Premier`s Sporting Challenge - Sir Eric Woodward Memorial School

22nd August, 2014
Vol. 3, Issue 42

Premier’s Sporting
Challenge

Birthdays

Principal’s
Message

News from the
Classrooms

Attachments
Premier’s Sporting Challenge (PSC) is officially launched for 2014. PSC aims to
engage young people in sport and physical activity and encourages them to lead
health and active lifestyles. The challenge commenced on the 29 th of April and
concludes on September 19th and comprises a 10 week core period of physical
activity. Any physical activity of moderate to vigorous intensity can be used to
accrue time for the challenge.
Opportunities for moderate to vigorous activity are provided by incidental activity,
playground and outdoor games, organised sport competitions and physical
programs, school organised programs including hydrotherapy, physical recreation
programs and dance associated with performing arts.
Participants are challenged to accumulate time in physical activity, aiming to
achieve Bronze, Silver, Gold or Diamond Awards at the conclusion of the Challenge
period.
Address: Cnr Ayres and Acron Roads, St Ives NSW 2075 Telephone: 9449 6003 Fax: 9983 9334
Email: sirericwoo-s.school@det.nsw.edu.au ABN: 98 951 675 254
NSW Premier’s Sporting Challenge
The Challenge provides SEWS with an
opportunity to showcase how diverse and creative
our initiatives are with one common purpose in
mind – to have more students, more active,
more of the time.
Our distance education and on site students have
all, each in their way, been involved. This is truly
a whole of school challenge.
Here are some examples:
“We have noticed that Georgia has been steadily
improving her strength throughout the Challenge.
This has particularly occurred during hydrotherapy
sessions where she has been walking in the pool.
This is a new thing for her, so we are quite excited
about it!”
Anna & Mary-Ann, 6S
Runa participating in the Premier’s Sports Challenge
“Chris has been diligently following his regular
physical exercise program to build his strength
and balance. His persistence and focus has
enabled Chris to achieve great success in the
sporting field as he works toward his long term life
goals.”
Louise DESU Teacher
Encouragement certificates have also been
awarded and will continue to be awarded
throughout the Challenge. So keep on recording
your activity times as we have passed the half way
mark of the 10 week Premier’s Sporting
Challenge.
Braydon participating in the Premier’s Sporting
Challenge
Sue Bell & Sharon Somers
PDHPE Coordinators
Nathan participating in the Premier’s Sporting
Challenge
Georgia walking in the pool participating in the
Premier’s Sport Challenge
Dates for your Diary
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

