24 August 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Earlier this year, we began a review of our vision and mission statement to ensure that they align with the current beliefs of the school and reflect its future direction. We will be consulting with our community later in the year to ensure the final versions accurately reflect needs of current and future learners at our school. All of our staff have agreed that we must work collaboratively to ensure growth for every learner in every classroom, every day. Therefore I am pleased to share with our community the news that we have again secured significant improvement in our NAPLAN results. We will distribute the individual results to caregivers once the printed materials arrive. However, our initial review of the results shows significant gains in many key areas. We are delighted with the growth secured by learners across all ability ranges. This is testimony to the work of staff in viewing each learner as an individual with unique abilities and challenges. Over the past three years, we have focused on improving how we teach and view Numeracy across the whole school. Our learners have found the shift from compliance and repetition to questioning and application challenging. However, our teachers have persevered, and this is evident in the significant improvements in Numeracy results since 2017.

I want to thank Sarah Bury for facilitating our recent Science week activities on behalf of our learners. The theme of Food: Different by design was both engaging and thought-provoking, and we appreciate the support provided by our community to make this event possible. This week we turn our attention to Book Week 2021 with its theme of Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds. Working with your child to create their costumes can be an amazing experience, even if it often means a last-minute trip to Port Augusta for supplies. Still, I can assure you the interpretations of the theme in the parade are an absolute joy, and your efforts are appreciated. We have made significant improvements in teaching and fostering a love of reading over the past two years. This is evident in improved outcomes in assessments and the ability of our learners to identify their strengths and goals for reading. Despite these gains, we still have a long journey to promote a love of learning in high school. If you or your child have ideas regarding the media and materials you feel would make our library more relevant in 2021, we would love to hear from you.

Finally, I wish to thank those caregivers who completed the department's Digital Strategy Survey earlier this year. The department offered a prize to schools who supported the survey, and I am pleased to inform our community that we have won an emerging technologies pack valued at several thousand dollars.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

General School News

Book Week

Book Week will be celebrated this year on the 27th of August (Friday, Term 3, Week 6). This Year we are encouraging all learners to dress up as either the Book Week theme of ‘Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds’ or their favourite book character. Be creative!

Unfortunately, due to the current restrictions, we are unable to have parents attend the parade on Friday morning. We will still take photos and videos to post on our next newsletter in Week 8, so keep an eye out.

From the Primary Team

Science Week

On Tuesday the 17th of August we were lucky enough to host some great presenters to celebrate Science Week. We participated in three different workshops which focused on Bugs and Slugs, Animals Anonymous and Plant Propagation/Seed Bomb Making.

The first workshop that we attended was Animals Anonymous. We were given the opportunity to meet some reptiles, birds and mammals and were able to learn some information about their habitats and how they survive. The exciting part of the session was that the learners were able to get up close and even hold some of the animals. The presenters successfully entertained us by sharing with us their humour when speaking about the animals.

During the next session we were able to discuss as a group what we already knew about food and the environment. The presenter explained to us about how bugs are going to play a large role in the food industry and that bugs are already in most things that we eat today. Some of us were fortunate (and brave) enough to sample some cricket cookies and cinnamon donut flavoured mill worms. We were surprised at how the biscuits tasted like a regular choc chip cookie and on the other hand some people enjoyed the worms and some simply did not. At the very end we were allowed to spend some time having a look at all of the bugs and slugs. The learners were lucky enough to be able to hold and gently touch some of the slugs, stick insects, snails, hermit crabs and beetles.

Andrea Tschirner presented a practical workshop in the garden which allowed us to get our hands dirty and learn how to make seed bombs and propagate plants. This workshop is allowing QAS students to earn points for their respective house for the end of year, with the focus on the growth and success of the plants.

We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to have these presenters at our school and we would like to say a HUGE thank you to our amazing Parents and Friends Committee who kindly donated half of the funds to make this learning experience possible. Also a thanks to the SA Arid Lands Landscape Board for their support in making this possible. We look forward to celebrating Science Week again next year.

Year 8 English Class
Sarah, Mia, Miah and Timmy.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

• Reading for Premier's Reading Challenge concludes on Friday 3rd Sept
• Student Reading Records need to be submitted to your teacher by Friday 10th Sept
• https://premiersreadingchallenge.sa.edu.au/

Secondary Report

Charles Hawker Scholarships

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.

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.

Visit at the link below for information about the scholarship and to download an application form. Applications open on Monday 6th December and close on Friday 7th January 2022.

Quorn School Community Library

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Every year, students have almost three full terms to read their 12 books for the year. A reminder to all that Reading Records need to be submitted by Monday 13th September.

Overdue Items

A reminder to all that if you have borrowed items/books from the library for an extended amount of time now, please return this ASAP OR please see library staff to renew an item.

News from the Prefects

Crazy Hair Day for Cystic Fibrosis

Crazy Hair Day is an annual fundraising event held in schools across Australia. For a gold coin donation students and teachers are encouraged to wear their craziest hair at school. We are holding our Crazy Hair Day on Wednesday the 1st of September. We look forward to seeing all your creations.

Father’s Day Stall

Thursday 2nd & Friday 3rd September

Gifts range between $2 and $10. Stall will be set up outside Mrs Bury’s office during the first break of each day.

Hotdog & Milkshake Day

Miscellaneous Reports

UniSA – Whyalla Campus, Open Day