Hello everyone,

The students at Karonga have been getting into the swing of Term 4, with less rain, more outdoor play and warmer temperatures. The rain has meant that our oval has been very difficult to access, but with the current dry spell it is finally drying out and able to be mown.

The Epping Music Festival on Thursday October 27^th was a triumph. Students work all year to practice for this event with the Dance Group doing a piece to a compilation of music, and the Signing Choir doing 2 pieces: Ed Sheeran’s PERFECT on their own and YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME from Toystory with 400 students from 9 local Epping schools doing it behind them. It makes for a very long day for the students- staff supporting them until 8.15pm but it was all worth it, and the feedback from those attending was overwhelmingly positive and emotional.

It has been terrific to be invited into classrooms to see firsthand the great work going on.  Room 13 have been doing some investigation into number values and the teacher was sharing some great learning moments she has been part of- proud of her students and how they are focusing on their learning.

This term Room 7 have been going on some amazing adventures in our community. Along with Room 9 we had a fantastic day at Livvi's Place Ryde where we had a yummy sausage sizzle and lots of great playing in the park. We also visited The Shine Shed at Vineyard which is an indoor playground designed for all abilities, with tons of sensory activities, as well as climbing equipment.  The students enjoyed exploring all the equipment and especially favoured the Flying Fox.

Yesterday we went to Darling Harbour on the light rail. Being out in the city we were able to read the community signs we have been learning in literacy. We practiced our safe walking and great listening skills. We had lots of fun playing in the park with water play as well as watching the big boats in the harbour. We are also going to go on a ferry and train which will be very exciting.

Welcome back to Term 4 and we are already very busy! We have been enjoying our technology lessons in the immersive classroom, our favourite activities are the interactive ones as you can see from the photos of Julian and Titan. Sami has also been using the iPad and navigating his favourite apps, and Sadev has been enjoying using the switch to operate the cause and effect toys.

Gordon and Omar have been practising important life skills such as doing the laundry. They sort the washing, use the washing machine, hang the clothes out to dry and fold them ready to be put away. They have made great progress with this task, we are sure they must be a great help at home!

We are very happy that the spring weather has returned and have been making the most of it by doing activities outside. Julian enjoys riding the bike, Bavan likes to go for a walk, and Sarah has been very happy taking part in music lessons outside. Speaking of music, it is still a favourite activity of ours. We have lots of requests for songs, and Jack is happy to oblige by playing our favourites.

We have also recently enjoyed celebrating the graduation of our classmates Gordon, Sami and Bavan. Although we will miss them next year, we wish them all the success for their future.

Until next time, Alanna, Craig and Hyma.

On the 27^th October, Karonga’s Signing Choir and Dance Group went to Chatswood Concourse Theatre to take part in the Epping Music Festival. Nine schools from all around Epping took part. We left Karonga on the bus at midday and travelled to Chatswood. Thank you, Jim for driving us! We rehearsed our items and Aiden practised his speech and then, to give us energy for our big night had a special dinner from McDonalds. When the time came for our performance, we shone! The Signing Choir performed ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran and then the combined schools choir joined us to sign ‘You’ve Got A Friend in Me’ from the movie Toy Story. The Dance Group did their best ever performance to a mash up of ‘NYC Beat’ and ‘Uptown Funk.’ We were so proud of all of our students who were a credit to Karonga School and we were so pleased to see so many parents come and support us. It was a long day and we were all very tired, but we are really looking forward to performing next year.

Friday 28^th October was National Teachers’ Day and Karonga celebrated in style!  The teachers were treated to a lovely lunch made by all of the Karonga SASS staff and were gifted a plant grown by the Karonga students.  The centrepiece was the beautiful cake made by one of our SLSOs featuring the names of all of the teachers at Karonga.

Thank you, teachers, for all that you do for our students. We really appreciate all of your hard work, care and compassion.  You’re the best!

Our next P&C meeting will be on Wednesday 16^th November at 6.45pm. Agenda shown below.

Next P&C meeting – new members needed!

Anyone is welcome to attend. P&C meetings provide a forum to discuss issues related to the school, hear from the principal and get updates on P&C activities.

If you are interested in becoming a P&C member, see the following information.