Alawa Primary School Newsletter

Week 3

Alawa Primary School Newsletter

Welcome to the Alawa Primary School weekly newsletter.

Principal Updates

Well I am pleased to say the Dry seems to have arrived—a very pleasant long weekend with temperatures very comfortable as many of our community were out and about making the most of living in the NT.

Mrs Donohue and I have been enjoying our time in classrooms across the school engaging with all students through our quarterly ‘Pep Talks’ - great opportunities to hear student views, share common messages and reinforce expectations for us all at Alawa. In the Years 3-6 rooms I have been focussing on defining once again what we view as an 'Assessment Capable Learner' and how we can reflect, view and measure our individual progress with our learning. The students have come up with some very thoughtful responses which are now on display in their classrooms.

Thanks to everyone for doing their best to be safe in our very congested car park area - we know this is not easy and appreciate everyone's efforts to keep everyone safe! I am advised the tender for our upgrade has now closed and we look forward to the contract being awarded in coming weeks.

It has been terrific to see so many parents / carers joining us for Bootcamp on Wednesday mornings and to see more and more children arriving by 8:15am for the start. This continues through till Sports Day on June 11th.

Farm Working Bee

Mr Bob and Mrs Conder are hoping to see lots of families joining us this Saturday for the Farm Working Bee from 8:30am - 10:30am. The more people that come along the more we can get done to keep our Farm in tip top condition for all our students who engage in such rich learning in their weekly lessons as well as many enjoying lunchtime breaks down there.

Reminder: NAPLAN starts Tuesday 11th May for Years 3 and 5

Just a reminder to parents / carers of students in Years 3 and 5 - starting next Tuesday [11th May] the annual NAPLAN testing. Students participate in 4 test each over the two week period and I cannot stress enough the importance of a good nights sleep, healthy nutritious breakfast and calm start to the day.

 Have a great week, 

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

Value and Tools for Learning


During my time in primary classrooms over the past two weeks  I have also been clarifying / exploring with the classes the differences between the Alawa School Values and the ALLE tools for learning. We have all agreed on the following:

  • The values are things we do / be / show
  • The Tools are things we use.

Further information about our Assessment Capable Learner can be found on our website:

https://www.alawaprimary.nt.edu.au/learning/assessment-capable-learner

Honour Distinction: Alexandra Vidins

Huge congratulations to our latest Alawa Honour Distinction student: Ms Alexandra Vidins from Year 3. Alexandra enjoyed spending her time as Principal last Friday helping run the front office, handing out merits around the school, facilitating a Pep Talk in Year 3/4 Baines and talking on the microphone at Muster.

Cybersafety: What do you know?

In our 2020 Parent Perception survey quite a few parents / carers expressed concern about their child's engagement with, use of and access to social media, the internet and all things in the 'Cyber' world.

We have a big focus on this in classes this year and as we are committed to our Annual Improvement Plan we are offering a parent information session. This will be held on Monday 24th May 5:30pm in the school library.

To inform the content of this session in addition to how we as a school can continue to support you and your child navigating the 'online world' we are seeking your views through a brief survey. Results will be shared as well as used to plan our parent session and further sessions with students.

We would really appreciate as many people responding to by Friday 7th May.

Simply click this link to access:

2021 Alawa Parent Cybersafety Survey link

Soccer Gala Day: Friday 21st May

This week forms are available for students in Years 4-6 to register their interest in participating in the regional Soccer Gala Day to be held on Friday 21st May. We have registered to have 2 teams involved on the day and busses are funded through our Casuarina Education Precinct Sport in Schools program which the school contributes to financially.

Forms and money are to be handed in at the front office by Friday 14th May at the latest and will be date and time stamped.



The final team will be selected by Monday 17th May according to the following criteria:

  • order in which the form was handed in
  • payment of the $8 levy
  • recent behaviour in class and the playground
  • recent attendance and arrival at time for school.

Any students who pay the levy but are not selected for the teams will have their money reimbursed.

Assistant Principal Updates

Mother’s Day Stall

Our SRC leaders have been very busy preparing for our Mother’s Day stall this week. We have purchased some wonderful gifts and our students have made many little items. Our gifts will range in price from $1- $6. We will have on sale a range of things from candles, soaps, notebooks, plants, cards, necklaces, serving spoons and much more. Start dropping hints of what you may like Mum!! Our stall will be open on Wednesday afternoon as well as Thursday and Friday before and after school this week.

Music- There will be no music lessons in the next two weeks due to NAPLAN.

 Assessment

All children from Years 3-6 will be completing their Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) in Science test this week. These will be scheduled through the week as part of their regular lesson. The test is done online. These assessments provide valuable information to teachers about your child’s current learning needs in Science and enables them to better plan learning programs as they progress through their schooling.

