8 August 2019

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

As we continue to strive towards developing learners with integrity, resilience, confidence and respect it is time for us to review each student’s Individual Learning Plan. Home group teachers are currently in the process of revising where students are in relation to their goals, celebrating their achievements and refocusing on areas that still require improvement. This provides the opportunity for parents to check in with their children and work together with the school to ensure maximum success.

Confidence

For the past 8 school weeks, there has been a site wide focus on developing confidence, a key foundation to success. What is confidence? Confidence is the feeling that you can have faith in or rely on something, someone or yourself. “Be more confident” but how? There are a few things that impact on a person’s Confidence:

• Genetics will influence the balance of chemicals in the brain
• How you are treated and the social impact of your environment, which you have no control over. BUT, you can control the choices you make, the risks you take and how you think and respond to challenges and setbacks.

We have the power to cultivate our own confidence! A few strategies involve:

• Positive self-talk and visualising success
• Believing in your ability to improve as well as eliminating self doubting thoughts of “I’m not good at that and that’s the way it is” and adopt a flexible approach that anything can be improved.
• Finally, my personal favourite, practice failure. It is bound to happen at some point. JK Rowling was rejected by 12 different publishers before one picked up Harry Potter.

We are all lifelong learners, striving to be the best that we can. Go for it knowing that whatever the result, you have gained greater knowledge and understanding.

Mr Troy Cowland
Acting Principal

Early Learning Centre NEWS

We have a Hairdressing Salon set up in the ELC this term! Children have been having a great time ‘washing’ each other’s hair and practising their hairdressing skills (only finger scissors allowed!). If you come to visit and you are lucky enough to snag a free appointment, you will be greeted by our friendly staff who are sure to make you feel pampered and relaxed! You are also bound to leave with a stunning new hairstyle! In other news, it was serious business at kindy last Friday morning as all of the children became eligible to sit for their bike licence test. First we all sat and wrote a risk assessment for riding bikes so that riders all stay safe on the track. After that, riders had to show their competency on the bike of their choice. I am pleased to report that all students passed the test! We even had some get their special ‘green’ licence by showing how good they can ride a 2 wheeler. Congratulations everyone!

Mrs Trish Horstmann
Primary and Early Years Leader

UPPER SOUTH EAST NETBALL

On Monday 5th August Mia and Briannah represented our school in the Upper South East Netball Competition held at Coonalypn. The girls played Kingston in the first game and were defeated 24-26. They went on to play Unity and were defeated 12-47. The games were great to watch and were played with great spirit and sportsmanship. Well done to Mia and Briannah.

PEDAL PRIX

On Sunday 28 July we competed in our second Pedal Prix event at Victoria Park in Adelaide.

We came 28th out of 65 in our category, after starting 162 on the grid! It was great to see Alli and Whyatte have a go at riding for the first time and I am sure it won’t be their last. The fastest lap recorded was Ryan with 2:01 minutes on the 1.4 km track. Our most consistent rider was Lochlan, and Briannah clocked up the most laps in one session. The girls have been putting in some serious training on the stationary practice bikes, and this was evident as they pushed out longer stints on the track. No doubt they have set up a challenge to the boys as we focus on fitness and endurance in preparation for the 24 hour race at Murray Bridge (21st and 22nd September, Saturday 12 noon to Sunday 12 noon). We all had a fantastic time, and it was particularly pleasing to have parents helping out on the day, your support is very much appreciated. Thanks again to Cassie Wiebrecht (and Claire) for taking video of the race, the highlight reel can be found below.

Pedal Prix Shirts

We are going to be ordering extra shirts for the Pedal Prix this week. For those interested, there is an opportunity to purchase your own shirt at a cost of $35.00 each. If you would like your name embroidered on the shirt it will cost an extra $5.00.

Available Sizes are:

Extra Small
Small
Medium
Large
Extra Large
2 XL
3 XL

All orders and payment must be sent (or phoned through) to the school no later than Tuesday 13th August 2019.

Sponsorship

I would like to extend a huge thankyou to Boyd Marks of “Cactus Bore” for donating sausages to the Pedal Prix team, these will be used for a fundraiser to help purchase a new bike. Let’s get behind Boyd, and all our sponsors as they continue to support our school and community.

