Department for Education and Child Development T/A South Australian Government Schools CRICOS Provider Number: 00018A

NEWSLETTER Week 3 Term 4 2019

An IB school valuing, supporting and inspiring a community of lifelong learners

Wow! What a difference 7 weeks makes! When I returned from my leave it was fabulous to see the development across all areas of the school; the trees with leaves, the improvement in the car parking and my goodness how some of our school children have grown! Thanks to Amanda, Jen and Angela for working so hard in my absence and keeping Blackwood Primary School a great place to be.

Recently parents were provided with their child’s NAPLAN results from 2019. These results continue to show the excellence in teaching and learning happening at Blackwood Primary School. Our Year 3 students again achieved excellent results in Reading and Numeracy with 60% of students being in the top two bands (Bands 5 and 6) in Reading and 45% of students achieving in the top two bands in Numeracy. Both of these results show an increase on 2018. Our Year 5 students also received high results with 44% of students achieving the top two bands in Reading and 26% in Numeracy. Our Year 7 results were also extremely pleasing with 57% of students in the top two bands for Reading and 44% in Numeracy.

Staff are continuing to work hard across all year levels to ensure that the best teaching and learning is occurring across all Year Levels at Blackwood Primary School with actions linked to our SIP (Site Improvement Plan.) As part of this improvement Simon Brooks again visited staff for a whole day in Week 8, Term 4 to help us continue our learning around Cultures of Thinking. Staff have been working in Professional Learning Communities and presented their learning at a celebration evening on Wednesday last week, with all partnership schools who are also working with Simon. In this learning project Teachers have been implementing “Thinking Routines” to illicit deep thinking from students. They have been looking at how we can foster curiosity, students taking greater responsibility for their learning and developing effective feedback measures. This is all part of our SIP for 2019-2021. Last week, on Friday, our staff celebrated “World Teachers Day” with our wonderful SSO’s putting on an amazing morning tea to thank the teachers for all of their tireless work. It was a great time to acknowledge all of the hard work put in by our teachers and thank them for all that they do to assist our children to be the best learners that they can be.

In Week 10, our Year 7 students had the opportunity to showcase their wonderful learning at their Exhibition. The central idea of the unit of Inquiry was about creating opportunities to solve real world problems and what wonderful problem solvers and action takers we had. At the end of Term 3 and into this term these students have been continuing to take action to support their investigations. You would have read more about their wonderful learning journey in last term’s final newsletter.

Principal: Kris Robson 4 Seymour Street, Eden Hills 5050 Phone: 8278 5355 www.blackwoodps.sa.edu.au

Deputy Principal: Amanda Gulliver

Important Diary

Dates

Thursday 7 November Volunteer Thankyou

Morning Tea 10.30am Staff Room

Friday 8 November JP assembly 9am

Room 14

Monday 11 November Children’s Uni

Graduation 5.15pm Bonython Hall

Tuesday 12 November Peter Coombe Concert

Jun Primary - 2pm

Wednesday 13 Nov Bluearth Day

Friday 15 November KESAB incursion

Rooms 3 & 12

Monday 18 November Reception Parent Meet

& Greet 4.30-6pm

Wednesday 20 Nov Reception 1st transition

visit 9.15-10.50am

Thursday 21 November Instrumental Music

Concert 6-7pm

Friday 22 November Cluster Sports Day

Migration Museum Excursion - Room 12

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2020 Enrolments We are making initial plans for classes and staffing for 2020. If your child/children will not be attending our school next year (excluding the current Year 7’s) please contact the school office as soon as possible. If you have a child starting school next year and have not enrolled them yet, please contact us as soon as possible.

Community Sports Day 2019

On Thursday the 26th of September, all students were provided with an opportunity to participate in a range of extracurricular sports and activities. Some students took this opportunity to showcase their talents while others used the day to try new things and enjoy the lovely weather. The focus of the day was to raise awareness of and promote activities and sports that are offered within the community. The promotion of these activities was aimed at increasing their involvement and awareness.

Although we were not able to offer all sports to all students, we were able to include up to six activities for each class group. These activities included popular sports such as soccer, basketball, football, cricket and netball and activities students may not have previously been involved in or aware of such as golf, ultimate frisbee, rugby, lacrosse, baseball 5 and softball.

