14 August 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Identifying the learner dispositions valued most highly by our whole community has been a focus of the school for a number of months. Whittling down the initial list of over forty suggestions has been achieved through consultation with learners, teachers and caregivers. The process has generated much debate amongst our school community and this has enabled us to drill down into what we regard as the essential dispositions to learning in 2018. The six learning dispositions most highly-valued by our school community will be published in the next newsletter. Sarah Bury and Monique Carcuro are to be commended on leadership of this area and the inclusive process they have recently concluded. They will continue to focus on this work in the coming weeks as they seek to support staff in incorporating the dispositions into everyday learning and in ensuring the dispositions are visible and understood by all of our learners. They will also be exploring ways to incorporate these dispositions into our reward system as the year progresses and any feedback is most welcome.

Finally, I would like to congratulate those students directly involved in the planning and execution of the recent Slowdown Football match. Bring the community together and raising such a substantial sum as $1700 was a fantastic achievement.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

Secondary Report

Our secondary school has had a very busy start to Term 3 with a number of events taking place on top of their outstanding class work. In Week Two we hosted a presentation from Flinders University about career pathways and what to expect when/if our students consider the university pathway. It is great to know that some of our students travelled to Adelaide this past weekend to take part in the University Open days so that they can ask more questions about potential future pathways involving higher education.

In the coming weeks I will be working with our year 12 students; showing them how to complete university applications and ranking their chosen degrees. It would be great for parents/caregivers to have conversations with their children about their future aspirations. If you have any questions about this please contact me.

Year 10 Work Experience

Quorn Area School is planning to have Work Experience for Year 10 students in Week 7 Term 4 (November the 26th to the 30th). Students are encouraged to focus on finding a location or work area related to their chosen career pathway studied during the Personal Learning Plan earlier in the year.

Once students have made contact with an employer and have conformation that they are able to go to a worksite, a workplace learning agreement form must be completed. Work experience booklets must be distributed to parents, students and employers. With all forms completed and signed, students should be able to undertake work experience. If no location can be found, students will be expected to be at school.

Please direct any questions to the Senior School Co-Ordinator - Matt Griffiths or Home Group Teacher - Travis McDonald.

SSSSA Volleyball

On Monday 6th August a group of our students travelled to Adelaide to take part in the SSSSA Knockout volleyball competition. We were lucky enough to have a couple additions to our teams from Swan Reach Area School which allowed us to fill teams and have some reserves on the bench. Both the boys and girls teams played 4 x 50 minute games which made it a physically long day for participating students. Our boy’s team played really well throughout the carnival, only losing one game to Booleroo in the boys final. Our girls played fantastic volleyball throughout most of the day until our last game which ultimately cost us moving in to the next stage of the competition. Both our teams played incredibly well throughout the whole day, which made me extremely proud of them. We have some potential volleyball stars progressing through our school. Thank you to the parents that supported us with this trip and also Mrs Baker for organising everything and helping with supervision.

Daymap Connect – Parent Portal

Currently we are rolling out Daymap access to the parents and caregivers of our learners. As mentioned in previous newsletters this will allow a greater level of communication between parents, learners and the school to assist in the growth of your child. During the initial phase, only parents with an active email address which has been supplied to the school will be able to access it. To begin this process I will send an automated email today which will ask you to reset your password then you will have access to the account.

Our parent portal you will allow you to have access to the following information:

• Attendance to each lesson
• Assessment tasks - that are due and overdue
• Lesson information about what your children are learning each day

Once we have a number of parents activate their accounts I will be able to hold a parent information session to show how to navigate the site. If you do not receive an email to reset your password then we do not have an active email address. Please contact the school or send me an email so I can add it in matt.griffiths310@schools.sa.edu.au

MNSEC Formal

The MNSEC formal is on Friday 24th August (refer to the flyer in the newsletter). Once we have finalised transport arrangements later in the week, we will send permission notes home.

Year 12 Graduation Dinner

We have booked in the Year 12 Graduation Dinner at Pichi Richi Park on Friday 16th November. A formal invitation will be sent to families later in the term.

In the meantime if you plan on coming to the dinner can you please let me know your approximate numbers – either by calling the school or sending me an email? I will then pass this information onto the venue so they can begin menu preparations.

Matt Griffiths
Senior School Coordinator

Middle School Report

Camp – Woodhouse Activity Centre

We are very much looking forward to the middle school camp which is scheduled for September 10th – 12th this term. A reminder to families that payments for the camp must be finalised before departure, these payments can be made in the Finance Office or online using the school’s bank details. There will be some more information and a packing list sent home in the next couple of weeks.

Students who are not attending the camp will be expected to attend school. There will be a formal educational program – linked to the Australian Curriculum and attendance is mandatory as per usual.

MNSEC Netball

During Term 2, our Year 8/9 MNSEC netball team won the knock out carnival in Port Pirie and will now be competing in Adelaide on Monday of Week 6, August 27th. This is a magnificent effort and we wish the girls all the best in their endeavours for the carnival. Congratulations to the following students: Maya Omonte-Kramer, Zoe Maloney, Jayde Finlay, Emily Eckert, Tahlistorm Coad-Riedyk, Brooke Maison, Mackenzie Chapman and Rebekah O’Neill from Hawker AS.

