YEAR 8 SUCCESS IN TRANSITION - John Pirie · A 40 Mary Elie Street Port Pirie SA 5540 P (08) 8632 0400 F (08) 8632 3195 W johnpirihs.sa.edu.au NAPLAN Equating Test John Pirie Secondary

RESPECT PERSISTENCE RESPONSIBILITY CONFIDENCE

Newsletter 05 | 26 March 2015

A 40 Mary Elie Street Port Pirie SA 5540 P (08) 8632 0400 F (08) 8632 3195 W johnpirihs.sa.edu.au

YEAR 8 SUCCESS IN TRANSITION In 2015 we enrolled 125 students into our Year 8 program. At JPSS we have high expectations of young people in regard to their engagement and success in learning. We are passionate about the educational outcomes of all students and want to push them to achieve their best. As part of this we monitor achievement, attendance and behaviour regularly to track their progress at school.

This week I have reviewed the performance of Year 8’s who are in their first term at our school. I used data as well as conversations with leaders and the teaching team to identify those young people who have settled into our school culture very well and show the qualities we seek in all young people (Respect / Responsibility / Persistence / Confidence).

Tomorrow I intend to post a letter home to more than 50 Year 8 students acknowledging their success in transition and their contribution as role models in our school. I will invite them to lunch next Tuesday 31

st March where I will formally thank them, make a small presentation and supply

lunch for those whose start to secondary schooling has been exemplary.

There are many success stories among the 600 plus students attending our school. Year 12’s have had a very positive start to the year, teachers frequently tell me how well they are working and of the pleasing results in their initial assessment tasks. Recently students led a ‘Closing the Gap’ assembly with activities to support achieving Indigenous Health Equality by 2030. Term 1 outdoor education kayaking excursions, a leadership development course, students leading facilities improvements and qualities programs are significant highlights.

Last week’s JPSS Sports Day is featured in this newsletter. The spirit of competition, healthy rivalry, active participation and support for each other regardless of house teams or athletic ability was sensational. Sports Day showcased our school and students in the best light possible.

Coming Events

Next Week:

April 3 Good Friday

April 6 Easter Monday

April 8 Report Collection and Interviews, 3:30 – 7:00

April 10 Last Day Term 1

Dismissal 2.25pm

April 27 Term 2 Commences

April 30 Year 8 Immunisations

May 6-13 Op Flinders Boys

June 3 Yr 11 RAP Driver Ed Seminar

June 4 Year 8 Immunisations

June 5 Student Free Day

June 8 Queen’s Birthday PH

Leadership Team

Principal: Roger Nottage

Deputy Principal: Michael Gaunt

Assistant Principals: Kim Bennett Graham Hoile Rachel Gray Kate Greenhalgh Lisa Key

School Links

Year 8 students Ethan Nitz, Jakob Sims and Alex Giles involved in student voice activities in recent weeks.

J O H N P I R I E S E C O N D A R Y S C H O O L | s t r i v i n g f o r e x c e l l e n c e


NAPLAN Equating Test

John Pirie Secondary School has been selected to participate in the 2015 NAPLAN Equating test, which will be conducted between the 27 April and the 8 May. This will involve a group of Year 9 students completing a 55 minute written Language Conventions test. The information collected from the equating test will be used to:

Enable NAPLAN test results completed year to year to be reported on the same assessment scales

Ensure that the quality of the final NAPLAN tests will enable students to demonstrate their best abilities and learning

Ensure future NAPLAN tests are valid and reliable

Results from NAPLAN Equating tests are not reported back to the school or to the students who complete them, and the results do not affect a school’s or student’s final NAPLAN results in any way. Parents of students who have been selected to complete the test will be contacted by letter. Lisa Key Assistant Principal

Year 9 NAPLAN Testing

From 12 until 14 May, Year 9 students will complete the NAPLAN tests to assess their Numeracy and Literacy skills. The tests are completed simultaneously by year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students across Australia. Students do not need to learn specific skills in order to complete the NAPLAN and will have opportunities to become familiar with the NAPLAN tests and ways to show their answers before they start. All students are expected to complete the NAPLAN. Information collected by the tests will:

Provide us with detailed information about what students can and cannot do

Help us to plan learning programs appropriately

Identify students who require learning support

Confirm the information we collected last year about students’ skills through online Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT).

