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From the Principal’s Desk It was a pleasure to welcome all our students back to school last week. Even though it was a hot week, there was plenty of enthusiasm and energy — and classes have made a great start! I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our parents as together we embark on this new school year which promises to be exciting and productive. I give a particularly warm welcome to the 45 new students who have just joined us this year – we are delighted to have them and their parents as part our Heritage Community (see General News for more details). Right from the start, I would like to encourage your interest and involvement in all that your children are doing at school this year and I welcome your input and suggestions as the year unfolds, God willing.
YEAR 12 RESULTS
I would like to congratulate our last year’s Year 12s on their final SACE results which were released in December. As expected, the results were of a very high standard and well deserved. See Secondary News for more details. Special congratulations to Alana Pitcher who was confirmed as Dux of School for 2013 and will be presented with her award at a special ceremony next Monday morning at 10:30 am, God willing. All are welcome.
THEME FOR THE YEAR
We hope you have heard from your children that this year our special focus theme is about thankfulness — “Be thankful in all circumstances”. Contained in this concise phrase is a wealth of meaning and motivation. Its importance is highlighted in the second half of 1 Thess 5:18 from whence the theme is taken. Paul says that it is God’s will for us that we become thankful. Upon a little reflection, there is always something to be thankful for since we technically own nothing and all we have (both physically and spiritually) has come from God himself. However, in a world that is characterized by selfishness and unthankfulness, the challenge we have before us this year is to learn together to be thankful “in every circumstance. Why not make thankfulness a focus in your family this year too?
CONNECTIONS EVENING
Please make sure you do not miss this year’s opening event – our Connections Evening next Monday, 10th February starting at 5:15 pm with a BBQ tea, God willing (see General News for more details). We look forward to welcoming all parents there and working in partnership with you all during this coming year as we encourage God’s Heritage to grow and develop.
Andrew Johns
SPIRITUAL THEME FOR 2014:
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1Thess 5:18 (ESV) IN THIS EDITION New Students & Families Connections Evening Year 12 Results for 2013 Bougainville Heritage College
Temple Model
UP & COMING EVENTS until next newsletter God willing:
Week 3
Mon 10 February
10:30 am Assembly (2013 Dux Presentation), Sports Centre
5:15 pm Connections Evening & PFA Meeting
Fri 14 February Welcome back to school ice-
cream & sausage sizzle
Term 1 Number 1• 4 February 2014
NEW STUDENTS & FAMILIES We are delighted to welcome a number of new students to the College this year and trust that they and their families will soon feel part of the wider Heritage family.
Reception students:
Isla Johns, Elliot Peronace, Mitchell Kennett, Shiloh Nolan, Judah Newall and Breanne Jeffress(Aunty Jesslyn DeVries’ class).
Aken Aken, Oakley Badams, Aurora Badger, Samuel Beale, Midy Bol Bol, Lennox Brown, Max Cowie, Rachel Evans, Azriel Grant, Evelyn Hornhardt, Henry Lawrie, Amos Luke, Tuscany Mackay, Jadie Pearson, Oliver Scott, Luke Seaman, Caleb Smith and Arianah Ward (Aunty Heather Pillion’s class).