SAPSASA Athletics

Upper primary students are starting to get themselves organised for the annual SAPSASA Athletics carnival being held at Stirling North Primary School on Friday 24th August (Week5). Parents will receive consent forms and further details about the day later in the week

Sarah Bury
Middle School Coordinator

Year 10 English

The focus topic for Year 10 English this term is on intertextuality. Intertextuality is covered in-depth in Year 11 and 12 English curriculums. Exploring intertextuality now will better equip Year 10 students to successfully achieve English in senior secondary levels. According to the Australian Curriculum, intertextuality involves ‘associations or connections between one text and other texts. Intertextual references can be explicit and implicit, and they can take the form of direct quotation, parody, allusion or structural borrowing’. Students have already developed an understanding of its definition and they can identify various forms of intertextuality in media. Students enjoy examining forms of implicit and explicit intertextuality in media texts such as in memes, TV shows, films, music videos, and songs. To check and showcase their understanding, as their formative assessment, students find a meme of a movie or public figure which explains what the meme is trying to express and how understanding the background information of the image adds meaning. Over the next several weeks we will explore and examine intertextuality in other mediums such as in artwork and literature.

Megan Novillos
Year 10 English

Keeping Traditions Alive – Quorn Slowdown, Round 2

In line with their school commitments and to give back to their community, Cameron and Luke Finlay organized another Slowdown fundraiser for our local community. With the success of 2017’s event, the boys decided to keep the tradition alive and therefore on 29th July 2018 held, what will now be, the annual Quorn Slowdown football match.

The atmosphere was set by Ashlee with his music and Broom on the microphone commentating. It was great to see the young and old pull on a pair of boots for a worthy cause. It was Town vs Country, with Country eager to run down the trophy to be named back-to-back champions. Town was captained by Anthony McKenzie and Country by Fraser Hoare. Country did won back to back titles and took home the trophy once again. Des Finlay, Leon Bury & Greg George awarded Jamie Paynter as best on ground, with a kind donation from Greg and Dianne George.

Many thanks to the volunteers who helped make the day run smoothly. Tanya and Mark Finlay for set up and Mick Finlay for umpiring and organizing behind the scenes, CFS for the ice, Penny Finlay & Jack Hoare for cooking the BBQ, Broom Hilder for commentating, Quorn Meat Store for meat, Ashlee for Music and sound, Lachie, Mackenzie & Mia for standing on the gate, Sam, Lucas, Cooper and Riley for running much needed water, James for umpiring, Nigel Crisp, Joel and Isaac for goal umpiring, Abraham for keeping score. Thank you to Fletcher, Tom and Joe for showing Cam and Luke the ropes this year.

Most of all, thank you to the players and spectators for your support, the day would not have been the success it was without you. Also, a special mention goes to Sundrop Farm for presenting a generous cheque to the cause. As a community we are truly thankful.

The monetary funds raised on the day will be given to our local Hospital Auxiliary to continue to enhance our local facility with much needed equipment.

Although a great fundraiser for the community, it’s also a great opportunity for those, who still have a love for football, to get together and play a game on the oval, which once hosted a local football club.

We hope to continue this tradition long into the future as a fundraiser or just a chance to get together and share a love of the sport.

Monique Carcuro

Primary Post

Foundation Class

The Foundation students have been working really hard this term in all their subject areas. They have been working on their reading and counting skills in literacy and numeracy. They particularly love counting backwards using the rocket ship hopscotch in front of our classroom! In science, they have been learning about materials that make up our world. They have been investigating materials such as wood, plastic, glass, fabric and metal that we found in our classroom and in our school playground. This focus has been crossing over with our design and technology/stem focus of building things from different materials. In the last two weeks we have made fabulous boats and pop stick houses.

Starting this term, we are welcoming the kindy children into our classroom for the start of their transition to school days. In Week Two, we really enjoyed learning our counting using fruit loops to make necklaces. The Foundation students were great helpers in teaching the kindy children!

Tegan Miller
Foundation Class Teacher

Check out this week’s action:

Foundation Class

Year 1/2 Class

Year 3/4 Class

Year 5/6 Class

Nature Play

Sorry for those who were unable access this video in our last newsletter

Grounds Update

Some of you may have noticed the beginning stages of the entrance development. Half the wall has been panelled on the east end of the primary block, with railing ready to go for the rest of the wall. There is a space in between the panelling that has been left to establish a green wall, that accompanies an aquaponics system. Due to the area being so large the students have been busy in the greenhouse propagating plants to fill the space. We can't wait to see the system in operation.

Visible Learning

Thank you to the parents who participated in the survey, conducted during pick up and via survey monkey online. All of the survey responses along with staff and student input will allow us to create six characters that align with each of the learner dispositions. From here we will be introducing the agreed learner dispositions one at a time so that we can focus on each of them for a week. We look forward to displaying them around the school and in the next newsletter.

Positive Parenting Program

Do you sometimes find you have questions about your child’s behaviour and development and not quite sure where to turn? Come along to the Positive Parenting Program.

The first of three sessions will be held on both Monday 27th August (6pm - 8pm) & Tuesday 28th August (9.30am - 11.30am) for those who can’t make the evening session.

Light snacks and refreshments available. PLEASE CONTACT THE SCHOOL IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.

Browse the link below for more details

Picture Plates

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. An order form was sent home for those in Grades F-6. If you are interested in participating please send back your money to receive a template.

Check out some of the fantastic designs so far.
Please remember to place your order by Week 5 (24th August)

Morning Coffee

Drop in and grab a coffee at our next catch up between 8:30 – 9:00

Just a reminder about the Parents & Friends FACEBOOK page, if you are not already a member, please do so in order to keep up to date with the different initiatives that the group is organizing this year.

Aspiring to Inspire

Monique Carcuro
Primary School Coordinator

Miscellaneous Reports

Nick Hall Tennis