01st

May, 2015

Vol. 4, Issue 53

ANZAC Day

Commemoration

100 Years

Welcome Sian

Watkins

Congratulations

Louise Sonter

Cross Country –

St Ives Park PS

Birthdays

Deputy Principal’s

Message

Principal’s

Message

News from the

Classrooms

Attachments

Address: Cnr Ayres and Acron Roads, St Ives NSW 2075 Telephone: 9449 6003 Fax: 9983 9334

Email: sirericwoo-s.school@det.nsw.edu.au ABN: 98 951 675 254

ANZAC Day assembly is one of the most significant events on SEWS calendar. This year commemorated 100 years. It is a time when we remember the landing of the Australian and New Zealand troops at ANZAC cove in Gallipoli on the 25th April 1915 and we acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of those that served and those that lost their lives. Recognising ANZAC Day is an important part of our country and SEWS prides itself on being a part of this and remembering those who demonstrated great courage in the service to their country and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. ANZAC Day commemoration ceremony was led by Sue Bell at SEWS this year and this beautifully organised service was heart-warming. Our students and staff laid poppies told personal stories of their family’s histories and connections to war and peacekeeping times.

100 years of ANZAC

Our students read and used AAC to deliver the Ode and Flanders field and the flag was raised following an observed one minute silence by all students and staff.

Victorian cross hero Ben Robertson Smith captured it well when he shared his thoughts about the significance of ANZAC Day. He said:

“The spirit of ANZAC I believe is what is inside every Australian. Our values are forged by the ANZACs. The tradition of ANZAC day speaks of who we are as people, our values and what we believe in no matter where we come from. The values of service, sacrifice, integrity, honesty and mateship”.

We will remember them ~ Lest we forget

Clean Up Australia

Welcome Sian

On behalf of the school community a very warm welcome is extended to Sian Watkins to the SEWS team this term. Sian was successful through the merit selection process and is now our new Deputy Principal SEWS DESU. Already Sian has shown her ability to be a proactive and wonderful team member and has built an instant rapport with the face to face students and all teaching and non-teaching staff and has been meeting with DESU teachers to learn all about our wonderful students in DESU. Sian comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge which will make her an invaluable member of our community. I know she is eager to get to meet our SEWS Face to Face and Distance Education families and find out more about the school. Congratulations Sian on your success at merit selection and welcome to SEWS team.

Sian Watkins – SEWS DESU new Deputy Principal

Congratulations Louise A big congratulations to Louise Sonter who was successful through the merit selection process and is now the substantiative Assistant Principal SEWS DESU. Louise has been an active member of the SEWS executive team for the past two years and her leadership skills and exemplary practice are highly commended and valued at SEWS. Louise has proven to be a valuable asset to the whole school and we look forward to her continued success and support in this role on a permanent basis.

Congratulations Louise

Cross Country – St Ives Park School Tuesday of week 2 saw 4E travelling to Acron Oval to join St Ives Park Primary (SIPPS) in their annual cross country. The weather was great with the sun shining and a cool breeze which made for perfect running conditions. Each student in 4E had the opportunity to run with their peers as they dashed across the oval and around the bush track to reach their goal. All students gave 100% and had a fabulous day. After the races we were able to refuel with a quick bite to eat along with the students from SIPPS before heading back to SEWS. Staff from SIPPS commented about how determined the students from SEWS were during the race and how many smiles they saw throughout the day. Great job NiK, Luc, Runa, Nick, Jai and Elysse! Matt & Paula

Ready to race

And they're off!

=

Run Runa Run!

Jai finishing strong

Nick Finishing strong at the SIPPS Cross Country

Dates for your Diary

Acknowledgement Day Event – Tuesday 26th May 2015

Parent Information Session ~Music Therapy ~ and Network Luncheon – Thursday 18th June 2015

Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend – Monday 8th June 2015

School Concludes Term 2 – Friday 26th June 2015

Birthdays

Big birthday wishes to Sam and Tadhg who both

turned 6 years of age. Many happy returns to

Phoebe and Isabella who both turned 17 and

Charley who turned 16. A very happy birthday to

Timothy who turned 15 and to Tyson who turned

14. Two of our wonderful staff members MaryJo

and Nicole also celebrated their birthdays and we

send out warm wishes birthday wishes to them

both.

