26 February 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principals Report

It has been a fast-paced start to our school year in Hawker and will be for a little while more on a school, partnership and state-wide level. Our first few weeks have involved professional activities aimed at reinforcing the state-wide approach to school improvement across all schools. The approach to improvement has been delivered from Adelaide and it is being reinforced at school and across all partnerships.

At the core of our actions is the state-wide Quality School Improvement program, which requires all schools to develop their own school improvement plans, the aim of which is to lift the performance of all students. The plan drawn up by Hawker Area School has three simple improvement goals, aimed at improvement for our students in the key areas of Reading, Writing and Numeracy. These goals are straight forward in their intent, with measurable targets that the school is aiming for to achieve improvement in the learning of our students. Backing up the goals and targets in the plan is our stated intentions for our teaching practice and how this will be evident in our actions in class and as a school. The strength of the plan is the focus on the learning of every student in our school. The plan will be ready for Governing Council soon and from here will be placed on our new website which is near completion.

In following the school improvement model the whole partnership attended the two Pupil Free days held at the beginning of this term in Roxby Downs. The specific focus of the professional development was the introduction of the Read Write Inc. program, which will form the basis of the teaching of the Synthetic Phonics approach to Reading and Writing. The simplest message behind the program is practice and an emphasis on starting literacy learning with the sounds of the English Alphabet, not the letters. The program is straight forward and aims to make reading enjoyable and give students the feeling that they are moving forward with their efforts. The secondary staff attending looked at the challenges of explicitly teaching reading and writing across the whole secondary curriculum. Students in secondary learning areas need to become confident in the reading of a variety of texts including reports, expositions, recounts, narratives, explanations, written discussions and different types of poetry, which then presents challenges in terms of the vocabulary and oral language associated with Secondary School Learning Areas. It is important that students in the more specialised subjects learn the genre, vocabulary and language of their subject areas. To do this they also need to be confident speakers who get the chance to engage in dialogue during lessons. There will be more on our PD days in a News Flash coming out soon.

As part of our push on school improvement and student success; parents; by the release of this newsletter would have attended our Goal Setting interviews with teachers and students. The focus in the first part of the year has been on student improvement, and how we can do this for each individual. This has been based around our own evidence of student learning and where greater success can be achieved. Teachers have worked with students to identify together what goals can be aimed for to improve. At the meetings goals for students have been set, as well as goals teachers and parents will have discussed to assist student improvement over 2019.

In this Newsletter you can expect to see previews by all our staff of their term programs for all classes. In addition to this staff have included their own reports such as our sports participation so far where Hayley Brown has reported on the swimming carnival in Quorn last week. As I said in an earlier News Flash it was pleasing to see how our students participated in the swimming carnival, many taking part in a large range of events. It was great to see that in some cases students overcame their concerns about swimming and increased their participation as the day went on, well done to those students.

On Monday 18th we held our AGMs for the Parents and Friends as well as the Governing Council. We look forward to parent participation on these committees; there will be a few projects that parents will be asked to be supportive in. One such project will be the establishment of a long jump and triple jump pit. The school had this in the past, and with our participation in sports all the way up to MNSEC level, students will appreciate the opportunity to develop their skills in these events. Both groups play an important role in the Governance of the school and parent support is significant at this level.

As always if parents want to make contact they can do this through the front office on 86484003 or by email at daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au.

Mr Daren O’Neill
Principal Hawker Area School

Foundation – Year 2

From the strange and mysterious land of the little people…

Welcome back to school and 2019! Well, we got off to a slow start with no school until Thursday in week 1 but then…BOOM…off we went. As I write this is the beginning of week 3 and we are fully submerged into our first overarching theme of, ‘The Best Beak in Boonaroo Bay’, a picture book by Narelle Oliver. All of my subject areas will reflect the picture book in some way…apart from Mathematics. We will study under this theme until and end of week 6 and then for the last five weeks of term 1 we will change our overarching theme to ‘Under the Sea’.

