21 October 2016

Newsletter Articles

Principal's Report

Dear Parents/Carers

Official Opening and Family Night

On Monday 17 the school hosted the Official opening and Family Night. The evening commenced with Despina, very bravely reading the Acknowledgment of Country to over 300 guests. The Honourable Eva Lawler MLA, Minister for Education with the assistance of Banjo I, Abbie and Manoli K revealed the plaque for the new school. Thank you to Raylee for making two movies which very clearly showed what the old school was like from the viewpoints of students and staff to the enjoyment of the new school environment.

A big thank you to Halikos for the generosity in hosting the BBQ and to TH Northern Trading and John Hattam for their donation of drinks for the event.

Special needs schooling in Darwin started as Coconut Grove School, where Travis St is currently located. The school opened in 1978 with 15 students. Principal Charlie Carter initiated the process to have a new school built. Henbury Ave School opened in 1982. There was the Admin, B Block and C block, 6 students and 2 teachers and Phil Roberts SESO. In 1987 the GP Demountable and toilet block arrived. In 1990, E and F Blocks were built. In 1997 Henbury Ave School changed its name to Henbury School. G Block demountables opened in April 2015. On 2 August 2016 we moved into the new school at 11 Henbury Ave.

Building a successful school environment required a significant collaborative process with a range of stakeholders. The design journey included NTG ministers, the then Education Minister Peter Chandler, advisers from DOE, staff from the then DOI, architects, Halikos and their sub-contractors, myself, students, School Council and staff.

At Henbury for many years staff have proven themselves to be endlessly adaptable when faced with facility shortcomings. Making do is a thing of the past. What the new school provides for staff and students is a state of the art facility where curriculum can be delivered in a way that has the greatest impact on student learning.

What I hope for the future is that we have created an environment where young people with disabilities have the foundations to pursue their hopes and dreams for the future. At Henbury we are good at problem solving and I look forward to seeing what the future brings.

EAP/TEAP Review Meetings

Meetings this year are scheduled for Week 5, (7 November) to Week 7 (21 November). Teachers will be contacting parents/carers to make a booking for these meetings.

Bird Count

Students, teachers and staff participated in the nationwide bird count on Tuesday, 18th of October.

The learning intention for this Aussie Backyard Bird Count Activity was to encourage students to become citizen scientists in which they connect with the natural world, gain scientific skills, and learn about biodiversity. The team was successful in its mission to help the local city council in counting and identifying different species of birds inhibiting the school grounds. The data collected contribute to a vital pool of information from across the nation that help Bird Life Association assess how our local birds are faring.

Staffing

Brenda Moore is on Long Service Leave for three weeks. Paul Drewitt will be acting Assistant Principal whilst Brenda is away.

Art Exhibition

Next week is the art exhibition that students from CSC1 have organised as part of their modified NTCET studies. Student's artwork from the school will be on display. Artwork will be judged and 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes will be given to students in Middle and Senior Years and the photos of the winning artwork published in the next newsletter.

I will be attending an international conference in Toronto Ontario; Principals' Council International Symposium on Global Trends for All Generations: Exploring Work-life Balance and Well-being. I will be one of three representatives from the NT and will be attending in my role as Secretary of the Northern Territory Principals' Association. I fly out Saturday 29 October and back at work Tuesday 8 November.

Carolyn Edwards
Principal

SCHOOL REVIEW

The school review was held 23 and 24 March 2016. The outcomes of the review will be included in each newsletter. Included this week are Domain 5: An expert teaching team. This data will be used when writing the Strategic Improvement Plan towards the end of the year.

CONGRATULATIONS

Carolyn won the Telstra Business Award, NT Public Sector and Academia Award and is a National Finalist and will travel to Melbourne in November for the National event. The award acknowledges the work that Henbury does to improve student outcomes. All of Henbury's businesses and enterprises are to provide real work experience and training opportunities for students.

Year 12 Graduation

Join us to celebrate this final rite of passage as students graduate Year 12. Tickets are now available to purchase from the front office. Graduation will take place at the Hilton Double Tree Reflections room on Thursday 1st December @ 6pm (entry from 5:30pm). Tickets are $50 per person and includes a two course meal and drinks.

