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| Tuesday 24th June | NAIDOC - Gibberagong Incursion |
| Friday 27th June | Key Word Signing Course - Parents/Carers (9am) |
| Tuesday 1 July | NSW Health School Vaccination Clinic (Years 7-11) |
| Wednesday 2 July | End of Term Assembly (9.30am) |
| Wednesday 2 July | Parent Workshop - CPA Programs & Services (10-11am) |
| Friday 4 July | End of Term 2 |
Dear families,
As we approach the end of the term, the school executive team has been reflecting on the learning, teaching, and leadership strategies that have shaped Karonga over the past five years. On 1 July, a team from our school will meet with representatives from the Department of Education to discuss how Karonga has addressed recent challenges and to explore our educational direction for the next four years. I was pleased to speak with carers at Wednesday night’s P&C meeting to walk through our submission and share the key messages we will be presenting. It was a powerful reminder of how far we’ve come—and where we’re heading next.
We are incredibly proud of Brendan from Room 4, whose artwork was selected for inclusion in an installation at VIVID Sydney at The Rocks. Brendan used his ‘Handy Helper’ to create his piece, and we were all amazed by the large-scale imagery and the creativity he demonstrated. Well done, Brendan!
Yesterday, students from The King’s School concluded their ‘Service Days’ at Karonga. It’s always a pleasure to welcome them to our school. This mutually enriching partnership will continue in Term 3, when they assist in organising our Founders Day celebration. This is always a highlight on the school calendar, so please save the date—Thursday 11 September—and plan to join us.
Warm Regards,
Ruth Rogers, Principal
Attention: Parents & Carers of Students in Years 7, 8, 10, & 11.
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 1 July 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) |
|
Year 8 & 11 students |
catch-up Year 7 or Year 10 vaccinations |
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:
- ServiceNSW log-in details, or if you don’t already have one - create an account with ServiceNSW.
- Medicare details for parents/carers and child.
The link to online consent is: https://engage.health.nsw.gov.au/engage.
Benefits of online consent for parents/carers:
- receive 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.
https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/schoolvaccination.aspx
Kind regards
Ruth Rogers, Principal, Karonga School
Just a reminder that we are running our Parent & Carers Keyword Sign Course next Friday 27th June. It is not too late to register and to assist with planning for the day including course information handouts and catering, please ensure your enrolment is finalised by Monday 23 June. Contact the school on Tel: 9868 1920 if you would like to register.
This term, Room 1 has had a wonderful time exploring the local community through weekly excursions to some of our favourite parks – West Epping Park, Dunrossil Park, and Loftis Square Park. Each park offers a variety of exciting equipment, including the always-popular seesaw, swings, and slides! These outings have also been a great opportunity to practise important life skills such as staying together as a group and crossing roads safely by checking for cars. And when the weather turns rainy, the students have enjoyed a special treat – visiting McDonald's!
Back at school, we've been busy with hands-on activities around the school grounds. Room 1 has been working hard in the garden, where students have learnt to wear gardening gloves, use tools safely, and plant spinach and beetroot in the brand-new Karonga School Garden. They are also learning how to care for our environment by being gentle with the plants, following instructions, and safely observing our native stingless bees.
We’ve also been getting active with weekly gym sessions! These sessions have been a great way for students to build strength, coordination, and confidence through movement. Whether it's, balancing, jumping, running on the treadmill, or using the arm rower, Room 1 has shown great enthusiasm and teamwork. It’s been fantastic to see their physical skills and self-esteem grow each week.
In Art, we’ve been exploring the beautiful Aboriginal story When We Go Walkabout by Rhoda Lalara. Set on Groote Eylandt, the story invites children to discover animals in different habitats throughout the course of a single day. Inspired by this, Room 1 has been working on a colourful display that brings the story to life and celebrates the connection between culture, nature, and art.
It’s been a fun, active, and creative term for Room 1, and we’re excited for what’s to come!
Warm regards,
Megan & Sandiya
Term 3 has rolled along with alarming speed. As we head into the school holidays, Room 3 students can look back on the term with a sense of achievement and satisfaction.
One of our biggest celebrations this term has been the return to school by Jayden. He has grown a lot since we last saw him and has matured in looks. Jayden is very happy at school, smiling and laughing at everything and everyone.
We recently celebrated Jack’s 17th birthday. He smiled and chuckled as everyone sang happy birthday and wished him happy returns for the day. Jack has especially enjoyed Thursdays with our physio Di. He is very relaxed when positioned in the Acheever bed.
