From The Principal YEAR 12/STAGE 2 NTCET
EXAMS THIS WEEK Our Year 12/Stage 2 students at the
Senior College started their final NT Certificate of Education and Training (NTCET) exams this week, with English Studies on Monday and Physics, Psychology, Mathematics Applications, Mathematics Studies, and Modern History during the week. You may have seen some of our students on the Channel 9 evening news on Monday after their first exam (English Studies). With our advanced NTCET program, many of our Year 11 students will also be completing one or more Stage 2/Year 12 exams. Our students have been well prepared and have taken the exams in their stride this week. Thank you to our Year 12/Stage 2 teachers for all their work preparing our students. Thanks to Peter Moore, Dean of
Studies, for all his careful administration of the end of year exams that ensures the exams go smoothly. Thank you to Shaun Theiber, Dean of Students, and Madelaine Brand, Dean of Administration, for their support of Senior College students and teachers at this important time of the year. BUILDING WORK ON ESSINGTON EDUCATION CENTRE Our painters have been working on the completion of the painting on the outside of the Essington Education Centre this week.
Upcoming Events Tuesday 11th November Remembrance Day Tuesday 11th November Art Exhibition 5:00pm at Senior College Wednesday 12th November Modern Montessori Information Evening 7-8pm Monday 17th November to 25 November Year 10/11 Exams Wednesday 19th November Preschool Graduation Thursday 20th November International Children’s Day Friday 28th November Celebration 2014 Concert Wednesday 3 December Dance Recital 6-7:30pm in the Auditorium
7 t h N o v e m b e r , 2 0 1 4
I S S U E
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T H O U G H T F O R T H E W E E K
I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. - Jimmy Dean
Teachers Angela Foley and Spencer Harvey enjoying snorkelling off Cairns on the recent Great Barrier Reef Tour
ENROLMENTS 2015 We are working through a large number of student enrolments for 2015 and will not be able to meet the number of requests. If you are not returning in 2015, please email [email protected] so we can assist new enrolling families with their enquiries. This information, if requested, will be treated in confidence.
We are currently accepting enrolments for 2016/2017, if you know families who are thinking of enrolling at the School. They should contact our Director of Enrolments immediately, and submit an Enrolment Form. Early enrolments are highly recommended.
We are waiting to see what the final design will look like after first colours were painted in the last week. A mesh façade, part of the front piece of the Essington Education Centre, is yet to be fixed to a section of the front of the building. This will complete the planned work on the building. We are now completing landscaping at the back of the building. We hope to have it all planted up ready for the wet season to help establish the plants. FINAL WEEKS FOR ORDERS FOR OUR 25
th ANNIVERSARY NAMED
PAVER APPEAL We are in the final stages of compiling orders for named pavers for our 25
th
Year Anniversary Pathway at the front of the Essington Education Centre. Order forms have previously been mailed during the year to all families, and we are now requesting final orders be placed by the 19
th December. For a
donation to our building fund, donors are able to record their name on a paver to be included in a paved pathway at the beginning of next year. Application forms are available from the School offices. Donations for a named paver are tax deductible to our ATO approved Building Fund. PROF. GRAHAME WEBB – AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR NOMINEE
Prof. Grahame Webb, one of our current parents and founding Chair of The Essington School Darwin, was one of four finalists for the Northern Territory for the Australian of the
Year Award. The Awards are part of the national Australian of the Year Awards and acknowledges achievements of members of the NT community. Prof. Webb’s nomination was for his long term research on crocodile research and management and the conservation model he has developed from this. It is a great honour to be one of the four finalists for the NT Australian of the Year, and we congratulate Prof. Webb on his nomination. Prominent
NT indigenous humanitarian, Rosalie Kunoth-Monks was the finalist for the NT at the Awards ceremony on Wednesday night. David Cannon Principal/CEO
From the Assistant Principal Class Placements for 2015 Only five more weeks left until the end of this school year. Staffing and teacher allocation for 2015 will be confirmed in late December 2014 and early January 2015. Providing students with stability and consistency, bearing in mind their friendship cohorts, whilst at the same time maintaining gender balance, are just some of the factors taken into consideration during the process of confirming class placements. Our aim is to provide each individual student, across all year levels, every opportunity to continue with their learning journey at Essington with minimal disruption. If you have a particular request for your child to be placed in a certain class please email it directly to me [email protected]. If you have any queries or concerns or require more information, please call me on 89850117. Jaya Srinivas Assistant Principal Junior Ambassador - Thailand Piper Mules, the Junior Ambassador for Thailand, joined us for Assembly on Friday to tell us about Loi Krathong. This was her speech: “Sawadee, that is hello in Thai.
My name is Piper Mules, I am the Junior Ambassador for Thailand. I am here today to talk about a Thai festival called Loi Krathong.
Thailand is an Asian country in between Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. Thailand’s population is around 68 million and its capital city is Bangkok.
Loi Krathong is Thailand’s Festival of Lights. All along Thai streets on the eve of Loi Krathong you can see stalls selling Krathongs. Krathongs are mini
floats covered with flowers, candles and incense sticks. As the night begins, people take their Krathongs to the nearest Beach or Lake and place them in the water. If your Krathong floats away from you, you will get good luck, if your Krathong floats towards the shore you might not get great luck in the following year. To make sure you get good luck you should place nail clippings, strands of hair and coins in your Krathong. It is believed that your Krathong will carry all your bad luck away.
Thank you for listening to my speech!”
