Two Wells Primary School eNewsletter

Principal Welcome

Dear families,

It's fabulous to see so many students wearing their sporting colours today. There have been many examples of playful teasing amongst staff particularly surrounding the Port v Geelong game last night.

I was reflecting on our school value of respect, and like many of the adults working in our learning community, we often refer to sport to give examples of respectful behaviours during a game. It is concerning that some of our students are using abusive language during games and in PE, as such we think it is essential that we work together to ensure we speak and play in a respectful manner and that means we demonstrate a sporting attitude.

What is a sporting attitude?

A sporting attitude is when people who are playing or watching a sport treat each other with respect. This includes players, parents, coaches, officials, and fans.

How can I be a good sport?

Whether you’re playing against classmates in gym or on the oval, there are lots of ways you can be a good sport.

Try to:

Have a positive attitude and give your best effort.
Follow the rules of the game. Accept calls and don't argue with officials/staff/student leaders.
Support your teammates by saying something like, "Good shot" or "Good try." Don’t criticize them if they make a mistake. You wouldn’t want someone blaming you if you miss a shot. Please don't swear, its aggressive and bullying.
Treat the other team with respect and don’t tease or bully. Shake hands before and after the game. Help players up if they fall — even if they’re not on your team.
Take pride in giving your best at each practice and game. Winning is fun but don't rub it in. If you lose, accept the loss without getting upset or blaming others.

By being a good sport, you learn respect for others and self-control. These skills can help you even when you’re not competing. They can also help you in your friendships and at school. Remember recess games are about fun, we don't have fun if we fail to respect others. During our Soccer coaching, remember who is the coach, they have the experience and they are here to help you improve. Poor attitude and disrespect means a red card and you will miss the game.

Please ensure you enrol your children, our Reception classes are filling fast and we will need to budget for extra staff. If you are moving please inform Sarah at the front office as soon as possible.

Have a well rested weekend!

Rosie Gilsenan-Reed

Principal

Deputy Principal Message

Dear Families,

I would like to take this opportunity to share and give a gentle reminder of the school start times. As part of your child's education they're entitled to a certain amount of minutes per subject and for this to happen we have worked with staff at TWPS since 2021 with the support of the Australian Education Union to ensure our school day provides not only the correct times for students but also the staff face to face teaching time.

Our School Day
8:30 - Start of the Day

Students - Organise themselves for the day
Families - Kiss and drop
Teachers/Staff - Visible to families and students, prepare for the day

8:40 - Face to Face Teaching starts (F2F)

Students - Yarn Circle and morning routine
Families - Left the classroom, if dropping off please do so from outside the classroom
Teachers/Staff - Teaching has started for the day

8:50 - Lesson 1

Students - Phonics/English
Families - No families to be inside the classroom, if late please come through the front office for a late slip
Teachers/Staff - Teaching

We are seeing through observations and our timetabling that lessons are in fact not starting till after 9am, we are losing a considerable amount of learning time each week. We ask for your support so that it enables us to start our school day on time.

Restorative Practices
Over the last 12 months TWPS have embarked on a Positive Behaviours for learning and a Restorative Journey to seek and further understand how students learn and behave. From this understanding, we can then support our students using these practices with opportunities to develop lifelong social and emotional skills that will keep them physically and psychologically safe.

As part of the Department for Education, suspension, exclusion and expulsion of students will be guided by this and will follow procedure regarding; staff have taken all reasonable steps to collect evidence, all adjustments and learning has been present to proactively promote positive choices and all considerations have been made due to the context and dynamics of the student and behaviour displayed.

As we continue to travel through this journey, we ask for your support and welcome you to also be apart of this, because your voice matters and our main aim is to allow students to thrive and prosper.

Thank you in advance for your support and have a great weekend!

Darrell Avery

Deputy Principal

Restorative Practices

Curriculum & Pedagogy Message

Dear parents/caregivers,

We want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone for their invaluable contributions, which made this year’s Book Week a spectacular success! The magical variety of dress-ups showcased the creativity and enthusiasm of our families, staff, and students, who truly went above and beyond.

Highlights of Book Week celebrations:

Monday: Where’s Wally Hunt.

Tuesday: Teacher swap/Book Week activities.

Wednesday: Book week activities.

Thursday: Book Week Parade-Students and teachers made their way through the main street of Two Wells.

Incursion: “Maybe a Miracle”-The performance was not just a show, but an experience that the students thoroughly enjoyed, leaving them with fond memories of Book Week.

Every single activity was a resounding success, sparking a love for reading and providing valuable learning experiences. The colouring in the competition, in particular, was a hit among the students, showcasing their talent and enthusiasm.

A special mention goes out to Miss Amber Cox, our school librarian, who has been the driving force behind Book Week at Two Wells Primary School. Her dedication and passion has made this event this event a cherished tradition.

Rosie Sarakinis

Curriculum & Pedagogy Leader

Book Week 2024

"Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or a duty; It should be offered as a gift." – Kate DiCamillo

Book Week was an absolute delight, brimming with enthusiasm and literary magic. The week was a vibrant celebration of storytelling, with students and staff alike immersing themselves in the joy of reading.

There were captivating learning experiences, imaginative costume parades that brought beloved characters to life, performances and even our annual book fair!