In addition to our Reception students, we give a big welcome to the following students who have joined us this year: Year 2: Olivia Badger, Lachlan Mansfield, Joel Pillion Year 3: Jennifer Aken, Eden Bennett Year 4: Lucy-Rose Duperouzel, Leah Hallows
GENERAL NEWS Year 5: Charlotte Mansfield, Silas Bennett, Danielle-Marie Wigzell Year 6: Toby Duperouzel, Hayden Wigzell Year 7: Eloise Atkins, Ruby Riddle, Phebe Mansfield Year 8: Nadia Hallows Year 9: Jonah Duperouzel Year 10: William Duperouzel, Hannah Hyndman Year 11: Peter Hallows Please make these students and their families feel a part of our school community. TERM DATES FOR 2014 Term 1: 28 January—11 April
Term 2: 28 April—4 July
Term 3: 28 July—26 September
Term 4: 13 October—11 December
Please note that there are 3 weeks of holidays between Terms 2 and 3 for all students except those in Year 12. Year 12 students will have trial exams in the week commencing 21 July. Due to this extended holiday, we ask that parents please do not take extra days holidays as this will disrupt classes. CONNECTIONS EVENING Monday 10th February 5.15-7.40 pm
We are again going to start the new school year with a special event for all families called Connections Evening next Monday (God willing). In line with the aims of the College, we see the education of children as a partnership between the College and the parents, and so we would like to give you an opportunity to share some time with your child’s teachers and with other parents. The evening is meant to be relaxed and fairly informal and its purpose is to give you an opportunity to: meet other parents (especially those of your
children’s peers) meet with your children’s teachers to hear about
their classroom programs, organisation, homework, teaching and expectations – and to ask any questions you may have
find out how you can be involved in the College and with your child’s class in particular
A BBQ tea will be provided in the school grounds from 5:15 pm and will be available until 6:30 pm. Supervised activities will be organised for Primary-aged children so that parents can attend the class sessions.
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GENERAL NEWS The times for each of the class sessions were sent home last week. The full program is available from the home page of our website: www.heritage.sa.edu.au. Here is a brief outline of the program:
5:15 pm Tea available (until 6:30 pm)
6:00 pm Sessions for Rec to Year 4
6:20 pm First P&F Meeting for the year
7:00 pm Sessions for Rec to Yr 2, Yr 5, 6, 7 and Yr 8-10
7:25 pm Sessions for Yr 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and Yr 11-12
If you do not have a session to attend for a particular period, take the opportunity to make “connections” with other parents and teachers who will be there. The whole program will all be over by 7:40 pm.
If you have not yet returned the reply slip and would like to enjoy the BBQ, please phone the school to indicate how many from your family will be there for the BBQ or send an email to [email protected]. This will help us with catering arrangements. If you are able to help with cooking tea please contact Gwennyth. EXTREME HOT WEATHER
The State Emergency Service has issued a helpful information sheet about how to prepare for and stay safe during extreme heat situations. We have placed a copy on our website (under Documents & Forms) and recommend
that all parents read it. A link to the document is provided in the email sent with this newsletter.
KISS & DROP ZONE The section of the car park adjacent to the school building on the left after the second pedestrian crossing is designated as a “Kiss and Drop Zone”! This is a quick drop off area only and parents using it are asked to not leave their vehicles for any reason. If it is necessary to bring children into the building or attend to any other school business, please park in one of the normal car parks.
STUDENT ABSENCES / LATES If your child is going to be late or absent please ensure you contact the Front Desk on 8266 5122 or via email: [email protected] by 8:55am. This enables accurate roll marking and avoids unnecessary sms queries. Thank you for your cooperation!
SCHOOL UNIFORM An important letter outlining general requirements for school uniform was sent home with all students last week. We appeal to all parents to
support the wearing of complete and correct school uniform (including correct shoes) and to ensure that children meet the expectations every day.
If, for some unforeseen reason, a student is
unable to wear complete uniform, parents are asked to provide a written note. Students who come to school with incorrect uniform and no parental note or those with untidy uniform during the day will receive demerit points and time out during lunchtime.
Our Uniform Shop hours are Monday afternoons from 3:00 pm —3:45 pm and Friday mornings from 8:30 am — 9:30 am.
COMMUNICATION The education of our children and young people is enhanced when there is a strong and meaningful partnership between child, parents and the College. Communication is one of the most important elements in maintaining this partnership. Parents will receive formal written reports twice a year in the Primary levels and four times a year in the Secondary levels.
There is also opportunity for parent-teacher interviews twice in the year. However, teachers may contact parents informally from time to time to discuss issues as they arise and to convey information about student progress.
We also encourage parents to make contact with teachers or other College staff whenever there are concerns or other matters to discuss or even if you just want to share some good news! You can use either email or the main College phone 8266 5122. Since teachers will be involved with their classes most of the day, they will normally have to call back or respond by email at a time when they are available.
