TABLE OF CONTENTS DRIVER'S GOT HEROES · The fit and contribution the school has as part of Palmerston City Schools is clear. The partnership development with the Smith Family, Indigenous

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5December 2013 Issue18 TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Kitchen Garden Fair

• FROM THE LEADERSHIP TEAM

• MERIT AWARDS

• 2014 National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence

• Back to School Payment Scheme

•

•

• INSIGHTS

STUDENT ABSENCE PHONE LINE

Parents phoning the school in regards to students absences, please phone on our new student absence phone line 89359062 .Please leave your name, your child’s name and room number, date of absence and reason for absence.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

9 Dec - Year 6 Graduation

11 Dec - End of Year Excursion

DRIVER'S GOT HEROES

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THURSDAY 12 December - Last day of school

HOURS OF SUPERVISION

School hours of studentsupervision are 7.30am to 3pm. Outside these hours children’s safety is a parental/guardian responsibility.Children must not be dropped off at school prior to 7.30am and must either be picked up before 3pm, walk/cycle home if old enough, or attend the After School Hours Care program.

TERM DATES 2013/2014

Semester 2 Term 4Mon 7 Oct – Thurs 12 DecPlease note: Last day for 2013 is Thursday not Friday2014Semester 1 Term 1Friday 24 January – Friday4 April (Students resumeTuesday 28 January)

POSITION VACANT

A casual garden specialist is required for our Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. The position is available from 3 February - 5 December 2014.Please contact the office for a job description. Applications close10 December.

FROM THE DSTA

What a great turn out for our Remembrance Day Assembly. A special

Kitchen Garden Fair

Our Kitchen Garden Fair was the culminating event for the Years 4, 5 and 6 Enterprise Project. It was held in the library. The students are very pleased with themselves as the Fair was a sell out! All the biscuits, play dough, jams, dried herbs, tea towels and

plants sold. Stalls were handled by groups of enthusiastic children and the sale was well attended by students, teachers, parents and grandparents. Thank you to everyone who made, sold and purchased products. The stalls raised almost $3000. This was a sterling effort on behalf of our budding student entrepreneurs. After the students calculate expenses, the remaining profit will go towards purchasing new outdoor seating and tables for the patio area outside the kitchen.


thank you to Leading Seaman Nathan Retzlaff and Warrant Officer Class 2 Paul McKay for assisting on the day. Driver Primary School community raised $96.25 for Legacy again. Thank you to all who donated. With the end of the year fast approaching, I would like to wish Driver Primary School’s community a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I look forward to seeing everyone again in 2014. If you have any concerns or require any information, please do not hesitate to contact me any time, either by phone 8935 9000, email [email protected] or in person.

Fiona Lia

A LIST OF REMINDERS

Year 6 Graduation Monday 9 December

Don't forget to order your concert DVD

End of Year excursion Cinema Wednesday 11 December

Please check the lost property. Uncollected items will be sent to charity

Donations of second hand uniforms appreciated

Last day of school is Thursday 12 December

2014 Preschool Enrolments. The preschool is currently taking enrolments for 2014. An Expression of Interest Form is available from Preschool or on the Driver Primary

FROM THE LEADERSHIP TEAM

As you know, a School Review was conducted at Driver Primary at the end of October. The following are the commendations and recommendations from this review. The recommendations will inform our strategic improvement plans for the coming years.Commendations:

The cohesive and collaborative processes between staff.Morale is high.The implementation of Values embedded in the Captain RECS strategy across the school. RECS standing for Respect, Excellence, Community and Safety.The implementation of the Driver High 5 and Driver High Five Finger Plan.The clarity of leadership roles.Staff receiving informal and formal feedback.The development of Evidence of Learning folders to assist with transitioning between classes at a school level.The development of Personal Learning Plan’s particularly in early years.The fit and contribution the school has as part of Palmerston City Schools is clear.The partnership development with the Smith Family, Indigenous community, Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Program, CSIRO and CDU.The establishment of Strategic Improvement Team’s for SWPB – behaviour/bullying, Reading, Science and Maths which meet on a three week cycle.The schools self-review process and review of approaches, policies and programs. A strong example is the work that has gone into ensuring there is consistency in the implementation of the schools behaviour policy and the development of support materials such as Captain RECS. There was evidence of the behaviour approach in all classes and was again evidenced by the Student Leadership group.The calm teaching and learning environment.