From the Junior School Coordinator In Transition this week, Music engaged the students in sharing songs. In Information Communication Technology, students took part in a range of assessment tasks. Physical Education saw the students participate in a fundamental motor skills assessment. In Visual Art, students etched and printed beautiful autumn pictures, and in Chinese, students continued to learn the play based on the story of ‘Chicken Licken’. In Music, the Year 1s revisited a range of songs. In Information Communication Technology, the students further explored the strength of passwords, and Physical Education developed their tennis skills. In Visual Art, students drew charcoal lightning men, and in Indonesian, students revised celebration greetings and
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From the Assistant Principal
Piper Mules - Year 4 Junior Ambassador for Thailand
Early Learning Notices
looked at the symbolism and vocabulary of Ramadan and Christmas. Renee Schultz Transition - Year 1 Teaching and Learning Coordinator
Early Learning Notices Preschool Who would believe we are half way through Term 4 already. It has been a very busy and exciting week in Preschool with the hatching of our preschool chickens. They started hatching on Monday morning and continued through the week. A big thank you to Celia (Joshua’s mum) who is a Vet, for taking such good care of our little chicks when they were first born, and Melissa (Angelique’s Mum) for lending us the incubator and helping us every step of the way. We have sent our chicks to a lovely farm where they can make lots of chicken friends. We have started our Preschool 5 Graduation practices in the Auditorium and they are going really well. The children know all their songs and are very excited for the big Graduation night on Wednesday of Week 7. Preschool 5 Graduation invitations will be sent out very soon, please keep an eye out for them and RSVP as soon as possible. At Preschool the health and wellbeing of all our children is very important to us. As part of our curriculum we teach the children about their own personal hygiene and practices such as washing their hands and covering coughs. So our Preschool continues to be a healthy place to learn, we ask
that parents please keep their child at home if they are unwell so that illnesses and infections are not spread.
Our thanks this week go to: Preschool1: Celia (Joshua’s Mum) and Melissa (Angelique’s Mum). Preschool2: Naomi (Ava’s Mum) and Claire (Oliver’s Mum) for taking home the washing. Preschool3: Julianne (Luke’s Mum) Miss Nerida and Miss Kristy
Transition Notices Pre-Transition/Transition T3 Karaolias This week has been, as the expression goes, "full steam ahead". With our visit to Healthy Happy Harold (Life Education Van) completed last week, and the Peter Combes Concert done and dusted, we have had a very productive week. On Monday, the children had to write Miss Christine an independent story for have-a-go writing. For Mathematics, we have been exploring positioning and transformation; so we have been making treasure maps and writing out the directions for our maps. For Science, we have continued our exploration about clouds and made some cloud finders, (we have had great weather for cloud watching). We also conducted a milk rainbow experiment, and the children have been learning how to write up a Science report. In Geography, we explored some Aboriginal symbols that we will be using in our narrative painting. Finally, in Health, we talked about Stranger Danger and the 5
important people to seek assistance from. Congratulations to Christopher, Vasilios, Owen, and Johanna for receiving Merit Certificates last week at Assembly. Christine Karaolias
Junior School Notices Year 1A Maddox 1A have been very busy this week. In Literacy we continued to focus on character descriptions. The children made their very own intergalactic passport. They wrote a description about themselves and had to include information about their name, date of birth, gender and favourite planet. In Numeracy we continued to focus on the attributes of shapes. We focused on identifying edges and corners, and sorted 3D shapes into groups. Using shape nets, we made our very own alien 3D shapes. This week we also focused on chance. We used the language of ‘will happen’, ‘won't happen’, and ‘might happen’ to determine the likelihood of possible events occurring. In Geography, we have been watching the weather. We are recording the weather for the month of November and observing changes in weather patterns. As we have been recording the weather and date, the children have noticed differences in weather as we move into the wet season. Next week we will compare our weather with the weather in Melbourne, to learn about different climates across Australia.
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PLANNING FOR 2015 With just five weeks to go to the end of this school year, we are all beginning to think about the new school year.
Our planning for next year and number of classes, teachers, etc., can only be finalised at the end school year once we know finalise enrolment numbers at each year level. Similarly, there is always teacher movement and staff on leave that we need to factor in. Again, some of this information does not come to us until the last day of term, or even early January. We will have some staff taking Maternity Leave in 2015, and some staff returning from Maternity Leave in 2015.
We are happy to receive requests from parents regarding placement of their children in classes in 2015. These requests cannot be considered until final staffing is completed, and teachers and students change from year to year. Where possible we always do our best to address requests and if we are unable to do so, contact parents in January before school re-commences. All requests must be made in writing and addressed to Jaya Srinivas, Assistant Principal. Please do not send requests to teachers, office staff, or Assistant Principals/Coordinators in the Junior School or Middle School as we require one central system for tracking and checking parent requests. No changes have been made to our practices regarding placement of classes.
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Junior School Report Please continue to regularly check your email and Edukite for updates about our classroom.
