School contact details

address: cnr Ayres & Acron Rds St Ives NSW 2075 telephone: 9449 6003 fax: 9983 9334

email: sirericwoo-s.school@det.nsw.edu.au ABN: 98 951 675 254

Sir Eric Woodward School newsletter 14th December 2018 Volume 7 Issue 103

In this issue:

SEWS annual Presentation Day

Chris – World Champion

thank you Sydney Grammar

Killara High School community

placement

Principal’s message

Deputy Principal’s message

diary dates

birthdays

news from the classrooms

mailto:sirericwoo-s.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Annual Presentation Day celebrations

On Friday 7th December Sir Eric Woodward School opened their doors to their school community

for our annual school presentation day celebrations. This year our theme was ‘We rocked 2018’ -

Celebrating the hits! and we decked out the area with vinyl to suit the theme. It was great to see

such an amazing turn out of families and friends. The students danced through the ages and

delighted the audiences with their many talents. The 60’s were present and Class 3 was under the

sea in a ‘Yellow Submarine’, ACDC hit the stage with Class 4 rocking to ‘It’s a long way to the top if

you want to rock and roll’. Class 5 and 6 kicked of their Sunday shoes and danced through the 80’s

to Footloose and Class 1 found the profound message and some Michael Jackson moves

performing to ‘Black or White’.

Not only was the audience taken on a journey of music and dance through the decades, they were

on a journey that highlighted our students’ 2018 successes recognising the ‘hits’ across another

great learning year. All our students were recognised for their most outstanding personalised

learning goal or yearly achievement. Special awards were given to students in the arts, sporting,

Principal and Deputy Principal Awards and community all-rounder awards. A big congratulations to

all our students for their great gains and successes across 2018.

Our school community is integral to the operations of our great school and they were also recognised

on the day. We pride ourselves on the friendships and connections we foster and they are reciprocal

in nature. SEW recognised the significant contributions to our school and our community

partnerships with partner schools, clubs, local businesses and our parent bodies and Association.

SEWS Year 6 and Year 12 graduates were celebrated and congratulated for this milestone in their

education. A ceremonial cake cutting signified this very important acknowledgement for Year 12.

We wished them well for the next chapter they are taking.

At the end of the formalities of the Presentation Day a great finale took place. We journey the

audience’s journey into the current day – the 2000’s. Jacob M, one of our amazing DESU students,

sung and the whole school performed to ‘Can’t stop the feeling’ to dance dance dance and that’s

exactly what we did and we did it with so much enthusiasm and fun!

Chris

World Champion! Chris has gone and done it! In breaking news our very own student Chris is the new world champion

junior steer rider. In a tense final in Las Vegas Chris rode in front of a crowd of thousands to clinch

the title after 2 previous blisteringly successful rounds. Chris who has only just fought his way back

from injury took the prize by riding for over 8 seconds and score 83 points.

He travelled to the States with friends having previously been in July to compete in the world high

schools finals where he was ranked 9th in the world. He’ll certainly be climbing those rankings now.

Well done Chris, we are all so proud of you at Sir Eric Woodward School.

World Champion Chris

The National Finals Rodeo, the world’s biggest rodeo event

Thank you Sydney Grammar

Sydney Grammar Preparatory School continues to be our wonderful friends. They attend our school

as buddies where their Year 6 students buddy up with individual students over lunch play time

periods and form a friendship and engage our students in play during recreation activities. More

than anything these young men’s’ characters are of the highest calibre. They are always polite,

respectful and endear themselves to all the students they build rapport with. A very big thank you to

Ian Roberts, Headmaster, and Gary Audas, program supervisor, for continuing this vital program.

The wider school also rallies their support, by holding fair days, fun days and school concerts with

funds raised being donated to SEWS.

This year a Year 6 fair day raised $2505.15 and the Arcangelo Strings charity concert, performing

chamber music and solos raised $749.00. Sydney Grammar kindly donated a large sum of

$3254.15 to our school. This very generous donation will go towards the installation of a shade sail

over our new playground equipment. Four Grammar students attended the school with their teacher

and met with SEWS Principal Jo Gardiner to present the cheque. Our friendship with Sydney

Grammar is second to none and one our school values and fosters. On behalf of the SEWS students,

staff and wider community THANK YOU! Sydney Grammar for their ongoing partnerships with

SEWS and this wonderful financial donation.

