Eastern Fleurieu R-12 Newsletter Week 3 Term 3 2023

R-12

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As partners in your child's education, we believe that a strong parent-school connection is crucial in fostering their growth and development. Let's dive into some insightful topics that can enhance our journey!

1. Encouraging Positive Behaviour: Positive reinforcement is a powerful tool for shaping a child's behaviour. Instead of focusing solely on punishment, praising, and rewarding your child when they display positive actions and behaviours is a well-known strategy. Celebrating their achievements and efforts will motivate them to continue making good choices.
2. Establishing Effective Communication: Open lines of communication are essential for building strong relationships with children/students. Actively listening to their thoughts and concerns, encouraging them to express themselves freely works wonders. Engaging in regular conversations will foster trust and understanding.
3. Setting Boundaries: Clear and consistent boundaries provide children/students with a sense of structure and security. Establishing age-appropriate rules and expectations, explaining the reasons behind them and both negative/positive consequences is essential. By maintaining firm but fair boundaries, we create safe environments where every child/student can thrive.
4. Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle: Encouraging a balanced lifestyle helps children/students develop healthy habits. Encouraging physical activity, providing nutritious meals, and limiting screen time contributes to their overall well-being.
5. Supporting Learning at Home: Parent involvement in your child's/student’s education greatly impacts their academic success. Creating a supportive learning environment by establishing a regular homework routine, reading together, and providing a quiet space for studying where possible has been the key to creating a love for learning.
6. Teaching Resilience and Problem-Solving Skills: Life is full of challenges and teaching our children/students resilience is crucial. Encouraging them to face obstacles head-on, guiding them through problem-solving strategies is often challenging for all of us but essential in today’s society. However, through developing resilience, they will gain the skills necessary to navigate life's ups and downs.
7. Modelling Positive Behaviour: Children/students often emulate significant adults’ actions, therefore making it vital for all of us to be positive role models. Displaying empathy, respect, and kindness in all our interactions, especially in the face of adversity they will learn valuable lessons from observing our behaviours. Unfortunately, we do not have any control over the media where sometimes outrageous behaviours are sensationalised and could be mistaken for the norm especially for our young people.

Parenting and education is a continuous journey filled with many challenging ups and downs. By embracing these tips and incorporating them into our daily routines, we are actively nurturing your child's/student’s growth and development.

Together, we can create nurturing environments that empowers our children/students to flourish and thrive in a very complex world.

Warm regards,

Ian Kent
Principal
Eastern Fleurieu R-12 School

Term Dates 2023

Eastern Fleurieu School R-12 Important dates

BYOD – Bring Your Own Device to 7-12 Campus

At the 7-12 Campus all students are required to have their own BYOD laptop.

Purchase your laptop here

We have a strong focus on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literacies that will enable students to be successful global citizens in the 21st century. EFS have implemented the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) system to meet the increasing demand of ICT in the classroom as we believe that it is a sustainable way to allow students to have one-to-one access to technology.

We recommend you purchase your device through our online portal – for new or students or those needing to upgrade..

Would you like to host an international student?

Little Athletics

Information:  

Apply here:

School Calendar

Please be sure to check the School Calendar for dates of events. The calendar is available through our SZapp, Website and Newsletter and is colour coded for you to select which campus is relevant to you.

Website

Out of School Hours Care (OSHC)

Your provider of OSHC is YMCA SA.

YMCA South Australia OSHC provides a Before and After School Care along with Vacation Care for school aged children 5-12 years on a casual and permanent basis.

OSHC provides a safe, fun and stimulating place for children to engage in structured, unstructured and educational activities that are specifically tailored to the child’s interests and needs. Our friendly and experienced staff work hard to ensure your children are cared for in a welcoming, supportive and stimulating environment. We value the uniqueness and diversity of every child, and seek to support and empower them to reach their full potential. Our programs are structured in accordance with the National Quality Framework and are led by our highly trained educators.

At YMCA SA we consider the safety and wellbeing of children and other vulnerable people to be our highest priority.

To register your child in our OSHC or Vacation Care programs, view program information or catch up with the latest news visit:

R-12 School Uniform

EFS School Uniform Shop
WE HAVE MOVED

9a Callington Road, Strathalbyn SA 5255

Term Time Open Hours

Tuesdays 8:30 – 10:45am
Thursdays 3:45 – 5:45pm

For uniform enquiries outside of our open hours, contact Ms Julie Martin.  

Bubbells Embroidery 
Phone: 0417 771 944           Email:bubbells@adam.com.au

If our open hours don’t suit you, we can take email and phone orders and we can arrange remote purchases for your convenience. 

Online safety

For a comprehensive guide to resources to assist us in navigating safely through the online world, please visit the link below:

BUS TRAVEL REMINDERS

Bus breakdowns:

Bus breakdowns happen from time to time and we endeavour to get a message to all families advising of such but when it affects the morning pick-up we often can’t send the message before the students leave home.  LinkSA advise they will always send a replacement bus however this may mean it is about 30 minutes later than the usual scheduled time.  By that time parents/caregivers should have received a message and can decide whether to wait for the replacement bus or drive the students to school.  Regardless, a bus will complete the bus run and pick up waiting passengers.  

Meeting the bus:

Eastern Fleurieu School advises parents to be at the designated stop 5 minutes before the scheduled time. It is important for the bus to stay on schedule so all students arrive at their stop as expected and parents/caregivers aren’t left wondering about the whereabouts of the bus and the student.

