Alawa Primary School Newsletter

Week 9 is upon us and this week we have some very exciting events locked in:

• Wednesday 8th 5pm Preschool Graduation
• Thursday 9th 5:30pm Year 6 Graduation
• Friday 10th 
• Junior Choir and a few of the Senior Choir students are heading to Nemarluk to perform a few special items with Ms Saleena & Ms Bernardino
• Year 6 Fun Day out ice skating and at Leanyer Water Park celebrating their final year of primary school with Mr Lotherington, Ms Hammond and Ms Katie
• Final class assembly for 2021 hosted by 4/5 Henderson and including a chat from the the Alawa Student Commissioners
• Alice O'Donoghue having her day as Principal.

As mentioned last week classes are still having usual literacy and numeracy rotations daily, while starting some various Christmas crafts and arts during other available time. Our sessions supporting children be aware and ready for their next year of school have wrapped up as have our Preschool and Transition information / open sessions.

Children in Years 3-6 have started their applications for various roles and responsibilities around the school for 2022 - so many super excited volunteers. These are due to me by Friday 10th December.

Our main Student Leadership roles of School Captains, Vice Captains, House Captains and Learning Commission are not decided or applications called for until the first weeks of 2022.

Staffing Updates

As always happens at this time of year we prepare to farewell  a number of our dedicated staff. As many of you are aware we have had a very stable staff for quite a while now so as does happen there is a turn over happening for 2022.

We will have many of our team back on deck and working across the school, some in different year levels, roles than they have been in for 2021. Our awesome Farm and kitchen team [Ms Sullivan, Ms Conder, Farmer Bob and Ms Elsa] will all be back facilitating this core program at our school. Ms Yenni will be back in the Cafe continuing to serve up yummy delights and creative snacks.

• Ms Athena Hammond after 8 years at Alawa is heading over to Wagaman Primary School to help lead their school improvement agenda
• Mr Matt Lotherington after 4 years at Alawa is heading to Moulden Park Primary as Senior Teacher
• Ms Alice Milne after 4 years at Alawa is taking a years leave to head south to be closer to family and reconnect but plans to be back with us in 2023
• Mr Riley France after 5 years at Alawa is heading to a Year 5 role at Larrakeyah Primary 
• Ms Lucy Hartley after a year at Alawa is heading to a new role at Henbury Special School
• Ms Amanda Lane after 2 years at Alawa is heading to the Department Office as an advisor to support Student Wellbeing and Inclusion
• Mr Steve Trezise after 5 years at Alawa is heading to Howard Springs Primary school to a position in a primary classroom
• Ms Lena is heading to Kununurra with her family
• Ms Megan is heading to do some work in the mines - a big change for her.

We are welcoming Mrs Angela Henschke back from Maternity leave as a Highly Accomplished Teacher. Mrs Henschke has already been popping back in and joined us for our leadership planning last weekend and also met many parents at the Transition Open night last week,

We have already recruited some terrific new people to work in our team for 2022:

• Mr Nathan Wilson - Senior Teacher
• Mr Jarrad Lawrence - Primary Teacher
• Mrs Leanne Griffin - Primary Teacher
• Ms Georgia Block - Primary Teacher

We are finalizing recruitment soon for our Special Education Teacher and an Early Years Teacher.

We still hope to announce all classes and teacher allocations on Tuesday 14th December.

Looking forward to seeing many of you at the various graduations, awards assembly etc over the coming week, 

Stay safe and happy

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

Hello everyone and welcome to Week 9!

Wow, not long to go now and still so many exciting events to happen. As you are aware our Graduations are on this week. This includes our older children in Year 6 as well as our youngest children in Preschool. All students will be moving on to another stage in their lives and we wish them all the best. We also have our end of year assembly next week. We look forward to recognising our students who have won awards as well as people who have contributed to making Alawa a fantastic school and community.

Instrumental Musicians: This Friday will be the last session for our Instrumental Lessons. I would like to acknowledge the NT School of Music for providing this opportunity for our students to learn to play an instrument at school. Please stay tuned, as we hope to arrange our students to demonstrate their abilities in front of our Year 3-6 students some time next week. A reminder that if your children would like to be involved next year please get in contact with the school or contact the NT School of Music.

 Attendance Reward: As we are all aware regular attendance at school is crucial in enabling each child to be successful. Next Wednesday we would like to acknowledge great attendance across the school. Every child who has 90% attendance for the term will be invited to enjoy some time on a water slide that we will set up at school. We will also be selling our Sausage Special at the canteen. 

Have a great week.

 Genevieve Donohue [Assistant Principal]

It is hard to believe we only have one more week of kitchen for this year! It has been a fun filled two weeks with the end of the 'Breads of the World' topic. We finished this topic off with delicious pizzas made with handmade bases and lots of fresh toppings. I was very proud of the groups who had a go at using different toppings to what they were used to having on bought pizzas. 

Last week saw Year 3 and 3/4 doing a fried rice challenge with proper judging and ice cream prizes. Well done to all the groups who had a go. Year 4/5 France also did fried rice but had the chance to also make wontons and rice paper rolls to go with it. 

