Alawa Primary School Newsletter

Week 6 already and we are getting super excited about our upcoming ‘Our Territory Home' community night showcasing our singing talents and work done with Sara Storer—September 2nd. Lock it in your diaries!

Thanks so much to everyone in our school community for their support and flexibility last week - lockdown certainly happened quickly and we managed to get over 200 children safely collected within a very short time frame. We are reviewing our own procedures for lockdowns and as always welcome any feedback. Our staff were super professional and the videos teachers sent home Tuesday morning made many feel special and still connected. We are a little concerned about no contact over the 3 days with some families and will be following up individually to ensure we are all connected when / if a further lockdown happens. This week we are in 'light lockdown' as advised via email Thursday 19th - no muster and adults wearing masks. We hope to be able to be back to usual as possible with our planned assembly and morning tea this Friday hosted by Transition Connelly and 3 Hughes.

I was super impressed with the students in Year 5/6 Hammond as I spent time with them recently having a look at the VERY complex machines they had designed and built to perform a simple task - Rube Goldberg study. 

Alawa Learning Commission

Monday last week the Learning Commission shared their Mid Way pitch with colleagues, Commissioners from Wagaman and our partners in the NTLC for 2021. They spoke with passion, conviction and facilitated group interactive sessions. Stay tuned for an opportunity for you to all have a look / listen to what they are working on.

Preschool Bikeathon: Another big success

Our Preschool Bikeathon was loads of fun recently and so well supported by families. Awesome well done to Ms Milne, Mrs Churchman, Ms Kelly and the parent committee. It will be great to see the donations come in more this week and then the Preschool team prioritize what they will spend the funds on.

Thinking Outside the Box: Parent session postponed to Thursday 9th September

Another fantastic opportunity for parents / carers to come in and learn a bit more about the programs in operation at Alawa. This time focusing on our general capabilities rather than a specific learning area. Please be sure to book in and advise if child minding is required.

Have you seen the Term 3 Alawa Student Leaders News bulletin?

Another terrific, informative update by Chevayo, Jesse, Hayley, Ahnouk and Taylah, supported once again by Ms Tamra and Ms Sullivan.

We shared this via facebook recently.

You can also click this link to access

Alawa Term 3 News Bulletin

 Cheers and have a great week,

Sandy Cartwright [Principal of the Best School in the Multiverse]

Good morning everyone,

It is a bit hard for me to start. My journey at Alawa School started from Transition. All these years just went with a blink of an eye, but I have captured all good memories of my friends and teachers in my brain. I shall always recall.

Firstly, I would like to thank my teachers who did their best to build me into what I am today. I would also like to thank my Principal, Ms Cartwright, for being such a good guide, who always cared and worried about our happiness. I will always remember her pigeon stories that she told to us.

Finally, I would like to thank all the maintenance staff who always cleaned the mess that all children made and kept Alawa School clean, tidy and beautiful.

I would like to wish you all the best. Please forgive me if I hurt anyone. I would like to end my talk by saying that I am taking all my values - Respect, Encouragement, Pride, Personal Best- from the best school in the multiverse, Alawa School.

Thank you all and miss you all,

Afaf Rahman

Annual Perception Surveys: Open Monday August 9th and close Friday August 27th

All parents and guardians and teachers are encouraged to have their say about their school community by participating in the 2021 School Survey. Results will be shared through the newsletter and with our School Council.

The survey, which is open Monday 9 August to Friday 27 August, allows our school to gain an understanding of what you think about the school. The results will help inform future planning and drive improvement to our school. The school survey is relatively simple and easy and will take approximately 10 - 15 minutes to complete. The survey can be conducted online or you can request a printed version from our front office.

The results of the survey will help inform us about your experiences and provide valuable information about what it is doing well and where it can improve.

An email link was emailed out to all family contacts Monday 9th and again Monday 23rd August.

 Sandy Cartwright [Principal]

All our students in Years 3-6 have the newsletter emailed directly to them each Wednesday. They then are offered time in class to check their emails, read the newsletter etc.

Question for Week 6: 

What is the name of our Special event for September 2nd?

Email me with your answer for 20 bonus house points.

Ms Cartwright

What a week we have just had with the Covid restrictions. Thanks to all families for your response to our communications and the smooth way we were all able to get your children home. We are very fortunate that we were able to get back to school so quickly and the disruption has been a lot less impact, compared to other states around the country. It has certainly given us another test run in setting up the learning from home if it’s required again. Being able to communicate so easily online has certainly ensured continued learning. It was evident that many students loved the online platform and enthusiastically connected quite often throughout the day.

 We are now half way through Term 3 already. All students continue to practise their songs with Sara Storer for our concert night. Our staff and committee are also busy preparing for a fantastic evening with food and activities with the Territory theme.

 Student Led Conferences: Don’t forget these are on Tuesday and Wednesday the 14 and 15 of September from 3-6pm. Our extracurricular programs will also be available at various times for you to find out more about. See our flyer for more information.

Have a wonderful week,

Genevieve Donohue, [Assistant Principal]

It is that time of year again when we are starting to develop possible class structures for 2022. We would very much appreciate any updates regarding intentions—if you plan to be leaving Alawa or have other students to enrol please advise us through the front office.

Does your child have a sibling / family member who will be enrolling for Preschool in 2022?

Have you completed the enrolment forms?

Preschool places are limited and filling quickly so please contact the front office on 8997 7666 or alawa.school@education.nt.gov.au to secure your child's spot. 