The following photo gallery shows; The class taking part in ‘hunting’ for food in 5 different ways with 5 different homemade beak shapes. We will use what we have learnt to solve problems in the future and the students also made observations in dot points about the Curlew.

For term 1 I will continue using the Jolly Phonics program as the basis for my spelling and grammar lessons. From term 2 onwards we are changing to a new system called Read Write Inc. I will inform parents/caregivers in due course about some changes that will directly impact your children through my teaching and through homework, and maybe through how we teach our children at home.

We are all settling in very well, and with our first excursion done and dusted already, I have to say everyone seems to be coping well.

Thank you to all of the support I have already enjoyed this year. In the fast moving and complex class which is our junior class we do need to have clear lines of communication open. We need to support our children to do their best at school and at home. Talking, talking, and talking…if that is all you have time for then go for it. The more your child speaks to you and family at home the more they will improve.

I enjoyed seeing you all at Parent/Teacher interviews last week and looking at each student Learning Goals.

Cheers for now.

Mrs Amanda Hilder
Foundation – Year 2 Teacher

Year 3-5 class

Welcome back! I hope everybody had a great holiday. This year in the year 3-5 class, we have a superhero theme!

In English we will be focusing on writing narratives and persuasions. The students will write stories using superhero characters as inspiration. There will be a big focus on Guided Reading this term in both our class and the F-2 class. This will happen during three English lessons a week. Guided reading is a procedure that enables teachers to support small groups of students who use similar reading strategies and who are able to read texts at a similar level.

During our HASS lessons, we will learn about country and place, and investigate how our community has changed. Our key inquiry questions will include ‘who lived here first?’ And ‘What features of our community have been lost and what features have been retained?’ Later in the term we will begin looking at Australian celebrations and commemorations.

F– 10 HPE

This term in Health every class will be focusing on the health benefits of physical activity, and Food and nutrition. In PE will be starting off with a heavy ‘team work’ focus. The senior class have been helping to organise the sporting equipment we already have, and putting together some classroom sets of equipment. Hopefully this will inspire the kids to play some different games at recess and lunchtime, but also give them the responsibility of making sure that their equipment goes back to their class set.

Last week we had Footsteps coming to the school over three days to teach us some dancing! Later on in week 9, the year 6– 10 class will be making their way down to Port Augusta to participate in some aquatics sports! Then in week 10, we have a SANFL sporting schools clinic coming up to visit and teach us some footy skills! We have lots of exciting things happening this term so I’m sure it’s going to go super-fast!

Quorn Swimming Carnival

On Friday the 8th of February, we were invited to participate in the Quorn Area School Swimming Carnival! The day started with the F-2 class competing in a noodle race in the big pool! They then went on to play some games on the grass while the older kids had their turn.

Sierra, Katrina and Callie came in 1st for their 25m freestyle heats, while Paul and Vai also both came first in their 25m freestyle heats! Vai also came 1st in backstroke, and Jack came in a very close 3rd in his age group. Our year 3 students did incredibly well in their first proper swimming carnival, with Jimmy achieving a very close 2nd in 50m breast stroke. Jimmy was also able to win 1st place in 50m freestyle with Lachlan very close behind him, coming in 2nd. Almost everyone was able to participate in a relay on the day and they worked very well in their teams.

Sierra competed in every race she was eligible for, and won the runner up award for under 9s overall! Congratulations to everyone who participated, it was a very successful day and everyone should be very proud of themselves!

Miss Hayley Brown
Year 3-5 Teacher and HPE Coordinator

Year 6-12 class

Welcome back everyone to a brand new year and to brand new goals and aspirations. We are optimistic that 2019 will be a productive year for all our learners.

