Principals Report
I want to start by saying thankyou to our students, staff and community for this term, it has been an extremely hectic one, with commitments made by staff to NAPLAN, the school camp at Errappa and finally our fantastic Sports Day held on June 18th. In this article you will find reports from our staff on the terms they have had with our students, summarising the learning that has occurred and the special moments.
As I mentioned during the week Harald Walther will be coming in to replace Hayley Brown as the teacher of the Year 3 – 5 class. Harald brings a lot of experience with him and has taught at Hawker before, as a Relief Teacher over blocks of time and last year in Term Four he took on the Foundation to Year 2 class. He comes with a lot of knowledge of our students across the school and good relationships with them too. We look forward to having Harald here for the rest of the year, as I am sure do our students.
It has been a busy term for the school, we don’t often have as many major events as we have this time. The Errappa camp was a great success with the students as they got the chance to extend themselves, face challenges that caused them to think through the fears and excitement associated with them. The management of the activities by the SA Police was first class as students were made to think in these areas and got the chance to test themselves out in fully supported activities. The Climbing Wall, the Flying Fox, Tree Climb and Town Exploration Activities all were brilliant and got our students to work together to explore and understand their feelings in challenging situations.
Similarly our Sports Day on June 18th was a great success, with students from Leigh Creek, Marree, Oodnadatta and SOTA getting the chance to come to Hawker and compete against our students. The standard of events was high, with students getting to push themselves more than they would in a one school situation. It was great to see students get the chance not only to compete but catch up with friends their age that they don’t always see. This was also commented on by visiting parents and the staff from the other schools who came to Hawker for this day, which is clearly appreciated by them. The Hawker students also looked fantastic in their new house shirts as the photos show. This was especially apparent to me at the end of the day when we got all the students together for the Tug of War!
Last week I got some feedback from a few students on their experiences of the Camp and Sports Day that I would like to share:
On the camp….
‘I liked Errappa because we got to do climbing and we got to do a flying fox. Also we got to learn new skills.’ – Lachie
‘The rope work was challenging and we learned about overcoming our fears. It was scary to start with but felt good to get it done once you worked out you weren’t going to die. The food was great and we enjoyed mixing the whole school for breaks.’ – Jack
‘The food at Errappa was great, the activities put us out of our comfort zone and it was to learn about how to manage fear. We learned to work together as a team which was a challenge.’ Annabelle
‘I loved all the activities at camp. My favourite activity was the flying fox.’ – Harry
‘I loved the errappa camp it was a great success I loved doing the flying fox and the rock climbing wall. I also liked watching the people do the high ropes.’ – Will
‘The high ropes activities were my favourite because they were heaps of fun, the rock climbing was good because it was a challenge.’ - Belle
‘School camp was fun. We got to climb and go around town. I think the dorms were comfortable except the mattress. It was fun.’ – Deb
‘The high ropes helped me overcome my fear of heights. I enjoyed working with the younger kids during orienteering.’ - Madi
‘Thank you Mrs Hilder for taking us on a camp, the other people thank you for taking us to the movies. I appreciate you all.’ – Opheilia
‘I enjoyed the food and getting to know everyone at school.’ – Thane
‘I enjoyed the camp because it helped us face our fears. The scavenger hunt was fun and I enjoyed the challenge of finding the check points.’ - Jaiy
On the Sports Day……
‘I really liked Sports Day. All the events were fantastic. The hotdogs and yogurt tasted great. The hurdles were a great success. I think it was great.’ – Jimmy
‘Sports day this year was a good competition with the other schools. Having more older students pushed us to go faster and higher.’ – Jack
‘I loved sports day because I liked to catch up with my old friends and played dodge ball at the end.’ – Angus
‘It was good to have lots of variety in the events. I enjoyed the running and the long jump the most. The shirts had a good design and looked great on everyone.’ – Annabelle
‘I liked sports day because I got to catch up with James, Arielle, Anakin and Lily. I also liked the hurdles.’ – Lachie
‘I enjoyed the running events at sports day, it was good to have other schools to compete against.’ – Belle
‘Sports day was great thanks to the people that were helping Miss Brown I appreciate it.’ – Opheilia
‘I enjoyed having strong competition from other schools, it pushed me to try harder. The shirts were outstanding.’ – Madi
‘I loved sports day the events were set up perfectly.’ – Will
‘I enjoyed socialising and getting to know people.’ – Joel
Lastly in anticipation of next term there are a few dates that I would like to share:
- Tuesday August 3rd – a whole school NAIDOC celebration at Wilpena Pound.
- Friday August 6th – Quorn Area School Sports Day.
- Thursday September 2nd – Foods and Cultural Celebration Open Night.
- Friday September 3rd – Pupil Free Day, Read Write Inc Training.
- Saturday August 21st to Friday August 27th – Book Week, Dress up Day Wednesday 25th.
- Monday August 30th to Friday 3rd September – Book Fair.
Have a great holidays, it is well earned after this term for our students. I look forward to seeing you all at the start of Term 3.
As always if parents have any questions I can be contacted at the school on 86484003 or by my email at daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au