P&C Meeting – Monday 15th September
2014 6.30pm
School Term 3 Concludes – Friday
September 19th 2014
School Resumes for Term 4 – Tuesday
October 7th 2014
Family Fun Fair – Friday October 24th 2014
Annual Presentation Day – Friday
December 5th 2014
Birthdays
Happy Birthday to Nathan who became a
teenager, turning 13 years old. Many happy
returns to Keeden who turned 14, and Holly and
Zar who both turned 15 years old. A very happy
day of days to Maureen who celebrated a special
year this year. We hope you all celebrated in style!
Principal’s Message
including, work experience, social enterprises and
innovative training programs. ‘Fighting chance
provides opportunities for meaningful social
participation, employment, and skill development
for young people with the most significant
disabilities’. SEWS looks forward to fostering a
connection with Fighting Chance and our face to
face high school students visiting the program this
term for an induction period.
More information about Fighting Chance on their
website http://fightingchance.org.au/ and be sure
to look at a great night out for a worthy cause and
attend their charity ball on Saturday 20 th
September –see flyer in attachments for more
details.
A reminder to please send in a gift with your child
in the face to face part of the school so they can
participate in our ‘Father’s Day Trade Show’.
Students will be involved in trading their gift for
something they would like to give dad, grandpa or
another significant male in their life on Father’s
Day and will participate in designing and making
handmade wrapping paper.
Finally, our P&C meetings have been very
productive and I welcome more parents and
carers to be involved in these meetings to become
a community voice for the future of SEWS.
SEWS P&C
Over the past week SEWS teachers have been
involved in Annual Student Reviews with our
Learning and Engagement Officer, School
Counsellor, Executive, Transition Teacher and
when appropriate parent/carers. The reviews
focus on appropriate placement of students at
SEWS and at times bring to consideration other
support needed for their learning and support.
Parent and carers will be receiving a summary of
the review meetings and are required to read, sign
and return these documents to complete the
process. Could I please ask that this is done at
the earliest convenience to finalise 2014 Student
Reviews, thank you.
This fortnight I had the wonderful opportunity to
visit a new and innovative post school placement
‘Fighting Chance’ and meet with CEO Laura
O’Reilly. High School teachers Sandy and Anna
attended with me and we learnt about the exciting
programs Laura and her brother Jordan have set
up under the company ‘Fighting Chance’.
Fighting Chance is a non-profit organisation which
exists to enrich the lives of young adults with a
disability. The program has many initiatives
Working Together for our Students and School
Please join us for the next SEWS P&C meeting to continue
our discussions and progress on school promotion and
corporate connections for fundraising for our school buses
and more. All families and community members are
welcome to assist in matters that pertain to the educational
benefits of your child, the students at SEWS.
WHEN:
Monday 15th September, 2014
TIME:
6.30pm
WHERE:
Sir Eric Woodward School Staffroom
I wish all our families and students a great
weekend!
Jo-Anne Gardiner
Principal
News from the Classrooms
Class 1P
On Tuesday 12th August Class 1P went to The
Powerhouse Museum as part of our unit on
‘Transport’. The students were lucky to be some
of the first to enjoy the new exhibition ‘Re-Collect:
Cars Auto Obsession’ that opened on 9th August
2014.
On showcase was an extraordinary car collection,
featuring over 25 restored and original historic
cars. ‘Auto Obsession’ comprised a curious,
eclectic and fascinating collection from luxury
tourers and family sedans to racing and sports
cars.
While we were there we also had a chance to visit
the steam train, the first plane and even had a
look at ‘The Wiggles’ exhibition.
Sarah & David
All aboard! Asher and Yash view amazing transport
across the times at the Powerhouse Museum
Class 3B
Last Friday we said farewell to Sol Belouche, our
fabulous Macquarie University practicum student.
Sol will be missed by all the students and staff and
we wish her well as she continues her studies.
Hopefully, she will visit us from time-to-time.
Yash and Asher at the exhibition Powerhouse Museum
Compared to a couple of weeks ago, things have
been relatively quiet in class without dress-ups
and rehearsals for Education Day.
In class, we have been busy with visual arts.
Perhaps another Modigliani is among us? It was
fantastic to see how students viewed a portrait
and gave it their own personal touch.
We have continued exploring figurative language
and last week looked at alliteration –
Here is a student’s example: Summer, sea,
sunshine and sand by Jai.
In Maths we have been madly measuring the
mass of many objects and using some of our new
scales and maths equipment.
It’s 3B’s turn to lead assembly this week. We
have some wonderful art works and poetry to
showcase our students’ many talents.
Sue & Paula
Nicole’s Class
Recently I visited Kane and his mum at their house
before walking to the local shopping centre for
morning tea. We had a lovely morning tea together
and it was great to see how independent Kane
was in his local community.
Morgan has had a very exciting last few weeks.
