Alawa Primary School Newsletter

Week 8

Alawa Primary School Newsletter

Welcome to the Alawa Primary School weekly newsletter.

Principal Updates

Week 8 is here and we are starting the end of Semester wind up, however we are continuing our comprehensive teaching and learning programmes and all the usual expectations remain in place with regards to attendance and behaviour remain in place. Teachers are finalising assessments,  judgements regarding progress and preparing their reports to parents / carers which come home Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd June.


Writing: Signs of growth and improvement through the school

As I have shared various persuasive writing from our cherubs over recent weeks with you I have reflected on the journey we have been on with regards to the teaching of writing at Alawa over recent years. Back in 2018 less than a third of our students enjoyed writing and less than a quarter thought of themselves as a 'good writer'. This simulated a real focus in our school improvement agenda. Data now shows over 75% of our students now enjoy writing - they have a focus and a purpose and most of all through sharing in the Authors Chair, through email and the newsletter and Muster they have an audience. Seeing the determination right from our young ones in Transition to communicate and express their opinions is fantastic. 

Trivia Night: Friday 18th June

As yet only 1 table is booked! Are you planning to come along?

We need an indication by Friday this week or will need to cancel / postpone the event.

Sports Day: Friday 11th

Just a final reminder regarding our annual Sports Day this Friday - another huge event on our school calendar that we look forward to. Hope to see many families come along to support. 

Have a great week,

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

Students: Do you read the newsletter?

If you are a student in Years 3-6 and you are reading this great job!

Shoot me an email to let me know what date our Sports Day is on this week and which house team you think will win the day.

Sandy Cartwright

Reports: What our students think now / value?

We recently conducted a brief quizz / survey with students in Years 3 -6 gauging their understanding of their reports and their thoughts about the information contained within.

It was interesting to note the spread of aspects of the report the students are specifically looking forward to seeing / reading - quite a spread!

Assistant Principal Updates

Welcome to Week 8.

Last week we said goodbye to our café manager Karen Rusca who has left Alawa for a full time position. This week our new café manager is Yenni Kroger….A huge welcome back to Yenni and her wonderful interactions with our students. We have already tasted some delicious morsels from Yenni and look forward to many more yummy dishes. It is fantastic that you can stay with us until the end of the year. Next term we will have out our revamped menu with Yenni’s specialties. Any requests or suggestions from parents please email me your thoughts. In the coming week we will be carrying out a questionnaire for our students to ensure we are catering for their preferences and at the same time, ensuring that our meals are within our school policy of healthy, nutritious meals. Don’t forget our special deal this week which is offered on special occasions such as our sports day.

 KIDS MATTER is a mental health and wellbeing initiative for Australian primary schools. It provides proven methods, resources and support to identify and implement whole-school strategies to improve student mental health and wellbeing.

As children grow and develop, they encounter situations where they feel worried, nervous and sometimes even scared. We often worry about how they can cope and what we can do to help. Some ideas include:

Listen and talk, comfort, reassure, demonstrate and model, prepare, problem solve, encourage help seeking. Help them begin to understand that how we think effects the way we feel and how we behave. For more information see the many resources and fact sheets to support you at different stages of your child’s life. https://beyou.edu.au/fact-sheets

 Have a wonderful week.

Genevieve Donohue, [Assistant Principal]

Events calendar

Thursday 10th June800m races and some field events - 9 years and up8:45am
Friday 11th JuneSchool Sports DayAll day
Monday 14th JunePUBLIC HOLIDAY - Queens BirthdayAll day
Tuesday 15th June

Professional Development Day 

No school for students

All day
Friday 18th JuneTrivia Night5:30pm
Monday 21st JuneSchool Council meeting5:30pm
Monday 21st JuneReports for Years 5 & 6 are emailed home
Tuesday 22nd JuneReports for Preschool - Year 4 are emailed home
Wednesday 23rd - Friday 25th JuneYear 5/6 Camp to Batchelor3 days
Thursday 24th June

Attendance Reward day

9:00am
Friday 25th June

Assembly hosted by Year 3/4 Baines and Transition Lane [Parents and carers are invited to stay for a light morning tea directly following]

Last day of Term 2

8:40am
Tuesday 29th, Wednesday 30th June and Thursday 1st JulyAlawa Harvest School holiday cooking program9am- 12pm 

School Holiday Calendar: June/July 2021

Parents and students can view school holiday events by referring to the regional calendars.