Deputy Principal’s Message

Welcome back to Term 2. It is with great excitement that I join the team at Sir Eric Woodward Memorial School as the Deputy Principal. I look forward to meeting you all throughout the year at P&C events, parent teacher meetings, field trips and other school functions.

We are in a period of significant change within the Education System and I look forward to continuing on that journey with the Sir Eric Woodward school community.

I come to the school from Chatswood High School, a very large and diverse school with over 1300 students. At Chatswood I worked in several roles. These included relieving Deputy Principal, Head Teacher Student Wellbeing and Special Education Teacher. Previously I was the Head Teacher of a support unit for students experiencing mental health issues and behaviour disorders. I have many years’ experience working in both the education and health departments. I had better not say how many because you may realise that I am no longer 30.

In first term this year I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to work as a Learning and Engagement Officer at Macquarie Park Office. This experience was both rewarding and challenging. It allowed me to work closely with School Directors, Principals, Teachers and a variety of support staff across Northern Sydney. The focus of the role was to support schools in relation to student wellbeing and disability services.

My first two weeks at Sir Eric Woodward School have been very interesting. I have been getting to know all our students who access their education remotely and on site. Some of our Distance Education students have been unable to maintain contact with us as a result of the super storm. On site we have been able to continue to operate as usual with some minor variations to routine.

Thank you to everyone for welcoming me to the school community.

Sian Watkins

Deputy Principal

Principal’s Message

Term 2 has begun and by the end of week two it is always great to see so many smiling student faces and in the newsletter read about how they immediately get straight back into their work. Fortnightly Friday’s are a highlight for me as I get to put together the newsletter and read all about our amazing students from both face to face and distance education delivery modes. Working closely with the team I know the dedication and passion for each and every student the staff have and this is captured in each class room news article. I chat with different staff and visit the classrooms and it is evident that students’ engagement and learning is paramount but let’s not forget the rich curriculum based experiences that are happening each and every day.

Last Friday SEWS honoured our fallen and all our service men and women who have fought in wars and during peacekeeping times. Thank you to Sue who led the service and for all the students and staff for being such proud Australians and demonstrating their respect and the values of our ANZACs. It was truly a heartfelt commemoration and such a significant event to highlight at school. Watching our student lay poppies, read and use augmentative communication Flanders Field was beautiful. Students from 3B read the Ode and our school captains Lorrin and Georgia led the school

using switches to follow the ‘Remembrance Ode’ –We will remember them, Lest we forget. It was a proud moment here at SEWS. Next Friday a Mother’s Day stall will be held at the school which will allow our face to face students to choose a gift for their mothers or that special person in their life that has that significant role of ‘mum’. I hope our DESU students are all thinking about their mums and what they will be doing next Sunday to make this day a day for their mum to remember. Face to face families please don’t forget to send in a small gift for a donation to the stall and of course some money with your child on Friday 8th May to ensure that they can buy a gift, chosen with love for their mums. My thoughts go out to all our families and staff that were recently affected by the severe weather across NSW. The weather was not kind to a lot of us, with major storm damage, loss of power, internet down etc. It makes me very pleased to know that despite storm damage everyone is safe. I would like to take this opportunity to remind all our families and community to visit SEWS website

and go and our face book page. If permissions allow you may see your child star on our page!

SEWS FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/sirericwoodwardschool?fref=ts SEWS WEBSITE:

http://sirericwoodwardschool.com.au/ Have a lovely weekend!

Jo-Anne Gardiner

Principal

Sophie has started learning about the Vikings

Telecaster practises using his new switch to play a music video

The glacier takes shape under Brooke's watchful eye

Class 6S It has been a great start to term with all the students happy to be back. They have helped Jen settle in and we have been continuing all our routine activities as much as possible. Thanks to MaryAnn for all her support in getting things up and going! The dreadful weather last week meant we had to abandon our efforts to continue with Boccia at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance in Allambie Heights. We are looking forward to doing this next week during Community Access on Wednesday.