Responsible adult:

We ask parents/caregivers of kindergarten-aged and primary-school aged students (up to and including Year 6) to wait with the child until they board the bus in the morning and to be at the stop to greet the bus in the afternoon.  If a family has an older sibling and they are happy for that sibling to care for the primary-school aged child around the bus they can advise the driver of that arrangement.

Being late:

If there becomes an issue with a responsible adult not being at the stop to meet the student (or an arrangement in place as above) the driver will wait up to 2 minutes from the scheduled time and will then continue the bus run with the student still on board.  The driver will contact the Strathalbyn R-6 Campus of the situation when able to safely make a call, then return the student to the Strathalbyn R-6 Campus.  EFS Staff will have the student wait with them while they make contact with the student’s emergency contacts we have on record.  Please make sure we have up-to-date contact details and advise office staff at your campus of any changes or alternative emergency contacts.

Seating plans:

While there are no formal seating plans we ask students to allow younger children to sit in the front few rows and gradually fill the following rows until they reach year 12 when they can be seated on the back seat or rows just in front of the back seat.

Allocated bus:

Eligible students are allocated a seat on a department-provided school bus that is closest to their residential address, as per the Transport Policy (a link to which is on our website).  On the odd occasion a student needs to catch a different bus we require a temporary bus application (available from our website or the admin office of each campus) returned to the school 2 days before travel.  This ensures the parent/caregiver is aware of the travel arrangement and that we have accurate information of who is on a bus in case of emergencies.

Regards,
Becky Hawkey
Bus Co-Ordinator

Community News

Dental Care

ASHBOURNE CAMPUS

14 Ashbourne Road, Ashbourne SA 5157 Ph: 8536 6135

Head of Campus Report

Welcome back to Term 3, I hope all our families had a lovely holiday break making new memories. This term will bring new learning and experiences to the students, there is Science week, Book week and Small Campus Student Creation Market. In Week 5 the students will travel to Milang Campus for our second Small Campus Student Creation Market. The students have been busy planning, designing and making their product to sell on the day.

As part of Book Week the students will participate in an Author presentation with Ross Morgan, who is an illustrated based in South Australia. Books he has illustrated include, Hedgehog and Molly Moores has a house like yours.  In Week 6, the students will take part in the Book Week Parade, where they can dress up as their favourite book character. The theme for Book Week is Read Grow Inspire.  The students will continue with their weekly Bush School day, the theme this term is Antarctica. As part of this day we will have a whole school excursion to the South Australian Museum, take part in an incursion with Nature Play SA on STEAM into Nature with natural pigments and have two visiting classes from Langhorne Creek.

It is looking to be a busy, exciting term, filled with fun events. We welcome parents to attend our school assemblies in Week 6 Thursday, 31^st August and Week 10 Friday, 29^th September. Please feel free to pop into your child’s class before or after school to see what amazing learning they have been doing as well as our Art room where the students Bush School creations and art work is displayed.

Regards,
Rebekah Fahey
Head of Campus

Assembly Awards

In Week 10 of Term 2, the Acacia students led the whole school assembly. It was lovely to have parents attending. Students from both classes shared their creative writing, Bush School learning and art work. The staff and parents enjoyed hearing from the students and viewing their learning. We had 11 students receive an award. The awards included Character, Critical Thinking and Citizenship.  In Hakea class Ashton, Mariska, Laura, Tony and Brody received an award and in Acacia class Damian, Hayden, Jett, Tyron, Atrayl and Charles.

Bush School

In Week 10, as part of our final Bush School day for the term, the students made damper twisties cooking them on the campfire, as well as toasting marshmallows. We all enjoyed sitting and listening to our book club novel after recess around the fire. The students love when we have our camp fire on Bush School day, it brings everyone together, sharing stories and working as a team.

Over the term the students learnt about the Australian Desert. As part of this learning they all chose an Australian desert to research interesting facts in order to be able to make a diorama of their chosen desert. The students demonstrated incredible creativity and character in making them. The final products are amazing, please make sure you come into the Art room to see them.

To kick start our bush day learning this term, Ashbourne students rolled up their sleeves and pitched in, weeding, prepping garden beds, planting and watering in different areas around our campus. They showed citizenship and collaboration and did a fantastic job caring for our environment and school. 

South Australia Museum

On Tuesday, 1^st August the whole campus travelled to Adelaide for an excursion of the South Australian Museum as part of our Bush School program. The students enjoyed exploring each area of the museum, including the Australian Polar Collection, World Mammals, Australian Aboriginal Culture, Ancient Egypt, Pacific Culture and Fossils and Minerals. The students recorded their favourite things they saw and interesting facts from each collection.

Pawzawhile

Some of our students are taking part in a social skills and wellbeing program run on site through Pawzawhile. This program will help our students connect to each other, continue to build their social skills and helping their personal wellbeing. Each week for 1 hour they will work with Anne from Pawzawhile and their Labrador retriever.  In the first session the students got to know their dog and were teaching their dog to sit, catch and shake hands. They students walked their dogs and demonstrated their character skills on being calm and gentle with their dogs.

Student Creation Market

The small campuses will participate in the Student Creation Market at Milang campus. The students have been busy researching, designing and making their products to sell on the day. They have had to apply their 6 Deep Learning competencies in order to partake in their projects, including Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, Character, Citizenship and Critical Thinking. The products are shaping up and we can’t wait to see their finished products, including story books, book marks, masks, dream catchers, painting and book bags.

