Driver Primary School

15 September 2011

Issue 14

www.driverprimary.nt.edu.au Email :admin.drivesch@ntschools.net

PO Box 33

Palmerston

NT 0831

Ph: 8935 9000

Fax: 8935 9035

To be a hands-on, vibrant and engaging learning centre implementing new and innovative programs in a secure, collaborative and sustainable environment for our

community.

Dear Driver Primary School

Wow! What an amazing 2 weeks I had at your school. My friend Suzi and I had a great

time seeing you all again, you have all grown so much

since last year. Thank you to Miss Nomoa for bringing

her preschoolers to meet me. You may not know this

but Miss Nomoa first came into the van when she was

in Primary School. Miss Ryan’s class showed fantastic

manners and were very respectful in the van, which is

why they were awarded a prize at last Friday’s

assembly.

I can’t wait to visit your wonderful school again next

year. Thank you Driver Primary School.

From Harold.

Healthy Harold visits

Our wonderful Tournament of

Minds team who participated in

the NT Regional Tournament on

Sunday at Charles Darwin

University. Well done team.

Kitchen Garden NewsKitchen Garden NewsKitchen Garden NewsKitchen Garden News

This week there is happy and sad news from the farm. The sad news

is that Tony Sterling, our Garden Specialist extraordinaire, is

relocating to Cairns. Tony has been an outstanding teacher and

mentor in the farm. We have learned so much from him

during his time with us and we wish him all the best for the

future. The happy news is that Leslie Gordon has taken on the role of

Garden Specialist. Leslie, as many would know, is a long term

member of the Driver staff. She comes to the farm with

exceptional local knowledge and is eager to get her hands dirty with

us.

We would also like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to

Steve Cutter and staff from the Ark Animal Hospital who took such

wonderful care of our little black hen while she was feeling under the

weather. ‘Blackie’ is now back in the farm and ready to go to work

herself.

On Monday, students participating in the ‘Strong Boys’ program began

the foundations for the new chicken coop. The form work is in

awaiting the cement slab to be poured.

Giving a chicken antibiotic is easy

when you have the right person

administering the medication.

Jake’s calm, gentle approach is

‘just what the doctor ordered’.

Makayla and Kiana were excellent

vet nurses.

KITCHEN GARDEN VOLUNTEERS

We are still in dire need of volunteers to join our stalwarts, Sharon Keats,

in the farm and Kerry Thomas, in the kitchen. Emily Robinson and Jane

Grace helped in the kitchen last week and highly recommend the

experience to others. Just 1 hour per week would make the world

of difference to our program.

Mrs Patterson’s class performed at

assembly.

P A G E 2

From the Principal and Assistant Principals

Parent Teacher conferences will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday 20th and 21st September, 2011.

This is an opportunity for you to meet with class teachers to discuss your child’s strengths, progress,

areas that may need improvement and any other issues you wish to raise regarding your child. At Driver

Primary School we are supportive of students being involved in these conferences and encourage them to

attend with their families to discuss their learning together. Our teachers are looking forward to meeting

with you, so if you have not yet returned your time preferences, please do ASAP so that we can do our

best to cater to your needs. To better support you, we have included a ‘making the most of your

parent-teacher interview’ article with this newsletter.

Toys are increasingly becoming an issue at our school. When toys are brought to school, arguments

inevitably occur. As such we would like to ask parents to remind their children to leave toys (including

bey blades) at home. If conflicts continue to arise over bey blades, we will be forced to officially ban them

at school.

Punctuality is important. The first part of each day is usually the time where routines and expectations for the day are established. Although only students arriving after 8:15am are required to collect a late slip from the front office, we still encourage students to be ready for classes at 8am which is when the school day begins. Please take time to read the ‘Getting kids to school ON TIME!’ article included with this newsletter.

Cybersafety is becoming an increasingly worrying issue for many parents and teachers. As such, our newsletters now include a cybersafety tips section for parents. In this edition we wanted to make sure you are aware of a website that contains lots of helpful hints for parents. http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/Parents.aspx Parents without access to the Internet at home are more than welcome to come to the school and use the computer in the staff room to access websites such as these.

