19 October 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

In the coming weeks, Year Twelve students will be completing their Stage Two SACE examinations as they close the chapter on their high school careers. Whilst learners commence study leave on 29 October, teachers will still be available to support them until the end of the examination period. As an Area School, we are fortunate to observe the growth of our learners as they journey from Foundation to Year Twelve. This insight highlights the importance of actively engaging with our learners and ensuring every day offers opportunities for growth. To achieve this goal, we break term four down into the following three sections:

Weeks 1-5     Completion of the 2021 learning program
Week 6        Camps
Weeks 7-9     Commencement of the 2022 learning program

In doing this, we avoid the historical drift into the end of the year, and we set our learners up for success in the next stage of the learning journey.

Another benefit of being an Area School is that we are incredibly fortunate to have a library open after the school day and on Saturday mornings. We have purchased an array of new books in recent months based on the interests and abilities of our learners, and we encourage caregivers and learners to visit the library to explore this new range. Many of the latest books have already been labelled with a Lexile level to support learners in making appropriate choices. I am confident that your child will both know and understand their Lexile level, but please do not hesitate to contact their English/Literacy teacher if you would like further information.

Finally, I would like to thank all the people involved in last term's Sports Day. It took us a long time to get there, but the weather and support from the community were indeed worth the wait. Special thanks go to Sarah Bury for her leadership of the event and the fantastic volunteers who made the day possible.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

School Yearbook

We are now taking orders for the 2022 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 in person.

2022 School Fees

The 2022 Materials and Services Charges have been set at $253 for primary students and $334 for secondary students. These charges will be presented at the upcoming Governing Council meeting on Thursday 28th October at 5.30pm before final approval is given. If you would like to discuss these charges you are invited to attend this meeting.

Primary Report

Miss Tomney’s Year 3/4 Class

WOW how fast has this year gone? I cannot believe it is nearly the end of the year. Only 8 weeks.

A quick recap of last term:

In Maths we looked at a range of topics including multiplication, division, problem solving and fractions. Students enjoyed the variety of activities to develop help develop their understanding. Students worked fantastically in small groups to create a game to show their understanding of topics covered.

In Art, students had to work in groups to create and perform a dance incorporating some dance styles they had learned about along with a new style of dance they created. The dance routines were performed to another class in the school last week; they all did an amazing job! All students were able to dance to a chosen song and show off their moves!! Here are some snippets of the dance.

In Spanish, learners researched a chosen major city in Spain and completed a project on it. They all confidently presented their gathered information to an audience. We all know that learning a new language can be tricky, but the more we practice it, the better we get. So please try and incorporate some Spanish at home, which can be as simple as saying numbers to 20 in Spanish and greeting people.

This term in Physical Education, students are learning the game tag rugby. To develop their understanding of the game, a range of activities will be undertaken to extend their understanding and skills, so they can play a full game in a few weeks.

As you are all aware, camp is coming up very quickly – we are all very excited. Please make sure you send any notes that you receive back to me so we can get it underway.

Also, please take the time to allow your child to read to you and ask them what they are learning in the classroom, as we are learning so much!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email or see me at school.

Thanks Miss Tomney

Sports Day

QAS Sports Day was held on Thursday the 23rd of September. Although we had to reschedule from the earlier date (due to windy conditions) we were very lucky with the weather and the day was certainly a success. We would like to thank the community for their flexibility with having to reschedule. We appreciate your efforts in having to rearrange your busy schedules, as safety is certainly our number one priority for our school.

I would like to thank the Parents and Friends Committee for their efforts and time in organising the BBQ, food and drinks stall. It was lovely to have the food stall out near the action so that the parents were able to watch their children participate. Congratulations to the House Captains and Vice Captains for their outstanding efforts in the lead up to the event and on the day. They were always on their toes, ensuring that they were where they needed to be for their own events, as well as supporting their team members and organising relays. In the lead up to Sports Day, our captains and vice captains were busy hosting decoration sessions and after school practices to ensure that everyone was familiar with their events. As part of their HPE curriculum, the secondary learners were busy planning and implementing mentoring sessions for our primary learners to assist them with rules and techniques of the track and field events. Moving forward to next year, we would like to include more after school sessions for students to practice their events. We will be looking for parent volunteers with a knowledge of athletics to help assist with this initiative and make it successful.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the parents/guardians/grandparents and community members who volunteered their time with timing, scoring, and measuring of the track and field events on the day. Thanks to Peter Crisp who gave up his time in assisting Mark with the line marking – your knowledge and experience in this area is much appreciated.

I was so pleased to see so many students competing this year. The numbers in each age group increased from last year and I would like to congratulate all students for ‘having a go’ and gaining points for your team. I would also like to thank those students who volunteered their time by measuring and recording on the field events. Well done to all competitors – A special mention to those who won age group trophies and certificates, team spirit awards and those who broke records. An amazing team effort!

The staff have been busy evaluating our annual Sports Day event, highlighting areas for improvement, and acknowledging what is working well. We would love any feedback from the parents/community members. This could be via email, phone or in person. Please see Tricia or Sarah at the school to share any feedback you may have.

Record Breakers

Team Scores

Individual Championship Awards

House Captain Team Award

Miscellaneous Reports

Staff Car Park

Parents please note: the staff car park is not a drop off point for students to access the school. Please use the designated car park adjacent to the traffic lights when either bringing or picking up your children from school.