Week 10 Term 2 2019

MINERVA SCHOOL

DATES TO

REMEMBER

July

Friday 5th Last day of Term2

for staff and

students

Tuesday 23rd Students return

for Term 3

AND

Swimming

Program begins

Learning for Life

66 Eton St, SUTHERLAND NSW 2232 T 02 9521 3433 F 02 9545 3316 E minerva-s.school@det.nsw.edu.au www.minerva-s.schools.nsw.edu.au

WELL DONE MISS SARAH $10 000 IMB BANK GRANT

Week 10 Term 2 2019

DATES TO

REMEMBER

May

Tuesday 14th

School photos

Wednesday

29th Vaccinations Visit

2

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Dear Parents and Carers

What a successful and brilliant term it has been. It never ceases to amaze me the great progress made by each of our students across all aspects of their learning and development. The dedication and commitment of the staff provides a safe and nurturing environment for all our students to thrive.

During this term Miss Kylie re-assessed the students in the Minilit program. The results were truly remarkable. The hard work and effort by all of the students in this program has meant that each student has experienced progress in their reading results. The program will continue next term and we look forward to building on this great success. Thank you to Miss Kylie for her passion and drive to supporting our students through this journey.

Our commitment to our wider community, parents and families has provided many opportunities this term to work closely together in providing a collegial approach in providing the students with enjoyable, meaningful and new experiences. We came together to celebrate successes and special events such as school cross country, open classrooms and KLA days, worked in the gardens, attended coffee and chat sessions, conducted transition clinics and continued to use Class Dojo on a daily basis to share those learning experiences together .The learning for life project has continued to provide all students with an opportunity to build and develop their skills in emotion regulation. The hard work of staff and our amazing OT Christine we have seen a significant improvement in student’s ability to deal with challenging situations and their emotions. Term 2 has seen the installation of 3 high grade therapy swings in classrooms to provide an additional tool for students to access to aid in regulating their emotions. It was an absolute honour to attend the Teach Meet forum with Miss Sarah Ellingham and Ms Christine (our OT) where we presented to Department personnel and fellow colleagues the great successes and journey undertaken through the Learning for Life project.

Term 3 we are looking forward to our next KLA day which has a specific focus on Aboriginal and Indigenous cultural perspectives. The school has organised an external agency and presenters who will visit the school and provide opportunities for the students to participate in Ochre painting, basket weaving, walks through the gardens and discussions regarding Indigenous foods and the significance of the land/environment. This event will be on Tuesday the 6th August and notes and information will be sent home early next term. Individual classes will be allocated a time and parents/carers are invited to attend.

I would like to take this time to acknowledge the great work of the SRC. The SRC do an amazing job with the presentation of our weekly assemblies. Once a fortnight, I have the absolute pleasure of attending the SRC meeting and witnessing the amazing work and sharing of great ideas generated by the SRC. This term the SRC organised a fundraising event where funds (just in excess of $200) were raised to support the education of 2 young orphans for an entire year in Nepal.

Week 10 Term 2 2019

Term 2 has been a significant success within regards to Work Experience. Thank you to all the staff involved in the organisation and delivery of this program, to the organisations and businesses who provide our students with the opportunities to develop and pursue their vocational goals.

I would like to also congratulate Miss Sarah who was successful in obtaining the school a $10,000 grant through IMB bank. This money will be allocated to flexible furniture, 3D printer and additional STEM equipment.

This term we farewell Mr Bill who has been offered a position at another setting. We would like to thank Mr Bill for his commitment to our students and school over the past few years. We wish him well in his new adventure.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our parent and wider community for your support throughout Term 2. I truly feel blessed to be a part of such a cohesive and committed community. I hope everyone has a safe and relaxing break. I look forward to seeing everyone back on Tuesday 23rd July. Kind regards

John Mazzitelli Principal

Week 10 Term 2 2019

DATES TO

REMEMBER

May

Tuesday 14th

School photos

Wednesday

29th Vaccinations Visit

2

Happy Birthday to the following students for the month of July — Joel, William, Kane, Mark and Dean.

Week 10 Term 2 2019

CROSS COUNTRY/WALKATHON

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Week 10 Term 2 2019

Semester 1 Work Experience Report As identified in Learning Support Plans earlier in the year, specific students from Year 9 have successfully engaged in an eight week block during term two. Groups of students have been involved in the following work experience formats:

Minerva In School Work Experience involved two work sessions:

Work and Interpersonal Skills Development- Students had the opportunity to develop skills in: following instructions, staying on task, getting along with others, giving their best effort to their work. There was a range of activities which included completing a sign on sheet, simple cleaning (spray and wipe), vacuuming, sweeping, folding washing including towels, collating, stamping and shredding. The students also participated in food preparation. Safe Travelling and Work Awareness in the Community- During this session, students had the opportunity to develop skills and demonstrate appropriate and safe travelling within the local Sutherland Shopping Centre area and parks.

Week 10 Term 2 2019

Minerva Supported Work Experience in the Community.

A group of students participated in a Supported Group Work Place Learning Program travelling to work at IDF (Intellectual Disability Foundation of St George), at Arncliffe. The students and supervising staff travelled from school. Students were provided training and opportunities to develop their travel skills and appropriate work and social skills. Specific Focusses were on attending, following teacher/supervisor instructions, getting along with other workers, using good manners and nice talking, staying on task giving best effort, using their Opal card and travelling safely.

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.Semester 1 Work Experience Report (continued) Cross District Supported Work Experience

Three students participated in the CDSWEP (Cross District Work Experience Program) whereby they travelled independently to the work sites involving students from other schools and a supervising teacher. A range of specific work and interpersonal skills were developed at these local businesses involving interacting with the general public. Bunnings Warehouse

Coles Westfield Miranda

Congratulations to all Minerva students for your efforts and skills gained in the Semester 1 Work Experience Program. Russell Hely Work Experience Coordinator

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Week 10 Term 2 2019

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CLASS BOTTLE BRUSH

As we come to the end of the term we reflect on the friendships we have and the fun memories we have created in our class room. The games, the tricks, the jokes, the laughs and the birthdays. Happy birthday David! To all

our friends have a wonderful holiday.

Week 10 Term 2 2019

This term, class Grevillea have been reading The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone.

We have been practicing reading and signing some key words from the book.

Brittany doing the Key Word Sign for “cat”

Joel doing the Key Word Sign for “dog”

Peter doing the Key Word Sign for “house”

Charlton doing the Key Word Sign for “hen”

The students have worked hard each week to complete comprehension activities with and without picture clues.

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Week 10 Term 2 2019

Week 10 Term 2 2019

Class Eucalyptus Art using Nature has been our theme for Visual Arts this term. Students have been creating various artworks both inside and outside of the classroom utilising natural materials and colours.

Week 10 Term 2 2019