Sophie has gained a lot of strength during the term. She loves to walk to the front office most mornings and to greet Cheryl. Sophie enjoys music therapy each week and plays the cabasa with enthusiasm. Sophie had a haircut from Matty’s mum Sally and looks even more gorgeous.
Jesse also had a haircut at school. He behaved perfectly during the process and smiled the entire time. Jesse has particularly enjoyed music lessons during the term. He was very interested in the operatic performances.
Christian has begun his transition to post school life, spending two days per week in the community. Fortunately, Christian still attends school on Thursdays, when he thoroughly enjoys hydrotherapy.
And finally, Dakotah has been enjoying everything, especially spending time in the kitchen garden. The class have attempted to germinate wildflower seeds and planted them into the class garden bed. Dakotah has held the watering can and watered the seedlings.
Wishing everyone a great rest of the term,
Megan and Sophie
Term 2 has continued to be very productive for Room 6. We have been going out for weekly community access and practicing our safe travel skills on public transport. We are learning to be more independent by using our own Opal cards and tapping on and off each time. We are also using our numeracy skills by recognising the correct bus number, and buying lunch or classroom supplies while we are out. Suzie and Aiden particularly enjoy these excursions.
This term we have also joined our friends in Room 5 for a couple of excursions. We went to Gibberagong Environmental Education Centre at Bobbin Head where we went on a bush walk to learn about the Aboriginal history and culture of the area. We listened to a story, did some artwork with leaves, and looked at the natural features of Bobbin Head. We even met a friendly possum! Last week, we went to the Art Gallery of NSW. Our guide Katie introduced us to some sculptures and Aboriginal art, and then we had a go at making our own sculptures. We will be continuing this work with our art therapist, Lisette, who is going to help us make some sculptures at school.
The year 12 students in Room 6 have been visiting their post-school placements. Naya, Louisa, and Geonwoo are settling in well and we have had some great feedback about how successful the transition to post-school life has been. While year 12 are out, the rest of us have been continuing with our timetable. Swimming, music therapy and yoga are some of our favourite activities; James especially enjoys swimming, and David always reminds us to do our yoga session.
We are looking forward to sharing more with you next term!
Emma and Sujung
LAMP Club News
Dear Parents and Carers,
I am thrilled to share the exciting developments from our recent LAMP Club sessions, where our students have been exploring the power of communication through the use of various devices. This club has provided a unique opportunity for our students to enhance their communication skills in a supportive and engaging environment.
Over the past few weeks, our LAMP Club members have been diving into a variety of activities that harness technology to foster effective communication. One of our most enjoyable activities involved using devices to create stories. Students were supported to craft their own stories, adding images and audio to enhance their narratives. This project allowed them to practice articulating their thoughts and expressing emotions, all while having fun!
We are incredibly proud of the growth we have witnessed in our students. Many have become more adept at using technology to communicate effectively. They have shown remarkable improvement in sharing their ideas and collaborating on projects.
Thank you for your continued support in fostering an inclusive and enriching learning environment. Together, we are helping our students become confident communicators ready to thrive!
Kindness shown between Geonwoo and the Kings School students as they took time out to read books.
Free English Classes at TAFE NSW St Leonards
HoweCare Winter Holiday Program
Riverlink Disability Support Services
Riverlink is a non-profit registered NDIS provider having supported people in the local community for over 36 years.
Children’s Day & Overnight Respite
Our purpose-built Children’s cottage has been recently refreshed catering to kids of all ages and abilities. We are very focused on creating a child-safe environment where children come for respite but feel warm and safe and really want to return. Our intake process ensures that we understand each child and we are particular about our matching and suitability process. We work with the child’s behaviour support practitioners, carers, and other therapists to ensure we are implementing positive behaviour support practices, whilst working toward their goals at the same time. We have vacancies throughout the year including day respite for school holidays (minimum 3 hours daily) - https://riverlink.org.au/disability-services/respite-for-children/
Supported Independent Living and Adult Respite Care
Our Blacktown Supported independent living home Barooga, is a lovely modern spacious home where the two existing young adult residents are seeking a 3rd person to share their 4 bedroom/3-bathroom home in South Blacktown. We support them to build sufficient living skills, so they are able to become more independent. They both enjoy craft, outdoor leisure, music and dancing, and our wonderful support team are very nurturing and supportive. Here is a link to the home which is staffed by our support workers 24 hours a day based on resident requirements. All potential residents will complete a suitability matching process to ensure a good fit for all. We welcome trial respite periods – a try before you stay respite to give young adults some insight into independent living. https://riverlink.org.au/adults-supported-independent-living/
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.