17 May 2012 - The Heights School

9090
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
OUR SCHOOL VALUES
We work hard to learn
We respect ourselves and
each other
We value acts of
generosity
IN THIS ISSUE
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen
Junior School Awards
Feed the Planet
Open Night/Day
Year 8 (2013) applications
DIARY DATES
20/5 The Heights Walking
Club 1:00pm (meet at Devil’s
Nose car park off Humbug
Scrub Road, One Tree Hill
24/5 ICAS Computer Comp
30/5 Yr 10 Formal Interviews
30/5 Yr 8 Chickenpox & 2nd
HPV girls only
WEEK 6
28th MAY 2012
RECONCILIATION
WEEK
Middle & Senior
School Assembly
12:15pm
Helen Calvert
Principal
Currently teachers are working on implementation of
the Australian Curriculum. This means that all
primary students, Reception to Year 7, are already
engaged in this new curriculum in class in Science and
Maths as teachers are required to teach, assess and
report on the Achievement Standards this year.
Secondary Science and Maths teachers are also
working on programs for 2013. While we focus on
delivering high quality curriculum we also provide
enrichment programs and activities that challenge
and extend students beyond the mandated
curriculum.
With this commitment in mind we are excited about
a recent purchase of equipment that will open up a
new range of experiences for students in Science.
Science Live - Astronomy
The school has acquired a
high quality research grade
telescope, an Optical
Guidance Systems (OGS)
12.5” telescope and
HGM200 mount. This
precision instrument has the
capabilities of doing real
science and research as well
as ‘star gazing’. High
resolution images are
possible and the tracking
can be controlled through a
PC with planetarium
software.
What does this mean for our students? Data and
images from the telescope can be used by students in
classrooms in ‘real time’.
Astronomy is a component of the Science Australian
Curriculum. Our students will have a unique resource
for their learning. Students in the STAR Group who
meet weekly on Friday at 7.00pm can view high
quality images and the public will have access to the
same experience on ASSA Public Viewing evenings.
We invite you to come along to the next viewing on
Friday June 29th 8pm-12:00 and have a look yourself.
This year STAR Group is entering the Australian
Gemini School Contest in which students nominate
an object worthy of professional photography, and
justify the choice. The winning school is awarded an
hour’s time of photography on the 8 metre Geminini
South Telescope in Chile, and receives a print of the
final image.
…2/..
NEWSLETTER No. 7
17 May 2012
Transit of Venus, Live at The Heights
th
Wednesday 6 June.
NASA is providing a live webcast of the
transit from Hawaii. The Science faculty will
be undertaking solar telescope training to
capture the event for students at school on
the day using our own solar telescope
equipment. Let’s hope for clear skies and
fine weather!
The discovery and installation of the new
telescope, STAR Group weekly activities and
the additional opportunities that these
students are able to participate in are the
result of the passion, commitment and
generosity of our volunteers, particularly
Elmer Varga, Andrew Cool, Kevin Davey and
our Science Coordinator, Arthur Roubanis.
Their contribution to supporting our
students and community to experience the
wonders of Astronomy is outstanding.
Staff Update
We welcome Tobias O’Connor to the
teaching team and community. Tobias has a
senior leadership role in ICT across the
school: ICT in the curriculum, teaching and
learning and as an information and
communication management system.
Brian Harris, Student Counsellor and
Internationalism Manager, is on leave for
the remainder of the year.
John Remfry will take up the responsibilities
of Student Counsellor and Bob Powell will
manage the Internationalism programs.
Andrew Costello has been appointed as
Health and PE Coordinator while Chris
Blansjaar is on leave in terms 2 and 3.
Helen Calvert
APPLICATION FOR
ENROLMENT IN YEAR 8
(2013) FORMS
Please return to your child’s
homegroup teacher no later
st
than 21 May 2012
(only applicable for current
year 7 students).
ARE YOU A SAFE DRIVER?
We are currently in contact with the Tea Tree Gully Council to resolve some of the parking and traffic issues around the
school. While we may be able to make some adjustments to parking areas and parking/stopping restrictions on Brunel
Drive and Augustus Street to minimise risk to our children’s safety we still rely on drivers behaving respectfully and with
consideration for the safety of others at all time.
