19 June 2020

Newsletter Articles

Important dates

Monday 22nd June - School Council meeting
Thursday 25th June - Semester 1 reports mailed home
Thursday 25th June - 2020 Cross Country
Friday 26th June – Last day of Term 2
Tuesday 21st July – First day of Term 3 for students

From the Principal

Dear families

Another term has almost passed at lightning speed. While the term started off with interruptions caused by COVID-19, this quickly passed allowing us to maintain a strong focus on learning. Our teachers have assessed this learning and reports are currently being finalised – I am enjoying reading about all of the achievements our students have made. Reports will be sent home to families in the mail next Thursday.

Next Thursday we also have our Cross Country event. Please read the information later in the newsletter about this event.

The NT Government announced yesterday that borders would re-open at the end of the school holidays. While this may be welcome news for many families who now have the opportunity to travel in Australia and return to the territory without having to quarantine, it also reminds us that the distancing and hygiene measures currently in place need to continue to prevent any new spread of COVID-19. While we are encouraged by the reduced rates of infection in Australia and expect the risk in Alice Springs to be low, we need to act in a way that makes it difficult for the virus to spread.

We are still awaiting finalised guidance from the NT Government around any changes to operating requirements for Term 3. The hygiene and distancing measures currently in place are not impacting on learning and we are expecting to continue them in Term 3. We will continue:

• Encouraging students to wash their hands before and after each break and before eating.
• Encouraging students to increase the distance between them and their peers.
• Not holding large whole school events such as assemblies.
• Cleaning high touch surfaces more than once a day.

Additionally, we will not be holding year level camps this year as the enhanced distancing and cleaning arrangements make it difficult to organise them at an affordable cost. We will focus on incorporating a number of curriculum linked excursions to provide opportunities to engage with and learning from our rich community.

You can help us to minimise the possibility of a spread of the coronavirus by:

• Ensuring that you keep young people who are sick at home and taking them to the doctor to be tested if necessary.
• Encouraging your young person to regularly and thoroughly wash their hands and increase the distance between them and their peers.
• Ensuring that your young person has their own pens, pencils, books and food so that these items do not have to be shared.

Being the end of term, we are farewelling a few staff who are pursuing other paths. Ms Mikaila Mangohig will be commencing parental leave, Ms Laarni Gaces is moving to take up a role teaching Year 11 and 12 students at OLSH, Mr Oliver Johns is taking up a position at Millingimbi and Ms Vicki Smith is hanging up her canteen apron and enjoying her retirement. We have a number of new staff joining the school – Ms Nikki Heffer and Mr Brayden France have already commenced, Ms Ari Huston starts with us next term and Ms Shirley Liang starts in the canteen on Monday.

Finally, I wish all of our students, families and staff a wonderful and safe break commencing at the end of next week. This is an important time to rest, spend time enjoying each other’s company and recharge the batteries before returning for Semester 2. School returns for students on Tuesday 21st July.

Warm regards
Paul van Holsteyn
Principal

School news and updates

Cross Country

We are holding our Cross Country Carnival next Thursday 25th June. The whole school will travel to the Telegraph Station after recess and complete a 3.6km loop of the Bradshaw Track. Afterwards we will provide a sausage sizzle and have a pleasant afternoon playing games at the Telegraph Station.

The Cross Country is a house event so students should bring their house spirit and come dressed in their house colours. They will receive points for their house by completing the loop and for other events across the afternoon. We will also be using the event to select our interschool cross country squad.

Students need to bring a hat and water bottle and should wear sunscreen. Students can bring their own lunch or grab a sausage provided by the school. The café at the Telegraph Station is not available for students to use.

We will have hand sanitiser and tissues on hand and will be encouraging students to maintain their distance. We will also have sunscreen for students to reapply if necessary.

Under our current COVID-19 operating arrangements, parents are not able to join us for the event.

Students will return to school at the end of the day to go home as usual. Students cannot leave or be picked up from the Telegraph Station.