Killara High School Community Placement

In Weeks 7 and 8 Sir Eric Woodward School supported a group of 24 Year 10 students from Killara High School during their Year 10 Service Learning Program.

The Year 10 students provided invaluable assistance in preparation for our school Presentation Day as they engaged in painting and decorating of props, helped students rehearsing their performances, and saved the day with some amazing technology support!

Killara students watch on as Class 2 students taste ‘Australian’ food

Principal’s message

This is the last newsletter for 2018 and what a year it has been! A few highlights:

Sir Eric Woodward School is now one year into our three year school planning cycle and I am happy

to report, all project teams are forging forward. We adopted the attitude, you say, we’ll do with

greater community and staff consultation. The project teams for this planning cycle are Community

Links, Assessment, Positive Behaviour for Learning, Quality Teaching Key Word Sign, and Garden

Based Learning. These were all areas of focus from community and staff consultation and self-

assessment.

The Community Links project team has been working to link the school and family communities

closer together and this will be done through technology and exciting events like a family fun day

and excursions.

The Assessment project team has been developing two projects; 1. a SEWS English, maths and

functional skills assessment framework, and 2. online assessment and reporting tools. In 2019,

assessment framework development will continue, and trials of the online assessment and reporting

tool will commence.

The Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) project team has started the implementation of positive

behaviour for learning as an evidence based whole school process to improve learning outcomes

for all students. The team will be developing consistent systems to discourage unproductive

behaviour. PBL will establish strong school wide universal systems that promote early intervention

and the teaching and acknowledging of social emotional skills.

The Key Word Signing team has worked hard to give a consistent approach to communication

across the school and community. We have learnt many new signs and incorporate these into our

school day in both the class rooms and other learning environments.

The Garden Based Learning project team have soared this year. You only have to walk around the

school and notice the difference in our outdoor learning spaces. This team is creating garden based

learning spaces at both Sir Eric Woodward School and at the homes of some of our DESU students.

With particular mention to Cab-ra-nanga a new Aboriginal garden area meaning resting minds. This

area with yarning circle and natural sensory plants is a great way to connect us with the Aboriginal

culture. The garden based learning team connected with multiple community members to make this

happen. These included the local Aboriginal community and a strong friendship with Bunnings

Belrose. The garden based learning team also has a focus on numeracy and learning math through

garden based learning. An amazing effort from this team, this year.

The installation of our new playground all-inclusive equipment was another highlight. We had a

vision to create a functional interactive outdoor learning space to cater for diverse abilities. The

structure was specifically designed to meet the needs of all students to ensure wherever we could

that inclusive practices were at the forefront of all our play opportunities. The playground equipment

design has many functions including supporting our students’ sensory experiences. There are

limited inclusive playground available to cater for all abilities so we are very proud at Sir Eric

Woodward School to have one installed on our grounds. The new playground equipment gives our

students the opportunity to improve muscle tone, as well as further develop their gross motor skills

and hand and eye coordination, not to mention the joy of being outside and playing. There is a vital

connection between play and learning. Play not only teachers critical life skills such as resilience,

teamwork and creativity, it is central to a child’s enjoyment of their childhood and this is why so much

significance was placed on prioritizing the installation of this equipment.

A notable moment this year was when our school was highly recommended by our Executive

Director, Cathy Brennan to be visited by Murat Dizdar, Deputy Secretary School Operations and

Performance. Murat was inspired by his visit and all the outstanding quality teaching and learning

at Sir Eric Woodward School. He was so inspired that he wanted us to continue to have the best

resources to teach our students. Murat granted the school $40,000 which was based on seeing

Class 4’s STEM lesson on shelter. The boys wrote about not having adequate shelter to support

play and learning outside, and put together a proposal with an attached budget. Murat met half this

budget with the $40,000 and we were over the moon by this. I am happy to report if all goes to plan

next year we will be installing an all-weather covered outdoor learning area (COLA). Murat also

heard that our wifi was often not user friendly and this interfered with programs, especially some of

our DESU programs. Murat contacted people and worked with the Sir Eric Woodward School

technology team and this is on its way to being connection friendly.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our community. There is strength in our school

community from our families, to partner schools, service clubs, local businesses and community

clubs and of course to those community members that sit on school boards including our

Association, branding committee and P&C. It is a community that genuinely cares about each other

and shares a vision to provide the best educational experiences for all our students. This year we

were proud to foster new friendships with the Commonwealth Bank St Ives and Rotary Club Ku-

ring-gai and a new reciprocal inclusive practice school Masada College.

