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Principals Report
I hope all our families have had a good break. It has been a busy start to the term as new staff have settled in and everyone else has returned from the holidays.
We welcome a new staff member, in Peter Russell to our school. Peter is working as an SSO in classes mainly and brings with him experience in schools on and off over the years, with teacher experience in the past. He also has a background in sport and athletics which will be an asset to our staff and students.
We have had some staffing changes this term to report on:
- Amanda Hilder is working as the Foundation to Year 2 teacher five days a week.
- Priya Moyle and Sharon Lam are now teaching Year 5-6 English and Maths respectively for six lessons a week. Ingrid Condon at these times will be teaching the Year 3-4 students in English and Maths.
The school will have it’s Open Day on Thursday August 15th, from 1.15pm to 4.30pm. This represents a change in timing from previous years when we held our Open Nights. Parents will have the opportunity to visit classrooms of their children and find out about their learning. It represents an opportunity to:
- See their child’s work, or ongoing work.
- Get an insight into assessment tasks and the learning involved.
- Meet classroom and subject teachers.
It won’t be an opportunity to see a teaching and learning activity as this would not suit the purpose of the activity, but more to observe students at work. As part of the visit parents can talk to their children, who will be able to take them on a presentation of their work, and engage in conversation with their parents to pass on an understanding of the work they are doing. Students will be able to take their parents to a different class if necessary to show off their work in that learning environment. There will be a normal dismissal of students at the end of the school day ie 3.10pm, however classrooms will remain open until 4.30pm to allow those who can’t make it earlier to bring their children back to school to see their work. Parents coming to school on this day please check in through the front office.
Later on this term in Week 9 the school will hold it’s second round of Parent Student Teacher interviews. This will be another opportunity to receive information on their students progress at this important stage of the year. In Term Four our reporting process returns to written reports.
We have a variety of events and programs coming up this term:
- The Children’s University Program continues with lunchtime activities for students to accumulate their hours to graduate and gain the opportunity to attend the awards ceremony in Adelaide. Last week our mentor came up and the students got the chance to launch some impressive rockets!
- SRC Meetings continue to be held on Tuesdays, The representatives have had a productive time this year, finishing off their term with the production of an impressive range of soaps.
- The Book Fair will be held in Week 3.
- Open Day, as mentioned earlier, will be held on Thursday August 15th.
- Quorn Area School Sports Day will be on Friday August 16th. Information on this has gone out in week 2 of the term.
- Book Week from August 19th to 23rd. This includes the Book Week Dress Up Day on August 20th, which includes the parade at 11am.
- The Hawker Area School Sports Day will be on Friday September 6th.
- Parent Student Teacher Interviews on September 17th and 18th.
- Leigh Creek Area School Combined Sports Day (Including Marree Aboriginal School, Oodnadatta Aboriginal School and SOTA) on September 27th, which is also the last day of term.
In week 10 last term our students had their whole school excursion to Nilpena, which turned out to be a great learning experience for all involved. Our students were broken up into three groups for the day which focused on there different activities:
- Viewing the history of the region through an audio visual presentation projected onto a rock bed placed in the presentation area. Fossils in the bed were brought to life as the narrator spoke of the geological and biological history of the region. Students through this had the chance to see and hear how ancient life forms took on weird and wacky forms as evolution played its game of developing life on earth. The presentation started with the voice of local parent and cultural officer in National Parks Arthur Coulthard presenting the Adnyamathanha perspective on our region’s history.
- An Adnyamathanha cultural presentation on the area by Bev Patterson detailing the significant cultural sites at Nilpena Ediacara National Park.
- A visit to the Research site in the hills nearby which has ancient fossils staring you in the face! Our students listened to Dr Mary Droser’s talk about the incredible site and had the chance to explore the fossil beds and mould their own Ediacara Fossils using special putty.
The students had a great time on the day, and came home pretty tired! Over the rest of a very big last week of school our students had the visit from the Adelaide Youth Orchestra, which included a workshop with our IMS students. After this our students also attended the Ikara Big Day Out at Wilpena on Thursday. Many thanks to Amanda Hilder for her efforts in coordinating the Nilpena Excursion, Kate Mawson and Lisa O’Neill similarly for the Adelaide Youth Orchestra visit and Karmela Coulthard for the coordinating the Ikara Big Day Out.
Once again welcome to another term at Hawker Area School. Any parents wishing to contact myself or staff at the school can do this through contacting our Front Office on 86484003 or by emailing me at daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au. Have a lovely term.
Mr Daren O'Neill
Principal
Hi all, Term 3 promises to be a busy one, particularly for sport. By the time this newsletter is published, students from the 3-6 class will already have participated in the Hot Shots Tennis tournament in Port Augusta and will be gearing up for the Quorn sports day.
In our classroom, we have been studying time and angles, and our focus in English has been on persuasive writing. In HASS, we have been investigating the history of the Flinders Ranges, before embarking on the topic of the colonisation (or invasion) of Australia.
Don’t forget our Open Day on 15 August, where you can visit and see our learning journeys for yourselves!
Ms Ingrid Condon
Year 3-6 Teacher
Madi wrote this as a letter for her SACE practice essays for English.
Priya Moyle
Year 7-12 Teacher
Exciting News in Mathematics!
We are thrilled to announce that one of our students, Jaiy Hately, has been awarded a Mathematics scholarship from the University of Adelaide. Jaiy will complete senior secondary Mathematics courses delivered by the University of Adelaide for free. These courses will count as university prerequisites, paving the way for his future academic endeavors. Congratulations to Jaiy for his hard work and dedication to Mathematics since the start of this academic year!
