Centralian Middle School eNewsletter

Important Dates

Monday 4 August	Picnic Day Public Holiday
Tuesday 5 August	Year 9/10 Science & Engineering Challenge
Wednesday 6 August	Duke of Edinburgh Senior Citizens Lunch
Wednesday 20 - Friday 22 August	Year 8 Camp
Wednesday 27 - Friday 29 August	Year 7 Camp to Ross River
Sunday 14 - Friday 19 September	Year 9 Camp

Hello, Werte!

Werte CMS Community

Welcome back to Term 3! We hope you had a restful and enjoyable holiday break with your families. It’s been wonderful to see students return to school with enthusiasm, ready for a term full of learning, growth and connection.

We are excited to welcome two new staff members to the CMS community: Carl Scrimgeour, who joins us as our new Health and Physical Education teacher, and Vedant Mittal, who will be teaching Year 7 Maths and Science. Please make them feel welcome as they settle into our school.

It was fantastic to welcome our amazing families into CMS for Learning Conferences this week. It was a valuable opportunity to share feedback, work samples and ensure students remain on track for the remainder of term.

We ask all families to please ensure that students are wearing the correct school uniform and closed-in shoes each day. Uniforms can be purchased from Student Access during school hours.

To stay up to date with attendance, learning progress, and communication from teachers, we encourage all parents and carers to sign up for Compass. If you need assistance, please contact the front office for support.

Looking ahead, we have an exciting term planned with a range of opportunities for students, including year level camps, Clontarf and Stars camps, interschool sporting events and the Science and Engineering Challenge .

We’re looking forward to an action-packed Term 3, full of learning, extra-curricular activities, and plenty of fun!

Warm regards,
The Centralian Middle School Leadership Team

Dan Lewinski

Associate Principal

Centralian Middle School

School Improvement

Attendance and Engagement: This year, our goal for improved attendance and engagement focuses on creating a more physically and culturally safe school in a welcoming and well-maintained environment.

Our attendance is currently 64.6% for the year to date, compared to 65.1% for this time last year. We ask that all families keep us informed about any reasons for absence such as sickness or cultural business by calling the school on 89552333. You can also respond to our messages or use the Compass App to notify us.

Home Group teachers will also be contacting families about student absence.

Our efforts to increase attendance and engagement include two murals. At the start of the year, we celebrated the new Acknowledgement of Country mural on the front of CMS, designed by Year 8 student, Nathan Frank-Watts. Art teacher Mr Stone Lee is currently working on a second mural acknowledging the many home languages and cultures of CMS families with the message, ‘Everyone belongs’. Both murals were initiated by our LEaD Committee, (Local Engagement and Decision-making) for families of Aboriginal parents.

Strengthening Instruction: The goals for strengthening student achievement include updating our prioritised scope and sequence curriculum maps for all mainstream subjects. We are also using student friendly assessment tasks in English and Maths and showing students examples of successful work.

This seems to be helping! The number of students achieving C grades and above in English and maths has increased between 5% - 12% since the same time last year. The improved engagement with assessment tasks will prepare students well for success through to Year 12.

NAPLAN test results will soon be mailed home to families of students who participated in this testing earlier in the year. Families are reminded that while these test results provide a snapshot of student achievement compared to the national standard, they do not replace the ongoing growth and achievement of young people through regular classwork and assessment.

Secondary Reform Education in Alice Springs

Changes to Secondary Education In Alice Springs

Dear CMS Families,

Secondary education in the Northern Territory is changing to better meet the needs of our young people. In Alice Springs there will be:

One full comprehensive high school (years 7 to 12) on the current site at Centralian Middle School
A connected regional industry, trade and flexible education college (years 10 to 12) to be established on the current Centralian Senior College site

Timeline for Transition

2025-2026: Planning will now begin and continue throughout 2026. Both Centralian Middle School and Centralian Senior College will continue to operate as normal.

2027: Changes will begin from Term 1, 2027 with Year 7-10 attending the current CMS site.

2028: Full implementation of the new school structure (Years 7-12 at current CMS site; industry, trade and flexible education for Years 10 – 12 at CSC site) to be completed by 2028.

The later start in Alice Springs reflects local community feedback and allows for additional planning and preparation.

Why This Change?

