathanha community taken from the 1930's & 1940's. Our primary students were able to participate in this workshop and had an enjoyable morning learning about the Adnyamathanha people.

Miscellaneous Reports