She had her 18th birthday party, where she
dressed up as Captain Feathersword from The
Wiggles. Morgan is a huge fan of Captain
Feathersword and looked amazing in her outfit,
even having the same hat, feathered sword and
vest!
Willy has been doing an awesome job exploring
his house. He is becoming more and more
adventurous which has not just impressed his
mother but me too!
Jess showed her creative flair by creating a colour
diffusing turtle painting. She has been learning
about some Dreamtime stories and created the
artwork after reading a Dreaming story about the
turtle.
Tommy loves books and has been doing some
fantastic reading. He was very proud of himself for
reading a book aloud independently. I am proud of
him too!
Nicole
'Portrait of a Lady' by Nick Brown
Runa using the scales for measurement
Morgan in her new outfit on her 18th birthday
Sol working with Jai on the Smartboard
Sharon’s Class
This week I will be visiting two of my students,
Keeden and Courtney. I am excited to see firsthand Keeden’s progress as he has continued to
develop his communication skills when turn taking,
making choices and requesting. His tutor reported
that he enjoyed the activities over his birthday
weekend. Happy 14th birthday Keeden!
In the past few weeks Courtney has been full of
smiles and laughter as she interacts with the
people around her at home, at the park and at the
shops. Her tutor reports that Courtney is enjoying
giving a ‘high 5’ to family and friends, I am looking
forward to feeling Courtney’s palm against mine.
Fionn was full of smiles as he completed his
design project, a storage jar holder. Well done
Fionn!
Sharon
Morgan looking amazing in her Captain Feathersword
costume
Fionn's woodwork & design project
Morgan's very smilo 18th birthday cake
Amanda’s Class
My students learn in lots of interesting places.
Priscilla has her lessons in a train carriage. Most
of the seats have been taken out and there is a
table and lots of room to do activities. The train is
on the top of a hill on her family’s property with
great views across the valley.
Jayden loves the outdoors so the park is a great
place for him to do his schoolwork. Not only can
he do the written work I send but he can also learn
about wildlife by watching the birds and insects
living in the park.
Jessica's fantastic colour diffusing turtle painting
Bethany loves learning at home. Her bedroom has
a mirror attached low down on the wall. Bethany
likes to watch herself in the mirror. She also likes
to sit at the table on a chair or on mum’s lap to
write.
Class 4B
This fortnight in English we continued our
literature study on The Fantastic Mr Fox.
Students read through the chapters together
and we discussed literal comprehension which
involves what the author is actually saying to us
in his writing. Students used a highlighter to
identify the main ideas in the story before
answering the comprehension questions.
Amanda
In Maths, Dylan took a maths problem and
thought about how he could solve it using
materials. In the photo you will see him solving
the problem. How many 60cm lengths in 3
metres? Do you know the answer?
Priscilla's schoolroom
Jayden uses his fine motor skills to explore dot
painting
In Music, the students learnt and performed a
song called The Human Drum Kit. This involved
Nik, Max, Dylan and Runa singing in unison
and being able to play their instrument on ‘cue’.
We were able to record this performance and
we were very impressed with our efforts when
we watched it back.
Donna & Anita
Jayden working at the park
Students perform The Human Drum Kit
Bethany working at home
Ailis really enjoys her daily bedroom light show
Dylan problem solving in Maths
Class 6R
Hola! 6R visits Central America
Over the last 2 weeks, 6R has been learning
about the culture of Guatemala and the ancient
civilisation of the Mayans. We were inspired by
the bright colours of the culture and used this
inspiration to tie dye material for a tepee that is
now in our classroom. We learnt about and made
worry dolls, learnt how to make guacamole and
also created a volcano as part of a science
experiment.
We will be reporting from India next. Stay tuned!
Anna & MaryAnn
Phoebe experiencing our sensory tepee
Stuart with our lovely work experience student, Laura
An erupting volcano
Tie dyed fabric
Georgia helping make guacamole
Worry dolls of Guatemala
Deborah’s Class
`
Congratulations to Brayden (Year 10) who has
started work experience at Mt Annan Botanic
Gardens. While helping to maintain the beautiful
gardens, he will be learning skills to achieve
post-school employment.
Keith (Year 11) is working towards getting his
learner driver licence, by building his knowledge
of road rules.
Amy (Year 10) has been learning to crochet. She
has crocheted a blanket for her dog Buffy, and is
now working on a large blanket.
Amy crocheting
Rama’s Class
Deborah
Recently Louise and I visited Jordan and his mum.
It was lovely to meet Jordan and his family. We
spent a very productive morning together. We
completed
assessment
activities
that
demonstrated Jordan’s sound maths skills. Jordan
also has a great sense of humour, and loves his
cat, Bella.
We are looking forward to welcoming Jordan to
our school for our Family Fun Day in October.
I’m looking forward to working with Jordan and
getting to know him better.
Rama
Keith
Jordan working on his laptop
Mt Annan Botanic Gardens
Jordan
Louise’s Class
In this newsletter I am showcasing Jayden and
