April Newsletter 2015 - Reynella East College

NEWSLETTER
April 2015
Dear Families and Friends of Reynella East College,
Term 1 was certainly action packed with
Acquaintance Nights, Interim Reports,
Parent/Teacher Interviews and our
Innaugural P-12 Sportsday Carnivàle
and a range of other programs reported
on throughout the term.
Special congratulations to the Sports
Day Committee: Scott Corbett, Beck
Truran, Aaron Roach, Julie D’Lima and
Tania Guest who worked tirelessly with
me to plan for this fantastic event.
63 Malbeck Drive,
Reynella East, SA 5161
E: dl.1907_info@schools.sa.edu.au
reynellaec.sa.edu.au
Emergency: (08) 8329 2323
Absentee Hotline:
(08) 8329 2300 Ext:2
or sms 0427 787 254
T: (08) 8329 2300
F: (08) 8329 2319
One of the major objectives of the day,
was to further develop a P-12 ethos and
I think we’ve made real progress here.
Thanks to those who have taken the
time to make Facebook posts, complete
surveys or write to us with feedback or
suggestions for improvement. We do
value your opinions and advice and
wherever possible build it into future
planning.
We have also been undertaking a
review of our Behaviour Management
procedures across the College. For the
R-7 students, this has involved a focus
on trialling pro-active play strategies at
lunchtimes and restorative approaches
to sorting out problems and repairing
relationships. A group of secondary
teachers and leaders are also
undertaking a review of the Time Out
processes and procedures and general
behaviour management practices.
So far, this has included analysis of
the Time Out room data to track and
monitor which students are sent out of
classrooms and for what, which will help
us determine where we need to focus
support and intervention for both staff
and students. The team is also visiting
other larger secondary schools to look
at middle school teaching practices
and how these schools structure their
classes and home-groups. They will be
reporting back early in term 2 and we
will formulate recommendations for
improvement from there.
As we approach term 2, can I ask
parents to remind students about the
College Uniform as the cooler weather
approaches. You can find information
on the College website at
www.reynellaec.sa.edu.au
Thanks also for supporting our first two
Student Free days on Monday 27 and
Tuesday 28 April. Staff will be learning
more about technologies for 21Century
Learning which will play a vital role
in setting directions for world class
learning at Reynella East College.
Caroline Green - Principal
DIARYDATES
April
Mon 27 Apr Student Free Day
Tues 28 Apr Student Free Day
May
Tues 5 May Open Day 2.00-7.00pm
Wed 6 May Yr 8 Vaccinations
Thurs 7 May P-7 Principal Tour
Tues 12 - 14 May
NAPLaN
Wed 13 May
Yr 12 SACE Info Evening
Fri 15 May
8-12 Principal Tour
Mon 18 May
Governing Council 7pm
Fri 29 May
Yrs P-7 Assembly, 9am Byards Gym
June
Tues 2 June
Fri 5 June
Playgroup
Wednesday’s 9.00-10.45am
P-7 Principal Tour
REC
Preschool
Student Free Day
Mon 8 June Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday
Wed 10 June
College Music NIght 7pm
Mon 15-19 June
Year 11 Exams
Enquiries: 0401 121 668
Newsletters online
Tues 16/6 June
8-12 Principal Tour
Frid 19 June End Semester 1
Mon 22 June
Start Semester 2
Our Newsletters are available to view or
download here:
NO PARKING
http://reynellaec.sa.edu.au/news/school/
Parents are reminded that no
parking is allowed in the staff
carparks, before and after school.
2015/16
Entertainment Books
Now at the Finance Office.
$65
Remembering Private Tomas Dale
As ANZAC Day approaches, we remember one of our own, Private
Tomas James Dale who was killed while on active duty in Afghanistan
on August 20, 2010.
Tom’s family attended his Memorial in
our Memory Garden to lay a wreath in
his memory.
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Primary news
Sustainable Art
The Ramsey 5/6 Unit have been looking at Australian Artist Ash Keating. Ash
Keating is known for using his sustainable art to draw attention to environmental
issues such as excessive consumerism and the amount of clean waste that goes
into landfills each year. Students looked at Ash Keating’s piece ‘2020?’ to inspire
them.
Our classes then began collecting recyclable items found around the home
to create their own master pieces. Their art creations highlighted a variety of
environment issues including recycling, landfills, waste management, pollution,
the Great Barrier Reef and much more. We showcased an Art Gallery for Parents/
Caregivers to view our work.
