Newsletter 5 - Term 1 - Week 8 - 2022
Week 8 News
Dear parents, families and carers.
I am so pleased that I have had the opportunity to act as Principal of Alyangula Area School (even though it is only for a short period of time). Since my commencement last Monday, I have been able to visit so many classrooms and seen, first-hand, the high level of enthusiasm of students and staff as they work together to focus on their learning.
As I mentioned at assembly on Friday, what better week to start than Harmony Week? I have seen some amazing foods from all around the world and also witnessed great examples of students mixing so well with each other – learning, playing and caring with and for each other. I would like to thank all families who, so willingly and generously, contributed to the foods that were shared with classmates and staff. We certainly have a very large and highly respected multi-cultural community at our school.
Congratulations to the many students who were recognised at our assembly last Friday for their efforts in so many different areas of learning, and for displaying the school values. More than 40 students from many classes received the Merit Awards and a further 5 students received the Principal’s Award. The Principal’s Awards are presented to students who have earned 4 Merit Awards during their time at AAS. It was also very pleasing to see so many family members at the assembly and I am sure that everyone would agree that our student leaders who led the assembly did a great job.
Award winners at Week 8 Assembly
Principals Awards Week 8
As our first term rapidly comes to an end, we have a couple of very important and enjoyable events that are happening in the next two weeks:
- School Swimming Carnival at the Alyangula Aquatic Centre this Friday 1st The Transition to Year 3 students will participate from 8.30am to 10.15am whilst the Year 4 to Year 12 students will participate from 10.45am to 12.30pm. The program lists 145 events so it will be a very busy day. Families are asked to please ensure that permission notes are signed and returned urgently.
- The second event is the “Banding Together Food and Music” fundraising festival which will be held from 5pm on Wednesday 6 April. All families and community members are invited to join us for an evening of entertainment and a wide variety of delicious foods. An excellent and enjoyable way to bring our busy term to a (almost) close.
School Canteen
As mentioned in the last Newsletter, Fairway 19 has taken over the management of the school canteen. The service is offered 5 days a week and a variety of food and other items are available for purchase. We had hoped that QuickCliq might be up and running to enable families to order food. However, there have been a few delays and we shall let you know when it will be available. Meanwhile, we continue to try to streamline the system and we feel that it is now running quite smoothly. Please have a look at the menu which is included towards the end of this Newsletter.
Berry Street Education Model
The school, in conjunction with the other 3 schools in the Groote Archipelago, have started to explore the Berry Street Education Model. The model focuses on developing consistent approaches to whole school teaching and learning across each of the school sites. Staff from all schools attended the first two days of training in 2021 and will attend the 2nd round of training on Thursday and Friday 21 and 22 April. The program had been supported by School Council and has been approved by the Department of Education. Therefore, week 1 of term 2 will be a very short one for students – only attending school on the Tuesday and Wednesday. Please mark this in your calendar.
Alyangula Art Program
In Art, the Year 2/3 classes have been working with clay building. The slab bowls and plates display techniques in molding, joining and painting. These pieces are based on designs inspired by the students ‘Connection to Coast’ study.
Year 2/3
In Art, the Year 4,5,6 students have been working with clay building. The pinch pots monsters display techniques in clay molding, joining,and painting. These crazy creations are based on a fictitious or real character of their own choice. Photos of the finished works and their profiles
will be displayed in the Multi-Purpose Room.
Year 4,5,6
The Year 7, 8, 9 and 10s have been working with ghost net weaving. The designs are inspired by the wonderful work of the Anindilyakwa Art Centre basket weavers, who up-cycle ghost net and scrap materials to create their art.
The students have also been making relief portrait sculptures. Techniques used are plaster cast molding, clay molding and painting.
Celebrating Harmony Week
2022 Annual School Improvement Plan (ASIP) goals
Goal 1
By the end of 2022 we will have strengthen our teachers’ mathematical content knowledge and pedagogy so that it is consistent across all classrooms and Groote Eylandt schools. We will see improvement in student mathematics outcomes that are at a minimum equivalent to one years’ academic growth. This will be measured by growth in Math Essential Assessment, PAT-M and NAPLAN.
Goal 2
By the end of 2022 we will have strengthen our teachers’ knowledge and understanding of students with complex and unmet learning needs. We will be successful in improving all students’ self-regulation, relationships, wellbeing, growth and academic achievement. This will be measured by an increase in positive interactions around the school and a reduction in incidents between students and students and staff.
