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OUR SCHOOL VALUES We work hard to learn We respect ourselves and each other We value acts of generosity
IN THIS ISSUE Penang School Trip Deadly Yabber OSHC are winners! Yr 8 & 9 Girls Football SRC Camp Volunteers’ Morning Tea Arts Week STAR Report Tree Planting
DIARY DATES 24/6 IGNITE Testing 25/6 Junior School Disco 28/6 Grounds Mtg 4pm 29/6 Fund‐raising Comm 3:30pm 29/6 JS Jump Off Day 7/7 Book Cup
8/7 Last day of Term 2 Dismissal 2:00pm 25/7 (First day of Term 3) STUDENT FREE DAY
FOR THE INFORMATION OF PARENTS/CAREGIVERS Anyone wishing to use a credit card for payment, must now include the CVV Number (the three numbers on the back of your card), or the transaction will not process. Thank you. Sonja Hahn, Finance Office
Brunel Drive Modbury Heights South Australia, 5092 Ph: (08) 8263 6244 Fax: (08) 8263 6072 Email: contact@theheights.sa.edu.au WWW: http://www.theheights.sa.edu.au
FUNDS TO ENRICH LEARNING Many groups in the school this year have organised activities to raise funds for charities, special programs, equipment, and special events: Pedal Prix sells chocolates to cover the costs of vehicle entry, repairs and maintenance, and other expenses required to enter 4 teams in the Pedal Prix Challenge; Parent Club caters for Sports Days, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Biggest Morning Tea to buy equipment for the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen and Garden, additional Junior School furniture, Sports uniforms; year 6/7 classes have also sold chocolates to buy materials for the Feed the Planet program; Casual Day donations target charities and school equipment; Andrew Costello is contributing sponsorship money raised from lunchtime sports competitions, food stalls to donate to the Neurosurgical Research Foundation; the STAR group is raising money from chocolate sales to support Observatory programs; individual year 12 students have conducted quiz nights as part of their Research Project and raised money for the Smith Family; Home Economics has sold Krispy Kreme donuts to purchase sewing machines for class use; we will be treated to pancakes on Friday with proceeds being donated to the Cancer Foundation; the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen and Garden Experts are planning to publish a recipe and garden book to fund ongoing costs of the year 3‐5 program; the Resource Centre organises Book Fairs to keep the library stocked with books for students to read; and there are many more examples. All these fundraising activities take lots of energy to organise and provide some much needed funds for programs in the school. The generosity of parents is called upon to contribute frequently. To avoid an overload of fundraising activities happening at the same time, one of the roles of the Fundraising Committee is to coordinate these activities. The Committee is also exploring sponsorship and a whole school fundraising event that will raise a significant amount of money for the school to pay for items not funded by DECS or school fees: possibilities are a new gym/indoor sport and physical activity facility big enough for all students P‐12 to use daily, a functional early years outdoor learning area adjacent to the junior school reception classes, ICT equipment (computers [no DECS DER grant money for primary school students], interactive whiteboards, LCDs), playground equipment and outdoor furniture, replacement of aging Tech Studies and Home Economics equipment, new cricket pitch and nets and continuation of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. The Fundraising Committee welcomes parent membership. Next Fundraising Committee meeting: Wednesday 29th June 3.30pm Helen Calvert Principal
NEWSLETTER No. 7 24 June 2011
VOLUNTEER TRAINING
Responding to Abuse & Neglect Education & Care Training Session
Everyone wishing to work or volunteer with children and young people must first undertake training in their child protection responsibilities.
We have a responsibility to support and protect volunteers and at the same time a very important duty of care to students.