For more information: 8999 3862 or tfhc.oya@nt.gov.au 

Thursday 10th June - 800m and High Jump program

Friday 11th June - Sports Day Program

Preschool news

This beautiful dry season weather has allowed us to spend a lot more time in the outdoor learning environment. Children have been enjoying getting cosy and reading books inside our preschool cubby house and have also been really interested in building cubbies of their own. The big wooden blocks are always popular and often become the base structure for caravans, animal houses and imaginary buildings. This week a number of children worked together and created a cubby that started as a sheet over a climbing frame and gradually got extensions in the form of various blocks. There was a lot of negotiation required as entrances and exits were created and decisions were made about how the space would be used. There is so much potential to develop this cubby interest and for the children to take ownership of how a play space comes together.

Our five lovely preschool chickens are happy and healthy and are getting very big! It has been such an amazing experience for the preschool children and their families to be able to interact with the chickens and watch them grow and change each week.

 Have a great week,

Alice, Emma, Kelly and Flor  [Preschool Team]

Attendance

Primary School Average for Week 7 Term 2: 91.63%

It is terrific having all our families back with us at school.

The class with the highest attendance for Week 7: Transition Connelly with 98.33%!

In the lead for Term 2 we have Year 3 Hughes with 96.24%!!!

Lates

Arriving late for school has a significant impact on your child’s learning and engagement in the education program.

There were 52 late arrivals in Transition—Year 6 in Week 7 Term 2!

The class with the least lates for Week 7 was: Preschool Blue Group with 0 lates!

House Points

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.

In Week 7 of Term 2 Manton is ahead of Finnis and Goyder. 

Goyder is still in the lead for the year!

Class Points

Muster is held at Alawa after each recess and lunch break - this gives us an opportunity for everyone to settle from playtime, share any celebrations and work on consistency of messages and expectation.

Each day we allocate class points during Muster time recognizing those students who were ready and waiting to go back to class calmly and quietly after break times. The winning class from each 3 weeks will receive ice-blocks from Ms Cartwright and get to choose 5 songs that will play before our bells for the following 3 weeks.

In Week 7 Term 2, the class with the most points was... Year 2 Ward!

Recycling

Alawa Recycling is not only an important part of our fundraising activates here at Alawa with all proceeds going directly back into the farm, but also a vital step in helping us achieve the goal of creating a more sustainable farm and garden program. 

Items can be deposited into the house bags in the back car park and are counted at the end of each week as each item earns a point for that house. 

Not many deposit last week - come on, bring in your recyclables and support our Farm and the environment!

Persuasive Letters to Ms Cartwright

Dear Ms. Beautiful, Beautiful Cartwright.

Please may we have free Icey poles just for one week? It is so hot and we work so hard.

Some of us can’t buy Icey poles and we just like Icey poles. Please Ms. Cartwright.

Sincerely Penelope [Year 2 Ward]

 

Dear Miss Cartwright, can Year Two Ward please have a class pet?.  We will feed it. We will play with it. We will walk it, and we will put it in its cage when we are done with it.

Will clean the cage ten times a week. It will be fun. Year Two Ward will love it.

I will make sure everybody gets a turn. I hope you have a good day.

From Mali [Year 2 Ward]

 

CLASS PET by Sofia Quintner [Year 3/4 Baines]

Dear Mrs Cartwright

Surely everybody knows that a class pet will be a good addition to the class.

Throughout all my time at Alawa I have never had a class pet. I think a class pet will be good entertainment for us. It will show us responsibility and for those who don’t have pets can have the opportunity time with and interact with it.

Firstly a class pet will entertain us and when we come back from recess and lunch.

Naturally I feel that a pet can show us responsibility like how to teach it tricks, we will take good care of it no matter what it is.

Furthermore a pet will be a great opportunity for those who don’t have pets to interact with animals more often.

To my conclusion I believe a class pet will do its purpose as a cute, cuddly, scaly, furry, fishy or anything like that, we will be ready.

 

Dear Ms Cartwright,

Can we have the parrot cheer back for the week?

Firstly we all miss it or may have forgotten it.

Secondly new students and teachers do not know it yet.

In conclusion because I forgot it as well.

From Lestari [Year 1]

 

 

Dear Ms Cartwright

Can we have the parrot cheer back because we forget it what it sounds like and like it and the new people would like it too.

From Paige [Year 1]

They certainly convinced Mrs Donohue - the Parrot Cheer took over the applause wheel last Friday!

Alawa English Team news

 Year 1 Jeffery have enjoyed writing persuasive letters. Here are some letters that they have typed up.


Dear extremely beautiful mum,

I extremely want a watch that can message people and tells you the time and calls your other friends and people. 

