Issue 12 Term 4, 2016

Leadership Team Carolyn Mildrum

Principal

Sonia Cooke Deputy Principal

Robert Thornton

Student Counsellor Diary Dates December 14 Yr 7 Graduation 14 Early Finish 2.10pm 16 End of Term 2pm finish

January 30 Term 1 commences 14 Early Finish 2.10pm

2017 Early Finish Dates Most of us will get our 2017 calendars up and running during these holidays. Here are the dates to record for the 2.10pm and end of term early pick ups.

Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4 Week 3 15 Feb 17 May 9 Aug 1 Nov Week 6 8 Mar 7 Jun 30 Aug 22 Nov Week 9 29 Mar 28 Jun 20 Sep 13 Dec End of Term 13 Apr 7 Jul 29 Sep 15 Dec

2016 comes to an end

Well, here we are almost at the end of 2016 and the final newsletter for the year. Who would have thought it would go this fast? This year saw students from year 7 go to the Jamie Oliver pop-up kitchen at Noarlunga to learn cooking skills and how to prepare nutritious and healthy meals. Students from Rooms 9, 12, 13 and 18 had their quest for local-historical knowledge fulfilled with a trip to the Migration Museum, Art gallery and SA Museum. With over 90 students on the excursion the students were a credit to not only the school but to their parents and carers as well. There were other field trips that students participated in over the year such as aquatics and a geography trip organised by Mrs Hall to the local wetlands. Of course, none of these could have gone ahead without the help of volunteers. We would like to thank all those who have helped around the school during the year and we will be holding a special morning tea on Friday after assembly to do so in person. This is also a time that we say goodbye to students in year 7. Leaving will be a major event in their lives and for some a sad time. It is hoped that they take with them happy memories of their time at MVES and we wish them all the best in high school. We also say good bye to Julie Byrne who is retiring. Best wishes to you all.

Rob Thornton

School News

2017 Staffing As we go to print there are only a couple of staffing changes that we can advise. Rob Thornton will be returning to Bowden Brompton School to continue his great work with the students there. In his place as Counsellor we welcome Steve Hetherington. Some of you may remember Steve from when he was a teacher here. Steve has spent the last few years working as a Counsellor at Port Noarlunga PS. Our other Rob, Rob Noble, is also leaving us. Rob has accepted a full time position in church ministry. I’m sure Rob’s magic and music will be missed by many. We welcome Judy Jones to the position of School Chaplin. Judy is an active member of the local Salvation Army and may already be a familiar face to some. We welcome back Mitch Hume and Julia Johnson. We are still waiting to hear about other placements but are sure you will join us in welcoming all staff, old and new, in 2017.

Our Year 7’s are keeping Busy

Our year 7’s spent a fun filled day at Glenelg’s Beach House last Friday. It looks like they enjoyed themselves. Students from Room 17 were involved in the production of “A Christmas Carol” on Tuesday 6th. The students should be very proud of what

they accomplished. Many of the audience commented that it was the best school play they had ever seen.

It was great to see so many of our graduation students joining in the fun last Wednesday night at the End of Year concert. Nice to know they still aren’t too old to have some fun! And with only a few days left of school they still have an excursion to Noarlunga Pool and Graduation to get through. Think they might need these holidays to recover.

Health cooking classes Harvest healthy cooking classes took place this fortnight. The group have had a wonderful time learning new skills and making

healthy snacks, breakfast and lunch foods. Let’s hope we get to have them come back again so that another group of cooks can learn how to create some healthy food options. Cheryl, one of our Mums who took advantage of the sessions said “it was a great way to learn how to utilise what’s in your cupboard to make something delicious instead of running to the shops each time. And they taught us how to substitute ingredients if you didn’t have anything. Can’t wait to get the chance to do it again!”

A message from Mitch It is hard to believe that the year is almost finished, and what a year it has been. I could not have imagined what my first year at MVES was going to be like. It has been a fantastic learning experience and I am very proud of the achievements of staff, students and the community. I learned very quickly that MVES has a very strong and proud sporting tradition, with many talented and athletic students. This was proven in term one by the number of students who participated in the SAPSASA athletics carnival, and the students selected to represent the district at the Metro athletics day. Our ‘Big Day Out’ at Wilfred Taylor Reserve was a great success where students got to experience some great local sporting organisations literally only metres away from our school. This is an event we will continue to develop and build on for next year and we look forward to working with a number of local sporting clubs into the future.

