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Like all years this year has been a fast start, with the Quorn Swimming Carnival being delayed but then held finally on the Tuesday of Week 3. As a result of this our Student Parent Teacher Interviews were moved back to this week, on Tuesday and Wednesday. We welcomed our new staff member Lisa Simpson to our school, and have since had two Year 12 enrolments arrive in Jackson Byrne and Nate Kinbacher. Our students have settled into their classes:
- Foundation to Year 2 with Amanda Hilder and Penny McCulloch
- Year 3 to 6 with Victoria Barratt
- Year 7 – 12 with Sharon Bates (HASS, English, HPE) and Sharon Lam (Maths and Science)
In addition to this Travis McDonald teaches Design and Technology to our Year 3 to 6 and 7 to 12 students. As mentioned earlier in the term Sharon Lam is now teaching in the LOTE area, delivering Chinese language and culture to our students from Foundation to Year 8. Ailsa Green also has a teaching role with our Foundation to Year 2 class and Year 3 to 6 classes delivering in the Digital Technology area. In addition to this Ailsa Green and Stef Teague (community rep) are taking on the leadership role with our SRC, more on this to come later in the term. Karmela Coulthard continues at the school in the very important role of ACEO for our students, working across our year levels and putting an Adnamatna perspective on curriculum in the HASS area.
Well done to our students in Week 3 when they finally had the chance to go to Quorn to participate in the swimming carnival. The attitude of our students was fantastic, participating in their chosen races and giving it a good go. At the end of the carnival four students received invites to participate in Booleroo at the MNSEC carnival:
- Maddison Hately
- Jackson Byrne
- Lachlan Hilder
- Jaiy Hately
Student Parent Teacher interviews are now this week. It was good to see that many parents booked interview timeslots, for them and their children to speak to class and subject teachers.
Term overviews from class teachers are included in this newsletter, please have a read. Enjoy the term. I will be going on Long Service Leave from March 13th, in my place will be Jan Love, the former Principal from Leigh Creek.
Have a great term.
Mr Daren O'Neill
Principal
Welcome to 2023 and this year the Junior Primary Class has two classroom teachers who teach all but two of the subject lines. Amanda Hilder is the classroom teacher on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and myself, Penny McCulloch on Thursday and Friday. We are excited to be team teaching this year and working with the parents/guardians, students and other work colleagues to provide great outcomes for the students. We would like to welcome our new students Archie, Eden, Fin and Rhys into the Foundation year level this year and all the wonderful students from last year back here for some magnificent learning and exploration of many different kinds.
Read, Write Inc is a program the school uses for the initial learning to read and write which we do each morning. Mrs Hilder follows up with a focus on the writing aspects in English and Ms McCulloch on the reading, viewing and comprehension of text. In Maths, Mrs Hilder focusses on Number and Algebra and Ms McCulloch works with Measurement and Space followed by Chance and Data.
Mrs Hilder also teaches Science and Design and Technology and Ms McCulloch teaches HASS (History and Social Science) HPE (Health and Physical Education) and Art. All these subjects intergrate with one another especially the English and Maths.
Foundation - Yr 2 Teacher
Hi all, and welcome to 2023.
We have had a pretty good start to the year, welcoming the year 3's into our class and getting back into the swing of things.
In Maths this term the year 3 and 4's are looking at place value while the year 5's have been working with factors, multiples and learning all about prime and square numbers. Later in the term we will be working with fractions.
We are studying biology in Science this term and the class has been looking at living and non-living things, with the year 3's and 4's focusing on characteristics of living things, and determining why somethings are not living. The year 5's are looking at adaptations and evolution.
In English we are looking at parts of speech, and have done some creative work with verbs, adverbs and adjectives, and we are also playing around with and creating some poetry. So far we have looked at acrostic poems and haikus.
Health has seen us looking at different emotions, what makes a good friend and inclusion and diversity. HASS has the year three's learning about the different states and territories of Australia, the year fours looking at sustainability and the year fives getting ready to move into studying how bushfires and floods change the environment around us.
This year, the children are excited to be learning touch typing and basic computer skills, such as creating and saving documents and sending and receiving emails, amongst other things, in computing class. We are also looking at recycling and sustainability, along with the occasional cooking lesson every now and then.