Over the next two weeks our students in Year 3 and 5 will be completing their tests for NAPLAN. The students have completed their practice test and have become familiar with the tools and skills needed to complete this test online. Please encourage them to have a good night’s sleep and reinforce that this is a one off test and we use a lot of other information when we assess and report on their performance. They do not replace the extensive ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance. Any further questions please let me know and/or view website for further information.  https://nap.edu.au.

Have a lovely week

Genevieve Donohue, [Assistant Principal]

NAPLAN Online School Test Schedule 2021

Week 4 - 11th - 14th May

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Writing -All YEAR 3 on paper

Writing Year 5 Group 2

Reading Year 3 Group1

Writing YEAR 5 Group 1

 

Reading YEAR 5 Group 2

Reading Year 3 Group 2

Reading YEAR 5 Group 1

Catch-Up

 

Week 5 - 17th  - 21st May

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday/Friday

Language Conventions

Year 3 Group 1

Language Conventions

Year 5 Group 1

 Language Conventions

Year 5 Group 2

Language Conventions

Year 3 Group 2

Numeracy

YEAR 5 Group 1

 Numeracy

YEAR 3 Group 1

Numeracy

YEAR 5 Group 2

Numeracy

YEAR 3 Group 2

Catch-Up

 

Year 3 group 1       Baines                    Year 5 group 1      Hammond and Henderson     

Year 3 group 2     Hughes                       Year 5 group 2  Lotherington and France

 

Year 1 McHatten Assembly and Morning Tea

Events calendar

Friday 7th MayTrack and Field session for Years 3-69:30am
Tuesday 11th - Friday 14th MayNAPLAN testing - Years 3 & 5 only
Wednesday 12th MayBootcamp - everyone welcome8:15am-8:45am
Friday 14th May

Assembly hosted by Year 3 Hughes and Transition Connelly [Parents and carers are invited to stay for a light morning tea directly following]

Track and Field session for Years 3-6

8:40am

9:30am

Monday 17th - Friday 20th MayNAPLAN testing - Years 3 & 5 only
Monday 17th MaySchool Council meeting5:30pm 
Wednesday 19th MayBootcamp - everyone welcome8:15am-8:45am
Friday 21st May

Track and Field session for Years 3-6

Soccer Gala day

9:30am

All day

Monday 24th MayCybersafety Parent Information night5:30pm
Wednesday 26th MayBootcamp - everyone welcome8:15am-8:45am
Friday 28th May

Assembly hosted by Year 5/6 Hammond  [Parents and carers are invited to stay for a light morning tea directly following]

Rainbow Run

8:40am


1pm

Wednesday 2nd JuneBootcamp- everyone welcome8:15am-8:45am
Wednesday 9th June

Bootcamp - everyone welcome

Tennis Gala day - TBC

8:15am-8:45am
Thursday 10th June800m races and some field events - Year 3-6 only9.00am
Friday 11th JuneSchool Sports DayAll day
Monday 14th JunePUBLIC HOLIDAY - Queens BirthdayAll day
Tuesday 15th JuneProfessional Development Day All day
Friday 18th JuneTrivia NightTBA
Monday 21st JuneSchool Council meeting5:30pm
Wednesday 23rd - Friday 25th JuneYear 5/6 Camp to BatchelorAll day
Wednesday 23rd JunePreschool Bike-A-ThonTBA
Thursday 24th June

Darwin Region Track and Field

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

Rainbow Run

Preschool news

Swimming lessons have wrapped up just as the gorgeous dry season officially begins.

Children have been really enjoying our new and quite challenging obstacle course with opportunities for climbing, swinging, balancing and sliding. Although a lot of gross motor skill development takes place on the obstacle course so does lots of play. Often when we think a child is simply discovering the obstacle course they are actually engaging in imaginative play and are escaping from dragon or keeping far away from the sharks that are lurking in the water beneath.

The outdoor learning environment at Preschool provides so many opportunities for children to build upon their learning. Children are often surprising the teaching staff in the way they utilise equipment or develop worlds entirely from their imagination. This week children have enjoyed exploring the many cosy nooks and natural cubbies scattered amongst the plants and bushes in the garden. We have had fairies, superheroes, adventurers and wild animals. We look forward to the adventures and stories which will unfold during outdoor investigations this term at Preschool.

Have a great week

Alice, Emma, Kelly and Flor  [Preschool Team]

Attendance

Primary School Average for Week 2 Term 2: 93.44%

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

The class with the highest attendance for Week 2: Year 2 Bernardino!

Lates

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

There were 34 late arrivals in Transition—Year 6 in Week 2 Term 2!

The class with the least lates for Week 2 was: Preschool Red Group!