It was great to see the Blackwood Primary School students encouraging others and demonstrating a willingness to give all activities their best effort. Overall, the day was a huge success thanks to the wonderful students and the supportive and helpful teachers. I hope the day was enjoyed by all, and I look forward to next year.

Brooke Mawer - PE teacher

SunSmart

Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Every year, over 2,000 Australians die from this almost entirely preventable disease. Fortunately, being SunSmart is a simple and effective way to reduce your risk of developing skin cancer. With the UV moving to extreme levels as we move into summer, please ensure your child applies sunscreen before coming to school each day and has their school hat ready to wear at recess, lunch and other outdoor times (e.g. fitness/ PE).

When UV levels reach three and above, it is recommended that you protect your skin in five ways for maximum protection—Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide: Slip on clothing that covers as much skin as possible; it’s one of the best barriers between your skin and the sun. Slop on a SPF 30 or higher, broad spectrum sunscreen 20 minutes before going outdoors, and reapply regularly. Slap on a hat that provides protection to your face, neck and ears. Seek shade when outdoors. Staying under a tree and umbrella can reduce your overall exposure to UV radiation. Slide on some sunglasses that are close fitting, wraparound and cover as much of the eye area as possible.

SunSmart website - https://www.cancersa.org.au/cut-my-risk/sunsmart

School Information

Student Absence If your child will be absent

from school, please send a txt through the

School Star App

or

SMS Text to 0427 016 460

*** Banking Day Banking day is Wednesday

*** Term Uniform Shop

Opening Hours Monday 8:15 – 9:15 Wednesday 12:45 – 1:30 Friday 8:15 – 9:15 3:00 – 3:45

Ph: 0401 913 830 ***

KickStart Breakfast Monday, Tuesday,

Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 8:30am

Outside the Canteen ***

Lost and Found Ensure all items are clearly labelled so we can return

them to you and check the lost and found cupboard

for missing items. ***

BPS Playgroup Thursdays

0 – 4 year olds 9am to 11am OSHC Room

*** School Tour Days

We offer school tours for new families & new

students. Contact Reception on

8278 5355 for the next tour date and to book.

*** To join, search for

Blackwood PS Scene in Facebook and click on

the Join button.

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2019 International Youth Silent Film Festival

4 groups from Mr Wyskamp’s class entered entries into the South Australian section of this year’s International Youth Silent Film Festival, which is a silent-film competition for youth up to the age of 20. The 4 films were titled Indiana Box (made by Shu, Doug, Ben, Noah M and Karthik), Sorry Mum (made by Esther, Kira, Giana, Maya, Twinkle & Sarah), Invisaboy (made by Huw, Jack and Harry) and The Stalker (made by Nduati and Noah V). The soundtracks for the films are chosen from 1 of 10 options. The groups then planned, filmed and edited their 3-minute movie (which can have no other sound apart from the song) to tell a story that fits the music. The films that are rated in the top 18 are shown during the ‘Screening Night’ at the Capri Theatre in Goodwood. The soundtracks were played live on the rare Wurlitzer Organ by a musician. This year, 1 of our class’ films that was entered was shown at the IYSF Festival, with the movie being played on the big screen at the Capri. This was the film made by Huw, Jack and Harry. Not only did they win Best Junior Film Award (for 13-year-olds and under) with a cash prize of $100, but they also won the 3rd Best Overall Film Award, with a cash prize of $250! Congratulations to all groups for producing entertaining silent film entries. They are more than happy to sign autographs!

Woolworths Earn and Learn Thankyou to all our families for collecting the earn and learn stickers this year. We were able to order resources to support indoor and outdoor play and literacy.

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Animals Anonymous Divine visit Animals Anonymous visited our classroom in Room 9 for our Sharing the Planet unit of inquiry about caring for living things. The presenter was called TJ. She brought in 8 animals called Alby, Keanu, Tilly, Steve and Pepper. There were some others that didn’t have names. Alby was an owl, Keanu was a joey, Tilly was a squirrel glider, Steve was a pygmy python, and Pepper was a salt water crocodile. There was also a bearded dragon, a stumpy lizard, and a bettong. We got to stroke all of them except Alby the owl. By Reuben