Our next training and induction for Volunteers will be:
Tuesday June 28th 6:00 – 7:30pm In the Multimedia Room of the Tech Building. Please RSVP to Lyn Albury Lyn.albury@theheights.sa.edu.au so I can inform you if there are any changes and it also enables me to send you any necessary paperwork before the session
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR DEBATING TEAM – The Heights School defeated Glenunga International High School in Round 3. Topic: ‘That public funds should not be used to build professional stadiums.’ Congratulations to: Kaitlin Withers (Speaker of the Night Award)
Taylor Wilson and
Eriq van der Veer (Chairman)
Penang School Trip (Brian Harris, Internationalism Coordinator) The Heights hosted a group of 10 students and a teacher from Jit Sin High School in Penang, Malaysia. This is the first visit as part of a Sister School relationship negotiated during 2010. The students participated in a Youth Ambassador program which included sessions at the Tea Tree Gully Council Chambers with the Mayor Miriam Smith and a reception in the Adelaide City Council Chambers to commemorate the Adelaide‐Penang Sister City relationship. They, along with Heights buddy students, were also introduced to Frances Bedford our local member of State Parliament. Many Heights classes met the students and learned about their school, culture and home life. Our students remain connected through a dedicated Facebook site. We will send a group to Penang next year on a return visit during the July School holidays. Our students will stay with Penang host families, see the tourist highlights of delightful tropical Penang and take part in a school experience for 11‐12 days for only the cost of airfare, insurance and passport. We have some spaces left in this program. If you would like your child considered, please call Brian Harris at the school for further information. Two staff members will accompany our students.
AFTER SCHOOL SPORT RESULTS
Basketball Scores – Under 12s 9/6 16/6
Heights Fireballs defeated Rockets Heights Fireballs defeated Heights Magic
37 to 13 28 to 7
23/6 Both teams are into the Semi‐Finals – GOOD LUCK!
Soccer – 11 and Under 20/6
Heights United v Redwood Park Flashbacks,
16/6
Heights United v Tyndale Blue,
3 all (draw)
Soccer – 13 and Under
Also well done to Jodie Maunder for recruiting Matilda who filled in for us last night, and is apparently a great player!
JUNIOR SCHOOL DISCO – Friday 24th June 2011 in the GYM Lots of fun and also some prizes. $5 entry, drink and chips. Pay at the door. Reception to Year 2: 5pm Yr 3 to 5: 6:15pm Hope to see you all dressed up and ready to dance! Mrs Meatheringham
5 all (draw)
DEADLY YABBER RECONCILIATION WEEK
On Monday 30 May the Reconciliation Assembly was held in the school gym. The assembly started with the Acknowledgement of Country. Ms. Oakey spoke about the links between Welcome to country and the 2011 Reconciliation week theme of ‘Recognition’. The assembly then viewed the video of Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody’s Song ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’ where Gough Whitlam poured sand through the hand of Vincent Lingiari. Our guest speaker cancelled on us on Friday. After some quick rescheduling I managed to organise Rebekah Garrigan, one of our Year 8 students, to speak about why Reconciliation is important to her and about how what can be said in conversations may affect people more than what is realised. The 6/7 festival choir then sang at the assembly. Leonne Hewson, the ACEO in the school, spoke about the mural in the Junior School and it’s importance to the Aboriginal children within the school. The assembly finished with an address by Ms. Calvert about why the school celebrates Reconciliation Week. Leonne Hewson, ACEO th
Important Dates rd
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3 ‐ 10 July ‐ NAIDOC Week 8th July – Early Dismissal 2:00pm 25th July ‐ Student Free Day
SACE STUDENT DAY On Wednesday 15th of June the SACE board of South Australia put together a day for Aboriginal Students in years 10, 11 and 12 to experience what University life is like. We went along to this and got to see how an education can really go a long way in life. Students got to experience a number of different activities including Robotics and how to use and program Lego robots. Pictured opposite is Jordan Todd Fossey using the robot.
