18 June 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

During our recent Professional Learning Day, we focused on evaluating the individual impact teachers are having on learning. As a result of the training, all teachers at Quorn Area School have identified an area of their professional practice that they will evaluate during the next three months, and they will be challenged to provide evidence of the impact on learner growth in their classroom. During this time, teachers will follow a nine-step process aimed at challenging them to improve practice continually. As a result of this, some teachers have chosen to set themselves goals and share them with colleagues, learners and the community by displaying them on the classroom door. By sharing their goals, they hope to receive feedback from learners and model that regardless of age or experience, we are all capable of improving and learning new things. Sharing goals is well established in our primary school, and this is evidenced through the peer evaluation and feedback sessions that accompany our Thursday Big Write. As we seek to build collaborative skills in our high school, we will be increasingly displaying individual goals in teaching areas and promoting structured peer feedback.

Those visiting the site will have noted that the building removal process is now complete and the grounds and infrastructure are looking much improved. Work has now begun on the installation of cricket nets, and I would like to express my thanks to those community members involved in this exciting development.

Finally, it is a year since I encouraged caregivers to ask their children the following question:

What did you learn at school today?

I am pleased to report that this question now features strongly in our community and learners often offer detailed responses without hesitation to this probing question. Are we now ready to ask the same question of the adults who share the daily learning journey in our classrooms?

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

School News

Get involved in your child’s education – Volunteer

Toastie Tuesday

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

MNSEC Formal

BYOD Purchase Portal

We have a BYOD purchase portal on our website where you can buy devices for students. BYOD is recommended for students moving into Year 7-12 next year.

Select ‘New User’ and follow the prompts.

Registration Key Code (required): qOrn@s2017

Payment plans are available through the website. If you have any questions relating to the BYOD program please contact Andrew Gilsenan-Reed on 86486101.

Quorn School & Community Library

Thank you to our Year 1-6 classes who attended the Children’s University Australia (CUA) launch assembly on Friday 7th June. We are excited to announce that we are now partnering with CUA. Children’s University originated in the UK, and is active in Italy, The Netherlands, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and now in Australia. These international networks across the Children’s University community help children develop into truly global citizens. To launch this new program, our primary learners (Year 1-6) have the opportunity to be involved…

WHAT IS CHILDREN’S UNIVERSITY?

CUA in South Australia is hosted by The University of Adelaide. This program provides learners extra-curricular learning opportunities and superior educational experiences outside of school, and recognises their achievements through the award of formal certificates and a graduation ceremony. Nurturing successful, independent learners lies at the heart of CUA. For children to develop resilience, optimism and confidence, the opportunity for self-directed learning beyond the classroom is key. CUA fosters wellbeing by promoting ‘free range learning’, encouraging children to try out new activities, discover new passions, visit new places and above all, HAVE FUN!

HOW DOES IT WORK?

• CUA works in partnership with local educational and learning activity providers called ‘Public Learning Destinations’ such as: sports clubs, museums, galleries, libraries, zoos, local councils, and sports clubs. And may also work in partnership with schools to establish ‘Restricted Learning Destinations’ within the school, for example: book club or a chess club; as long as the activities are outside of school hours.

1. SA Learning Destinations can be found here:
2. SA CUA events can be found here:
3. A list of online activities as well available here:

Learners are also able to earn 10 hours from Regular Restricted Activities. These are external organisations where learners are paying members and attend on a regular basis (e.g. sporting clubs, dance studios, swimming centres etc.) Learners must inform QAS CUA coordinator about this.

• Each learner is issued a ‘Passport to Learning’. This passport essentially keeps record of their individual learning journey. Hours of each activity are recorded and verified (stamped) by QAS CUA Coordinator, Megan Novillos. Learners will be required to ‘travel’ to learning destinations with their ‘passport’.

CELEBRATING AND RECOGNITION OF ACHIEVEMENT:

Credits are accumulated, and when they reach the hours needed to graduate from CUA children are awarded with certificates at a formal graduation ceremony in Port Pirie this coming November. A minimum of 30 hours of learning prior to November is required in order to graduate.

