Term 2, Issue 1 2017 Brewarrina Central School News
Term 2, Issue 1 2017
Brewarrina Central School News
Welcome back to Term 2, 2017. I hope that
everyone has had a restful and rejuvenating
break and have come back full of energy and
enthusiasm to be fully involved in learning. As
usual the school has been a busy place, even
though we have only been back a short time.
On Monday the staff were involved in Bridges Out
Of Poverty training with the staff from Bourke
High School, Weilmoringle Public School,
Engonnia Public School and other agencies. This
was a highly stimulating and thought provoking
training which enhanced our understanding of
the impact of economic factors on people’s lives.
On Tuesday it was my pleasure to be involved in
the ANZAC Day March in Brewarrina with
students and staff from the school. It was a
wonderful and very moving community event.
Thank you to all those who participated and to
those who supported us as we marched. Thank
you too to the students and staff who attended
the Dawn Service.
It was great to see the students on Wednesday.
They have settled back into the routine of school
really well. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 have
been preparing for NAPLAN which will be held in
Week 3. It is really important that students are
involved in this assessment as it provides
teachers with vital information on how they are
progressing in their learning.
In Week 9 on Tuesday 20th June for K-6 and
Wednesday 21st June for Years 7 to 12, we will be
holding Parent/ Teacher Interviews from 3:30pm
to 4:30pm. The students’ Half Yearly Reports will
be distributed at these meetings.
In Week 10 the school will be holding its NAIDOC
Celebrations. There will be more information on
these events as they draw closer.
This week students will be involved in the
IPROWD program in Dubbo and some Year 5
students will be involved in a Leadership Camp in
to the Warrumbungles.
The cold weather has come far too quickly…if
families need to obtain jumpers please come to
the Front Office where they are available for a
very reasonable price.
I look forward to working with and supporting our
students as we traverse the busy times that lie
ahead.
Christine Grieves
Welcome back!
We’ve had a great start to the term and all
classes are working well. Years 3 and 5 are
preparing for NAPLAN next week and we wish
them luck.
On Wednesday three students from Year 5 will be
attending a leadership camp focussing on the
environment. They are very excited and we are all
looking forward to seeing their projects.
Next Friday we will have our Cross Country
Carnival. There will be a Mother’s Day Stall prior
to the carnival and an assembly at 2.15pm. We
hope to see many mums, aunties and nans at
assembly.
The cool weather has started to kick in. Please
write your child’s name on their jumpers so it can
be returned if lost.
This term we will be making great efforts to check
contact details are up to date. Sometimes things
happen at school that require us to contact you.
On some occasions it may be due to concerns or
attendance, on other occasions it may be for
positive recognition. There have been times we
have needed to call an ambulance for students
who have had an accident and we need a family
member to help comfort them. If you have
changed your mobile number, please let the
school know.
I’m looking forward to a great term. Please call in
and see me if you’d like to discuss anything.
Thanks, Beck Williams
Welcome back to Term 2! Already we are on the
go. I have seen the secondary students settling
back into class and engaging in quality learning.
Stage 5 and 6 students must remember to look
through their assessment schedules and ensure
they are keeping up with assessment tasks. This is
a big term as half yearly examinations will also be
happening for all students, and reports used. Year
12 reports will be sent home within the next
fortnight.
NAPLAN will be sat by students in Year 7 and 9 in
Week 3, on the Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday. Friday will be a “make up” day, so if a
day is missed students will have the opportunity
to sit the test on this day. You can help prepare
your child by ensuring a good nights sleep, a solid
breakfast and just encouraging them to do their
best. Students can get anxious about sitting
standardised tests, and they may need a bit of
support to help them relax and concentrate. It is
important they understand that NAPLAN does
not define them as a student or as a person, it
just helps us to identify areas that they need
NAPLAN tests the sorts of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. It is important to remember that NAPLAN tests are not pass/fail tests. At the classroom level it is one of a number of important tools used by teachers to measure student progress.
NAPLAN will be held on Tuesday 9th, Wednesday 10
th
and Thursday 11th May, 2017.
It is important your child participates.