Who can forget our knockout girls soccer team who made it to the third round despite having many inexperienced or ‘first-time’ players. The team showed great spirit and did the school very proud. My very first MVES sports day was fantastic to be a part of. All of the school values were on display and it was fantastic to see so many parents and family supporting their children. I am happy to report work has already begun on planning for next year’s event. We had the Launchpad gymnastics program for the receptions to year 3 students which was run by Gymnastics SA. During the program the students were introduced to some of the basic gymnastic skills such as jumping, rolling and swinging.

Last but not least we reintroduced Jump Rope for Heart. As a school we raised over $1000 for the Heart Foundation and learned many new skills. Any time we can combine physical activity and helping the community provides a great opportunity to teach our kids about connections with health in the community. It is also important to highlight the fantastic work that our students have been doing in PE and Drama classes as well. We have come a long way in a year and I hope the work we have done this year will carry on to next year. I am very proud of the achievements of all of our students, whether relating to sport and Physical Education or not, and can’t wait to see what can be achieved in 2017.

Finally, I would like to thank the entire MVES community for making me feel so welcome at the school and giving me so much support. This includes the students, staff, parents, OSHC and the various sporting and fundraising committees. I would like to take this opportunity to wish the entire MVES community a very Merry Christmas and a safe holiday’s.

Mitchell Hume

Charlotte, Zakia and Robert with their Metro Athletics day Certificates where they represented

Onkaparinga North District.

Students skipping as part of our Jump Rope for Heart “Jump Off” day.

Our knockout girl’s soccer team celebrating after a win.

End of Year Concert

We were so very lucky last Wednesday night at our End of Year concert. The rain held off and the weather was mild enough for our families to be able to sit and watch the variety of acts from our students.

Thanks to the Onkaparinga City Concert Band for their ensemble of tunes to end the night. A great time was had by all that attended.

Farewell from Rob I would like to wish you all a very happy and safe holiday. When you return in 2017 you will have a new counsellor as I am moving back to my position at Bowden Brompton Community School. When I arrived for the first time at MVES it was a year that seemed to stretch out far into the future and only now is it dawning on me that 2016 is almost up. Time has flown and sometimes we forget the need to sometimes step back and smell the roses.

This cartoon sums up exactly how we want something immediately when we are young, and even as adults. My challenge for you during the school holidays is to put those electronic games away, turn off the TV and go and talk to your brothers, sisters, parents and friends, take time to relax. Mr Noble and I have worked this year on getting students to take on more responsibility for their decision making and work on their friendships. Part of this we did through the inauguration of a student ‘chill’ room where they could go at recess and lunch times to play table football, table tennis and air hockey. Mr Noble extended this through his array of ‘magical’ tricks which enthralled students into trying some themselves. His ‘brain-teasers’ engaged students into thinking through problem solving to solve the teasers. Well done to all those who managed to crack the problems. Have a safe and enjoyable break and come back in 2017 with a ‘can-do’ attitude.

Rob

Narnu Farm – Rooms 9 & 12

In Week 6, Rooms 9 and 12 went to a camp at Narnu Farm, Hindmarsh Island. On the first night we had a Quiz Night. The Finch boy’s room won! On the second night we had a talent show. It was heaps of fun. Here are some other activities we did:

Blacksmith demonstration Vintage truck tour/ride Feeding farm animals

Butter making Chicken hatchery

History trail School activities Hand ploughing

Gift shop Animals anonymous

and Horse riding Everyone seemed to like horse riding the best. Narnu farm is huge! There is a horse riding arena, A Narnu fort and even a Narnu ship! The bunk house has 6 dorms; Pelican, Albatross, Finch, Ibis, Grebe, and Plover. I was in the Plover room with Aleycia, Emily, Izzy, and Alexis.

By Ishtar Devon