BENEFITS FOR OUR SCHOOL AND LEARNERS:

• Improved student attendance, attainment and achievement
• Opportunities to add to learner’s experiences
• Increase the breadth of learning provided
• Build relationships within communities
• Discover the benefits of self-directed learning
• Explore and develop new talents and passions
• Manage and measure their own success

It is not too late to register your interest, get your child involved now. Any questions? Please contact me via megan.novillos702@schools.sa.edu.au or call the school.

Megan Novillos
QAS Teacher-Librarian

Subject Report

Senior School

The end of this week marks the end of the first semester of our schooling. Our Year 11 students have had the opportunity to change some of their subjects to focus on other areas of interest. It also indicated to our Year 12s that they are about 66% of the way through their FINAL year of schooling.

Unfortunately some of our learners are failing to meet assessment deadlines and this is going to have a significant impact on their success rate. This also impacts on us as teachers as we strive to do the best for your children. If students can’t work to a timeline it makes it extremely difficult for them to meet the required grades in their SACE subjects. Please monitor your child’s Daymap to keep track of assessment deadlines and encourage your child to work towards these. If you have further concerns please contact myself at the school.

Attendance

Recently our attendance rates have dropped across the senior school, with some of this due to illness. Attendance has a direct link with success at this level and the more time your children are away from school the more pressure they will put themselves under at the end of the year. Further to the low attendance rates we are investigating as a school whether we allow our learners to represent the school at ‘extra-curricular’ events if their attendance rates are already low, which will have a direct impact on our representative teams for Volleyball and Netball.

Extra Study Lessons

Mr Forkert has been offering all students the opportunity to access some extra teacher support by offering his time in the Library after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Other secondary teachers will now accompany Mr Forkert during this time to provide additional support to students. We encourage all students who feel they need some extra help to take advantage of this generous donation of time by our teaching staff.

Matt Griffiths
Secondary School Coordinator

Headspace Workshop

Year 7-12 students participated in two mental health workshops last Wednesday at QAS. The first session incorporated the focus of ‘Looking out for your friends’.

The session focused on NOTICE-ASK-CONNECT.

Notice- Identifying warning signs that a friend might not be ok

Ask – How to have difficult conversations and ask your friend if they are ok.

Connect – How to help them find the best support and make sure you are looking after your own self-care.

The second session focused on ‘Let’s talk about Mental Health’.

• Break down the stigma about mental health
• Explore coping strategies
• Noticing within yourself when you need support
• Understanding and practicing how to access supports and trusted adults

All students were engaged in the workshops and have gathered and developed some excellent skills to use in the future where needed.

Walking Wednesdays

A reminder that we have been participating in ‘Walking Wednesdays.’ Meet at the Railway Station each Wednesday at 8:20am and earn a point for your house. This is encouraging students to walk to school and increase their daily activity levels. We currently have around 20 students who are participating. Come and join in the fun!

Attendance

Every day missed is a barrier to learning.

Help your child get the most from school by going every week day.

Speak with staff or visit the website for support with your child's attendance.

Sarah Bury
Learner Engagement and Wellbeing Coordinator

Blueprint to Becoming a Man

Recently our Year 7 and 8 boys were visited by the ‘Blueprint to Becoming a Man’ program. Throughout the workshop learners engaged in discussions and team building exercises. Learners discussed what qualities are needed to ‘be a man’ and the negative characteristics that are associated with manhood. The presenters outlined their idea of manhood as a ‘warrior with heart’ emphasising to our young boys the importance of standing up for what you believe in, as well as, the importance of connecting with your emotions. The Blueprint presenters emphasised the importance of working together through several team-building exercises. Through a four-way tug of war, learners were taught the fundamentals of resilience and persistence. Through this short crash course on being a man, our middle school boys were given the fundamentals of how to face the challenges of manhood.

Brad Forkert
Secondary Teacher

PLP

As part of my compulsory Personal Learning Plan subject I am required to organise a community event. I have decided to host at Trivia Night on Thursday 4th July at the school. Your support would be greatly appreciated. All funds raised on the evening will be donated to the Beyond Blue foundation.

If you would like to participate please contact me via my email address Ethan.Baker220@schools.sa.edu.au

Ethan Baker
Yr10 Student

Parents and Friends

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 Reports