Newsletter May 2016
Transcription
Newsletter May 2016
Wanniassa School PRESCHOOL - STERNBERG CRESCENT WANNIASSA JUNIOR CAMPUS - STERNBERG CRESCENT WANNIASSA SENIOR CAMPUS - WHEELER CRESCENT WANNIASSA Website: www.wans.act.edu.au Email:[email protected] ‘Success and excellence in education’ PHONE: 6205 8055 PHONE: 6205 7566 PHONE: 6205 6200 Wanniassa P-10 School May Newsletter 2016 Upcoming Events Koori Preschool 3rd June Reconciliation Excursion Preschool 24th May Peter the Reptile Man 16th June Parent Committee Meeting Week 9 Bus Wash Excursions Junior Campus 18th May Kinder Health Screenings 18th – 20th May Camp Cooba Years 5/6 3rd June Walkathon/ Bikeathon Senior Campus Every Wednesday Ganbra Homework Club 3.15pm -4pm Every Thursday Junction Group Whole School 13th June Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday 1st July End Term 2 18th July Start Term 3 Our recent Open Day and Night was a great success. It showcased all the wonderful teaching and learning happening across the school and feedback from parents was very positive. As a staff we have reflected on what worked well and how we can make it even better next year. This term we have had some staffing changes on both campuses. Ms Tina Middleby is working with the Dolphin group in Preschool. Ms Jodi deLigt has won the SLC position for years 4-6 on the Junior Campus. Three teachers are moving on to new positions: Nathan Schubert to Canberra College, Jen Comans will be moving to Kaleen and Oliver Billington will be on leave for the remainder of the year. His replacement will start in Term 3. Mrs Jenny Tatham will be going on leave from weeks 5 to 10 and will be replaced by Miss Ashley Coutts. Our School Youth Health Nurse, Fellon Gaida has taken long term leave and has been replaced by Ebony Anderson. We also welcome our newly appointed School Psychologist, Ellen Sheridan who will be working on both Senior and Junior Campuses. The whole school executive have been participating in considerable professional learning around leading change and staff have been participating in ongoing professional learning around Assessment for Learning. NAPLAN was performed without fuss. Results will be released in September and parents need to keep in mind that results may not really indicate the successes of the change process that has been put in place on the Senior Campus as it has really only been in place for a matter of weeks. WIN news recently came to the Senior Campus to film a great story about the good work we are doing with our students in building wellbeing through a culture of giving. It focused on Sally Hegh and her year 8 class connecting with a school in Vanuatu that was struck by a cyclone. Thank you Shane Gorman Principal Elizabeth Courtois Junior Campus Principal Cherie Connors Senior Campus Principal Preschool Enrolments for 2017 Preschool enrolments have commenced for 2017, online enrolments are being accepted for placement consideration this term. Birth certificates and immunisation records will need to be sighted/copied as supporting documents to your application for enrolment. Proof of residency is also required for all enrolments in and out of area. All students who live in the priority enrolment area or have siblings already attending this school are guaranteed a placement whilst there are available places. Finance News At Wanniassa School, we appreciate the valuable support of our school community. All payments are voluntary and all funds paid directly benefit students currently attending Wanniassa School. Included was information on various ways of paying your Voluntary Contributions. Eg: QuickWeb (is an online payment service which will enable families/communities to make payment via a secure portal on your school’s website www.wans.act.edu.au) OR Visa/MasterCard credit or debit card (Bank: Westpac, A/C name: Wanniassa School Management Account, BSB: 032-777, Account Number: 001869). Please remember we also accept cash, cheque, credit card and EFTPOS payments through the Front Offices of both campuses! Thank you for your continued support for Wanniassa School. Wanniassa ‘Skoolbag’ App It is available for download now on Android, iOS and Windows phones. To download you can either search Wanniassa through the Play or App stores (or by downloading the Skoolbag app and searching – on Windows devices). We will be using this app as a primary contact tool with our families so we strongly encourage all our families to install the app on their phones. It’s completely free and there’s no limit to the number of devices each family can have the app on. You can use the app to send us updates to your child’s enrolment details, notify us of absences, download permission notes and keep up to date with the events that we have happening around our school. When you first download and install the app we suggest that you set up your push notification group settings. You can choose which kind of notifications you would like (e.g. Senior Campus, Junior Campus, whole school etc.). If you have any questions or issues with the app, please let Stacey Griffiths know via email [email protected] or via phone 6205 6200. Wanniassa P-10 School is on Facebook! If you would like important school updates and success stories, please find Wanniassa P-10 School (the page with the Wanniassa logo and the white background) and ‘like’ the page. Wanniassa School Newsletter The Wanniassa School Newsletter is distributed electronically by email to our families. It is also available for download from the school website. If you have not supplied an email address to the school, please do as soon as possible. If you do not have access to the internet to view the newsletter electronically, please pick up a copy from the Senior or Junior Campus Front Offices. Well done to Khya Roche on being selected to represent ACT in the 2016 Australian Gymnastics Championships to be held in Melbourne on Sunday 22nd May. Congratulations Khya, we wish you all the best. Well done to Will King for being selected in the ACT School Boys Rugby League team to play in Coffs Harbour. Junior Campus News Rainbow Unit News At the beginning of Term 2 we enjoyed seeing many Mums and Grans coming to preschool to join their preschooler in celebrating Mother’s Day. The children enjoyed drawing pictures of Mum, making bangles and more importantly sharing their learning at preschool. We would like to say a huge thankyou to all of the families who donated gifts to our Mother’s Day Stall. All of the children were able to visit the stall and select a gift. Thanks must go to Jane, Sowmya, Tori, Maureen, Dianne and Lori for helping to run the Mother’s Day Stall. The hard working Preschool Parent Association, and especially Jane and Helen, made the Easter raffle and sausage sizzle / cake stall at Supabarn a great success. A big thank you to all the families, who helped by donating eggs and generously giving their time to raise funds for the preschool. Our next Parent Committee Meeting will be held on Thursday, 16 th June. Meetings start at 7.00pm and are held in the preschool classroom. All parents are welcome to come along and learn more about what’s happening at preschool! Notes have gone home for Peter the Reptile Man who will be presenting a selection of reptiles including turtles, lizards and snakes on Tuesday 24th May for the Dolphin Group and Friday 27th May for the Turtles and Penguin Groups. The cost is $7.00 per child. Please send your money in an envelope marked clearly with your child’s name prior to the performance. Permission notes will be sent home soon outlining the details of our Bus Wash excursions which are taking place in Week 9. There is no cost for this excursion. We will need helpers for this excursion. Please let the staff know if you can accompany us. The Bus Wash is a tradition here at Wanniassa Preschool. The children love it and they get very excited if their parents or someone special in their lives can come along to help. Outside play is an important part of a child’s development and our preschool program. Even as it grows colder, we still play outside unless it’s pouring rain or snowing. Beanies, warm jumpers and jackets are encouraged to keep your child warm and comfortable. Please place one set of clean clothes including two sets of underwear and socks in your child’s bag each day. If your child comes home wearing preschool spare clothes, please wash and return these to us, as our supply is limited. Parents are very welcome to stay with their pre-schooler any day and join in with the preschool activities. Til’ next time Marion, Tina, Karen, Carolyn and Kirsten Red Unit News Red Unit is an exciting place to be this term. Students are using their sounds to begin to read and write. We have been practising blending single sounds together to read short words, and are starting to learn some of our sight words. We have also started writing simple sentences in our journal books, using some simple sight words and our sounding out skills. Talking and learning about our families, and what makes us special has been interesting and a lot of fun. We have had a look at some of our baby photos and talked about how we have changed as we have gotten bigger. In Maths, we are beginning to compare and measure different objects, and are practising finding numbers that come before and after. We would like to remind parents that we love having visitors in Red Unit, so if you’d like to come in the mornings to read with students for 10 – 20 minutes please talk to your child’s teacher. We look forward to another great term in Red Unit! Vicki Gough and Sally Gore-Johnson Green Unit News This term both classes have started a unit of work on History. We will be investigating the differences between the past and the present. Students will be encouraged to ask their extended families about their past and life when their family members were young. They will be given