Term 3 Planning Day

As a school we have a series of things we believe about Literacy and have key actions we undertake because of those beliefs.

Year 4 Living Wax Museum

In week 10 I had the pleasure of attending the Year 4 Wax Museum. Our Year 4 students prepared well researched presentations about the life and acts of world explorers, convicts, free settlers and Indigenous persons of interest from early colonial Australia times.

Rostrum Quarter Finals

Congratulations to Francesca who delivered her rostrum speech at the quarter finals late last term at Bonner Primary School. We are incredibly proud of your efforts at your first quarter final!

Netball Gala Day

We are thrilled to share the excitement and achievements from our recent Netball Gala Day! It was a fantastic event filled with energy, sportsmanship, and fun. Our students showcased their skills, teamwork, and passion for the game resulting in being undefeated across their six games. Ngunnawal was lucky enough to have one of their senior students Desi come along as the allocated umpire for the day. Thank you, Desi!

Hats are back on for August!

Embracing diversity and inclusion at Ngunnawal Primary School

Embracing diversity and inclusion is important to us at Ngunnawal Primary School. We promote respect and understanding among our students and wider school community.  

In term 2 we commenced important work with members of the Sikh community to allow our baptised Sikh students to wear the five articles of the Sikh faith to school. These articles are the Kesh (headwear such as a turban, patka, dupatta, or chunni to cover their hair); the Kanga (small wooden comb); the Kachera (undergarment);  the Kirpan (symbolic blade with a handle); and the Kara (metal bracelet). The wearing of articles of faith by baptised Sikh students is protected under Human Rights Law and in line with the ACT Education Directorate’s Safe and Supportive Schools Policy.

We are working with our Sikh families to ensure our baptised Sikh students are able to wear these items in a safe and respectful manner. The Kirpan currently being worn at the school is similar to a large charm. It is a blunt object and is not able to be removed from its sheath. It is also worn in a discreet manner which makes it inaccessible by others.

Whilst the five articles of the Sikh faith can be worn at school there may be circumstances for health and safety reasons (i.e. sporting activities) where they may need to be removed and kept in a safe and culturally appropriate location. These arrangements are agreed in collaboration with the Sikh students and their families.

We are committed to honouring and celebrating cultural diversity and fostering an environment where every student feels valued and respected. We will continue working closely with families to ensure everyone feels safe and supported at our school.

Parental Portal App is coming Term 3!

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability. The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy). Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

Rebecca Turner

Principal

Writing

During writing, year 6 students learned about different strategies and techniques advertisements use to persuade. We have been deconstructing advertisements to identify high-modality words, and language devices such as puns, rhymes and alliteration. We also explored ethos, pathos and logos to develop our understanding of how advertisements are designed to appeal to credibility, emotions and logic, and how colours are used to persuade a range of audiences. Our students translated their newfound knowledge into print advertisements to market their products or services for Market Day 2024.

Reading

In Reader’s Workshop, year 6 worked hard to develop a reading goal to improve their understanding of texts and build skills to have conversations and share observations with their peers.  As a cohort, we are working towards developing conversational skills and how they write about reading to comprehend the texts they are reading. The cohort of students has ‘conversation’ as a goal, and students are working on individualised strategies during their independent reading time to develop skills such as Active Listening’, or ‘Thinking Flexibly’. They utilise these strategies when they meet in their conversational groups to discuss texts.

Students are beginning to identify how these skills could benefit them in their transition to high school, where texts are often analysed and discussed as a class.

Maths

In Maths, year 6 has been improving their mental multiplication skills, focusing on speed and accuracy. As a cohort, students have learned various strategies such as doubling, doubling again to find the 4x tables; multiplying by 10 before subtracting a group to solve the 9x tables, and applying this knowledge to problems. Students have also learned to convert between common units of length, mass and capacity. We explored different measurement metrics used for length, mass and capacity while identifying the relationship between multiplying by 10, 100 and 1,000 when converting centimetres and metres for example.

Market Day - 

Market Day 2024 was a huge success, breaking the previous record in funds raised. Market Day showcased the entrepreneurial skills our students have developed throughout the business and economics unit. The day was a culmination of the students’ understanding and hard work in learning concepts such as budgeting, marketing, and providing goods and services. Students created their businesses, set up stalls, and interacted with customers, putting their theoretical knowledge into practice. The event was a fun and interactive way to bring the curriculum to life, but also an invaluable experience in preparing our young entrepreneurs for the future.

Fortnightly Focus 

As we begin another very busy term, teachers are continuing to look for students who are keeping our school clean and tidy by putting rubbish in the correct bins and eating in the courtyard before playing in other spaces. This is to support proximity to the rubbish bins and reduce the amount of rubbish in other areas of the school. 

Our Thursday lunchtime rubbish raffle is always a hit, organised by our Environment student leadership team and gathering a crowd of waste warriors.  

You can support your child in respecting our environment by discussing rubbish and recycling processes at home and school. Nude food lunchboxes also help to keep our school a clean and tidy space whilst looking after the environment by reducing the amount of waste we produce. 

Whole School Reward 

We did it! On Friday 5 July the students celebrated reaching the Yunggi Bengal target of 60,000 with a courtyard disco. It was also a great way to enjoy the last day of a busy term. With a current Yunggi Bengal count of 63,067 we are now focused on our next whole school target of 90,000. 

Before School Expectations 

If you arrive at school before 9am, student supervision is provided in the courtyard and on the basketball court. All play equipment is closed before school, and parents are asked to remind their child about the expectations. Families are encouraged to use the before school care service if early arrivals are unavoidable. 

School Uniform 

Our school uniform is a visual representation of the standards expected of students and plays an important role in promoting a positive image of our school. Our uniform aims to support all students to participate fully in school life and helps create a sense of identity and a school culture in which every student experiences a sense of belonging. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of students wearing clothing other than school uniform. We seek parent support to ensure your child is dressed in Ngunnawal school uniform each day. Should you experience financial difficulties with the purchasing of school uniform, please speak with Principal Rebecca Turner or our Business Manager Dianne Champion.  

Hats On August 1 

Next Thursday 1 August is ‘Hats On’. One of our PBL expectations for staying safe is to wear a sun smart hat. Each student is expected to have a sun smart at school to play and participate in PE lessons in areas that are not shaded. A reminder that a sun smart hat is either a bucket hat or a legionnaires hat, not a cap. It is also a good opportunity to check that the hat is labelled to avoid the hat ending up in lost property. 

Pick up and Drop Off

Please use the designated zone for school pick up and drop off. In the event of parking your vehicle in the car park, use the pedestrian crossing. If your child uses the school crossing on Wanganeen Avenue, please have a discussion with them about waiting to be directed to cross the road, and to look both ways before moving onto the road. 

Rescpectful

Safe

Respectful

Safe

Respectful

Safe