The squirrel glider’s name was Tilly. We got to pat her and when it was my turn she felt so squishy. Then TJ put Tilly on my teacher’s shoulder and she jumped off and started to glide. She told us the furthest they can glide is up to 80 metres if she was high enough. Then we saw the bettong. It is a mammal. It had a big, pink, long tail. TJ said it could use its tail for a hand. It was really fluffy. The bettongs name was Beth. By Matthew When TJ brought out the reptiles, we got to see a bearded dragon. It had spikes on it but it felt like rubber. The spikes were to scare predators away. Then we saw a stumpy lizard. It had one head and one tail. The tail looked like a head so if some animal was trying to eat it, it would get the tail and then the stumpy lizard would snap at it. By James

Lastly TJ showed us a salt water crocodile named Pepper. They can grow up to about 8 metres long and it had a lot of teeth. Animals Anonymous was super cool! I enjoyed seeing all of the animals and learning more about how we can care for animals. By Joshua

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News from Room 1

We have been learning about what gratitude is. Gratitude is about being grateful for the good things in our lives. We have been keeping a gratitude journal each day, which helps us to focus on positive things, instead of being negative. We have also been watching videos of Kid President. He is a 9 year old American boy who is trying to make the world more awesome. by Arnav and Samuel In Maths we have been learning all about maps. We have used the numbers and letter down the sides (coordinates) to find different places. We used a map of the school and had to look for clues that Mr Bates put in the yard. We then had to put the clues together to solve a riddle. It was fun. by Kiara and Lucca

At the end of the term we are going to be doing a play called The Odyssey. We have been learning all about it with Barbara. The story happens in ancient Greece and it has mythical creatures and gods. It is about Odysseus’s trip home that took him 10 years. by Jasper and Lani

We have been learning about how to include tightening tension in our writing. Tightening tension is how a story builds and builds, until it gets to the really exciting bit at the end. Just like in Harry Potter. We have also been doing Readers Theatre plays. We read and act the plays out to the class by reading with expression. Our class novel this term is Mr Stink by David Walliams. by Guang Wen and Willem

We have helped out buddy class (Mr Rae’s class) with their unit of inquiry. We went to Wittunga to help them find living things. We saw lots of ducks and other birds, some turtles in the lake and a koala with its baby. It was really cute. by Ryan and Gurjot

Our unit of inquiry has been about advertising. We have been learning about how people can be persuaded to buy different things. We invented our own breakfast cereal and then had to design a box that would make kids just like us want to buy it. We are also going to make TV ads. by Daksh and Juliet

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Room 12 Incursions Room 12 have recently had a couple of incursions, in conjunction with other classrooms. At the end of Term 3 FYI Education came with their inflatable office and spy glasses to support the students’ learning about digital and personal safety. Room 12 had fun while they learned about the difference between general and personal information, and what details should not be shared with people we don’t know. The students were also provided with appropriate cyber-bullying strategies.

At the beginning of Term 4 That Science Gang, in partnership with SA Water, had the students ‘wetting themselves’ in a series of fun experiments about the unique properties of water. Students enjoyed participating in the performance, as they learned about the role of water and its importance to the survival of all living things on our Blue Planet. Paul Smith Room 12

Reef HQ Live Dive During Term 3, as part of Sharing The Planet, students from Rooms 4 and 5 and the opportunity to watch a live dive from a coral reef in Queensland. Students watched as a diver from Reef HQ jumped into the water to explore the coral reef and all the other creatures that live in that habitat. Some students have been learning about coral bleaching, so this was their opportunity to learn about the issue and to ask questions. While we had a few technical difficulties with sound, the incursion was informative and interesting to watch.

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Assembly Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received Primary Years Program (PYP) IB Learner Profile Awards at JP assembly on 27/09/2019.

Room 14 Ayden Inquirer Doing an excellent inquiry into cyclones.

Annie Knowledgeable Working hard to learn about floods for her inquiry project.

Jemima Inquirer Showing enthusiasm for all learning activities.

Shayan Risk taker Being much more open to new challenges.

Room 15 Logan Balanced Being a good friend both in and out of the classroom to those who need a friendly face.

Andrew Open-minded Starting a bottle top collection in class to collect for recycled prosthetic limbs.

Shazzy Communicator Increasing the detail of his reflections on Seesaw.

