I would like to start this newsletter with a special mention about Rowan Bevan who has joined our list of winners in STEM challenges at Hawker. The F-6 students entered this year's Premier’s Reading Challenge STEM Challenge this year, as they have done for the last 3 years. This is in addition to the reading challenge that will be completed towards the end of this term.

This year there were 3,335 entries in the Premier's Reading Challenge STEM competition. The judging panel selected 38 outstanding entries to award prizes across four themes – STEM, Space, Nature and Green Hydrogen.  

Of the 38 outstanding entries, there were 11 age-group winners across the four themes. Rowan Bevan won in his age group for the ‘Nature’ Theme. 

It has been a busy start to the term with a few public and whole school events on our agenda, and more to come this term. One has been postponed for the moment, the Open day but still an eventful term lies ahead.

Already this term we have had the visit of Stephen Bell on the second Friday of term. Stephen presented to our audience details of his life as a mountaineer and presented with it lessons on facing your fear and being committed to your own goals personally. The audience from age 5 to parents who came along were engaged with Stephen’s message, this being evidenced by the interesting questions that were asked at the end.

In week four we are presenting the movie ‘The Last Daughter’ to our students from Year 5 upwards and have also made this screening available to the public. It is an impactful documentary that focuses on the history of the stolen generation, centering on the experiences of Brenda, who was removed from her family and returned later.

Other events for the term coming up are:

• Book Week– This will be on the week of August 21^st to 25^th with the theme Read, Grow, Inspire. Book week parade will be on Monday August 21^st with the Book Fair on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
• Quorn Area School Sports Day– straight after our Open Day, Quorn Area School will be having it’s Sports Day, on Friday August 25^th.
• Nilpena Excursion– a school excursion to Nilpena Ediacara National Park will happen on Monday September 11^th. Year levels to participate in the excursion will be released during the term.
• Hawker Area School Sports Day– Friday September 15^th.

Over recent years we have had Jack Pointon from Headspace attending our school to support the wellbeing of our students over the age of 12. Jack has now moved on and we thank him for his support of our students. In his place Ben McCann will now be attending Hawker Area School every fortnight to continue this service. Another change is that Headspace forms have now been changed so we are asking all families who want support from Headspace for students aged 12 and over to fill in the attached forms (consent and external referral) in this communication. They are also available from the front office in hard copy form and can be sent home with students on parent request.

NAPLAN reports will be going out to parents in week four. A few changes were made to the NAPLAN this year:

• Tests were held in March – all online except for Year 3 Writing.
• New proficiency standards have been introduced.

From this year the following new standards were introduced to NAPLAN reporting which replace the previous numerical NAPLAN reporting bands and national minimum standards. The intention is that Proficiency standards will provide clear information on student achievement. This year there are now 4 proficiency levels:

• Exceeding: The student’s result exceeds expectations at the time of testing.
• Strong: The student’s result meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing.
• Developing: The student’s result indicates that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
• Needs additional support: The student’s result indicates that they are not achieving the learning outcomes expected at the time of testing. They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.

Our construction project on our hardcourt area is progressing well, with the addition to the project of four new galvanised metal posts to replace the previous timber posts that have deteriorated over the years. This decision was made during the construction process, creating a delay due to their manufacture and delivery. The courts area will be completed soon, opening up the recreational options for students at the school. At the end of term our Disability Access Provision toilets will commence construction, the first phase of this involving the removal of asbestos. For this reason for the first part of the holidays the school site will be closed to school staff and the general community.

I look forward to seeing parents at school during the term. As always I can be contacted via our Front Office on 0886484003 or by my email daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au

In Art, the year 6-8 students are exploring perspective and landscape drawings followed by portrait painting. Year 3-6 students are also doing perspective and landscape drawings followed with more components of drama. Junior Primary are learning rhythms on percussion instruments and then fabric art using an African style of flour resistance for patterns.

Junior Primary

Junior Primary English comprise of the Read Write Inc program, sharing of morning talks, Heggerty which is a programme of listening for rhyme, sounds and syllables in words, hand writing and reading comprehension. Students have been exploring time with analogue and digital clocks, moving onto collecting and displaying data in Maths. In HASS, we are exploring the world and its continents. For Adnamatna with Karmy, we are exploring cultural stories and doing activities to go with them. Physical Education will be a range of sports day activities and in Health, we are combining growing healthy food in the garden and nice ways to enjoy the produce.

Term 3 begins with calm clarity.  We are enjoying the start to this important consolidation term. 

