2023 Term 2 Week 2 Newsletter

Principal's Message

Hello Everyone!

I am pleased to welcome you all back to another exciting term at Alyangula Area School! I hope everybody has had a wonderful break and I can tell everyone has returned ready to jump back into learning and achieving great things.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new students and their families. We are thrilled to have you join our school community and we look forward to getting to know you and supporting your academic and personal growth.
I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Ms Jane Munro to our leadership team at Alyangula Area School. Ms Jane joins us as the new Assistant Principal and brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience across many facets of the education system and school leadership. I am sure everyone will make Ms Jane feel welcome.

As I mentioned at the assembly on the last day of term one, this term is sizing up to be a very busy term! Our Kitchen Garden and Learning on Country has commenced, as well as our swimming program. Our school Choir are deep into their preparation for the BEAT Festival and have kicked off their fundraising efforts with a super $1000 raised in the epic meat raffle at the Golfy last Friday! A special shout out to Ms Peta Bartley and her team for the coordination, what a super start!
This week, our school leaders and SRC were proud to facilitate our Alyangula area School ANZAC Ceremony, and I was very proud of our leaders Audrey Colville, Leilahni Booth and Billie Auld for their respect, courage and leadership as they represented our school at the Alyangula Dawn Service on Tuesday morning. A superb effort!

A reminder to families that next Thursday (May 4^th) we are holding our Athletics Carnival.  Like previous years, the athletics carnival will be split in two events. The Field events will take place on site at our school in Thursday morning. The Track events will take place at the Town Oval in the afternoon/evening. Please note, all students will be dismissed from school at 1pm on Thursday 4^th May. Students are then required to meet at the Town Oval at 4pm. Parents and families are most welcome to attend the Athletics Carnival to support your children, and a program will be made available to inform families of the approximate time of individual events.
The school will be selling food (bbq and pizza) and drinks at the Town Oval in the afternoon/evening. As always, it takes a great deal of effort to coordinate and execute an event like this. If you, or any other member of our community are available to assist at an event, or volunteer at the food stall it would be much appreciated. Your can register your interest/availability through the form below or notify the Admin Office.

Finally, I would like to remind all students of our school values, and encourage everyone to reflect on their past accomplishments and set new goals for this term. Whether it is improving your grades, participating in extracurricular activities, or making new friends, I am confident that each and every student has the potential to succeed and I look forward to a productive and successful term ahead. Let's make it a great one!

Have a great long weekend everyone.

Mel Dougherty

Principal

Award Winners

Welcome - Jane Munro

Jane Munro has recently arrived on the island in the role of Assistant Principal. She has been in the education sector for over ten years, having implemented the Australian Curriculum at St John’s College, Woodlawn, in northern New South Wales, and in two remote Northern Territory schools at Nganmarriyanga and Milingimbi (bilingual). Prior to working in education, Jane had extensive leadership experience in the media, communication, and community engagement sectors, working with ABC Local Radio, local government, and the university sector.

This year, Jane has been selected as a Fellow in the Teach for Australia Future Leaders Program cohort. This is a 12-month professional development program designed to empower educators in regional, rural and remote settings utilising the Two Way Teaching and Learning Framework. The program draws together a network of emerging leaders from the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and Queensland to further enhance their skills and knowledge and therefore improve educational outcomes for students.

Jane has NT moderation training at both primary and secondary levels, implemented both the Read Write Inc. and Fresh Start literacy programs, coordinated NAPLAN and previously been appointed as a Year 12 marker for the NSW Education Standards Authority. Jane also has extensive experience as a member of schoolwide welfare leadership teams and working alongside the NT Early Years Remote Network to achieve operational goals.

"I am thrilled to have joined the team at Alyangula Area School and look forwards to working alongside the students, staff and community to assist in enabling the school’s core business—children’s learning—with our particular focus being to continue to nurture a positive school-wide culture that gives all stakeholders a sense of connectedness," Miss Jane said.

In the classroom - Year 5/6 S

5/6S have been using Class Equity, a Classroom Management website where we can earn class dollars to then cash in for prizes.  We can apply for jobs and be hired to receive a weekly salary, while also earning bonus dollars for following the school values.

Each week we pay bills such as electricity, internet and rent for their desk and chair. All of our money is in an online account that we can access to deposit bonuses and withdraw money when we need to pay rent, pay a fine or buy something from the class shop. 

It has helped to improve our behaviour, teach us financial literacy skills, and prepares us for the real world. 

Stakeholders - Thank you

A huge Thank You to our stakeholders, these are the great businesses that are supported Alyangula Area School. 

School News

School Calendar

Stay up to date with events on the AAS Calendar.

Absentee Form

We encourage families to use the absentee form instead of the school phone number when advising the school that your child will be absent from school. 

Arrival at School

No child should be at school before 7.45am. Children arriving before 7.45am will remain seated in the covered area until that time. A teacher commences playground duty at 7.45am each morning.  

Appointments and Signing in/Out

It is preferred that all student’s appointments be made outside of school hours so as not to disturb their learning. However, if this is not possible then carers are asked to report to the office and sign out their child. The office will call the student to the office for collection.

At no time should a carer go directly to the class during school hours. Upon return the carer must return to the office to sign the student back in.

Emergency Contact Details

If your child/rens emergency contact has left the Eylandt. It is essential that the School Office maintains up-to-date records of your address, telephone numbers, email addresses and emergency contacts in case of illness or injury to you child. Please ensure you complete this form the below form and return it at your earliest convenience. 

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.

Position Available

Insight

This week we have included insight on Families that work well. Please keep an eye out each week for the Insights that are linked through our school newsletter. Insights can also be found on our website. 

Community News!!