A list of Primary and Secondary teacher contact emails is provided under the relevant sections in this newsletter.
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GENERAL NEWS VOLUNTEER TRAINING SESSION The next volunteer training session is to be held on Thursday, 20th February at 7pm, God willing. If you currently volunteer or would like to volunteer at the College and have not completed a training session please register your interest in attending this session at the Front Desk in person, by phone (8266 5122) or email ([email protected]). NEWSLETTER VIA EMAIL Since most families have ready access to email, newsletters will be emailed to all parents. We will continue to provide printed copies of newsletters to those who do not have access to email or who specifically request a printed copy in addition to the emailed version.
To request that a printed copy be sent home, please contact Gwennyth at the Front Desk.
COIN TRAIL FOR BOUGAINVILLE SCHOOLS You may remember from last year, that as part of our “Build Up” theme, the middle-upper Primary classes wrote letters to the 60 students in the two Christadelphian schools in Bougainville. These were delivered in December by brothers and sisters from Australia who attended the annual Bible Week held in the area. The children were excited to receive messages from our students and, though delivery of mail is very difficult, we hope to continue the communication.
At the Bible Week, some of the children built a model of Ezekiel’s Temple similar to the Duplo model in our foyer last year. In order to give the children in Bougainville some identity at their school we are currently having T-shirts printed with their school logos and hope to send one for each of the students soon. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to
the Coin Trail in Term 4 last year and those who generously donated on Presentation evening to make this project possible.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED PLEASE! We would love to hear from anyone available to provide flowers once per term for the Front Desk and we also need one or two volunteers for Car Park monitoring for 15 mins one afternoon per week. We are keen to hear from our newer families and would welcome enquiries—
please and see Gwennyth Manser at the Front Desk or phone (8266 5122) or email ([email protected]). TISSUES We would appreciate families providing one box of tissues per student for use in classrooms for this term please.
HERITAGE COLLEGE QUOTA SPELLING PROGRAMME Q: How does the Quota Spelling Program
work?
The Heritage Spelling List words are organised with gradation of difficulty. Do not expect that all children will be learning the full list. For example, a good ‘B’ grade student might be expected to learn about 2/3 of the complete list. Each year level has a set of essential ‘core words’ which are marked in bold on your child’s weekly lists. The core words are tested and reported on separately during the year.
PRIMARY NEWS
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PRIMARY NEWS Q: What should I be
doing at home to help my child?
Every Monday your child will bring home a list of words to learn. This list is the result of a pre-test the teacher has given your child. Help your child learn their list in preparation for the Friday test.
Q: How can I help my child learn their list?
It doesn’t have to be long and painful, just some quick, fun activities on a daily basis. For example, quick oral tests; time challenges; the use of different mediums like matchsticks, magnetic letters or even shaving cream; spelling backwards; quick written tests, to name a few ideas. The guiding principle is low-key, consistent daily practice. Look at the part of the word your child gets wrong, highlight it, discuss it and have your child write that part of the word several times before you test again. Be aware there is no quick or easy fix for children who find spelling difficult and remember to celebrate successful learning!
Q: What will be happening in class during the
week?
Teachers will be explaining and modelling letter patterns, spelling rules and strategies relevant to the week’s list. Your child will be practising their spelling in a variety of different activities which will expose them to the words in the whole list, not just their own.
Q: How will I know if my child is doing well?
Final tests will be sent home each Friday. If your child is achieving between 90-100% for their weekly tests they will be doing well. If you are worried about your child’s progress, arrange to see the teacher and discuss what to do.
