Dear families,

We held our most recent P&C meeting this week, and I warmly encourage all parents and carers to consider joining us. It's a great opportunity to learn more about life at Karonga School and be part of meaningful discussions that support our students. Importantly, there is no fundraising involved.

You can attend in person in my office or join virtually via Microsoft Teams – our P&C President, Yee-Foong Stone, can provide the link. Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month, starting at 6:45pm and running for about an hour to an hour and a half.

At our next meeting on Wednesday 18th June, I’ll be sharing a preview of the presentation we’ll be delivering to the External Validation (EV) panel in Week 10. EV is a process that takes place every four years, where schools reflect on their progress and priorities. Following this, we’ll begin developing our new four-year school plan in Semester 2. Please save the date – your questions and insights are very welcome as we undertake this important work.

2025 Simultaneous Storytime

This week the National Simultaneous Storytime was held on Wednesday at 12 o'clock.  Children in schools and preschools across Australia enjoyed listening to the story The Truck Cat and completed a class activity.

Hairdresser Visit – Monday 2nd June

The response to our offer of an on-site barber/hairdresser has been overwhelming! We are thrilled to support this generous initiative on Monday 2nd June. While we’re not sure how many haircuts can be done in a day, the team will do their best to accommodate as many students as possible – and to keep it calm and enjoyable for everyone. Be sure to check out the action on our Facebook page!

A Big Thank You to the Epping Club

We are incredibly grateful to the Epping Club, who have once again shown their generous support with a $50,000 donation toward the refurbishment of our Sensory room. Their partnership allows us to deliver significant and meaningful upgrades that directly benefit our students. We truly value this ongoing relationship and their commitment to our school community.

Wristband ID With Passive Tracking

For those families who have students who wander, who are opportunistic or who are learning to travel independently, it has come to my attention that a bracelet has been developed for emergency contact details. Should a concerned member of the community or the emergency services swipe their phone over the bracelet the details for your child will be available to reunite you. I don't know anymore than what I have read, but it could give some of our families peace of mind. Let's hope the wristbands are easy to keep on!

Warm regards,
Ruth Rogers, Principal

Karonga would like to invite Parents and Carers to join us for a Key Word Sign Workshop on on Friday 27th June 2025.  Keep an eye out for an email containing an invitation and more information.

Room 2 have had a very busy start to Term 2. Weeks 2 & 3 saw us starting the morning at swim school and the students seemed to have had an excellent time.

In our cooking program, we learnt how to cook pancakes... and enjoy eating them.

On Tuesday of Week 4 we were fortunate to have a beautiful day out on the Harbour sailing with the Making Waves Foundation. They were all amazing with the students and we were extremely fortunate with gorgeous weather. Everyone enjoyed the bus trip in, looking at all the sites around the city.

We had lots of fun steering the boat, helping with the ropes and watching out for other boats.

Michell and Cassie

The students in Room 11 have been very busy learners and have had a wonderful
Term 1 and few weeks into Term 2, full of many exciting learning experiences.
Room 11 have especially enjoyed their Community access where we have visited a
few parks and practised following instructions, remaining with the group
and interacting with our peers and other members of our community. We have
been to Livvi’s Park in Ryde and Marsden Park, the Shine Shed and the Brickpit Park
in Thornleigh to name a few. Lucas T and Hasnain love to climb, Pranay and Maddie
can’t wait to go on the swings and Harvey and Lucas W enjoy jumping on the
trampolines.

We have been very busy at the beginning of the term with Swim School and we
were all so excited to go swimming with our 1:1 instructors, for the two-week
program. We all gained lots of confidence and improved on our swimming and
water safety skills. We can’t wait to show Murray how much we have learnt when we
go back to school swimming.

Room 11 has also been very busy gardening, cooking, developing their artistic flares
in art therapy and showing the King’s boys their musical talents in Music therapy.
Lucas T and Pranay love to get their hands dirty in gardening and Hasnain can’t wait
for the King’s Boys to visit us in our music therapy lesson. Harvey loves to sing and
help Natalie compose songs while Maddie and Pranay enjoy drumming and
dancing to the music.

This week we began our Integration program and were so excited to meet our
friends again from the unit at Epping West School. We enjoyed the walk in the
sunshine between the rain and practiced our road safety skills along the way, using
the school traffic lights and pedestrian crossings on route. This week we painted in
preparation for the Simultaneous reading time of “the Truck Cat’ and ended our
time with bubble fun before heading back to school. We are looking forward to next
week and what fun we will get up to with our friends at Epping West.

Warm regards,
Deb W and Jessie

Over the past two weeks, Room 13 junior school students have had a fantastic time at swim school with the rest of the junior school. Genesis especially enjoyed visiting other life skills classes, spending time with sensory activities, and exploring technology.

This week, we had our first session in the school gym for the year! Some of the students were a bit unsure at first as they hadn’t been before, but they quickly found the equipment they liked. We're excited to keep going every Monday at lunchtime to increase fitness.  Noah enjoyed bouncing on the ball while Jedi did some rowing, Paige used the stepper while Gregory tried the arm rower. Genesis and Paige tried out the punching bag.