opportunities to share what they have learnt with the Unit. Once a week students have been using the iPads to access the Reading Eggs program. This program aims to improve reading and spelling skills and is able to be used online at home http://readingeggs.com.au/login/ Students use their Mathletics username and password to gain access. As always, it is a busy time in Green Unit, but we are still asking that all Green Unit students complete their weekly homework and practice reading at home every day. Ashley Coutts and Hayley Eaton Blue Unit News We are so very proud of the Year 3’s for their wonderful effort in their first ever NAPLAN testing. They demonstrated all of the Wanniassa Values and really pushed themselves to do their best. Great job guys! Our literacy focus for Term 2 will now be Procedure and Recount writing. We will be examining what they are, when we use them and how important it is to be clear in our writing. Blue Unit is excited to start their new Science Units. Year 2’s are focussing on Push and Pull and Year 3s will be focussing on how heating and cooling can change materials. We are all excited to write and conduct new science experiments and can’t wait to share our knowledge with you at home. Blue Unit will be focussing on History this term. We will be looking at how people are connected to places. They will be examining how places change over time. The annual Wanniassa Bike-a-thon/Walkathon will be held on Friday week 6. Don’t forget to return your permission notes. Christina Bowman, Michelle Lord, Cindy Somenek and Helen Wilson Orange Unit News Orange Unit News (in the guise of a narrative) “I am so proud!” said Mrs Booth when she heard Mr Pickering and Mr F discussing the amazing focus and drive our Year 5’s displayed during NAPLAN. “They are just incredible!!!” she muttered to herself, as Mr Pickering annunciated amusing artistic alliterations that the children had incorporated into their narrative writing, and shared similes which were as entertaining as a monkey riding a tiny bicycle. Mr Pickering smiled and replied with a sparkle in his eye, “Yep… And now I get to take these little legends to Camp Cooba!!! YOU BEAUTY!!!” Meanwhile, in the “Wanniassa Hard Work” arena, the Year 4’s maintained their phenomenal stamina by charging into the “new and improved” literacy rotations, expanding arguments and challenging thoughts by asking “Why?!” “What goals should people set to live a happy life?” Mrs Booth queried during a literacy lesson. Cade pondered this question for a moment, then he answered, “Have fun every day! Play, go outside, watch tv, whatever you find fun… because time spent being happy is not time wasted.” The rest of the class agreed then composed the Orange Unit philosophy… Stay tuned for the next instalment. Yippee! Jessica Booth and Greg Pickering Yellow Unit News NAPLAN is over for another year! The students have been working extremely hard on revisiting all aspects of writing genres in Literacy and key topics within Maths. Our new literary genre for Year 5 will be on information reports, Year 6 will continue with narrative. Our work in Yellow Unit is often computer based, and students are encouraged to make sure they bring their device to school each day charged and ready for use. Year 6 students are focussing on developing independent work habits, and have been provided with all homework for the term to work on at their own pace. Copies of this homework is available on our Year 6 google classroom, or a paper copy is available if required. Homework is due on Fridays and can be submitted either on paper or electronically. Students will bring home a slip fortnightly detailing homework and literacy tasks completed. The excitement is building in Yellow Unit as we now look forward to our annual trek out to Camp Cooba. Depending on who you talk to, this is the most important event on the school’s calendar. The students do not mind it either! Students will be spending their 3 days at Cooba taking part in activities such as team building exercises, the big swing, the leap of faith, the gladiator course and the survivor course….students and teachers will return tired, muddy and proud of themselves for what they have achieved. Tracey Hanson and Justan Fuller Japanese News こんにちは Konnichiwa (Hello/Good Afternoon), Many of our students at Wanniassa have been curious about why we learn Japanese language at school. Japanese is the native language of Japan, but it is also widely spoken by communities in Hawaii, Peru, Brazil, Korea, China, Indonesia and also Australia. Japanese culture also has an influence in Australia through art, design, technology, fashion, popular culture, games, movies, TV and food. In 2020 Japan will also be hosting the Olympics and maybe some of our senior students might be volunteering, spectating or even competing! Swedish scientists from the Lund University did research on the effects of learning other languages. The result showed that