19 February 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

This week we will be adding our 2019 Assessment Schedule to our website. This document lists all of the significant assessments undertaken by learners across all year levels. While we collect a large amount of assessment data on every learner across our school we are aware that we still have work to do in effectively sharing this information with caregivers. The information we collect is primarily used by teachers to plan the next stage of learning for each learner. Every learner is unique, and the challenge for teachers is to deliver learning that is inclusive, challenging and timely. However, we are also aware of the important role caregivers provide in fostering learner dispositions and sharing the journey with their child. Over this semester we will be making this data available to caregivers by uploading it onto Daymap and supporting caregivers in accessing this information.

Over the coming weeks, we will be offering two information sessions for caregivers to support them in navigating the online learning and reporting platforms currently used by our school. The dates for the meetings are:

Thursday 14th March

Primary School (F-Y6)
Daymap Connect - A guide to accessing reports, attendance and achievement data.
The Literacy Journey – Understanding Phonics, Running Records, Lexile Levels
Online learning – Oxford Owl, Scholastic Pro & Education Perfect.

Thursday the 21st March

Senior School (Y7-12)
Daymap Connect – A guide to accessing reports, attendance and achievement data.
Online learning – Khan Academy, Scholastic Pro & Education Perfect.

Finally, congratulations to Sarah Bury for her leadership of the Swimming Carnival. The community exceptionally well supported the event, and it was pleasing to see such high levels of participation throughout the day. We wish our senior swimmers the very best at the upcoming MNSEC carnival.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

Governing Council

Secondary Report

We have had a great start to the year in the Secondary school with many valuable learning experiences taking place. The students have settled into their routines and are actively engaged in their lessons, which has been a big positive of the transition process we completed during Term 4 of 2018. Our learners are taking ownership of their learning by improving their use of Daymap both at school and at home. If you as a parent have not gained access to Daymap please contact the school and it will be arranged.

11/12 Time Commitments

When a child reaches Year 11 and 12 their study commitments increase through increased quality and quantity of work they need to produce. Due to the increased workloads, students do one less subject which decreases their face to face teaching time. This leaves them with ‘study/free’ lessons on occasions. During this time we expect students to work in a space and complete their assignments and course work.

It is expected that ALL students are at school from 8:45am until the end of the day so they are able to meet the requirements of the SACE. If your child wants to negotiate flexible home study times it NEEDS to be negotiated with me beforehand. It makes it really hard for teachers to continually chase students for work if they are given the option to stay home instead. Please ensure that you monitor your child’s Daymap to ensure you know what lessons they have and at what times.

If you have any questions about the study commitments of Year 11 or 12 students please make contact with me at the school or via email matt.griffiths310@schools.sa.edu.au.

Subjects

All of our Year 11/12 subject selections should now be finalised. If you have any questions please contact me at the school.

NAPLAN 2019

Matt Griffiths
Secondary School Coordinator

Primary Report

Foundation Class - Welcome to Week 4!

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Kate Neu. I recently made the move to Quorn from Mount Gambier. I am a graduate teacher with a Bachelor of Education (Primary R-7). I’m excited to be teaching at Quorn Area School in the Foundation Class. I would like to thank the school community for being so welcoming.

We have been very busy in Foundation. Our time capsules are now complete. The capsules contain a self-portrait, all about me poster and a piece of string that measures students’ height. These capsules will now be put away until the end of the year when students will have a chance to look at their progress over the year. They will then be stored again until Year 12. The capsules were decorated by students and they look fantastic!

In Numeracy we have been exploring patterns. In Room 8, we went for a walk around the school to find repeating patterns. The students discovered that the playground as many repeating patterns and took some photos to share.

We have also been working on creating patterns using various objects. Can you continue the pattern?

During our Literacy block, we have been focusing on rhyming words. Rhyming words are words that sound a lot alike and are an important part of Phonological Awareness. Here is a little song we put together. The first verse was done for us and we put in our own rhyming words to continue the song.

King and ring are two rhyming words,
Two rhyming words,
Two rhyming words.
King and ring are two rhyming words.
They sound a lot alike.

Pea and sea are two rhyming words,
Two rhyming words,
Two rhyming words.
Pea and sea are two rhyming words.
They sound a lot alike.
Late and mate are two rhyming words,
Two rhyming words,
Two rhyming words.
Late and mate are two rhyming words.
They sound a lot alike.

The Primary Block have been extending their writing skills with the Big Write program. As part of this program, on Thursdays, students participate in a writing session based on a topic. This topic will be posted weekly on Schoolzine. We encourage students to talk with their families about the set topic to help students gain knowledge and generate ideas for their writing. The topic for this week is ‘my biggest goal’ with a focus on school goals.

4/5/6 Class

What a wonderful start we have had to 2019! There’s a lot going on in the 4/5/6 class.

Within English we’ve started a new narrative writing assessment piece. We started a class novel titled “The Binna Binna Man”. It’s a story of the importance of always respecting the knowledge and experience passed down from our elders. We also had a Cold Write session so that we can more accurately demonstrate our progress over the course of the year with our writing.

In Numeracy and Maths we are currently focusing on Numbers. We are discussing the differences between number and numerals, fractions and decimals compared to whole numbers, and finding those numbers that are equivalent. We even put all of the numbers that we’ve generated together on a single number line. We have recently attained access to the Oxford online maths dashboard and have been using the interactive cells on the site to further assist our understanding of place value.

