3 November 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Last Friday we farewelled our Year 12 learners who began their Stage 2 SACE examinations yesterday. We wish all of our leavers the very best not just over the coming weeks, but also over the coming years as they explore a variety of post-school pathways.

We are currently finalising our planning for 2021 with the aim of re-invigorating our improvement journey after this COVID-19 affected year. A part of this planning has been the recruitment of staff to meet the changing needs of our school. We aim to complete this in the coming weeks, and we will update the community in future newsletters. At this stage, I can confirm the Faruk Pathan as an ongoing teacher at Quorn Area School from 2021. Since he arrived in 2018, Faruk has impressed with his commitment to improving teaching and learning in mathematics, and we are confident he will continue to improve learning outcomes in this vital area of our work.

Our Bring Your Own Device policy has impacted significantly on the engagement and achievement of our learners since its introduction in 2017. We are currently updating the online ordering portal on our website, and this will be operational in the coming weeks. We have included details of two devices in this newsletter that meet current guidelines for education use, and we can assist caregivers with ordering directly from the supplier. Our policy states that laptops are essential for Y7-12 learners; however, we have an increasing number of Y5/6 learners who currently bring laptops to school to assist with learning. Teachers have become increasingly skilled in the use of these devices to enhance learning, and we will continue to support learners in Y5/6 who chose to explore this option. If you have any questions relating to the purchase of a laptop for your child, please feel free to contact me directly.

The two options offered meet the minimum standard required for a BYOD at Quorn Area School and will be available to purchase from our website in the coming weeks.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

Preventing and Managing Illness

A timely reminder to parents; if your child is unwell then please keep them at home to reduce the spread of infections to other students and their teachers. SA Health are constantly reminding us to not become complacent with illness and to continue to practice good hygiene.

Primary Report

Miss Neu’s 1/2 Class

We have hit the ground running this term with lots of new skills gained and discoveries made.

In Drama we have learnt about the elements of facial expression, voice, movement and space to create role and situation. We have explored improvisation and have started work on our production of ‘Buried Treasure’, which we hope to present by the end of the term.

This term in Numeracy, we are beginning to explore time. We started by looking at time as a measurement for how long. We brainstormed different events and sorted them under the headings of hours, days, weeks, and months. The learners then decided they wanted to include seconds, minutes, and years. Here is a photo of our display.

We also revisited our learning on money. Tess and Delikah represented the value of the coins using the Numicon shapes and then showed it to the class.

We also investigated how to make different amounts. Below are some ways we found to make $1.

In our STEM lesson, we have been learning to collect, sort and represent data. Check out the video of our learning below.

In P.E we have been looking at bouncing a basketball. See our video for our journey.

From the Amazing Learning Team in Miss Neu’s class

Quorn School Community Library

Premier’s Reading Challenge 2020

Congratulations to all our PRC Award winners and participants (listed below). We want to thank you, our staff, and all families who have motivated and inspired our learners to achieve their reading goals for this year. We commend all our learners for their efforts and reading achievements throughout the challenge this year. We ask that learners continue their reading even after PRC has concluded for 2020. PRC participants will receive their awards towards the end of the term, this will be announced soon.

Awards - the ‘Olympics of reading’ and beyond...

• Certificate – first year
• Bronze medal – second year
• Silver medal – third year
• Gold medal – fourth year
• Champion medal – fifth year
• Legend medal – sixth year
• Hall of Fame medal – seventh year

CBCA Book Week: A Recap

Theme: Curious Creatures, Wild Minds

Wow! This year’s Book Week has been exciting for our staff, families and friends. We want to thank our incredible staff for planning fun and challenging Book Week activities and ensuring our learners continue to develop a love for reading, and for some…even spark this excitement for reading all over again. We want to thank all our parents/caregivers and learners for putting so much effort into preparing for Book Week i.e. purchasing books, creating and purchasing costumes. It was inspiring to see the amount of creativity showcased at our Book Week Parade. Learners were smiling and laughing throughout the day as they got to role play and dress as their chosen Book Week characters.

Our staff also had lots of fun, as they showcased their ‘curious creatures and wild minds’. (Left to right: Miss Neu, Miss Tomney, Miss Miller, and Miss Novillos)

We look forward to doing this all again with you next year! Book Week 2021 Theme: to be confirmed…

Scholastic October Book Fair

Thank you to all staff, families and friends who attended our last Scholastic Book Fair for 2020. We sincerely thank you all for your contributions and we hope you enjoyed this year’s scholastic range. This year has looked and operated differently compared to previous years. However, we are happy that we were still able to meet your needs and more. We look forward to seeing you all again to celebrate the Scholastic Book Fair early next year in 2021.

Parents and Friends

Sustainability in our School

Have you started thinking about Christmas presents? These reusable food covers are gifts that keep on giving. Come into the Finance Office and have a look at the range today.

Flinders Favourites Cookbook

We still have a few cook books available for sale, another great idea for a Christmas present. The books have been discounted to $20 each until the end of the term.

Miscellaneous Reports

Movember

We have created a team that are going to raise money during November to raise awareness around mental and physical health, particularly in Men. The funds raised will be donated to the Movember foundation to support people suffering from Mental Health, Prostate Cancer and Testicular Cancer.

We are completing two different challenges this month. One is that staff and students who want to will grow a moustache in support of the foundation and others will be running or walking 60km throughout the month – personally I will be doing both.

We have set a target of $1411 which is how many people we will lose to the causes mentioned above from October to December. If you would like to support this initiative and want to donate please go to the following website and make the donation.

If you would like to make a cash donation, please pass it on to Michelle or Myself.

I look forward to completing this with the school community in support of the Movember Charity.

Matt Griffiths
Senior School Coordinator

School Yearbook – Last Chance

We are now taking orders for the 2020 School Yearbook. The cost of the magazine is $30 – an email can be sent to michelle.baker315@schools.sa.edu.au to place your order and your money can be deposited into the school bank account, alternatively you can call into the Finance Office to order and pay for your Yearbook. Orders Close Friday 20th November

Ancillary/Support Positions

If anyone is interested in becoming an Ancillary staff member please register by clicking on the link provided below. Ancillary staff include School Services Officers, Early Childhood Workers, Hourly Paid Instructors and Aboriginal Community Education Officers.

Rowan Ramsey School Community Award

Nominations are now open to a staff, parent or community member who has ‘gone the extra mile’ dedicating and volunteering their time and skills to Quorn Area School.

If you would like to nominate a deserving person please forward your submissions to dl.0793.admin@schools.sa.edu.au. Nominations Close this Friday 13th November 2020

The worthy recipient will be formally recognised at our end of year presentation assembly on Monday 30th November 2020.

C.A.S. Hawker Scholarships

The 2021 C.A.S. Hawker Scholarships open on Monday 7th December and close on Friday 8th January 2021.

C.A.S. Hawker Scholarships are one of the most generous privately funded scholarships available to undergraduate students in Australia. Each residential scholarship is valued at up to $60,000 over three years. The scholarships are available to all Australian students. The majority have been awarded to students entering their first year of university studies.

Selection is largely based on personal qualities and demonstrated leadership as well as academic ability. Undergraduate Hawker Scholars are able to attend a range of Australian educational institutions.

The Charles Hawker Scholarship perpetuates the memory of scholar, soldier and pastoralist Charles Allan Seymour Hawker and commemorates the achievements of one of Australia’s most respected statesmen.