Dates to Remember

LANGHORNE CREEK CAMPUS

Bridge Road, Langhorne Creek SA 5255 Ph: 8537 3145

Head of Campus Report

Welcome to Term 3, it was lovely to be greeted kindly from students and staff upon my return from long service leave. I hope you and your families an enjoyable break together. In my absence, staff and students continued to finish off Term 2, celebrating NAIDOC week including a basket weaving session with Georgie, finishing the week with a cultural colours Dress Up day.

Term 3 commenced with a wonderful celebration for our reception students having attended for 100 days of school. Students and staff were joined by family members to share in the celebration. Check out the great photos on Eastern Fleurieu Facebook page. A huge thankyou to our Campus Advisory Committee for their support in setting up a fabulous backdrop in celebration of 100 days of school. Preparations are well underway for the Student Creation Market to be held at Milang Campus this term. Keep an eye on SeeSaw for updates.

This term we see the building refurbishments coming to fruition, with stage one close to being completed. As we await the announcement of our move day students have enjoyed sharing lunch on the seating areas on along the deck. We are all looking forward to moving into our two new learning spaces and upgraded administration. We will keep everyone posted. Stage two will commence once we have vacated our current learning and workspaces. We look forward to continuing work in upgrading our school garden area this term, building on the work that has already happened.

2023 NAPLAN results have been sent home, please contact us if you need to discuss.

We look forward to seeing many of you joining us for your child/ren’s Learning Conversations. During the Building Refurbishment we have continued to ensure students are enjoying quality learning experiences.

Regards,
Les Cameron
Head of Campus

Kind Koalas and Quirky Quokkas

Wellbeing with the Koalas

In the koala class we have been learning about making healthy choices and how we can be kind to ourselves. We learnt about positive self-talk and how this can help us show good character. We learnt that positive self-talk helps us try our best, not give up and helps keep us calm when we are feeling big emotions. We wrote our own affirmations and will create little posters for our tables to remind us to always be kind to ourselves.

100 Days of School

Last week we celebrated 100 days of school for our new receptions. We all came dressed up and talked about what we wanted to be when we are older. We also played some old-fashioned games. We had a grandparent (Margie) come in to talk to us about how school was when she attended Langhorne Creek. We learnt about all the changes, like instead of fruit break they had a milk break. We all had a lot of fun.

When I am older I want to be a dental hygienist. – Esther

I want to be an electrician. – Chayce

I want to be a vet. – Ada

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We also learnt about how sounds travel and what toys they had in the past. We then partnered up and made telephones on a string. This was super fun!

Shared Reading

We are very excited about Book Week coming up and we have started looking at the Shortlisted books. We read 'Frank's Red Hat' and it is a great book. We then drew Frank. Here are some of our pictures. - Seth

NAIDOC Week

During NAIDOC week we did a lot of different activities including basket weaving, made feather flowers, traced our hands and decorated them and learnt some more about The Stolen Generation. It was very interesting. - Maisy

Playgroup

At the end of Term 2 playgroup families visited Monarto Safari Park. Several excited children and their parents/grandparents made their way to the park for an early start to the day. After boarding the bus we enjoyed a guided tour and saw many wild animals including giraffes, lions, zebras, meerkats, porcupines, cheetahs and deer. We alighted the bus part way through the tour, and walked up to see the gorillas. The children watched in amazement as they performed several acrobatic moves in their enclosure. We were lucky enough to be present for feed time, and the children were mesmerised as they watched. We boarded the bus to see hyenas, deer, bison and ostriches. We also saw an enormous solar panel. We enjoyed a picnic lunch together before heading home for a well-earned rest!

This term we are exploring different forms of art and we will create a collage picture to enter into the Strathalbyn Show. We will also learn about Australian animals. 

Playgroup runs every Friday during term time from 9:00am to 11:30am.

Regards,

Dates to Remember

MILANG CAMPUS

Cnr Cox and Rivers Street, Milang SA 5256 Ph: 8537 0223

Head of Campus Report

Welcome back to Milang for Term 3! This term we are pleased to welcome Hudson, Amelia, Jannali, Ziva and Chase to our campus, they have settled in very well. Also joining our staff this term are Trevor, in the Upper Primary, Bonnie our new pastoral care worker and Travis a pre service teacher in the Junior Primary. We did however say goodbye to Oliver. 

Our term is already very exciting with excursions, our Student Creation Market, Art Exhibition and Spring Concert planned. These events would not be possible without the commitment and hard work of our staff and we are reminded this week with the action from the Education Union that we are very fortunate to have such a dedicated team. We hope to see you all at the Creation Market! 

Regards,
Susannah Cook
Head of Campus

Welcome Bonnie

Hi, my name is Bonnie Edgecomb and I am the new Pastoral Care Worker for the Milang Campus. I live in Strathalbyn with my husband and three little girls, plus 1 cheeky rescue pup. We love to come across to Milang often to have hot chips by the lake and play on the train.

