EDITION 7, Thursday, March 9, 2017 To View Online Click on ' No Images? Click Here' No Images? Click here The Newsletter of the Roxby Downs Area School INTRODUCING OUR 2017 STUDENT LEADERSIn this Edition:Regular Items: Principal's Report, R-6 Assistant Principal News, Important Dates, Community Notices Also in this Edition:
PRINCIPAL'S REPORT RDAS Induction Assembly for our 2017 Leaders On Monday 27th February we held our Leaders Induction Assembly in our school hall, to recognise the students who have been elected as our 12 Student Leaders for 2017 and our Sports Captains and Vice-Captains (32 students in total). The Sports leaders are nominated and elected by their peers. Our Student Leaders were selected on the basis of a written application and an interview before a panel of senior staff from the various sections of the school. Our Student Leaders for 2017 are: Year 6 Leaders: Lachlan Hamlyn and Kyana Parks Vice Leaders: Milly Wise, Judd Grillett Year 9 Leaders: Shae-Lee Griggs and Caleb Kemenyvary Vice Leaders: Nidula Meegasdeniya, Anastazia Kraitor Year 12 Captains: Renee Wurfel and Logan Casserly Vice Captain: Tom Bourn Angela Thompson (Senior Associate with Semann & Slattery) was our invited guest speaker and spoke passionately; encouraging all of our leaders to work hard to make a difference. Angela spoke directly to all students, asking them to support our leaders in their roles and emphasising that we all need to take responsibility for making this the best school it can be, and everybody has the ability to be a leader. We are really looking forward to the respective roles that our student leaders and sporting leaders are going to play at RDAS in 2017. 3-Way Conversations: The support from parents in our recent 3-Way Conversations was very encouraging, with a high level of attendance. We are optimistic these conversations will make a significant difference to our students learning in 2017. The role of a parent in encouraging, supporting and assisting their children in their goal setting and learning is of critical importance, as is the role of the teacher. When you have a situation in which both are working together to support the child, the potential for growth is limitless. In years R-6 we plan on revisiting these 3-Way conversations in term 3. In years 7-12 we will use the reporting system each term to communicate to parents how effectively their children are meeting the goals they set themselves for 2017. Parents are encouraged to contact the teacher directly, at any time and organise an appointment, if they wish to discuss progress in a specific subject area. Parent Volunteers: Over the past week we have sent out two important pieces of correspondence seeking the voluntary help of parents/caregivers. We would appreciate if as many parents/caregivers as possible would take the time to assist us; it’s not often the school sends out a request for help in this way and every bit of assistance will make a significant difference. · Parents and Friends are looking for a commitment from parents to assist with the market days; running the coffee machine and assisting in the various activities throughout the year. We are hopeful of getting a high response from parents so we only need to call on our volunteers once throughout the year. If you haven’t already done so, please return this form to your child’s home group teacher. · Secondary Interschool Sports WASSAC: We are hosting the regional athletics carnival in Roxby Downs this year and urgently need volunteers, to help in the canteen (selling hotdogs, drinks, snacks etc.), cooking the BBQ or as an official (on the track or in a field event). The event is to be held on Monday 21st March. If you are able to assist, please contact Daniel McGuire at the school or by email Daniel.McGuire796@schools.sa.edu.au Kind Regards, Steve Bennett R-6 ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL REPORT Week 6 already, the term is flying. Already this year your child has been busy not only involved in deep and rigorous learning in classrooms but we’ve had swimming lessons for all classes R-7 including Special Ed along with Swimming Carnival (Thursday) and Splash Day (Friday). Our Yr 6 student leaders have been inducted and House captains busy in their roles. 3 Way Conversations It was wonderful to see so many families attend 3 Way Conversations with their child/children and develop some goals for 2017. Thank you to the teachers who worked hard to ensure all students had this opportunity to connect parents with their learning. This opportunity provides parents with a chance to be involved and support their child/children with their learning and plan to achieve their goals. We will follow up in Term 2 through our written reports. Assemblies We had our first R-6 Assembly hosted by Julie Greenfield's year 6 class & Cathy Grillo's Year 2 class. We heard from our student leaders, Lachlan Hamlyn and Kyana Parks as well as our vice Leaders Judd Grillett and Milly Wise on what they think being a leader is all about. We look forward to sharing in their leadership journey. Our next R-6 assembly will be in week 9 on Friday in our Hall at 9am. All parents and families are invited to attend. 3-6 Swimming Carnival & R-2 Splash Day We had some rather warm weather for our swimming days but managed to get through them, even if a modified version. Students displayed positive attitudes and were well behaved. Thank you to our parent volunteers who helped on the days and our dedicated staff who arrived early to set the pool up on the days. Congratulations to all those involved. Ipads/Devices Thank you to all the parents whom have purchased Ipads/laptops (for Yr 6’s) across 3-6 as a part of the BYOD. Currently we are continuing to set them up on the school system. As the internet is currently being upgraded across Roxby Downs we hopef to have all classes accessing them in a couple of weeks. We will send more information home to parents at the end of this term. Parent Awareness We have had reports that some students have been sharing ‘Scary stories’ about what they have been watching on Netflix, Youtube, movies & games they play. Teachers are aware of some of this across R-6 classes and will speak to any student about the scary stories. As a parent please be vigilant. They are not able to access these at school (we do not have access through the school system) and if students are watching inappropriately rated materials and discussing it with younger/other class mates you will be contacted. Videos and games have an age appropriate restriction/rating set for a reason. Please ensure you check what your child may be accessing through the internet- you can do this by running a history check on devices through Safari. Thanks for your support. Looking forward to working with you as we keep your child at the center of all we do. Warm wishes, Jess Bawden Assistant Principal SISTER PAT'S THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK YEAR 1/2DT SWIMMING LESSONS GUEST SPEAKER AT STUDENT LEADER INDUCTION ASSEMBLY Monday Week 5, we held a special assembly for our student leaders of 2017, followed by a morning tea. Our guest speaker Angela Thompson from Mining Minds had very wise words for our leaders and spoke of her experience as a student leader when she was in school. Her main message for our leaders to remember was; "That a leader doesn’t just find and talk about problems, they have to find solutions and answers too. That the best way a leader can find these solutions is to ask and listen to others. And that everyone can be a leader, not just the person with the loudest voice". She went on to say "that the leaders who have been chosen today, it is your job to go back to your classrooms and back to the students you represent and ask them what and how they might want to change things. And remember don’t forget the quiet ones like Doreen Clark because they may well have the best answer". Congratulations to all our student leaders and we wish you all the best for 2017! EYRE TAKES THE LEAD AT SWIM CARNIVAL Congratulations to Eyre for their 2017 swim carnival victory. The weather was hot and the day started very early. Eyre were in top form and came in with a whopping 504 points! Gairdner next in with 337, followed by Frome on 212 and Torrens 178. Thank you to everyone involved on the day. MISS SEARLE AND THE YEAR 4/5 CLASS ARE PLANTING SEEDS In Year 4/5 the students are anxiously waiting for their seeds to sprout. There was excitement all round when a sunflower seed popped up on Thursday afternoon. The students have worked in pairs and made beautiful signs for their gardens. We can't wait to see their gardens grow! STUDENT LEADERS FOR 2017
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