Well here we are at the end of the busiest year I can remember. Nothing can compare to what people in general have gone through this year……….and when we compare it to experiences elsewhere we can count ourselves fortunate in comparison. This however does not detract from what we have been up against; a virus that takes lives and as a community and a state we have had to take action to address this that is justifiable. I want to thank all our staff, students and the school community for their efforts this year in these challenging times.

It has been a year with a focus in this area that has fluctuated and come back again at the end of the year. Our production of the Lion King and Presentation Night is an example of the changes we have had to make to how we do things. School closures, online learning from home and extensive hygiene practices at school have all been part of our new practices and I can’t see this changing for a while yet. On the other side of this we have learnt new modes of learning and interaction through Microsoft Teams in particular that give us a glimpse of what the future will be like.

So we come to the end of the year and I would like to say farewell and thanks to Jacqui Schulz, Malcolm Thompson and Harald Walther. Jacqui arrived at the start of term two, taking on Indonesian and Performing Arts. She has worked tirelessly in these areas developing contacts and resources as well as attending professional learning to build her knowledge. Malcolm came to the school again for five weeks in term four working in the Special Ed area and also doing some relief work at the same time. Harald came in for Amanda Hilder for term four, taking on the teaching of the Foundation to Year 2 class and has built excellent relationships with the kids. We wish them all the best for 2021.

Apart from this next year our staffing takes on a familiar feel. Ailsa Green will be Teacher Librarian and our AET, and teach Visual Arts and Digital Literacy. Sharon Bates will have the Secondary Home Group and will teach English, HASS, HPE, and Home Ec. Lidia Szlezak will also teach in the Secondary area in Science and Maths, and will also teach Polish across all three of our classes. Hayley Brown will return to a full time role as our Year 3-5 Home Group teacher with responsibilities in English, Maths, HASS, Science and HPE. Amanda Hilder will take on the new role of Special Education while keeping her responsibilities with our Read Write Inc program in addition to teaching Intervention. Penny McCulloch joins our team for next year as our Foundation to Year 2 teacher. Penny has an excellent background in the Junior Primary area, having taught at Leigh Creek, Marree, Port Augusta and Gladstone. Her experience and energy will be a real asset. Finally Travis McDonald will be back as a teacher in the Design and Technology area, teaching the Year 3-5 and 6-9 classes.

All of our Ancillary staff will also be back, Leonie McKenzie, Letisha McKenzie, Esther Eager, Joelle Sharples, Lauren Johnson, Rachel Sinkinson McInnis, Rosie Luckraft, Julieanne Ashenden, Steve Green, Lisa O’Neill, Paul Lowe and Tommy Crossman. They will be providing valuable support in a variety of areas through roles in Admin, Library, in class support, Speech, Read Write Inc, Students with Disabilities, Intervention, ICT, Grounds and the school bus.

School returns next year on January 27^th for our students. Our administration returns the week before on Monday January 18^th, with teachers and the rest of our Ancillary staff starting on Thursday January 21^st. I would like to wish everyone in our school community a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Mr Daren O'Neill

Principal 

From the land of the little people...

Well, it’s almost the Christmas/New Year summer break time. The students in F-2 have been very busy during the last few weeks finishing off their work and learning to use a new maths app called “Mathletics”. This enables them to work on various maths challenges, based on their level of ability and experience. Most recently they have joined the rest of the school, preparing for the school production, “The Lion King”. I enjoyed working with this class and wish all students, families and staff the very best for the holidays and for 2021.

Here we are at the end of the weirdest year ever. Even though we are all hanging out for the end, I’m thinking our friend COVID will continue to challenge us in the coming year. And we will manage. Just like we did this year.

The year 6-12 class finished HASS studies for the year with a look at Australia’s worst bushfires. They researched a particular fire, its causes, the damage done to property, animals and human life, and what changes have been implemented to aid prevention. One discovery the students found fascinating was that even though last summer’s fires were devastating in terms of wildlife and property lost, they were relatively well managed in terms of human life. This was because of the change to the ‘stay and defend or go’ policy, which became the ‘just go’ policy, meaning people were evacuated rather than trying to defend their properties.

For English we focused on personal narratives, where students were asked to look at a particular moment or event in their life and write about that. Some struggled to come up with ideas, we looked at an example from my own memories (being SO OLD I had no trouble coming up with past events!) and this helped get the creative juices flowing. We have continued working on grammar, spelling and vocabulary, and I feel all students have improved in these areas over the year.

For the last two weeks of the year we are working around play practice to design, bake and construct our own gingerbread houses. These are coming along nicely and will be assembled and decorated on Friday afternoon. I apologise for the sugar rush that will no doubt follow.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank parents and community members for giving me the opportunity to teach my first year at Hawker Area School. I have thoroughly enjoyed my year and hope the kids have as well. I will be returning next year to teach English and HASS for the secondary students, and will also be taking on Home Ec and HPE for years 6-9. I’m excited and in the early planning stages for the two new subjects, as well as planning for a new cohort of students for my core subjects.

I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas, and stays safe and sane during the silly season. I look forward to whatever 2021 brings us.

Mrs Sharon Bates

Year 6-12 Teacher / SACE Coordinator

The past year has certainly been a rollercoaster for all of us. But the key constants throughout the last four weeks, and indeed the whole of 2020, has been our relationships and partnerships with you as a whole Hawker Area School community.

This has been a real strength, that has helped to continue the learning for students. I had high and low moments this year but on looking back over the year, I feel nothing but pride. Pride for our children who built their resilience and grew stronger by continuing with their learning.  Regardless of the Covid -19  some of our students achieved very pleasing results. 

I would like to acknowledge our senior school students of year 11 and 12. They worked extremely hard and created a great example to the younger generation of students on how to study and behave in the last two years of high school and study SACE. Our senior students demonstrated how to stay on task and never give up as well as how to push yourself to do your personal best.  Great job Rebekah, Katika and Sean. Congratulations on your personal successes.

I am looking forward to next year when I am going to teach not only mathematics and science but also share with our students my culture – Polish, by teaching students Polish language. Languages are the bedrock of the world’s cultural heritage. Every language offers a rich and unique insight into different ways of thinking and living as well as into the history of the myriad of cultures and peoples across the globe.  By learning Polish, students gain access to the second most widely spoken Slavic language – with some 55 million native speakers, the only more common Slavic language is Russian. And considering that the Polish diaspora (traditionally called Polonia) has been one of the most active and mobile elements of the nations’ forming big centres in the US, Canada, Germany and Britain ( Polish is currently England’s second most common language).

I hope that you all have a great holiday break and I am looking forward to teaching at Hawker Area School in 2021.                               

Mrs Lidia Szelzak

Mathematics and Science Teacher