Mother's Day Raffle

Alyangula Area School is holding a Mother's Day raffle to win a Roborock Qrevo Robot Vacuum & Mop with Multifunction Dock. If you would like to purchase a ticket, please click the following link: 

East Arnhem Regional Football - AFL

The School of Sport Education held their A.F.L. regional carnival in Darwin on March 26-28 and Alyangula Area School was proud to have 3 representatives in the team. Mathias, Duwayne and Jesse were all outstanding ambassadors for Alyangula Area School and Groote Eylandt.

The team played in some pretty difficult conditions with high heat and humidity levels and despite results not falling their way, the team never gave up trying and showed great respect for officials and their teammates.

Congratulations to the team for winning the ‘Team Spirit’ award in recognition of their excellent on-field behaviour, sportsmanship and respect for the opposition.

We take the opportunity to thank Groote Eylandt Aboriginal Trust (G.E.A.T.) for the generous sponsorship provided to enable community kids to be able to take part in regional sporting events.

Community News!!

The Inside Scoop on Year 1/2 J

This term we have been busy making new friends and we welcomed Ms Jess and Ms Kate into our classroom to help support us and Mrs Jones.

The first few weeks we learnt routines of the classroom and just finding our feet in our new class. We enjoy having Ms Bartley for Art, Mr Molnar for PE and Ms Nina for Health and Science each week.

We have written to our pen pals that are located in Nambrok, Victoria. This is a small country town in Gippsland, near where Mrs Jones grew up.

We survived Cyclone Megan and got 2 extra days off school!

Friday Fun Day was held, we got to go on the slip’n’slide, jumping castle, had our face painted, and even learnt some hip hop.

The Easter Bunny arrived on island and he saw us have our Easter Parade where we made bonnets to wear and we got to show off our amazing bonnets to our parents. 

We all supported the opening round of the AFL by wearing footy colours to school. The best dressed class won a pie and sausage roll lunch. Guess what? We were the WINNERS!! The hot pies and sausage rolls were amazing.

For Maths we join in with the other Year 1/2 for Maths rotations. This happens each Thursday and we split into 5 groups and the activities we are doing are helping our mathematical minds.

With positive primers this term we have had a focus on DJ Raphi dances. So we decided to perform one at assembly to complete the term. It was lots of fun and we hope all the guests enjoyed it.

Award Winners

Principal's Message

Hello Familes, 

Can you believe that we are already in April and wrapping up Term 1! How time flies!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Easter long weekend that followed from the excitement of our Easter Bonnet Parade last Thursday.  A big thanks to all of our enthusiastic participants and spectators for our THREE parades! Congratulations also to our Easter raffle winners, and a heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated. As a school we raised $945 from the Raffle, which has gone directly to purchasing new decodable take home readers! These readers have been ordered and will be coming home with students next term.

This week, our students showcased their creativity and scientific curiosity in the Science and Art Habitat Exhibition. It's always amazing to see the incredible talent and innovation our students exhibit.

In other news, our Year 5-8 students have enjoyed using bush dye to tie dye t-shirts this week, utilising the dye from local plants, water and fire. This program was facilitated through Learning on Country and provided students and opportunity to engage with nature and exploring cultural customs, whilst being individually creative.

Speaking of creativity, have you heard about our rock snake? We have started a rock snake in the garden out the front of our school. We're inviting families to paint rocks and record their child's name on the bottom before placing them to join the snake in the garden by the front of the school. The aim is to see if the snake can get long enough to reach the end of the path. Last week we held a ballot to name the snake, with the snake’s name announced at Assembly this morning. Each week at assembly we will be announcing a lucky rock paint artist to win a prize. Goodluck to all entries!

A special mention this week goes to Mr Molnar and Jesse Long, Matthias Bara, Jesse Long who travelled to Darwin last week to compete at the SSENT AFLNT Championships representing Arnhem. The team returned home very weary after a tough week competing, and by all reports they did their schools and region proud returning home with the “spirit award” making a positive impact on everyone they encountered. Well done boys!

