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I hope everyone has had a good holiday break, our students mostly came back in the first week with a few exceptions still at home, and this number has improved since. We are looking forward to the term and steadily getting back to the core programs we run that had been disrupted by the attendance fluctuations associated with the present pandemic. Teachers had developed their programs at the end of last term and have continued to adapt them to the changing situation – a lot of work has gone into these preparations and I thank them for these enormous efforts that they have put in.
We welcome two staff to our school this term. Jacqui Schulz has arrived to take on Indonesian and Performing Arts. She will be teaching Indonesian from a cultural perspective with some language input as well. Jacqui is also teaching Performing Arts with a focus on Dance and Drama to our F – 2, Year 3 – 5 and Year 6 – 9 classes. With our production of the Lion King to hopefully occur this year, (which now is looking more likely with the changing COVID situation) more of the curriculum time here will go into this production as the year goes on. Our other new teacher is Kate Retelsdorf, who is teaching Instrumental Music on Mondays. Kate’s area of teaching will be with the flute, clarinet and saxophone, with an ensemble lesson also every three weeks for our students.
The significance for students and staff is that the features of Office 365 and Teams are now well within our reach, at school and at home. At the end of last term and the start of this one, students have become familiar with this environment and other software also and with further professional learning staff will have the opportunity to assist our students to use these apps even further. These apps are also available to
students at home on any computer. By logging into Office.com students can install the complete Office 2019 suite on any computer, iPad, tablet, laptop, desktop or mobile phone. This will allow for increased flexibility for students to go into their work at home or simply to share what they are doing at school with their parents. The apps in the Office 365 suite will provide students with tools in a wide range of areas, from basic word processing, working with data and spreadsheets, audio visual presentations, video editing, collaboration and sharing activities, website construction and video conferencing.
For any student who does not have the latest Office suite on their computer at home, all they need to do is to login to Office.com with their Learnlink username and password (no www. required!) and click on the Install Office option shown above. I would encourage this to happen where possible, each student in fact has the capacity to install this suite on five different devices.
As always I can be contacted at the school on 86484003 or by my email daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au .
Mr Daren O'Neill
Principal
From the land of the little people…
Welcolme back Everyone. As I write this update we are closing in on the end of week 2 term 2. The term has begun at full speed and in 10 days of school we have achieved a lot. Recent testing on Read Write Inc levels has shown much impressive progress.
This term the F-2 class are studying under a few different themes that I am creating based on picture books I have selected. The first picture book is: A Walk in the Bush. Other than Read Write Inc. and Maths, every other subject area has strong links with the book. I will repeat this format every fortnight with different picture books.
Over the first fortnight we have looked at; Needs for living and external features-Science, simple maps and a hike-Geography, ANZAC and the book ANZAC biscuits, writing a narrative as if we were there-History, Prepositions, reading with expression-English, Skipping-PE and Health. Maths has been all about addition and practising the skills of counting on, repeated addition, adding multiple single digit numbers, using numberlines. Also this term we have introduced a sensory book that some students use at times to regulate their heightened feelings.
I’m looking forward to sharing what we get up to over the next 6 weeks in the next class update.
Mrs Amanda Hilder
Foundation - Yr2 Teacher/Literacy Coordinator
School Sport
For the duration of term 2, our school will be participating in Jump Rope for Heart and The Premiers Be Active Challenge.
As a proud school community, we care about ourselves and others. That’s why we’re excited to be part of Jump Rope for Heart 2020. Jump Rope has been getting little Aussies active and raising funds to fight heart disease for over 35 years. In that time a lot has changed, but Jump Rope remains as relevant as ever, because today:
- 1 in 4 children (aged 5-17) are overweight or obese
- 80% don’t get the daily recommended 60 minutes of vigorous physical activity
- Heart disease is Australia’s biggest killer. Please – watch this space – as our students have fun, learn new skills and improve their heart health…all while demonstrating their compassion and community spirit.
Alongside of this, we will be participating in the Premiers Be Active Challenge. The challenge provides a great opportunity to encourage physical activity in the school community. The aim is to get students doing 60 + minutes of physical activity on at least 5 days of the week. This is not too far-fetched as they have access to PE lessons and various activities at recess and lunch times. Physical activity can help with focus, improve behaviour and promote a positive attitude.