Elke Schipanski - Ramsey Unit Teacher
The Farmers Donkey
A story about resilience and positive thinking
“One day a farmer’s old and smelly donkey was walking around
the farm, he forgot there was a well and he fell in. The old donkey
was frightened, very, very frightened. So he started making really
loud noises for a long time. When the farmer found the donkey, he
wondered how he could get the donkey out. Then he decided that
the donkey was old and no use to him anyway, so the farmer called
his neighbours over to help him fill up the well with wet sand. The
donkey was hysterical and crying when he found out what was
happening. The farmer looked down the well and saw the donkey
was getting covered in dirt. Suddenly the donkey stopped making
the loud noises and the farmer thought he was buried so he
looked in the well. The farmer was amazed at what the donkey was
achieving. Every time the farmer and his neighbours were chucking
another shovel full of sand in the well, the donkey was shaking it
off and stepping up… he kept saying it in his head. The donkey
had calmed down and thought, “I can fix my problem.” He kept
shaking it off and stepping up. He soon got back up onto the nice
green grass and trotted away!”
Retold by the children in Carew 2
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SCHOOL NEWS
Why we support NAPLAN
The real value and importance of NAPLAN is its use as another diagnostic tool to help teachers
improve your child’s learning.
The information the college receives details the strengths and weaknesses of a range of skills
in the areas of Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation)
and Numeracy of your child. For example in Grammar:
• Identifies the set of words to complete a sentence correctly
• Recognises the correct use of punctuation such as commas to separate a name in direct speech
• Recognises the correct form of a verb
This information allows teachers to ensure your child’s strengths are sustained and extended.
It also helps staff to develop programs to help specific weaknesses your child may have. The
skills assessed in NAPLAN are those being taught as part of the College Curriculum. Some of
the past NAPLAN questions may have also been used in lessons so that your child should be
comfortable doing the NAPLAN.
If you would like to look at some past NAPLAN examples simply log onto the National
Assessment program website at http://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/naplan.html
The NAPLAN dates are:
Tuesday 12th May
Wednesday 13th May
Thursday 14th May
Language Conventions and Writing
Reading
Numeracy
All years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students are expected to undertake NAPLAN assessments. Occasionally
there might be a reason such as travelling overseas that prevents a student from completing
the NAPLAN. In this situation parents may ask for their child to be withdrawn and not
complete the NAPLAN. Withdrawal applications need to be submitted before the 20th March
2015. The only students who can be exempted are those with a verified intellectual disability
or students who have recently arrived in Australia from a non-English speaking background.
Forms for withdrawal or exemption can be obtained from Beck Truran in Primary and Sue
Richards in Secondary School.
Sue Richards - Assistant Principal - Years 8 & 9
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sports day
What a day!
Friday 20 March, 2015 will go down as a day to remember in the
lives of our REC community. Our inaugural Preschool - Year 12
Sports Day Carnivàle was a great success on many levels.
Bringing all year levels together on the one day to compete in
sporting and fun events was enormously appreciated by all, as
well as the colourful and vibrant atmosphere created by the
‘Carnivàle’ theme.
Together we all appreciated the opportunity to foster relationships
and strengthen our P-12 ethos.
Opportunities to promote student leadership and enterprise
as well as raise funds for our College were great, with scope to
further expand next year.
We wish to thank the many students and staff who arrived early on
the day to help with setup and to parents and staff who baked for
the cake stalls, helped out on BBQs, assisted with class activities,
loaned equipment or assisted in any other way. Your support was
invaluable to us.
Our review process has identified some small areas for
improvement but overall the event was considered a resounding
success.