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 2 of Term 2 Goyder is ahead of Finnis and Manton. 

Finnis is still 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 2 Term 2, the class with the most points was... Year 5/6 Lotherington!

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. 

Library news

Book Club is now due. If you have not received one you can view the catalogue and order online through the Scholastic Bookclub website at scholastic.com.au/LOOP or download the LOOP app From Google Play or from the App Store or by returning your order form and payment to the office.

Please contact the front office on 8997 7666 if you have any questions or concerns. 

Sacha Evans [ Library & ICT Manager]

Classroom news - Transition Lane

 Transition Lane have started Term 2 off with a splash! We have had 8 swimming lessons and worked on improving our confidence in and around the water through participating in lots of games and songs. We have learnt the aquacode which helps keep us all safe in and around water.

  • Never swim alone
  • Float and wave
  • Reach to rescue

    Bethany “ I learnt how to put my ears under the water.”
  • Maryanne “I loved swimming with big arms.”

    Perrin “My favourite thing to do was swim with the kick board.”

    Expression of interest - long sleeved polos

    We are currently looking into purchasing long sleeved polos for students to wear as part of their day to day school uniform.  Cost per shirt is $40.00 

    We are looking for those families that think they would like to purchase to advise us via email to Ms Tamra at tamra.caruana@education.nt.gov.au 

    If we receive enough interest we will take to council next meeting for discussion. Please have your response back by Friday 14th May. 

    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 1-3

    Wednesday – Spaghetti Bolognaise *V option available or Tuna Mornay with rice

    Thursday Super special– Spaghetti Bolognaise *V option available or Beef Nachos

    Friday –Sweet Chill Chicken Tender rolls with lettuce, cheese and mayo

    [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  

    Playgroup

    We had a blast at Playgroup last Friday. We were lucky enough to welcome two new Alawa families. We went straight outdoors this morning since Preschool were swimming. We had a great time playing in the ambulance the pre-schoolers have made, as well as painting and water play. Inside we had fun setting up a café for our friends, threading beads onto stick and trying to make patterns, lots of time at the play dough table and puzzles! We also visited the Farm. Feeding the chickens and searching for eggs around the chicken run was a blast and we all adore the goats and lamb.

    Join us for another fun week this Friday at Playgroup. We will try our hand at some baking.

    See you soon,

    Miss Maria [Playgroup Coordinator]

    Kitchen and Nutrition news

    This term is ‘Breads of the World’ and we are exploring delicious cooking through different styles of bread. The first bread we tried was damper which fitted in nicely to our Anzac day commemorations. This is a nice easy bread which uses two techniques to give it a nice fluffy rise. 

    The second bread was a yoghurt flatbread which just uses Greek yoghurt and self raising flour to give a yummy bread to go with our amazing curries. We made a variety of curries throughout the week including a Sri Lankan style lentil dhal, Japanese style curry, green chicken curry, chicken and pawpaw curry, Indian style meatball curry and a Nepalese style curry. In the curries, we used produce from the farm including herbs, pawpaw, Asian greens, eggplant and curry leaves. 

    I also would like to congratulate Year 5/6 Hammond for winning a prize pack in the Stephanie Alexander Dairy competition, so exciting to see these fabulous recipes being entered into the competition.

    Buddy Oliver’s Easy Flatbreads

    Ingredients

    • 100 g self-raising flour , plus extra for dusting

    • 4 tablespoons Greek yoghurt

    Tina Sullivan [Kitchen Teacher] 

    Defence School Mentor news

    Being in the Defence community we often hear about services or organisations that are available to us but sometimes we are not certain on what the organisations actually do, what services they provide or if we are eligible. One of those organisations available here in the NT is the Australian Kookaburra Kids Foundation.

    Kookaburra Kids deliver services to young people aged 8-18 years impacted by family mental illness with the aim of empowering them to build resilience, lifelong knowledge and abilities, so they can reach their potential. Children attend an annual camp and a series of fun activity days, featuring mental health education. In the Northern Territory these services are only offered to children with a parent in the Defence Force.

    For further information on the Kookaburra Kids program including the camps, activity days and the online Connect program please visit the webpage at: www.kookaburrakids.org.au

    Katie Wedel [Defence School Mentor] 

    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. 

    Entertainment Book - last days of Mothers Day special

    COVID update

    Please watch out for any new and important updates required to be sent out via email from Ms Cartwright and in our Covid updates section in the newsletter each week.  Please note that birthday cakes etc can still not be brought in to school to share amongst students. 


    The risk of COVID-19 in our communities cannot be eliminated which is why it is important for everyone to follow all health directions.

    To stay up to date with the latest information visit www.coronavirus.nt.gov.au

    Community notices