For English this term, most of my theme planning revolves around The BFG (The Big Friendly Giant) by Roald Dahl.  We read a chapter each Monday to Wednesday.  At the moment we are drawing the landscape around the BFG’s cave home.  We are using all the descriptive language to inform our drawing, and the students are doing such a good job.  In English we are continuing to use VCOP as a way of learning more about writing and how to check on and improve our writing.  You can see an example of my modelled weekend recount.  We use coloured card tabs to focus our learning.  Here we are focused on capital letters and full stops that appear in the text and why we use them.  We are also focusing on improving our use of connectives re the pink tab.

For number in Maths we are looking at Money-Australian coins, number sequences, counting strategies, worded problems using all operations relevant to skill levels, counting, subitizing and problem solving.

For Science we are looking at Natural Resources for the first 5 weeks and then Insects/Mini beasts for the second half of the term.

In Technology -Design we are concentrating on Processes.  We have looked at how balloons are made and you can see a picture of one of the assessments I gave to my years 2s here.  Very interesting.  We have begun learning how marbles are made and will also look at how chocolate is made as a whole class.  Once we have made these new discoveries we will look at designing some Summer footwear and listing out the steps we will take.  Also later in the term we will be learning about making models to show our design ideas.

Have a great term everyone.

Welcome to term 3, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. 

This term in Maths, the 3-6 class are looking at chance, probability and statistics. We will be looking at collecting data, by repeating chance events or observing everyday events; representing data, using different types of graphs; and interpreting data - writing up what the information tells us in sentence form.

Science has seen us looking at the topic of Earth Sciences with us starting off by studying rocks and minerals. We will soon be transitioning onto the water cycle and then looking at processes that change the Earth's surface, with the main focus being on natural disasters. 

In English, we will continue to work on punctuation and grammar. We will also focus on information report writing with the end goal having students write an informative piece on the country of Japan. We will be reading Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes in support of this topic. 

We are also focusing on reading fluency and comprehension with the aid of a new online program called Literacy Pro. This provides students with books aimed at their reading level along with comprehension activities to be completed after the book has been read.

In Health, we are starting the Child Protection Curriculum (CPC). This topic is taught in all schools all over South Australia and teaches students how to stay safe, strategies to help them in uncomfortable/dangerous situations, and how to recognise and report abuse. It is a delicate subject and if there are any concerns or questions about the topic, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school.

In HASS this term, we are looking at Civics and Citizenships. This started off with us looking at the three levels of Australian government and will move onto the differences between rules and laws and look at how laws are made in Australia. We will then focus on democracy and the other different types of government. 

Welcome back to term three, I have big plans for this term and we have hit the ground running with some great work already.

English 7-10

This term we are focusing on grammar, writing and reading. Which isn’t anything new, but we are trying a more structured approach. Each week we will look closely at an example of a well written sentence, a ‘mentor sentence’. We will spend 10 minutes everyday focusing on a particular grammar skill in that sentence, finishing with a small assessment where the students will show me they can use the skill in their own work. We are also conducting ‘writers workshop’ lessons this term, where we are slowing down, and looking really closely at the mechanics of good writing. This is all underpinned with reading. To write well, we need to read well. Students already spend 10 minutes per day in silent reading. This term I’ve decided to conduct reading conferences fortnightly with each student. This has two outcomes – 1) the students are accountable, they know I’m going to talk to them about what they’ve read, so they have to spend more time reading and less staring into space! 2) I regularly hear students read so I can monitor fluency and comprehension. Reading is like any skill, if we don’t practice it, we lose it!

On Wednesday, when we have a double lesson as a whole group, students will work on a project-based learning task. Year 7/8 are investigating what went wrong at a failed dinosaur park (think Jurassic Park) where they will map the island, research dinosaurs, plan their expedition, keep a journal and create a comic strip. Year 9/10 are writing a fantasy story which they will get the Year 2 students to illustrate, and then publish it using a self-publishing website.

HASS 7-10

We are switching back to history this term, with a study of Ancient Shogunate Japan. We have learned about Shoguns, Samurai, Ninjas, their weapons and codes of conduct, and will also be looking at the social hierarchy, role of women and religion. The students will complete a research task on a topic of their choice to complete their learning for this unit. While the topic is their choice, there are elements of research they all need to complete including planning, drafting and revising.

HPE 7-10

The PE element of HPE this term will focus on soccer, netball and sports day practice. We have applied for a track and field coach to come to the school through Sporting Schools, which we hope to conduct before sports day. The older students have also been teaching the Year 3-6 class how to high jump correctly which has been enjoyable for all concerned.

For health we are focusing on wellbeing. We have started out with learning about what part of our brain is responsible for which function. Next we will start looking at why we sometimes react the way we do, and how we can control the amazing super computer that is our brain. For this work we are using a program called Grow Your Mind, which is a comprehensive wellbeing program for schools.

Home Economics 9/10

As our Year 9/10 students have completed their personal learning plans, the second semester of the year will be Home Economics for them. This term we are focusing on healthy lunches and healthy breakfasts. So far we have cooked flat bread toasties, tacos, pancakes and French toast (not super healthy…but delicious!).