I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, learning new things like a new craft or recipe, going to theatre and comedy shows and being out and about in nature. My favourite fruit to eat is mango, my favourite colour changes lots but today it's probably orange and I love to sing!
My role at the school is to support the wellbeing of students, staff and families, and I’m really looking forward to getting to know the Milang school community as I do. For Term 3, I will be around on Mondays from 10:00am-2:00pm, Wednesdays from 8:30am-11:30am and Thursdays from 1:00pm-4:00pm. Please feel free to say hello or touch base for a chat! My email is bonnie.edgecomb143@schools.as.edu.au

Regards,
Bonnie Edgecomb
Pastoral Care Worker

Happenings at Milang

Arbury Park Camp

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Learning Conversations

Thank you to families for attending our Learning Conversations this week. These conversations give opportunities to discuss how together, we can continue to support your children.

Student Creation Market

Families are welcome to join students for the annual Student Creation Market which is being held at Milang this year on Thursday, 24^th August. Students will be joined by Langhorne Creek and Ashbourne campuses and all students will participate in a range of activities using their skills of collaboration, critical thinking, communication, creativity, citizenship and character. At 12:30pm the market will be open and students, who have been working on a product or experience linked to their learning will be able to buy and sell. They can bring their own money which will be exchanged for tickets beforehand and nothing will be over $2. We recommend bringing no more than $5. Adults can also purchase from the stalls. 

We will also be having a meal deal, notes to go home soon.

Spring Concert and Art Exhibition Save the Date

This year our Spring Concert and Art Exhibition will be held at the Milang Institute at 3:00pm on Thursday, 21^st September. Student artworks will be on display and students will perform a variety of pieces on stage. Please be aware of the time change this year, and we hope with this much notice you will all be able to be there.

Coffee Morning

Some of our parents met in Week 2 at the Mini Mart for our first coffee morning for the term.  We will hold 3 this term at the Mini Mart.  The next one will be on Wednesday, 30^th August.  Pop it in your calendar.

Assembly

Congratulations to Molly for receiving the VIP award for Term 2.

“For showing great Citizenship this term in her class and around the school. Molly is an enthusiastic learner and always greets everyone with a smile. She showed great Character on camp by participating in all the activities. She constantly includes other students and is willing to help out when asked. Molly works Collaboratively with others in the class and will confidently share her ideas while being able to listen to others. Molly uses her Critical thinking skills when solving problems for herself and others and will always ask for help when needed. Well done Molly!“

Also congratulations to Oliver and Timothy, for last term and Cedar, Harley and Grace for receiving Assembly awards so far for this term.

Junior Primary Learning

Upper Primary Learning

The Upper Primary class have been over to the Butter Factory to sketch the building and to start making their pictures for the cards for the Art Show. 

Year 6 Citizenship

Last term Seth collaborated with Mrs Cook about what being a good citizen means and who in the community could we say thank you to.

He spent one morning helping Bill at the Community Centre wash the cars.

He also made Betty from the caravan park some feeders for her birds and presented them to her.   

Well done Seth.

Gymnastics

The students are enjoying some Gymnastics lessons on Fridays as part of the Sporting Schools funding.

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Reminders from Donna 

Premiers Reading challenge

Premiers Reading Challenge forms have been given out.  Please encourage your child to complete the form and return to Donna. Also for those really keen readers there is a 20 book challenge, see attached.

Book Week is Monday, 21^st August – Friday, 25^th August

Book club orders

Due back Monday, 14^th August.

Attendance 

Please always contact the school if your child is late, call or come in and sign a yellow slip.  Also if your child is away or someone else is picking them up.  If we don’t hear from you your child’s absence is marked as unexplained.  A message from another student is not enough, we need to hear from a parent. If you are picking your child up early please come into the office and complete a green slip. 

Please continue to follow the guidelines for keeping us all safe.  If you need to come on site, please ensure you are sanitising when entering any buildings. Keep your visits brief and social distance at all times. 

Note Folders 

The oldest child in each family is responsible for handing in their note folder each day to Donna and taking it home each night with any new notes.  Can you please make sure you are checking these each day and sending back any notes or consents that need to be brought back.  Also any book club money and order forms need to be returned in the folder. 

Dates to Remember

STRATHALBYN R-6 CAMPUS

34 East Terrace, Strathalbyn SA 5255 Ph: 8536 2344

Heads of Campus Report

Thank you to the students, families and staff at our Strathalbyn R-6 Campus for welcoming me as I cover Jo Garwood’s role while she is on leave for the first 5 weeks of this term. Despite living in the community for the past 40 plus years, it has been through the past 6 months in my leadership role at EFS that I have had the greater privilege to connect and build relationships with so many of you as we work together to develop our children into reflective, kind and global citizens. I am delighted to have the honour of being part of the journey with so many of you. We also welcome Sally Nurse to our teaching staff. Sally will be teaching Junior Primary Science and HASS across 2 days and team teaching with Belinda Parry in Room 11. We also welcome Dan Hammond who will be supporting our Junior Primary Performing Art classes every Monday.

Learning Conversations

Thank you to families for attending our Learning Conversations this week. These conversations give opportunities to discuss how together, we can continue to support your children.

Transition

Preparations for welcoming our future 2024 students from our kindy’s are well and truly underway, as are preparations for transitioning our current Year 6 cohort onto Year 7. These times can raise many questions and mix of feelings/emotions therefore transition activities are designed with this in mind. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, we are happy to talk with families. Please keep an eye out for information sessions available to all transitioning families; a great opportunity to have most of your questions answered.

Busy, busy, busy….