As part of our well being program, each class is provided with a platter of fruit at 9am on Monday – Thursday mornings. This important initiative encourages healthy eating habits and provides energy for children during the long stretch between breakfast time and morning tea. Unfortunately this program is at risk. If it is to continue we urgently require volunteers to help cut up fruit each morning. Fruit preparation occurs in the staff room where we have toys available for anyone who wants to help but has small children. If you have any time first thing in the morning after you drop off your children (between 8 and 9am Monday-Thursday), we would greatly appreciate your help and ask you to please contact the front office as soon as possible. Even just one day a week would be helpful.

The NT Regional Tournament for Tournament of Minds (TOM) was held at Charles Darwin University last Sunday 11 September. TOM is an adventure in problem solving and discovery. For the past few months our Driver Primary School TOM team have practised working together with team members, making decisions, solving problems and communicating effectively with one another and to an audience. The team had 6 weeks to formulate a solution to their chosen ‘Challenge’ and 10 minutes to present their solution to a panel of judges, family and friends at the NT Regional Tournament. They were also required to solve a previously unseen ‘Spontaneous Challenge’. The team members acted as ambassadors for Driver Primary School and upheld the Driver values throughout the preparations and presentations. The team gained so much from the experience and should be congratulated for their hard work, efforts and dedication.

Reminder: Monday 31st October (Week 4 Term 4) is a pupil free day. Driver Primary Staff will be spending the day analysing student assessment data to plan the future direction of targeted teaching and learning programs. They will also be participating in professional development to help them teach spelling more effectively. The Outside School Hours Care Program will be operational for this day.

Please continue to use the Kiss and Go area to drop off and collect students from school. The front

carpark is for parking, not for this purpose.

We have been talking with students recently about stranger danger and urge parents to do the same. In

light of the recent warnings from police, we also ask that parents ensure that children are safe walking to

and from school, remembering that they should not be at school prior to 7:45am as there is no

supervision available. If families have any information or concerns about strangers, we ask that they

contact the police directly rather than informing the school as we don’t take on a policing role.

Driver Primary School’s hours of supervision are 7.45am - 2.45pm. The new gates will be opened at 7.30am

and closed after 8.15am. School community members will need to enter the school via the front office. Children should not be dropped off earlier than 7:45am as they will be unsupervised.

YMCA Exciting Holiday Programs

Limited Places www.topend.ymca.org.au

Ph: 8981 8377 31st October Pupil Free Day Bookings

accepted now.

