Head of St John's Shannon Rosewood
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NEGS Newsletter Term 3, Week 8 - Wednesday 3rd September 2014 Head of St John’s Shannon Rosewood Excursion Week TheExcursion Week 8Week excursion education program achieves many goals both in the educational sphere as well asThe in Week the areas 8 excursion of personal education and social program skill achieves development. many goals Students both willin the return educational to school sphere to write and as well as in the areas of personal and social skill development. Students will return to school reflectto write andon their refect camp on theirand campdaytime and daytimeexperiences. experiences. Coping Copingwith one’s with personal one’s personal care and care hygiene, organising clothingand hygiene, and organisingbelongings, clothing sharing and a room belongings, with a fellowsharing student a room andwith eating a fellow food student prepared and beyond the Term Dates to Remember homeeating arefood all prepared sound learning beyond theopportunities. home are all soundFor our learning younger opportunities. students it is For the our difference younger of a days learningstudents itoutside is the difference the classroom of a days that learningcreates excitementoutside the classroom and challenge. that creates excitement and challenge. TERM 3 (10 weeks) STUDENT BUS ARR/ CAMP ARR/DEP CLASS CLASS DATES ARRIVAL DEP Events coming up NAME/VENUE LOCATION TEACHER TIME SCHOOL Aboriginal • Kindergarten Orientation days Keeping Tuesday, Place, 10.15am on Jess – Contact enrolments for more K 9th Normal 10.30am/11.45am Kentucky School bus O'Connell September information. Street, Armidale • Grandparent’s Day – 5 September Thalgarrah Monday, 8th 9.00am on Back at school by 1/2 Field Studies Before 9am Lou Wood September School bus 3.10pm • Spring Fair – 6 September Centre • Camp week Wednesday, 10.30am/leave 10th - 7.30am on 12.30 Friday. Year 5 and Year 6 – 8 to 12 Sept 3/4 Lake Keepit 7.15am Anne Ward Friday, 12th School bus Arrive back by Year 3 and Year 4 – 10 to 12 Sept September 3.20pm. Year 1 and Year 2 – 8 Sept Kindergarten – 11 Sept Monday, 8th 6.30am on Arrive Canberra Transition – throughout Term 3. - Friday, Oxley Liane Nixon 5/6 Canberra 6.15am 5.00pm Leave 12th Explorer Heidi Dent Canberra 8.30am Thursday 18th September September coach 2.30pm: Assembly - Dr Jan Milburn Room Helping your child prepare for camp Last of Day of School Helping your child prepare for camp At St John’s,John’s, ourour goal is to make schoolschool campscamps rewarding rewarding and and enriching enriching experiences experiences for for every every student. student. We know thatthat for for some some children, children, being being away away from from their their families families can can be bechallenging challenging and and perhaps daunting.perhaps daunting. However, However, we trust we that trust you that understand you understand these these experiences experiences to tobe bean animportant important part of our curriculum,part of our curriculum, which cater which to the cater social, to the physical social, and physical emotional and emotional development development of your of child. your child. For most children, anxiety is quite normal. As a parent, you might welcome advice on dealing with your For most children, anxiety is quite normal. As a parent, you might welcome advice on dealing child’swith your nerves. child’s We nerves. have preparedWe have prepared some suggestions some suggestions to assist to youassist in youpreparing in preparing emotionally for camp. emotionally for camp. What parents can do • Acknowledge your child’s fears and worries. Don’t dismiss or ignore them - but don’t dwell on them What parents can do NEGS Calendar Link either. • Let your child know that it is normal to feel a little worried or anxious and that she may find many of http://negs.nsw.edu.au/calendar/ Acknowledge your child’s fears and worries. Don’t dismiss or ignore them - but the studentsdon’t in dwell his/her on classthem feeleither. the same way. • Try to connect this experience to another relevant, positive experience where a good outcome was achieved Letafter your initial child knowworries. that it is normal to feel a little worried or anxious and that • Gently encourageshe may fnd your many child of to the try students new activities in his/her that class challenge feel the samethem. way. • Speak positively about the camp, both to your child and whenever you are within earshot. If you have your own Try concerns, to connect don’t this hesitate experience to speak to another to your relevant, child’s positive classroom experience teacher. where a • Let your childgood packoutcome their was bag achieved with your after supervision initial worries. so they know where to find each outfit and