19 March 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

On Wednesday 6th of March, the 2018 Annual Report to the School Community was presented at our Governing Council AGM. This report allows us to celebrate the successes of the previous year and set an agenda for the year ahead as we seek to secure quality learning outcomes for all students. The report has also been uploaded onto our website, and we welcome feedback on the journey the school is undertaking. I would like to thank those members of our community who have volunteered to serve on our Governing Council in 2019 and express thanks to Mark Tuckwell for his commitment to the Governing Council over the last six years.

This month we have arranged two information evenings to introduce caregivers to our learning programs and learner management system, Daymap. The Primary School evening was very well supported, and I wish to thank the primary team for both their time and professionalism in unpacking the curriculum and associated reporting structures. The challenge of making learning accessible and engaging for all learners is an immense task, but I am confident that we have the skills and resources to secure success for all learners. While we have always been aware that reading is the cornerstone of learning in schools we often forget the challenges it represents in the early stages, as learners attempt to master the twenty-six letters, who in turn produce the forty-four unique sounds that underpin the English language. The Senior School information evening will be held this Thursday, and it will include information on accessing reports, attendance data and assessment data.

Finally, I would like to express thanks on behalf of the school community to our Pastoral Care Worker, Sharon Taylor, who organised last week's Retro Games. The event was exceptionally well supported by families, and the smiles on the faces of so many of our young learners were genuinely infectious. On behalf of the school, I would also like to express thanks to the volunteers who contributed so significantly to this successful event.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

Secondary Report

This Thursday I will be hosting an information session for the Year 7-12 parents that want to learn a little more about their child’s schooling.

The main areas we will focus on include:

• Daymap and how it benefits parents including
  - Attendance
  - Accessing reports
  - Assessment tasks
  - Communication
  - Parent /student / teacher interviews and how to book using Daymap
• Where we plan to go with Daymap in the coming year
• SACE and how to achieve it; the steps we have in place to ensure completion.
• Tools to use at home to increase student achievement

If there are any questions that you want me to answer/clarify on the night please send me an email and I will add it in

Matt Griffiths
Secondary School Coordinator

Primary

The MAPPEN program

This term the Foundation students have been learning about ‘Communities’. So far the program has focused on the family community, the classroom community and currently we are looking at the community within our school. This program covers the curriculum areas of Health and Physical Education – Personal, Social and Community Health, HASS - Knowledge and Understanding about the past, my family and communication of this information. English/Literacy- interacting with others and the skills involved in communicating orally with others.

Family collages were made of the students’ houses and they made pop-stick pictures of their family members.

Students were required to present a short presentation about their family, were encouraged to make eye contact, speak clearly and stand still while presenting their talk. Listening and responding skills were a focus and students practiced asking where, what, why, who and how questions.

Lenore.Mov

Some students incorporated props such as books, photos, Ipads, dress-ups and even fishing lines and tackle boxes! All students participated positively and overcame any shyness or hesitancy that they may have had prior!

Thank you to all parents for supporting your child with this presentation and I definitely enjoyed learning about your families and listening to the information.

The students have also learnt about ‘crossing our midline’. This is about the importance of children developing the skill from an early age to be able to coordinate their body to reach across and use the opposite arms and legs. Learning these skills helps connect the two sides of the brain and helps with reading and reading comprehension. We have been practicing skills with scarves, throwing, catching and using alternate arms, hands and legs. We have used scarves to music and enjoy the Star Wars dance the best.

The videos show a variety of the things we have been doing.

Mari Ikiua-Brooks

Subject Report

SSSA Swimming

On Tuesday the 5th of March, Aiden Hately-Bell, Tom Millington and Maya Omonte Kramer represented the MNSEC schools in the SSSSA swimming carnival. Well done to these students on their selections and they should be extremely proud of their achievements.

MNSEC Athletics

MNSEC Athletics has been postponed until Tuesday 26th of March. This event is held in Jamestown. QAS has 28 students who have been selected to represent in various events. Students will be leaving the school at 7:40am to travel to Jamestown in the Community Bus and by private vehicles. Please return your consent forms if you haven’t already done so. Students have been busy practising their events where possible before the scheduled day.

National Day against Bullying and Violence

QAS participated in some excellent activities on Friday in support of BULLYING NO WAY! The activities were carefully organised and facilitated by some of our hardworking prefects. The day began with a whole school assembly where the prefects introduced the outline of the day and guest speaker Sonja Tilbrook (Child Wellbeing Practitioner – Northern Country) gave an informative presentation about what bullying really is.

Activities included a short puppet show and biscuit decorating as well as team building games for mixed groups of F-3 students. The students were thoroughly engaged and on task throughout the activities and some excellent conversations were had amongst students. The Year 4-6 students watched a short clip on the different types of bullying and undertook a task which included them to work collaboratively to match statements with the types of bullying. They also undertook some blindfolded biscuit decorating which involved working in pairs to give explicit instructions to decorate their biscuits. This proved a bit of a laugh. The Year 7-12’s viewed a documentary titled ‘Bully’ and also had some interesting conversations. They completed a scavenger hunt in the afternoon which involved working in small teams to locate letters placed around the school from which they had to find from a number of set clues provided.

I would like to say huge congratulations to Chloe Hilder and Lorie Paynter who facilitated the day with the wonderful help from Aiden Hately, Ethan Baker, Kaitlyn Roberts and Jayde Finlay. We really appreciate your efforts and it’s lovely to see your leadership and organisational skills grow.

Retro Play Date

In addition to our Anti Bullying activities, Sharon Taylor (Pastoral Care Worker – QAS) along with a small committee from Quorn Churches organised an amazing retro activity afternoon held in the new JP playground. The idea behind the initiative involved parents bringing their skills from yesteryear to pass on the magic of playtime. The activities included sandcastle building, knucklebones, quoits, hookey and hopscotch to name a few. There were amazing prizes up for grabs including a family pass to the Augusta Cinemas, milkshake and toastie vouchers and an original Russel Yo-yo. Drinks, popcorn, decorated biscuits and a sausage sizzle were all available to purchase. The initiative raised enough money to purchase a misting system for the new garden as well as some new sand pit toys.

The event was very well supported by the community and it was amazing to see the children working with their parents and being introduced to some games that the student’s haven’t been exposed to. A huge thank you to Sharon Taylor and her team for their efforts in making this event a success.

Cultural Connections – Monday 25th March 8:45am

Please come along for a meet and greet in the front office meeting room (adjacent to the office) for a coffee and a chat. This is an informal meeting group where we would love to hear your ideas about improving cultural connectedness at QAS. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Sarah Bury
Learner Engagement and Wellbeing Coordinator

Quorn School Community Library

Happy Haven OSHC

Vacation Care Program

Parents and Friends

Flinders Favourites Cookbook

Miscellaneous Reports

Toastie Tuesday

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

Adelaide Football Club – Port Augusta Girls Academy