ATTENDANCE TERM 1 Please encourage your children to attend school. The following had good attendance in Term 1. Jacinta Barr Brendon Olds Danni Wark Madeline Brownsey Taura Olds Dylan Whiteford‐Hall Taite Burke Tyrell Sinclair Melaine Whiteford‐ Hall Rebekah Garrigan Billee Jaye Franey Ricky Wilson Howsen Kinnunen Alysha Squires Brandon Wingard Juha Kinnunen Melissa Squires Izzy Zelenko Sharelle Kropinyeri Isabella Tsimeris Mary –Rose Zelenko Bonnie MacKellar Jayda Tonkin
100% ATTENDANCE TERM 1 JJ Sinclair Tarni Stewart
SATURDAY DISNEY COMPETITION WINNERS! At OSHC we like to provide lots of creative experiences for children. Recently OSHC leader Danielle Copini came up with a fantastic idea for a Disney poster that the children could colour in and send to Channel 7’s Saturday Disney Show as part of a competition entry. We were delighted to find out that the producers of the show had chosen our entry as a winner and even more excited to hear that a fantastic prize pack would be sent to us soon for all the children to enjoy. Many thanks go to Danielle for her hard work and organisation and a big CONGRATULATIONS to all the children who took part in making our poster so colourful. The show featuring our poster will be aired on Saturday, 30th July from 9‐11am on Channel 7. OSHC Staff JUNIOR SCHOOL SPARE CLOTHES In Junior School we go through a lot of changes of clothing due to little accidents and the wet weather. We encourage all families to please wash and return any clothes that their child/children have gone home in. As this has not happened we have exhausted our entire spare clothes supply. We would appreciate any spare clothes, especially long pants that you may have so we can help those children who need them.
NORWOOD FOOTBALL CLUB SCHOOL HOLIDAY COACHING CLINICS th Thursday July 14 and Friday July 15th from 1:00‐3:00pm Location: Coopers Stadium (Norwood Oval) The Parade, Norwood Cost: Just $10 per day Clinics will include: Teaching of basic football skills Daily show bags and prizes Fun non‐contact games Meet the players All primary school aged boys and girls are welcome to attend. For more information and bookings please call the club on 8362 6278 or email
YEAR 8 & 9 GIRLS FOOTBALL TEAM WINS NE VISTA CARNIVAL On Wednesday 15th June, The Heights hosted the annual 12‐A‐Side NE Vista Girls Football Carnival. Throughout the carnival The Heights remained unbeaten defeating Parafield Gardens, Norwood Morialta, Banksia Park and Modbury in the minor rounds. Coming up against Parafield Gardens again in the final, the girls trailed for most of the game before a goal from Elysha Willis late in the final seconds of play meant that The Heights prevailed 5.5. (35) to 4.6 (30). Congratulations goes to all players: Elysha Willis, Amanda Wellington, Febi Mansell, Chloe Edwards, Te‐ Arka Dienelt‐Smith, Stacey Quinn, Natasha Wilton, Katanna Jones, Leah Ryan, Rebecca Regan, Emily Green, Beverly Kabaya, Ashleah Kent. Thanks also goes to: Mr Jones (coach), Ben Clark (field umpire) and Jason Russell (goal umpire). Andrew Costello, Sports Coordinator
JUNIOR SCHOOL AWARDS Well done to the following students. (Katrina Meatheringham)
Congratulations
Mr Gray’s class Zoe Downey Trying extremely hard to improve skipping skills Michael Holmes Trying very hard with his learning Ms Izzet’s class Jordan Godfrey Working hard on his neat hand‐writing Taylah Wilmshurst Always trying his best Ms Weniton’s class Olivia Schmitz Trying hard with learning times table Dylan Lowings Huge improvement in his sentence writing Ms London’s class Ashlee Board Improved sentence construction Nathan Stevenson Finishing his spelling contract more efficiently Mr Markou’s class Euan Coles Consistently working hard and completing all work Tarni Stewart Improved reading and always trying hard in all learning areas Mrs Rothery/Mrs Meatheringham’s class Belle‐Cherie Anderson Trying hard to improve behaviour Mitch Marshall Great improvement in hand‐writing Ms Overstreet/Ms Wilson’s class Chloe Hodgson Trying hard to get work finished on time Jakob Lake Recognising 100 Oxford words and reaching level 4 Ms Stower’s class Sneha Aryal Achieved reading level 3 Brayden Hearing Improved reading level Ms Gurner’s class Rhys Rolland Improved reading level Ms Simmons’ class Jerome Whitrod Improved reading – level 6. Improved writing skills Jonas Cameron Being a wonderful responsible class member.