Mr Greg Griffiths
Pedal Prix Teacher

Agriculture

The students have been busy making Shiraz Sauce and Chutney and are for sale in the library at a cost of $4 each.

Fresh Fruit Friday has been a great success with students taking home a bag of fruit to share with family and friends.

Mr Greg Griffiths
Agriculture Teacher

MURRAYLANDS BASKETBALL CARNIVAL

Year 6/7 Reports

On the 29th of June on Thursday the year 6/7s attended the Murraylands Basketball Carnival at the Murray Bridge Basketball Stadium. Overall the girls played 4 games, won 1, tied 1 and lost 2. The game we won was against Tailem Bend and we won by ten points, the score was 16-6. I think us girls worked really well together and we used all five of the key goals to success in several different ways. We all took turns being a sub with no complaints and it made the day flow really smoothly.

-Narelle

On Thursday the 29th of June we played basketball. It was a really good team work activity because we all worked well together. The girls and the boys were on a different team. The boys didn’t have enough players so they teamed up with Jervois. The girls had enough players, we all worked really hard. The players in the girls’ team were Ella, Shana, Narelle, Jazzy, Iesha and Savannah. The girls’ team recorded 1 win, 2 losses and 1 draw. The girls team vs Mypolonga, Tailem Bend, Mannum and Murray Bridge South. The players in the boys team were Naite, Jacob and Mason. The boys team had 2 draws, 1 loss and 1 win. The boys team vs Meningie, Murray Bridge North, Mypolonga and Mannum.

-Ella

On the 29th of June Thursday the year 6/7 class went to the basketball carnival to play against other school teams. We played at the Murray Bridge Basketball Stadium. Girls:1 win,2 losses,1 draw.

Boys:2 draws,1 losses,1 win. I found the day enjoyable because I like to play basketball and I got to hang out with friends and meet new people.

-Iesha

Thursday 29th June was basketball at Murray Bridge Basketball Stadium. It was a good day, we improved from last year from 0 wins to 3 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses, pretty good I say!

When we first arrived I was a bit terrified but as we played the games I warmed up and I managed to get maybe 4 goals in.

-Jazzy

The Year 6/7 Basketball Tournament was played at Murray Bridge. I was in the boys team and we had one win, one loss and drew two times. We teamed up with the Jervois boys. I had a good day.

-Naite

On the 29th of June the Year 6/7 class attended SAPSASA Basketball Carnival at the Murray Bridge Basketball Stadium. The girls played four games. We drew against Mannum, won against Tailem Bend and lost against Murray Bridge South and Mypolonga. Overall everyone had fun and enjoyed playing Basketball together.

-Shana

PRIMARY NEWS

During my visits around the Primary classrooms this fortnight, I have witnessed confident, happy children learning many wonderful things. I could also see our wonderful teachers really addressing and putting into practice our site improvement goals.

Mrs Rosenzweig’s 2-5 class have been focussing on problem solving, especially in the area of multiplication. Stations were set up to give students the opportunity to explore ways of coming up with problems and solving them using knowledge learnt in previous lessons. They were using playing cards, dominoes, number puzzles, whiteboards, coins and dice. It was great to see students sharing and explaining their thought processes to peers and teachers, collaborating, helping each other and seeking clarification when needed.

Mrs Bolt’s 6/7 class were coming up with some fantastic questions using the QAR (Question Answer Relationship) principle. Students watched a short film and posed questions that could fit into the different categories depending on where they would find the answer. Is the answer ‘Right there’ (directly coming from the text)? Maybe it’s between the ‘Author and Me’ (not in the text, need to use your own background knowledge and what the author has told you)? It could be a ‘Think and Search’ question (it’s in the text but the reader might have to look in a different place to find it). The other alternative is an ‘On Your Own’ question (the answer is not in the text so you need to use your own knowledge). Students posed some excellent questions to make them think about what they had watched and this connection helps to deepen comprehension.

Mrs Thomas’ R-2 class love their guided reading sessions. Small groups were in control of their learning, rotating between activities centred around comprehension and questioning activities, sound and letter knowledge, phonics and oral language and teacher directed reading sessions. During the teacher directed reading sessions, children read a book together that challenged their abilities, allowing them to practice the phonics skills they have learnt, as well as learning new sounds and sight words along the way. A fun way to focus on reading and comprehension.