Michelle Maddox Year 1C Mizon We are now half way through the term and the children have continued to be motivated and achieve their best this week. We have been looking at the weather and seasons in Darwin and comparing it to that of Melbourne. We have recorded the weather and temperature in tables, and next week will make video weather reports and graphs of our findings. In English, we have enjoyed producing some creative poetry about fireworks and bonfires. This week is a special festival in England, where Miss Mizon is from, called Guy Fawkes Night, and people celebrate with fireworks and bonfires. Find out more about what we have been up to through photos and links on Edukite. Victoria Mizon Year 1D Hartley We are on weather watch! We have been using an app to chart the weekly weather of Melbourne and Darwin. We have observed lots of differences, and looked at how Melbourne is coming out of Spring and into Summer, and Darwin is heading into its wet season. We have also looked at making a brochure about Darwin to help people learn more about the seasons. This week we are revising long vowel sounds using the silent ‘e’. There are great activities on Study Ladder and Starfall Reading websites to help develop sound knowledge further. In Mathematics, we have focused on number patterns and counting forwards and backwards in 2, 5, and 10’s. Keep practising these skills at home to improve speed and recall. Well done to those who have brought all their late books back as we are trying very hard to get the Library party, and need all the overdues back before Week 8, so keep searching! Cristina Hartley Year 2A Howe Busy, busy, busy in 2A! We have had an excellent two weeks of testing
where students have proved they have fantastic ability. In between testing, we have been doing some exciting work in Geography where we have designed our own bird’s eye view of a school. All students produced fantastic, imaginative maps, inventing their own schools with placement of features being a big focus.
We have been working on different mental strategies in Mathematics, and each student shared their favourite with the class as part of News. Each student has exceptional ways of calculating their Mathematics work.
Congratulations to Khye and Hayley for receiving Merit Certificates this week in Assembly.
On Friday of Week 6 (15th November 2014), our class will be performing in Assembly. I will be in touch soon to organise some wonderful costumes that we need to get together for the performance.
Maddie Howe
Year 2D Scaturchio Wow! Who can believe that Week 5 has already come and gone and it is already Week 6 next week?!
This week we have been extra busy in 2D, and the students have completed the remainder of their mid-term tests. The class has been working really hard and have demonstrated excellent focus throughout the week.
In Geography this week, the students enjoyed creating and labelling their own map of the school. The students also presented their Geography ‘mystery topic’ for their Sharing News, and some of the wonderful presentations included a compass salvaged from a shipwreck in Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean, a map and story book about East Africa, a PowerPoint on animals from the North Pole, photos from Western Australia, a PowerPoint on penguins in the South Pole, and a travel map of North America. Next week the topic is Science!
In Literacy this week, the class wrote wonderful persuasive pieces. The students have been working very hard on developing strong arguments and convincing supporting reasons with strong persuasive language. Well done to Lucas Obando for being our Star Writer this week!
Finally, congratulations to Aidan MacCarthy and Kael Reid for receiving Merit Awards this week – well done!
Susannah Scaturchio
Year 3A Yarran The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy in 3A. Last week we had the opportunity to visit the Life Education Van, and the students thoroughly enjoyed their experience. They learnt how to make a healthy menu and choose the right foods to eat. The also learnt about medicines, which ties nicely in with our Health topic this term.
We have also been very busy completing our ACER testing and our class testing. The students have worked really hard, and they are to be commended for their efforts during this time.
Beginning this week in Science, students will be participating in experiments related to heat energy. They will be able to predict what they think might happen, before recording about what actually happens once it is completed.
The News topic presentations have been going extremely well this term. The students have all worked hard to prepare for these, and have created fantastic PowerPoint presentations to share with the class. I have been very impressed with both their preparation and delivery of the presentations. It is a wonderful time for the students to share with the class and have the opportunity to ask and answer questions about the allocated topic.
Please remember to return all the permission slips that have been handed out recently, as soon as you can. Well done to all those students who are remembering to bring in their water bottles. I think we had one day where everyone had brought them in!
Krissy Yarran
Year 3C Thomson It is hard to believe we have come to the half-way point in the term, and that the year has nearly slipped by us. Before we know it the holiday period will be upon us. So we are working hard to get in as much learning as we can.
We had a fun time in the Harold Van discussing things that are good and
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Junior School Report bad for us, what foods we require to ensure a healthy lifestyle, and how to be a good friend. All students were on their best behaviour during this lesson, and should be very proud of themselves.
We have started our Creative Writing unit this week, and our fist topic was ‘imagine you find a dinosaur in your backyard’. The students had to write a story and boy, were there some very creative ideas floating about. We really enjoyed getting the chance to then read our stories to our friends.
We spent some time looking at expanding four digit numbers. At first it was a little tricky trying to re-write a number by regrouping them in more than one way, however, after a while we got the hang of it!
Tanya Thomson
Year 4A Thompson We have been doing well at writing division sums this last fortnight. We have even done some which have remainders.
In English we have been writing persuasive pieces – one is about why students should be allowed to have a class party at the end of term. Hmmmm.
Our marble jars are looking extremely full... the prizes may have to come out soon. Everyone did well at the Life Education Van – I think we impressed the giraffe with our good behaviour and knowledge of how to stay safe on
the internet. Well done for surviving all the assessments!
Heather Thompson Year 5A Noonan This week we continued to complete poetry for the individual poetry books we are making. We tried to finish off our metaphor poems on ‘Life’, and began a simile poem on ourselves. Here is an example of some of our metaphors: Life is a snowflake always slipping
from your grasp. Shari Life is a goldmine of souls. Joe Life is a Ferris Wheel waiting for you
to ride. Cassie Life is a beautiful friend full of
laughter and joy. Emma Life is a meaningless lie. Elizabeth
In Science, we worked in small groups to prepare an experiment based on colour as part of our Unit of work on Light. Each group had to complete their experiment by carefully following the written instructions, and will present it to the class in Week 6. The students learnt how to work together, cooperate and solve problems.
Please remember to return your 2015 Music note as soon as possible so the Music Department can finalise planning.
Marie Noonan
Year 5B Brierley This week, students have been learning about adverbial phrases in grammar, and observing how they can add information to a sentence in order
to provide further detail. Students have continued to analyse the poem, ‘Mulga Bill’s Bicycle’, by picking out different features and developing their understanding of the poem.