PRIMARY CLASS TEACHERS Primary classes, teachers and their contact details for 2014, God willing, are as follows:
Reception Heather Pillion: [email protected]
Year R/1 Jesslyn DeVries: [email protected]
Year 1/2 Wendy Newton:
Year 2 Emma Yuile: [email protected]
Year 3 Sue Lomman: [email protected]
Year 4 Chris Wright: [email protected]
Year 5 Brett Arnold: [email protected]
Year 6 Sarah Kemp: [email protected]
Year 7 Jason Hauser [email protected] PRINCIPAL’S AWARDS (PRIMARY)
At the Primary assembly each Friday, some students are presented with a Principal’s Award in acknowledgement of their excellent work, effort or good character during the week.
Congratulations to the following students who have received awards:
Reception—HP All students received an award for completing
their first week at Heritage College
Year 2 Summer Brown, Edward Hill, Tara Law &
Timothy Risley for great speaking and listening skills for Show and Tell
Year 3 Jennifer Aken for completing a great first
week at Heritage College
Eden Bennett for settling in well in Year 3 at Heritage College
Micah Jolly for being both polite and friendly in class
Miriam McColl for working well in maths and completing all classwork
Year 5 Silas Bennett, Toby Duperouzel, Charlotte
Mansfield, Danielle Wigzell for a successful first week in the Heritage College Year 5 class
Joshua Hummel for concentrating and working really well in class time this week
Emma Martin for achieving the highest score in the Year 5 Core Word List test
FRIDAY AFTER SCHOOL SPORT
After school sport for Term 1 is commences this Friday for Year 5, 6, & 7 boys and will take the
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PRIMARY NEWS form of cricket practice. It will run on Fridays from 3.30pm to 5.00pm. If it is raining, then the College will send a text to say the session is cancelled. Parents please note that you are required to pick up your son at 5.00pm so that there are no boys left waiting in the car park. HERITAGE GIRLS NETBALL TEAM
Every Friday after school there is now a netball match for the Heritage girls’ netball team. This has taken the place of an after school sport option for the girls. Each Thursday at lunchtime there is a netball
training session for the girls under the leadership of Esther Beard. Parents are reminded that the girls are not to wear their sports uniform to school on a Friday as the netball match is not held at Heritage. HERITAGE T/20 CRICKET
This year we have entered two Heritage cricket teams in the local Prospect Twenty/20 competition because of the high number of boys involved. The “Heritage Maroon” team will be managed by Brett Arnold and the “Heritage White” team will be managed by Jamin Wigzell. All games will be played on Saturday
mornings at various school grounds, including our own, with an 8.15 am start. The first match is scheduled to be played on Saturday February 15 and more details will follow as they become available. YEAR 3 NEWS
The Year 3 students were asked to write about what they felt was special about coming to Heritage College—here are some of their thoughts:
I like to come to school to learn things like words so when I grow up I will know hard words. I also like to come to assemblies so I
can learn about being nice to everybody and also learning about God.
Maggie Gibbs
I Iike coming here because you don’t sleep here like other schools and only see your parents in the holidays.
Toby Luke
I like school because you can play with your friends.
William Luke
I think this classroom is the best, cleanest classroom and has got so many activities and many, many fun things to do like maths and spelling.
Asahi Bol Bol
I like going to school because I like doing plays and there’s lots of space outside.
Jesse Samwell
I love learning about God and how to be faithful and kind. We get to make lots of friends and learn about verbs which are doing.
April Johns
I am thankful that I go to this school because you learn about Jesus and at some other schools you don’t.
Jachin Steele
I like coming to Heritage College because I get to learn how to read and I love doing art. I like all the teachers at Heritage because they are kind.
Carmel Evans
My friends that I can play with at lunch and recess are here and when it’s a hot day the rooms have air conditioning.
Hugh Mansfield
I like coming to do work here and to have fun and make new friends and to learn about the Bible.
Shem Gibbs
I like coming because I can do science about animals.
Micah Jolly
Everybody believes in God—that’s why I like this school!
Elijah Newall
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SECONDARY NEWS desk, or they can send an email to: [email protected] or use the Contact Form on the College Website: www.heritage.sa.edu.au/contact
SWIMMING CARNIVAL
The Swimming Carnival for this year is to be held on the afternoon of Friday 28 February at the Payneham Swimming Pool. We would appreciate the support of as many parents as
possible so please keep the date free! More details will be provided in the next newsletter.