NAPLAN
Students in year 3, 5, 7 and 9 will be sitting NAPLAN in term 2. As part of our preparations, we commenced doing practice tests last week and these will continue this week up until Thursday. Please find below the information for parents and carers.
Reminders
- “Banding Together Food and Music” evening (previously advertised as a Music Variety Night) – Week 9
This is a fund-raising event which will have lots of different foods and provide opportunities for some staff and a small number of students to perform. Evening starts at 5pm.
- Garden Contractors - Jodie & Steve Huggett
As the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end”. Our amazing garden contractors, Jody and Steve Huggett will be finishing up when their contract expires on 26/7/2022. Jody’s labour of love has been the highlight of many visitors to Alyangula over many years.
We need a new team to take over from them. If you have the passion and is interested to be the next “Team Huggy”, please get in contact with the school, Jody or Steve to discuss.
- Social Media - Please be mindful to ask parents’ permission before you post photos of other children on social media. Some families do not want their children’s photos on Facebook while some children, for their own protection, should not be in photos.
- Health, safety and maintenance is an important part of our daily operations. If you notice anything that can be a potential health, safety or maintenance issue, please report it to the front office.
- Whole school assembly
Every second Friday we hold a whole school assembly and invite parents, families and school community members to join in the occasion. Our assemblies commence at 8:10am and always focus on celebrating student success. Classroom teachers nominate two students to receive a Merit Award at each assembly. Parents will be notified when their child is receiving an award to ensure that they can be present for the moment. In addition to this, our classes take turns in presenting a class performance at each assembly. Once again parents are notified of the class performance by their child’s teacher.
- Communication:
Step 1: If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas you would like to share please talk with your child’s teacher.
Step 2: Contact the leadership team if you still have questions and concerns after speaking with the teacher.
- Transition to Year 3 - Georgia Laidlaw - senior teacher georgia.laidlaw@education.nt.gov.au
- Year 4 to 12 - Mel Dougherty - assistant-principal mel.dougherty@education.nt.gov.au
Step 3: Contact the principal if you still have questions and concerns after speaking with the teacher and leadership.
Emergency Contact Details
Sometimes it is important for the school to contact parents or guardians immediately, especially if your child has had an accident. For this reason, it is essential that the school has accurate, up to date records of home and emergency contacts (that is another family member or a close, reliable friend). Please inform us of any changes in phone numbers, addresses or emergency contacts on 8987 6366.
Food in the School
Alyangula Area School is a health-promoting school. As a community we encourage students to eat healthy food. Students should not be bringing soft drinks/energy drinks and/or junk food/sugar food to school. This includes chocolate, lollies, gum and energy drinks.
Parents may bring a birthday cake / treats to the school when it is your child’s birthday. However, notification must be given to the class teacher at least two days beforehand so that the teacher can check if any student in the class has food allergies.
Summary of Upcoming events:
Term 1 Week 9 28 March – 1 April |
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Term 1 Week 10 4 – 8 April |
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| 11 - 18 April | HOLIDAY |
Term 2 Week 1 19 - 20 April |
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Term 2 Week 2 26- 29 April |
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Supporting Parents and Caregivers
COVID-19 Information
Community Library
The Alyangula Community Library is very grateful for the recent donation received from the Country Women’s Association, Groote Eylandt Branch. This donation was used to fund the purchase of additional books for the library’s collection. Books purchased included fiction books for children to adults and non-fiction books with topics including gardening, finance, business and parenting. Support from local businesses and community organisations improves the Alyangula Community Library for our whole community.
As a proud member of Northern Territory Libraries our patrons have access to a wide range of eBooks and eAudiobooks on the BorrowBox app. With the BorrowBox app the library is never closed, you can browse and borrow items to listen to or read anywhere, anytime. Accessing the materials is easy and the app is available from Google Play and the AppStore. See our library staff to obtain your membership number and set up your password.
The Alyangula Community Library is open Monday 6 – 8pm, Wednesday 6 – 8pm and Saturday 9am – 1pm. STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) Club is held in the library every Saturday 10am – 11am. STEM Club has activities suitable for 5 – 12-year-olds, children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult.
“TOGETHER we, RESPECT ourselves, each other, school and community, strive for EXCELLENCE, show COURAGE in all situations and demonstrate SAFETY in all that we do.”