Mrs Trish Horstmann
Primary and Early Years Leader

Child Protection Curriculum

All Department for Education sites are required to provide the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS: CPC) to all children and young people from Preschool to Year 12. Staff delivering the curriculum must complete a full day face to face training as outlines in the Department for Education Policy.

Early Years: Ages 3–5

Early Years: Years R–2

SHINE PROGRAM
IMPORTANT INFORMATION NIGHT FOR PARENTS

Our school has been using SHine (Relationships and Sexual Health) Program as a core part of our Health (Growth and Development) in Year 5 to Year 10. SHine is a requirement of the curriculum in accordance with the Department for Education and staff are fully trained to deliver the program. We would like to have an information night for this program to introduce parents and families to the SHine program. Jill Spurling from SHine SA will be our guest speaker. It will be on Thursday 29th August from 4:30pm.

Please indicate if you wish to attend this session either via phone or text to the school so that the appropriate arrangements can be made.

Mrs Yuka Endersby & Mrs Sarah Bolt
Primary HPE Teachers

Year 12 ENGLISH EXCURSION

On Friday of week 1, the year 12 English students experienced a guided tour of the Adelaide Central Markets. The tour of the markets was part of the students’ major assignment for their language study, which is the equivalent of their final exam. The aim of this tour was to gain an understanding of the use of spoken, non-verbal, visual, and/or written language by people in a context beyond the classroom. For those who haven’t experienced the Central Markets, it is a unique and culturally diverse place. For breakfast, students were able to experience a traditional South American style dish. Following this, students began a tour around the 88 stalls of the market, experiencing and tasting various cultural foods and products. Some of these highlights included tastings from Japan, France, Kangaroo Island and the ‘Something Wild’ stall, which consisted of Indigenous foods from outback Australia.

I would like to wish our year 12 students all the best as they near the end of their schooling life. The English students will commence their final task for the year on Tuesday of Week 6 this term when they return to Adelaide to view a play at the State Theatre.

Mr Jayden Coleman
English Teacher

Japanese Students Visit

On Tuesday 30th July, we had 10 Japanese students and 10 Mannum buddies visit for Undoukai Day. Our students were nervous to start with but didn’t take too long to get along and playing a few games together. These Japanese students are in Year 9 and are from one of the private schools in Tokyo. This school had brought about 100 students this year and a few schools across SA had hosted them. It will be wonderful for our school to host them next year too.

Mrs Yuka Endersby
Japanese Teacher

BOOK WEEK 2019

This year we will celebrate Book Week on Friday 30th August. The theme is “Reading is My Super Power”, so students are encouraged to dress up as their favourite super hero or book character. Students will be involved in a book week parade and classroom activities in the morning (more details later). This also coincides with Parents and Friends Lunch Day and the SRC Father’s Day stall.

SRC NEWS

The SRC will be running a Father’s Day Stall at lunch time on Friday 30th August (Book Week celebrations and Parents and Friends Lunch Day). Good quality gifts will be available for purchase ranging from 50c to $5.00. More information to come.

PARENTS AND FRIENDS NEWS

Advanced Notice
P&F Lunch Day
Week 6. Friday 30th August.
Honey Soy Chicken Noodles with veggies.
Small serve $3. Large serve $5
Pizzas. Ham and Cheese, BBQ Chicken and Hawaiian. $3.50

Everyone welcome.

Julie’s Column

Welcome back to Term 3. I hope you’re as keen to be back as I am. I actually work in 3 different schools as a Pastoral Care Worker and I can honestly say that I love coming to Swan Reach Area School. It has a friendly, positive vibe and I always go home feeling better for having been there for the day. I enjoy interacting with all the different age groups which of course you can only get in the uniqueness of an area school. If I had to choose only 1 school to work in, it would be SRAS, even though it takes me an hour to drive here and my other 2 schools only take 10 minutes! So, thank you Swan Reach community for being so warm and welcoming.

Last term, I started sharing articles from some “Feelings” books that I have in my school resources. Here are two more that I think are worth sharing -

Feeling Sad

Healthy self-esteem helps children deal with feelings of sadness. Many things can make a child sad – from a family break-up, the death of an important person (or even a much-loved pet), to a bad illness. A parent’s love helps children feel valuable, conveys confidence in the goodness of life, and builds self-esteem. When children can identify their sad feelings, and make sense of the losses that underlie them, they build the self-trust needed to cope, accept and move on.