SRC Camp Middle School My name is Caitlin Kramer and I’m a Year 8 student. I was one of 45 fortunate students who attended the SRC Camp at Wellington. There were many highlights of the camp including Karaoke, getting up early to see the Lunar eclipse and of course the canoeing, big swing and the opportunity to get to know lots of other students in the group. There was also a serious side to the camp where we were given the opportunity to work on the school’s priorities – Waste and Sustainability, Comprehension , Attendance and Achievement. All the groups worked together to produce a 3 minute film which will be presented to other Homegroups. Middle school students will then be asked to give their opinion on some of the ideas presented in the film. Other students will be given the opportunity for feedback. Thank you to Mr Roubanis, Ms Niven, Ms Oakey and Mr Perkins for organising the camp and making it a memorable one. Caitlin Kramer
VOLUNTEERS’ MORNING TEA
We wish to sincerely thank all volunteers who give selflessly of their time to help The Heights School community. During the year we hold special occasions to acknowledge all those who help. This term we held a morning tea in the Junior School common area with volunteers and staff. The volunteers who were nominated by staff were presented with special awards for their work in particular areas. Tracy‐Ann Priest Playgroup Karen Duthy Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program Andrew Cool Observatory Paul Gunner Pedal Prix Jacquie Grivell Wakakirri Julie Street Uniform Shop Alex Damianakis Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program Tabitha Bentley Science Jim Seidel Automotive Workshop If you would like to volunteer in the school, please phone me for a chat on 8263 6244. Volunteering is a rewarding experience – you really do get a lot out of it, and so do our students. Lyn Albury
PARENTS & FRIENDS NEWS….. We would like to thank Kylie May who is stepping down as Parent Club President due to work commitments. Kylie has been President for the last eighteen months and has done a great job, putting many new practices in place. Sheralyn Oakey was invited to speak at our last meeting about the Feed The Planet Program that students in the Middle School are involved in. Alison Denee thanked Parent Club for the money that was donated to the Junior School last year; it was spent on height appropriate furniture in the Early Years open area. Our next meeting is on Monday 8th August in the Parent Room at 9:00am. We will be finalising arrangements for the Father’s Day Stall to be held on Friday 2nd September. Helen Calvert will talk to us about the Autism program that will be starting at the school in 2013. New members are always made to feel very welcome, and meetings are always fun and full of interesting information. We hope to see you there! Lyn Albury
ARTS NEWS
The Heights will be presenting an Arts Week next term in week 4 across all campuses. The school aim is to promote the Arts across the school, involving students from the Junior, Middle, and Senior Schools to showcase the Arts to the students, parents and community. We invite the school community to join us in celebrating the Arts.
Our World of Music Guitar Day The Heights Guitar Ensemble was invited to perform at this year’s Guitar Day held at the Elder Conservatorium. Our students performed well and were well received by the audience. They also participated in the Workshop culminating in a massed guitar ensemble of over 100 students. A very productive and enjoyable day was had by all.