During the Mathematics lesson, students have been learning about order of calculations using the BODMAS acronym to assist them. All students have been working well to understand this concept, and are commended on their efforts.
In Science lessons, students have been estimating whether materials are transparent, translucent or opaque, and then testing the objects to see if their predictions were correct.
Helen Brierley
Year 5D Lea Students have been hard at work learning BOMDAS in Mathematics. With practise, they are learning the importance of calculating what is in the brackets first then moving on to the four operations, with multiplication and division having priority over addition and subtraction. In Novel Studies, we have finished reading the book and are up to displaying our knowledge of the text through a book review and possibly a board game in coming weeks. Well done 5D for your hard work in your subject areas. We are now half way through the term. Keep up the good work. Adene Lea
Ashok Kumar and Jim Hilder from the Nightcliff Lions Club. Sincere thanks to the Nightcliff Lions Club for donating $1500 towards the purchase of picture books for the Early Years
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Middle School Report Middle School Report MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM Year 9 Exam Week In Week 7, all students in Year 9 will sit exams in: English, Mathematics, Humanities and Science. The exams are designed by subject teachers to reflect the programs which have been taught across the year or a given semester. Students will be informed of further details in class with regards to revision topics or resources they can prepare to bring in to the exam (if applicable). All exams will take place during lesson time and in the classroom environment. The Year 9 Exam Week serves two main purposes:
to familiarise students with a standard assessment process used in senior secondary education; and
to give students the opportunity to experience exam procedure.
Year 9 Exam Timetable:
Catch-up exams will take place during Period 6 and 7 on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you have any queries regarding the curriculum, assessment, or reporting at Middle School level, please do not hesitate to get in touch via Phone: 8985 0165 or email: [email protected]. Siobhan Nox Acting Assistant Principal Middle School Curriculum Administration Coordinator
Middle School Notices Year 6B Burns/Ryder We have had another busy week this week. On Tuesday, Year 6 headed off on our excursion to Brown’s Mart. At the theatre we were treated to the performance, ‘The Book of Shadows’, a very engaging performance. We could relate many stage and story productions back to our Shakespearean theme in English this term. Students thoroughly enjoyed the act, and learning about the art of puppetry and Indonesian art culture. In English this week, we have continued reading the play Romeo and Juliet. We discussed themes and continued to look at the language techniques. Students have also received their Shakespearean English Assessment, which they should be well on their way to completing. Students
need to see Miss Burns as soon as possible if they have any questions or if they are struggling with any of the tasks. On Thursday, we had our Life Education lesson in the Healthy Harold Van. The lesson focused on influences and pressures, and the strategies to reduce harm, particularly in relation to tobacco use. Students found the session very informative and engaged in some very meaningful activities. We have been completing many end of year assessments, and are in full revision mode at present. Everyone needs to remember their own independence and study up to achieve their best marks possible across all subject areas. If anyone is experiencing any difficulties with the workload over these weeks, please come and talk to us so we are able to help you out. We know it can be a very stressful time for all. Remember to bring a hat each day and a water bottle to class. These items are a must for each day but especially for Thursdays when we have Physical Education. Ebony Burns and Rebecca Ryder Year 6C Materazzo What an amazing week we have had in Year 6. This week we celebrated Bandanna Day and raised money for CanTeen. We can proudly say that we sold 800 bandannas, and the students looked amazing when they wore them to our Middle School Assembly.
Our Year 6 Canberra students were in for a treat when The Hon Natasha Griggs made a surprise visit to our School and presented the students with an autographed photo and certificate from the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Abbott. We then hosted a special morning tea from Year 6 thanking her for giving us an amazing time in Canberra late last term. The celebrations continued as we enjoyed all the antics of Halloween, and decorated the Auditorium in scary, spooky skulls, and more. The students got to enjoy old fashioned
Monday 17th November
English Exam (Lesson 1 and 2)
Tuesday 18th November
Humanities: History and Geography Exam (Lesson 1 and 2) Science Exam (Lesson 4 and 5)
Wednesday 19th November
Mathematics Exam (Lesson 1 and 2)
Students, The Hon Natasha Griggs Member for Solomon, and Ms Jaya at Middle School Assembly
celebrating Bandanna Day
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games like apple bobbing, wrap the teacher in toilet paper, marshmallow on a string, pin the tail on the black cat, and a spooky thriller disco! Mrs Ferguson was especially scary taking the tolls at the door!
This week we have been working very hard, and focusing on our assessment tasks for the semester. The students have begun their English shakespearean tasks and I am looking forward to seeing what they create. In History, we have commenced our source analysis assessment on Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius. It has been fascinating investigating all the artefacts that have been uncovered. In Mathematics we have been revising all the semester’s work ready for our test next week, and in Science, we have been revising reversible and irreversible change. We are looking forward to starting Living Things and getting back into the Science Lab next week. We were lucky enough to join the other Year 6 classes and attend a show at Brown’s Mart Theatre this week. The Book of Shadows was a live theatre act that also incorporated amazing puppets. We then got to participate in question time with the cast and crew of the show, and learnt all about the puppets and how they are created. It was fascinating and the students loved this opportunity.
This Friday we are looking forward to visiting the Life Education Van. Please ensure you have returned your permission notes.
Once again a reminder about hats and water bottles at school. Please ensure the students bring these items with them each day.
We are wishing Joshua Barnard lots of luck in Singapore this weekend, where he is competing in a major competition.
