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.