Dear families,

Do check out a recent interview we did with the special educator Sue Larkey recently. It was a pleasure to share what we are doing at Karonga with her, and is good publicity for special schools generally, and what great provisions we have. Follow the link on our Facebook page or on our website, if this does not work: https://suelarkey.com.au/innovative-special-education-techniques/

Episode 254.

Reports are going home currently as a hard copy. As you can imagine this is very intensive on office and administrative time, so along with sustainable practice we are currently reviewing this and we are considering moving to a digital reporting system going forward. For many, this is a better sharing method, but it is candidly a modern practice and reduces paper use. You can, of course, print off copies from your own home-device.

This weeks’ NAIDOC experience was a great opportunity for our students to listen to Aboriginal music, handle kangaroo skins, feel an emu egg and other artefacts. These incursions really are a great way to include our students without the anxiety of leaving the school environment. Thank you to the Gibberagong Outdoor Education centre for putting on this activity.

Thank you to all the parents who joined our ‘End of Term Assembly’ on Wednesday, and later 8-10 parents joined a workshop delivered by a solicitor about managing the affairs and trusts of family members with disability. Let us know if there are other topics which interest you, and if there is interest we can get speakers in to school to address areas of interest.

I am taking leave at the beginning of Term 3 to attend a family wedding in Europe, so in my absence Kamal Lamba, one of our Assistant Principals will act in my role. Please reach out to her via the school email account if you need to, but you may well see her during Education week open day (Wednesday August 7^th).

Staff will attend the state Special Education conference on Monday July 22^nd, with students returning ready for a new term on Tuesday July 23^rd. We wish you all a healthy and warm holiday period.

Warm Regards,
Ruth Rogers

What is there to say about Term 2? Room 5 have had an absolute whirlwind 10 weeks, full of exciting learning opportunities, greater responsibilities, and new experiences!

We started with a busy first week back that included our ANZAC Day March. As School Captain, William had the responsibility of carrying a student-made wreath behind the piper and laying it in our ANZAC Memorial Garden. He did an excellent job.

Just as we were in Term 1, Room 5 has been accessing the gym four times a week to build our fitness, strength and movement skills. It has been terrific watching each boy grow in confidence while using different machines and equipment. On top of this, the boys have been trying new ways to access healthy foods by making fruit smoothies every week and engaging in Crunch & Sip. Throw in our weekly swim session and Room 5 are definitely leading by example with our healthy school lifestyle!

One of the most exciting new opportunities for us this term has been the opening of Kiosk in our Mini-Woolies. Room 5 have taken on this responsibility with enthusiasm. Everybody contributes to a variety of tasks including stocking shelves, welcoming customers and assisting them in finding their items, and serving customers at the till (scanning items and printing receipts). Every student has risen to the task and shown genuine enjoyment in completing each job.

It may be fair to say that the favourite time of each week is Thursday afternoons when Room 5 hop on the bus and participate in Community Access. We have been so fortunate to be able to access a broad selection of activities each week, ranging from going to the park, or to the shops to buy lunch, to bigger outings like sailing on the harbour, going for a bushwalk, and visiting 360 Action Park!

As Semester 1 draws to a close and reports are sent home, Room 5 can sit back and reflect on what has been a wonderful two terms full of personal growth and great learning. See you after the holidays!

From Liam and Shiraz

As we come to the end of Term 2, Room 8 have been showing great improvements in their learning and behaviour. We have been enjoying spending time out in the playground or gym every morning before school.  Charlotte, Lucas T and Noah are enjoying climbing in Aston while Issa and Jedi are enjoying playing in Pembroke.

In the gym, the treadmill and big ball are favourites. Lucas T, Charlotte and Noah have enjoyed trying out the treadmill. Issa is throwing toys into the coloured sections of the target while Lucas W is trying out the new stepper that has just arrived in the gym.

We have been learning about road/bike safety by finding different signs in the classroom and immersive classroom. Issa, Yeting and Lucas T are practicing trying on helmets. Noah, Lucas T, Lucas W and Yeting are looking at different traffic signs while Lucas T completed a road sign puzzle.

Room 8 added their photos into the book ‘Going on a bear hunt’. The students enjoyed looking at themselves in the pictures.

Music is popular in room 8, Lucas T plays the drum while Issa and Yeting play the guitar. Charlotte enjoyed hitting the fence with a stick.

Yeting, Noah and Jedi have been visiting Karonga Kiosk. Yeting is choosing her strawberry milk while Noah and Jedi are paying for their items.

We enjoy sensory time in the classroom, looking at disco lights, bubbles and listening to sensory music. Charlotte is using a switch to make the pillow vibrate.

During English, we have been using switches to help us read books. Charlotte and Jedi are pressing the step-by-step to read a classroom book.

Here are some other photos of Room 8 over the term.

Have a safe holiday, Lowenna and Laurie

The students in Room 13 have had a very busy and productive term. We have added art therapy to our timetable this term and have enjoyed visiting Lisette in the art studio to create some great artworks. Julie and George are especially keen on this session. We have continued with our personal training sessions in the gym. Sadie likes to use the different equipment, Thomas has been increasing the time he spends exercising, and Yousif has been learning to use the machines independently. Swimming is still a very popular activity; Haley has been swimming lengths of the pool on her back and Matty enjoys diving in to retrieve the sinking toys.

We have all enjoyed the texts we are reading during our literacy lessons; our favourite has been ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ and we made a large multi-sensory display to go on the classroom wall. We are looking forward to finding out the books we will be reading next term. We have also been using our communication devices to explore new vocabulary across different lessons. In morning circle, we talk about the day, month, weather, and feelings, in maths we have been talking about heavy and light, and in literacy, we have been using the devices to help us read.

We are looking forward to term 3!

Emma and Michelle

Please remember to put names on all articles of clothing and footwear and any items students bring to school including pants. This will make it possible to return belongings to your child.

This year we have implemented a new club with the help of our resident speech therapist, Analise. The idea behind the club was to help increase the usage of AAC’s throughout the school by providing teachers and SLSO’s an opportunity to learn from Analise and practice their developing skills, as well as encouraging students who already have LAMP to utilise it in a fun and pressure free environment. We have also been able to introduce students who do not currently have augmented communication devices to LAMP and provide an opportunity for them to expand their communication options. The software LAMP was chosen as the centre of this club because most of the students at the school with AAC’s use LAMP.

What this looks like in practice is having fun playing games and engaging in activities of their choosing to help practice, such as using playdough to learn the colours, using toy cars to explore fast, slow, go, stop, using building blocks to learn about tall, short, long, big, fall, break, and make. These are just a few quick examples! We are so impressed with all of our students learning in this different environment and have seen improvement in communication through LAMP in everyone who has participated in the club.

Next term we will continue on but with new staff and some new students to ensure that everyone who wants to, has a chance to participate and grow!

The signing choir are busy rehearsing for the Epping Music Festival which takes place in November. We are learning two new songs this year, one of which will be performed with the combined schools choir. If you want to see which songs we have chosen, you might want to come along to the concert, more details will be released as the date approaches. We are also enjoying practicing some old favourites such as ‘Roar’ and ‘We Are The Champions’, the students take turns to choose the song and are always pleased with each other’s choices.

Emma, Kamal, and Ruth

2024 Karonga School Term 2 Principal Awards

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable school holiday.  I look forward to seeing the students from Tuesday 23rd July.

Love from Tess