Term 3 is shaping up to be a jam-packed term of learning, fun and experiences at Strathalbyn R-6. In Week 5 we have our Book Week Celebration and activities, including our guest illustrator, Ross Morgan who will have time with all classes and campuses. Our Book Week parade will be held Friday, 18th August, the theme for 2023 is “Read, Grow, Inspire”. We will also be celebrating our Community Day on this day too, where parents, carers and those special to our students are invited to attend between 11:15am and 1:00pm. Our canteen ladies have been busy finalising delicious lunch options so keep an eye out for communication regarding that! We simply love that we can continue to build community and connections together by celebrating events together.

Friday, 25th August is Wear it Purple day when we celebrate identity, inclusivity and diversity. Students and staff are invited to wear a splash of purple to acknowledge this event.

Reminders

• Please remember if your child would like to bring any animal into their classroom for learning purposes, speak to teachers to complete appropriate paperwork.
• The gym carpark is for staff only, this is not a safe pick up or drop off spot for students
• Teachers commence yard duty in the mornings at 8:25am, therefore, to ensure duty of care, we ask that students do not arrive at school before this time

Regards,
Sophie Frost and Mel Pitt
Heads of Campus

Wellbeing

As we begin to see some clear skies and head towards Spring, it is timely to discuss attendance. Regular attendance is an important aspect for your child both socially, emotionally and academically. Having time away from school is necessary for illness, family purposes and sometimes to attend special events and support family needs. Absences are a part of life and we all endeavour to support each other when these breaks to learning and work occur.

Absences however do cause disturbances to your child’s learning and sense of belonging at school. For children who regularly miss school, learning is challenging, as they often miss parts of the instruction and learning sequence and this can lead to loss of confidence and engagement. Common absences can make friendships more challenging, as friends often connect with other students and the child missing school might not be able to connect with the games and conversations that they have missed. Classroom expectations and routines can also become more challenging as the child who misses school regularly has to relearn the rhythms of school and classroom regularly. They may also find that rules are different at school and jumping back and forth from the expectations at home and school is more challenging with larger breaks.

A child who misses a day a week of school, will have lost the equivalent of a year of school days by the end of Term 4. That makes it extremely challenging to maintain a strong understanding of the learning content.

There are many issues that lead to ongoing attendance challenges. These might be logistical or practical challenges, anxieties and wellbeing concerns and of course ongoing medical issues. Whatever the cause, we would like to support your child and family as much as possible to stay connected with school and to work around these challenges.

Please always remember to let the school know why your child is unable to attend and touch base with your class teacher or leader with any concerns or difficulties that you may be having in maintaining regular attendance. We very much hope to partner with families to support regular attendance and happy, confident young people.

Regards,
Heidi Yard

Room 2 Updates

Poetry

Did you know that poems are written in many different forms? This week our students have been writing Diamante poems to describe opposite concepts or themes using verbs, adjectives and nouns. Here are some fine examples:

By Hayden

By Chris

By Hayley

Local Places

Students in our class are learning how to identify what makes our local places unique and valuable and have given them a review. Check out Ned’s review of Port Elliot below:

Intro: Port Elliot, known for its exotic location along the coast of Victor Harbour, astonishing beaches, fantastic holiday destinations and great views along the coast.

Things to do: Wow! I don’t even know where to start. Firstly, the beaches are marvellous, but they are something different on a still night as the sun is setting. Secondly, it is a great place for holiday makers to explore the town centre and one of my many favourites about Port Elliot the bakery. Personally, it has one of the best bakeries in SA, (reasons). Firstly the line is half way down the main street pretty much every day, secondly their donut of the month is always superb. Lastly it has a large variety of selections of hot food, drinks and sweet treats and it is much loved by the locals and tourists.

Why it’s my special place: Port Elliot is my special place because every year my family and I go camping with some family and friends over Easter and we go swimming, look at the amazing sights around the town and do lots of fun activities together.

Conclusion: In conclusion Port Elliot is my special place because of its exotic location along the coast of Victor Harbour and its friendliness for tourists. It also has personally one of the best bakeries in SA with a large variety of food options. It is also my special place because my family and I spend Easter with friends and family. - Ned

The next review is written by Aimee (she added this photo of the Bremer River).

Strathalbyn is a really wonderful small town in the Fleurieu Peninsula with very happy and smiley people. It has many attractions like the Gilberts Motor Museum, which has many cars that have been in races and one was in a movie! The Kenney Blake Memorial statue is amazingly made out of bolts, nuts, and spare parts of bikes, tools, and so on.

Our town also has many cafes, restaurants and we have a bakery selling freshly made pastries and cakes. I couldn’t forget the amazing original lollies shop with delicious, flavourful lollies and chocolates. If you're staying in Strathalbyn this is a must do. Strathalbyn also has a cute shop called Crystal Attractions. This shop has all kinds of beautifully crafted pieces that include shiny jewels. You can also buy single crystals with a little meaning card that will tell you what it does, and how to use it.

If you come and visit Strathalbyn you could have an unforgettable experience on a helicopter tour of this part of the peninsula. We have cute little koalas in our gum trees. If you're lucky enough you might see one! - Aimee

Regards,
Ben Smith and Merilee Wallis

Parent Club Update

Shapes with Room 27

In Team 27 we are learning to recognise and classify familiar 2D shapes and their features. As a prior knowledge activity, students were given some challenge cards to create different shapes using a variety of objects around the classroom.

We made Shape Robots. The students’ robots had a design brief of different shapes and their quantities which needed to be included in their design. At the end of the lesson students shared and compared each other’s designs with each other.