Congratulations to Louise N and Rama! Louise N was successful through merit and is now the new

face to face School Administration Manager, and Rama was successful through merit and is now a

substantiative teacher in our DESU. Both Louise N and Rama have been working at the school for

a number of years but we congratulate Louise N on her new position and Rama on her full time

teacher position.

So that’s a wrap as they say, for our last newsletter for 2018! I wish all our students, families and

wider school community a great festive season or holiday period. I look forward to the safe and

happy return of all our students in 2019. To the staff at SEWS, you are all truly gifted educators and

I thank you for your dedication and commitment to our school. The passion and care is second to

none and our team is strong because of all of the strengths each staff members bring to their career.

I hope you all have a much rested and well deserved break and I look forward to seeing you all after

the holidays and soaring in 2019!

Deputy Principal’s message

As this is the final newsletter for 2018 I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the SEWS

community a safe and festive Xmas and a happy New Year. I hope you are able to relax and spend

some time with family and friends. I look forward to working with you all in 2019.

In recent weeks the Garden Based Learning project team has been introducing our DESU and F2F

students to outdoor learning utilising our newly established sensory gardens. The gardens are a big

hit, both at school and in student homes. Class 1 are now experts in planting dwarf beans, hopefully

these will be ready to harvest when we return to school next year.

Congratulations to all our students who pulled out all stops to dance their way through the decades

at our annual Presentation Day. This day could not happen without the commitment and creativity

of our teaching and support staff. I thoroughly enjoyed being invited to support a number of classes

with their dances. You all rock!!!

Finally, I would like to wish our graduating Year 12 DESU students Jarrod and Tim, all the best for

the future. We will miss you at SEWS. I hope you both enjoy the next exciting chapter in your life.

Sian

Class 1 planting dwarf beans

Goodbye and good luck Jarrod and Tim

school concludes Term 4 Wednesday 19th December 2018

school resumes Term 1 for staff Tuesday 29th January 2019

school resumes Term 1 for students Wednesday 30th January 2019

Birthdays

Happy birthday to those students and staff who have celebrated their birthdays since the last

newsletter, AND who will celebrate their birthdays in the holidays:

students: Alexis, Azra, Darcy

staff: Amanda, Deborah, Louise N, Brenda

News from the classrooms

Class 3

Class 3 have had a very busy, but fun end of year. The boys have been studying the properties of

magnets. They were delighted to ‘magically’ make models levitate and move by the strong invisible

force and composed a long list of objects that tested as magnetic. In maths they have been

practising division and measurement. In addition to classroom programs the boys rehearsed

enthusiastically for their wonderful Presentation Day performance of Yellow Submarine. They were

very proud of their piece in the show and were delighted with the wonderful submarine that was put

together by Mr Goodsell. On Presentation Day Thomas and PJ welcomed visitors as they arrived to

our school, and Joshua read the Acknowledgement of Country with excellent diction and volume.

We all feel intensely proud of each student’s achievements this year. Everyone has worked

consistently and made great progress in their personal goals as well as their academic outcomes.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents of Class 3 for their support throughout

the year and wish all the SEWS community a safe and happy holiday and 2019.

Miss Lee & Mrs B

PJ welcoming Daryl Perry Playing kazoos is lots of fun

Joshua finding a magnetic pole Thomas finding another magnetic pole

Class 6

It was exciting to be back in Class 6 and observe how well the students had adapted to new staff

members while I was on leave. All the students have grown and matured and after looking at their

programs I was impressed with their participation in some interesting class projects. We have been

fortunate to have some volunteer support in Class 6 from the Killara High School students who have

helped design backdrops and props for Presentation Day. It was a pleasure to have the volunteers

in the class working alongside our students. Sophie and Brooke were very excited to have their hair

curled and to change into prom dresses for their Presentation Day performance. Both girls looked

spectacular and participated enthusiastically in the dance. They were also given a special honour

for 2019 as Sophie was made school captain and Brooke vice-captain. Congratulations also to Lucy

who received a special Richard Kidziak Art Award commendation for her artwork.