his school work. It is always great to receive a
returning Set bag full of student work. I was not
disappointed when I recently opened Jayden’s
Set 5 Set bag as it was full of Jayden’s
beautiful artwork.
Jayden should be very proud of his efforts in
creating insect and spider inspired artworks
using different materials and artistic forms.
Jayden had made a collaged bug created by
cutting and gluing coloured squares, twisting
pipe cleaners and folding paper. Jayden’s
paper folding skills were also put to good use in
his sinister looking black spider. Jayden’s
colour pour caterpillars were a complete
contrast to the spider with their bright varied
colours. Also showing Jayden excellent eye for
colour and design were his bug sculptures
using a rainbow of colours and varied
techniques to create bugs that make the viewer
smile.
These fun activities are a great way for Jayden
to practise and develop a range of knowledge,
skills and understandings including developing
finger strength and control, talking and listening
skills and working collaboratively – well done
Jayden!
Louise
Jayden's paint pour caterpillars
Jayden's sinister looking spider
Matt’s Class
Yet again I have hit the road with a trip up the
coast, about 3 hours, to work with Kayla. It has
been about six months since I last saw Kayla
and it was great to see all the gains she has
made in her communication and how much
more confident she is moving around her
environment.
This week I am off to work with Josh who lives
in the Western Suburbs of Sydney. These visits
are a great time to sit down with Josh and
assess where he is at with his work as well as
develop new learning goals for the future.
Jayden's bug sculptures
Jayden's collaged bug
Matt
Kayla creating a beautiful underwater scene
Class 2L
2L have been hard at work constructing a
timeline in history this week. We recognised
key explorers such as Captain James Cook
and placed them in chronological order of
arrival. In creating our timeline we also used
our mathematical knowledge of measurement
and keeping things the “same” to ensure all the
years were spaced evenly.
In English we listened to the accounts of Abel
Tasman who upon discovering Tasmania
believed that the natives were in fact giants.
This is because from his boats he observed
trees with large cuts all the way to the top and
he believed that no average sized person could
make them. In response to this story we used a
blocking technique to create our representation
of these large trees in the beautiful Australian
sunset.
Nathan using a strip of cardboard to ensure spaces
between the years are even
Cassandra & Trish
Sophie enjoying painting the Australian sunset
Brooke carefully placing the year 1750 on our
timeline
Telecaster adding the British Flag to information
about the First Fleet
Class 5H
It has been fun using the different apps on the
iPad and watching as they appear on the large
Smart board screen. Stephanie is intrigued with
the Sign Replay app using her finger to trace
images and make patterns. Rifa enjoys the
music apps and swipes the screen with her
hand to make sounds. Megan is also interested
in the music apps and uses her fingers to tap
on the notes.
Emily adding Spanish explorer Quiros to the
beginning of the timeline
In Art we have been making patterns using
different applicators. Our latest discovery is the
humble fly swat which makes interesting
designs
if dabbed
with
different coloured paint.
Warringah
Council
presents
Daniel thought slapping the paper with the fly
swat was hilarious and had great fun with
Michael doing his artwork.
Sue’s Class
This term is passing by so quickly; I can’t
believe we are at Week 6 already.
FINANCIAL PLANNING FOR
CHILDREN WITH DISABILITY
Sandy & Jennie
I had the pleasure of spending time with Kate,
her tutor and her carers last week. It was good
to be able to see the gains Kate has made as
well as the positive relationships she has
formed with all concerned.
I was lucky to spend time at the beach house
Solicitor Jonathan Harris will discuss powers of
attorney,
guardianship,
where
I observed
Kate engaging in activities.
After
a
while,
Kate
identified she needed to
superannuation issues, special disability and testamentary trusts.
relax and asked for a brushing session. It was
Jonathan is an expert in estate planning, thevery
chairman
powerfuloftoWoodbury
observe the effect of this on
School, on the board of Aspect, and
her physical state.
Daniel using a fly swat to make colourful designs
I look forward to working with Alex and Charley
next week. The Support Teacher Transition will
be joining me at Alex’s house to further discuss
Alex’s options for the future.
Sue
Rifa vocalising with Joanne our Music Therapist
Kate relaxed during her brushing session
Stephanie using the iPad to trace her photo
Kate using her visual supports with her carer
Who is that?
Dear families and friends,
The Educational Experience fundraising catalogue and website is a great way for our school to earn vouchers to buy
additional resources for our students.
For every dollar spent with Educational Experience, 20 cents in educational resource vouchers will be provided to the
school.
Please visit the website www.edex.com.au/fundraising to shop online.
Please remember to nominate our school – Sir Eric Woodward School, on the order form, if you purchase anything from
the Educational Experience catalogue or website Our School, Your Child will benefit!
Thank you for support.
Regards,
Nicole Leves