Please contact Ms Williams (Yr 3 & 5 ) or Mrs Hertslet (Yr 7 & 9) at school – phone 0268392186 if you have any concerns or go to the following website for more information - https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/parent-carer-support/
support with at school. We are proud of all of our
students if they just get in and have a go.
Chantae, Priscilla and Ashalye have continued to
build on their skills and knowledge through
IPROWD. It is a big commitment, having to travel
away and then catch up on missed work but they
seem to be handling it well. It really is a fantastic
opportunity to grow.
Cross Country will be held Friday 12 May.
Students should ensure they have appropriate
clothing and footwear. All students in secondary
will be expected to participate.
Please remember if you have any questions or
concerns about your child, to contact the school.
Sarah Trapman
Head Teacher
At our school we are
Safe
Respectful
Learners
The team have some big plans for this term!
Some of the things we are working on:
* You may have noticed the paintings on the
concrete in Primary. Our aim is to continue to
build on these, adding some handball courts and
more games. We are also looking at making the
front of our school more welcoming, including
painting some Gidgee the Goanna footprints to
the Front Office. If you have some ideas about
how we can make the front of our school more
appealing, we would love to hear them!
* We are also looking at having a whole school
competition around promoting keeping our
school clean and picking up rubbish.
* We have nearly finished developing the school
Positive Behaviour and Wellbeing Policy. The
team would like to ensure parents are aware of
the key information within this policy, and are
organising a way it can be sent home.
* The Attendance Policy will also be reviewed this
term, as we look at streamlining the many ways
we address attendance in our school.
* Our Action Plan will be consolidated in the next
few weeks, as we use data to form goals and
strategies for the rest of the year. This includes
reviewing the supervision of students within the
playground, to ensure that all of our students are
not only safe but are aware of where they should
be at all times.
* Professional learning for staff will be happening
this term around the essential elements of
classroom behaviour- supporting staff to develop
their teaching and management skills to
maximise learning and engagement.
Keeping up with 4P
What a busy term we had and what an amazing Easter Hat Parade! I hope you all had a great holiday. I have
heard many stories and adventures the students had on their break.
Thank you to all families, Aunty Sherrie and I met with for PLP meetings. I plan on catching up with the last
few families in the coming weeks.
This is going to be another busy term with Cross-Country and Athletics Carnival coming up very soon. We hope
to see you there on the day. As a class focus we are looking at our Past, our Present, our Future.
Throughout the term students will come home to ask information about their families past and about
themselves when they were little. If you have any pictures of your family in the past and baby pictures of the
students that you wish to share with our class it would be greatly appreciated. At the end of term we will hold
a family morning where each student will give a talk about their past, present and future. I will send out
information at a closer date for this.
We love having visitors and as such if you would like to come in and spend time with your child we always have
an ‘open door’.
Here are some pictures of our Easter Hat Parade and some art works we have been working on.
Thank you, Miss Pratt
Thank you
Miss Pratt
From Mr Daymond’s
Desk
This term students have been very busy learning
new content in Science, Mathematics and Plant
Production. We have also been contending with
the new science laboratory refurbishment that is
in its sixth week of construction (we are all very
excited to have a brand new room which should
be ready to go next term).
Year 7 Science
Year 7 science have been working hard on their
science skills and recognising different science
apparatus. They are nearly finished our “Matter
Matters” topic which is solely focused on
understanding Chemistry content. They began
this topic through learning about particles
(atoms), solids, liquids, gasses, and density and
have now moved on to solutes, solvents,
solutions, solubility and mixtures. Students have
also been working very hard on their in-class
assessment booklets which are designed to help
students learn, while allowing for data to be
collected on how they are progressing
throughout the year (marks for these
assessments will be sent home with reports later
in the term). We will be moving on to the
“Looking at life” topic in 2-3 weeks which focuses
on Biology knowledge.
Year 8 Plant Production
Year 8 have just started the new Plant Production
topic which focuses on how to grow and
manipulate plants for our benefit. They have
been learning about the design process through
the design of their very own vegetable garden
which they will be planting later this week. Prior
to the planting stage of their gardens students
will learn about WHS standards on farms and how
best to manage unsafe situations that may arise
when conducting general garden maintenance.
At the beginning of the term students placed 114
eggs in the schools incubator with the hope that
they will have chickens to raise by week 4.