For our last week of kitchen, I have had lots of requests for biscuits so we will get stuck into some baking and create some delicious biscuits.

We still have some of Ms Elsa's yummy ice cream being sold through the front office for $3

Have a safe and happy festive season and enjoy cooking.

Tina Sullivan [Kitchen specialist]

Hello. This week is the third and final instalment of our tips for posting. This week’s tips are suggestions of how to support your child once you are in your new location. I hope you have found this series of posting tips useful.

• When arranging your new home, organise the children's room first so they will have a safe place during all the chaos. Place household items in familiar places as much as possible.
• Resume normal family routines as soon as possible (bedtime, chores, discipline, traditions). Children benefit from a sense of security, structure, and things that are predictable.
• Encourage opportunities for making new friends through neighbourhood, school, church, and familiar extracurricular activities.
• Don’t expect children to go to a new school or child-care immediately after a move. They will need time to get used to their new surroundings, and some special attention from you, before facing the next big challenge.
• When the child starts school go with him or her. Meet as many teachers as you can and ask to introduce your child to the Principal.
• Contact the school after a few weeks to see how the child has settled in.
• If teachers are concerned that the child is behind in schoolwork remember the Education Assistance that Defence offers. Contact the REDLO for any advice.
• Children need time to adjust. Do not become over-concerned about signs of regression to earlier developmental stages or to early reactions to moving. In general, it takes children at least six months to adjust to a move. However, be alert to signs of depression (mood swings, despair, changes in sleeping and eating). Contact your school counsellor and other mental health professionals for assistance.

We have a number of Defence families leaving us this year and several of those are leaving this week. I would like to take this opportunity to wish them all good luck in their new locations and hope the move goes smoothly. Tomorrow we are having a special Defence Kids Club pizza party to farewell our students who are posting and also our year 6’s who are heading off to middle school next year.

Have a safe and relaxing break.

Katie Wedel, [Defence School, Mentor] 

*Suggestions Credit: Ken Welsh: NSW Regional Education Liaison Officer.

The preschool children are getting excited about their graduation night which takes place tonight, Wednesday 8th from 5-6pm in the library. Families of the preschool children are invited along to watch their special little person be presented with their official graduation certificate and have their photo taken with their child’s teacher.

Children have been busy practicing a beautiful song that they will perform to their families. They have been creating artwork and jazzing up their graduation hats to wear with their fanciest outfit.

The Preschool graduation night is about celebrating all the learning and growth that has taken place throughout the year. The preschool team are so proud of every single child and hope they have the best evening ever!

Alice, Emma, Kelly and Flor [Preschool Team] 

With the end of the school year around the corner books are due back at the library. Please check around the house to see if you have any stray books hiding and return them to the school. I will be sending out overdues again over the next few days.

I know some students are already missing being able to borrow and read books at home. I encourage you to visit your local library over the holidays to encourage your child’s love of reading and help keep their reading skills current. The holidays provide some fantastic activities for kids with those at your local library being free. Here are some things you can do with your child this Christmas and School Holidays.

City of Darwin Libraries Casuarina, Karama, Nightcliff and Darwin have a number of activities planned leading up to Christmas. These can be found at https://www.darwin.nt.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/attachments/Calendar_2021_FA_O_HR.pdf. Keep an eye out for their School Holiday Program which should be released later this month.

City of Palmerston Library Christmas and School Holiday Program - 

The week before Christmas the Palmerston library is having a Christmas Craft Week with something happening every day including crafts and a movie. The 4 weeks of January also have something happening every day including movies, workshops and craft. While all activities are free bookings are required for the craft sessions.

Miss Sacha [Library and ICT Manager]

What a wonderful Friday morning we enjoyed at Playgroup. Most of us are starting Preschool in 2022 with some of us attending the Preschool Orientation. We were abuzz with news and excitement. It has been amazing to watch the children grow into Pre-schoolers and watch them interact with each other and their Preschool. Today we enjoyed decorating and cutting out Christmas stars, and setting up the dolls house with furniture, people and cars. We also made scones this week to share with our friends and caregivers. We love playing with the dinosaurs and constructing with the magnetic blocks too. This week we explored the light boards, looking at shapes, shadows and colours and then seeing what colours mixing the colours. We played outdoors and then enjoyed our homemade scones with jam. YUM!

Next week is our last Playgroup for 2021 so I hope to see you there. 

Miss Maria [Playgroup Coordinator] 

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 6 -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 - Nachos - Large size $5.50, Small $3.50

Thursday – Sushi, Tuna and Corn OR Chicken and Cucumber - one size only $5.50

 Friday – Chicken fried rice - 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  

In conjunction with our attendance reward day ,Wednesday 15th December [Week 10], the Cafe will be selling a lunch special available for all students to purchase. 

$6.00 - Sausage in bread, popper juice and icy pole

Orders are now open and can be made via QuickCliq or please note 'Lunch Day special' on students lunch order bag.