Alawa Primary School Newsletter

Early Years Writing

As the Term 3 comes to end students have been busy finishing off writing which has been written with the purpose to inform.

Year 2 students have had a variety of information reports modelled to them about animals and sports. They are encouraged to do free choice writing based on their interests. In Year 2 students are taught to write using facts, paragraph like ideas and to elaborate main ideas.

Year 1 students have learnt to write information about a variety of animals including bees, crocodiles and cane toads. After the teacher has modelled, students are encouraged to do free choice writing based on their interests. Year 1 students have focused on writing about facts on a specific topic.

Transition students have been shown to write lists and descriptions as their writing to inform. Their lists have been about different topics and descriptions about Australian animals.

Preschool has had a different focus and have been learning about writing through classic folktales and oral language. Oral language is an essential and vital pre-requisite for literacy. Most recently preschoolers have listened to the story of, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Pre-schoolers have been asked to retell the story and draw pictures of the troll.

Ana Bernardino [Acting Assistant Principal]

Our 4th and final professional learning day for staff is planned for Friday 22nd October. There will be no school for students that day. Our staff will be reviewing our progress towards the goals in our Annual School Improvement Plan and developing the priorities and plans for 2022 as well as reviewing staff and parents perception survey feedback to inform these priorities and our 2022 operations.

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 8 of Term 3 Finnis is ahead of Manton and Goyder. 

Goyder is in the lead for the year!

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 8 of Term 3, the class with the most points was... Transition Connelly with 153 points!

There has been a lot of sensory exploration at preschool this week. Children have had the opportunity to explore kinetic sand and sensory foam during inside investigations. Some children like to head to the sensory activities as a calming, regulating experience before they head off to investigate other learning areas.

In numeracy we are focusing on number/numeral recognition up to ten. Children learn through hands on group games, songs and fingerplays and though play experiences, investigations, and incidental learning during transition times. Learning at preschool is always fun and engaging.

We are still exploring traditional tales as our Book Explorer focus. The Three Billy Goats Gruff is our focus text and we have had so much fun reading different versions of this classic tale, engaging in craft activities and acting out the story. Some children are so convincing when playing the loud, scary troll they even have the teachers shaking in their boots!

Have a great week

Alice, Emma and Kelly and Flor [Preschool Team] 

Last week I attended our quarterly Defence School Mentor workshop. These workshops are always a great opportunity to network with DSMs from other schools and benefit from their wealth of knowledge. It is also a great opportunity to listen to guest presenters and learn about organsiations that we have available to Defence families in the NT. Last week we had Chris from Mates4Mates NT join our workshop to inform us about this not for profit organsiation. Mates4Mates has only been operating in the NT for about two months. Their drop in centre is based in Goyder Square in Palmerston and is open Monday - Friday with a focus on helping Veterans and their family members form social connections. They have many activities running every week and all activities are at no cost to you. To register to become a ‘Mate’ or to find out more information about Mates4Mates visit their website or join their Facebook group.

https://www.mates4mates.org

Katie Wedel [Defence School Mentor] 

What a wonderful time we had at PlayGroup last Friday. Paula (Archie, Felicity and Annaliese’s marvellous Mum) bought in some cooked pumpkin so we decided that we must bake pumpkin scones. It was wonderful to mash the pumpkin and add it into our well-practised recipe. We baked them and they were a very vibrant orange colour and tasted delicious.

We enjoyed threading this week with beads, constructing with the hexagonal tiles, and as always playing with playdough. We love to decorate it with gems, press dinosaur footprints into it, and we also love to make cupcakes and birthday cakes!

It was such a beautiful day, so we spent most of our time outdoors, climbing, balancing, constructing, riding, and investigating the various play areas in preschool. Our parents enjoyed the sunshine, conversations and those amazing pumpkin scones too.

Miss Maria [Playgroup Coordinator] 

Alawa School has had our annual Book Fair running all Week 9, with a range of excellent texts and groovy stationary. We have sourced texts through Scholastic Books, and aimed to cater for a broad range of interests and reading abilities. 

We have novels from favourites like David Walliams, Ahn Do and Andy Griffiths, not to mention non-fiction options, which explore cooking, geography, wildlife and general knowledge. A range of graphic novels are also available and can be a fantastic option for engaging reluctant readers. As well as books, we have a collection of library bags, stationary, posters as well as craft kits to spark your child’s creativity.

Reading with your child is a great way to support their language and literacy development and as always, we urge families to encourage regular reading at home. We hope they will find something to peak their interest at our Book Fair!

The stall will be open between 8 - 8:30 am and after school, Monday – Friday throughout Week 9. It will also be open during Student Led Conferences. A huge thank you to our wonderful librarian Sacha Evans, for pulling it all together!

Reading Oasis – A Cool Place to Discover Hot Books

Last week saw all of the classes coming through the library to discover what is on offer at our Book Fair and Monday morning saw the opening of the Fair for purchasing. Parents are welcome to come in and see what is on offer, purchase, read a book with your child or just have a look around the library.

Our shopping hours for the rest of the week are:     

                                  Thursday – Friday: 8am – 8:30am

                                  Thursday, Friday: 3pm – 4pm

                                  Wednesday: 3pm – 6pm [Come see us when you attend Student Led Conferences]

Payment for the books is by Cash, Eftpos or online by Credit Card (See the back of the Wishlist). Make sure you send the wishlist back with your details, the receipt number and the amount paid filled out so your child can pick up the books. Remember, all purchases benefit our school.

Have you thought about Christmas yet? Why not give the gift of a Hot Book. If you want to purchase something for Christmas and would like it set aside for the week until you can pick it up or have it bagged for privacy to come home with your child let me know and I will organise it for you. We look forward to seeing you and your family at our Book Fair! 

Sacha Evans [Library and ICT Manager] 

Kitchen has seen some great recipes being cooked. We had a pasta week where we created some yummy pasta sauces with heaps of produce from the farm. There were lots of smiling spaghetti faces after devouring all the delicious food.

We also did some baking, creating lovely muffins, cakes and slices. The Year 3’s used the ovens for the first time which was really exciting.

Last week, the Year 5’s had a special lesson where they could choose what they wanted to cook, find a recipe, write a shopping list and come up with a budget. They made some great dishes and enjoyed the lesson a lot.

Tina Sullivan [Kitchen Teacher] 

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 depending 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 Conder 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