School website.

www.driverprimary.nt.edu.au

Community Notices

The Goldfishbowl Swim School at Yarrawonga have a full swimming program happening over the Christmas schoolholidays. If you have a spare half hour each day and would like to improve your child’s swimming skills you might like to sign up for one of our 5 day blocks. It costs $65 for the five days and that is very good value for money.Block 1: 16 – 20 December 2013 (before Christmas)Block 2 : 13 -17 January 2014 (after Christmas )Block 3: 20-24 January 2014 (the week before the New School Term)Ring us on 8931 1000 or email us on [email protected] to enquire and book. We are located at 44 Toupein Road, Yarrawonga if you want to drop in to see us.

The organisation and structure of processes developed and implemented at an administration level.The opportunity for Student Voice within the school.

Recommendations:

The re-igniting of inductions/orientation processes at key points of the school year.The development and implementation of whole school approaches in reading, spelling, writing and maths.The development of agreed school wide strategies to implement whole school approaches.The need to allow time for the embedding of whole school approaches before implementing new initiatives.Continue to embed School Wide Positive Behaviour approaches and therevised school Behaviour Management Policy.The display of the new behaviour matrix in all classes.Review the assessment schedule to identify purpose and use of data collection to inform class teaching and planning and decision making at all levels.Ensure collaborative planning time is kept available.Develop greater consistency in the presentation of the class learning environment.Define what differentiation means for Driver Primary School.The need to develop strategies catering for students in each class for the top 10%-20% of students.The need to have the ongoing monitoring of Work Balance when implementing initiatives.Consider increasing the visibility of the leadership team in classes.The need to provide feedback loops for students.Embed Indigenous events within school calendar.

A perception survey was also carried out in September and full results of this survey can be found in the school council tab on the school website at http://www.driverprimary.nt.edu.au/

MERIT AWARDS

Skye McPharlin, Tyrell Rowe, Kai Barclay, Kayla Barclay, Kayla Moneron, Jacob Rawlings, Molly Esslemont, Kody Brown, Mariah Fischer, Charlotte Gurruwiwi, Micaela Browll, Chase Dawes, Rose Thompson, Tayla Scott, Lorraine Randall, Ayden Viegas, Cameron Hyde, Emma Esslemont, Alex Nebauer, Ciara Parry, Azaan Ur-Rahman, Mia Tomlins, Emily Ryan, James Porter, Teal Hawthorne, Sam Murray, Tatiana Palen, Rumarlea Billy, Marcia Miranda, Sarah Neave, Chavez Skeen, Leah Gordon, Lauchlan Newport, Cooper Skelley, Jake Court, Ashton Linfield, Sophie Ballantyne, Brenton Linfield, Taj Ur-Rahman, Pavlos Mastronikolas, Lachlan Follett, Cameron Portaminni, Haylee Richardson, Charli-Beth Marshall,

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Brianna Goss, Taylah Johnston, Jacklin Dacey, Layla Follett, Charlie McMaster, Mya Gregory, Isabel Uybenes, Chole Birch, Fantasia Portaminni, Matthew Mahomet, Jacob Lasker, Jamie Spencer, Lyle Byrne, Troy Walker, Daisy DeSouza, Sarah Forrest, Adrian Wakeling-Lipke, Nate Rowe, Erin Lasker, Mary Portaminni, Maxine Cabahug, Riley Beaton, Shaun Stringer, Kaylah Bruckshaw, Kaylin McCourt, Shane Brackin, Jayden Hunter, Autumn Sengpho, Jesse Hansen, Lily Topham, Andrew Mason, Hayden Clarke, Vhannez Samar, Kyle Johnston, Amber Miles, Joshua Strong, Taylor Hunt, Jackie Huang, Jenny Totham, Tui Westacott, Blake Greenall, Adam McCormack, Brian Long, Derel Uybenes, Brooke Buckley, Leah Dudley, Samson Boynton, Tyler Fanning, Jessica Thompson, Braidon Roman, Brienna Gould, Jordan Coble, Charli Nomoa, Rhiannon Smart, Lennox Mason, Kallin Grace, Hayden Clarke, Jackson Corry,Dre Gregory, Adam Mortimer, Lousil Neave, Erin Laser, Adrienne O’Mahony, Tahlia Parry, Chloe Thompson, Katina Kastellorizios, Lewis Retzlaff, James Porter, Tasmin Harrison-Woods, Melaura Gambell, Blake Cummings.

