23 November 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Last week, we farewelled the Class of 2021, who marked the end of their school career with a whole school assembly and graduation dinner at Flinders Food Co. I want to thank Matt Griffiths for organising these events, which provided an excellent opportunity to celebrate this outstanding cohort's contribution to our school. Their frank reflections and pearls of wisdom during the assembly will live long in the memory.

This week our Year 4 to Year 11 learners have transitioned to their 2022 classes so they can begin to build the foundations for future growth. These three additional weeks of focused and relevant learning offer our classes an excellent opportunity to prepare for the challenges ahead, meet their 2022 teachers and provide extra time to complete coursework. The current Year Six learners and their families attended an acquaintance evening on Monday 22 November as part of their transition to high school. The gathering provided an excellent opportunity to celebrate their growth and achievements throughout the primary years and connect with their new high school teachers, who will work alongside them in 2022. Our Junior Primary learners will also transition to their 2022 classes in Week Eight, which coincides with our week-long transition for the new 2022 foundation learners. We encourage all of our learners to seize this opportunity to get ahead and reduce potential stress and lay firm foundations for learning in a new environment in 2022. Tomorrow we will be welcoming our new foundation class learners for the final stage of their transition to school. We are confident that the excellent work of Maggie Kamin and her team at Quorn Kindy has provided a firm foundation on which to build success in 2022 and into the future. I want to express sincere thanks to Kate Neu for her leadership of this year's process.

Although a year later than initially planned, our 2021 camps were a great success last week. On behalf of the learners who benefitted greatly from the diverse activities offered, I want to thank all of the staff who readily gave their time to support these co-curricular activities. Every smile or awkward expression was made possible due to the additional work undertaken by staff to support learning outside of the confines of the classroom walls.

Finally, our 2021 Presentation Evening is due to commence at 6pm this Thursday. All learners and their caregivers are encouraged to join us to celebrate achievement and growth across all year levels. The event will begin with a celebration of learning with work and activities displayed around the gym, and our Parents and Friends group will be running a sausage sizzle.

Andrew Gilsenan-Reed

Remembrance Day

Thank you to Mr T and the Year 8/9 HASS class who organised the Remembrance Day service here at QAS. It was lovely to see our learners involved and placing a poppy, reading the Ode of Remembrance, and partaking in a minute’s silence.

Secondary Report

Graduation

On Friday night we said our final farewell to the 2021 crop of Year 12s from Quorn Area School with a celebrating held at Flinders Food Co in Hawker. This group have been amazing role models throughout their time at our school and have left a lasting impression on the teachers and students. Even though their official time at Quorn Area School is over they will always be valuable members of our school community. I wish Jayde, Ethan, Maya and Emily all the best with their futures, wherever it may take them.

Below are a few snaps of our time at Hawker

Illawonga Camp

After a false start in 2020, last week learners from Year 6-11 had the opportunity to spend 3 beautiful days down by the Murray River at the Illawonga Aquatic camp. Students participated in a range of activities from knee boarding and gymnastics, to searching for fossils in the nearby Punnyelroo caves. This was a great chance for our students to enjoy learning outside of classroom and socialise with their peers. Stay tuned for the next newsletter where you can hear more about our students’ experiences.

Pichi Richi Trade Training

During Week 5, students from Years 10 & 11 completed their Building and Construction Certificate I at the Pichi Richi Railway. Course work had already been completed at school so students enjoyed a week of work placement to fulfil the course requirements.

Students were in involved in team meetings, carriage preparation, sheet metal work, spray painting and using a variety of trade materials & equipment.

As you can see from the photos everyone had a great week of practical experience. We look forward to continuing this program in the years ahead.

Work Inspiration Program

During Week 5, the Year 8-10 learners participated in the Work Inspiration Program which was strongly supported by The Smith Family. On Monday, we made our way over to the Flinders Ranges Council where we learnt about a number of different careers available in local councils. Paula Osborn facilitated the session and spoke to us about various career paths available, and we undertook a personality quiz which told us which careers would best suit us. This was an interesting activity, and some learners were amazed at how accurate the results were. Students went over to the Tourist Office and found out about volunteering and what is on offer for tourists. We also walked over to the works depot and had an interesting presentation from Nigel Crisp. It was amazing how many different job roles are involved in the works depot. We also heard from the CEO of the Flinders Ranges Council, Eric Brown; who spoke about his various roles and how he came to be the CEO of the FRC. It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to understand about the vast range of employment opportunities in the local council.

On Monday afternoon, we welcomed some visitors from Country Health SA and participated in ‘Speed Careering’ where learners were able to ask questions to learn about many different roles in the hospital. We spoke to a registered nurse, cook, administration and nursing unit manager.

We travelled to Port Augusta on Tuesday morning and visited Max Cranes. We met an apprentice who spoke to us about how he managed to secure his apprenticeship. Students learnt about the business and watched some cranes in action.

Mandy Jordan from the Access Training Centre spoke to the students about the range of courses available and how they support people with the apprenticeship process.

We would like to thank the Smith Family for this opportunity and supplying the transport and meals for QAS students. We look forward to see what is on offer for the Growing Careers Project for 2022!

Headspace Workshops

On Monday and Tuesday this week, our secondary learners have participated in a variety of workshops facilitated by Headspace.