Regards,

Wear It Purple Day

100 Days of School Celebration

Rooms 20, 21, 30 and 31 celebrated 100 Days of School on Friday, 28^th July.  The children had been recording the number of days they had been at school each morning using a tens frame to record this information. They have enjoyed being involved in the count down and became quite excited for our 100 Day celebration. 

On the 100 day celebration the children had an opportunity to take a photo at the ‘Photo Booth’ holding up a sign and using props to celebrate this great milestone.  Room 20, 21, 30 and 31 moved around to each class and participated in 100 Days activities including making a crown, doing a collage on the number 100, using 100 Planks to create something and using the number 100 to make a picture.

We did fitness together and all had to do 100 exercises eg 10 lunges, 10 push-ups, 10 star jumps.

The children also made a 100 Days Placemat where they collected ten of each food treats for their placemat which they were able to later eat. They collected 10 M&M’s, 10 Fruit Loops, 10 NutriGrain, 10 Popcorns, 10 Pretzels, 10 Choc Chips, 10 Twisties, 10 mini marshmallows, 10 sultanas, and 10 tic Cheerios.

We all got together to make the number 100 on the oval and Matt took a video and photos with his drone.

As you can see from the photos the children were super excited and had an amazing day celebrating.

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Regards,

Dates to Remember

STRATHALBYN 7-12 CAMPUS

11 Callington Road, Strathalbyn SA 5255 Ph: 8536 2455

Head of Campus Report

It’s Term 3 signalling the beginning of the end for our Year 12s, and time to start looking ahead to 2024 for the rest of us. We had a wonderful time celebrating our ‘Class of 2023’ at the formal at the end of last term; they are now coming to terms with their work completion commitments for Term 3. We hope they can maintain some stamina, seek support when needed, and push through this last hurdle to achieve their goals.

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2024

Our subject selection process for 2024 programs started last week with students attending information sessions about the various curriculum offerings. We have published the new look Curriculum Handbook to assist students and families with finding relevant information quickly, and a Subject Selection Guide for each year level. You can access the Curriculum Handbook and other course selection resources on the website, and we ask students to give careful consideration to their preferences as these inform the timetable structure and staffing process for the coming year. Remember to book in for your Subject Selection Conferences in Week 5; appointments will be available from today.  We welcome your feedback about the process and new resources.

Our transition program has also commenced, and we welcome our 2024 Year 7 cohort to the campus for a range of activities in the coming weeks. Further information about the transition program will be sent to families directly, but please contact the school if you have any questions.

USHIKU HIGH SCHOOL VISITORS

We were absolutely delighted to welcome Japanese students from Ushiku High School to the 7-12 Campus last week. This is the first study tour we have hosted since the COVID disruption began. The students and their buddies have been taking part in a range of wonderful activities including a number of excursions to enhance their experience of South Australian culture. I would like to sincerely thank our host families for making this life-changing experience possible. For families interested in hosting students for future exchange programs, or study tours, please contact Jen Turpin at the 7-12 Campus.  Furthermore, we will be sharing information about how EFS students can take part in student exchange programs (through Rotary) in the coming weeks.

STUDENT LEADERS

Our Student Leaders have been actively engaging in dialogue with leadership about their perception of School Values.  Last week we had a rich discussion about shared values and what this means for our school moving forward. It was affirming to note that there is much common ground between students and staff in terms of which values are of importance to the school community, and I was pleased to see “Respect” was a prominent value shared by our student leadership team.  The next phase of consultation will focus on our new canteen menu and our ongoing work around school uniform.

SCHOOL UNIFORM

Another reminder to please encourage your children to wear the appropriate colours for under-layers and jumpers during Winter. The school colours are navy or white (underlayers only) and we want students to wear them with pride! Please remember that hoodies are not permitted at any time. 

The Uniform Shop is located at 9A Callington Road, Strathalbyn. Julie’s contact numbers are 8536 2648 or 0417 771 944 or you can email her at bubbells@adam.com.au.

Keep your details up to date

Please contact the school if any of your personal details change. This helps us to keep you up to date and informed with school news. Thank you.

If you have any issues you would like to raise, or would like to share constructive feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact me at the 7-12 Campus on (08) 8536 2455.

Regards,

Vanessa Coker
Director Secondary Education

Important Dates to Remember

Subject Selection Conferences

When: Tuesday, 22nd August & Wednesday, 23^rd August from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Who: Students/parents/carers to meet with school leader
Where: 7-12 Campus Library
Book: To book your Subject Selection Conference, please visit this link:

For more guidance on booking, you can refer to the Schoolzine Parent Booking Guide here:

Subject Selection Teams (2024 year level)

• Year 9 Holly Stevens & Merryn Gomez
• Year 10 Matt Taylor & Narelle Lakin-Hall
• Year 11 Jen Turpin & Ryan Haylock
• Year 12 Stephen Rofe & Keegan Taylor
• Room 20 Merryn Gomez (Tuesday only)
• VET Britt Thompson

Regards,
7-12 Leadership Team

VET / Pathways Information Night

First Nations Education

Kicking off NAIDOC Week at the Strathalbyn R-6 Campus:

To kick off NAIDOC Week 2023, we hosted the EFS R-12 NAIDOC Week event on Monday, 3^rd July at the Strathalbyn R-6 Campus. The Alexandrina Council supported us to host Peramangk Elder, Mandy Brown for a Welcome to Country and Kyle Booth conducted a Smoking Ceremony. Staff, students and community members also enjoyed refreshments from the New Journey Coffee Van and catering was supplied by Ms Rosser, Ms Brooksby and Ms Maple's students. Following this, David Booth told Dreaming Stories to the guests while Mandy Brown spoke with Kerra Yerta about her life story being told through the book "Say Yes". Thank you to those who attended the event, it was an excellent way for NAIDOC Week to begin!