The energy was contagious as everyone shared their favourite reads and discovered new ones. It was a wonderful reminder of the power of books to spark imagination and foster a love of reading.

Thank you to all involved; students, parents, staff and even our Two Wells community supporting us on our parade walk. Attached we have provided a video highlighting our best moments of the 2024 Book Week and an interview led by our very own Summa Smith and Miah Cooper.

*PLEASE NOTE: These videos are NOT posted on YouTube publicly, and can not be found on the site if searched. The video URL is ONLY embedded within this newsletter, therefore this is the only place it can be found. Enjoy!

Some of our favourites from the day:

Another successful STEM Aboriginal Learner Congress! Cultural Innovators 65+ Thousand Years in the making.

This year TWPS YASTSA Teams Workshop was 3,2,1 Let it spin which focused on Indigenous games and their purpose. Our presenters were Connor Simons (Leader) and his team Braxx Stanley, Emily Aston, Mariah Milton and Addison Simons.

As well as presenting, we participated in two workshops run by professionals in the STEM field. Our first workshop was Jaw Dropping Chemistry by Nitro Nat which looks at how mixing liquids and solids changes their state; we also got to combine chemicals to make worms. Our second workshop was a dance workshop by Australian Dance Theatre. Over the 3 days our YASTSA team enjoyed themselves and did Two Wells Primary School proud.

Well done to all involved!

Pictures from the day:

In our previous newsletter we discussed the ‘Autism Spectrum’. A model that defines a key range of areas that are required for success in school and the community. People who are neuro divergent may be particularly sensitive or need assistance in some of these areas where in others they may not.

“It can be helpful to consider each of these areas to ensure that others are able to get to know our learners, their skills, strengths and support needs. We need to consider these areas independently and also how they relate to each other and overlap.” (Positive Partnerships-2 Day PL Participant Workbook, 2024).

For the next couple of newsletters we will break down each ‘wedge’ of the spectrum in order to understand it better.

Strengths and Interests

Strengths are defined as attributes that enable an individual to do certain things well (Clifton & Anderson, 2002). Strengths are individual and subjective, and will vary from person to person and across different stages of development (Jones-Smith, 2011). The strengths of children on the autism spectrum are often viewed through the perspective of their parents rather than the children themselves (Teti, Cheak-Zamora, Lolli, & Maurer-Batjer, 2016), consequently, the voice of children on the spectrum remains underreported in the literature.

We all learn better when our interest is piqued. Many of our students across Two Wells Primary school (either Typical or A-Typical) have strengths, talents and strong interests in particular subject or social areas. It assists in teaching and learning if you can help your child identify their strengths, interests and talents and sharing them with the class teacher. Learning can then be designed to interests or to link back with what the area the student is interested in.

Identifying where all of our students sit (Autistic or Neurotypical) within the spectrum helps support us in identifying and working towards One Plan and Ready to learn Plan Goals, which will enable us to track and monitor our student’s development.

If you have additional information about your child you would like to share please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher in person or through class Dojo or you can contact Beck Mather-Brown (Autism Inclusion Teacher) in person on Mondays or through Class Dojo.

Beck Mather-Brown

Autism Inclusion Teacher

Thank You TW Blue Light Disco

Room 13's RAFFLE

🎟️ Camp Raffle Alert! 🎟️

Join the fun and support our camp with our exciting raffle! Great prizes are up for grabs, and every ticket you buy helps us make this camp the best it can be. Don’t miss out—tickets are just 50c each, and all proceeds go directly to our camp.

Winners will be drawn at the end of term assembly. Have a look what is up for grabs if you happen to win the 1st place prize!

Gawler Baseball Club

2024 Come and Try days

When: Friday September 6^th 5.00-6.30pm and Sunday September 8^th 10.00-12.00pm.

Where: Karbeethan Reserve Angle Vale Road Evanston Gardens.

As a club that fully supports inclusion it would be great to see as many kids of all abilities running around the diamond.

Daughters & Dads Cricket

Daughters & Dads Cricket is a 9-week, award winning, evidence based program that:

-Improves girls’ cricket skills and social-emotional wellbeing.
-Promotes gender equity to help daughters reach their potential.
-Enhances the bond between daughters and their fathers.

Would you like to become a facilitator? Find attached the flyer for more information.

Blue Light HALLOWEEN Disco

🎃 Get Ready to Boogie at the Spookiest Disco of the Year! 🕺👻

Join us for a fang-tastic Halloween Disco on Friday, November 1 at the Hewett Centre 28 Kingfisher Dr from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM, for ages 8 to 15.

🎟️ Tickets are just $7 each and can be purchased online and there is a canteen available! Don’t miss out on this chance to dance the night away in your best Halloween costume and make some unforgettable memories!

Grab your tickets now and get ready for a night of ghostly grooves and eerie excitement! 👻💃🕺

For tickets and more details visit: https://www.bluelightsa.org/

2024_gawler_november_bluelight.pdf

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Event

It is very rare that the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra come to our part of the world!

Please find attached a poster about this one night only concert.

Where: Marnkutyi Parirna Theatre
When: Sat 14 Sep, 7pm

Adult Tickets $49

Scan the QR code or book at aso.com.au

ASO24_Gawler_Poster.pdf

Two Wells Primary School Newsletter- Term 3, Week 7 2024.