SENIOR CHOIR & ORCHESTRA
Senior Choir and Orchestra commence practices this week. Choir meets lunch time on Tuesdays and Orchestra after school on Thursdays until 5.10pm. New members are very welcome to join! HOME GROUP CLASSES FOR 2014
Home Group classes, teachers and their contact details for 2014, God willing, are as follows:
Year 8 David Knight:
Year 9 Chris Ryan:
Year 10 Tim Badger:
Year 11A Jason Bobis:
Year 11B Vit Jurevicius: [email protected]
Year 12A Evan Franco:
Year 12B Tom Burney:
For issues related to academic progress or general behaviour, please contact: Tim Badger for Years 8-10 ([email protected]) or Evan Franco for Years 11-12 ([email protected]). For special learning support needs, contact Graeme Shugg ([email protected]).
STUDENT DRIVERS
Senior students are able to drive a car to and from school with parent permission provided they have first completed a Student Driver Application form and had their application approved. Forms are available from the Front Desk or the College website (under Documents & Forms).
Each day a student drives to school, he/she must sign in and out at the Front Desk. As a general rule students are not allowed to take other students as passengers unless we have received written consent from the parents of both driver and passenger.
CURRICULUM & ASSESSMENT PLANS
Curriculum and Assessment Plans provide a brief outline of the curriculum to be covered in Secondary subjects and the assessment methods and weightings for the information of students and parents. Curriculum Plans for all subjects have already been sent home with students for the information of parents.
USE OF PERSONAL LAPTOPS AT SCHOOL
Our policy is that personal computing devices are not to be brought to school. Since we now have extensive IT facilities with desktop computers, thin clients, laptops or tablet PCs available in most rooms, there is no need for students to bring personal laptops to school as they will be able to access a computer anytime they need to.
If there is some significant educational reason for having a personal laptop at school, students can make an appointment to discuss the situation with the Principal.
COUNSELLING SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
If students are experiencing difficulties and need help or someone to talk things over with, they are encouraged to initially speak with any teacher of their choice. Graeme Shugg, Tim Badger, Michelle Wild or Ron Cowie can provide more extended support if this is needed, and students are able to contact them at any time.
If students would like to communicate about any matters of concern but don’t feel confident to talk to a teacher, they can either write a short note and place it in the Student Communication Box at either the Front Desk or the Library circulation
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PRESENTATION NIGHT 2013
YEAR 12 RESULTS
Our Year 12 graduates of 2013 performed exceptionally well in the SACE. While the majority of the 24 Year 12 students studied most of their subjects at the College, some took subjects at Marden Senior College or participated in VET courses.
Here is a summary of the main features of the results overall:
SACE completion rate =100% (24/24) Subject pass rate (ie C- or better) = 97% Almost 30% of Heritage ATAR students were in top 10% of the State Approx. 70% of Heritage ATAR students scored in top 20% in the State Average ATAR = 81.2 (the highest since 2006) Heritage College Top 5 ATARs
College Dux The Dux of School for 2013 was Alana Pitcher with an ATAR of 98.05. She will be presented with this award at a special assembly on Monday 11 February 2014.
Merit Certificates Congratulations to the following students who achieved Merit Certificates : Alana Pitcher (Business & Enterprise) Laura Kempster (Business & Enterprise) Joseph Knowles (Research Project) Chloe Pitcher (Research Project)
Other High Achievements The following students gained A grades in one or more subjects (some in all subjects): Mitchell Dodson Tamar Horwood Seth Hall Laura Kempster Joseph Knowles Hannah Lines Holly Manser Chloe Pitcher Alana Pitcher Matthew Pitt Hannah Taylor Jonathan Wigzell
In addition, Tamar Horwood was offered a $5,000 scholarship at Adelaide University. Some students have decided to take up their study options, while others have deferred study for a year. Others still have gained jobs or traineeships and have commenced employment.