Biggest Morning Tea Three of our students provided background music for the event. The tree soloists all played the piano to an appreciative audience
Adam Vause Yr 12
Guitar Ensemble Christine Liu Yr 6/7
Yr 12 Trio on Elder Hall
GUITAR DAY Massed Ensemble
Coby Hefford Yr 9
STAR GROUP
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On Friday 17th June, tudents hinking stronomical easoning roup conducted a MARS Egg Lander contest between several teams. The idea is to safely land an undamaged, raw egg that is launched from a considerable height using parachutes and/or impact absorbing devices made from a range of scrap material that is provided to the teams. Five student teams from STAR Group took part, and three mums put in a last minute entry too! Three student teams managed to land an uncracked egg, whilst the team known as the “Cheating Mums” managed to land an uncracked egg too. However they may have side‐stepped the rules, as they blew out the liquid contents of the egg and launched the empty egg shell. Andrew Cool
Careful does it! The Winning Teams
Mars Egg Lander Group hard at work
Team Maddy/Bryan
THE HEIGHTS SCHOOL PRE‐SCHOOL ENROLMENTS 2011 – 2012 Do you know anyone who needs to enrol their child for Pre‐School sessions at our Centre? We are currently taking enrolments for Pre‐Entry and Pre‐School aged children (3.9 years and 4.0 years plus) Please encourage friends and neighbours to visit our Pre‐School or call to enrol their child in our programs. Aggie Marziale (Pre‐School Teacher) is available for enrolment interviews and discussions regarding the program information on Friday afternoons each week.
TREE PLANTING (Samuel Leventis) Today the 22nd of June we went to Wynn Vale to plant some trees. We walked from school to there. When we were planting we got really muddy. When we were planting I planted seven trees. You couldn’t put two trees in the same hole. When we were nearly done I found a golden rock! But when I went to get my jacket off, I couldn’t find it again. Then we needed to get the mud off so we went for a little jog. When we were going back to school, we had a look at some flowers. When we got back we had our lunch.
OUR TREE PLANTING (Jessica Lloyd) On Wednesday the 22nd of June our class went to Wynn Vale to plant trees. We walked to Wynn Vale. On the way there we got wet. We had recess there. Then we went into pairs. I was with Mitch, we did ten then I went with Siteri and we did eight. Siteri and I worked in a team. Siteri and I found worms in the dirt. Then we went back to school, we walked through a hill. I saw a ladybird on a leaf. Mrs R picked up some seeds. The class went back to school. Then we had Ms Meatheringham and did a recount about Wednesday. Then it was home time.
EVERYBODY WAS HARD AT WORK!
Teacher Professional Learning Program Monday 2.45‐3.30pm Week 7: Public Holiday Week 8: Junior School ‐ ESL (English as a Second Language) Scaling Middle and Senior School – Assessment tasks online using Daymap In response to feedback about the length of sessions enabled by the 2.30pm closure on Mondays, the ½ hour Professional Learning session was extended to 45 minutes. Teachers continue after 3.30 until 4.15 to extend this professional learning opportunity and from 3.30‐4.30 on Wednesday in faculty and cluster learning teams.
SPINE SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA The National Self‐Detection program for Scoliosis (NSDP) – 2011. The online discussion forum at Scoliosis Australia. www.scoliosis‐australia.org July/August are the months when it is recommended that girls in Year 7 and 9 participate in the NSDP by downloading the Self‐Detection Brochure. The brochure can be accessed directly via a link on the Scoliosis Australia home page at the web address stated above. These brochures are also available at the front desk of Administration at The Heights School
ENGAGING ADOLESCENTS A three session course for parents Course and Creche free! Bookings are essential – places fill quickly – please book early Phone 8250 3694 Where: Centacare Catholic Family Services, 33 Carey Street, Salisbury When: Thursday July 28, August 4 and 11 (3 weeks) 10:00am – 12:00pm Please register for course and crèche by phoning 8250 3694 The course is run by the Northern Parent Resource Program
POSITIVE PARENTING Term 3 2011 Topics will include: What is positive parenting? Communication Behaviour Change etc. Where: Holy Family School, 71 Shepherdson Road, Parafield Gardens When: Thursday August 18th until September 22nd (6 weeks) 10am to 12pm Course and crèche are free! Please register for course and crèche by phoning 8250 3694. The course is run by the Northern Parent Resource Program
CYBERSAFETY VIDEO FOR PARENTS A short video “How Cybersmart are you?” has been released by Cybersmart. The video is designed to help parents navigate through the online world of their teenagers and provides strategies on how to protect their children from potential online risks. http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/outdoor.aspx