Sara Materazzo Year 6D Scott In the classroom, group based activities are frequently undertaken. This allows concepts to be analysed and disseminated (in one’s own words), thereby setting in motion your child’s desire to articulate his/her understanding. Doing so also enhances listening skills and reiterates the necessity to use ‘new’ words - whether they are synonyms that (in a general sense) augment an
Middle School Report
These masks were created by Year 8A and 8B students and represent a character in the Shakespearean play 'Twelfth Night'
Morning Tea in Year 6
Apple Bobbing in the Auditorium on Halloween
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individual’s vocabulary - or specific to a lesson such as the language of Mathematics (commutative, inverse, sequence etc.).
Supplementary homework tasks, such as the completion of unfinished classwork, may be assigned if this is deemed to be necessary. Please note that, if your child would like additional support (by way of reviewing lesson objectives), this is readily available in class.
'Classroom Achievement' is recognised by a ‘Pupil of the Month’ presentation and, as individuals, our triumphs are reflected upon on a weekly basis. A Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum certificate may be issued in this regard.
We are learning about the Romans this term. The students have been encouraged to carry out independent research to assist them in the completion of their assignment. We would be very grateful if you are in a position to share suitable books, posters, pictures or artefacts (only if they are readily available to you). Doing so can personalise your son/daughter’s learning journeys and (for one and all) really bring history to life. Please label anything you send in to ensure that it is returned to your child at the end of term.
An effective partnership between home and school is highly valued to ensure open lines of communication and that the education your child receives is the best possible. We would continue to stress the importance of reviewing and signing your child’s Student Planner Diary. In this way you may identify their weekly planning, in respect of their homework regime, and make contact with the classroom teacher.
6D, thank you for a terrific week. Remember: Attitudes are contagious, Happiness is an attitude, one worth catching. In the words of Anthony J. D'Angelo ‘Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine’
David Scott
Senior College Report Important Upcoming Senior College Dates:
Monday 3rd
November to Wednesday 19th November:
Stage 2 Examinations Commence.
Tuesday 11th November: Stage 2 Art Exhibition at
Senior College 5pm.
Monday 17th to Friday 21
st November: Stage 1
Examinations Commence.
Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th November: Senior
College Drama Performance
Monday 1st December to Friday 5
th December:
Year 10 Work Experience.
Thursday 18th December: Stage 2 Results and ATARs
released.
Final Stage 2 Examinations This week our Stage 2 students have begun their final examinations. This week students have completed examinations in English Studies, Mathematical Applications, Mathematical Studies, Modern History, Physics and Psychology.
Middle School Report
STAGE 1 YEAR 10/11 EXAMINATION TIMETABLE 2014
SEMESTER 2, TERM 4 , WEEK 7 (Monday 17th - Friday 21st of November 2014)
TIME Mon 17 November Tues 18 November Wed 19 November Thurs 20 November Fri 21 November
9:00-11:10am
Year 10 Maths Studies (120mins)
Stage 1 Maths Studies (120mins) Stage 1 Geography (90mins) Stage 1 English Studies
(120mins)
Year 10 Maths Applications
(120mins)
Stage 1 Legal Studies
(120mins) Stage 1 Dance (120 mins)
Stage 1 Drama ( All
Day)
Year 10 Numeracy (120mins) Stage 1 History (120mins) Year 10 English (120mins)
Stage 1 Maths Applications (120mins)
11:10-12:30pm LUNCH LUNCH LUNCH LUNCH LUNCH
Stage 1 Chemistry (120mins) Stage 1 Physics (120mins) Stage 1 Biology (120 mins)
Year 10/11 Dance (120
mins) Catch Up Exam Time 12.00-2:10pm
Stage 1 Scientific Studies (120mins)
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Stage 2 examinations started on Monday 3rd November. Important dates with regard to these examinations are below. All examinations will be held at the Essington International Senior College, Charles Darwin University.
Stage 1 and Year 10/11 Examinations
These examinations will be held during Week 7 from
Monday 17th to Friday 21
st November 2014. A copy of the
examination Timetable is below. Students should be
revising for their examinations as part of their daily
homework schedule.
Year 10/11 Work Experience Part 2 2014
Year 10 students have their Work Experience Placement
forms for their second placements from Monday 1st
December till Friday 5th December 2014. Copies of these
are on the Homework website under the PLP section.
These are to be returned to Mr Moore by Friday
8th
November.
Peter Moore
Dean of Studies
Art at the Senior College
The Stage 2 Visual Arts students are busy putting the
finishing touches to their Art and Design works ready for
their final exhibition which is to be held in the downstairs
Common Room, Orange 4, Charles Darwin University. The
official opening is at 5pm, Tuesday 11th November. All
members of the school community are invited to attend.
This year the students have created a wide range of
exciting and innovative works that include sculpture,
painting, and charcoal drawing with printmaking,
architecture, fashion design, graphic design, wearable art,
fabric printing and construction. We are all excited to be
able to show the work as a culmination of a productive and
creative year's work.
Gillian Mercer
Senior Visual Arts Teacher
STAGE 2 EXAMINATION DETAILS
08.00am Monday 10th November Biology (3 Hours)
12.30pm Tuesday 11th November Legal Studies (3 Hours).
08.00am Wednesday 12th November Chemistry (3 Hours)
08.00am Thursday 13th November Physical Education (2 Hours)
08.00am Friday 14th November Mathematical Methods (3 Hours)
08.00am Friday 14th November Specialist Mathematics (3 Hours)
12.30pm Monday 17th November Accounting (2 Hours).