Firstly, I can call you and other people and friends. 

Additionally, I will love you soooooo much.

Finally, I can message you and dad and other people and friends whenever I want. 

In conclusion, these are my reasons why I should get one.

Love yours truly the best.

Jude J 

Dear my windfall mum

Can I peale have a puppy peale firstly i love you secondly i love puppy thridly that are so cute in conclusion I want a puppy peale. 

From Hien Nhan


Library news

It is hard to believe we are already in Week 8 and we only have two weeks to go before School Holidays are upon us once again.

This week will be the last week of borrowing for the term and over the next couple of weeks I will be putting out a call for returns. Please check your bookshelves and let me know if you are unable to find your library books so we can investigate further.

Sacha Evans [Library & ICT Manager]

Playgroup

We had such a blast at Playgroup last Friday. It was such a beautiful morning that we spent most of it outside. In fact, we had so much fun outdoors we didn’t even make it to the Farm! There was so much fun to be had on the seesaw, in the cubby and in the sandpit. There were dress ups and many of us painted too. We really enjoyed each other’s company this week. The parents enjoyed a cuppa while we shared a biscuit. We said hello to family siblings in the early years playground and spent time watching the chicks scratch and peck in their cage.

Indoors we enjoyed puzzles on the mat, building with blocks and felt boards and creating with playdough.

We’ll definitely head to the Farm next week so don’t forget your hat and water bottle.

See you then

Miss Maria [Playgroup Coordinator] 

Sporting Star....


Last week Blair Hanley from Year 5/6 Hammond spent 3 days representing the Darwin Region in the U12 AFL team. Students spent their days playing games and working on their AFL skills. 

The team played other teams from across the Top End over a 3 day period playing 8 games in total. Blairs team won 7 of those 8 games and dominated the camp. 

Blair told Miss Tamra "They had the presentation on the Wednesday but I didn't make the NT team. I did have lots of fun though and made some new friends. We also got to go to Crocodylus Park on Tuesday as well" 

Fantastic work Blair and congratulations!

Super Star Staff


One of our fantastic staff members Mrs. Bronwyn Cleary has taken out first place in the Pine Creek Art Exhibition for her amazing painting of 'Morton' a charismatic local buffalo. 

The Art Festival is run in conjunction with the Pine Creek Goldrush Festival which is run each year in the town of Pine Creek. 

Mrs. Cleary won $1000 which she will be putting towards attending an Art retreat in Tasmania later in the year. 

Congratulations Mrs. Clearly - you are a SUPER STAR!

The BEAT-Tides 2021

Last week the Senior Choir, consisting of 20 students from Years 5 and 6, joined with students from across the Darwin Region to take part in their first BEAT 2021 joint rehearsal.

20 schools took part in this joint collaboration with the BEAT-Tides event to take place later in the year, 15-17 September. 

Conductors from the NT Music School made special note of the Alawa Primary Schools organisation and enthusiasm on the day, fantastic effort by both the students and of course our Choir Master Mr Lotherington. 

Cafe changes

Due to our Cafe Manager Miss Karen recently taking on a full time position elsewhere we are VERY excited to announce that one of our favorite parent helpers has agreed to take on the role - Miss Yenni!! 

We are super excited to have Miss Yenni back in the cafe and look forward to lots of yummy and nutritional treats over the coming weeks.

The cafe menu will also undergo some changes which we hope to share with you in Term 3. 

We are also looking for some parent helpers for this Friday for Sports day to help Miss Yenni out so if you have a spare hour from 12pm please contact the front office. 

Cafe

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 7-10

Wednesday – Spaghetti Bolognaise *V option available or Chicken wings and fried rice

Thursday– Spaghetti Bolognaise *V option available or Homemade Beef Burgers

Friday –Sports day lunch special, sausage or quiche, popper and icy pole - $6.00

[Serve $3.00 or large serve $5.50 Spaghetti, Gluten Free Spaghetti $6.50]

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

Order online at www.quickcliq.com.au  

Trivia Night - Bookings open!

Professional Development Day

We will be holding a Professional Development Day for staff on Tuesday June 15th.  Professional development days are used by schools to improve the skills of our teachers, school leaders and school administrative support staff. They also allow us the time to continue working on our School Improvement agenda. Students are not to attend school on this day and we have once again arranged Brat Pack to be available for child minding [at your own cost] for those in need.

Please contact Brat Pack direct to secure your child’s place — 8927 2546 or thebratpack@bigpond.com

* Please note that Jingili OSCH will not be operating that day.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact the office on 8997 7666 during school hours. 

Community notices