Moving away from the current middle school model to comprehensive secondary schools in urban areas will:

allow students to complete Year 12 at the same school where they began Year 7. This will reduce transition points and foster continuity in learning and relationships between students and teachers.
build a cohesive network that will deliver excellence and equity in learning opportunities.
Expand access to a broad range of career and industry programs and pathways that are tailored to students’ interests and aligned with post-school employment, training and further education.
Enhance career progression and professional development for teachers.
Maintain flexibility and choice for students by offering a range of secondary education subjects and pathways suited to different aspirations.
Position government secondary education as the preferred choice for urban families by delivering high-quality, accessible learning experiences.

Next Steps

recruiting school leadership for the comprehensive 7-12 high school in Alice Springs
supporting changes to school employees, including wellbeing support, and professional development for teachers
supporting students, especially those who are vulnerable or have additional needs, to ensure they stay engaged and supported during the transition process
finalising career and industry programs and pathways
updating school governance structures
planning for school operations, name changes and branding, priority enrolment areas, funding, logistics and infrastructure to support the new school structures

Communication

Monthly updates on key information and progress will be provided over the coming months through:

the Department of Education and Training website nt.gov.au/secondary-education
social media channels including https://www.facebook.com/EducationNT/
direct communication from schools.

We are committed to keeping families and school communities well informed and involved every step of the way.

Sincerely,

Glenda McCarthy

Principal, Centralian Middle School

Assessment Schedules

Year 7 - Assessment Schedule

Term 3, 2025

Subject

Assessment Overview

Supporting Student Learning at Home

English

Persuasive Language

· Compare how language and images influence emotions and persuade opinions in different types of texts.

· Identify and explore ideas and viewpoints about events, issues and characters represented in texts.

· Analyse and explain the ways text structures and language features shape meaning and vary according to audience and purpose.

· Compare text structures and language features of multimodal texts to explain how they combine to influence audiences.

· Assessment: class work, write a persuasive speech.

Poetry

· Engage with poems that explore a range of different cultural perspectives and backgrounds.

· Understand how poetic forms and techniques convey complex ideas, emotions and experiences.

· Assessment: class work, write a range of poems to explore various themes and ideas.

· Discuss how advertising is used to persuade people.

· Identify everyday interactions where people are persuasive e.g. asking parents "Can I have X for dinner?"

· Discuss poems that they have heard before, or that they know are important in Australian history.

Maths

Integers

· Add and subtract with negative numbers using number lines

Algebra

· Use algebra to represent unknown and variable amounts with letters.

· Solve equations beginning with hands on activities.

· Complete patterns and graph these on the Cartesian plane

Transformations

· Transform points and shapes on the Cartesian plane

· Assessment: class work, tests, graphing assignment and a portfolio

· Calculate a footy score only knowing how many goals and behinds

· Read graphs seen in places such as online, in ads or in the news

Science

Biology

· Learn about Scientific Classification and use a key to identify different species

· Create their own dichotomous key and analyse a key's strengths and weaknesses.

· Study Food Webs and use a food chain to show how energy flows through an ecosystem

· Create their own food web and predict the impact of different scenarios on a food web.

· Learn about human impact on ecosystems

· Assessment: class work, research on how humans have impacted the environment.

· Ask your young person about what animals or their pets need to survive in their environment

· Ask your young person what some human impacts may be on the environment such as Buffel Grass.

Humanities

Civics and Citizenship

· Key features of Australia's system of government and explore how this system aims to protect all Australians.

· The Australian Constitution and how its features, principles and values shape Australia's democracy.

· How the rights of individuals are protected through the justice system

· Australia's secular system of government supports a diverse society with shared values.

· Assessment: class work, short answer test and creation of an election campaign.

Business and Economics

· Different types of businesses, types of work and reasons why people work.

· Entrepreneurs, their characteristics, the rights and responsibilities of businesses, and the costs and benefits of business decisions

· Develop a business idea through the development of inquiry questions and data collection and interpretation.

· Assessment: class work, create a business idea and present it persuasively to a group of 'Shark Tank' style investors.

· Read and watch local and national news.

· Discuss the upcoming local election.

· Reflect on local businesses in town and why they are successful.

Health & PE

Health

· Understand how physical activity affects emotions and stress levels

· Identify ways to stay physically healthy in everyday life

· Reflect on how taking care of our bodies can support our mental health

· Understanding components of fitness

· Assessment: workbook, research project

PE

· Net sports - tennis and badminton

· Swimming and water safety

· Assessment: demonstrated skills including water safety, active participation in swimming program

· Develop wholesome friendships and discernment of their relationships.

· Plan or make a log of their own fitness routines outside of school.

Design & Technology

Products Changing Overtime

· Explore the design features and factors of a product and how it has changed over time to meet society's demands.