This term, the 6 – 7 class will be involved in a lot of NAPLAN practice texts in preparation for Term 2. The class will develop their persuasive, comprehension, reading and vocabulary skills. This class will also study Mulligan’s novel, Trash. This novel explores the adventure of three friends who find something interesting when sifting through a pile of rubbish.

The 8 - 10 English class will continue to be focussing on poetry analysis and poetry writing this term. I feel at the end of last year my class struggled a bit in grasping the critical appreciation tools I was offering them and at the time they got the hang of these, we had to leave for Christmas holidays. This is just another opportunity to revisit our learning and better the skills we have developed. Students will also study Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. This novel explores the complexities and dilemmas of sharing a life with an adult who has the mind of an eight-year-old and needs continuous care.

In History, the 6-8 class will focus on the study of Ancient Egypt. This is one of the most fascinating studies in the History curriculum where students investigate information on the beliefs, values and practices of Ancient Egyptians. Furthermore, students study contacts and conflicts Egypt had with other societies and the legacies Egypt left to modern life.

This semester in our SACE Stage One we will have students studying Modified English and PLP. The SACE Stage One candidates are ready to grapple with all the challenges that come with studying at this advanced level.

There is only Research Project being offered at SACE Stage Two this semester. Most of the Stage Two subjects will commence in Semester Two.

I wish the 6 - 12 class a marvellous 2019. Hope you had a wonderful rest over the long summer holiday. It is time for us to pick up our wings and fly away to new horizons of understanding! I wish you all the best.

Mr Mphilisi Manombe
Year 6-12 Teacher

Language Music

Welcome back! It has been a whirlwind return to school for me, with 10 days spent in Brunei visiting our sister-school, staying with Cigku Aina and her family, learning about schooling, culture and language in this lush green country. This was followed with 2 days of training in week one on Read Write Inc., learning about synthetic phonics and developing strategies to use in languages classes; then 2 more days training in week two learning our entire Choir repertoire! Things are finally starting to settle now in week three!

The following gallery shows – Students learning Malay language with Jawi characters in Brunei, Bruneian students writing postcards to our students at HAS and Alina and I presenting about the BRIDGE program to the High Commissioner to Brunei and Bruneian Ministry of Education ministers.

Choir had its ‘come-and-try’ session last week, with a record turn out! The entire repertoire this year is of high-quality, and for the first time in my career I like every song! Lisa O’Neill is again coming on board as our accompanist this year – thank you Lisa!

Band has had a slow start this year, due to absences. A note has gone home for students in year 5 and above.

The focus of our Music classes this year will, as always, be focused on developing musical literacy using aural skills and the voice, using a Kodály approach. Students have settled back into music classes well, and I’m very happy for parents and carers to come in and have a look at my planners, and talk about their child’s musical development.

The focus of our Indonesian lessons has had a shift since my time in Brunei. More and more I have been referring to this class as Bahasa (meaning ‘language’), as in Brunei they speak Malay, of which Indonesian is a dialect. This isn’t affecting student’s language learning, as for the most part it is all the same, but it adds a more relevant, cultural lens to their learning. Our overarching theme this term is “My Identity”, focusing on developing introductions, and where we come from, to link in with Harmony Day, which will be Thursday the 21st of March. I’m also learning to apply the phonetical and grapheme awareness I developed at the Read Write Inc. training, which will allow me to better support our pre- and developing readers.

Our Adnamatna program has had a win over the holidays, with all classes now able to access this class every week! The program will mirror our Languages theme of “My Identity” and Aunty Pauline and I are meeting to finalise our planning soon. We have also had an exciting opportunity! The Humanities and Social Sciences Association of South Australia have invited students from our school to open their annual conference on the theme ‘Indigenous Languages’, by speaking and singing in Adnamatna! Students in the 3-5 Class will be focusing on this for the first few weeks in preparation for this amazing opportunity.

I would like to inform families that I now have the role of Aboriginal Education Teacher AET at HAS, which allows me to work in more detail with Leonie, our ACEO, on supporting Indigenous students and their families. A Yura Muda group meeting will be held this term, so please keep an eye out for this communication.