Year 7/8 Managing changes: Transition from primary to secondary school

• Understand how transition and change can impact mental health
• How to manage stress from change
• Build resilience and healthy coping skills
  Strengthen connection and belonging

Year 7-9 Self-Care: Looking after your mental health

• Understand mental health and the importance of looking after ourselves
• Understand what self-care is
• Develop a healthy headspace action plan
  Identify where, when and how to seek support

Year 10-12 Looking Out For Your Friends: Notice, Ask Connect

• Notice: identifying warning signs that a friend might be going through a tough time
• Ask: how to have difficult conversations and ask your friend if they are OK
  Connect: how to help them find to the best support a make sure you are looking out for your self-care

We were also fortunate enough to have a parent workshop on Monday evening.

Parent and Carer Session: Supporting young people- Notice, Ask, Connect

• Understand mental health and wellbeing in young people
• Notice changes that a young person might be going through a tough time
• Identify strategies to connect and communicate with young people
• Increase knowledge about how to support a young person and where to access professional support

We would like to thank John and the team at Headspace for facilitating these sessions.

Year 7 Transition Celebration

On Monday evening, the new Year 7 learners and their families celebrated the completion of their Primary Schooling with an informal BBQ here at school as well as a class celebration with their current teacher Matthew Buckingham and their previous teachers in the primary school. Learners were presented with a badge and a presentation from Mr Buckingham. Secondary teachers came along to the BBQ and introduced themselves to the families. Senior School Coordinator Matt Griffiths spoke to families about secondary information including timetables, DAYMAP and general expectations. We would like to thank the families for supporting this transition.

Primary Report

Pizza Night

On Thursday of Week 6, Foundations had their first year of school celebration. We had a pizza and movie night! Learners designed their choice of pizza in numeracy making a list of ingredients and things we needed. Then we made the pizza following our plan and invited families to share with us in the evening. The pizza’s turned out great and they tasted delicious!

We played a few fun games such as musical statues and balloon races before settling in for a movie. The movie was an old classic; The Santa Clause. It took us awhile to get into the movie as it was very different to hat we made seen before, but we enjoyed it. We especially loved eating the popcorn and the chocolate covered ice creams!

This was a great way to celebrate our first year at school and have some fun activities that lead into the end of the term. We are looking forward to being big Year 1 learners next year!

Year 1/2 Port Augusta Day Excursion

Last Friday, the Year 1/2 learners took a day Excursion down to Port Augusta. Our first stop was the Arid Lands Botanical Gardens. Worked through 3 stations: a guided tour, plant propagation and map mapping.

On the Guided Tour, we learnt all about the different native trees and shrubs at the Arid Lands and their different purposes. A particular favourite was the Fruit Salad plant which had a sweet fruity bud.

At the Plant Propagation station, we learnt how to transplant seedlings to bigger pots to grow. We had to put a couple of handfuls of soil at the bottom of a new pot and then gently tip up the seedling to release it from the old pot to be placed into the new one. We then filled all around the seedling with more soil until the pot was full. We each got a seedling to take home with us.

At the Map Making station, we had to try and create a map of the Explorer Garden. We went around the garden and identified landmarks that would help us to create a map. Then we drew our maps on paper. We found that it can be tricky to map new places.

During the break times, we had free time to play and engage with nature in the nature-play based Explorer Garden. We tested our balancing skills, found hidden paths, played chasey and made red dirt sandcastles. We also went on a walk to the Garden Lookout and saw some kangaroos on the way.

After managing to dodge the rain throughout all our activities, we had lunch and an opportunity to taste a bush flavoured ice-cream. The unusual flavours were met with mixed reactions, but it was a great experience to try something new. Before we knew it was time to pack up and hop back on the bus to Cinema Augusta to enjoy a preview screening of Clifford the Big Red Dog.

We would like to thank Mrs Bury, Hanna, Karen-Ann, Andrew, the Arid Lands Botanical Gardens, Arid Lands Café and Cinema Augusta for all their help in making the day a great experience for all.

Year 3/4/5 Spear Creek

On Thursday 18th November, the Year 3/4/5 students accompanied Miss Tomney, Mrs Reed, Mr Buckingham, Sharon Hooper and Steph Saxton to Spear Creek for an overnight camp.

Thursday the weather was hot and windy but despite this the students participated in a full range of activities. Activities included playing Finski, making hovercrafts, building spaghetti ‘stable structures’, nature surveys, basic first aid, knot tying and ‘minute to win it’ challenges.

Friday the weather was wet and foggy but this did not deter our students from making the most of their time. Students played ‘Celebrity Heads’, Peg Chasey, explored the shearing shed and much more.

On behalf of the teachers I would like to thank Steph and Sharon for their time, energy and enthusiasm. Without their support, our camp would not have been possible. We would also like to thank the students. They were enthusiastic, respectful and keen to participate in all activities - including meal prep and clean up! It was a pleasure to be part of the camp experience with everyone and I can’t wait to do it again next year.

Miscellaneous Reports

School Yearbook

Last chance to order for the 2021 School Yearbook. The cost of the magazine is $30 – Please send an email to michelle.baker315@schools.sa.edu.au before Friday to ensure you don’t miss out.

Sports Colour Day

Participate in Sports Colour Day on Wednesday 24th November and be rewarded with a Pizza Day before the end of term.