1 May 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Parents/Carers

Thank you to all the parents and carers who have let us know if they require their child/ren to come to school next week. This has helped greatly with planning and staffing. For the small number of students who will be at school we will combine together and meet in the hall area at the start of the day. We will be utilising the SRA@H room off the hall as our base for the week. As classes will be combined, staff will work on a rotational basis with students. Alternative activities are being planned for students as the normal program will not run during the last week of term.

TERM 2, 2020

The reason that we are having four professional development days (6-9 April 2020) is to enable our school to plan and prepare to deliver flexible education programs from Term 2, 2020.

While there is a lot that is unclear around us at the moment, what is clear is that learning will continue at Henbury School in Term 2, 2020.

The way in which your child/ren accesses education may be different however the quality and expectations of our students, our staff and our families will remain the same.

Further updates on learning in Term 2, 2020 will be provided shortly.

Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding during this time.

Sarah Corry
Principal

BLUE 4

Blue 4 has been discussing the Corona virus in our classroom. We have embraced the new protocols and are working hard making sure we are using them! We have made it fun but safe. Enjoy the holidays everyone!

GREEN 1

Welcome to Green 1. Our class consists of five incredible and diverse teenagers, three of which are in year 12; Ken, Manoli and James, and two in year 11; Thomas and Patterson. Our major focuses include work training, life skills, communication, and wellbeing.

Our year 12 students are focussed on their transition from school and are progressing nicely. Ken, James and Manoli are all working on communicating their needs and wants, and participating in activities that make them feel good. Thomas and Patterson are working at Henbury on Aralia (HOA), and are preparing to work at the Henbury Op Shop in Term Two. All the boys also have access to and are completing work skill programs on campus, such as Car Detailing, Recycling and Baking. We also run a class business called “Meaties Pet Food, Pleased to meet you, Meat to please you”. We are making and selling nutritional raw pet food and treats for cats and dogs. And finally we make natural confetti which we hope to sell at HOA in time for Darwin’s wedding season.

This term, Patterson completed our class grocery shopping and prepared morning tea for each week. This involved following a shopping list, locating items, paying for the groceries by card, unpacking groceries, cutting, sorting and storing fruit and vegetables. The boys will rotate each term, to give everyone a chance to learn these skills.

In Green 1 we use a variety of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) to support our verbal language including, sign language, Chat Boards, Proloquo2Go (P2G), Pragmatic Organisational Dynamic Displays (PODD) and Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). Our students need to be able to understand and be understood. We regularly have conversations discussing our likes, dislikes, needs and wants focussing on effectiveness. If a message is not understood students are taught to find alternative ways to communicate their message effectively. To encourage communication students have created “Chat Books”. These books include information such as likes, dislikes, activities, recent news and the important people and things in their lives. These are a great tool to encourage conversation while developing our recall and use of descriptive language. The two biggest motivators in Green 1 are FOOD and MUSIC. To encourage more communication we have planned lessons around these motivators. Currently the Green 1 boys are requesting their morning tea each day. They all have individualised goals around communication, and this lesson provides the perfect opportunity to develop their skills. We also have Music Therapy throughout the week, giving the boys an opportunity to request songs or artists they’d like to listen to, whilst playing along with their own instruments.

In Green 1 we are using story books to learn about mathematics. This term we read the story “One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab”, by A Pulley Sayre and J Sayre. It is a counting book with a focus on feet, from one to one hundred. Our focus has been adding one more. If one is a snail, and two is a person, then three must be… A person AND a snail. Mathematics is also being delivered in our morning tea preparation, Baking and Meaties Pet Food. Within these programs students are learning a range of mathematical concepts including units of measurement, number and place value and fractions and decimals. And finally in our Morning Meetings students are developing skills with timelines, days of the week and months of the year.

All our students enjoy exploring their senses. We always have access to sensory equipment in class to help keep ourselves regulated. These include rice play, water play, Theraputty, kinetic sand, body socks, jelly beads, spinners, a projector, a hammock, a swivel board and a ball pit. In the Engine Room the boys enjoy running and crashing, balancing, crawling through tunnels and immersing themselves in ball pits. In the Sensory Room they enjoy relaxing on the water bed, travelling to another realm in the infinity light tunnel and feeling the soft vibrations of the music in the speaker chair.

To keep our minds and bodies healthy we participate in weekly Zumba lessons. Thomas, Patterson and Manoli are competing in the Rising Stars basketball competition. On Fridays, we access the school Hairdressing Salon with the amazing Wilton from Blue 4. He washes and styles the boys hair while they enjoy the massage chair. We have enjoyed creating some artwork in our spare time, and we are learning a new dance.

In science Carol is keeping the boys engaged and busy learning about things that move, flying objects and animals, and making toys. At Enterprise Ed. Shannon and Vince are working with the boys to make and package beeswax wraps to sell at HOA. They’ve also experimented with Blob and Zentangles drawings.

We have had a lot of changes this term with staffing and programs. I want to congratulate the students and staff from Green 1 for being flexible and resilient and positive.

Take care and stay safe.

BACK TO SCHOOL VOUCHERS

Back to school vouchers expire on Thursday 9th April 2020. Vouchers can be used towards uniforms, camp, excursions, book packs, grooming and hygiene packs. Contact the front office on 89977077 to find out if you still have money left on your child’s voucher.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday to the following students that celebrate their birthdays in April:

Snaha – 1st
Andrew P – 2nd
Michael M – 4th
Brian – 4th
Amelia C – 5th
Tom D – 8th
Karly – 9th
Callum – 10th
Robert – 10th
Kimberley – 12th
Sebastian R – 13th
Alex A – 16th
Isaiah K – 19th
Zach A – 22nd
Jekamiah – 25th
Toby P – 29th

UPCOMING EVENTS – Term 1 & 2