· Assessment: class work, PowerPoint analysing a product, creating future product design

· Examine some Aboriginal designed objects. e.g. boomerang, spear, woven, sculpture

Music

Popular Music of the 20th and 21st Century

· Learn fundamental concepts of beats, bars and rhythms that underpin music.

· Learn the vocabulary needed to discuss these elements when responding to the music they listen to.

· Compose own music through conventional rhythmic notation and use of beat grids when making digital music

· Learn either piano or keyboard and explore the elements of music through their own self-directed practice.

· Assessment: class work, play chord progression in a pop song

· Listen to music from different sources, local radio stations, going to events in town.

· Talk about music you hear with your family or friends: what style is it? How was it made? When was it made? What makes it good or bad?

· Make playlists of new music that you like.

	Year 8 Assessment Schedule Term 3, 2025
Subject	Assessment Overview	Supporting Student Learning at Home
English	Novel Study: Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden · Study how characters develop throughout the novel · Explore themes of friendship, bravery, morality · Assessment: class work, essay discussing how one character changes over the course of the novel.	· Ask your child about what they are reading in class. · Read the rest of the series by John Marsden (available from Alice Springs Library).
Maths	Algebra · Writing, expanding and simplifying expressions · Solving 2-step equations · Assessment: class work, test Pythagoras Theorem · Explore squares of side lengths of right-angled triangles · Identify irrational numbers in square roots and Pythagorean triplets · Solve problems using Pythagoras's Theorem · Assessment: class work, test Triangles and Quadrilaterals · Explore congruent triangles and other shapes · Solve problems using understanding of quadrilateral properties and congruency · Assessment: class work, poster display of students understanding
Science	Cells and Body Systems · Learn about cells and body systems · Research a lifestyle choice that negatively impacts a body system (e.g. smoking/respiratory, energy drinks/cardiovascular) demonstrating their understanding of organ systems. · Research a specialised cell · Assessment: booklet of class work, wanted poster of their cell including specific structures and functions, research task
Humanities	Civics & Citizenship (Weeks 1-5): · Participating in Democracy: elections, referendums and preferential voting · Assessment: class work, participation in a mock election, demonstrating understanding of democratic principles Business & Economics (Weeks 6-10) · Supply and Demand: Students will think about why some products are cheap and others expensive? · Ethical Labour: Students will think about how companies treat their workers, looking at sweatshops and child labour. · Assessment: class work, students will prepare a presentation about a product, explaining its price and the labour practices of the company that makes it	· Talk to your young person about the recent federal election and the upcoming local election and what issues are important to you. · Talk about decisions you make about spending money.
Health & PE	Health · We are going to learn how alcohol and other drugs can affect people. · We will look at health information and messages. · We will come up with ways to keep ourselves and others safe, healthy, and happy in our relationships and in our lives · Assessment: workbooks, analysis of anti-drug media piece PE · AFL · Swimming and water safety · Assessment: active participation and teamwork, skills assessment	· Develop wholesome friendships and discernment of their relationships. · Plan or make a log of their own fitness routines outside of school.
Food Technology	· Food safety · Knife safety · Food Pantry Staples: use of food that we already have in our pantries · Food for Fuel: what foods should be eating to fuel our bodies for sport. · Assessment: ongoing participation/skills, design own breakfast cereal, create a healthy canteen menu	· Select a recipe to cook for the family once a week: find a recipe, write a shopping list, cook and present meal, clean up
Visual Art	· Pop Art still life painting inspired by Andy Warhol's "Campbell Soup Can" · Uluru landscape painting in Expressionist style · Re-create Pablo Picasso's "Weeping Woman" · 10 units of art appreciation · Assessment: art works, art appreciation questions	·