In Literacy, we've been using alternative pencils to help us write. We used two different styles of alternative pencil: magnetic letters and an individual alphabet flip chart. Paige used the flip chart to choose how to spell her word while Gregory and Jedi used magnetic letters to build their words. Steven tried spelling his word in multiple times. These tools make writing fun and accessible for everyone.

Structured play has been a favourite this term. We're learning about taking turns, waiting patiently and playing safely. Paige and Steven took turns placing sticks on a hedgehog toy. Steven completed a clock-shaped puzzle with Barbara and Gregory played with a pirate toy alongside a student from another class. Jedi sorted blocks, lining up all the letter 'A's during developmental play and Steven built towers using magnetic tiles.

We're always working on our communication skills. In room 13, we use PCs, AAC devices both electronic and hard copy and Key Word Signing. These tools help us express our needs and feelings. Gregory, Jedi and Paige point to a Picture Communication Symbol (PCs) on the door to ask for a break. Noah uses his communication device during lunch and Steven is signing that he wants more.

Each week, a student helps recycle our plastic bottles by placing them into the purple bins. This week, Jedi did a great job, carefully placing each bottle into the bin.

We're proud of all our students and look forward to more fun and learning in the coming weeks!

Warm regards,
Lowenna and Barbara

Geonwoo learning how to use the photocopier so he can help his teacher, Emma and Sujung.

Meet Nat - an interview with Karonga's new Music Therapist.

Music therapy is one of the many therapies offered at Karonga School, made possible through P&C funding. Nat joined the Karonga community in Term 1 this year and I had the opportunity to sit down with her and hear her story.

How did your journey with music begin? 

Music has always been a big part of my life—my dad was a huge influence. He played saxophone in jazz bands, so I grew up surrounded by music. At home, it was mostly his kind of music—jazz legends like Quincy Jones and Miles Davis. My mum leaned more toward Cold Chisel and the Hoodoo Gurus, but since Dad wasn’t a fan, jazz ruled the stereo most of the time.

I also started playing piano when I was about five years old. At first, it was just about learning the basics, but pretty quickly I realised that I didn’t have to stick to sheet music. I could experiment, change things, and make it my own. That idea that you could create something entirely new was what really drew me in. From there, I just ran with it.

Looking back, I’ve always loved music—listening to it, playing it, and just being around it. At some point, I realised I wanted to build my life around music, but I wasn’t quite sure how. Then in 2021, my grandfather passed away. Because of covid restrictions, we had to livestream the funeral. My sisters and I performed "You raise me up" and a friend sent us a video of their non-verbal son watching our performance. He had the biggest smile on his face. It was such a powerful reminder of how music connects us - even in the most difficult moments. It brought comfort, and even joy, in a time of loss, and this led me to discover music therapy.

What surprised you most while studying music therapy?

One thing that really stood out was learning how music engages the entire brain and not just one area and also how music can support emotional regulation. It can help lift one’s energy or calm things down depending on what’s needed. It’s a powerful tool for expression, especially when words are hard to find.

What’s the most interesting instrument you’ve ever played?

Oh, that would be the traditional Chinese instrument, Guzheng. I played it at uni during a music session. It has a pentatonic scale, which means everything sounds good together, so you really can’t play a wrong note. It was such a cool experience, especially with the little claw-like finger picks. I wouldn’t say I played it well, but it was a lot of fun.

What have you learned so far at Karonga, and what have you enjoyed the most?

I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the students—their names, their personalities, and the kinds of music they connect with. What I’ve probably learned the most is that you don’t need words to connect with someone. Sometimes we just play music together, and that’s enough. I love being able to share that space with the students and make them laugh along the way.

What do you enjoy most about your role of music therapist at Karonga?

The variety. Every session is different. Even when I see the same class regularly, no two sessions are ever the same. We might play the same song, like “Happy Birthday,” but we always find new ways to do it. There’s a lot of creativity and flexibility built into this work, which I really enjoy.

If you were a musical instrument, what would you be and why?

I think I’d be a Sousaphone. It’s a bit unusual—it wraps around you, it’s loud, and it’s got this big, bold sound. Plus, it looks kind of funny, and I don’t take myself too seriously. I like the idea of bringing some humour and warmth into the space, and a Sousaphone feels like that kind of instrument.

Who are some of your musical influences?

Hans Zimmer is a big one. His soundtrack work is just so rich and emotionally layered. I also really admire Lin-Manuel Miranda for how he blends storytelling and music. His work on Encanto and Hamilton is so thoughtful. They both inspire me to think about how music can move people and tell meaningful stories.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you or your work?

I’m really passionate about emotion regulation through music. It’s not about avoiding emotions like sadness or frustration, but helping people express them safely and work through them in a way that’s not overwhelming. I think music gives us a space to do that—where we can process feelings and come back to a place of balance. If anyone ever wants to learn more about music therapy and how it works, I’m always happy to have that conversation.