08.00am Wednesday 19th November Geography (2 Hours)
Senior College Report
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General Notices Music Notices Celebration 2014 Concert Letters for the Celebration 2014 Concert, with all the organisational details, have been handed to students. Our Dance and Music students have been working very hard these last few months, and we are looking forward to this very exciting event. It would be appreciated if permission notes for the concert and rehearsal are returned to the pink tray in the Music Centre by Wednesday 12
th November.
The following groups will be performing at the Celebration 2014 Concert:
Songsters Choir Junior School Choir Premier Choir Senior and Junior Strings
Ensemble Orchestra Jazz Ensemble Beginner Strings Class Senior College Dancers Middle School Dance Elective.
Parents - please check if you have a choir or band uniform at home that is no longer in use. Uniforms are to be returned to the Music Centre in a plastic bag with your child’s name written on it.
Strings program 2015 As you may be aware, all students in Year 4 and 5 have the opportunity to continue with the Strings classes or join the general music class as part of their Music program in 2015.We are delighted that, as from next year, our present Year 5 strings students may choose to continue with their Strings classes in Year 6. Please check with your child to ensure that all notes have been signed and returned to the pink tray in the Music Centre. Well done to Miss Pendergast’s Year 2 class for being the first Year 2 class to return all their permission notes with regard to the Strings Program in 2015.
Dates to Diarise Wednesday 19
th November - St
Cecilia singing exams Wednesday 19
th November - Solo
performances at the Preschool Graduation
Thursday 27th November -
Celebration 2014 Concert rehearsal at the Darwin Entertainment Centre
Friday 28th November- Celebration
2014 Concert. Leanne Bakker Music Administration Coordinator The String Program All students in Year 3 have the opportunity to learn a string instrument: violin, viola, or cello. Before students hire or buy their instrument it is very important that they are sized correctly. There are actually seven different sizes of instrument for a child. Most of our students range in size from a
3/4 down to a
1/8. Very few
require a full size violin in Year 3. Please do not make the mistake of thinking that your child will grow into the instrument. This will create difficulty playing the instrument due to overstretching, causing problems with poor posture and technique, which is essential at the start. On the other hand, if the instrument is too small, the fingers will be so closely placed together on the fingerboard that they will feel squashed. In both cases this will cause problems with intonation and technique. The String teachers at Essington are there to help you make the correct decision on sizing and buying an appropriate instrument. All Year 2 students are sized in Term 4 before they commence lessons in Year 3. Buying versus Hiring There are two options for students learning a string instrument - either to hire or buy an instrument. Students who buy an instrument can keep the same instrument for a few years, or sell and upgrade to a larger or better one. If the student wants to learn for the next three years where tuition is free, then it is much more economical to buy the instrument. Students may want to sell their instrument on to another student at the School when they have outgrown the instrument or completed their studies
Animato Strings.com.au sells good quality violins, violas, and cellos at a reasonable price, and have been recommended by our String teachers. Animato Strings offer a special package which includes a cleaning cloth, rosin, shoulder rest, and music stand. Instruments come with a one year warrant plus free shipping. The pegs and bridge are professionally set up, and is a good first student’s instrument to purchase from a reputable company. Cellos If your child is interested in playing the cello, we would like to offer the following advice. Cellos are big, bulky instruments for little people to carry, and students need to learn how to look after the instrument properly. Shoulder straps are much better than a handle on the side of the instrument case as the cello case can be easily bumped on the ground or into someone. Cellos can be very easily damaged and are costly to fix. It is better to wait for at least six months to a year until the student is confident of looking after the instrument well before buying one. Often damage is caused to the cello neck. The wood may split and it is very costly to repair. There is no guarantee that the cello will not split again in the same spot even after repair, especially in our humid climate. If you have any questions regarding the String program, please do not hesitate to contact the Music Department. Kirsty McCallum Strings Teacher
Art Notices It is hard to believe that we are already halfway through the term. My Year 6 and 7 students have continued to do some beautiful work on a range of tasks which have revealed some amazing artistic talent. The Year 7 students have been working on still life painting with some outstanding results, and the Year 6 students have been making paper Ancient Roman mosaic pictures which will be displayed in their classrooms to coincide with their History studies this term. My favourite thing about teaching Art is seeing how the students often surprise themselves
CELEBRATION 2014 CONCERT
Tickets on sale at the
Front Office
$7.00 per person or $20.00 per family of four
The Essington School Darwin 11
with what they can achieve when they explore different techniques and materials. It has been very exciting venturing into the new Art Room in the Essington Education Centre building for the first time over the past week. My Art Club students went on a very special 'field trip' to the new Art Room for their lessons last week, and it was wonderful producing such stunning work in such well equipped surroundings. They made some gorgeous prints, and we had everything on hand that we needed to do our very best work. Hope you enjoy looking at these photos of my lovely students and their work! Cathy Huggett Art Teacher
Dance Notices Congratulations to our Year 12 Graduate Dancers: Kate Francis, Meagan Johnson, Grace Halliwell, Hannah McCourt, and Kirsty Wedmore. These are our first group of Dance students, some who started in the Essington Dance Program in Year 7. They all looked stunning at their Graduation last week, and we look forward to hearing news of their future adventures. We share great excitement with both Grace and Hannah who are pursuing careers in dance.