We began a Science unit on reversible and irreversible changes of state and will be conducting experiments on this topic in coming weeks. We have discussed three states of matter; solid, liquid and gas, and I have a standing prize of a chocolate bar for the first student to come to me and present another state of matter, as there is at least one more.

In HASS we have been learning about teamwork and what it takes to create the environment for positive teamwork. You should ask us about the Paynee FC soccer club from Thailand.

This week in Technology our learners will create a new maze for them to program a Sphero to travel through on its own. It will be a challenge but the experience of programming will develop their transferrable skills for the future.

Subject Report

Swimming Carnival

On Friday the 8th of February, QAS held its annual Swimming Carnival. The day began with students congregated in their identified Houses of Yarrah and Kanyaka; with the House Captains organising targeted activities. These included building the team raft, decorating posters/signs, face painting and practising their war cry and dance. Students were engaged in the morning activities and it was lovely to see the peer mentoring happening between our younger and older students. On completion of the morning activities, we then met at the flagpole where we took a whole school photo.

Lead by the House Captains, both teams made their way over to the pool for the carnival to commence. The first block of events saw the Junior Primary students eagerly representing their House in some relays incorporating kick boards and noodles. Our amazing Captains organised the relays and were in the water to encourage and support the JP students with their races. It was great to watch our senior students supporting our JP group and the excitement on their faces was just as thrilling to witness.

The main carnival began at 11:30am with Kanyaka and Yarrah swimming their open 100m freestyle events, followed by age group medley relays. The day ran smoothly with a high level of student participation. Hawker Area School joined us once again, it was great to see the student connections and interactions between both schools. The Captains ran around tirelessly all day to ensure that all students were ready for their assigned events. I congratulate them on their successful efforts throughout the entire carnival. Well done.

I would like to congratulate all of the students who participated in the QAS Swimming Carnival for 2019. It was pleasing to see a number of students swim in races, even though at times, they were hesitant. Simply by participating in a race, students earn points for their House and this message seems to becoming more apparent each year. We hope to see the participation rate increase even further over the coming years.

Below is a list of the age group winner and runners up from 2019, as well as the ‘Team Spirit’ awards and the overall point distribution for the day:

*We would love to hear some feedback from this year’s carnival. If you have some possible ideas for improvement or you were really pleased about something in the carnival, could you please email sarah.bury988@schools.sa.edu.au with your ideas.*

QAS has selected 26 students to represent the school at the MNSEC Swimming Carnival this evening, held in Booleroo. We will be competing against the MNSEC schools – Gladstone H.S, Booleroo CDS, Jamestown CS, Peterborough HS and Orroroo AS.

We wish all competing students the best of luck tonight!

Sarah Bury
HPE Coordinator

Extended Care Group - Monday Afternoon Sessions

On Monday afternoons, secondary students have been participating in extended care group activities. In Week 2, students spent time planning some ideas around possible ‘team challenges’ in regards to Yarrah vs Kanyaka as well as a team meeting to ensure the procedures and daily organisation for swimming carnival were clear. Week 3 involved learners sharing positive outcomes from the swimming carnival as well as areas for improvement. The level of feedback given from the students was very thorough and they raised some ideas for improvement as well as celebrating the success of the day. Learners also spent this time to define a literacy and numeracy goal for themselves for the semester. This goal will allow learners to reflect on their achievements as well as monitor progress and identify challenges and future directions to achieve their goals. Yarrah and Kanyaka had a ‘team challenge’ with a competitive game of volleyball in the gym, where both teams gained points towards their house.

This week involved our secondary students in a ‘peer mentoring’ experience where they buddied up with a primary class and supported them with their learning. This proved to be quite a successful activity, older students were fantastic role models and helped guide our younger students in their designated curriculum area. This will occur again in Term 2, where the secondary students will attempt to plan an engaging activity for their ‘JP buddies’.

Attendance

Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. Research also shows that attendance is an important factor in student achievement. Poor attendance has serious implications for later outcomes as well.

We have had a number of ‘unexplained’ student absences so far this year. Please ensure that you follow up with a phone call or email to inform us of the absence. There are also a number of students who are late to school on a very regular basis. Caregroup teachers will be following up with parents/caregivers regarding this; as important information and the opportunity to prepare for lessons is missed. ‘Late arrivers’ are also a disruption to both the learners and the teacher during the first lesson of the day as they miss vital information.

SAASTA Program

Year 11 students Shalaynee Brady and Nuala Harradine-Wilton will be commencing their SAASTA (South Australian Aboriginal Sports Training Academy) program which offers young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander South Australians a range of highly engaging learning and personal development opportunities. SAASTA builds on the education offered in our schools, giving students opportunities for ongoing personal growth and cultural experience.

The students will focus on the following curriculum:

Semester One – Stage 1 Aboriginal Power Cup – Integrated Learning (10 credits)
Semester Two – Stage 1 SAASTA Shield – Scientific Studies (10 credits)

They will attend a two day workshop this week in Port Augusta at the Central Oval Complex.

Sarah Bury
Learner Engagement and Wellbeing Coordinator

Parents and Friends

Flinders Favourites Cookbook

Available to purchase from the School $30 each

Morning Coffee

Happy Haven OSHC

Miscellaneous Reports

Ride2School – Friday 22nd March

Toastie Tuesday

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

School Photos

Learning Potential App -

Packed with tips and ideas for you to stay involved in your child’s learning, the Learning Potential App helps you to make the most of the time you spend with your child.

Personalise the App for your family’s needs. Type in your child’s or children’s name and age and receive articles and videos that are relevant to their age group.

This free App has been developed by the Department of Education and Training in consultation with Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.