Students at Alawa receive raffle tickets [house points] for their attitude and behavior in the playground and out the front of the school at the end of the day, as well as having a go at the weekly quiz. These are then counted on a Friday along with the points from the activity after recess on Friday where we count the students in full uniform, wearing house shirts etc.  At the end of each term we also include the points earnt through the recycling project and water bottle checks.

Last Friday we tackled the challenge of collecting points via web streaming into classrooms - certainly a different way to go about this.

In Week 5 of Term 3 Manton is ahead of Goyder and Finnis. 

Goyder is in the lead for the year!

In Week 4, Preschool held Its biggest fundraising event of the Year: The Alawa Preschool Bike-A-Thon. Pre-schoolers from both groups arrived at Preschool with their bikes and scooters ready to race around the custom made bike path on the oval.

As the Red group started their first lap the blue group got busy under the Marquees; decorating their bike helmets and their hair with coloured spay and  getting their faces painted with insects, hearts and rainbows by our wonderful year six helpers.

While children were riding laps and enjoying activities in the shade families were able to enjoy treats from the BBQ and a refreshing cold brew coffee (yum).

At the end of the bike-a-thon two children were awarded prizes for the best decorated bikes. Patrick Scheide turned his bike into a Pirate ship and Chad Geddes won for his incredible rainbow fish bike.

The Preschool team would like to thank all the families, volunteers and our amazing parent committee for the success of this year’s Bike-A-Thon. Everyone who pitched in, made an archway or brewed some (very) strong coffee you are all amazing and we are beyond grateful for your time, energy and support.

Alice, Emma and Kelly and Flor [Preschool Team] 

It was great to be back at Playgroup recently and see so many smiling faces and catch up with our wonderful Alawa families. Bright green playdough awaited us and was very popular. It was shaped into cakes and creatures, rolled and decorated. On the mat we played with the Fire Station, dinosaurs, ponies and hexagonal shapes. We were all very keen for a play outside in the Preschool yard. We love to explore the playgrounds, to paint and to build in the construction area.

Join us again next week and we’ll head to the Farm. Feel free to bring kitchen scrap to feed the chickens. See you then!

Miss Maria [Playgroup Coordinator] 

Last Friday saw the announcement of the Children’s Book Council of Australia - Book of the Year Awards with the following Shortlisted books Winning or receiving Honour Awards:

In the Younger Readers category  –

Winner -Asters Good Right Thing By Kate Gordon

In the Early Childhood category  –

Winner -No! Never! By Libby Hathorn & Lisa Hathorn-Jarman [illus. by Mel Pearce] 

In the Picture Book category  –

Winner -How to Make a Bird By Matt Ottley [text by Meg McKinlay] – 

In the Eve Pownall category [these are Non-Fiction] –

Winner-Dry to Dry: The Seasons of Kakadu By Pamela Freeman [illus. by Liz Anelli] 

In the New Illustrator Category –

This Small Blue Dot, Author and Illustrator Zeno Sworder - Winner

In the Older Readers Category –

The End of the World is Bigger than Love By Davina Bell – Winner

If you are looking for a new book for your bookshelf or as a gift for your children or a friend, these are a great option. I know some of the publishers have also already made their shortlisted books available as ebooks also. You can find more information on each of these and all of the other shortlisted books via the CBCA Website at https://cbca.org.au/

Sacha Evans [Library and ICT Manager] 

The Tek Ninjas were excited to receive their new shirts the other week and have spent the last couple of weeks starting to think about Lego League. We have entered a team into the Lego League Challenge which was officially launched last week. This years theme is Cargo Connect and the team will be exploring all things cargo, seeking advise and information from experts in the field, putting together a solution to a problem, presenting it and running challenges with a robot they construct and program.

“In CARGO CONNECT, FIRST LEGO League teams will reimagine our global transportation system and explore ways of improving how we access and deliver needed and desired goods, making all communities more connected.” [First Lego League]

Over the coming weeks the team will be working together to get things started and settle into the roles they have chosen. We look forward to sharing our journey with you over this term and next.

Sacha Evans [Library and ICT Manager]

Each week the farm will have a limited number of Farm produce boxes for sale with a variety of seasonal fresh produce. 

Each box is $15 and will include items available on the day. Please note items will vary from week to week dependent on what is in season. 

Orders are to be made through our Quickcliq system https://quickcliq.com.au/ for Fridays only and can be picked up from the front office at the end of the day. 

We also have  Belgium Duccle chicks for sale $15 each. Contact Ms Condor to find out more details or to arrange purchase via the front office 8997 7666.  

https://www.backyardchickencoops.com.au/blogs/learning-centre/5-reasons-to-love-belgian-duccle-chickens

Our Mission — is to provide the Alawa School community with delicious healthy meals and snacks and to create meaningful links to our kitchen garden program.

LUNCHTIME SPECIALS: Weeks 4-10

Available every day lunch only [Wednesday-Friday]:

- Mini beef burgers  $3.50

- Spaghetti bolognaise small serve $3.50 or large serve $5.50 /Gluten Free Spaghetti $6.50

Wednesday- Roast chicken and gravy roll - one size only $5.50

Thursday – Beef and vegetable Chilli con carne - Large size $5.50, Small $3.50

 Friday – Beef or jackfruit Taco - Large size $5.50, Small $3.50

A reminder that our school Cafe is open Wednesday to Friday ONLY. Closed on Monday and Tuesdays. 

Order online at www.quickcliq.com.au