toiletry item. Prepare well in advance and tick each item off a list. T: +61 02 6774 8700 F: +61 02 6772 7057 E: [email protected] W: www.negs.nsw.edu.au Facebook: NEGSarmidale Twitter: NEGSarmidale • If your child is feeling anxious, you may consider sending a keepsake of some sort, such as a soft toy or a special reading book. • Debrief with your child on their return home to help them reflect on just how well he/she has managed with the challenges faced. Remember they will arrive home very tired and perhaps such conversations are best had over the weekend rather than Friday night. Kindergarten Orientation \New students coming into Kindergarten in 2015 had an amazing first day of Orientation. Kindergarten is an important foundation year in a child’s schooling. Learning should be fun, creative and explore concepts through investigation and prepare students to become global citizens in an ever changing world. Student’s completed a wide range of activities and we can’t wait to see them again next week. If you know someone who would like to experience St John’s for a day, phone 6774 8700. Chess Challenge! Good luck to Year 3/4 at the Primary Schools One-Day Chess tournament being held in Armidale this week. Our resident chess enthusiast, Mrs Ward, is confident that our young players will do St John’s proud at this challenging event. Playing chess has been proven to improve problem solving skills, enhance memory and reading, and teaches children to think logically and efficiently. For more interesting reading on this topic see Dr Peter Dauvergne's article ‘The Case for Chess as a Tool to Develop our Children’s Minds’ found on the NSW Junior Chess League website http://www.nswjcl.org.au. Grandparents’ Day It is with great excitement that we are looking forward to Grandparents’ Day on Friday, 5 September. A musical concert will begin the event at 9:30 in the Assembly Hall. A scrumptious morning tea, bookstall, visiting Junior School classrooms and a Grandparents’ Day Chapel Service are all part of the joy of the day. Students are welcome to bring a special guest if circumstances prevent them from enjoying the day with a grandparent. NSW Northern Decathlon On Friday, 5th of September, a combined team year 5 and year 6 students will attend the Northern NSW Da Vinci Decathlon. The decathlon is an academic inter school gala day run in the spirit of an olympic decathlon with events of an academic nature. This event will be held at TAS with the theme for this year being ‘Mystery and Mayhem’. The challenges set for the day are difficult, however, students tackle these tasks together as a team and all bring different areas of strength. Our Stage Three team consists of Grace, Eva, Charlotte, Isabel B, Anna, Hannah R, Isabella G and Francicsa. Our team of girls will participate in activities across the following disciplines: Science – where students will be provided with higher-level scientific concepts and be tested on their ability to apply them. Mathematics – where the emphasis is placed on problem solving, number patterns and logic puzzles. Philosophy – which deals with maps, photographs and other evidence. English – where spelling, word origins, definitions, scrabble and writing tasks are all attempted. Creative Producers – where a sub-group from the team will develop and present a 30 second commercial to promote a particular product. The sub- group will move outside the competition venue and be given 10 minutes preparation time prior to presenting. Engineering Challenge – whereby a building task designed to test creativity and ingenuity will be given. Art and Poetry – in this area, the team will develop a poem plus a complementary work of art on a given theme. Cartography – requires students to decipher maps and apply the principles of map-making to represent spatial information in an imaginative ways. General Knowledge – testing of current affairs, entertainment, sport and trivia knowledge. Code Breaking – where in the spirit of World War II students will aim to decipher the various codes. We are looking forward to a great day. Mrs Dent Spring Fair St John’s students and staff have contributed to a fantastic St John’s Spring Fair 2014 poster. It is so cute! It is an A3 size poster that has the portrait of all students and staff. It will be available at the Spring Fair for $2 or $4 laminated. Posters can also be ordered from Mrs Smith at St John’s Reception. Student Achievements Congratulations to Caitlin Croft on her performance at the recent Carinya Christian School Horse Sports Day. Well done on receiving third in hacking, third in girl-rider, third in pleasure hack, and fourth for In and Out at the Paddock. Well done to Katie Hancock, winner of first place at the Official Tamworth Dressage Event and to Pricilla Clonan for her third place win at the Tamworth One Day Event.