Hello everyone,

It was terrific to work with some of you at a recent Key Word Signing workshop which we held at school in Week 9. A range of parents from years 10, 5, 4 and kindy joined Emma Taylor and myself in delivering the Key Word Sign workshop, and we had great fun together. Look out for this annual event as a way to add to your range of communication tools, and to refresh your skills. All welcome.

Minimbah (Disability Services) celebrated its 40^th anniversary on Saturday. I proudly represented the Karonga community, as it was Karonga parents who started this day program 40 years ago as their 18-year-olds had no-where to attend when they finished school. What wonderful parents we have had support our school.

During these upcoming holidays we are having a range of sun-shades fitted on our grounds. We have an obligation to protect our students from the harsh summer sunlight, and we gratefully received a grant of $50,000 from the Epping Club to make this provision a reality. One has deteriorated over SEACH (formally known as the bike-track), and new ones will be installed over CRAWFORD, ASTON and the deck outside the therapy suite.

School photos were sadly not returned in time to be included in the reports’ envelope, but we will be forwarding them as soon as they arrive in Term 3. They sent the proofs through to us to consider, and it is those images that were used on the front page of the reports.

School finishes today and students return on Tuesday July 18^th 2023. A reminder to label all things coming into school- and all parts of things coming into school, as we often have plastic lids which have no container to match them. Some families have sourced some iron-on name labels which have proved useful to return clothing to their owner. Washing labels within the jackets and sloppy-joes seem to be difficult to write on- and winter term sees students returning in layers which are often discarded on playgrounds when students are active.

In my absence from school for the first 3 weeks in Term 3, you will be pleased to know that the school is in very capable hands, with Murray Graves sitting in the hot seat, and Tess is being cared for by our Business Manager Jenny, so she can still come to school every day!

Save the dates for Term 3:

• Week 3: Wednesday 3^rd August Education Week open morning 9.30- 10.30am
• Week 9: Thursday September 14^thFounders Day 12- 1.30pm
• Week 10: Wednesday 20^th September (Week 10) End of term assembly 9.30am

Throughout this semester, Room 6 has been actively developing its pre-work skills. They have gained confidence in navigating the school independently and completing tasks such as distributing notes. This provides an opportunity for them to work on improving their communication and social skills. Aiden can distribute notes on his own, whereas Geonwoo and Massa work together as a team. Louisa has demonstrated a keen interest in process work, and they are also learning how to operate a photocopier and laminator. Naya has made significant progress in completing her daily tasks independently.

Suzie welcomed everyone and Aiden read acknowledgement of country for week 8 Assembly.

Room 6 boarded a ferry at Kissing Point to enhance their travel skills and learn how to use an Opal card for their trip to Circular Quay.

Kaiden and Suzie actively participated in a mock excavation activity to gain a better understanding of historical resources.

Room 6 found interactive whiteboard activities to be effective tools for improving their literacy and numeracy skills through practice.

Dipti and Sujung

Hello from Room 11!

This term, we have had a new arrival in our class, Ishan. He has been a lovely addition. Anamika and I continue to work very hard with our other beautiful students Lucas T, Lucas W, Harvey, Matty, Nakissa and Ali. They have made a huge amount of progress so far. We are becoming more settled and confident learners.

Students in Room 11 have had the opportunity to participate in swim school which they enjoyed doing each day. It was a pleasure to see them blowing bubbles and having fun in the water, building their confidence as swimmers.

We have been learning about the locations of places and how to use a map to guide us. Students have enjoyed watching the Karonga School Virtual Tour which clearly identifies places for us to vit around our beautiful school.

The students in Room 11 are now practising their independent writing and story telling skills with the aid of an alternate pencil. It is such a pleasure to watch them choose letters for the words in their stories and talk about their pieces afterwards.

We hope that we continue to have a great year!

Louise, Montana and Anamika

NAIDOC Week is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and a chance to acknowledge the rich history, culture and achievements of Indigenous Australians.

Karonga School celebrated NAIDOC Week this week, students were engaged in various activities such as reading stories, observing traditional Aboriginal dances, participating in classroom tasks, experiencing the tactile nature of resources and creating artwork inspired by Aboriginal culture.

Junior classes had a delightful experience when they visited the school hall and took part in a NAIDOC incursion led by Lisa Tennyenhuis from Gibberagong Environmental Education. They were fully immersed and actively involved in the hands-on activities.

We extend our sincere gratitude to Lisa and the Gibberagong Environmental Education Team for providing a highly valuable experience to our students, and we look forward to their presence again next year.

Until next time,

Kamaldeep Lamba
(Assistant Principal)

PRINCIPAL'S AWARDS
End of Term Assembly Wednesday 28 June, 2023

The following students received a Principal's Award at the End of Term Assembly for demonstrating each of the school values of KIND SAFE LEARN.

On Friday 23rd June it was National 'Take Your Dog To Work Day'.  Although we celebrate Tess everyday, we decided to include a few extra photos of her as she is such a big part of Karonga School - helping answer the phones in the office, official staff photo and overseeing the flag raising.

SOURCE MAGAZINE FOR KIDS

Source Kids is an Australian magazine for parents, carers and professionals of children with special needs. The glossy, national publication is printed quarterly and distributed through Australia. To view the latest copy of Source Magazine, click on the link below:

 

Activate Inclusion Sports Days for 2023

Activate Inclusion Sports Days are designed for students aged 5 – 17 years living with physical, sensory or intellectual disabilities. The program provides the opportunity for participants experience a range of adaptive sport and recreation activities in a fun and inclusive environment.

Since its creation in 2016, this program has engaged more than 6,000 participants with a focus on creating a safe environment that inspires students and instils belief that with the right support, they can achieve great things.

In 2023, Sport NSW and Disability Sports Australia will partner with Variety – The Children’s Charity NSW/ACT to deliver 22 events across both metropolitan and regional NSW.

Activate Inclusion Sports Days are FREE for students to attend, and we recommend registering early as places are limited for each day and traditionally sell out.

To find out more about Activate Inclusion Sports Days, simply visit: www.activateinclusion.com.au where you can also register for an event near you.