Congratulations also to Ted Watkins and Courtney Venturin, who recently won 8 Gold and 2 Silver medals at the Australian Dance Sport Championships in ballroom dance. A fantastic achievement! Our Celebrations Concert and End of Semester Dance Recital are fast approaching. Permission notes for the End of Semester Dance Recital have been issued to Junior and Middle School students. A correction to this note is that the Celebrations Concert rehearsal will be conducted at the
Lisa Svara and the Year 12 Graduating Dancers
Ted Watkins and Courtney Venturin at the Australian Dance Sport Championships
in ballroom dance
General Notices
The Essington School Darwin 12
General Notices Darwin Entertainment Centre on Thursday 27
th November. Notes
confirming the Celebrations Concert participation will be provided shortly. Please ensure signed notes are returned promptly. Costume requirements have also been provided in a note. Please ensure students have their necessary costume items. Please contact Ms Lisa [email protected] if you have any questions. Auditions for the 2015 Dance Extension program will be held on Friday 14
th November from 3.00-
5.00pm at the CDU Theatre. The Dance Extension program is taught by Ms Noonan at the Senior College, and requires a commitment from participants to attend class every Monday 3.00-5.00pm. Dance Extension students work on developing more advanced technique and learning choreographic pieces for performance, including the Stage 2 moderation. Students planning to choose Dance Electives in Year 8 next year, as well as Year 9, 10 and Stage 1 Dance students, are invited to audition. The Extension Program is for those students with more advanced technical skill/experience, as well as a dedicated and committed attitude. Audition application forms can be collected from Ms Noonan or Ms Lisa. These need to be completed and submitted at the audition. For the audition, students will participate in a contemporary technique class then present a 30 second piece of their own solo choreography. Many end of year dance concerts and performances are coming up and feature many of our wonderful dance students including: ‘The Magic of Dance’ by Leisa’s
School of Ballet & Duprada Dance Company, Saturday 8
th November;
‘Cindarella’ by Palmerston Association for Dancing, Sunday 16
th November;
‘The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet’ by Darwin High School Year 10 students, 18
th & 19
th November;
and ‘Dance is the Word’ by Darwin
Performance Academy, 13th & 14
th
December. Keep an eye on The Darwin Entertainment Centre website
www.yourcentre.com.au or Phone: 8980 3333 to book tickets. Joanna Noonan and Lisa Svara Dance Teachers
Language Notices Japan Trip In Week 2 and 3, Mrs Ferguson (Assistant Principal, Middle School) and I had the fabulous opportunity to take twelve Essington students to Tokyo for ten days. This year, all the students that participated in the trip had studied Japanese at school for at least twelve months. This gave the students a strong foundation for the trip and deepened the experience. It was wonderful to see the students’ eyes light up when they read signs in Hiragana, and the confidence in their language skills grew over the ten days. We had a very busy schedule, squeezing in as much sightseeing as possible. We visited Meiji Shrine, Harajuku’s Takeshita Doori, Akihabara (for the anime-obsessed), Sky Tree, Disneyland, Edo-Tokyo Museum, Tokyo Metropolitan Building, Asakusa, and Sensoji. The students tried a great variety of Japanese foods including green tea croissants, and even Russian roulette takoyaki! During our stay we were also welcomed with open arms at Tamagawa University School for three days of special classes and tours of the incredible campus. Many of our students were hosted by the Tamagawa families of students that came to Darwin in August this year, and it was wonderful to see the development of an ongoing relationship with the individual students and families. During our time at Tamagawa, students shadowed Japanese host students, and visited the School’s Biosystems and Biofunctions Research Centre, Planetarium, Campus Shop (where we tried honey and ice-cream produced by the school), and participated in a calligraphy class. We would like to thank Mr Cannon, Jayne Lomas and Roisin Ferguson for
their help in organising the Tokyo Tour. Japanese Film Festival The Japanese Film Festival is on this
weekend at Birch Carroll and Coyle
Cinema, Darwin City. This is a
fabulous opportunity for our students studying Japanese to practise their
listening skills, and learn a little more
about Japanese culture. Tickets are $5 with free admission for children and
AJANT (Australian – Japanese
Association of the NT) members.
Tickets can be bought at the door or online at http://japanesefilmfestival.net/
ticketing-and-venue/darwin/.
Friday 7th November 7pm
The God of Ramen ラーメンより大切
なもの
Saturday 8th November 7pm
Thermae Romae テラマエ・ロマエ
Sunday 9th November 3pm
The Tale of Princess Kaguya かぐや姫
の物語 (Anime)
Chinese Star Writing Competition The Education Office of the Embassy
of the People’s Republic of China and the Confucius Institute at Charles
Darwin University are currently running
a Chinese writing competition for
secondary school students. The writing task needs to be at least 200
characters long and hand written.
Entries close on Monday 17th
November. Please see Mrs White in the Language Centre at lunchtime if
you are interested in entering or email
Year 7 Japanese Year 7 students have been very busy learning about Japanese food, table manners, using chopsticks, green tea and rice cultivation this term. They conducted a research project whilst I was away in Japan and over the next week they are presenting their findings to the class. We have had quite a few groups bringing in sushi for the class to try and we are also looking forward to trying some green tea and green tea Kit Kats next week. Students are studying language associated with our topic and in particular how to place orders in Japanese. In Week 8, we will be holding an Obento Masterchef competition and we look forward to seeing some creative lunch boxes
The Essington 13
General Notices
following the あいうえお of obento
making.
Linda White Acting Director of Languages
Essington Representative Teams Jump Rope for Heart Launch The Year 5 students have been raising money for the Heart Foundation. Their efforts culminated in a “Jump Off” on Friday. A full report and photos will be in the Bulletin next week.
Year 3 – 6 and Year 7 – 9 Build Up Netball Competition The Build Up Netball Competition is now well and truly under way. Our teams are showing great improvements each week and playing some fantastic netball.
On the night of the first Year 7 Graduation, Wednesday 26
th
November, all Year 7 games have
been cancelled. Please do not turn up
to Netball on this night.