Blue 3

Students in the Blue 3 have continued their class cooking business into Semester 2. "The Lunch Queens" cook lunch for staff every Friday. Over the year students have made great improvements in their confidence when taking and delivering orders. They have learnt to work well as a team and have improved their organisation and cooking skills.

Sammy C showed great maturity and responsibility while undertaking the Cert II in Cookery at CDU. Sammy joined with CSC Outreach students and learnt basic cooking skills, kitchen safety while meeting new people from other schools. Great work Sammy!

During Term 3 and 4, the Blue 3 students again participated in the Rising Stars Basketball Competition held at Marrara. The Blue 3 students joined with Nightcliff Outreach and Molly and Coral-Lee from Green 4 to form the "Warriors" team. It was great to see their confidence, teamwork and basketball skills grow over the game season. Dripstone Outreach and Blue 3 students are also joining together to use the new Henbury swimming pool each week to keep fit and improve their water safety and swimming skills.

Swimming

In the mid-semester break Raylee, Maddy and Sarah Penny from Dripstone visited the Sjaki-Tari-Us Special Education School in Ubud, Bali. This school is funded by donations, and the 35 students range from 3 years to 18 years old. While the school was very small with limited resources it was amazing to see the commitment of staff and volunteers and the many similarities to Henbury. The school, like Henbury, has a focus on future pathways. They have their own small restaurant to help students develop practical life skills, as well as a small shop to sell student work. The students were happy and having fun. It was humbling to see how lucky we are at Henbury with all our great resources and programs.

Ubud School

Darwin High Outreach Semester Two 2016

Darwin High students have settled in in very well this semester. They are starting to enjoy their well earnt independence and plan for their transition out of school.

VETis

Raed is completing a Cert I in Automotive and Marina is completing a Cert I in Hairdressing. Tony has been accessing Greek lessons and Marina has been attending Dance lessons at Darwin High School.

Marina at a Hairdressing excursion

Work Experience

This is a focus with students attending; Kokoda Industries, Anaconda, The Darwin Convention Centre, MacDonald's, RDH Laundry and the Henbury Coffee Crew. Senior students are also registered with Darwin Skills Development Scheme in order to start job searching.

Dorys and Tony at Anaconda

Transport

Tony has received his Learners and Dorys is now driving to school with his P's. Most other year 12's are participating in driving lessons in order to get their P's. Hamish has also been helping train year 10 students to catch public transport.

Finance

DHS students are continuing with a savings account at People's Choice Credit Union. Students have in the past saved for an excursion however most are now identifying things that may be more important to them such as driving lessons.

Health

Students concluded their swimming lessons with an excursion to Berry Springs. They are now visiting the gym weekly. They are encouraged to plan and participate in regular social activities.

Berry Springs class excursion

Stinger Season is here

While box jellyfish are present in seas off the Top End coast all year round their numbers increase dramatically between October and May.

Adult box jelly fish can have up to 40 tentacles, with some up to two metres long. Each tentacle is loaded with venom.

Not only is the sting of a box jellyfish particularly painful, it can also be fatal. And because of their size, children are at greatest risk from a box jellyfish sting.

About 40 people a year present to health facilities with box jellyfish stings.

So, it is best to avoid entering the sea over the next eight months. But if you can't avoid it, then ensure you are well protected with a long-sleeved shirt, long trousers and socks.

Box jellyfish prefer calm conditions near the water's edge as well as tidal creeks.

Parents need to remember that letting the children paddle along the water's edge is definitely not safe at this time of year. Many children have been stung over the years while wading.

If you are on hand when someone is stung you should act immediately by:

• Calling for help (call triple zero)
• Dousing the immediate area of the injury with vinegar, if it is available
• Pulling off any tentacles attached to the skin of the victim
• Promptly getting the person to hospital
• If a sting is severe, it may be necessary to perform CPR.

Janine Kelsey
Health Promoting School Nurse

Outside School Hours Care

Outside School Hours Care is seeking donations of unwanted computers, laptops, screens, towers, connections, playstations, Xbox's and their controllers. If you have any of these items that you would like to donate please drop off at reception or call Denholm on 89977099 or 0408 147 876.

Upcoming Events

Happy Birthday

OCTOBER

Raed – 1st
Travis – 6th
Melissa – 8th
John – 10th
Rosemary – 14th
Igen – 15th
Andrew – 23rd
Aaron – 23rd
Brandon – 27th

Community Notices