I would like to take this opportunity to warmly welcome our newest support staff member, Ms. Trish who joined us this week as a Support Staff Member. We're thrilled to have her join our team and look forward to the positive impact she'll bring to our school community.

Lastly, thanks for the flexibility of the students, staff and families as we had a number of events and programs postponed due to the effects of Tropical Cyclone Megan. These events are being schedule for the upcoming terms, please keep an eye on our socials and Seesaw as we provided updated information and dates for programs and events.

As we head into the school holidays, I hope you all take some time to relax and recharge. Just a friendly reminder that Monday, April 15th is a Curriculum Day, with school resuming for students on Tuesday, April 16th.

Wishing you all a fantastic week ahead, and I'll see you back at school for another amazing term!

Mel Dougherty
Principal

Chief Ministers Reading Challenge

Chief Ministers Reading Challenge has begun and will continue until August 23^rd. This is a great opportunity for students to get excited about reading. Students can read any books and even read aloud from their teachers count towards their book count. They are recommended books to read that you can find on the Chief Ministers Reading Challenge website Chief Minister's Reading Challenge | Department of Education, however they are just recommended.

The school is registered for the challenge so if your child would like to participate, see their classroom teacher for a student record sheet.

Community News!!

In Class

Award Winners

Principal's Message

Hello Familes, 

I hope this newsletter finds you all safe and well after the recent events that transpired over the weekend. Cyclone Megan made its presence known on Groote, and I'm relieved to report that on  the whole, Alyangula Area School has come through it relatively unscathed. Our heartfelt thanks go out to the community for pulling together during this time as we support each other through the recovery process.

In light of the cyclone's impact, we made the decision to close the school on Monday and Tuesday to ensure that our premises were safe and ready for students to return. Your understanding and support during this time were greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately, due to the disruptions caused by Cyclone Megan, several events have had to be postponed. These include the SRC Special Lunch, VET Cookery, Drive Safe, Croc Wise, and Road Safety visits. Our canteen is also not operational due to low stock. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and will update you on rescheduled dates and openings as soon as possible. Additionally, please note that the AGM, originally scheduled for Wednesday 20 March, will now take place on Wednesday, 17th April at 6:30 PM in the Multipurpose Room. Following the AGM, the School Council's first meeting will commence.

I want to also take this opportunity to extend my sincere gratitude to all students for their resilience and stamina during the NAPLAN assessments. NAPLAN, or the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy, provides valuable insights into students' progress and informs teaching practices. Due to the school closures, we have had to revise and condense our original testing schedule to ensure that we complete all assessments before the testing period concludes on Monday, 25th March. A big thank you to students and staff for their flexibility to ensure this can happen.

On a brighter note, Congratulations also to the SRC who ran their first SRC event for 2024. Footy colours day last Friday raised $188 through gold coin donations, which will be going towards a target of $500. Well done to Ms Jones and her 1/2J class who were the winners of the best dressed class! Year 1/2J were awarded with party pies on Friday at lunch to celebrate their win.

A reminder that Easter is fast approaching, and sits outside of our school holidays this year (29^th March – 1 April). There has been a great effort from everyone in selling raffle tickets for our Easter Hampers, and for generously donating Easter goods. The Easter raffle will be drawn on Thursday, 28th March, during our Easter Bonnet Parade. There will be three Easter Bonnet Parades held throughout the day (Tr-Year 3/4; Preschool Kookaburra Group; Preschool Lorikeet Group), and we warmly invite parents and families to attend and support. Please refer to the attached flyer for specific times for each class.

This Week we also acknowledged Harmony Week, where we celebrated our cultural diversity with through various in class activities, fostering unity and respect. It's been wonderful to see classes and students come together to appreciate each other's backgrounds and contributions, whilst promoting inclusivity and acceptance in our school. Great to see AAS!

Two weeks until school holidays again! Let’s finish strong!

Have a great weekend.

Mel Dougherty
Principal

NT Sports Awards

Northern Territory Sports attended Alyangula Area School in week 4 to provide a variety of athletics programs to classes. Students took part in track and field events. We are proud of the students who showed our school values of together, respect, excellence, courage and safety. These students were acknowledged for their great teamwork, sportsmanship and athletic ability. Thanks to NT Sports for delivering a great program.