News from the Classroom

Class 2B Welcome back everyone! Students seem taller, some with new haircuts and best of all - great big smiles to greet everyone! This term our major theme covers the Vikings, and the glaciers and volcanoes of Iceland. Our Technology project involves taking photos for a stop motion animation to show the creation of a glacier. You can see in this newsletter our progress so far. Last Friday marked the school’s commemoration of the 100th landing at Gallipoli. Students made and placed poppies around a commemorative mounted poster. It was a memorable event. The school is preparing a 100th Anzac Day commemorative display and already some staff have contributed their stories, photos and war records. If you would like to contribute to the display just let either Louise or myself know and we can assist with displaying your records.

Sue & Louise

Emily revisits our work on magnets from last term

Nathan shows his enjoyment of music therapy this week

In the classroom, we began an HSIE-based unit of work thinking about Influential Australians and how Australians have shaped our culture. We took the opportunity to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the Gallipoli landing and spent the week exploring what Anzacs mean to us. We used music, stories and sensory-based materials such as felt hats, paper poppies and home-made representations of medals to explore the concepts involved. We also practiced for the Anzac assembly and as school captains Georgia and Lorrin used the switch to say ‘Lest We Forget’. While we were unable to begin hydrotherapy last week, we did continue with Food Technology and made lamingtons altogether. This was a very popular activity and all were very much involved; particularly in the eating afterwards! We would like to take the opportunity to wish Phoebe a very happy 17th birthday from last weekend; we hope you had a fabulous time. Jen & MaryAnn

Dan and the finished product- yum!

Phoebe helping to make lamingtons

Time for food technology

Lorrin and our Anzac felt hat

Georgia not too sure on trying on the hat!

Stuart and Jen making a poppy

Daniel enjoyed dancing under the Chinese lanterns

Jo’s Class Welcome back to term 2. I have enjoyed hearing about all of my student’s holiday adventures and I’m very pleased you have all settled nicely back into your school routine.

At the end of last term and during the holidays Georgia was helped by her brother and sister to complete some of her sensory learning activities based on Easter. While making Easter chocolate Georgia enjoyed smelling melted chocolate and of course eating the end result! Georgia also explored new sensory sand where Easter items were hidden for her to find and then group the items according to colour. The use of visuals to aide Georgia’s communication has been a focus in her educational program and very recently she independently chose a card to indicate a need relating to personal care. Well done Georgia! Jo

Georgia exploring her sensory sand box

Georgia stays safe while watching her brother melt chocolate

Georgia's Easter bunny

Georgia's sister paints her feet to make an Easter bunny

Rama’s Class It’s been a busy start to Term 2! It is lovely to catch up with all my students and hear about the wonderful school holiday news. Tyson’s home has been severely affected by the storms that ravaged NSW last week. They lost power for nearly a week. Tyson is a very helpful young person and helped his family and neighbours with their leaking roofs by placing buckets and mopping floors. Well done Tyson on your mature approach to handling a natural calamity.

Jordan is working hard on his set work. He is getting adept at telling time and is developing great calendar reading skills. He is working hard on developing his communication skills. Fantastic effort, Jordan.

Barbara’s Class Braydon has had a challenging start to the term and is only just getting back into his school work after a long break. Braydon had to move house in the last weeks of Term 1. He handled this upheaval very well. His mum had managed to unpack most of the boxes in the holidays, just in time to be caught in the middle of the ‘super storm’ that hit the Maitland area! After days without power, Braydon was eventually able to write me an email about the flood and scary winds. He also attached this photo of the flood waters almost covering the table in his backyard. Unfortunately, their shed, containing many of the unpacked boxes and some furniture, was completely flooded.

Jeni is also moving house at the moment.