3-5 News
This term the 3-5 Engliish class will continue to read the Indian in the Cupboard and complete a book study. The book is about a boy named Omri who’s toy comes to life when he places it into a magical cupboard. Later in the term we will aim to watch the movie and then compare the two.
In HASS this term we are focusing on the topic ‘Australia’s first people’. We will cover subjects such as How Australia’s first people lived, language groups, creation stories and why colonies where established. Students will be working on their reading, writing and research skills.
Miss Hayley Brown
Year 3-5 Teacher / HPE Coordinator
Welcome back to term two! We have hit the ground running and are forging ahead with a full program of English and HASS in the secondary class. The students have come back after their three week break ready to work and are doing really well so far.
Year 6-9 English
This term we continue our book study ‘Mahtab’s Story’ that follows the journey of a young Afghani girl as she flees the Taliban to Australia. This will culminate in an assessment task to assess comprehension and knowledge of the text.
I have decided to dedicate one English lesson per week to grammar (which the students are thrilled about!). Considering the varying year levels in the class, we will start with the basics and progress to concepts that are more difficult.
The first couple of weeks of term have been spent on poetry. The year 6/7 group are learning the elements of poetry, focusing on aspects of language conventions, descriptive language and the structure of different poems. The year 8/9 group are looking at Indigenous poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal (formerly Kathy Walker). Oodgeroo Noonuccal was the first Indigenous poet to be published in Australia and her poems are beautifully written, visual and descriptive. These poems look at loss through an Indigenous lens and were written in various forms. Students are looking at the language used, the audience aimed at and the historical content.
Year 11 English
This term we were supposed to see a play and write a review, but due to restrictions, this has now become an analysis of an advertising campaign. The advertising campaign can be on television, radio, internet or print media and we will look at the target audience, rhetorical devices and analyse specific advertising appeals and techniques. This term will also see our SACE student produce an in depth comparison and analysis of two books, plays, movies or songs to complete the requirements for SACE Stage 1.
Year 6-9 HASS
Unlike history, geography has quite different expectations between year levels in the Australian Curriculum. To accommodate that, the class has been split in two, with the year 6/7 group studying place and liveability. They will look at how liveable Australia is, and compare it to another country. They will also consider what it means to be Australian, what makes our culture unique, and where we fit in the world.
The year 8/9 group are learning about geomorphic processes, specifically weathering and erosion. By the end of the unit, they will be able to define weathering and erosion, and the difference between the two. They will also display knowledge of the weathering process, and what causes it and also the different types of erosion. The focus has been mostly on Australian landforms, with some international ones included. We have also taken the opportunity to look at Indigenous stories and legends for these formations around the world.
Mrs Sharon Bates
Year 6-12 Teacher / SACE Coordinator
This year is a year that we all are going to remember. First massive fires, continuing drought and now Covid 19. Although our community is small, we are very affected by the events of this year. As you are all aware, I have been working from home, you probably question, what does it mean for your child's education – I sincerely think that, my preparation and the way that I work with your children, should bring positive results. I have worked very hard to create meaningful taks, that are full of challenges for all my students.Year 6-9 mathematics students’ in the first part of Term 2 will learn about the mathematical application of concepts like: percentage, discount, profit and loss. Students will learn their new skills and master/ improve older skills of conversion of percentages to fractions and to decimals. Traditionally it is a difficult concept for some students to grasp and students will need all the support that they can get.
Although I work from home, every lesson I have been working with students via Teams. I conference with them and give students my total support and opportunity to ask questions or help to solve their problems in lessons when they arise. We have also been able to send each other messages and emails, which will be an icreasingly important skill for our students as they move closer to SACE. I check their work to ensure that students are on the correct path. Some of our students are exceding my expectation in the way they have adapted to the new learning environment and how well and hard they work.
I have also kept in touch with the students that have learnt from home. Some students do not have any ways of communications other than on the phone. I adapted their learning material that has been posted home, to help students with their learning journey. I also try to call students at least twice a week if I can get the connection.
In Term 2 our 3-5 students during science lessons will start learning about Biodiversity and Food Web.