We would be pleased to hear from Parents who have any ideas,
or may be able to offer helping hands for our 2016 event. Please
contact Tania.Guest322@schools.sa.edu.au
Tania Guest
for Sports Day Carnivàle Planning Committee
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sports day
Congratulations to these student
Record Breakers:
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Open Girls High Jump
Morgan B
Open Girls Relay Team
Open Girls 100m
Sophie l, Marisol R,
Keah W & Morgan B
Morgan B
Open Girls 400m
Morgan B
Open Girls Long Jump
Morgan B
Open Girls Shot
Morgan B
Year 9 Boys 800m
Ryan M
Year 9 Girls Javelin
Jade W
Year 10 Girls Shot
Megan H
Year 10 Girls Javelin
Tayla B & Bonni K
Open girls Javelin
Chloe G
Year 8 boys Javelin
Nathaniel T
Year 10 boys Javelin
John T
Year 9 boys 800m
Ryan M
Open girls 800m
Sophie L
Year 8 girls High Jump
Montana M
Year 8 girls Long Jump
Montana M
Year 8 boys High Jump
Kye O
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sports day
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international news
World Challenge 2014
At the end of 2014, a group of REC students travelled to Vietnam and Cambodia to trek,
to teach, and to experience something new. On the 28th of November, six students with
Mr Marsh and Ms Schipanski, journeyed for over 24 hours to arrive in their destination
of Ho Chi Minh City. For the next four weeks, along with students from Mary Mackillop
College, they travelled north through Vietnam before moving into Cambodia. Throughout
the expedition there were long treks, early mornings and lots of hard work. There were
also amazing moments too, such as watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat and the joy
on the children of Kep Garden’s faces when the team had completed their flying fox.
World Challenge was an amazing experience and all those involved would recommend
that students at Reynella East College also take the opportunity to go to another country
and encounter incredible things.
EMMA CURLEY – World Challenge team member
Pictured below: TEAM REMAC 2014 (Reynella East College & Mary Mackillop College)
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Ashley Morrissey wins
Mishima Scholarship
Congratulations to Year 10 student Ashley Morrissey on her successful selection
as a participant in the 2015 Scholarship Exchange Program to Mishima Japan
in the April school holidays. Ashley will join other successful student applicants
from the Southern Schools Network and is pictured with her trip chaperone,
Ms Paula Wright (REC Japanese teacher). We hope you all have an amazingly
rewarding trip.
Reynella East College has a close relationship with Mishima School, south of
Tokyo, as students regularly come here on both short and long term programs.
The opportunity to send some of our students to Mishima in Year 10 in a
reciprocative arrangement is therefore a life changing intercultural experience
for our young people.
Paula Wright - Japanese Teacher and Trip Chaperone
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international news
ISEC Excursion
Students explore Glenelg
Forty eight International students and their Aussie friends went
on a historical tour around Glenelg on 2 April. It was wonderful
seeing the German, Japanese and Thai students refining their
English skills across a number of play and learning experiences.
The Aussie students did a marvellous job of explaining the
concept of proclamation at the Old Gum Tree, sea travel at
the Buffalo and South Australia’s history from early Indigenous
settlement and Federation, to more recent beach culture in
the Bay Discovery Centre Museum. Overall it was a wonderful
cultural exchange experience for all students.
Kate DeSmit
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Making Conversation
Students share two-way Japanese-English conversation.
Many opportunities exist through our International Program for both our visiting
students and REC students. Not least of which is the opportunity to share
conversation opportunities in another language.
Pictured here are students sharing two-way
conversations in Japanese and English.
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school news
Design and Innovation Day
Five REC students: Waide R, Eamon F, Brandon S, Jordan K and Kyle
G represented the school in the Design Challenge competition at
Flinders@Tonsley on the last day of March 2015. The students had
to use the Autodesk Inventor computer software to create a ‘Clothes
Hanging Device” which was then finally produced by a high speed
laser cutter. There was also a guest speaker from the company who
created the Retimer, who imparted valuable pointers on where design
and innovation can lead to and the students heard about real-world
experiences regarding product setups. Students were also taken on
a tour of the Hills company centre at Tonsley which has a focus in
medical devices and assistive living technologies and a glimpse of the
quarter of a million dollar 3D printer. The day culminated with the
testing and measurement of the clipping force of the various devices
which the students invented. Our Year 12 student Waide ended up
with the unofficial 2nd best placing of the day as a result of the popular
vote.
Wendy Toogood - Science Coordinator
Andy Thomas PRESENTATION
Be Quick!
REC has been offered 70 places for students to attend a special presentation
by South Australia’s own Astronaut, Andy Thomas on May 5th.
Please see Mrs Toogood for an excursion letter if you are keen to attend.
Places will fill quickly.
Wendy Toogood - Science Coordinator
Maths and Science COMPETITIONS
Enter now!
Entry forms for both the annual National Maths and Science competitions
are available from subject teachers. Both competitions involve multiple
choice questions that test problem solving and logical thinking. The Science
competition is for Years 2-12 and is held on June 3rd, and the Maths
competition is for Years 7-12 and held on July 30th.