Sandy & Sophie

Brooke happy to be Vice captain Sophie smiling with excitement

Sharon’s class

I am very proud to celebrate student success in 2018.

Leroy is to be commended for his positive attitude towards developing his independence in routine

activities in both the home and in the community. He has effectively used visuals for communication,

helped prepare meals at home with his family, developed independence in many personal care

activities and been an asset to his family as he participates in many more activities within the home.

Leah has had an exceptional year developing her fine and gross motor skills and has achieved her

personal learning goals. Leah has developed confidence experiencing new environments and as a

result has had many outings to the library, farm, visiting cafes and socialising with family and friends.

I have enjoyed seeing the many photos of Leah engaged in sensory play. Leah has learnt to select

her special interest activities using choice cards and is developing and understanding some key

word signs.

Nadine has worked well and made steady progress across her educational program. She has

enjoyed completing practical activities, using number to play games, gardening, exercising,

shopping in town and visiting the library. I am very pleased with her efforts to stay safe to look both

ways when crossing a road. Nadine’s fine motor skill development has improved greatly and

favourite activities include threading beads and completing puzzles.

Ethan has made great progress in his school work this year and has continued to develop his

communication, reading and writing skills. It has been a pleasure to speak with Ethan and read his

emails weekly. He has shared with me results of his design projects, downloaded music and apps

he has enjoyed listening to and interacting with, movies he has viewed and purchases he has made

at the shops. The skills Ethan has developed across all subjects, especially using money and telling

the time, are awesome.

Thank you all for working so well throughout the year. I have enjoyed being your teacher. Wishing

everyone a safe, healthy and happy holiday.

Sharon

Leah engaged in sensory play

Ethan has received this incredible husky

Ethan has received this incredible husky

Amanda’s class

Tim is in his last few days at school. He came to Presentation Day and looked very mature as he

came to the end of his year as a SEWS school captain. Tim has decided that he likes bow ties and

wore one with great style on Presentation Day. On the day, Tim and Luc, the Year 6 vice-captain,

took charge of selling the packs of cards that featured artwork from across the school. They were

challenged with selling $200 worth of cards and blitzed this with a final profit of $330. Tim took

charge of selling the cards at the table while Luc ‘worked the crowd’. Great teamwork, Tim and Luc

to raise vital funds to support the learning of all our students. Tim plans to spend a lot of time working

on his swimming in 2019 which is a wonderful idea. We wish you all the best for the future, Tim!

Sharif and Kayla are both continuing their programs and I am sure are looking forward to the

holidays. Sharif has been helping his mum in the kitchen by using his switch to operate a mixer. He

was able to whip cream although it took a bit of time and was tiring. However, Sharif’s sense of

achievement was great and he will no doubt be helping in the kitchen again over the holidays.

Kayla and her mum watched a video on how to paint a wave. Kayla then painted a lovely picture,

complete with the foam as the wave breaks. You can almost hear and smell the ocean! Great

painting, Kayla.

Raymond is settling into his DESU program. He has been having fun making slime, not only as part

of a science topic on hard and soft materials, but also demonstrating that he is able follow a

procedure which is part of his English school work. An excellent start to your time at DESU-SEWS,

Ray.

Amanda

Kayla’s painting of a wave

Tim selling packs of cards at Presentation Day

Rama’s class

We are in Week 9 and nearly at the end of the final school term! I congratulate all my students on

their tremendous achievements this year.

Tyson has had a great year of learning and always tries his best with his school program. He knows

the importance of recycling and helps by tallying up the plastic bottles and calculating the amount

he will get at the Return and Earn Centre. Tyson has effectively used visuals for getting ready when

he is going out. He understands and uses some key word signs. Tyson enjoys music and plays a

number of songs on his keyboard. He is a responsible older brother and plays sensibly with his

younger sibling.

Jayden has made great progress with his personal hygiene goals. He remembers to wash his hands

after using the toilet and reminds his family members to do the same. Jayden helps his grandma

cook and can independently prepare a few recipes. This year he has compared the mass of different

items to understand the concept of hefting. Jayden has enthusiastically participated in Aboriginal

focussed art activities and dipped sticks in paint, to paint his very own didgeridoo and boomerang.