Hopefully, she will be able to send in some photos of her new home using the skills she has been learning in Photography and Digital Media. Jeni has been taking photos when the sun is low so that the shadows enhance the image. Lachie will hopefully be starting his first Work Experience placement next week. He will be working at the local Tyreright learning how to identify and fit tyres. Lachie already has some great mechanical skills, and enjoys being active. During this work placement, he will also be focusing on some of the other skills that will help him to be work ready. Lachie will be working out how much he can budget for lunches and snacks and what kind of cheap and healthy food he can make ahead to take to work.

Barbara

Flood waters rising in Braydon's yard

It is always a delight to speak with Holly and hear about the interesting work she does whilst volunteering at Wauchope Public School library. She is learning great skills whilst working with the school librarian. She scans books, puts them back on the shelves and follows the librarian’s instructions. Well done Holly, we have a future librarian in our midst! Joshua works hard on his set work and his commitment towards his school work is very commendable. He is always polite and enthusiastic to learn. He is avid historian and is very adept at double digit addition. Keep up the good work Joshua. Rama

Holly outside Wauchope public school

Joshua using the laptop

Jen investigating shadows in photography

Lachie's first Work Experience placement

Class 3B It is wonderful to see the students of 3B back at school, eager to begin the new term and a new unit of work called ‘Our Place.’ This unit will allow the students of 3B to explore familiar natural and built environments whilst learning about our safety. We have already begun to explore the school environment and have done some beautiful sketches of our playground. The new term has also seen the students of 3B become more independent in using their maths skills. Students have been working through daily stations centred on learning all about shapes, number recognition and counting. We have seen some great things from our students and it is only Week 2 – keep up the good work 3B!

Finally we would like to send out a big happy birthday to Sam F and Tadhg who have both turned 6 since returning to school. Happy birthday boys! Cassandra & Anita

Oliver from 1P showed Thomas the smile of approval after making his ANZAC poppy

Sam C showed just how well he knows his shapes in maths

Sam C, Sam F and Sylvie were fantastic readers at our ANZAC Day Ceremony

Sylvie loves using counting bears to show her knowledge of numbers

The students of 3B are proud of their playground sketches

Class 5H This term we have been fortunate to have two students working alongside us in the classroom. Luke, our intern from Boston, made some interesting sensory stories with Stephanie which they recorded in her diary. Kelly, our teacher from Sydney University, also worked with Stephanie, making a PowerPoint slideshow which they were able to view together. Rifa has been very vocal this term and has been using her singing voice to express her joy in the classroom. She has also been vocal in Music Therapy singing while Josh played different musical instruments. 5H students are looking forward to the return of two of their wonderful classmates in the near future. Sandy & Jennie

Stephanie using the adapted scissors to cut out photos to put in her diary

Stephanie made a fire with Christine to support the Aboriginal story

Rifa enjoying her Music Therapy session with Josh

Stephanie used her hand to feel the vibrations in Josh's neck when he was singing

Amanda’s Class What a contrasting beginning of term for the students in my class. Last week the storm cut the phone and electricity at Alex’s home while Jayden, who lives on the Mid North Coast, spent the day on the beach! May, Bethany and Jamilah have not been affected by the storms and have all started their first Set of work for term 2.

May has been busy over the holidays attending a Science Fair at Sydney University. She also went on a tour of the Reserve Bank - a special event as information was given in Auslan as well as spoken English. As you can see in the photo, May loved seeing all the $100 notes. She has been learning about smaller amounts of money by helping at her church’s Op Shop. She has helped at the cash register taking customers’ “pink and blue paper” ($5 and $10 notes.) Jayden has been making fridge magnets as a Mother’s Day present from kookaburra and crocodile wood shapes. He has painted them beautifully, spending a great deal of time mixing the exact shades of grey and blue that he has seen on the kookaburra in his garden. I’m sure his mum will love the finished magnets. Amanda

Jayden's art work

May visiting the Reserve Bank

Lee’s Class Welcome back to all my students and a special welcome to new student Davinda. It’s such a relief to know everyone came through the wild weather relatively unscathed and those affected have managed without power and all the conveniences that go with it. Kayla’s mum told me that they enjoyed being inside with their battery operated sensory lights and lots of cosy reading while the power was off and the iPad couldn’t be recharged. Kayla has been using her communication symbols to clearly and intentionally comment during reading lessons, showing an understanding of the story and giving an opinion. Thomas and his family managed to stay safe at home while the roads were flooded around them. As part of his Creative Arts work, Thomas took some fabulous photographs before the storms came. He learnt how to take a good photograph, balancing the shot, ensuring the light was right, centring the subject and holding the camera still. You can see from these examples what a great job he has done. Lee