Please note:
The Pick Up and Drop Off area is not a parking area.
Car parking areas inside school grounds are for staff and visitors only.
The Department of Education and Child Development (DECD) regulations do not provide parking for parents on
school grounds.
The OSHC car park area was designed as a staff car park and for parents accessing the OSHC service.
Parents who are dropping their child off in the OSHC car park area need to be extra vigilant when backing out. Keep
watch for children who are exiting from cars in this area – they are not easy to see especially if you are in a four
wheel drive vehicle.
The speed limit on school grounds is 10kph.
Patience, consideration for others, courtesy, and thoughtful alert driving habits are required from everyone to keep our
children safe.
Literacy is everyone’s business
Tips and Ideas for Parents
Middle and Senior School students
The S.A. Public Teaching Awards recognise, award and
celebrate the valuable contribution of dedicated and effective
teachers, education leaders and support staff in our public
schools and pre-schools.
You are invited to nominate an outstanding education
professional. Anyone can nominate, so don’t miss out on the
opportunity to show your appreciation for an inspirational role
model who is making a difference for students in your
community.
Say thank you to your favourite educator.
www.decd.sa.gov.au/teacherawards
+
Listen to students read from the text
books or printed material they bring home
Check that they understand what they are
reading
Get them to explain information they
locate on websites in their own words
Check that what they are writing is not
just a copy of the text or website
Junior School students
Read, Read, Read
You taught your baby to eat, you taught your baby
to walk and you taught your baby to talk. Keep
growing that knowing to help your child to learn to
read, by
Looking at the pictures and talking about
them
Looking for words all around you
Getting some magnetic letters and making
words on the fridge
Looking through the junk mail together
Taking some family photos and making
your own book to read
The Heights School is now on
Facebook. Look us up at
www.facebook.com/heightsschool
……our page for a chance to win a $50 iTunes
voucher
JUNIOR SCHOOL AWARDS
Ms Simmons
Ms Hatchard
Ms Overstreet/
Ms Goerner
Mr Feil
Ms Davies/
Ms Meatheringham
Ms Tolhurst
Mr Piggott
Ms Izzet
Ms Weniton
Ms London
Tia Earle – writing an excellent piece of persuasive writing
Isabeau Zakaris – improving her reading level
Teagan Elsmore – excellent argument writing persistence
Bethany Hartley – excellent argument writing persistence
Lianna Retnaraja – working quietly
Toby Ellis – argument writing
Ella Haronen – argument writing
Melanie Whiteford-Hall – working quietly
Michael Holmes – trying really hard in his spelling
Jaimee Lake – being a helpful, responsible class member
Jordan Bentley – great partnership skills in dance
Angelina Modra – great partnership skills in dance
GREAT WORK
Ms Rogers
Mayen Panchol – excellent effort in reading and writing.
Tahlia Slattery – fantastic progress in reading and learning tricky words
Estelle Williams – reading really well
Skyla White – writing independently
Liam Dinh – following instructions
Calais Ownsworth – working hard in literacy
Jaein Jung – beautiful artwork
Deacon Franey for working hard in all areas
Joshua Beck – persistence with all his work
Emeliah Campbell – taking great pride in her writing
Kyla Whyte – having an excellent understanding of nouns and adjectives
INDOOR CRICKET
Four students from our school have been selected in the South Australian Indoor Cricket sides (Southern Spiders) to
contest the Australian Junior Championships in Strathpine, Brisbane, from 1st July – 8th July 2012.
These students are:
Tyrell Sinclair
SA 14 & Under Boys
Amanda Wellington
SA 18 & Under Girls
SA 1
Febi Mansell
SA 16 & Under Girls
Alex Higgins
SA 18 & Under Boys
Congratulations to Courtney Roberts (SS24) who has been selected in the State All Girls
Football Team. The team is involved in a week long carnival, beginning 14th May, and
Courtney has been training five nights a week for the competition!