Vocational Education and Training

This semester the Year 9 VET hospitality students have been setting up a pop-up coffee shop every Tuesday lunch in the staff room. The students have been flat out taking orders, creating amazing coffees/hot drinks with a choice of a delicious freshly cooked side dish, including potato bake, slow roasted beef pies, quiche etc..

The students have had to be comfortable working with each other and cope well under pressure. They have learnt how to be good communicators, initiating conversation to staff members with professionalism and a warm friendly manner. The staff room has become THE place to be on a Tuesday lunch with its busy metropolitan café feel. What an excellent and extremely positive experience for staff and students alike.

Year 7

Aboriginal civilization history lesson

This week the Year 7s were treated to a special Aboriginal civilization history lesson from Red Dust Role Model’s Alan Palmer. He talked the students through some of the aspects of the world’s oldest continuous civilization; from language groups, skin-systems, relationships between people, animals and country and the effects of colonisation. The students then participated in a fun and challenging activity of being placed in skin groups, learning about how groups would join to perform ceremonies and ensure the well-being of each other.

Thankyou Alan for educating us about Australia’s wonderful Aboriginal heritage and bringing to the forefront the importance of our shared responsibility to protect Aboriginal languages and culture. A big thank you to Emma Lake from Girls Academy and Alan Palmer for creating an authentic experience in Aboriginal history and society from all our Year 7 students.

Science

Year 7s really enjoyed learning about moon phases in Science, using Oreo biscuits. What a delicious way to learn!

While learning about shapes, 7.7 made their own tessellation designs. A tessellation is a repeating design with no gaps or overlaps.

7.7 also worked together to create this diagram showing the phases of the moon.

Language Classes

It has been a busy semester for language learning and students have participated in some exciting activities. Students have experienced different traditional cultural activities such as Japanese Shodo calligraphy and cooking Chinese dumplings and dim sum. The Spanish classes have been working hard on their “My Dream Home” projects, where each student has created a poster describing what their dream home would look like, in Spanish. Students learning Arrernte have focused on bush foods and the use of different bush medicines. Each student then had the chance to plant bush foods and medicine seedlings for our new Miss Margie Memorial Garden which will officially open later this year.

 

 

Clontarf Corner

Welcome back for the next edition of the Clontarf Corner!

WEEK 6 STUDENT OF THE WEEK

Yr 7- Kendyl Forrester
Yr 8- Lesley Thompson
Yr 9- Tracyn Forrester

Fantastic effort by these fellas and a massive well done to the Forrester brothers, Kendyl and Tracyn.

MORNING TRAININGS

Our morning trainings have been going great, with some big numbers attending each session. We average around 26, with Tuesday’s session hitting the magical 30. We’ve been mostly doing AFL, and Cheyne has been doing a great job running the sessions. Last Thursday was an extra special training. K-Mart management crew came for a visit. They joined our training, then enjoyed some bacon and egg rolls with us.

We really appreciate the wonderful support from the team and the kind donations of basketballs, plates, cups, and other goodies.

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Our after school activities have also kicked off again and spots are in hot demand, some of the activities have been basketball, dodgeball versus Centralian Senior College , a trip out to the clay pans with some footy’s for a kick and just a general tidy up of the storage shed.

EMPLOYMENT

We have now had around 7 of our fellas in different types of employment this year, with many more completing applications, resumes and making inquiries about potential jobs. It’s a great mindset for our fellas to have, and one that is creating a positive influence for the rest of the group.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Lots more action-packed activities
• Some good cook up lunches
• Jobs, jobs, and more jobs
• End of term awards breakfast

“From Little Things Big Things Grow”

Community Announcements

School Holiday activities

Many activities have been organised for these school holidays to keep our young people connected and engaged. Take a look at the calendar and posters below.

Alice Springs Aquatic & Leisure Centre

upcoming dates for July Intensives, Term 3 Learn to Swim Enrolments & Lifeguard training opportunities at the Alice Springs Aquatic & Leisure Centre.

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