Community News!!

In Class

Award Winners

Principal's Message

Hello Familes, 

I hope everyone is well as we wind up week 6 and get ready to dive into another week of learning and fun.

First off, a massive shout out to our amazing staff and students for their flexibility during the recent soggy days. This week the rain has had a sixth sense and decided to grace us with its presence five minutes before most recesses and lunch times! Thanks to everyone's understanding and flexibility, we've managed to keep the spirits high and the learning going strong. Teamwork makes the dream work!

It is NAPLAN time again! For our students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9, NAPLAN assessments kick off next week, with students beginning to undertake assessments in writing, reading, language conventions and mathematics. NAPLAN assessments are a tool that assist educators and families gain a snapshot of how students are tracking against National Standards in literacy and numeracy. The assessments will be led by Mr Mark Pilkington and myself and will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room.

A huge thank you to all the families who've pitched in for our Easter raffle. Your generosity is so appreciated, and we're so grateful for your support. A reminder that any donations of Easter goods can be placed in the Easter tub at the Admin Office. Raffle tickets went out today – remember, every ticket you purchase gives you a shot at winning an egg-cellent Easter hamper! Just make sure to get those tickets and money back to the admin office by Wednesday 27th March. We'll be drawing the lucky winners during our Easter Bonnet Parade on Thursday 28^th March, so keep those fingers crossed!

A quick heads-up for our student riders: safety first! Whether your child is cruising in on a bike or zooming on a scooter, please remind them not to forget to pop on their helmets!

Last but certainly not least, mark your calendars for the School Council Annual General Meeting (AGM) happening on 20th March at 6:30 pm in the Multi-Purpose Room. The school’s AGM is an open invitation to all community members. On behalf of the school council we would love to have you join the conversation as we discuss all things Alyangula Area School. If you're keen to come for a listen or get more involved, please consider joining the School Council. Your voice matters, and we'd be thrilled to have you on board. The first School Council Meeting for 2024 will commence straight after the AGM.

Thank you for a great fortnight! Bring on Week 7.

Mel Dougherty
Principal

Community News!!

In Class - Year 5/6 N

Award Winners

Principal's Message

Hello Familes, 

Well what a fantastic start to learning in our classrooms we have seen over the past fortnight! I have been incredibly impressed by the enthusiasm shown by both our students.
On Wednesday, we had the pleasure of hosting Athletics in the Bush workshops throughout our school. The feedback from these workshops was overwhelmingly positive!  Looking ahead, mark your calendars for NT Volleyball next Wednesday, and Tennis on Wednesday in Week 6. A big thanks to BushFit for organising and providing our students with the opportunity to engage in a variety of sports. 

Next week, our staff will be participating in Cultural Responsive Training over two days, facilitated by the ALC. To ensure all staff have access to this important training, we will be implementing a supervision model with special activities planned with buddies and across different classes. 

What a fun day our Fun Day was today! A huge thanks to GEBIPCAC, Cafe Ruhe, AFL NT and Aminjarinja for their generous support. Special shoutout to the incredible crew from Corrugated Iron and our talented face painter for adding extra fun to the day.  A day full of bouncy castles, waterplay, disco's, AFL, Hip Hop and BBQ lunch!  Oh, and the SLIME! Our students had the opportunity to vote for the staff member they wanted to slime - well done to Mr Pilko, Ms Abbey and Mr Nolan for being great sports!

On Tuesday evening we have our Meet and Greet sessions scheduled. Notes were distributed to students this week with individual time allocations. These sessions provide a valuable opportunity for you to connect with your child's teachers and establish strong partnerships. If the allocated time is unsuitable for you, please don't hesitate to contact the office so we can make alternative arrangements.

As Easter approaches, we'll be organising an Easter Raffle and calling for donations of Easter eggs and chocolate to put together hamper prizes. Donations can be handed in to the school admin, and every contribution will be greatly appreciated.

I am sure there will be lots of kids that will sleep well tonight! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. 

Mel Dougherty
Princiapal