Wendy Toogood - Science Coordinator
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sports news
Primary CRICKET
Girls from the College’s first Kanga girls team - Erin, Chelsea,
Kaitlyn, Mackenzie, Ebony, Billie (Paringa Park PS), Annabelle,
Kaylee (Galilee PS), Ashlee, Zoe, Paige (Absent: Gypsy) accompanied by their Southern District Cricket Club coaches
Jess and Brandi, were awarded trophies after winding up
their games in the southern competition. The girls are now
eagerly looking forward to their first SAPSASA Knockout match
against Reynella in October. During their journey starting in
2013 several have been invited to participate in the Southern
Metro inter-zone SAPSASA championships, Specialist coaching,
Southern District CC women’s teams plus the (Redback) Gary
Putland Cricket Academy, with potential to be selected in
SAPSASA’s State primary school team for 2016. The girls must
be congratulated for the way they performed in all their games,
how they challenged themselves as they learned new skills and
for their keen attention to their coaches. Thanks go to Team
Managers Paul Heath and Tammy Kennedy and all parents who
were so supportive and wonderful role models for our teams.
Trish Pinder - Primary Cricket Co-ordinator
Primary SAPSASA
Five students represented the school for the Southern Valley SAPSASA district
swimming team in week 9. Congratulations Oscar C, Caleb J, Elain J, Amber W and
Gabrielle F!
Both the boys and girls team made it through to the quarter final stage of the
Knockout Cricket, a great achievement so far! The boys had a very nail biting victory
in round 1 against Woodcroft Primary, before a comfortable 40 run win in their
second round against Flagstaff Hill. Evan S was the star in both games, remaining
undefeated with the bat. The boys also had very good games in the field taking many
exceptional catches and stopping many singles being scored.
During Term 2 we will look forward to students representing REC in Cross Country,
Badminton, Knockout Football and Knockout Cricket.
Aaron Roche - Primary PE Teacher
Secondary SPORT
Last month the Rugby League held a Tag Carnival at REC. Ninety of our Year 8 and
9 students took part. REC won both the girls and the boys trophies.
Our Year 9 boys won the ‘Come and Try Touch Carnival competition.
The REC secondary team came a very healthy 2nd to Willunga in the Fleurieu
Athletics competition, with our best score ever. Congratulations to the whole team
who were happy to step into events that were not their speciality, to gain valuable
points for the team.
Jo Draper - Secondary PE Teacher
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community news
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School Dental Service
The School Dental Service is the major provider of dental services for babies, children
and young people under 18 years in South Australia. Around 130, 000 children attend
every year.
The Commonwealth Child Dental Benefits Schedule for 2 – 17 year olds started in
2014.
ALL children are very welcome to continue to access dental care at the School Dental
Service. Dental care is FREE for most children and the School Dental Service will bulk–
bill Medicare.
Children who do not qualify for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule can also attend – a
small fee will apply for each course of general dental care provided.
Dental Benefits Schedule, visit www.sadental.sa.gov.au
Homestays NEEDED
Are you interested in becoming a Host Family for International
Students?
We are always looking for new Homestay families who ideally live close to Reynella East
College and are interested in sharing their Australian lifestyle with an International
student. Visits can vary from 10 days to a full year. A generous allowance is paid.
Contact : Carole Edgeworth - Ph: 0403 605 979
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Sports Voucher Program
Your child may be eligible for $50
The Sports Voucher program is a State Government initiative. It is an opportunity
for children R-7 to receive a $50 discount off club/membership fees.
Conditions apply.
More info: www.sportsvouchers.sa.gov.au/
Kids Can 2
Family Fun Day
Reynella Neighbourhood Centre
17th May
Free Raffle
Chance to WIN
a skateboard
10am—2pm
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Kids Can 2
Free Family Fun Day : 17 May 10am-2-m
Reynella Neighbourhood Centre
FREE Family Fun Event
Face painter * Smoothie bike * Reynella Guides *
Giant Board Games * DJ * Silent Disco * BBQ *
Lots of free indoor and outdoor activities for the kids.
Ms Fairy * Arts and Crafts * Henna * Indoor Sports *
Cooking * Music * Waste Not * And Much More...
Indoor and outdoor activties
Come rain, hail or shine
Skateboard kindly donated by Preston Building
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