Isabella has had an exceptional year of learning and her efforts saw her receiving the Principal and

Deputy Principal Award for an outstanding 2018 school year. She has varied interests and her

interests include learning about the USA, the human body, Queen Victoria and fossils. She donned

the hat of a palaeontologist and dug out minerals using a mineral palaeontology kit. Recently I had

the opportunity to visit Isabella, her OT and her supportive family. Isabella is developing excellent

life skills and understands that people are different and it’s OK to have different likes and dislikes.

Fionn has had an outstanding year of learning, and is the 2019 DESU school captain. He has all

the amazing personal qualities to make a great school captain. He has been diligently learning

driving road rules and practising the online learner driver test. Fionn took his Learner Driver Test

recently and passed on the first attempt! He independently read the questions and thought about

the correct responses. In preparation for his post school life, Fionn has enrolled in a Primary

Industries VET course in 2019. Fionn is an amazing artist and a champion tennis player. He knows

the importance of sportsmanship and is a role model to his younger siblings. Congratulations Fionn.

A big thank you to all my students and their families for all their hard work this year. Wish you all a

safe, healthy and happy holiday.

Rama

Fionn got his Learners Drivers Licence Fionn with his school captain’s badge

Isabella found minerals using a palaeontology kit

Jayden painted his didgeridoo

Barbara’s class

Congratulations to Alex, Chris, Georgia and Jacob, and their dedicated tutors, for another wonderful

year of hard work, successful learning and fun!

It was great to see both Georgia and Jacob attend Presentation Day last week. Their families were

clearly very proud as they watched both students received multiple awards. Georgia and Jacob

enjoyed singing and dancing to rock out the year with the rest of the school.

I look forward to working with Alex, Georgia and Jacob again next year and welcoming Azra to our

class. Chris will stay with Nicole as part of her 2019 class.

We wish our students and tutors a safe, restful and exciting holiday break – see you all in 2019!

Barbara & Nicole

Test driving the new stroller

Alex attended her brother’s assembly

Xmas cooking! Georgia and Jacob walking up to get awards

Melissa’s class

Here we are at the end of the school year for 2018. It has been a wonderful year with Braydon

continuing in my class and the introduction of new students to my class - Logan and Alicia. It has

been so rewarding to work with all of my students and their tutors. They have all achieved so much

this year and I look forward to another year of outstanding achievements in 2019.

It was wonderful to be able to have two students and their families attend Presentation Day. Alicia

had an exciting day accepting her class award and trying out the new school playground equipment.

Alicia and her family have been regular attendees at school events throughout the year and I am so

thrilled that they are able to visit the school on a regular basis.

Braydon travelled quite a distance in not so favourable traffic to be with us on Presentation Day. He

was there to accept not only his class award but also the Kiwanis Terrific Kids award. Braydon has

worked so hard this year and completely epitomises all of the qualities outlined in the Terrific Kids

‘terrific’ acronym. He is thoughtful, enthusiastic, respectful, responsible, inclusive, friendly, inquisitive

and capable!

Although Logan was not able to be physically present on the day due to distance we were able to

successfully FaceTime him so that he was able to ‘virtually’ accept his school vice captain’s badge.

It was terrific to see how technology can bridge the gap so that our distance students are able to be

present at a school event. Logan was thrilled that he was able to be part of the day and remarked

how happy and proud everyone was of him. We definitely are, Logan! I look forward to supporting

Logan to be an active participant in the school in his new role of school vice-captain. We are currently

discussing ways that Logan can support younger students, such as teaching key word signing or

reading, through FaceTime sessions.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday everyone! I look forward to exciting developments in 2019.

Melissa

Braydon accepting his Kiwanis Terrific Kids award

Logan accepting his school vice captain’s badge

Alicia trying out the new playground equipment

Class 1

The last three weeks have been as busy as ever for the boys of Class 1. Between Presentation Day

preparations (which paid off with an amazing performance on the day) and our regular classroom

programs we have been lucky enough to have had a handful of exciting opportunities come our way.

Our friends from Gordon East Public School were kind enough to extend an invite to their K-2 concert

dress rehearsal last week. As audience members, we explored a variety of wildlife through song,

including koalas, wombats and penguins. The students of Gordon East demonstrated just how hard

they have been working on their singing and dance skills. Thank you to Acting Principal, Ruth White,

for extending the invite to us at SEWS, it was a very enjoyable experience for both students and

teachers. Thank you also to Greg for supporting our travel.