Ham, cheese and tomato toasted flat bread made by Annabelle.

Children’s University: Unlocking Young Minds' Potential

As we approach the end of the year, the excitement for this year's Children’s University program is building up. We want to remind all participating students that the deadline for accumulating 30 hours of enriching extracurricular activities is fast approaching – Monday of Week 10 this term. To ensure that your child's efforts are recognized, please encourage them to either log their hours on the CU portal or document them in their passport. Kindly remind them to communicate their logged hours to us before the impending deadline.

For those dedicated students who have successfully completed 30 hours of these invaluable extracurricular activities, a truly remarkable opportunity awaits. They will have the honor of attending the prestigious graduation ceremony at the esteemed University of Adelaide, marking an impressive milestone in their journey of learning and growth.

Show Me the Money Workshop: Unveiling Currency Conversions

In line with our commitment to nurturing well-rounded individuals, we have introduced the "Show Me the Money" workshop this term. This engaging workshop empowers students with valuable insights into exchange rates and equips them with essential knowledge for their future travel adventures. Participants have been exploring various currencies from around the world, broadening their horizons and sharpening their financial literacy.

National Science Week: Celebrating Science and Discovery

Get ready for a week full of scientific wonders! Next week marks Australia's annual celebration of science and technology – National Science Week. At Hawker Area School, we're excited to offer a range of engaging activities catered to different grade levels:

For our F-2 students, it's all about aerodynamics! They'll be crafting paper plane launchers and even having a chance to create their own cotton candy, time permitting.

Students in Years 3-6 will collaborate in groups to construct marshmallow towers, fostering teamwork and creativity. They'll also step into the realms of virtual reality to experience awe-inspiring simulations.

Our Year 7-10 students will embark on an exhilarating mission to build water rockets in teams, combining scientific principles with hands-on engineering.

Science Studies: Exploring Biodiversity and Sustainability

The journey of scientific exploration continues for our years 7-10 students. This term, they've delved into the captivating realm of biodiversity. Armed with their innovative spirit, they've constructed both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) environments to elucidate the critical concept of sustaining biodiversity. Alongside understanding the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss, students have used VR devices to immerse themselves in the worlds they've created and AR devices to project their creations. Furthermore, they've familiarized themselves with the United Nations' 17 sustainable development goals, broadening their global perspective.

Embracing Multiculturalism Through Makers Empire Challenges

Our students in the Chinese program have been fervently embracing multiculturalism through the Makers Empire challenges. With creativity flowing, they've harnessed the power of 3D design to craft traditional Chinese food, clothing, and an array of intricate Chinese lanterns. These projects not only celebrate cultural diversity but also showcase our students' innovation and artistic talents.

Mathematics Marvels: Exploring Algebra and Geometry

The world of mathematics is always evolving at Hawker Area School. Our Year 7-8 students have embarked on an exciting journey through algebra. They're now learning the art of expanding, simplifying, and factorizing algebraic expressions. The adventure continues as they delve deeper into algebraic concepts this term.

Building upon the foundation of measurement from the previous term, our Year 9-10 students are now immersed in the fascinating realm of triangles. They've conquered the intricacies of finding unknown angles and sides in right-angled triangles, as well as grasped the profound principles of Pythagoras' Theorem and Trigonometry.

Communication visuals are an essential part of every day life for our SWAN students. Our focus in Ruby's learning space has been largely visuals-oriented, with Ruby making fantastic progress in reading and following directions that include multiple visual prompts (full sentences made from PODD visual images). 

In literacy, we are using PODD visuals to help Ruby share stories about things from her own life, by creating short books for Ruby to read, with PODD  visuals to tell the story. The story above is a work in progress, and Ruby loves finding the animals from her PODD book in library books, and asking to watch documentaries to learn more about them. 

The fantastic thing about PODD visuals is that they are easily understood by those who haven't seen them before, so they're a very important tool for our non-verbal students to communicate with others.

We now have a PODD book available in the library for any interested students to explore at lunch time.

Hawker Area School Breakfast Club has had a great start to term 3.

We have had a good roll up of children and numbers increasing this week.

Thank you to all supporting the program.

The club has been a combination of smiley faces and the toasty machine going a million miles a minute.

Its been a big boost this week with Foodbank SA kindly delivering this terms stock to the school last Friday.

Foodbank make these breakfast foods available to us free of charge. 

We will have a little amount of fruit available at recess these coming weeks, kindly supplied by FOODBANK.

If anybody would like to consider volunteering a morning in the breakfast club, please contact Robyn at Hawker Area School. 

You would need a Child safe clearance and a few other particulars, if you don't already have this, we could probably help you obtain it.