7-12 NAIDOC Week:

Students were invited at lunchtime on Wednesday, 5^th July to the FTX/Science area to enjoy a performance by First Nations musician, Sharon Bailey and talented musician, Luke Eastwood. The students also sampled bush tucker by Ms Rosser, Ms Brooksby and Ms Maple's students and a variety of sausages from Something Wild. Ms Rosser also hosted an art activity where students enjoyed learning about and using Aboriginal symbols. Thank you to those who supported the event!

SAASTA Morning Tea:

The EFS SAASTA students joined the rest of the SAASTA Fleurieu/Hills Hub students at Victor Harbor High School on Wednesday, 5^th July at the Elders Morning Tea. Students enjoyed a morning tea together with local Elders and it was an excellent way to come together at the end of Term 2.

R-12 NAIDOC Week Casual Clothes Day:

All five of the campuses hosted a Casual Clothes Day on Friday, 7^th and they wore Black, Yellow and Red to represent that Aboriginal flag or a First Nations design. The funds raised will be donated to the Strathalbyn Aboriginal Action Reference Group (SAARG) for future First Nations activities. Thank you to everyone for supporting this local and important cause. 

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Frenchie for a Day: 

Four First Nations students from the 7-12 Campus attended the Workabout Centre's Frenchie For a Day at the French Beauty Academy in Rundle Mall where the students were involved in an immersive beauty experience. The students started the indulgent day by learning how to give each other a facial, followed by a fully catered Lunch. The final session in the afternoon the students learning how to do a manicure to their partner. Towards the end of the day, Jakyra a past EFS student who is now studying at the academy had a chat with the students about her experiences and what she has been learning about at the academy. Overall, it was a great learning experience for the students.

Regards,
Megan Wood                                                                         
Aboriginal Education Teacher

Stage 2 Ancient Studies

On Friday of Week 1, the Stage 2 Ancient Studies class had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Classical Archaeology. Situated in the historic Mitchell Building along North Terrace, and curated by the University of Adelaide, the museum is home to over 1700 items making it the largest collection of artefacts from ancient Greece and Rome in South Australia. 

Students were able to observe and analyse the intricate details of ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts not usually accessible to the public. Items of note included burial masks, a mummified hand, a scale model reproduction of the city state of Athens, and busts of notable Greek leaders and gods. Students will draw from their observations and understandings in their upcoming in-class assessment.

Supplementing the trip was a brief visit through the Art Gallery and SA Museum. Conditions were sublime with the rain holding off for the duration of the day, ensuring the Year 12s were able to enjoy a pleasant lunch in Rundle Mall.

Regards,
Josh Gottschutzke                                                                           

International Education

A very warm welcome to the staff and students of Ushiku High School, who will be joining us at EFS for the next 10 days. Over the next 10 days, the students will experience a range of classes at EFS, and excursions around SA to give them a sense of what it's like living in South Australia.

BOYS KNOCKOUT FOOTBALL 2023

Once again, we nominated teams in all three-year level groups, but unfortunately this year none of our teams managed to progress to the next round. Despite this our boys played determined football and were very positive representatives of our school.

7/8 BOYS KNOCKOUT FOOTBALL

Our boys had their Round Robin in week 2 this term at Aldinga College. We played Willunga in our first game and after a tough, tight first half we took control of the game to come away with a hard-fought win. We then had to quickly get ready to take on Tatachilla, who defeated Aldinga in the early game. Again, it was a tight low scoring first half, however Tatachilla started to get on top in the third quarter as we tired somewhat having to play 2 games in row, however a credit to our boys who fought out the game to the end.

EFS 5.7 defeated WILLUNGA 2.4:

BEST PLAYERS: Archie, Max, Sam, Hamish E, Mason, Rowan. GOAL SCORERS: Max 4 Archie 1

EFS 2.3 lost to TATACHILLA 4.2

BEST PLAYERS: Hamish E, Archie, Sam, Lucas, James, Mason GOAL SCORERS: Max Josh.

9/10 BOYS KNOCKOUT FOOTBALL

Late last term our 9/10 boys team headed to Cornerstone to take on St Francis and Cornerstone. Our boys played Cornerstone in the early game. It was a very close game with Cornerstone. The last part of the last quarter coincided with their recess time, and with their spectators cheering them on they kicked the last couple of goals to take out a very narrow win. They then had another tough game against St Francis, with a few of their elite players dominating. We had some excellent individual performances, but overall, we couldn’t match it with them for four quarters, with our boys tiring somewhat from giving all in the first game.

EFS 6.3 defeated by CORNERSTONE 6.5

BEST PLAYERS: Ryan H, Declan, Geoffrey, Ben S, Daniel, Jaidyn GOAL SCORERS: Jaidyn 2, Darcy, Billy, Ryan, Declan 1 each.