We also had our final visit of the year from Christchurch Preschool. Together we played, made Xmas

cards and celebrated our new friendships. Thank you to Director Lauren Kelly for fostering this

friendship again this year and to the wonderful staff who are always so accommodating. It has been

a fun year and we can’t wait to foster this initiative again in 2019.

Finally, we can’t close the year without acknowledging the fantastic student achievements in Class

1! Will, Leon, Heath, Jacob, Kai, Xavier and Joshua have all shown phenomenal progress in their

reading, writing and maths. They have developed some incredible friendships with peers, buddies

and with students at Christchurch Preschool. The boys of Class 1 shine in any given situation and

we can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store for them. Until then we wish our boys, class parents and

our extended community a happy and safe holiday. See you all for a fresh start in the New Year!

Cassandra & Paula

Class 1 playing ‘What’s the Time Mr Wolf?’ with

our friends from Killara High School

Joshua hit the jackpot when harvesting

vegetables in Cab-ra-nanga with Mr Watt

The boys working together to decorate the

classroom Xmas tree

Kai and Leon building a cube as we explored 3D

shapes in mathematics

Class 5

The last few weeks have been very hectic for Class 5. We have been lucky enough to have the Sydney

Grammar Boys, Boston students Candy and Yinxing, and Killara High School students work alongside us.

Daniel, along with other members of Class 5 loved the interaction from people from our wider community.

Also, Class 5 have been enjoying their extensive PDHPE program. Each student has been working extremely

hard and the results have been amazing, all coupled with lots of smiles for everyone.

It has been a fun and productive year for Class 5. I wish each and every one a merry Xmas, and a prosperous

2019.

Clare & Trish

Telecaster and Oliver enjoy team work during PDHPE Daniel enjoying a sensory story from a

Sydney Grammar Boy student

Daniel working hard to achieve his PLP goal

Oliver moving his body to our numeracy song

Louise’s class

By the time my students and their families are reading this newsletter you will be on holidays and

beginning to enjoy a well-earned break! I would like to thank Owen, Ned and Rhiannon for all their

hard work this year as they worked towards achieving their individual learning goals. I would also

like to thank my fabulous tutors (and other family members) for always supporting their children to

achieve their personal best. Enjoy your down time before the learning whirlwind takes off again 30

January 2019!

Louise S

Ned has demonstrated great progress using his

functional number skills

Rhiannon should take pride in the great results

she achieves

Ned works hard to ALWAYS achieve his best!

Owen will be using his great communication and

‘people’ skills when enjoying spending the

holidays with family

Dawn’s class

It is hard to believe that another school year is coming to an end, but what a great year it has been!

I would like to commend all my students for their hard work and dedication to achieving their

educational goals this year.

Andrew has been whizzing through Set work this last term and he has been tackling his learning

activities with enthusiasm! Great work Andrew! Andrew can now mentally add two digit numbers

using the vertical method and is starting to join sentences using a conjunction. Andrew continues to

enjoy listening to music and is now researching some of his favourite musicians on the internet to

complete a fact file about them.

Usman continues to work on his communication goals and is positively interacting with his baby

sister by smiling and gently touching her when she crawls over to him. It is great to hear that you

are playing the big brother role so well, great job Usman!

Ben has continued to work hard to achieve his goals and he is enjoying practising his typing skills

to complete Set work on the computer. Ben has recently wowed us with his money skills and

demonstrated his understanding of calculating change from a $20 note. He has also impressively

been calculating the perimeter and area of shapes and has quickly learnt how to recognise

different angles and calculate missing angles in a triangle. Ben has also been creating simple

dishes and weighing items using a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients.

I have already started working on Lexi’s Set work for next year and have created a Book of

Orange which will provide Lexi with a fun and engaging way to work on her learning goals. This

book will be multisensory with many pages to engage Lexi with all things orange. These books

support learning in many goals such as communicating a preferred choice out of two, counting,

positional language and recognising body parts.

I hope everyone has a fantastic break! Happy holidays everyone!

Dawn

Andrew’s addition work Ben weighs the banana while completing a cooking task

Karen’s class

I can’t believe we are almost at the end of another year! A big congratulations to my students for all

their hard work and determination over the course of the year. They have achieved amazing results

and in most instances have smashed their Personal Learning Plan goals.