OPEN NIGHT/DAY AT THE HEIGHTS…..
Mr Sakovits and students
Ms Denee and students in the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen
Mr Schiano and students in the Science Lab
Mr Piggott
Our kitchen garden by night!
Lots of activity in the kitchen
Open Night was held on the evening of Tuesday 8th May. Over 70 families took the
opportunity to meet staff/students and to look at a wide range of displays and
teacher/student demonstrations. Students amongst other things, performed musical
items, cooked biscuits, played volley ball and conducted science experiments. Teachers
talked about facilities, curriculum and special programs. The visitor feedback indicated
they were particularly pleased at having the opportunity to tour and talk to staff in the
Junior School and the pre school.
Open morning was held the next morning and over 20 families took up the opportunity
to tour the school while teachers were teaching and students were learning. The touring
families were very impressed with the calm, work-like atmosphere of the school and the
use of ICT in many of the classrooms that they visited.
Thank you to the entire school community and in particular The Heights students for
making Open Night and Day a huge success.
Rob Perkins – Senior Leader Middle School/Gifted Education
Feed the Planet – linking with students in Beirut
For the past two terms 6/701 has been writing letters to a class in Lebanon in Beirut. They wrote back to us
telling us what they like, their age and hobbies.
Fatima is my pen pal and she has told me lots of things about herself. She is 13 years old and she is in grade
7. Fatima told me her hobbies are swimming, drawing and dancing and her favourite foods are steak, pizza
and she likes having barbecues. She wrote about her best friends, Sandra and Zeinab. She said that she has
been to Qatar, Holland and Turkey. Fatima likes bowling, shopping and going to the cinema. I think it is
great fun writing letters to people in Beirut for ‘Feed the Planet’.
By Lachlan Loaker-Robbins (6/701)
In Feed the Planet we are writing to kids in Beirut, which is in Lebanon. The school we are writing to is called Beirut
Modern School. Our Beirut friends are very friendly and they told everyone so much about themselves.
My friend is Pamela and she likes to do gardening, playing football, swimming and running. Her favourite foods are
French fries and junk food. There are five children in her family, three girls and two boys. They all go to Beirut
Modern School with Pamela.
Pamela likes to ride bikes and she loves Maths, English and Biology. She wants to be a doctor for children when she
grows up. She loves to go on vacation to the village. Her favourite movie is ‘Good Luck Charlie’.
Beirut Modern School has a school garden similar to ours. They grow olive trees and other fruits and vegetables.
By Shy Mamo (6/701)
My friend’s name is Hadi and his hobbies are football and becoming a cheerman for UTD. When he grows up he
wants to be a football player with Al Ahed club. His favourite colour is black and his best friend is Hasan Kayaya. His
favourite pets are his parrot, cat and dog. He has five siblings and two parents and his favourite food is Crispy.
By Beth Panepinto (6/701)
Photos of our Beirut pen pals (year 7 students at Beirut Modern School)
THE HEIGHTS WALKING CLUB…..
We went on The Heights School Walking Club walk at Ansteys Hill. There were 5 or 6 families there, and we all
met at the gate near the TTG Hotel.
We walked for at least one and a half hours through the Ansteys Hill area. We climbed a huge pipeline and
walked along it. We stopped at the Newman's ruins, which are the walls of an old house, and had a look around.
There was a fairly high hill next to the ruins and most of the people climbed it even though there was no track.
At the top we saw two kangaroos. Then later we reached a massive steep hill called Torture Hill, which a few
people raced up. We saw silver mineshafts and the whole walk was really fun.
Zac Golding 807
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Update
A busy and exciting time has been had in The Stephanie Alexander
Kitchen Garden so far this year with huge amounts of produce being
grown, harvested, cooked and tasted.
A shade structure has been installed above the outdoor class area to
add protection against sun and rain. Under the towering gum tree a
raised bed made from recycled railway sleepers is nearly ready to be
planted out as an educational display of edible indigenous plants. Paths
in the garden have been weeded and covered with thick mulch to
reduce the weed maintenance required and add color and texture to the space. The rainwater tanks installed late
last year have been plumbed up to a tap in the garden and are now used to wash produce before it makes its way
into the kitchen.