EFS 2.3 lost to ST FRANCIS 5.4

BEST PLAYERS: Ryan H, Geoffrey, Phoenix, Daniel, Lenny, Mitch GOAL SCORERS: Jaidyn, Daniel

OPEN BOYS KNOCKOUT FOOTBALL

The week after the 8/9 boys Round Robin our Open team also headed up to Cornerstone to also take on Cornerstone and Unity College. Despite having music from their big boom box to pump them up they were outclassed by strong Unity and Cornerstone teams. We battled hard, and as usual played the game in good spirit, and there were some excellent individual performances on the day, with Max F. being one of the standout players on the day.

EFS 2.4 defeated by CORNERSTONE 8.8

BEST PLAYERS:  Max F, Riley B, Ben, Charlie

GOAL SCORERS:  Max F, River

EFS 2.0 defeated by UNITY 9.9

BEST PLAYERS:  Max F, Ben, Max B, Ben, Jack R, Jack P GOAL SCORERS:  River, Jack P

Girls Knockout Cup

On Wednesday, 26^th of July, our Year 7, 8 and 9 Girls competed in the 1^st round of this year knockout cup football competition. Our girls played against Victor Harbour High School and Goolwa Secondary College and Victor Harbour oval.

Game 1 was against Victor Harbour, and the opening quarter was close physical contents due to the dewy conditions. The game opened up in the second half where our onballers took control, and gave our forwards plenty of opportunities.

Final Score:  Eastern Fleurieu  6 - 8 - 44 def Victor Harbour 0 – 1 - 1
Goal Scorers: Rahni 2, Kayla S, Lucy M, Mackenzie C, Marley T
Best players: Kayla, Ruby E, Marley T, Mackenzie C, Sienna B, Rahni D

Game 2 was against Goolwa Secondary, and we certainly continue to play a great ran and carry football. Our mid-field had great connection and pressed the ball into our forward line. Our forwards confidence grew as the game continued and kept the score board growing every quarter. A very impressive display.

Final Score: Eastern Fleurieu 15 - 15 - 105 def Goolwa Secondary 0 - 0 - 0
Goal Scorers: Marley T 3, Lucy M 3, Rahni 2, Levi V 2, Ruby E 2, Lacey, Bella, Mackenzie C
Best Players: Marley T, Lucy M, Ruby E, Kayla S, Levi V, Evie B

We now move onto the next round against Aldinga Payinthi College and Ocean view College. Well done to all girls involved. Bring on the next round!

School Beat Band visit

On Wednesday, 26^th July the ‘School Beat Band’ from the Band of the South Australia Police visited the Strathalbyn R-6 campus.

The purpose of their visit was to work with the Eastern Fleurieu School (EFS) Concert Band in a rehearsal and present a joint performance. Under the direction of the Band of the South Australia Police’s Director of Music, David Polain, the EFS Concert Band was mentored by members of the School Beat Band. Members of the EFS Concert Band enjoyed the experience of working with professional musicians to improve their rehearsal and performance skills.

After lunch, students from Reception to Year 8 filled the gym to enjoy the joint performance, which included demonstrations of the various instruments being played. It was great to see students singing and clapping along to the pieces performed by the School Beat Band and the EFS Concert Band.

If your child is interested in learning an instrument at school, please contact Mr Tarling for information.

Regards,
Shayne Tarling
Music Teacher / Instrumental Music Coordinator

STEM Workshops

During week 10, our SACE Stage 2 Biology and Chemistry students participated in STEM workshops at Flinders University. The workshops are designed to help achieve, cement, and extend student’s knowledge of some of the analytical techniques explored in the SACE Stage 2 Chemistry and Biology curricula, including Chromatography and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy and DNA identification techniques such as Gel electrophoresis. The students were able to perfect some of their analytical skills and also experience University life. A fantastic opportunity which out students made the most of!

Library News

Jigsaws

The donated jigsaws are very popular, as seen by how many have been completed since late last term.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Remember, this challenge needs to be completed by the Friday, 8^th September 2023. There is also the special option this year of reading 20 books for the 20^th anniversary of the challenge, to receive a special one-off award.

Overdues

Most books have a two-week loan. If students need more time, they can bring the book back in to get the due date extended. If your child has an overdue you will get an email reminding you of this, which comes out once a week.

Regards,
Adrienne Carter

Canteen

7-12 Canteen - Update

 We would like to introduce Sonya Button as the new Canteen Manager at 7-12 Campus. Sonya has been working in the 7-12 Canteen for over six years and is a highly experienced member of this team.

We have worked with Sonya to undertake a recent review of our 7-12 canteen menu to ensure we are compliant with the Department for Education guidelines in The Right Bite Food and Drink Supply Standards, and continue to provide a cost-effective service to students. The aim of The Right Bite Strategy is to create a positive food environment for students.

These standards are recommended as best practice for all public schools and out of school hours care. In light of this guidance, some food items will be phased out and healthier options will be introduced in consultation with students and Governing Council who will be given the opportunity to review the menu and provide feedback.

As part of the review we have looked carefully at pricing given the rising costs of produce, and the need to ensure the canteen does not run at a loss, as per DfE financial guidelines. You will notice a small increase in price on most items to ensure we comply with the requirement to cover costs but also remain competitive with fair pricing.

We are currently exploring online ordering systems to improve payment options for families and ensure food wastage is minimised. It is likely we will move towards introducing the QKR app which can be used for payment of various items in the near future. Further information will follow. If you have any questions or would like to offer any constructive feedback on the new menu, please feel free to contact us.

Regards,
Vanessa Coker
Director of Secondary Education