Best wishes to everyone for a successful 2019. Feel free to contact me at any time, either by phone 86 484 003 or email sasha.andersson157@schools.sa.edu.au.

Mrs Sasha Andersson
Language Music and AE Teacher

HAS Community Library News

Hi, my name is Ailsa Green. In January, my husband, Steve, and I moved from Naracoorte to Hawker. I have taken on the position of teacher librarian and join Rosie Luckcraft in the School Community Library.

My role is a varied one; it includes working with students as a class, in small groups or individually encouraging in them a love of reading, supporting them as they navigate the world of research and the library and work with them as they further increase their skills in digital literacy. I am also involved with the public and have enjoyed meeting a number of members of the community in the past few weeks. I look forward to meeting more of you.

Please continue reading to find out information about the Premier’s Reading Challenge and NDIS information on their monthly visits and how they can assist the Hawker Community.

The annual Premier’s Reading Challenge has begun. This challenge was introduced by the Premier of South Australia in 2004 to encourage students from Foundation (Reception) to Year 12 to read more books and enjoy reading.

The challenge requires students to read 12 books between January 29 and September 6 this year.

• Reception to Year 7 students are to read 8 books from the Challenge booklist which is available at the following link below and 4 of their own choice (these can include magazines).
• Students in Years 8 & 9 are to read 4 books from the Challenge booklist and 8 of their own choice.
• Year 10, 11 & 12 students can read any 12 books of their choice, which can include texts and other texts from their studies.

Students need to record the title and author of the books they have read on the student record sheet and have each entry signed by their parent/caregiver, their teacher or library staff. Students are able to read books, e-books, listen to audio books or have the book read to/with them.

The books on the list are grouped according to their suitability for different ages. This year, we will be putting PRC coloured stickers on the books we have in our library to help students find the books we have that are on the Challenge list.

We seek your support, (parents/caregivers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends) to encourage your children in their reading this year and to complete the Premier’s Reading Challenge 2019.

NDIS - What is it? Drop In Session - Face-to-face Support
WHERE: Hawker Community Library
WHEN: 3rd Thursday every second month 2019

Mrs Ailsa Green
Teacher Librarian

S.A.K.G – Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden

It has been an exciting time for our students to start the year.

For the Foundation – 2 class our first weeks have had the theme ‘Welcome to my Kitchen’. The students were made aware that the kitchen belonged to them in their school. Safety was a big topic of conversation covering hair and hair ties, how to tie an apron and why it is worn (to protect against spills) and the value of wearing fully covered shoes to protect our feet. Safety in how we work in the kitchen is very important and the class spoke about walking safely and giving adequate room to others while working. It was a very good conversation where students shared enthusiastically.

The Year 3 – 5 class explored the idea of creating their own cooking book to take home at the end of year. The majority of the students voted to stay inside instead of gardening to avoid the heat on a few of those hot days we had. They started the cover of their cooking book. They were all very involved in the project.

Students plan to talk to their parents to gather recipes that can be shared with others and printed in our book.

The 6 – 10 class also explored the concept of ‘My Kitchen’ and what they wanted to learn. Their first task was to make a detail inventory of the pantry, fridge and freezers. Two hours were just enough to finish the job. Well done. They were open with their aspirations for the class this year. Next we will look at flour around the world and through time, as it has its beginnings going all the way back to the Stone Age. Through the study the students will have the opportunity to incorporate their chosen recipes for this term. The senior students also discussed the management of breakfast club and their participation in the running of it.

Ruby was one of the first students to visit the garden.

The first Breakfast Club guests enjoying cheese or jam on toast and a cup of Milo.

Some of the students involved in the inventory, the concentration is visible. Excellent team work.

Mrs Joelle Sharples
Kitchen Garden Specialist

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