School NewsletterCook Islands School of Languages, Culture & ArtsPO Box 372, Croydon Park NSW 2133 25.09.2010 TERM 3, 2010

Welcome & Kia OranaI came to school mid way in the 3rd Term, and met many wonderful people including management members, parents as well as teachers. This term appears to be one of the busiest for the school and students.

L e t me fi r s t o f a l l t h an k my predecessor Lyn Vaine for her contribution and commitment to the school as principal. This term, we welcome on board two new volunteer teachers - Marina Ngere and Anne Parai - who will add their experience to the school’s teaching staff.

We also have a new management team this term, led by Rota Williams as chair and president of the organization. Our total human capital and experience means we will have new opportunities to re-examine our priorities for the school and to chart a clearer direction for the organization in the coming 6 - 12 months.

We have had a slight increase in student enrollment this term, while also experiencing a surge in student

numbers attending cultural or dancing practices as well.

In early term 4, there will be more opportunities, I hope, for us to meet directly with parents, teachers and students regarding the school’s future direction, in particular, the school’s participation in major community events as performers.

John UriPrincipal

C R C Symposium Parramatta

The school was invited by the Community Relations Commission to perform at their symposium earlier this month at Parramatta Crowne Plaza Hotel. The two day conference was preceded by a Youth Leadership workshop, which was also attended by one of our teachers and youth, Jasmin Ao.

A special thank you to our musicians who made themselves available on the day considering that the event was held on a weekday. Again, the school has been congratulated by the C omm i s s i o n f o r a s h ow w e l l presented. (Right: Boys ready at CRC

The school held their social night soon after the Maeva Nui spectacle and the outcome was especially pleasing when it comes to our bank balance. The school raked in over $5,000 for the effort. Accordingly to many parents, the outcome was a successful one because ‘we rarely raise this much’.

The Island Night culminated in a series of performances by our school and highlighted by the Sydney Atiu Culture Group, which accepted our invitation to perform for us on the night. The performances by the Atiu group was just as spectacular having presented some of the items they did at the Maeva Nui Festival.

Again, thanks to the school parents, and to Ingo Ao, P & C Coordinator, and many of the board and teaching staff for putting the successful function together.

Island Night was Special

Caitlyn and Jabez in class. The language school operates from the Belmore North Public School every Saturday during normal school terms

CRC Symposium at Parramatta

TERM 3, 2010SCHOOL NEWSLETTER - 25.09.2010 CISLCA SCHOOL

Maeva Nui

The schoo l management and teachers formally thank all parents and students for taking part in the 2010 Maeva Nui Festival held last July at Bankstown. The school was one of the first to sponsor the festival having contributed $600 to the council for their effort.

We produced a large group of students and performers for the festival, not to mention the amount of money raised to fund costumes for the festival - a very expensive exercise. We received positive reviews from the community, mainly for the school’s drive to maintain the Maori language alive for future generation.

MAEVA NUI NOW ON DVD

Their faces says it all. Some of the students enjoying a break to watch the Maeva Nui Festival on DVD.

IMPROVING LANGUAGE EDUCATION STANDARDS

During the school break, many of our teachers will be attending a Professional Training Day at Sydney University, which is organized by the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools & Community Language Australia. The aim of the workshop or training is to help inform language schools about school management issues, such as top ics on finances , teach ing strategies, websites and classroom management.

This is a great opportunity for the school to get an inside perspective on policy and administrative issues with respect to the management of language schools. The general direction of the conference is to identify ways that will improve language education standards for Australia. The training will give board members and teachers a clearer idea of the things we need to know in order to develop an effective language school like ours.New Qualified Teachers

All smiles from Tonia, Jasmin and Ingo after receiving confirmation that they have successfully completed their studies, which qualifies them as language teachers for the school. Congratulations ladies!. There will be opportunities for current volunteer teachers to pursue similar studies in the new year, which is conduc ted by t he Un i ve r s i t y o f Wollongong.

Despite the low crowd attending this year ’ s Ch i l d ren ’ s Fes t i va l i n Bankstown, public interest in our Cook Islands culture remains very strong as shown in the photo below. Congratulations to our students who per formed ext reme ly we l l on Saturday. Despite the small stage, we managed to squeeze in 23 plus

very keen dancers who didn’t want to miss the chance to strut their talent. Our team was a crowd puller and was well anticipated by the audience. Compared to 2009, we have 50% more students performing this year. Picture: Jason doing the Pe’e at the start of the show

Bankstown Children’s Festival