learning languages improves the function of your brain and this transfers into other learning areas. Kindergarten have been amazing at remembering their Japanese words for colours. We have been making a colour booklet that includes iconic images from Japan, singing songs and playing bingo. Many of the junior campus classes have been learning about Momotaro (The Peach boy). Momotaro is a popular hero and his story dates back to the Edo period in Japan (1603 and 1868). In his quest to help his village deal with some bullying Oni (ogres) he displays many of our Wanniassa School values. ありがとう ございます Arigatou Gozaimasu (Thank you very much) Poulakis Sensei Library News National Simultaneous Storytime Next Wednesday 25 May is National Simultaneous Storytime, an annual campaign where each year a picture book written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator is read simultaneously in schools, libraries, pre-schools, childcare centres, homes and more, all over the country! Wanniassa School Junior Campus will again join in on this fantastic event sharing “I Got This Hat” written by Jol and Kate Temple and illustrated by Jon Foye, with a special presentation of the story to the school by Mrs Byrne and some of our very talented Year 6 library monitors. To celebrate we are asking all students to wear a special or crazy hat to school on this day to join in on the fun! Keep an eye on Facebook to see some of the interesting hats that make their way to school and read about some of the activities we’ll be doing during this week to show how at Wanniassa, we know how to make reading fun! Book Club For the last two issues of Scholastic Book Club we’ve been using the new LOOP system for credit card payments. If you are having any troubles or want to provide some feedback on how this is working please let Mrs Byrne know. Happy Reading! Amy Byrne Teacher Librarian Junior Campus Canteen News The Junior Campus Canteen will be closed for recess sales on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 4 weeks until Tuesday 21st June. Anglicare Pantry Appeal Every year, the grocery items you donate to Anglicare’s Pantry Appeal make a huge difference to the lives of fellow Australians going hungry through winter. Anglicare would like to thank you for continuing to show us just how big your hearts really are! Donations to Anglicare’s Pantry Appeal can be made in the purple tub located in the Junior Campus front office. Senior Campus News Senior Campus Wellbeing Connect Keep Active TakeNotice Keep Learning Give The Wellbeing Team is available to contact any time: Ann Hill, Executive Teacher Pastoral Care [email protected] 6205 6200 Trevor Preston, Youth Support Worker [email protected] 6205 6200 Fellon Gaida, School Youth Health Nurse [email protected] 6205 6200 Anita Sutherland Indigenous Education Officer [email protected] 6205 6200 Japanese News Wednesday, 11 May: The following year 8 students visited Iori Japanese restaurant in Civic for an authentic Japanese lunch: Gemma Williamson, Harrison Gregory, Declan Comben, Faith Freshwater, Dareen Attallah, Razeen Wasif, Ethan Mozley-Betts, Charlotte Mason. We were lucky enough to be seated on cushions in the traditional Japanese style with tatami mats on the floor, sliding paper doors and in our own private area! Our obento box was quite exquisite. It included gohan, sushi rolls, fried chicken, tempura, gyoza, picked vegetables and of course, a little wasabi. Everyone remembered to say ‘itadakimasu’ at the beginning of their meal and “oishii” was declared by a couple of students expressing their enjoyment. Faith successfully used her Japanese language skills to order a ramune and everyone mastered the use of chopsticks. Arigatou to year 8 for being such wonderful ambassadors for our school and for an enjoyable lunch. I am also pleased to add that there were no wasabi casualties! The Language Perfect World Championships start in Week 4. (16 – 26 May) Year 7 & 8 Japanese students will be competing for their school and their country! By answering questions online they will earn points and compete for awards and prizes from the $30,000 prize pool. (Available languages: Arabic, German, Chinese, French, Spanish, Japanese, Indonesian, Italian, Maori, Latin & Greek!!) We wish them luck! Watch this space for their results. *This competition is open to any student at Wanniassa School and they do not need to already know their language of choice. Students from Nara University High School in Japan are coming to Canberra in October! The students will attend Wanniassa School for 2 days and spend Saturday morning with their host family. We are currently seeking families who can offer accommodation and meals for a total of 3 nights. (26-29 October 2016.) This is an awesome opportunity for a cultural exchange and to learn a little Japanese! STUDENTS DO NOT NEED TO BE STUDYING JAPANESE. The students from Japan are here to learn English. Please contact the school