Frangipani

Landscape

Sharon’s Class Welcome back to Term 2. The fierce storm that battered Maitland caused Bella and her family to be isolated from the rest of the world. They had no power, no water and no road access. The heavy rains and floods have resulted in Bella not being able to participate in parts of her school program, like work experience and her School to Work program. I hope that Bella and her family will be able to return to their normal routine very soon. Thank you Courtney for the wonderful photos you have sent me. I can see that you have had many opportunities to visit different environments and participate in exciting activities. Amy’s interest in caring for her garden continued over the holidays. This term we will focus on growing vegetables that tolerate poor conditions like frost. As Fionn has explored and investigated different types of artists he has once again produced some magnificent art work. In his latest project Fionn has learnt to paint like the impressionist Claude Monet. Well done Fionn, you continue to develop an appreciation of art and have explored ways in which different ideas are developed in artworks. Wishing all my students a productive Term 2. Sharon

After the heavy rain Amy was surprised to find a turtle near her home

In the holidays Amy attended high tea at The Hydromajestic hotel

Courtney receiving a temporary tattoo

All finished!

Courtney engaged in water play at the park

Fionn's magnificent Monet style art work

Class 4E Welcome back for term 2! 4E has already had a lot of action, we have Miss Clissold joining us for her prac block, cross country with the local primary school (St Ives Park) and taking on roles in the ANZAC day assembly last week. The students of 4E showed exceptional maturity this week when we had to use the staff room for some of our lessons and when being stuck inside due to the adverse weather. Week 1 we learnt about ANZAC day. With a fun cooking lesson making ANZAC biscuits for our loved ones just like the families back in Australia use to send to their loved ones in Gallipoli. Matt & Paula

4E making ANZAC Day biscuits with Miss Clissold

Elysse lowering and raising the flag during the ANZAC Day service

Jai reading Flanders Field at the ANZAC Day service

1P

1P has enjoyed another wonderful experience at St Ives Christ Church Preschool. This term we visited the Preschool and were involved in a story telling session. Our students listened on with delight to the reading of the stories ‘Monkey Puzzle’ and ‘Room on the Broom.’ We also sang along and danced to some old favourite songs and learn some new ones too. The students enjoyed playing a bean bag game together also. We look forward to hosting our friends from the Preschool at SEWS in Week 5. Sarah, David & Trish

Deborah’s class Welcome back Alex (Year 12), Brayden (Year 11), Esther and Rhys (Year 10), and Logan (Year 8) and their families. It has been lovely to catch up on your school holiday news. I am sorry to hear about the flood damage near Alex’s home north of Sydney, and trust that his community recovers soon. Thank you Esther for the stories you wrote over the holidays. I have included one in this newsletter, to share with our school community. Logan has been keeping busy with Creative Arts, constructing a train carriage using objects from home. This was large enough for him to fit inside! Brayden has been developing his work readiness skills in Work and the Community, in preparation for post-school employment next year. Rhys’s interest in History continues, as we look at the United Kingdom this term. I am looking forward to working with you all in Term 2. Deborah

Bridge collapsed during floods

Logan's train

First Ride on Scooter at

RDA MGL by Esther

On Thursday afternoon 12 March 2015,

my new teacher Deborah from the

Distance Education Support Unit came

for a visit to my house and came with us

to RDA, where Mum and I introduced

her to my friends.

This is Scooter, a new horse that came

to RDA.

I put my helmet on and walked with

Coach Maureen, Mary Jane and Tara to

the stables to meet him. Mary Jane

helped me to tack Scooter and we

walked down to the arena with Tara.

Tara rode a new horse too. Her name

was Holly and she is a chestnut

thoroughbred.