Tomatoes, zucchinis, eggplants, potatoes, capsicums, carrots, parsnips, onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, beans, corn,
silver beet, plums, strawberries, apples, pears, apricots, grapes, basil, oregano, thyme, mint and much more have
been harvested and used in the kitchen encouraging healthy appetites and delicious smells.
Dishes enjoyed by students include eggplant croquettes, basil risotto, pesto pizzas, vegetable soup, curried apple
soup, fried rice, pumpkin scones and rocket with tomato and roast pumpkin salad. A favourite was the Chocolate
Zucchini Whoopie’s, except when salt was added instead of sugar! We have learned to preserve using excess
produce by making fig and strawberry jam, pickled eggplant and tomato sauce.
Our Tomato Sauce was entered into The Botanical Gardens annual Tomato Sauce Competition. We were thrilled to
come 3rd in the schools’ section and look forward to the 2011 Master Chef Runner Up Michael Weldon coming to
The Heights to host a cooking class with SAKG kids.
The Stephanie Alexander Program needs volunteers to run effectively.
If you have any enquires about the kitchen garden program or would like to donate your time or quality equipment
please contact the school on 82636244.
The Heights Kitchen Garden Cook Book
If you missed out, we have more to sell.
Yummalicious Food and Garden Grubs has over 80 favourite recipes
used in our cooking classes, lots of coloured photos and basic
gardening information.
$20 inc gst
Payments can be made in the Finance Office or on Bizgate.
Collect book from Finance Office.
Parents & Friends
are running a
Cookie Dough
Fundraiser this
term.
Scholastic is currently running a competition to find "Australia's
Greatest Reading Super Hero." You need to write in 25 words or less
who your Reading Super Hero is. It could be your mum or dad, a
friend, your teacher or even yourself.
Competition closes on 3rd August, 2012.
Entrants must be 14 years or under.
One entry per student.
Great prizes : ipads, ipods, books etc for the entrant and his/her
school
If you wish to enter this competition go to
http://www.scholastic.com.au/minisites/readingsuperhero/
The dough is delivered frozen in 1.3kg
tubs and can be kept in the fridge for up
to 4 weeks or refrozen until ready to
bake. There are seven different
flavours to choose from.
Brochures will be available in mid-May
and order forms with payment must be
returned to the Finance Office
by 1st June.
Dough will be available for collection
Wednesday 20th June from the
Parent Room at 3pm.
…….Help!......
I am seeking some parents to offer student
support in my year 6/7 classroom for both
English and Maths lessons. If you are interested
in helping one morning a week (from 9:05am to
10:40am) please come and speak to me. You
will need to have completed the volunteer
training before working in any classroom.
Thank you.
Cherie Rothery
ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS
Available from the Finance Office
$65
Good value for your money!
Northside Blue Light
Will be holding our next Blue Light Disco on
Friday 18th May 2012
at
Golden Grove Arts & Recreation Centre,
Golden Way, Golden Grove
7pm – 10pm
Children attending the disco who are under the age of 12 will have
a parent/guardian contacted to come and collect them.
They WILL NOT be able to enter the disco.
Tickets are $5 and are available for purchase on
Thursday 17th of May 2012 at a community booth at Westfield Tea
Tree Plaza, (situated outside of Coles Supermarket and the Reject
Shop), and will be on sale between 9:30am and 8:30pm
Do you want to feel
energetic, healthy & focused?
•
Group Personal Training Sessions
The Heights School Gymnasium
Tuesdays - 7.00pm
Thursdays - 7.00pm
Saturdays - 8.30am
Cardio, toning, boxing and much more…
ONLY $15.00 per session
Exercise in a FUN group environment with a qualified
Personal Trainer.
SPECIAL OFFER!!
Try your first session for
FREE.
Be quick, available to
the first 20 bookings only.
Call today to explore your
fitness goals and to take the first
step towards a fitter, healthier
and happier you!!
Mel: 0437710997
No joining fees or
contracts