Don’t miss the Dux of School Ceremony on Monday 10th February (God willing) in the Sports Centre commencing at 10:30 am. All are welcome.
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SECONDARY NEWS
Alana Pitcher 98.05 Tamar Horwood 96.35 Chloe Pitcher 95.9 Jonathan Wigzell 93.5 Laura Kempster 93.25
COUNSELLING CORNER Welcome to a wonderful new year, in which we can work together as a school community to develop our children into faithful followers of our great God and His Son.
I thought it might be a good idea to remind everyone what I actually do at Heritage! Fundamentally, as the Learning Support Co-ordinator, my role is to help all students (R-12) reach their potential by supporting them, their parents and their teachers. This support can be with academic achievement, spiritual growth, or emotional development. For example, you may be worried about your child feeling “down” and
having low self-esteem – I’m available to listen to them, help them regulate their feelings and improve their confidence.
Or, your child may have a learning difficulty or learning disability – we can work together with their class teacher, SSO or volunteer, and other professionals (e.g. psychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, etc.) to develop a learning plan and different strategies to support their learning. If you are worried about how well your child is doing in a particular subject - the first thing you should do is contact the subject teacher or class teacher to discuss it. By working together we can develop an effective learning approach to suit your child.
Whatever your child’s needs, it’s my role to help connect them (and you) to the support they need to reach their potential at school as a learner, but also as a person.
Each newsletter, I’ll be writing helpful thoughts and strategies in the “Counselling Corner”. I hope you find them useful.
Feel free to contact me via my email: [email protected]
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” (Col.3:15)
Graeme Shugg
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PARENTS & FRIENDS MEETING The first Parents & Friends Association meeting is to be held next Monday 10th February at 6:20 pm in the Assembly Room (God willing) as part of the Connections Evening. Current P&F President, Andy McGeorge, will provide a brief outline of the achievements and progress of the P&F in 2013 and plans for 2014. Our Treasurer for the past 3 years, Steven Peronace is stepping down from that position – so we would like to thank him for his commitment, enthusiasm and time in the formative years of the P&F. Nominations are now sought for any of the offices of P&F but in particular for the role of Treasurer – and can be registered by emailing [email protected] . Andy McGeorge (President) and Matt Mackay (Secretary) have indicated that they are willing to be renominated for those roles. An election will take place at the meeting on 10th February. All parents are encouraged to be there and to get involved in activities, events and fundraising during the year.
BACK TO SCHOOL LUNCH DAY Friday 14 February Welcome back to school everyone! Mums and dads can leave lunchbox duty to the P&F Committee on Friday 14 February as we’ve organised a tasty recess and lunch available for everyone to purchase! Recess Ice-creams for $1
Lunch Sausage sandwich for $1.50
Cans $1.50
Fruit Box $1.00
Lunch order forms will be sent home for Reception - Year 2 students only; all other students are able to purchase their lunch in the playground.
BOTTLES / CANS RECYCLING Thank you to all who have been bringing in their
empty cans / cartons / bottles - Heritage continues to collect those marked with a “10c refund” label in the big box beside the car park / assembly room. Every little bit counts and we appreciate your consistent efforts!
P&F NEWS
Graeme Shugg
Are you worried about bullying?
Would you like to know how to help your
children resolve conflict appropriately?
Do you want ideas about how to help your
children develop positive relationships?
Parents!!!
Then this workshop is for you!
The Parents and Grandparents Bullying and Positive Relationships
Workshop Tuesday 4th March at 7:30pm
God willing
in Room 12
Graeme Shugg will discuss the problem of bullying and how to prevent it by the building of posi ve rela onships. He will share effec ve strategies to use with children to help them avoid bullying and be able to stand up for themselves and others in appropriate ways. He will also introduce the concept of Restora ve
Jus ce as a highly effec ve tool to manage conflict.
See you there!
Heritage College · PO Box 371, Oakden SA 5086 · [email protected] · Ph. 8266 5122