Rural Youth Ambassador
Madison Hately was selected to become one of the twenty Rural Youth Ambassador in South Australia. She had the opportunity to meet the Director of the Department for Education and other like-minded senior secondary school students. Congratulations to her achievement and experience ahead of this year.
Science
In our SACE subjects, we would like to acknowledge the generosity of Charlene's Quilting & Patchwork in Jamestown for their kind donation of fabric to Madison Hately for her chemical experiment. We sincerely thank them for their support of our SACE student!
This term in Secondary Science lessons, our focus will be on physics, particularly electricity. Students will explore concepts such as Ohm’s Law and the construction of electrical circuits. I am committed to using innovative pedagogy and providing hands-on learning experiences. Our Science Lab is now fully equipped with experimental kits for studying heat, sound, and electricity, allowing students to engage directly with scientific concepts and apply their knowledge to real-life situations.
Mathematics Achievements
Our secondary school students have excelled in Mathletics this term. Jimmy Morgan is the top student in South Australia, achieving the highest points among South Australian students in a single week. We also celebrate our first Silver certificate recipient, William Du Bois. To earn this honor, students must consistently earn at least 1,000 points each week for five weeks. William's achievement is a testament to his passion and continuous dedication to learning Mathematics.
In addition, I will begin teaching Years 5-6 Mathematics in Term 3.
Student Representative Council (SRC)
Our student representatives are undertaking an exciting fundraising project. They have designed, created, and packaged soap bars, which they will sell in the community. This project is an excellent opportunity for students to develop creative, critical thinking, and entrepreneurship skills. Through their involvement in every stage of the project, students will gain valuable experience in running a business and strengthen the connection between school and community. We will continue to collaborate with Parents and Friends throughout the term.
Children’s University Activities
In the Children’s University lunchtime activities, students successfully launched bottle rockets on the oval in Week 2. This activity fostered creative thinking and problem-solving skills. When our Children’s University communicator, Richard, learned that Year 7 student Esme enjoyed drawing comics, he generously gifted her a comic drawing book and scheduled a meeting to discuss drawing techniques. With his years of experience in comic art, Richard regularly hosts workshops for students across regional South Australia.
Every Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime, students can participate in Children’s University activities to accumulate hours for the Term 4 Graduation at the University of Adelaide.
Term 3 is a busy time for all things sport. In week 3 we have Hot Shots Tennis for the year 3-6 class and in week 4 we have the whole school going to participate in the Quorn Area School Sports Day. In week 5, students who perform well in Quorn will be invited to participate in the District Sports Day against other schools. In week 7, we will hold our own school Sports Day. We will again invite Leigh Creek, SOTA, Marree and Oodnatata. If anyone is able to volunteer to help out on the day with timing, measuring or recording, that would be so greatly appreciated. Later in the term the year 5-6 students will have the chance to participate in SAPSASA table tennis, and there may be some other sporting opportunities late in the term in Leigh Creek. More information on these later events will be shared ASAP so stay tuned!
Miss Hayley Brown
Health and Physical Education Teacher
Teacher Librarian: Ailsa Green; CLA: Leonie McKenzie
“School libraries provide a social space to meet, collaborate, research, learn, share, and relax. The school library can be seen as one of the only spaces in a school which is truly free — the space that is not 'home' or a 'classroom', and which can be without academic, sporting, or family expectations.” The Importance of School Libraries in the Google Age
Our library is a safe place into which all are welcome. It provides access to stories, information, and technology. Through developing our own collection and connecting with the public libraries network in South Australia, we can provide resources that fit the needs of our community. The library gives students the independence to choose their own reading materials and to find resources that will help them develop their interest and strengths at their own pace. Thank you, parents/caregivers, for your support of the library and encouraging your child to develop good reading habits.
Firstival
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July is the month in the Public Library scene when libraries across South Australia provide opportunities for everyone to experience doing something they haven’t done before, or at least not done in a library. Hawker School Community Library held their Firstival event to coincide with NAIDOC Week. Anna Oakey shared with the F-2 and Kindy students about the way that Aboriginal people shared their stories before paper and canvas had been invented. The students had fun experimenting with drawing Aboriginal symbols in sand. They painted their hand to do a handprint onto canvas and then onto paper, where they drew the Aboriginal symbols as well. Thank you Anna for being so well prepared and doing such a great job sharing with the students and involving them in the activities. She also did the activity with the families that attended our Thursday morning story time session. |
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Reading is Magic is the theme for Book Week this year, which will be held from August 17-23. Our dress-up day will be held on Tuesday, August 20, so come dressed in your favourite book character or something magical ready for the parade that will be held @ 11 a.m. on the Tuesday starting near the library. A whole school activity will be held after the parade. |
Digital Technologies
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This term, the F-2 students are moving on from learning about systems in general to focus on digital systems (i.e., computers), including hardware, software and peripherals. The 3/4 students are starting this term learning about staying safe when working online, while the 5/6 students have begun their journey into the world of the binary number system-the system that is behind everything that a computer does. |
Hello. My name is Peter Russell and I am a recent addition to the School staff. I am finding the students and staff to be very welcoming. You might find me driving the bus, in the classroom or working the front office. I am trying to specialise in variety. I became a teacher in 1988, but left to work with adults and do various other jobs about 20 years ago. I was a special needs teacher in Pirie and Port Augusta, and trained teachers and health workers in the NT, and might re-register one day, though I am enjoying my other roles at the moment. I was a captain of the Adelaide Harriers Athletics club, so I want to help the school at sports days. I have bought a house in Hawker, so intend to be around awhile, and my early retirement plans are on hold for now.
Peter Russell
Student Support Officer
NOTICEBOARD