	Year 9 Assessment Schedule Term 3, 2025
Subject	Assessment Overview	Supporting Student Learning at Home
English	Novel Study The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas · Understand how young people can use their voice to make a positive change · Analyse characters, events, themes and the context of the story · Activities to explore themes of racism, activism, identity and family · Intensely emotional concepts will be explored; teachers will be employing safety strategies and scaffolding learning safely. · Assessment: class work, quiz based on content in the first half of the book, written task (three options) to show understanding and analysis of the novel.	· Discuss the book at home. · Compare events in the book to events in students' lives or in the Alice Springs community. · Read books for enjoyment
Maths	Trigonometry · Label the sides of a right-angled triangle: hypotenuse, adjacent, and opposite (based on the given angle). · Use trigonometric ratios (sine, cosine, and tangent) and Pythagoras' theorem to solve problems about right-angled triangles. · Create a step-by-step flowchart to help solve right-angled triangle questions. · Assessment: class work test Probability · Work out the chance (probability) of events happening. · List all possible outcomes for two or more steps using lists, tree diagrams, or two-way tables. · Read and understand two-way tables and Venn diagrams. · Use relative frequency to calculate probabilities, including events that involve "and", inclusive or ("or"), and exclusive or ("either... or but not both"). · Do experiments and compare the results to the theoretical probabilities (like when using playing cards, flipping coins, or rolling a 6-sided die). · Assessment: ongoing tasks on Maths Pathways and in workbooks, trigonometry test, experiment-based assessment for probability	· Point out right-angled triangles around the house (e.g. ladders, ramps, or roof shapes) · Play card games and discuss the parts of a deck of cards, such as suits, numbers, face cards, and how many of each there are. · Encourage regular work on Maths Pathways
Science	Chemistry · Revision of atoms · Learning about chemical reactions · Investigations exploring some chemical reactions · Assessment Tasks: written questions, ongoing bookwork and participation
Humanities	Geography: Geographies of Interconnections · Focuses on how people are connected to places around the world. · Students examine the nature of connections between people and places through the products people buy and the effects of their production on the places that make them, with a case study on fast fashion. · Examine the impacts of tourism on different places. · Assessment: class work, presentation, including data tables, graphs and short answer analysis questions on where our items of clothing are made. Economics: Wealth and Income Inequality · Define income and wealth inequality. · Identify global patterns of inequality using data and maps. · Understand causes and consequences of inequality. · Analyse case studies from different countries. · Propose solutions to reduce inequality. · Assessment: class work, short essay or PowerPoint presentation comparing wealth inequality in two different countries	· Talk about which places their families are connected with in Australia or overseas. · Investigate which part of the world their clothing is made (school uniform, t-shirts, shoes etc). · Investigate where favourite games, movies and music artists are from.
Health & PE	Health: Risk & Risk Taking Behaviours · Understanding risks and consequences · Assessing risks that they come in contact with in daily life · Ways to minimise risk in risky situations · Assessment: bookwork, collaborative discussions, portfolio showing their understanding of risks, consequences and how they can minimise risks PE: AFL Skills & Routines, Swimming · Handball passing, kicking, team play · Swimming safety and competence · Assessment: class work, participation in AFL related competitive games and engaging in the off campus swimming assessments/lessons
Food Technology	· Revision of food safety · Revision of knife safety · Food in Asia -- variety of foods cooked in Asia, investigations into 'Golden Rice' · Assessment: ongoing participation and skills, investigation into culture considerations, flavours, restrictions	· Select a recipe to cook for the family once a week: find a recipe, write a shopping list, cook and present meal, clean up
Visual Art	· Pop Art portrait in Roy Lichtenstein's style · Semi-abstract painting inspired by Joan Miro · Re-create a Namatjira's landscape · Assessment: art works, art appreciation questions
Music	· Develop instrumental skills · Learning an instrument and performing in the classroom to their peers · Assessment: class work, compose an original music work with elements of music, skills and digital technologies

NAIDOC

NAIDOC Celebrations at CMS

CMS celebrated NAIDOC in style during Week 10 of Term 2. We started with a whole school assembly on Monday morning. Mrs. Jannette McComack did the Acknowledgement of Country in Arrernte, accompanied by Nathan Frank-Watts. This was particularly fitting, as Nathan designed our new Acknowledgement of Country mural in front of the library.

After assembly, all students were treated to a variety of activities where they experienced and enjoyed Aboriginal ways of knowing. Thanks to our wonderful Language Centre partners, especially Kallum Powell and Layla Turner who exemplified this year’s NAIDOC theme, “The Next Generation: Strength Vision and Legacy” in their work of teaching Arrernte language. Layla and Kallum facilitated two yarning circles for our young men and young women.

Young Yarning Circles with Laya Turner and Kallum Powell

Bush Garden and Bush Medicine with Mrs. Jannette McCormack and Arrente Teachers

Cook Up (Chicken Vermicelli) with Aunty Shannon Clark

Aboriginal Civilisation, Kinship Systems and Artefacts with Alan Palmer

Ininti Bead Craft with Emma Lake

Softball: Blakdoll Role Models

NAIDOC themed learning and fun continued throughout the week. In Home Groups, students viewed an informative PowerPoint and participated in a Kahoot Quiz on their understanding. On Thursday, a hardworking group of fellas went collecting corkwood with Gordon Mallard and Matt Skoss in preparation for Friday when they cooked 40 roo tails! This made a perfect addition to our bbq lunch on Friday.

