7 May 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Improvement has been at the heart of my thinking since arriving at the school in 2017, and in recent weeks we have made a significant step forward with the removal of surplus buildings. These physical changes to our environment mirror the changes we have also secured in learning as we explore what can be, rather than what was. In clearing the site, we are now in a position to rethink our learning spaces and create an environment in which we can fully explore nature play, push learning past the confines of classroom walls, and work towards a more environmentally sustainable school. The opportunities we strive to provide to our learners have also seen many of our staff engaged in removing old teaching strategies and allowing greater interaction, collaboration and innovation in the classroom as we seek to embed the learner dispositions that our community value so highly. These changes have been underpinned by the effective use of a variety of technologies, and in the coming weeks, we will have reached another milestone with the installation of energy saving interactive LED screens in all of our main teaching spaces. These screens have already enabled us to move from the passive past of sitting and watching to interacting, collaborating and demonstrating understanding. For many teachers, this has involved a steep learning curve as they become learners in their classroom. However, the levels of engagement with learning that are visible in classes around the site are not based on the entertainment value of a 'Big TV' but on the learning opportunities that are being created by the professionals in our classrooms.

The school will be closed on the 27th May as teachers will be joining together with the staff of both Carlton and Port Augusta West Primary Schools for a day of professional learning. Our focus for this term is on how each individual is applying their understanding of quality teaching to impact on learner growth. Effectively we will be questioning what we are doing, why we are doing it, who is benefiting, when do we assess its effectiveness and where do we need to go next.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

2019 Public Education Awards

Nominate, recognise and celebrate an outstanding educator in the 2019 Public Education Awards.

Get involved and say thank you to a leader, teacher or support staff member making a significant difference to the lives of their students and their communities.

The Public Education Awards recognise excellence in South Australian public education, and nominations are open 1 to 31 May. Visit the below website to nominate and find out more about the awards. #PublicEduAwards2019

School Events

School Prefect

Congratulations to Lorie Paynter who will be stepping in to the role of Prefect for the remainder of 2019. Lorie has already represented the school this year with the Community Anzac Day Memorial as well as playing an integral role in the organisation of the 'Anti Bullying Day' at QAS. Lorie also assisted in the running and organisation of the end of Term One assembly.

We look forward to working with Lorie in 2019

Careers Trip

This week from Tuesday to Friday our Year 9 & 10 students will embark on their Careers Trip to Adelaide to discover many career opportunities. This trip has been planned and organised by Mr Forkert and Miss Novillos, taking into account our learners career aspirations. This is such a fantastic opportunity for our students in Quorn to travel outside their comfort zone and see the many different employment pathways available to them. I look forward to hearing about the success of the camp when the students return.

NAPLAN

Week 3 begins our NAPLAN testing block. As mentioned in previous newsletters, this form of assessment provides us as a school, great feedback about the development of our learners. We are able to use this data to make informed decisions about target areas and teacher impact. This year NAPLAN is almost fully completed online which has a really good feature that will allow the students to answer questions that are aimed at their level of functioning. If you would like to know anything about NAPLAN or have questions about your child’s participation in it please contact me at the school as soon as you can.

Please ensure that your child is at school on time and ready to take part in this testing as it is vital that every student takes part in the test so we can gather information to improve our practise.

The Year 7 & 9 Students will begin all their tests at 9:00am and the Year 3 & 5 students will begin theirs at 11:20am.

Our Schedule is as follows

Tuesday 14th May – Writing
Wednesday 15th May – Reading
Thursday 16th May – Conventions of Language
Friday 17th May – Numeracy
Monday 20th May – Catch up sessions

If you have any questions at all PLEASE make contact with me at the school as soon as you can.

Parent, Student & Teacher Learning Conversations

During Week One we conducted our learning conversations across the whole school. Thank you to the parents that booked times to meet with teachers to learn about your child’s progress at school. It is a really valuable experience for the teachers and parents to be involved in these conversations. A parent’s attitude towards education is one of the biggest factors in a child’s success rate at school, so if you missed the chance to speak with any teachers regarding your child’s learning, please contact with the school and arrange an alternate time.

SAPSASA Netball

As a part of our Personal Learning Plan (PLP) which is a compulsory Year 10 subject, we decided to coach the SAPSASA netball that was held in Port Augusta in Week 10 of Term 1.

On Friday the 5th of April, a group of nine girls; Ella Maison, Indie Williams, Renae Churchill, Rosslyn Stuart-Colson, Tyra Lander, Mia Crisp, Isabelle Batchelor, Matilda Brooks and Ella Holtham had the opportunity to travel to Port Augusta to represent Quorn and compete in the SAPSASA Netball carnival.

The girls had a very successful day, winning 4 out of 5 games, pushing them through to the semi-finals. They had a rough start, but the girls completely turned the game around, coming out with a win. Grand Final time! They were up against the only team they had lost to. Much like the semi-final they began the game behind, but that didn’t stop them. They fought all throughout the game and impressively came away with the SAPSASA Netball shield.

We are incredibly pleased with the girl’s efforts, and they should all be proud of themselves. All players showed amazing sportsmanship throughout the day. It was an honour to coach these girls.

Congratulations to all girls who attended SAPSASA. And a huge congratulations to the three girls who were nominated; Ella Maison, Indie Williams and Mia Crisp, to attend trials in Port Augusta so they can hopefully play in Adelaide later in the year.

Jayde Finlay and Emily Eckert

ANZAC Day Commemorative Service in Quorn

On Thursday the 25th of April, QAS prefects Chloe Hilder and Lorie Paynter represented our school in the community ANZAC Day Service. They read the ‘Tribute to ANZAC Day’ beautifully in front of a large audience of community members and looked extremely smart sporting their QAS blazers. We thankyou for representing QAS and remembering the sacrifices of the brave young men and women who served in all wars, as well as the suffering of all those who served.

