Hello everyone,

Swim School was a terrific program over weeks 2 and 3, delivered this year by Bryce and his team. We are looking forward to resuming regular swim sessions again, and benefitting from this primary-school initiative. Wai, the AuSwim instructor employed by the P&C, joined the team and gained some great insights about the Karonga swim program which he can embed going forward. 

In a limited way, we have managed to get some clubs up and running during the lunch period. It was always our intention to run these activities but dire staffing levels have impacted their provision. We have started with Dance Club, Signing Choir, one art club and two music clubs (the latter 2 run by Lissette and Jack funded by the P&C). This is a very positive move towards meeting the needs of our students and providing added value to their enrolment. We hope to offer more clubs as the year unfolds and include as many students as possible. The clubs all have fun names and fun themes, and there are a range of students in them from across the school. We will let you know if your child joins one of these clubs, and what day of the week that is happening.

Minimbah – a ‘post school’ day program, was set up many years ago by Karonga parents who saw that there was nowhere for their 18 year-olds to go/ attend upon leaving school. It is available as a Saturday program for many, and remains ONE of the options open to our parents as our Y12 students seek services.

David Peachy, the current Chairperson is a parent of an ex-Karonga student and he has forwarded an invitation to staff and families to attend a 40^th anniversary celebration next month on a Saturday. Please see the advertisement below, and if you are interested -respond through the RSVP referenced. I will be attending on behalf of our school, and it looks like it is going to be an enjoyable afternoon.

The Kings School students have continued to offer ‘service’ at our school over this past week. They have committed to assisting us on Founders Day and Harmony Day, and additionally they have committed to 9 days during the year where paired Y9 boys go into classes and support Karonga students. Our youngest students are directly benefitting, in addition to the Music and Art Therapy programs funded by the P&C.

Do not forget to consider joining our KWS (Key Word Signing) course to be held in week 9 this term. We make no profit from this program (money directly paying for morning tea and lunch provided) but it is a full day’s commitment and based on a limited number attending. Get in quick before the places are taken! Extended family members may pay and attend, but sadly this does not include children.

Room 1 invited students from across the school to join them in the ILC.  They have been reading the text 'Dumpling Dreams' and made it into a multi-sensory immersion by inviting members of the Lee family in to the school to make dumplings with the students.

We have had some student changes in Room 1. Sunday and Raj have left Karonga School and are attending schools closer to home.

We are so happy to welcome Om back to Karonga School and into Room 1. He has transitioned very smoothly into the class. We also welcome SLSO Peter, who works with us several days per week.

The biggest news in Room 1 is the arrival of our beautiful new furniture. In week 1, we took delivery of 6 amazing ‘pod’ chairs. All students love sitting in them, and some of us enjoyed playing in the boxes the chairs came in.

As the cooler weather has arrived, we have been able to spend more time outside. The students have been mulching the turning circle on the lower bus bay. Their next job will be renovating the garden bed outside Room 1. The two Williams have proven themselves to be very hard workers who are able to stay on task.

We have been enjoying long walks through the crunchy fallen leaves on the school oval. Sidney, Anita, William R and Om particularly enjoy listening to the sounds of the rustling leaves.

Oras is the class mailman this term. He is able to independently take the roll bag to the office each morning and collect each afternoon.

William L’s mum and grandparents are coming to school this Friday to demonstrate dumpling making. This is an extension activity from one of our texts “Dumpling Dreams’.

Megan, Sandya and Peter

Term 2 for Room 12 commenced with renewed focus on their individual learning goals. With reports due this semester, the students practised skills in all key learning areas and completing assessment tasks with minimal assistance, where possible.

We had Swim School Program during weeks 2 and 3. It was such an amazing experience for our students. This provided them with an opportunity to learn about water safety skills. There were lots of smiles in the pool. We look forward to having them again next year.

This term room 12 students are learning about Land and Sea animals. The students have been participating in art works related to the topic and are able to sort animals into two groups with assistance. Room 12 students along with their friends in room 13 are really looking forward to visiting Featherdale Wildlife Park and SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium in coming weeks as part of their English, Geography and Science syllabus. These trips will develop their skills in staying with the group, being safe in the community, taking turns and following instructions.

We have been lucky enough to have a pre-service teacher, Boghos from the Australian Catholic University helping us with our learning programs. Yousif has demonstrated his independence in spelling his name with the magnetic letters. Sebastian continued to develop his skills in sorting of 2-dimensional shapes with verbal prompt and has shown remarkable improvement in recognising the letters of the alphabet. Noah is developing his interest in trialing different food items and has shown great success with the support of his therapist. Mohammad Issa, Agam and Gregory are working on developing their skills in achieving their Smart goals around unpacking of their bags and packing their lunch boxes with minimal assistance.

We are looking forward to the rest of year together with many exciting events ahead!

Until next time,

Kamaldeep and Hyma

Bus Drivers needed

Do you know anyone who would be interested in driving a Karonga School Bus? Help us get Karonga students to and from school. Casual work available. For more information about requirements, contact our Transport Manager, Aruna Perera at karongatransport@gmail.com.