Oscar Communicator Sharing ideas about our current unit of inquiry. Fox Knowledgeable Sharing remarkable knowledge of our UoI during student led

conference. Gurnoor Risk taker Being brave when reading and improving her reading levels.

Room 16 Navya Open-minded Showing care and listening to other people’s opinions and helping others in need.

Chiara Risk taker Taking on the challenge of being filmed while exploring a science experiment.

Nicole Principled Demonstrating cooperative group skills and respectful behaviour at all times.

Room 17 Ari Communicator Demonstrating improvement when sounding out words and reading with expression.

Melody Communicator Communicating her ideas to her peers about trees by writing an information Report.

Room 18 Campbell Caring Always looking out for others, encouraging peers to succeed and for being open-minded.

Rishanth Inquirer Formulating ideas and researching the topic of “Families” to complete a very informative report.

Annalise Communicator Sharing her feelings with her trusted people and being brave and reflective.

Room 19 Charlie Inquirer Creating a detailed colourful poster showing ways we can conserve our resources.

Frankie Risk taker Showing motivation, using effective research skills and completing a sound information report.

Maya Risk taker Showing good understanding and motivation when completing her first information report about dolphins.

Tim Inquirer Making a poster demonstrating ways to take action to conserve our resources.

Room 20 Louis Risk taker His positive attitude towards learning and others, always giving everything a go.

Rhys Communicator Always being prepared to share what he knows with others and support their learning.

Tiffany Risk taker Always being prepared to give new learning a go with a positive attitude.

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Assembly Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received Primary Years Program (PYP) IB Learner Profile Awards at JP assembly on 25/10/2019.

Room 14 Nadia Reflective Using feedback to improve her work.

Emily Risk taker Trying her hardest on challenging and unfamiliar learning tasks.

Noah Inquirer Researching and writing an information report.

Room 15 Zac Inquirer Wanting to learn about our Unit of Inquiry.

Isabella Caring Being a lovely friend during morning activities

Innrish Principled Staying on task during learning time.

Miranda Reflective Thinking back about her Mathematics measurement learning.

Room 16 Mayah Risk taker Being courageous each day at attempting all new learning experiences in a positive manner.

Oscar Inquirer Asking interesting questions and participating in class discussions confidently.

Room 17 Jacquelyn Risk taker Being a risk taker during Maths and wanting to challenge herself when solving real maths problems.

Fareeha Caring Setting an example for others through her kind considerate and helpful interactions in class.

Room 18 Orbit Open minded Being understanding of others’ ideas and options.

Room 19 Bailey Risk taker Using skip counting with higher numbers to finish patterns and sequences.

Darcy Thinker Using his great knowledge of numbers and Maths to solve more complex problems.

Harrison Thinker Using his maths skills to help him solve more problems.

Jacob Risk taker Being more prepared to have a go at hard tasks.

Room 20 Mitchell Reflective Showing persistence in improving his reading and writing.

Henry Risk taker Writing and illustrating some amazing narratives and reading them to the class.

Harry Risk taker Always approaching learning tasks with a positive attitude and giving it his best.

Rameen Risk taker Always approaching learning with a positive attitude and doing his best.

School of Languages enrolment for 2020 We have received an information pack from the School of Languages for after-hours language learning in 2020. If you are interested in your child learning any of the following languages: Afrikaans, Arabic, Auslan, Chinese, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Polish (year 7 only), Spanish and Vietnamese please drop into the office to collect an information pack or visit www.schooloflanguages.sa.edu.au

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DEVON CLOTHING

YEAR 7 SENIOR ORDER

NOW OPEN

Senior Windcheater: $69.85

Senior Polo Shirt: $35.20

All orders to be submitted and paid for Online by following the Link Below* and filling in all the

required details.

https://onlineshop.devonclothing.com.au/blackwood-primary-school/custom-store/blackwoodsengar

Order Closing Date: 15th November 2019.

Delivery expected start Term 1, 2020.

Try on sizes for all garments are available at the school Front Office.

Available sizes and size guidelines are also listed Online.

Please choose your size carefully, once the order has been confirmed, it cannot be adjusted. We

recommend choosing at least one size larger than currently fits the student to allow for growth over the

Christmas Period.

No phone orders, in store orders, or payment plans will be accepted.

No late orders will be accepted.

There will be no further ordering available in 2020.

Refunds and credit notes are not available for these items as they are Made to Order