P A G E 3

Term Dates 2011Term Dates 2011Term Dates 2011Term Dates 2011

Semester 2 Term 3

Tues 26 July - Fri 30 Sept

Mid semester break

Mon 3 Oct- Fri 7 Oct

Term 4 2011

Mon 10 Oct - Fri 16 Dec

Term Dates 2012Term Dates 2012Term Dates 2012Term Dates 2012

Students resume

Tues 31 Jan 2012

Term 1 2012

Tues 31 Jan - Thurs 5 April

Easter break

Fri 6 April - Mon 9 April

Mid semester break

Mon 9 April - Fri 13 April

Term 2 2012

Mon 16 April - Fri 22 June

Semester break

Mon 25 June - Fri 20 July

Dates for your

Diary

☺ 16 Sept - Driver Swimming

Carnival

☺ 20 Sept & 21 Sept - Parent

Teacher Conferences

☺ 21 Sept - Council Meeting

☺ 24 Sept - 30 Sept - Sydney

Canberra Excursion

☺ 3 Oct - 7 Oct -

Mid Semester Break

☺ 19 Oct - Council Meeting

☺ 28 Oct - PARCS Swimming

Carnival

☺ 28 Oct - World Teachers

Day

☺ 31 Oct - Pupil Free Day

☺ 16 Nov - Council Meeting

☺ 2 Dec - End of Year Concert

Merit Awards - Jack Briskin, John Case, Ricky Tomlins,

Ashanti Morgan-Thomson, Kalis Nomoa, Erin Lasker, Chloe Thompson,

Denzel Tomlins, Seb Torrens, Tahlia Carlson, Haylee McLean,

Diaz Martyn, Rhys Menegazzo, Rhiannon Smart, Andrew Mason,

Lyle Byrne, Kaleb Hatt, Maria Pitt, Jordon Pinheiro, Jessica McEwin,

Keenan Lake, Brodie Lake, Isabella Stringer, Cameron Hyde,

Willy Benger, Tanae Nicolson, Justine Gordon, Dillon Thomsen,

Richard Hughes, Liam Smith, Kaleigh Christofis, Angelica Anderson,

Lorraine Konge, Larnie Smith, Claudia Borlace, Piper Roman,

Blake Matheson, Megan Johnston, Zak Thompson, Joseph Benger,

Rianna Carlson, Curtis Ellem, Trent Rykers, Priya Sethurama Lingham,

Jamieson Kerle-Bury, Dylan Norris, Jake Butler, Ashley Hyde,

Jordan Gardner, Adam Litchfield, Bryce Lambert, Sarah Forrest,

Aaliyah McCourt, Alicia Miranda, Kyren Norris, Tiffany Brown,

Katie Martin, Jasmin Hage Aird, Rumarlea Billy, Rustin Topham,

Adam Mortimer, Manny Mullaney, Danielle Norris, Morgan Roache,

Zaq Butler, Nicholas Weston, Ayisha Ferozhan, Hannah Lyne,

Jayden Hunter, Charlie Wrigley, Tenisha Nunggumajabarr,

Jacklin Dacey, Jeryahn Mullaney, Jessica Thompson, Nsathan Pascoe,

Declan Mair, Jordan Dann, Stella Murray, Shonae Staples,

Alicia Lambert, Jackie Huang, Jesse Hansen, Riley Schipp,

Lateesha Coombes, Richard Fejo, Jordan Oneroa, Jordan Lucas,

Skye McPharlin, Taras Mair, Bethany Simpson, Jacob Miles,

Darius Budden, Jackie Huang, Jimmy Farrell-John, Jacob Redwin,

Cooper Skelley, Jason Huang, Maria Kachionis, Dillon Thomsen,

Pia May-Humes, Lousil Neave, Trae Buckland, Victor Viegas,

Robert Thai, Katina Kastellorizios, Renee Hardy, Matthew Mahomet,

Edward Henderson, Jackson Martyn, Garth Humes, Mia Tomlins,

Rylea Swart, Tahlia Namamyilk, James Johanssen, Jaymie Austin,

Christina Mastronikolas, Erin Lasker, Haylee Smith, Lorraine Randall,

Charlize Nomoa, Brandon McConnell, Kelvin Howard, Jahnik Mullaney,

Josh Zuniga, Shante’ Morrison, Emileah Sackley, Tru Boynton,

Georgia-Kate Thompson, Rose Thompson Anonver, Zoe Campbell,

Pavlos Mastronikolas.

Principals Awards

Ashanti Morgan Thomson Aaliyah McCourt

Erin Lasker Sabine Schlosser Sam Wright

Jordon Dann Diaz Martyn Joshua Morgan

Shiani Ah-Wong Jackie Huang Kirra-Lee Hayes

Ella Mahomet Nayda Clancy Isabella Stringer

Bethany Simpson

Driver is collecting

The McCain School Vegie Patches Program provides schools with the opportunity to earn points which can then

be redeemed for gardening equipment . If you purchase products from the McCAIN frozen vegetable and McCAIN

Purely Potato range, cut out the barcode(s) on the pack and send them into school by 4 Oct 2011.

Pauls Collect a cap– send your specially marked Pauls bottle caps to school and they will donate 10cents for each

one collected.

Coles Sports for Schools vouchers—Send your vouchers to school to redeem sports equipment.

Woolworths Earn and Learn Points– Send your Woolies dockets to school to earn us points to redeem for

educational items from Modern Teaching Aids.

Assembly this week has been cancelled. Awards will be

presented at next week’s assembly.

P A G E 4