Collecting firewood with Gordon and then cooking roo tails

We received good news that our 9.2 class won first prize in the middle school section of the NAIDOC Art Competition for the Central Region with their painting. Congratulations!!

SGC at the Desert Park

Small groups classes have been studying native plants and pollination. Students learnt a lot on their excursion to the Desert Park – always a great experience!

STUDENT LEADERS

Student Leadership Semester 1 Highlights

By Imani Kani and Nicole Hunter

A group of twenty student leaders from Years 7-9 meet every Monday afternoon to give students a voice in making CMS more fun and accessible for everyone. There are two school captains, two vice-captains and two secretaries. Most meetings start with a Do Now activity. These help with teamwork and communication. We take turns talking, follow an agenda and have minutes; all of this makes us more efficient, and we have learned how to cooperate and lead together.

In Semester 1, we came up with different ideas and projects:

Supporting Harmony Day
ANZAC Day march
‘Do It for Dolly’ lunchtime activities
Volunteering at the bake sale to raise money for children in South Sudan
Posters to make student toilets cleaner and safe
Helping out with the bbq and other tasks at carnivals
Met with Senior Director, Ms Belinda Pearson, to share our views about the changes to middle school and senior years in Alice Springs

Harmony Day in one of the most fun and inclusive events at CMS. Some student leaders performed their cultural dances, and some were in the CMS bands. Other student leaders did face painting and made black, red and red bracelets to show pride in Aboriginal culture.

In the Anzac Day march, student leaders joined Mrs. McCarthy and STARS to honour those who have served in foreign conflicts. This was the first year we had a ‘Do It For Dolly’ event to raise awareness about bullying and those at risk of self-harm. Student leaders created posters, had lunchtime face painting and gave out bracelets.

We worked on a bake sale to raise money for children in South Sudan who need medicine, food and shelter because of conflict there. We put up posters and one leader interviewed Mr Ruey, a Sudanese teacher, on 8CCC radio. Lots of cakes were made and students really enjoyed it. We raised $7,202!

This semester we are hoping to go on an excursion to other schools to find out how other student leadership teams improve their schools.

CLONTARF

Clontarf Term 3 Kicks Off Strong at CMS

Term 3 is underway, and the CMS Clontarf Academy has hit the ground running with a full program of activities and events.

Afternoon activities are back, with students enjoying Ultimate Frisby and American Football, while morning training sessions have also resumed— helping the boys stay fit and focused before school.

Our weekly favorites are back as well: Taco Tuesday continues to bring the flavors, and Good Lunch Bunch on Thursdays offers a great time to connect over food.

A highlight this week is the Staff vs. Students Basketball Game, set to take place in the gym on Wednesday—always a fun and competitive event that brings the school community together.

Earlier this term, the boys had a fantastic camp out to Standley Chasm, where they explored the local landscape and capped it off with a trip to see the new Superman movie.

It’s been a great start to Term 3, and we’re looking forward to keeping the momentum going!

HPE

School had a massive kick off at the beginning of Term in the HPE space. We had Thomas Newbery from FIFA come in and work with our year 8/9 students to help build upon their Soccer Skills they worked on at their interschool Soccer tournament with Yirara College last term. Thomas was able to get the kids out on the oval running paired drills and activities building to more competitive games.

Across health this term we are learning about the value of how healthy, positive, and safe choices can impact our wellbeing and mental health. Students have kicked off the term with participating in group discussions, fun in class activities and opportunities to expand their learning with their peers.

Kind Regards

Rebecca Stephens

Afrer a big day of games upon games our students shone bright in their team work and skill by placing in the following:

Middle School fellas- CMS Boys came in 3rd place with 15 points (first place only scored 17! SO CLOSE!)
Middle School ladies- CMS ladies CAME IN 1st place! With 17 points!

Well done to all the amazing students and staff that supported this event happening!

Kind regards

Rebecca Stephens

General Information 2025

Uniform Shop

Student Access (opposite the CMS Front Office) will be open for purchasing uniforms and stationery packs.

Opening hours are:

Monday - Friday 8:30-4pm

The new CMS royal blue hoodie and CMS black trackpants are available for students to wear with the cold winter weather.

It's great to see students embracing the CMS Uniform and wearing with pride and respect.

Students are reminded to wear FULLY enclosed shoes to school. Crocs, thongs or slides are not acceptable and are a safety and WHS concern. Parents/Carers are asked to remind their young person(s) to wear correct footwear.