7 September 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Our most recent Professional Day has focused on improving the storage and accessibility of our curriculum planning. It is hard to believe that only four years ago, we had teachers walking around with A4 files containing paper copies of planning that were largely unseen by our learners and their caregivers. Our planning is now in a standardised format, accessible through Daymap from any location and at any time of the day. We are developing the system further to ensure that all planning is effectively catalogued using Australian Curriculum codes, and this information will be available electronically to present and future teachers. Knowing what was taught and assessed by previous teachers will enable our current teachers to support learners in knowing where they are at, where to next, and how to get there.

Last week I had the privilege of attending the 'Around the World' dinner prepared by our Food and Hospitality learners. Planning such an event is always challenging, and the Covid-19 factor added another tier of complexity. It is always a pleasure to witness learning in different settings, and both the service and food didn't disappoint. To see so many of our learners collaborating to secure success was richly rewarding and one that will live long in the memory.

Finally, on Thursday, 2 September, our high school classes attended thought-provoking workshops led by presenters from the Sammy D Foundation. The challenges facing our learners on their journey into adulthood are immense, and we believe that education is vital in keeping them both informed and safe. The age-appropriate themes included the impacts of bullying and drug and alcohol-fuelled violence. I want to express thanks to Brad Forkert for his organisation of this event.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

General School News

Sports Day

All going to plan, the following information will not change in relation to Sports Day on Friday 17th September.

House Keeping

We are thoroughly looking forward to this event and hope to see as many competitors and families coming along to support the day.

On the morning of 17th September students in Years 2-12 are asked to meet in their designated Kanyak/Yarrah classroom at 8:45am SHARP for a team roll call. F/1 students will meet in their usual base classrooms at 8:45am. All students will make their way down to the oval at 8:50am.

The first event will be the 100m dash for the Junior Primary students at 9am, followed by the 400m age group events. There will be programs distributed on the day. The Under 10 boys and girls will be split in to two separate groups this year as we have lots of competitors. They will be allocated a supervising staff member who will take them around to their events during the day.

Hawker Area School will once again be joining us, and we welcome them to Quorn Area School.

Program

Please see the attached JP/whole school programs for Sports Day. There have been some changes made to this year’s program due to large numbers in the Under 10’s. There will no longer be a set lunch time. Each age group will be allocated three breaks throughout the day and this is highlighted on the program.

Food Options

To be confirmed by Parents and Friends in the coming days

Timing/Measuring of Events

We are looking for some parents to volunteer for jobs to ensure that the day runs smoothy. Please see Sarah Bury if you can be of assistance.

House Meetings

There will be House meetings for students in years 2-12 held in the coming week to ensure that the House Captains/Vice Captains prepare their teams for their events and to discuss all housekeeping matters.

Week 8 And 9 Events

Friday Wk 8, Lesson 3A – Javelin U/14-OPEN event
Tuesday Wk 9, Lesson 2A – 800m OPEN event
Wednesday Wk 9, Lesson 1a – 1500m OPEN event

Sarah Bury
HPE Coordinator

The Smith Family

WHAT IS THE GROWING CAREERS PROJECT?

The Smith Family has received funding from the Commonwealth Government to significantly expand delivery of our high quality careers programs and activities for secondary students, working in close collaboration with TSF secondary schools.

The Growing Careers Project aims to create opportunities for young people to participate in multiple careers activities across their secondary school years.

Ultimately, the Project aims to support these young Australians acquire the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours they need to thrive in their lives beyond school, so that they are more likely to complete Year 12 and increase their career prospects. With the support of participating schools and students, the Project also seeks to evaluate the impact of this coordinated, multi-participation approach to careers activity, to inform the Australian education context.

Sarah Bury
HPE Coordinator

News from the Prefects

Milkshake and Hotdog Day

Our final fundraiser for the term is being held this coming Friday, 10th of September. Students should have received their order forms which need to be returned along with payment by Thursday 9th September.

Crazy Hair Day

We organised a Crazy Hair Day on Wednesday 1st of September to raise awareness for Cystic Fibrosis Australia. The event was well supported as you can see from the gallery of photos included below.

Maya, Jayde & Ethan
QAS Prefects

Primary Report

Miss Miller’s Foundation Class

Literacy

In Literacy this term we have been focusing on how to use elements of VCOP in our writing. In the last few weeks, we have been focusing on Punctuation. To help us learn punctuation we have been doing some punctuation activities such as Kung Fu Punctuation, Punctuation Detective and Punctuation Tag. See the photos and videos below for some examples of these activities.

Numeracy

In Numeracy this term, we have been learning about days of the week and months of the year. We have been exploring the order of the days and what events we do on each day of the week at school and at home. We looked at the book ‘Diary of a Wombat’ and journalled what he did throughout the week. Here are some photos of our Diary of a Wombat Journal.

We have also been exploring birthdays and calendars. We made a birthday chart to show all the learners birthdays in yeas F-4. We first labelled sheets of paper with each month of the year and placed them in order. Then we wrote down our birthdays on balloons. We needed more birthdays to fill up the birthday chart so we went to Miss Neu’s ½ and Miss Tomney’s ¾ classes. They wrote down their birthdays and then we stuck them on the chart. Here is us making the birthday chart and the final product!

We have also been exploring subitising. Subitising is about trusting the count and being able to recognise number without counting. One of our favourite subitising games is Subitising Bingo. In this game, we need to be able to see the number the leader is holding up and then recognise the number on the Bingo board. The first person to subitise and get all the numbers on the board calls out Bingo!

