Just as the revamp of the 7-8 Courtyard took place, the temperatures soared and we could not have students out in the heat! As you can see from the photographs however, Rooms 3 and 4 made the most of utilizing it and were really appreciative of a purpose-provided space. Besides a range of static musical instruments we have Bluetooth music enabled so that staff may add to the musical experience and choose an ambient selection.

What a great Celebration of Learning we had on Wednesday. Almost all students attended and we made the hall and the atmosphere (music/ photographs etc) as special as ever.

The staff had voted on worthy recipients of each award so it was a surprise for all when Murray made the announcement about who were individual winners:

In between the awards we were all treated to a PowerPoint, set to music, celebrating each class from 2020 and the dance team did a great routine to some music they had been practicing for the (cancelled) Epping Music Festival.

We also took the opportunity to thank the 2020 leadership team: Joshua, John, Jayden and Winfred before announcing the 2021 leadership

John: Captain

Jayden: Vice Captain

Everyone stood to thank the exiting leaders and leavers as they led the conclusion of the Celebration of Learning.

Warm Regards, Ruth Rogers

Welcome to the end of Term 4. Room 4 have been enjoying doing lots of learning.

We have been looking at chemical reactions via cooking. The students have been interested in watching these changes.  Jayden and Shania are observing the chemical change in an egg.  During cooking we have also been looking at the sensory aspect. Dakotah is feeling some pizza dough while Jesse is smelling It.

We enjoyed experiencing the new Courtyard equipment. Leila and Zena have been playing the musical instrument.

Room 4 hopes that you all have a safe holiday and a Merry Christmas.

See you next year.

Lowenna and Foozieh

We cannot believe how quickly 2020 has flown by in Room 8. Even though there are only 2 weeks to go, we are continuing to work towards achieving more learning goals.

All students have welcomed the addition of the Lego table given to us from our school general assistant Jim. The table is situated in the outdoor learning space, and is extremely popular during cognitive play sessions. Viki and Steven like to build towers. Thomas and Paige enjoy building transport vehicles for the Lego people. Ma’afu and Agam enjoy stacking Lego bricks into containers.

We hope you enjoy the photograph of the farmyard wall display. We had a great time adding different farmyard animals to it each week. The students were very interested in the wall display, often gently touching various animals.

Students have just begun learning about sun safety, especially wearing a hat when outdoors during the warmer months. We each have a social story that we read each morning during morning circle. I am hoping that students will be encouraged to wear a sun hat during the school holidays.

We are all very tired and looking forward to the summer break after some great learning during the year. Wishing everyone a restful break and looking forward to achieving more learning goals in 2021.

Megan and Jennifer

We have been working hard and keeping active in Room 13 with lots of learning and fun.

Room 13 has been very privileged to have a student teacher, from The ACU working with us over the past four weeks.

A highlight has been Claire’s music lessons when she shared her musical talents and instruments with us. The students had the opportunity to explore the different sound patterns of the trombone, ukulele and drums.

Claire has taught some science, mathematics, literacy and art lessons. We have also had a science lesson with Taren who has been based in Room 5 and a mathematics lesson with Alex who has been based in Room 11.

The Room 13 students have been working very well together- a focus this term. In the afternoons we play group games, with all students choosing to participate and are taking turns really well.

This term we have celebrated Geonwoo and Chris’s birthdays. Happy Birthday boys!

The holidays are nearly upon us and we wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

From Debbie and Sujung

Welcome to the end of the school year everyone. There will be a short newsletter on Wednesday December 16^th, but I thought I would take this opportunity to thank you all for your support over 2021, and congratulations that you ‘made it’. It has been so hard for many of you- home schooling your children, and unable to easily get NDIS support during March-May when the whole community seemed to close. You deserve our respect and applause.

End of year reports are currently being printed and signed. They will go home in the last week and it has been so heartwarming to read such great accounts of teaching and learning, and this year we have incorporated photographs into the reports, as parent feedback has proposed that this is what you would like to see.

We have responded to parent feedback in a number of ways since the survey which went out earlier this year. We are committed to:

• Including photographs in reports as evidence of learning
• Sending more photographs home regularly
• Offering 1-hour regular catch-ups on a variety of topics including PLP’s, the curriculum, technology, specific programs and our facilities
• Inviting drivers and TSO’s into school for afternoon tea once a term to support managing our students in a friendly positive way
• Developing an App so that parents can more easily communicate absences to the school/ class teacher

We plan to offer lunch-time clubs next year. Across the school, students will be given opportunity to ‘sign up’ for interest groups- and have some fun. These clubs may be art club, technology or iPad club, beauty sessions, music appreciation or film club. Watch out for photos in upcoming newsletters in 2021.

We hope you liked the revised style of PLP this year. We responded to the frustration that parents feel when we use ‘educational-speak’ or refer to whole class projects. Whilst the subjects we teach have still been going on behind the scenes, we have used the PLP teacher-parent meetings to identify a small number of SMART goals which are more meaningful for parents, and translate better into the home environment. These may be the same goals you are working on at home, or that you are asking support workers to work on with students. The feedback around this has, so far, been very positive. I hope you feel empowered to email me or speak to the class teacher if you see any other ways we can improve what we do.

Do remember that the P&C is also a great support for any concerns which may arise- and they can represent your concerns if you feel uncomfortable raising things with your child’s teacher. The P&C meet on the third Monday of each month during term-time- do come along and take an active interest in your child’s school. The P&C does not do any fundraising, so you will rarely be asked to do anything outside attending the meetings.

Warm Regards, Ruth Rogers