If parents wish to withdraw their children from NAPLAN for philosophical or personal reasons, they need to make an appointment to discuss this with the principal before the 8 of May. If students are not officially withdrawn from tests by this date, but refuse to sit the tests, their results will still be counted. Please contact me at school if you would like any more information about NAPLAN. Lisa Key

Material & Services Charges

Material & Services Charges 2015 are overdue. Please pay ASAP. If you believe you are eligible for School Card please apply now. Lynne Madigan Finance Officer John Pirie Secondary School 0886320414

Term 1 Reports and Parent Teacher Evening

Staff are currently preparing reports that will reflect student achievement and attendance from the first eight weeks of the year. As in previous years the arrangement for distribution of Term 1 reports will be through parent teacher interviews. These will be held on Wednesday evening of the last week of term (Wed. 8th April 3.30 – 7.00 pm). Care group teachers are forwarding further information and booking arrangements. All families are asked to make a time where they can meet with their child’s care group teacher to collect and discuss the information in the report. Subject teachers will be available if further detail is required about performance in a specific course. If this evening is not suitable for any families then alternative times can be arranged through the school. Graham Hoile Assistant Principal

Term 1 Working Bee Postponed

There are a number of events on this weekend that mean participation by staff, students & parents is limited. Governing Council has decided to postpone the Sunday 29/3/15 Working Bee until Term 3. More information regarding this will follow in future newsletters. Roger Nottage

WHS Evacuation Drill

On Wednesday 18 March, JPSS held its first evacuation drill for the year. Emergency drills occur regularly throughout the year to prepare staff and students for real emergencies that could occur such as a fire or a lock-in. The drill was very successful, with students moving very efficiently to the oval area while staff collected class rolls to account for all students. Feedback was collected from both staff and students to ensure the next drill is just as successful. Kate Greenhalgh & Lisa Key

On Behalf of the WHS Committee



Sports Day

Last Thursday saw John Pirie Secondary School’s Annual Sports Day take place at Memorial Oval. With the weather forecast at 34°C, eager staff commenced set up at 7.00am and ensured the tents were sturdy and hurdles were buffed. The students in attendance displayed extremely good spirit and put on some spectacular athletic performances in both the traditional track and field events as well as the novelty events. Both staff and students were dressed in appropriate house colours with some going a step further and covering their body and hair with paint! This was going to be an awesome day. The leader board was neck and neck for the majority of the day with final results coming down to the finals events – Neilson ended up the overall winners, knocking off a gallant Hewett, followed by Lewis and Ross. There was only 13 points between first and second, which is the closest sports day we have had in a while. During their historic victory Neilson competitors were responsible for all 4 records being broken on the day. Rushad Pavri secured a new record in Open Boys Hurdles with a time of 15.22s, Jeremiah Scrutton broke the U16B High Jump record with a 1.72m leap. Scrutton also broke another standard in the U16B long jump, setting the new record at 5.55m beating the previous mark by 15 cm. The final record broken occurred in U16B 4x100m relay which featured Jeremiah Scrutton, Kirby Gadaleta, Brenton Binell and Fraser Wyatt. It is of note that these four runners finished 1-4 on the U16B Trophy leader board. Kimberly Harvey and Jasmine Lloyd from Neilson dominated in the running events for their age groups, both coming extremely close to record times. Decklan Gray from Hewett was an outstanding new competitor in the under 14 boys winning 6 events. Mark Skipper from Hewett was a stand out in Open boys sprints. Marlee Biddell was a solid performer for Ross finishing tied for second in U14G Trophy along with Abby Wilton from Lewis.Travis White was the strongest Ross contributor compiling a total of 67 points on his way to the Open Boys Trophy. Lewis made some noise in the U14B 4x100 relay team, finishing a close second to Hewett. 2015 showcased a fantastic effort in individual and team events. The Outstanding Effort Awards were given to students who were deemed to show great participation enthusiasm and good sprit throughout the day. For the females, Alysha Ledger displayed excellent participation levels and great leadership for the Hewett house, while for the males you couldn’t go past Brendon Binell from Neilson, who continued to participate in many events without complaint as well as supporting his peers.