As mentioned above, it has been a great start to the year and I look forward to the upcoming year with the 3-5 class.
Miss Victoria Barratt
Year 3-6 Teacher
Welcome to the new year, we’ve already had some unavoidable disruptions, hopefully they won’t be continuing.
English 7-10
English at the beginning of the term has been all about revision. We’ve been looking closely at spelling, grammar and sentence structure. Students have completed a cold write, which is the baseline writing skills test for the year. These will be assessed and students levelled so we can then decide how to help them progress to the next level.
Later in the term we will complete a book study (book is still to be confirmed…), where students will have the opportunity to look closely at a text, evaluate the themes involved and complete an assessment task.
English Stage 1 and 2
Stage One students have started the year by viewing the (very long!) Star Wars movie, Return of the Jedi. They are currently evaluating themes and literary devices used in the film, which they will use to complete their first assessment task for the year.
Stage Two has viewed a documentary, Sherpa; Trouble on Everest. They will now analyse and do an in-depth study on the cause and effect of accidents on Everest when people try to climb it and also look at the religious and cultural beliefs of the Sherpa.
HASS 7-10
We started the term as a whole class reviewing the historical understandings and looking closely at each one to make sure they were understood. Historical understandings include empathy, sources, contestability, significance, cause and effect, continuity and change and perspective. x
Students have now been split into groups and will complete a depth study on the following topics:
7/8 – Ancient Greece – we will look at traditions, customs, wars and legacies.
9 – World War 1 – looking at causes, warfare methods, Australian perspectives.
10 – Rights and Freedoms (1945-present) – looking at Aboriginal rights and freedoms since Federation, and what has been done and the work continuing to change that. Also including United Nations Human Rights post World War II.
Each lesson one group will be explicitly taught, while the other two will complete independent tasks.
Personal Learning Plan
Personal Learning Plan is a SACE Stage One subject. Students begin by looking at their strengths and weaknesses and goal setting. They will next look at the changing world or work including what our growth industries are. Students will then complete resumes, cover letters and mock interviews before completing a week of work experience.
PE – 7-10
So far this term for PE we have played a variety of invasion games including capture the flag and indoor balloon volleyball (it was hot outside!). We will continue to focus on invasion games this term while trying to be a little creative with indoor games while it’s hot outside.
Mrs Sharon Bates
Year 7-12 Teacher
- 7-10 Science: Our science students were busy exploring the microscopic world this term. They learned about the structure and organelles of cells, sketching their observations for better understanding. Students also created 3D designs using Makers Empire, focusing on the theme of natural disasters. From tornadoes to tsunamis, our students had a blast learning about these powerful forces of nature.
- 7-10 Mathematics: In Term 1, our students delved into the world of algebra and number theory. From solving equations to understanding the properties of numbers, our students gained valuable insights into these fundamental mathematical concepts.
- Chinese: In our Chinese class, we not only learn the language but also the culture. Students were introduced to the art of using chopsticks and learned simple Chinese characters through games and legends. Our class is a fun and interactive way to learn Chinese and to appreciate the rich Chinese heritage.
- Nutrition: Our nutrition class focused on the dangers of sugar this term. Students learned about the harmful effects of excess sugar consumption and the importance of a balanced diet. We even made a healthy and delicious banana milkshake using natural sweeteners instead of sugar. Our class is a great way to learn about nutrition and healthy eating habits.
Miss Sharon Lam
Mathematics / Science / Research Project / Chinese Teacher
10 Tips for Reading to Children
Now that the summer holidays are over, and the children have returned to school and kindy, there is the possibility of having some kind of order to your lives!! (We can live in hope ?) An important part of the routine in a day is reading to and with your child. Reading to and with your child daily is not only a wonderful bonding time, but also enhances their reading development. Here are 10 tips for reading to children that I found on a bookmark recently…
- Read aloud every day. 10 minutes of reading aloud every day makes an important difference to your child’s language and literacy development.
- Make reading fun. Read stories with enthusiasm! Change voices for different characters and alter the volume of your voice to build excitement.