Principal’s AwardSkye McPharlin James Porter Maudie GilbertLucy Litchfield Ayisha Ferozkhan

2014 National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence

Our school is taking a stand against bullying and violence Driver Primary School is dedicated to creating supportive school environments, free from bullying, harassment and violence. By working together we are sending a clear message to young people that bullying and violence, in or outside of school, are not okay at any time. The policy at Driver Primary School is that “everyone has the right to feel safe at school”. This policy aligns with the Department of Education Safe Schools NT policy. We also have a number of programs and initiatives in place already. Most recently, these include School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS). SWPBS is a decision making framework that guides selection and implementation of the best evidence-based academic and behavioural practices for improving important academic and behaviour outcomes for all students across the whole school. More information is available at www.pbis.org/default.aspx Driver Primary school has also registered to be part of the 2014 National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence, being held nationwide on Friday 21 March. The National Day of Action is Australia’s key anti-bullying event for schools. It’s a day where school communities across Australia ‘take a stand together’ against bullying and violence. The National Day of Action against Bullying and


Violence is an initiative of all Australian education ministers and is coordinated by the Safe and Supportive School Communities (SSSC) Working Group, with representatives from all Australian educational authorities. The SSSC is also responsible for the Bullying. No Way! website which offers practical resources and information to help schools, parents and students counter bullying, harassment and violence. Also available on the site is the Take a Stand iPhone app, for tips and advice on dealing with bullying, as well as The Allen Adventure iPad app, designed to teach social skills to children under 8 years. You can download these free apps now at www.bullyingnoway.gov.au.We will keep you informed about our plans and activities for the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence on Friday 21 March 2014.

Back to School Payment Scheme



INSIGHTS

Thank goodness for ChristmasThe real strength of Christmas lies in its use of rituals. Most families develop a strong sense of ritual at Christmas.Kids today need Christmas more than ever. Not for the gifts and presents - most children get their fair share throughout the year. They need Christmas for the escape, and for the mystery and magic that is associated with childhood.

There are few secrets left for kids these days. In this information-age


they are bombarded with news and views of all sorts.

Childhood was once a type of secret garden that was full of mysteries. The wider world was there to be discovered by children, rather than something that was thrust upon them. Kids are now more knowing, more street-wise and in many ways, more cynical than in the past.

Christmas for all its commercialism still has its mystery and magic. I liked the way my children would, dispensing with logic, keep the secrets of Christmas alive for as long as possible.

I remember how, my eldest as a young teen and his eleven year old sister, knew that the idea of Santa sliding down a chimneyin a red suit was a tad nonsensical. Yet they didn’t let on for the sake of their younger sister. Perhaps, once a year they stillwanted to believe in the magic. Teenagers, like adults, are always on the lookout for activities that anchor them back to their childhoods.

The real strength of Christmas lies in its use of rituals. Most families develop a strong sense of ritual at Christmas. My ownfamily’s rituals that evolved over two decades, are now entrenched in my children’s psyches as they move into adulthood. One, in particular, is so insistent that we keep certain Christmas traditions in place that she has become the family Christmas organiser. She’s not leaving anything to chance!

Christmas for kids is all about anticipation. From a commercial sense, Christmas starts in November and slowly builds up toward the Big Day. Much of the anticipation is built around the receiving of presents.

As a parent you can build a sense of anticipation and broaden kids’ focus away from the notion of receiving presents and gifts.Christmas gives you a chance to build a sense of generosity in your kids and also to develop their appreciation for familytraditions and rituals. You don’t have to wait until Christmas Eve for the rituals to kick in. You can start earlier by involving kids inthe whole build-up to Christmas.

Here are five simple ideas you can use right now to switch your kids on to Christmas:1. Put up your own advent calendar at the start of December. Even better, get kids to make their own.2. Get kids to clear out their cupboards of toys, clothing and items they don’t need. They can pass them on to someone who can use them.3. Go with your children to choose a gift to donate to the local ‘giving tree’.4. Ask your kids to help you send your Christmas cards to your family and friends.5. Adopt a Christmas tradition from another country. Do some research online or ask around for different traditions.

You can get more ideas to get your kids into the real Christmas spirit by going to www.twitter.com/michaelgrose. Become a ‘follower’ and every day I’ll send you a tweet with a great Christmas idea for you


and your kids.

Have a great one!

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Documents

TABLE OF CONTENTS DRIVER'S GOT HEROES · The fit and contribution the school has as part of Palmerston City Schools is clear. The partnership development with the Smith Family, Indigenous