Events of this scale require a great deal of effort, hard work and good will, which JPSS has in great supply. A special thank you must go to the following people for their assistance in the preparation and running of the event: St. John Ambulance Australia – Port Pirie Division who worked hard all day to support our staff and students, the Port Pirie Regional Council for the use of Memorial Oval, Mr Graham Hoile, Ms Kate Greenhalgh and Mrs Leanne Hoile for their efforts in helping to mark the oval and members of the Sport & Recreation Committee who assisted in the preparation and running of the event. Ms Jayne James and her staff for moving the canteen to the oval and keeping everyone well fed. Finally, a big thank you to the students, staff and spectators of John Pirie Secondary School who helped make the day so successful. The students and teachers now look forward to the Interschool Athletics carnival which will take place at SANTOS Stadium on Monday 30 March. Overall Results for the day were as follows:

HOUSE POINTS 1st Neilson – 1919 2nd Hewett - 1906 3rd Lewis – 1557 4th Ross - 1481

AGE GROUP CHAMPIONS U14 BOYS 1

st – Decklan Gray (Hewett) – 90 pts

2nd

– Jake Walsh (Neilson) – 76 pts U14 GIRLS 1

st – Nikita Chilcott (Hewett) – 57 points

2nd

– Abby Wilson (Lewis) Marlee Biddell (Ross) – 53 points

U16 BOYS 1st

– Jeremiah Scrutton (Neilson) – 72 points 2

nd – Kirby Gadaleta (Neilson) - 69 points

U16 GIRLS 1st

– Kimberly Harvey (Neilson) - 91 points 2

nd – Chloe Olsen (Ross) – 48 points

OPEN BOYS 1st

– Travis White (Ross) – 67 points 2

nd – Westley Wyatt (Neilson) – 64 points

OPEN GIRLS 1st

– Jasmine Lloyd (Neilson) – 92 points 2

nd – Alisha Brooks (Neilson) – 68 points

Maciej Jankowski HPE Co-ordinator



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Uni Pathways Excursions

Once again John Pirie Secondary School is providing opportunities for year 9 and 10 students to travel to universities in Adelaide to participate in educational activities. The activities are predominately Maths and Science activities which are engaging, incorporate modern technology and give the students a taste of University education. The first trip for 2015 was the year 10 group of 43 students in week 5. The students participated in Geocaching which gives the students the opportunity to use modern technology and learn navigation skills. The other group were working with sensory technology. Some of the feedback from students was; “I enjoyed learning about geocaching and how to use navigation skills”. “It has been good to get to see the universities over the last two years”. The year 9 group will have their first experience on Thursday 9 April. They will participate in the Engineers without Borders activity and also visit the Planetarium.

Art

'Earlier this year the Port Pirie RSL approached John Pirie Secondary School to produce a large scale mural that displayed the horrible living conditions suffered by ANZAC soldiers during World War One. This mural is part of a new installation that will be featured in the museum of the Port Pirie RSL which honours the Centenary of Anzac. The mural has progressed greatly over the term and is the culmination of many hours of effort from many Year 9 and Year 10 students. The mural will be publicly available for viewing at the RSL museum on the 25 of April next month.'

International Women’s Day

On Friday 6 March a group of girls in Year 10 and 11 went on an excursion to the local Anglican Hall for an International Women’s Day celebration. It was the first time students from John Pirie Secondary School had attended this annual event. Soroptimists and the Port Pirie Library supported a visit from Australian author Loretta Hill. The girls enjoyed a beautiful lunch prepared by the local Lions Club and sat back to enjoy Loretta giving an account of how she became an author, as well as her persistence in getting her books published. Loretta also spoke of the process she uses when writing. Kristin Wilsdon, Yr 11, found the experience fascinating and was intrigued when Loretta described her writing process as including developing the characters first and then letting the plot take her on the journey. The excursion was valuable and left the girls with an impression of what it is like to be a fiction writer. The girls represented the school well and were inspired to continue their efforts in writing. It was a great experience to take part in. We look forward to celebrating the day again next year.



Out of School Hours Care

First Session Free Working, studying or just need some time off in the afternoon? Airdale after school care offers a fun and educational environment for your child between 3-6pm weekdays. We offer entertaining and developmentally appropriate activities, qualified staff, homework assistance and a nutritious afternoon tea. The service is offering a free first session so you can see all we have to offer. Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate are available for families. Call 86330066 for enquiries. The April holiday program will be available at your school front office from April 30th. Bookings are essential.

Documents

YEAR 8 SUCCESS IN TRANSITION - John Pirie · A 40 Mary Elie Street Port Pirie SA 5540 P (08) 8632 0400 F (08) 8632 3195 W johnpirihs.sa.edu.au NAPLAN Equating Test John Pirie Secondary