Seth has been learning about the seasons and the weather associated with them, and recently

completed a fabulous artwork depicting each of the seasons. He also has a good understanding of

the different types of clothes to wear depending on the weather. Seth has been highly engaged

across all Key Learning Areas this year. I am especially proud of the progress he has made toward

independent writing.

Justin has been using a range of different communication tools to make his preferences known, one

of these being key word signs. He has learnt to recognise and use a number of key word signs this

year, including numbers 1-10 which he uses on a daily basis during his maths activities. Justin has

been steadily increasing his engagement in community outings and now participates in them on a

regular basis.

Jules is a very busy young woman. She participates in a weekly cooking group, Girl Guides, Zumba,

swimming and community access activities. She shares responsibility around the house to cook,

clean, wash, weed and mow the lawn. Whew! Amazingly, Jules still finds time in her busy schedule

to do school work too. Congratulations on all your achievements this year Jules.

Nathan engages in all aspects of his program. He is a great listener and is very good at following

directions in activities. He excels at counting and uses this skill to determine how many biscuits are

in a packet, or how many coins he has to put into the Mario Kart racing game he loves to play. He

enjoys being outside and going for drives in the community.

A big thank you to my students and their tutors/ carers/ families for a wonderful year. Wishing you

all a restful and happy holiday.

Karen

Seth’s season tree artwork Numbers 1-10 signs

Class 4

Parents can be proud of their child’s achievements this year, culminating in a spectacular

Presentation Day.

On the day, Class 4 revealed their inner ‘rock star’ and what a performance it was! It was humbling

to see the sheer delight and, at times, emotion shown by friends and family to their child’s ‘concert’

and to their personal achievement awards.

It has been deeply rewarding for all staff, including dedicated RFF teacher, Christine, to see the

progress each student has made this year across all aspects of their learning.

We look forward to doing it all again with you in 2019!

To all our families, we wish you a safe and happy Xmas and New Year.

Sue, Amber & Taylor

Luc selling cards Class 4 ‘rocks’

Class 2

Class 2 started Term 4 looking at all things Spring, focusing on flowers and insects in our artwork

and in our literature. ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and ‘The Very Busy Spider’ soon became familiar

characters in the classroom as we explored the words of Eric Carle. The students used a variety of

painting techniques to create artworks inspired by these books as well as incorporating a variety of

counting and number activities as they collaborated to make their own hungry caterpillar.

Sunflowers made us smile. We used sunflower seeds to make our own sunflowers with coloured

card and glue. We explored the feel of the seeds in our hands and we planted some seeds in the

hope we could grow our own sunflowers. However, we discovered that sunflowers don’t like too

much water and ours had too much, so unfortunately the seeds did not grow and we will need to try

again!!

We have had a lot of fun with our friends from Masada College who have visited us each fortnight

and always sing and play music for us. It has been valuable to build relationships with our visitors

and this culminated with the Masada students performing for us on their last visit and giving each

student in Class 2 a gift of musical instruments: bells, maracas and tambourines! This highlighted a

very musical term following on from our Rock n’ Roll Presentation Day.

Class 2 have embraced their inner ‘rock star’ as we grooved our way through the term practising

our song for Presentation Day with guidance from Kiri. The students used drums, bells and chimes

to keep the beat to ‘It’s a long way to the top if you want to Rock n’ Roll’. We made musical notes,

drums and Stars of Fame to reflect the whole school theme and had fun decorating our records with

the amazing help of our in-house photographer, Jennie!!

We have made sensory playdough and clay dough and used these to roll, squish and press out

shapes with cookie cutters. We have enjoyed sensory stories based on the books ‘Possum Magic’

and ‘Wombat Divine’ by Mem Fox.

This week we have begun creating Xmas decorations using a variety of tactile craft materials such

as pom-poms, glitter pipe cleaners, bells and paint. As you can see all students in Class 2 have had

a very busy term and they all deserve a well-earned break! Happy holidays to all from Class 2!

Lisa (for Jo C) & Jennie

Yash receives a Christmas card! Quinn and Ariel opening their presents!

Deborah’s class

Congratulations to my students for their efforts this year. It was great to see Toby at our Presentation

Day, where he received his class certificate and a special Ku-ring-gai Rotary Award for his

achievements.

