Dear families,

We had 2 applicants for the position of Music Therapist at Karonga School, and the successful candidate, Natalie Oong, joined us this week. Thank you to the P&C who fund three days of Music Therapy which adds so much benefit to student engagement and enjoyment.

We now host a hive of native, stingless sugarbag bees from Parramatta City Council. The hive is located to the rear of the tennis courts, providing a safe and accessible place for the students to observe the hive. Watching these bees go about their business is a fun and grounding way for our students to interact with nature and learn about our native ecosystems.

This short video with some simple facts about sugar bag bees to aid in classroom discussions should you be interested.

https://youtu.be/FLxSairVpTk?si=KtFxBXVF19aJ5IRq

Our school Signing Choir was asked to perform at the Epping Club Seniors’ Lunch recently. It was our pleasure to perform the 2 songs intensively practiced in 2024 for the Epping Music Festival. Five students signed along to Perfect Day by Lou Reed, and Down Under by Men at Work. We got an ovation!

Builders are half-way through renovating bathrooms in the older part of school. They started back in December and have done a great job so far and passed 2 bathrooms over for use this week. Rooms 11 and 12 however will be inconvenienced for the rest of this term while the plumbing, tiling and electrics are completed. We are bracing ourselves for the anticipated noise as they dig out existing concrete, but the builders are attempting to cover most of the noisy works over the weekend, before and after school and during break times.

Warm regards,
Ruth Rogers
Principal

(Year 7 - Year 11 Students)

Dear Parents & Carers,

Working in conjunction with NSW Health, Karonga is again happy to support our school community in 2025 by offering the convenience of a vaccination clinic at school on Tuesday 18 March for Year 7 & Year 10 vaccinations, as well as the opportunity for catch up vaccinations for Year 8 and Year 11 students.

The following vaccines are offered free of charge to students at school:

• Year 7 students: diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine (1 dose) & human papillomavirus (HPV) (1 dose).
  
  
• Year 10 students: meningococcal ACWY vaccine (1 dose).
  
  
• Catch-up vaccinations for students in Year 8 and Year 11.

Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received by NSW Health via their website. To provide consent for vaccination online, parents/carers will need:

1. their ServiceNSW log-in details, or to create an account with ServiceNSW if they don’t already have one,
   
   
2. Medicare details for parents/carers and their child. 

The link to online consent is: https://engage.health.nsw.gov.au/engage.

Benefits of online consent for parents/carers:

• SMS notifications when vaccinations are given
• easy updating of their child’s details online
• faster upload of their child’s vaccination records to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).

If you would like more information on the NSW School Vaccination Program, please refer to the link below.  We have also attached some documents for your information as well.

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/schoolvaccination.aspx

Kind regards

Ruth Rogers
Principal, Karonga School

Room 3 has 6 students this year- Dakotah, Sophie, Jesse, Jack, Christian and Jayden.

We have already established a routine and students are expressing delight in the activities they enjoy the most.

On Mondays, students have been participating in art therapy with Lissette. We are making paper using a mould and deckle. This activity is linked to our science topic of the material world. Sophie particularly likes operating the blender switch. She loves the sounds of small appliances.

Students access the ILC for food technology on Tuesdays. They have been following a recipe to make salt dough and playdough. Jack especially responds with smiles and movements when feeling and mixing ingredients.

Wednesdays at Karonga School is Mini Woolies day. Room 3 students enjoy purchasing cocoa butter and bubbles. Last week Jesse thoroughly enjoyed bubble blowing in the water feature courtyard.

Zoe joins the class on Thursdays for work skills. The students experience using Big Mack switches to operate the mix master, pencil sharpener and a’ moving’ lamp.

Foot spa Friday is a huge hit with Dakotah and Christian. They love the sensation of warm bubbly water on their feet. When the spa is complete, students receive a foot massage using the cocoa butter they purchased at Mini Woolies earlier in the week.

Jayden has been joining us for some lessons via Zoom as he currently learns from home .

Until next term.

Megan, Sophie and Agnes

Welcome to Room 8! We are a lovely Kindergarten and Year 1 class with seven busy students, our SLSO Mariam and the teachers Sabrina and Janina.

Room 8 had a great start to the year. We have been welcoming two new Karonga School students and have had the opportunity to re-connect with friends from last year after the school holidays.

All students are enjoying the space that Room 8 and the adjoining outdoor learning space have to offer. The swing and the gymnastic balls are popular and a great way to gain sensory input and to practise gross motor skills. The classroom is also close to Maxi’s playground and everyone has been enjoying play time on the trampolines and equipment before class time starts and during the breaks.

In Room 8 we are having a strong focus on the Karonga School principles of being kind, safe and being a learner. We are putting kind, safe and learn into action every day and all students have already demonstrated great progress in walking with their class, sitting down for circle activities, desk work and mealtimes and helping to tidy up the classroom. Taking the blue class bag up to the office is a popular duty, which promotes independence and kindness by completing a class job.

Please enjoy some photos of our fantastic young learners in Room 8.

Kind regards
Janina, Sabrina & Mariam

After the success of last year’s Epping Music Festival, the Dance Group are excited to get back to rehearsals. We have been practicing some of our old routines and trying out new songs that we might choreograph a new routine to this year. Some of our favourites are songs by Bruno Mars or songs from movies.

We look forward to sharing more of our progress with you over the year.

Emma, Kamal, and the dance group.

At lunch time on a Tuesday, Yousef, Shuyang, Mike, Om and Gregory come to the hall to attend OT (Occupational Therapy) club.

The students have really enjoyed pouring coloured rice through funnels into a container and making things with the different objects.

Lowenna, Pam and Jenna (OT)

We are excited to share some of the wonderful activities our Gardening Club has been engaged in this term! All students are working hard to contribute to our school’s beautiful environment.

Recently, all garden club members have focused on the area behind the library, where they have been tackling essential gardening tasks, such as weeding and watering plants. Jorden and James enjoy uprooting stubborn weeds, while Timothy likes collecting them and depositing them into the compost bin, creating nutrient-rich soil for future planting. Mike enjoys watering the plants, ensuring they thrive and flourish. Together, we are cultivating a beautiful, inviting green space for all to enjoy! 

Dipti and Laurie

KIND

Showing kindness by sharing toys with friends.

P&C Annual General Meeting (AGM) Announcement

The Parents & Citizens (P&C) Association will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, 19th March at 6:45pm. All executive positions will be vacant and open for nominations from existing members. Nomination forms must be received prior to the AGM.

Everyone in the school community is welcome to join as a new general member. Being a part of the P&C is an excellent way to stay informed about school activities, contribute to decision-making, and discuss initiatives that enhance the student experience.

While anyone can attend a P&C meeting, only members have the right to vote, pass motions, and have a say on how funds are allocated to improve resources and student wellbeing. The membership fee is $1 per year. New members are added to the membership register at the end of each meeting.

Please note that the P&C requires a minimum of five members to attend each meeting for it to operate, so your participation is crucial to supporting our students!

A Zoom link can be available for those unable to attend in person. Meetings generally run from 6.45pm-8.15pm. 

Exciting News: Welcome Natalie, Our New Music Therapist!

Yee-Foong Stone 
P&C President

 

Allowah School Holiday Program

Disclaimer:

Articles published in the Community Noticeboard section of the Karonga Newsletter are provided for information for our school community only and their inclusion no way constitutes an endorsement of the product or service by Karonga School.