25 November 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

While the ‘circuit-breaker’ that was applied last week proved challenging, it was also a reminder of how fortunate we have been during this most testing of years. Despite the lifting of some restrictions and promising results from vaccine trials, it would appear that the shadow of COVID-19 will remain with us into term one of 2021. However, the professionalism our staff have demonstrated throughout the year to ensure access to quality differentiated learning means we are well-positioned to meet any future challenge. We invariably include ‘flexible and adaptable’ as desirable qualities when seeking to appoint new members to our team, and I feel these recent events have shown that our school has proven success in this area. The response of all staff last week was exceptional and is testament to the journey travelled to become a school where the learner is always at the centre of our thinking. I feel honoured to both support and lead such a dedicated and committed group of professionals.

I want to thank caregivers for their understanding regarding the restrictions we have re-introduced to minimise the number of adults entering the school grounds. We encourage all caregivers to both maintain and model the 1.5m physical distance between themselves and other adults at all times during school drop off and pick up. Due to the increased number of learners exiting onto Stokes Road, we also ask caregivers to demonstrate extreme caution and avoid U-turn manoeuvres to minimise the risk of injury.

Finally, we will continue to update the community through our Schoolzine app, and we ask that all families maintain the high levels of communication and support necessary for us to respond quickly to both the wellbeing and learning needs of their child.

Presentation Evening

Due to the restrictions currently in place, we have decided to change our 2020 Presentation Evening to a daytime event without an audience. We appreciate that caregivers may be disappointed by this decision; however, we feel that this is the best option in terms of the wellbeing of our community. We will hold the event on the afternoon of the 30 November as part of our regular school day, and we expect all 2020 learners to attend this celebration of learning. The event will be filmed and uploaded onto our website during the last week of this term and photographs of all award recipients will feature in a supplementary newsletter. We appreciate your understanding regarding this matter, and we look forward to a return to our traditional presentation evening in 2021.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

Secondary Report

Year 6-10 Illawonga Camp

This year we were lucky to be hosted by Mark ‘Stix’ Coleman and his team at Camp Illawonga located just 2 hours from Adelaide, near Swan Reach on the Murray River. We were scheduled to have a packed 3-day camp filled with activities such as a Murray River Ecology Boat Tour, Archery, a Punyelroo Cave Expedition, a Sheep Shearing Show, Stargazing, a Tour of the Swan Reach Museum, and so much more!...

However, our initial plans could not go through due to the COVID-19 state lockdown. We knew then that this was a camp… “excursion”, that would go down in history. Nothing short of interesting and, although short lived…our learners still made the best out of the circumstance and could not wait to get out into the water and have fun. Learners had the opportunity to kneeboard, pedalboat and go for a swim!

It was pleasure to see how adaptable and collaborative our learners are, given the challenges they faced on the day…they still made the best of what they could. Learners hilariously kept each other entertained singing ‘the wheels on the bus’, they looked after one another especially when the state announcement was made, and they made sure everyone had a fair go in all the activities within the short time we had.

We want to thank all staff who coordinated and supported during the day to ensure learners were safe and happy. We are in negotiations about rebooking the camp for a similar timeslot next year.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR LEARNERS:

“The tacos for lunch were delicious and we were well fed”.

“The bus trip was great we sang as a group and had a good laugh”.

“Kneeboarding was fun because I could show off some of my tricks”

“Darren and Stix were hilarious, friendly, and made sure we had a good time even while we were there only for a few hours”

“It was good that we had some time to spend at the river, I liked the food for lunch, and I also learned how to kneeboard”.

Primary Report

Foundation

What makes a good learner?

Here at QAS we have a big focus on what makes a good learner and using our schools learning dispositions. Over the last couple of weeks, learners in Foundation have been reviewing what makes a good learner. We are learning the difference between what makes a good student and what makes a learner. One of our first activities was to brainstorm what makes a good learner and what makes a good student. These were our ideas;

Our next activity involved watching a video about being a good learner and then sorting statements into either a good learner or good student. Here are some of our posters to show what we thought.

There is a clear difference between what makes a good learner and what makes a good student. In this video you will hear some of the students talking about what makes a good learner.

Science

This term in Science, we have been investigating and exploring the world around us. So far we have investigated ice ages, volcanoes and earthquakes and we now know that this is all caused by the Earth’s core. At the beginning of the term we looked at how volcanoes are formed and how they explode. We conducted a fun experiment to see how a volcano explodes and we acted out what it was like to be in an Earthquake. Hear us talk about what we have learnt so far.

Digital Technologies

This term in Digital Technologies we have been exploring further about coding. We have learnt that coding means to program a computer to do something or to move in a certain way. The Bee Bots are small digital devices that can be programmed to move. We have been programming the Bee Bots to move in different directions and sequences with our knowledge of coding and movement patterns. As you can see below, we have had so much creating movement patterns for others to follow and moving across maps.

Transition Program

Our new learners for 2021 have been transitioning from kindergarten to school over the past few weeks. Tegan Miller has been leading this transition process and she has included some of there activities in the attached documents. We look forward to welcoming these learners to Quorn Area School full time in 2021

News from the Garden

Our garden is looking fabulous after the recent rainfall, Sharon Taylor’s efforts ensure that this space is a great place for our learners to explore.

The girls are munching on edible flowers and lettuce during a break