Through this process they learnt the importance
of keeping eggs clean and bacteria free and the
vital role that humidity, temperature and egg
movement have in the incubation process.
Students have also been collecting up to 15 eggs
a day which will soon be sold at the front office
for $3 a dozen. The last batch of eggs were
thoroughly enjoyed by the Clontarf boys for lunch
last Friday and for breakfast on Tuesday after
training.
Year 9 Science
Year 9 students have begun learning about the
Biological sciences this semester. They have
already learnt about how Venus Fly Traps use a
nastic response mechanism to trap insects.
Throughout this topic students will learn about
body systems, food webs, traditional burning and
conservation practices, and the need for national
parks and state forests. This content builds on
their knowledge gained last year and is assessed
through the completion of an assessment booklet
(marks will be available with students reports)
that tests students’ knowledge on several key
topics.
Year 10 Mathematics
Year 10 students have been learning about
Algebra in Mathematics. It is a difficult topic that
regular attenders have grasped quickly and
comprehensively. Our next topic will begin in
week 6 and is called “Geometric Reasoning”. This
topic involves shapes, area and volume which
helps students understand key Mathematical
concepts that they may encounter on a job site in
the future.
The girls in this class recently completed a
financial math assessment based around credit
cards, loans and how to budget for large
expenditures. They completed this while the boys
were on a Clontarf camp last term. The boys will
complete this assessment while the girls are away
on a Girlfit camp later in the year.
Year 11 Biology
Biology students have been practising their field
study skills as preparation for their field study
assessment later in the term. This will involve
looking at a Brewarrina ecosystem and deciding if
it is healthy or not with a particular focus on
human impacts, biodiversity and conservation
aspects. They have also been working hard on
their practical workbook assessment which is due
late in term 3.
Clontarf News
The Clontarf Foundation exists to improve the education, discipline, Self-esteem, life skills and employment
prospects of young Aboriginal men and by doing so, equip them to participate more meaningfully in society.
General Comment: Term 2 is underway and the Academy is off to a running start. The 2016 graduates Deakin
Bennett and Liam Rose are both in the final stages of their ADF applications. These fellas have made a big
commitment to ensuring the process has been fast tracked with early application and study of the requirements of
entry. We wish both the boys luck in the final stages and fitness testing.
Year 10 will be spending next week’s NRL indigenous Round with the West Tigers. The group will tour the ANZ
Stadium facilities, attend training and play Touch football before and during half time of the game between the
Tigers and Rabbits. The camp will also take the fellas on a tour of Sydney University with the option of applying for
the summer camp held by the Uni. This should be a great experience.
Training will be as normal next week with Charlie on Deck. It would be great to see some new faces pop in for some
early morning fun and fitness.
WHATs ON NEXT WEEK:
Training Tuesday and Thursday
Year 10 West Tigers/Sydney Uni Camp
MORNING TRAINING TIMES (incl. pick-ups) Staff welcome!
Tuesday, 7:00-8:00 – Sport focus followed by healthy breakfast
Thursday, 7:00-8:00 – Fun focus followed by healthy breakfast
CONTACTS
(Adam Close Director) 0419 260 028; (Charlie McHughes Operations Officer) 0428 985 812
Clontarf Foundation
Brewarrina Academy (BA)
Bookfair
When: 22nd May -2nd June
Where: In the School Library
All welcome to come and have a look and grab a bargain!
REMINDER PARENTS
Nursing Staff from the AMS visit our
school every Monday,
Wednesday & Friday to conduct General First Aid
Notice Board
Dates to Remember For this Term
9th – 11th May – NAPLAN
12th May BCS Cross Country
19th May – Kurtley Beale Rugby Carnival
22nd May – 2nd June – Bookfair
25th May – Athletics Carnival
26th – 29th May – Mid Term Break
1st June - District Cross Country
14th June – Regional Cross Country
21st June – Parent / Teacher Event
22nd June – Secondary PBL Lunch
21st – 23rd June Clontarf health Checks
26th – 30th June – NAIDOC Week
3rd July – School Holidays
Mid Term Break
26th – 29th May
AECG Meeting
Tuesday 9th May
@ 3.30pm
All parents are welcome to
attend.