Feeling Scared

Healthy self-esteem reduces anxiety. Spiders, thunderstorms, being alone in the dark … children are scared of many things because they have such vivid imaginations. By listening carefully to your children’s fears, you will help them feel valuable and ensure they don’t become ashamed of being afraid. Talking to children about scary feelings helps develop the self-trust needed to sit with these feelings and to realise that even the scariest feeling is – in the end – just a feeling and that it will pass. Written by psychologists Bill Hallam and Dr Craig Olsson. From the books “When I’m Feeling Sad” and “When I’m Feeling Scared” by Trace Moroney.

Each of these FEELINGS books has been carefully designed to help children better understand their feelings, and in doing so, gain greater autonomy (freedom) over their lives. Talking about feelings teaches children that it is normal to feel sad, or angry, or scared at times. With greater tolerance of painful feelings, children become free to enjoy their world, to feel secure in their abilities and to be happy.

Mrs Julie Maxwell
Pastoral Care Worker

SAPSASA NETBALL CARNIVAL

Hello, my name is Narelle from the 6/7 class and as most of you know I attended the SAPSASA netball carnival in week 8. There were 30 courts including 4 inside courts (where the Thunderbirds play). The carnival was played from Monday to Thursday but it all went so quickly! There were 8 divisions that played on the day and MurrayLands took divisions 4 & 8. We played 9 teams but there were 10 teams including MurrayLands. I got into division 4 and I used 5 of the 5 keys which were Confidence - to make new friends and speak up, Getting along - to get along with my new team mates, Resilience - to bounce back from a loss or injury, Persistence - to persist when you are completely exhausted you just have to keep going and Organisation - to be organized every morning with the right things and if you were bringing fruit, you had to remember and be organised with that too. We played against 2 teams on the first day, 2 on the second day, 3 on the third day and 2 teams on the final day. Overall we won 3, tied 1 and lost 5. We came 7th overall out of 10 and we were and still are so proud of our achievements. It was a great experience and I am very fortunate to have gone!

Narelle

NEWSLETTER INFORMATION

Due Date for the next Newsletter is 10:00am, Tuesday 20th August 2019. Please note that as from this term the newsletter will be distributed via the SZApp and school website. Printed copies are still available upon request.

Articles can be emailed to dl.0423.info@schools.sa.edu.au clearly marked in the subject box as Newsletter, faxed to 8570 2325 or delivered to the library/front office.

Due to the way the Newsletter is now being set up, not all photos are included in the print copy, however there are several photo galleries included online and via the SZApp.

Playgroup

Swan Reach Playgroup at SRAS Early Learning Centre. Tuesdays during term time 10am-12pm. All children birth to school age are welcome for indoor and outdoor play. Please wear sun-smart clothing, bring a hat, water bottle and fruit/veg to share for healthy snack time. $2 per session, per family. Contact Kristy Castle 0438857721

P-CMG

Parent-Child Mother Goose at SRAS Early Learning Centre. From 10am selected Thursdays during term (usually fortnightly). PCMG is a chance to get out of the house for babies and toddlers and their carers. Bond with your children and have fun using the power of songs, rhymes and stories. Trained facilitators Kristy and Claire lead a relaxed session for parents and children with a play and coffee n chat after. Sessions are free and there is no booking involved! Contact Kristy Castle 0438857721.

Term 3 dates – beginning July 30, and Weeks 4,6,8,10 thereafter.

Coming Events

Community Notice Board

Kids Club

3:15pm-4:30pm FRIDAY 9th August 2019, at the Swan Reach Lutheran Hall. For Reception to Year 6 students. Cost $1. Enquiries Phone Taryn 0427 702 377 or Kristy 0438 857 721.

Staying Active – Nildottie

Australian National Maritime Museum at the Swan Reach Town Hall

The exhibition “Submerged – Stories of Australia’s Shipwrecks” will be open from June-August from 10am-3pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Free Entry.

Joyful Noise – Girls Night Out

Old Barn – Open Mic

The next Open Mic will be Sunday 1st September.

Nildottie Dinner

Women of the River