Drama

In Drama this term we have been exploring facial expressions and character. Learners have been exploring how to show different feelings and emotions through facial expressions. We first brainstormed some feelings and emotions and then acted them out without face.

We then explored some familiar characters that we know from storybooks and movies. We then acted out the characters using our body, facial expressions and dress ups. We found out that when acting out a character you need to use your whole body and think about how the character movies and dresses. See us dress up as some of our characters.

Book Week

For Book Week this year, Foundations read the story ‘Norton and the Bear’. This story is about being unique and different to everyone else. In the story, Norton likes to wear different clothes to make him stand out but Bear likes his clothes too. Norton gets upset with Bear and Bear walks away sad. At the end of the story they both discover they can be different and the same.

Listen to the Foundations talk about what they learnt from the story.

One of the activities was to create unique clothing for bear or person by cutting out materials, paper or colouring. Here our some of our unique creations.

Mr B’s 5/6 Class

The Year 5/6 class has been examining the effects of smoking on the human body within our Health classes. There are serious long- and short-term health problems that we are learning about which we can avoid by not taking up the habit. We've also created some of our own warning labels for cigarette packets.

Our Spatial Awareness is continuing to grow as we have been creating our own 'nets' to show how 2D shapes can become 3 dimensional. We're currently working on making larger scale versions of shapes that we have more experience with.

Matthew Buckingham
5/6 Class Teacher

SAPSASA Athletics

On Friday the 21st of August, 16 eager and enthusiastic QAS students participated in several events in the annual District SAPSASA Athletics carnival. There were three shields up for grabs on the day. The championship shield represents the most points awarded overall on the day to a school, the Handicap Shield reflects the amount of students enrolled at each primary school in years 4-7, compared with points awarded on the day. In the results table below, you can see that QAS took out the Lloyd Nelson Shield (school category allocation) for 2021. A fabulous team effort for a small number of competitors.

We had some very successful individual results, which in turn has allowed the following athletes to be considered for the Regional Carnival held in Adelaide later this year. We wish these students the all the very best in their endeavours.

Ella Holtham - 12yr 800m long jump 200m – 1st place in each of these events
Sam Finlay - 10yr long jump – 1st place
Gemma - 12yr discus – 1st place

Sam Finlay was successful in breaking the 10 year old boys Long Jump event on the day - Amazing Effort Sam!

Thanks to all the parents who volunteered their time and support in transporting the students on the day. These events can not happen without family’s assistance. I would also like to thank Simon Robinson from SNPS and his team for their organisation of this event. Our students represented QAS in a positive light and were a pleasure to take off site for the day.

BookWeek

Secondary News

Flinders University Visit

During Week 7, Chris who is the Access Project Officer from Flinders University visited QAS and facilitated some sessions for our secondary learners. The first session for our Year 9-11 learners focused on The Navigator – which looked at jobs of the future and explores how students can build enterprise skills to prepare for uncertainty in the workforce by using a strengths-based approach to encourage students to self-reflect on their skills and achievements. It also encourages students to reflect on education pathways required for their career journey.

The second session for our Year 7/8 learners focused on The Encounter – which introduced the idea of life being a journey. Chris shared his education and career journey about tertiary pathways, careers and qualifications.

Chris then spent some valuable time talking with some of our Year 11/12 learners and discussed courses at Flinders University and various pathways into university. There was time for Q+A to conclude his sessions.

It is fantastic to be able to offer these opportunities to students at QAS and there will be many more career-based opportunities coming up for our learners over the next four years as we have recently consolidated a partnership with The Smith Family and the ‘Growing Careers Project’. Please read more about the Growing Careers Project below and how our school is going to be involved. It certainly is an exciting opportunity that we are thoroughly looking forward to exposing our learners to in the very near future!

Senior Food and Hospitality Dinner

The Year 10-12 Food and Hospitality class planned, prepared, and presented a three-course meal for our teachers, SSO’s and Year 12 students last Tuesday evening. The group were very successful overall and spent time collaborating whilst planning the event. They were required to complete a group ‘action plan’ which addressed all the issues which needed attention. The group decided upon a ‘multicultural’ theme where each of the courses originated from a different country. All students worked enthusiastically in planning the three-course meal, budgeting, front and back of house details, Covid restrictions, safety and hygiene in the kitchen as well as individual food presentation.

I am very proud of these students with their mature and responsible attitudes and giving up their evening to complete this assignment. Hoping that we can continue the Food and Hospitality focus in future years.

Sarah Bury
Food & Hospitality Teacher

Parents and Friends

Sports Day Canteen

Volunteers Required

We are looking for volunteers to help us operate the Sports Day Canteen/BBQ on Friday 17th September. If you are available at any time between 9am and 2pm please advise Renata Hackett.

Busy Bee

After school on Monday the 13th September we will be holding a Busy Bee to tidy up around the school oval and would love your support to help us in readiness for Sports Day

Donations Required

If you are unavailable to donate your time, we are seeking donations of the following items, all items can be delivered to the Front Office prior to the event;

• Sauce
• Paper Towel
• Alfoil
• Oil
• Napkins
• Gloves
• Hand Sanitiser

Miscellaneous Reports

Thank You

We would like to acknowledge and thank the Flinders Ranges Council for their recent assistance to remove green waste from our site. This generosity is greatly appreciated by all.

Mobile Dental Care – Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th September

Mid North Christian College – Aviation Studies