Toby’s major Design & Technology project this term has been to design and install a Xmas light

display for his family home. This required considerable planning and the construction of wooden

supports. Toby has also constructed various models to demonstrate some sources of energy in

Science. His latest Air Turbo model demonstrated how air can be generated to provide power.

Tommy has been using a screw driver to construct several items of household furniture for Design

and Technology. He recently assembled a wooden display ladder by following the instructions on a

kit.

Bethany has engaged in new textures in Creative Arts, using bubble wrap dipped in paint. She is

enjoying the comfort of a new car booster seat, and last week travelled by car to Coffs Harbour with

her family.

Ramona has been developing her number skills by counting objects 1 to 3.

As this is our last newsletter for the year, I would like to thank my students and their families for the

privilege of being part of this fulfilling year of growth, fun and learning.

Wishing everyone a happy festive season and a safe and replenishing holiday.

Deborah

Toby’s Xmas lights display

Tommy and his display ladder

Bethany’s bubble wrap art

Toby demonstrating air power

Jon’s class

Another fantastic year is coming to an end. A big thank you to tutors, and congratulations to students

for all the fantastic work and goals achieved this year.

I visited Jacob last week. It was a pleasure catching up with his family. Jacob and I had great fun

working together on his computer and making lunch together. I also had the chance to work closely

with his tutor to plan his learning goals for 2019.

Mohamed’s results continue to improve. He has had great success with his mathematical work.

Mohamed is now able to confidently add/ subtract coins and is working towards calculating the

change he would receive from purchases. I am sure his reading skills will continue to improve during

the holidays, as he loves reading for leisure.

Cruz has had a busy couple of weeks on the farm attending to the animals and horse riding with her

dad. She recently created a beautiful butterfly painting and enjoyed exploring all the colours and

textures used in this artwork. I have no doubt Cruz will have a fantastic Xmas break with her sisters

on school holidays.

Jayden has been enjoying the summer sun with many outings to the beach and the local parks in

his area. He has been working hard in all areas of his school work and I will ensure the next Set

continues to interest and challenge him!

Merry Xmas and a relaxing holiday to all.

Jon

Jacob and Jon’s selfie Jacob’s new herbs

Jayden helps cooking

Doug’s class

Congratulations to all my students for achieving their program goals this year. Many thanks to the

dedicated tutors for their consistent commitment to support students to participate in a range of

learning activities.

Nathan and Harry will continue in our class next year. We will welcome Andrew and Jayden A-B!

We wish May and Azra all the best in continuing to experience achievement as they move into

different classes in 2019.

I’m looking forward to visiting our students early in Term 1, 2019 to develop Personal Learning Plans

to support our students in the next stage of their education journeys.

Thank for a great year working together, and best wishes for a safe and restorative break.

Doug

Harry (with the support of Charlie) planting a Blueberry Ash tree in his edible native garden

Happy birthday to Azra who

celebrated her birthday

Harry using LEGO heads as

MAB blocks to make groups of

ten

Azra trying out her new

lounger chair

Charlotte’s class

Presentation day was both a happy and proud day as I saw Jarrod graduate school and collect a

stack of awards and certificates. Jarrod has developed into both a gentle and cheeky young man.

He was awarded one of our highest awards, the Caltex Award for all round effort. It was a proud

moment for me to see Jarrod gain his HSC Life Skills and know that next year he’ll be attending

TAFE to complete a signage course and apply for a part-time job with the help of Afford through the

DES scheme. Well done Jarrod, you smashed it!

Katana has had a busy week both completing a range of Xmas artworks and revising her transport

unit by getting out and about in the family UTE. As you can see by the photos Katana is very content

to be all strapped into her seat. I was so pleased to see a video of Katana giggling and laughing.

She was having the best time, she must know it’s the end of term soon!

Nikolina has been working on her program, ever the stealthy student she quietly makes her own

progress each week. With a new bathroom renovation nearly completed Niki will gain a new sense

of independence and experiences as she explores the shower and toileting arrangements. I’m so

pleased for her.

Chris has been rather busy this week winning a world title as the best junior steer rider in the world.

His class work for the week was to take photos of the event and share them with me on my visit to

see him this week. I’m hoping not to be blinded by his shiny medals and instead to be amazed by

the stories of his travels. I can’t wait to catch up with him.

Charlotte

Jarrod collecting his Caltex Award

Katana enjoying a day out

Merry Xmas from Katana!

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