- Talk, play and tell stories to your children. Tell your child stories every day about your day, their family, exciting things you’ve seen or done. Reading, storytelling, talking and play helps your child listen and develop social and language skills.
- Read anywhere. Read in a variety of places to your child. Read outdoors, in the park, at the beach and on the bus. Just like adults, children enjoy reading in different contexts and times of day.
- Read anything. Storybooks and picture books stimulate imaginations and foster a love of literature. But read recipes, newspapers, brochures, maps and other texts to support your child’s literacy levels in all aspects of their life.
- Listen to and praise your child reading aloud. Listen to your child read. Consistent reading aloud improves children’s reading and confidence. Wait patiently and let your child work out more difficult words. Praise them when they succeed and for their reading effort.
- Ask questions. Encourage your child to ask questions about what they are reading before, during and after reading. Ask them what happens next, why something stated is important, and discuss their feelings about events and opinions in the texts.
- Discuss the language in the texts. Move your finger under the words from left to right as you are reading. Encourage your child to do the same when they are reading. Stop now and again and discuss a particular work. Ask what it means and what other words are like it.
- Don’t forget the pictures! Focus on, celebrate and explore the visuals that go along with the text. These can be illustrations, maps, photographs or graphics and they often help your child understand the book or text being read.
- Be seen reading! Model reading to your child. Let them see you reading for entertainment and information. Ask them to join in when reading from the newspaper, measuring something from a recipe or viewing a text message.
Premiers Reading Challenge
The Challenge is a literacy engagement strategy that requires students to read 12 age-appropriate books in a year. Students who complete the challenge receive an annual award. It is open to all students from Reception to year 12 in South Australian government and non-government schools as well as home education students.
As the students progress through the challenge, they receive the following awards.
- First year – Certificate
- Second year – Bronze medal
- Third year – Silver medal
- Fourth year – Gold medal
- Fifth year – Champion medal
- Sixth year – Legend medal
- Seventh year – Hall of Fame medal
- Eighth year onwards – Hall of Fame Reader for Life award reflecting the number of years participated
Homegroup teachers are overseeing the completion of the Premier’s Reading Challenge for their class. For further information please contact your child’s teacher or come and see me in the library.
Pegi Williams Book Club
In previous years, families have been able to purchase books through Scholastic Book Club. This year, we are going to be using Pegi Williams Bookshop in Adelaide for our Book Club. Pegi Williams offers a wide range of fiction and information books published both in Australia and overseas, to suit everyone from our youngest readers right through to our young adults. The school will receive 20% of the sales in the form of credit, which we can use to purchase material for our library. Students will still be able to use their Attendance Book Vouchers. Look out for the brochure (1 per family) and order information come to your home soon.
National Simultaneous Storytime
We will be reading this story as a whole school @ 11 a.m. on Wednesday May 24, along with thousands of others across Australia and other countries of the world.
Book Week 2023
August 19-25 (Week 5, Term 3)
Theme: Read, Grow, Inspire
The Space to Dream Exhibition is coming to Hawker School Community Library again for the month of February. This exhibition will showcase the winning entries for the 2022 Space to Dream challenge. Although it won’t include any designs from our school, it will still be interesting to see what children around the state are doing in 3D design and printing.
Digital Technologies: Foundation to Year 6
I am working with the F-2 and 3-6 students once a week in Digital Technologies.
Digital Technologies gives students authentic learning challenges that foster curiosity, confidence, persistence, innovation, creativity, respect and cooperation. These are all necessary when using and developing information systems to make sense of complex ideas and relationships in all areas of learning. Digital Technologies helps students to be safe, respectful, creative and innovative learners, who are active, ethical citizens capable of being informed members of the community.
Currently, the F-2 students are learning about some of the digital systems we have in our world and how these systems help people. Digital systems are designed to store, process, and communicate information in digital form, e.g. computers, smartphones and cash registers.
The 3-6 students are using the core features of common digital tools (Maker’s Empire on the iPad) to plan, create, locate and share content as they are involved in learning about Natural Disasters. Students will apply problem-solving and design thinking methodologies to develop a way to prevent or minimise the damage caused by a natural disaster.
Mrs Ailsa Green Teacher Librarian and Ms Rosie Luckraft CLA
NOTICEBOARD