Young Rural Ambassador 2019

A huge congratulations to Chloe Hilder who was a joint recipient for the Young Rural Ambassador award for the Northern Agricultural Show Association of SA Inc. 2019.

The award was in recognition of her assistance with the organisation of the Quorn Agricultural Show as well as her successful implementation of the Inter-Schools Gymkhana which she was the main organiser. She also rode in many of the events at the Gymkhana, winning a trophy for the highest aggregate score in the association. Chloe had to undertake an official interview to be considered for the award. Such an amazing achievement and QAS are extremely proud of her representation.

Mother’s Day Stall

There is a Mother’s Day stall being held on Thursday the 9th and Friday the 10th of May (this week) outside of Mrs Bury and Ms Carcuro’s office. There will be gifts available for students to purchase. Prices will range from $3-$10. Gift wrapping will also be available for 50c.

Attendance

At the end of Term One assembly we handed out a large number of 100% Attendance awards. It worked out to be approximately 25% of our student population, which is a great achievement. Well done to those students whose attendance is high and we encourage everyone to further improve the attendance rate in Term 2. Regular attendance prepares your child for success – both in school and in life.

Cirkidz Workshops

During the Term One school holidays we were fortunate enough to have the team from Cirkidz visit Quorn to run some workshops. We had families travel from afar to join in on the fun and the event was extremely well supported. The feedback from both the children and the parents was excellent and I have included some pictures from the various workshops.

MNSEC Netball – Port Pirie

We will be sending a Year 8/9 and an Open netball team to represent QAS at the MNSEC Netball Carnival held in Port Pirie on Wednesday 22nd May, Week 4. Good luck to all of the girls who will be competing.

MNSEC Formal

QAS is hosting the MNSEC formal this year. The event will occur on Friday the 26th of July (Week 1, Term 3). We are looking for enthusiastic people to join our committee so we can begin the preparation of the evening. Please let Sarah Bury know if you are interested in joining the committee.

Sarah Bury
Learner Engagement and Wellbeing Coordinator

National Walk Safely to School Day

WHEN: Friday 17th May
WHERE: Meet at the Railway Station, 8:30am

Receive a piece of fruit, a sticker and a point for your ‘house’ when you arrive at school.

Primary Coordinator

Welcome back to Term 2. It’s going to be another busy start to the term with a Cold Write scheduled for Week 2 and NAPLAN commencing in Week 3.

As teachers we are excited about NAPLAN, as it tests the sorts of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. At the classroom level it is one of a number of important tools used by teachers to measure learner progress.

The message we are sending to our learners is that “it is important to remember that NAPLAN is not about passing or failing, but about assessing learning progress”.

Primary Pics

Some action from classrooms today – It is great to see students collaborating together and inquiring about different aspects of their learning.

Mrs Reed interviewed her students this morning and asked... What do you enjoy at school?

What is challenging for you? What are your teachers good at? What do you find easy?

What do you want to learn more about?

Georgia - I have enjoyed origami lessons.
Ebonie - Spanish has been the most challenging thing so far this year.
Shelby - I would like to learn more Spanish phrases.
Lucas - Maths is easy.
Sam - I always look forward to PE lessons
Shyla - My teachers are good at challenging my learning
Lily - Mae - I really liked doing origami
Codey - I find almost all lessons fun and challenging.
Noah - I would like to learn more Spanish phrases.
Hayley - PE is the easiest lesson.
Amilia - I always look forward to PE lessons.
Levi - My teacher is good at listening to us when we talk.
Hugo - I love PE games
Kallan - I look forward to PE lessons.
Flynn - I find Health and Spanish lessons challenging. There is a lot to think about.
Maddie - I would like to learn more about how to improve my writing.
Nevaeh - I find Maths lessons easy and fun.
Logan - I look forward to Spanish, Maths, PE and recorder lessons.
Ella - My teacher is good at writing.

Mrs Reed - My class is so awesome I can not wait to get to school each day!

Term 2 Primary Assembly Dates

Parents and Friends

Mother’s Day Stall

This year Mother's Day will be celebrated in Australia on Sunday May 12th

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.

Easter Raffle Winners

Congratulations to Sonja Tilbrook who won 1st prize in last Term’s Easter raffle. Karen Evans won 2nd prize. Thank you to everyone who supported this fundraiser either by donating to the prize and/or purchasing a ticket.

Morning Coffee

Drop in and grab a coffee at our next catch up between 8:30 – 9:00. Alternatively if you would like to share any great ideas we would love to hear from you. It’s not all cake sales.

Ranges Colour Run

For more information and to register your interest, please visit the Ranges Colour Run Facebook Page:

Miscellaneous Items

Toastie Tuesday

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

We would love your help – Become a Volunteer

Volunteers play a crucial role in supporting the engagement, achievement and wellbeing of all children and students.

Volunteer RAN Training

DECD volunteers can participate in a wide range of programs and services including coaching sporting teams, helping children learn to read, attending working bees, mentoring students and through membership on governing councils, management groups and parent groups.

If you feel you have different skills, expertise and knowledge to offer, please get in contact with the school. It’s never too late to start. No matter who you are or where you’re from, it’s all about wanting to help out. It’s in this spirit that the department actively encourages Aboriginal people and people from multicultural and diverse backgrounds to get involved also.

Please come along to our Volunteer RAN Training Session on 13th June 2019

Woolworths Earn and Learn

Yes, we are collecting once again. Please collect your stickers and place them in the boxes provided at Woolworths Port Augusta or here at the school in the front office.

NetSetGo

Netball for 5-9 year olds begins tomorrow night at 5pm at the netball courts. If your children are interested please bring them along for some fun