Do not forget players are to wear their
sports uniform for the competition.
Games will be at the following times: Year 3/4 teams are to play at 5pm
Year 5/6 teams are playing at 6pm
Year 7 – 9 teams are playing at
7pm.
DARWIN REGION PRIMARY
SCHOOL GALA DAYS, YEAR 4 – 6
Beach Volleyball Our Year 4 – 6 players took part in the
Darwin Region Volleyball event at
Winnellie today. A write up and photos
will appear in the Bulletin next week.
Hockey The last event for the year is Hockey.
Teams are now organised for this
event. The Hockey Day will take place
at Marrara Hockey Fields on Friday 21
st November. Students will need to
bring their own food and water. They
can also take their own hockey
equipment. Please be at the bus stop for 8:10am ready to go.
DARWIN REGION MIDDLE SCHOOL
GALA DAYS, YEAR 7 – 9 Beach Volleyball Ms Forsyth took nineteen students
from Year 7-9 to partake in the
Volleyball City Cluster Day. We had
four strong mixed teams who showed
great skills in both playing and
umpiring. It was a great day had by all
involved, and strong competition was
demonstrated. Overall, Essington
Essington U14 Girls Basketball Team won their game 61 to 5 last Saturday. All team members are showing great
improvement in their game.
Essington U14 Boys Basketball Team won their game 40 to 35 last Saturday
Year 7 - 9s at the Volleyball City Cluster Day Essington U16 Boys Basketball team
won their game 23 to 20 last Friday night
The Essington School Darwin 14
General Notices came fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth place
out of twelve schools. Well done!
Community Sports Notices Notice Board
In the Auditorium we have a notice
board for all sports notices and
community events. If you have any
notices you would like attached to this
board please drop them off at the
Sports Office or email a copy through.
Nightcliff Tigers AFL Team
The Nightcliff Tigers U16s are looking
for new players. Training is every
Wednesday and Friday from 5pm at
the Nightcliff (BMI) Oval on Camphor
St. Games are on Sunday. More
information with regard to registrations
can be found at http://
www.nightclifffootballclub.com.au/.
Student Achievements in
Sport Please remember to email through any
sporting achievements to
Karly Denmead
Assistant Principal/Sports Coordinator
Duke of Edinburgh Notices The final Award Ceremony is being
held at Parliament House on
Wednesday 19th November. The
following Year 9 students will be
receiving their Award from Chief
Minister Adam Giles:
Alexander Storey
Ben Scott
Ben Shenton
Eliza Sharland
Ellie Price
Erika Morris
Georgia English
Imogen Randazzo
Ishaq Ali
Jane Humphreys
Kiana Vincent
Madison LaPira
Morgan Hill
Olivia Rodeghiero
Patrick Mott
Taylor Gwyther
Tom White
Branden Thomson
Alessandro Spadaccini
Jordan Eldridge
Students should have received an
invitation in the mail. If you have not,
please let me know as soon as
possible.
Samuel Perryman has become the
24th and latest Year 9 student to
complete his Bronze Duke of
Edinburgh’s Award. For his service
section Samuel volunteered at St
Vincent de Pauls; for his skill section
he focused on his accuracy with his
archery; and for his Physical
Recreation, Samuel played volleyball.
Last Friday and Saturday, seven keen
Year 9 Duke of Edinburgh’s students
completed an Adventurous Journey.
The group gathered after lunch and
headed off to Lee Point. They were all
prepared with their hiking packs which
included all their drinks, food, clothing
and camping gear. It was a warm
afternoon so seeking shade at
Casuarina Coastal Reserve was a
must.
House Swimming New Record Holders Nicolas Tremblay, Paige Lawson and Joshua Staples
Junior School House Swimming Age Champions Joshua Staples, Nicolas Tremblay, Paige Lawson, Lily Blackman, Mae
Cowan, Madeline van der Meulen
The Essington School Darwin 15
General Notices After walking for close to two hours
and completing 8km, the group arrived
at Lee Point for a well-earned rest. On
the way back we did a bit of beach
walking to break things up, and arrived
back at School at 5.45pm. The
students then set up camp and
prepared their dinners. After heading
to bed for a well-earned rest, Megan
Brown and the Casual Workers
thought it would be good to do some
Halloween pranks on the group.
After an interrupted sleep, the group
were up just after 6am for breakfast
and their final 5km hike around Rapid
Creek. At the completion of this walk
we had seven very tired students who
headed home for a rest.
A reminder to all Duke of Edinburgh
students that you must keep updating
your on line record book and provide a
description of each entry into your log
book. If you are having trouble with
this please come and see me.
If you are in Year 8 and are 13 and 9
months of age I strongly encourage
you to sign up before the end of the
school year. Please collect an
enrolment form from me and I will have
you signed up and ready to go. We
now have 15 Year 8 students who
have enrolled, including three new
ones this week; Arne Orstavik,
Thomas Flux and Jane Gibson.
All Year 8 students who enrol this year
will have the opportunity to participate
in an Adventurous Journey down at
Litchfield National Park in the last
week of school. Students who have
already received this permission forms
must please return them to me as
soon as possible.
Spencer Harvey
Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator
Outdoor Education Notices Year 9 Outdoor Education classes
have been fishing again this week at
the Rapid Creek fishing platform. The
students caught numerous small fish.
Spencer Harvey
Outdoor Education Coordinator
We made it to Lee Point Wyatt, Adam, Morgan, Anisha, Chad, Jackson and Alex having a break on Casuarina Beach
Holly with her big fish Amelia with her catch
TAMAGAWA TOKYO TOUR