Mrs Lidia Szelzak
Mathematics and Science Teacher
Senang bertemu denganmu nama saya Bu Schulz; nice to meet you my name is Jacqui Schulz and I am teaching Indonesian Language and The Arts here at Hawker Area School. I am a passionate teacher and have been professionally involved in teaching for more than 20 years and in a non-professional role for many more as I began teaching Sunday School in my teenage years and swimming in my twenties. I have qualifications in The Early Years Education 0 – 8 years, Accelerated Literacy and Leadership in the Early Years. Last year I had a teaching contract in the far north of South Australia at Indulkana Anangu School as the Intervention teacher. I have been a classroom teacher and have had contracts in roles like the one I have here at Hawker Area School and in Kindergartens as the Director, so as you can see, I done a bit of everything in the school and pre-school.
I am married to Robert and he is a farmer at Saddleworth. We have three adult children and three grandsons. Robert and I like camping and had begun to travel overseas in recent years. We have travelled through Hawker on many camping trips either heading north or returning from somewhere in our beautiful outdoors. I’m looking forward to being able to go camping again soon. I’m also looking forward to meeting the families of the students that I’m teaching. When the restrictions are lifted please come and introduce yourselves to me. Selamat sampai jumpa – until we meet stay safe.
Mrs Jacqui Schulz
Language and Performing Arts Teacher
From the Library
ASLA (Australian School Libraries Association) has provided access to on-line resources for parents and carers that will help maximise the opportunities for your children to obtain independent lifelong learning and decision-making skills. Check out the website where you will find information on using Safe YouTube (a version of YouTube that will not show pop up ads or links to further videos) and free on-line resources provided by publishers, authors and illustrators amongst other things.
Webinars for Parents and Carers
You may be interested in joining one or more of the free webinars for parents and carers provided by the eSafety Commissioner. The live webinars explore the latest research and expert advice for using technology safely. There are PDF versions that you can download and read.
Library and Information Week
Library and Information Week is held every year at the end of May. The aim of the week is to raise the profile of libraries and information service professionals in Australia and the services that libraries provide to the community.
On Wednesday May 27, the school will be holding the annual National Simultaneous Storytime at 11 a.m., joining other participants across Australia and New Zealand in reading the picture book, Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas, which is written and illustrated by Lucinda Gifford. Further information will be provided closer to the date.
Book Week 2020
In our first newsletter for the year, I stated that Book Week was going to be in August. However, due to the disruption to school life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the date has been changed to October, Term 4. Information on how we will celebrate Book Week will be supplied later in the year.
Visual Arts
This term, we are continuing to investigate the work of Spanish painter Joan Miró, who was influenced by art movements such as Expression, Cubism and Surrealism. Later in the term, the F-5 students will be learning about the work of Austrian-born visual artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
The Archibald Prize is an annual prize exhibited at the art gallery of NSW. It was set up by a bequest in the will of Jules Francois Archibald in 1919. The bequest stipulated that first prize was to be awarded to an Australian artist for the best portrait of a man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics. It was the first major prize for portraiture in Australian art. Perhaps, one day in the future, one of our Year 6-9 students will win the Archibald Prize. Currently, they are developing their skills in portrait drawing. We will continue studying portraits using different mediums over the coming term.
Check out our art gallery below of some of our students’ work in recent weeks.
Digital Literacy
Migration: People on the Move continues to be the topic we are covering with the Year 3-5 students. We are reading the novel, Refugee by Alan Gratz, which looks at the lives of 3 children from 3 different countries in 3 different times in the 20th and 21st century who are forced to leave their homeland and flee to a place of safety. At the present time, the students are collecting information in various forms (researching) and will present their research later in the term in a digital format.
Creating a Photostory is the topic the F-2 students are working on this term. We have just started learning about how photos can tell a story and the order we put them in can change the story. The students are working towards creating their own photostory using Book Creator on their iPads.
Mrs Ailsa Green Teacher Librarian and Ms Rosie Luckraft CLA
Our school kitchen garden is seeking your help! We have lots of seedlings planted out to grow tasty produce, but unfortunately the insects are destroying many of these. They are especially keen on munching on the beetroot, radish, and broccoli seedlings (more than half the radishes have vanished!)I am seeking clean milk bottles (or similar) to use to create barriers around the seedlings to keep the insects away.
Thank you for your help!
Mrs Lauren Johnson
School Services Officer
NOTICEBOARD