Visit from Director General, Katy Haire

Last week our Director General Katy Haire visited our school. Our school captains led a tour of the school and shared their new leadership roles. We have much to be proud of at our school and we could have talked all day. Katy sent us a message after the visit stating: 

Hearing from the students about your new approach to student voice was really powerful - it’s obvious that the change the school has made has been significant and very effective!  In particular, the focus on cultural integrity is inspiring and a credit to you, the staff and the children.  

Preschool Reconciliation Week Celebrations

‘Tracks to Reconciliation’ our Preschool Reconciliation Week activity was held on Wednesday for the preschool children. National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. This event was a partnership with the Gungahlin Child and Family Centre, Libraries ACT, Canberra Health Services and Gugan Gulwan. Preschool classes came together for a Didgeridoo performance and then split into groups for a rotation of art, story and weaving activities. Morning tea for all students was provided by the Child and Family Centre. This was an amazing event that was enjoyed by all.

Cross Country

On Friday of week 7 a large group of students from years 2-6 represented Ngunnawal Primary School at the North Gungahlin Zone Cross Country at Stromlo Park. These students were selected after the school cross country event that was held last term. Congratulations to the students who all did their very best.

Rostrum School Final

Congratulations to Emily C who is the winner of our school level competition in Rostrum Public Speaking. Emily did an excellent job of presenting on the topic “Going to Mars”. Congratulations to the other students who also presented excellent speeches on a variety of topics: Tom G, Ruby C, Bree F, Harper N, Zane H, Alyysha Z, Archer K, Desiree A, Archer C and Jacoby W. The judges had a very difficult time deciding on a winner to continue to the next level and represent the school at the quarter final as all the entrants presented with such confidence and composure. Ruben W was awarded status of runner-up and will represent the school should Emily not be able to attend the quarter final. Well done to all the school finalists. We are very proud of you!

Year 4 and Years 5/6 Rugby League Teams

Thank you to Trent and Thomas for their efforts in preparing our Year 4 and Years 5/6 teams so well for the Northside Schools Rugby League competition. It was clear the students were proudly representing our school and playing with great competitive spirit.

Semester One Reporting

At the end of week 9, semester one reports will be sent out to parents and carers. The reports for years 1-6 will include an A-E grade for each curriculum area, showing where your child sits in relation to the expected standard for their year group. Times have changed since I and many of you went to school, and a C grade no longer represents a percentage mark between 50 and 65%. A ‘C’ grade shows that your child is achieving exactly what is expected of them at their age group, they are meeting the expected standard. Should your child not be meeting the expected standard I would hope that you are already aware of that, and in partnership with the school are working to ensure your child continues to learn to the best of their ability. At Ngunnawal we have dedicated intervention specialists who provide support to our emerging readers, as well as classroom teachers who are skilled in differentiating learning for students at their point of need.

End of Semester Interviews

Families are invited to attend a face to face interview with your child’s teacher to reflect on Semester 1 and set goals for Semester 2.

Students are welcome to attend with their parents to discuss their learning.

WHEN:      21-25 June 2021

WHERE:    Ngunnawal Primary School

ROOM LOCATION:  Your child’s classroom

Click this link to make a booking: https://ngunnawalps.schoolzineplus.com/view-session/11

Staff Adjustments Weeks 9 and 10 Term 2

Vernetta Rolls on long service leave. Rochelle Mandelson will be acting in Vernetta's roll for weeks 9 and 10. Lisa Peacock will be teaching 1RM.

Staff Adjustments Term 3

Deputy Principal 3-6 Weeks 1-8

We congratulate Danielle Parker who was successful in winning the SLB position from weeks 1-8 while Arianna is on long service leave.

School Leader Kindergarten and Year One

We also congratulate Dan Tuddenham who will be acting in Danielle’s position for weeks 1-8.

School Leader Years 5/6

Ahmed will continue on as the school leader for years 5 and 6 for the rest of the year. 

Teaching Positions

Nat Ivanoff Maternity Leave - Lisa Peacock

Dan Tuddenham Higher Duties - Erin Gale

Lachlan Dean -full time on 5/6AJ

Nick O'Brien leave- Daniel Boyle 4DB (Ahmed on Thursdays)

Administration Positions

Larissa Davis is Acting Business Manager at Charles Weston School until week 2 term 4. Janna Woollcombe will be in the office Monday to Wednesday and Lauren Samson returns to the office on Thursday and Friday.