Together we trotted around the arena,

in diagonals and around Coach Maureen in

a 20cm circle.

Thank you for a fun day.

Melissa’s Class

Welcome back for term 2! I have had an exciting time catching up with my students and hearing about all their adventures over the holidays. I am also pleased to announce that we have a new student in our class Tyson. I would like to wish a warm welcome to Tyson and his parents Julie and Lester. Welcome to DESU! Despite the weather all of my students have made an excellent start to the term. I am so pleased and grateful that all my students and families came out of the storms relatively unscathed. Our thoughts are with any of the families that were affected by the recent storms. This term Kate is finishing off her unit on Africa and starting a new unit focusing on Antarctica and the Inuit. A fitting unit to study now that it is getting so cold! Kate also made scones over the holidays. Yum! Charley went to the Easter show during the holidays, made tie dye fashion and cooked. Charley has taken lots of photos of these activities. However, the weather has interrupted them being able to be sent. I can’t wait to see them when they arrive. Jessica had a very relaxing holiday spending time with family and friends. She tells me that she is ready to get into her new set - learning about Dame Nellie Melba and the $100 note and the importance of various street signs so she can go for her licence soon. Tyson has been busy setting up a work area and getting ready to be a distance education student. I have had a chance to talk to him on the phone and I am looking forward to our visit this week. Melissa

Balancing objects on her head as part of the Africa Unit

Nicole’s Class I would like to welcome my class back to another exciting term. It was wonderful to hear all my students had a nice break over the Easter period. I would also like to welcome a new student to my class, Toby. I hope to visit Toby later this term and look forward to working with him and his mother who is also his tutor. Amina has been enjoying spending time at the local high school socialising and participating in a range of activities with other students. Amina loves telling jokes especially knock knock jokes to the staff at the high school. She loves making people laugh. Mohamed has been doing some awesome reading lately and has been doing great work in completing related comprehension based activities about the books he reads. Recently he has read a lot of books about animals, such as Here Comes Little Chimp and The Lazy Pig. Tommy has had a lot of fun learning about 2D shapes by creating some funny shaped penguins. He used different 2D shapes to create the penguin’s bodies and then added a beak, feet and eyes. His 2D shaped penguins looked great once finished. Willy has been making leaps and bounds with his program in the last few weeks. He has been venturing outside to explore more and enjoys feeling the grass on his feet. He is also becoming more independent in the kitchen by making lots of choices and getting things out of the fridge by himself. Nicole

Tommy making a square shaped penguin

Louise’s Class

Welcome back to a new term of learning. As you read this I will be winging my way back from a (hopefully) amazing holiday in Scandinavia with a side trip to St Petersburg. What I am MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO, however, is having read emails from some of my students so that I can keep up to date from the other side of the world! I am told that Wi-Fi is absolutely amazing in Scandinavia - the actual issue will be whether our Australian Wi-Fi in the upper Hunter and Campbelltown areas can match it - we will see! In the mean time I would like to share some photos of Jayden that I received at the end of Term 1. Jayden’s focus and effort to complete his Set work activities can be seen in the photos - well done Jayden! Det er nok and Hej hej (Jeg taler ikke [godt] dansk). Louise

Jayden does an excellent job to copy his name

Jayden follows his line of dots to practise motor skills

Louise is exploring her Viking heritage

Mother’s Day Stall

8th May 2015

Please donate gifts for our mother’s day stall to be held next Friday. All face to face students will be able to purchase something for their mum’s or that wonderful person who plays the important role of their mum!

Please see the note that was sent home today which is also attached to the back of the newsletter!

‘Our mums hold our hands for a short time but our hearts forever’

1st May 2015 Dear Parents / Carers, Next Friday, 8th May, we will be celebrating Mother’s Day with a ‘Pop Up’ shop. Each student will be able to purchase a gift (between $5-$10) from the shop with money brought from home. We are asking parents to donate a small gift for the shop to be sent in by Thursday 7th May. Money raised from the event will go towards the end of year, Year 6 farewell party and playground equipment.

Sandy Hirsch Class teacher