ASAP if you would like to be involved. Gastineau sensei Year 7 News The Year 7 students have completed NAPLAN and they all gave a huge effort. It was pleasing to see the high levels of determination and resilience during the week. Our MAPS classes are in full swing and the students are busily working on their projects. There is a huge variety of exciting and interesting projects happening across the cohort and we cannot wait for the final products. These projects offer a great opportunity for discussion with your child as they are incredibly passionate about their work. We are using Google Classrooms for most Year 7 learning areas and this is a great way for you to see what is happening in your child’s class. Here you will find current class activities and projects as well as homework and reminders. If you need to contact any of the Year 7 teachers please feel free to call the school office and a teacher will get back to you as soon as possible. Nick Bond Year 7 Co-ordinator Year 8 News We have had a lot of exciting opportunities for students to participate in real-world learning. Our Year 8 Japanese students enjoyed a visit to Lori Japanese restaurant as part of their learning about cuisine, use of chopsticks and how to exchange greetings, order, and pay for items in Japanese language. Thanks to Natalie Gastineau for organising this opportunity! At the end of Term 1, Year 8 celebrated Medieval Day as part of the history curriculum. It was a great culmination to our term study on Medieval Europe. We had feasting, embroidery, soap making, catapult making, stained glass designs and "jousting" with pool noodles. Students dressed up, the teachers of course all dressed up, and there was full participation in the day. Thanks to teachers Sally Hegh and Reece Cheater who took the lead on this, and thanks to Emily Lord and her hospitality class for the catering. Our student team fundraising for a school in Vanuatu affected by cyclone damage was interviewed by WIN news and appeared on television in the holidays. We are very proud to have students representing Year 8 in this way and embarking on such a worthwhile giving project. Students are learning more about Australia’s place within the Pacific region through this exercise. Again, we thank Sally Hegh for starting this initiative. We have also been pleased to welcome Year 6 students from the Junior Campus who have worked with Year 8 buddies on how to brainstorm and plan their personal projects. Our Year 8 students were patient and skilled teachers and provided great support to the Year 6 class. Thanks to Reece Cheater and Tracey Hansen for working together on this. Indigenous News Please remind your student to talk with Anita or myself if they are interested in participating in any of the following programs: Tutorial help – literacy and numeracy assistance and assignment help every Thursday middle session with Ms Hill/Pam in Ganbra room AIME mentoring program for Year 9-10 Aspirations extension program Indigenous school based apprenticeships Cara Shipp Executive Teacher Year 8 Executive Teacher Indigenous programs Year 9 News Year 9 had a successful round of exhibitions in Week 10, Term 1. Students presented their passion projects to their parents, teachers, friends and other students. The depth and breadth of their knowledge was amazing to watch and hear. They have been working hard on professional and effective presentation skills and this was a great opportunity to showcase them to a wider audience. This was not only a great learning opportunity but the feedback they received, as well as their own reflections, has guided them into their second learning plan for the year. Students are starting Learning Through Internships (LTI’s) this term which will see students working out in the community for long term and meaningful placements. If you (or someone you know) would be happy to have an Intern working with them please let us know. Students have passions across a wide range of areas and are keen to connect with the real world as much as possible. Kellie Keeffe and Stacey Griffiths Executive Teachers Year 9 Year 10 News College Enrolments College enrolments close at MIDNIGHT on Friday 27th May (Week 5). When enrolling students require a USI (Unique Student Identifier). If students can bring in a copy (or photo) of their Medicare card the Year 10 team will help students apply for a USI at school. Alternatively, students can obtain a USI from the following website https://www.usi.gov.au/ Once students have enrolled in a college can they note down or take a photo of their enrolment confirmation number and provide this number to their MAPS teacher. The Year 10 team will be available to assist with the online enrolment process on Thursday the 19th and 26th of May, between 3:15 and 4:30pm. We can complete the enrolment during this time. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Estelle Gillingham on 62056298 or Kate Davoren (Year 10 Co-ordinator) on 62056177. Demystifying College Talks On Friday 10th June (Week 7, Term 2) the transition and careers officers from Erindale College and Tuggeranong College will be speaking to Year 10 students about: Prospectus College Courses and Packages Tertiary vs Accredited The difference between college and high school Pitfalls and the key to making a successful transition Canterbury School Jumpers Year 10 Canterbury Jumpers are due to arrive by the end of Week 5 provided there are no hold ups at the production end. Students will be able to collect them from Miss Davoren on the condition that the full payment of $70.00 has been made. WEX/Careers News Year 10 student Josh Cox spent last week staying and working at The Saddle Camp in Braidwood for a five day work experience placement. Josh was able to work with Helen, the owner and see all aspects of the business, from cooking for the guests, café and club-house operations, managing produce from the gardens, marketing of the business, maintenance on the property and observing the riding lessons (among others!). Already a keen horse rider he has come back to school buzzing with excitement about the possibilities in this industry and keen for future work with The Saddle Camp. His story will be featured in the spring edition of ‘Horse Wyse’ magazine which he is pretty excited about. GET SMART Homework Club Get SMART homework club is held every Thursday afternoon from 3:05 – 4:30pm in the Senior School Hub. This club is run by ANU students who are there to assist students with any class work, homework and assignments. Kate Davoren and Shelley Lavender will also be present from 3:05 – 4:00pm every Thursday to provide targeted mathematics support to students in year 10. Year 9 & 10 Melbourne Trip Monday 17th – Friday 21st October (Week 2, Term 4) Approximate Cost: $640 Overview: Year Group excursions play a vital part in school culture and social growth of our students. This excursion to Melbourne is great opportunity for students to explore urban culture and further develop life skills such as leadership, team work, cooperation and independence. Activities: Phillip Island, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Street Art, Eureka Sky Deck, Docklands, Southbank, City of Melbourne Scavenger Hunt, China Town, Lantern Ghost Tours, Galactic Circus and Glow Golf. Please note: $100 deposit deadline has been extended to Monday 23 rd May (Week 5, Term 2). Limited places are still available. Please email [email protected] should you have any queries regarding the trip. Kate Davoren Year 10 Co-ordinator Real World Learning Real World Learning is in full swing with 11 students completing work experience placements including interstate Horse Riding School to Canberra Hospital fracture clinic or Neuro Surgery. We have had 4 inschool career talks, Beauty Therapy, Policing, Paramedic and Interior Design. We have also had 6 long term internships, this makes 50% of students in year 10 already engaged in the real world of work connected to their personal projects or career aspirations. We have also got 4 students on Bricklayers Association Pathways to construction every Wednesday and Thursday as well as 2 students on beauty therapy course 2 days a week. Shelley Lavender Big Picture Co-ordinator Dance Nation 2016 Students in Year 7 – 10 have been participating in a specialist dance program delivered by Kulture Break since Week 5 last term. This program concludes with a special performance at the school showcase spectacular at the Royal Theatre, National Convention Centre on Friday 2nd July (Week 10, Term 2). There will be information sent out to parents in the coming weeks regarding tickets, costumes, rehearsal day and all other elements of Dance Nation. Sick Bay If students are unwell they are sent to sick bay with a note from their teacher. The Front Office Staff will contact parents/carers if necessary. As we have Duty of Care whilst the students are at school we request that Students DO NOT contact parents themselves, but wait for us to call on their behalf. If your child contacts you asking if they can go home sick, ask them to get a note from their teacher to go to sick bay and the Office Staff will then contact you. Thank you in advance for your support. Student Absences If your child is absent, due to illness or leave, or needs to attend an appointment during the day, please phone the Front Office on 6205 6200 for the Senior Campus, 6205 7566 for the Junior Campus and 6205 8055 for the Preschool and leave a message or email [email protected] Please remember to include the student’s full name, roll group and reason for absence (ie. sick, late or on leave) as well as your contact details. Whole School News P & C News Jordo’s Chop Shop are proud supporters of Wanniassa School (preschool to year 10). Present this ad to the shop for a 10% discount. Limit: one per customer. Phone: 6231 8755 or 0423 727 252 Web: https://www.jordoschopshop.com