Rebecca Turner

Principal

Our next meeting is 6pm tonight in the administration building. 

Beginning of week Preschool will dress up on Tuesday 22 June.

This term we have been working on a unit of work in Science titled “Living things”. We started with a  focus on growth in plants and moved into animals and their habitats. 

At the beginning of term we all prepared seeds to grow. We completed ongoing observations and anecdotal notes displaying children’s ability to carry out a scientific experiment using a  given framework  and students ability to record  information. Each child had their own observation book to draw the observations and take notes. 

In LSUEB we have also had a focus on living and nonliving things so that we knew what to do to help our seed grow. We knew that we needed water, sun and soil, and drew pictures of our three observations as they grew. The most exciting part was when we got to taste some of the snow pea sprouts. We are now focusing on changes that happen to other things as they grow, particularly us!

In LSUSG and LSUMA we started the unit by investigating and exploring various gardens around the school. We grew broad beans with damp cotton wool in click seal bags. In order to have the most ample amount of sunlight we stuck our bags onto the window. We also attempted to grow a variety of seeds in cups. The students were so excited to observe the growth into seedlings. We are hoping to transplant the established seedlings into the garden beds in our outdoor area. 

After identifying that seeds needed water, food and sunlight to grow we decided to test this theory and see if we could get seeds to grow under differing conditions, such as no sunlight, no water or no soil. We are yet to observe and track growth for these.

Reconciliation Week

During Weeks 6-7 Ngunnawal Primary School participated in a range of events and activities for Reconciliation Week. 

Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country:

On Friday the 28th Ngunnawal Primary School had a smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country. An Indigenous man named Billy took us through the smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country. A smoking ceremony is an ancient custom among some Aboriginal Australians that involves smouldering various native plants to produce smoke. This herbal smoke is believed to have cleansing properties and the ability to ward off bad spirits.

Activities: 

After the smoking ceremony we broke into little groups to rotate around the school and participate in activities. The activities included art, music, sport and exploring artifacts. The Year 6 students were paired with the Kindergarten students to help them with each activity. Everyone had an excellent time and enjoyed participating in the activities.

Assembly:

On Wednesday 2 June Ngunnawal Primary held a Reconciliation assembly. Warren Daly, a Ngunnawal elder from the Pudman reserve in New South Wales, opened the assembly with a Welcome to Country. The Preschool classes did a performance. Ashley Rogers, from the Go Foundation came and presented scholarships to four very lucky Indigenous Students. We also watched videos that taught us about reconciliation, including when the Australian Prime Minister apologised to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders people.

Wear It Yellow Day : 

On this day, our school also had a ‘wear it yellow day’ and you could bring a gold coin to donate to a charity called ‘Children’s Ground’. This organisation is led by First Nations Communities which are creating a new future for their children and families.

Cultural Integrity Student Leadership Team

This term, Ngunnawal Primary will be able to offer students dance classes at recess on a Monday. These classes will be facilitated by ‘Play-The Dance Agency’. Students will be supervised during recess by a Ngunnawal Primary staff member in addition to the dance teacher. Numbers are capped at 30 students, so please get in fast. Enrolments are open now for Term 3. If you have any questions, please contact Cassie from PLAY. Her contact details are listed on the flyer.

Science Week @ NPS

7-13 August 2021

Are you a scientist, nutritionists, botanist, farmer…ist? If you have expertise you would be willing to share with us as we celebrate Science Week, we would like to hear from you! Please contact Eliza.Potts, Naomi.Smidt or Catherine.Beckett

@ed.act.edu.au

FUN WITH FRIENDS THESE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS!

Communities@Work July School Holiday Programs are open for bookings. The Daily Highlights (program calendars) with a list of activities for each program location will be available next week on their website. The programs will be running weekdays over the July school holidays from 7.30 am to 6 pm every day and focus on fun.

Expect lots of fun incursions, activities, and excursions these holidays, including trips to the movies, an artificial intelligence workshop, active sports and play… and more!   

Communities@Work continue to ensure the safety of your child is paramount with increased hygiene and cleaning protocols, guided by the latest advice from the ACT Government and ACT Health.

Visit www.commsatwork.org/shp for details of program locations, dates, activity list, enrolment information and more.