12 February 2021

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL

Welcome to 2021! Students and staff have had a great start to the year. The time spent last year on forming classes and transitioning students has really paid off. We have a total enrolment this year of 152 students. 30 new students started in year 7 and 8 and new students starting in various other year levels. We welcome them and their families to our Henbury Community. Our total number of students attending outreach classes at one of our 5 middle or seniors year’s campuses is 56.

Over the last week, it has been great to see all our students participating in taster sessions for both senior year’s and middle year’s Skill Sets, as well as Performing Arts. Tuesday’s and Thursday’s are a buzz with our outreach classes visiting our Henbury campus. This gives our students the opportunity to use our amazing facilities on campus as well as socialise with students across the school and from other outreach classes.

We welcome four new teachers this year. Lucy Shiels to SMS outreach, Graham Baggs to CSC outreach, Toni Ruskin to Blue 4 and Trish Orr to Yellow 3. We also have two new SESO’s, Amy Lewis in Purple 3 and Ezra Woodward in Green 3. We look forward to sharing more about our new staff in our future newsletters.

Henbury School Leadership Team 2021–

Sarah Corry - Principal
sarah.corry@education.nt.gov.au

Lauren Hofmeyer – Assistant Principal, Middle Years
lauren.hofmeyer@education.nt.gov.au

David Panjer – Assistant Principal, Senior Years
david.panjer@education.nt.gov.au

Paul Drewitt – Senior Teacher, Curriculum Assessment & Reporting
paul.drewitt@education.nt.gov.au

Raylee Parker – Acting Senior Teacher, Transitions & Pathways
raylee.parker@education.nt.gov.au

Felicity Faull – Acting Senior Teacher, VSS & Work Training
Felicity.faull@education.nt.gov.au

School Council AGM

Our AGM will be held in the conference room next Wednesday the 24th February from 5 to 6pm followed by our first general meeting for the year. All parents and carers are very welcome to attend. We are looking for new parents to join our School Council as either position holders or as general parent representatives. We value the input of our parents and carers at Henbury School (and we put on a lovely afternoon tea for you to enjoy!)

We hope you can join us.

Our current position holders are:

Chairperson – Paula Callaghan
Secretary – Sheena Baillie
Treasurer – Helen Metcalfe

Parent Representatives
Deb Ellison & Matumba Isis

Whole School Professional Development Day

The School Council has approved a student free day on Tuesday the 16th of March. Gail Preston will be visiting Darwin to deliver ‘Structured Teaching’ professional development. In 2020 we participated in day one of the three day course. On this day all of our staff will participate in day two of the training.

New Basketball court

The students (and staff) have been eagerly watching the development in the temporary fenced construction area where our new basketball court is being built. The works were scheduled to be finished by the end of February but with all the rain we have had it looks like it might not be until the end of March. In the photos you can see a lovely new path coming directly from Purple block and the steel starting to go up on the dirt pad that will hold the shade structure over our court.

Sarah Corry
Principal

SPORTS VOUCHER

Semester 1 Sport Vouchers are now available for parents and carers to apply for. This can be done online at the link below. The Sports Voucher is $100 and available twice a year.

Nutrition Program

The nutrition program is up and running for 2021. The program is integral to teaching life skills in menu planning, nutritional value of food, shopping, meal preparation and involvement in activities within the community. This program is voluntary. The costs for 2021 is $27.50/week.

Community access fees have been removed from the nutrition program this year and are now a one off payment of $60. The Back to School voucher can be used as payment.

Nutrition payments can be made via direct debit, cash, EFTPOS, Basics Card or Centrepay from your Centrelink payments. If you would like further information please contact the school on 89977077.

Students who do not participate in the nutrition program will need to bring their own food to school.

Students cannot access the programs if they still have outstanding money from 2020.

Back to School Vouchers and Voluntary contributions

The Northern Territory Government Back to School Voucher is $150. This money has to be acquitted by the end of Term 1. Visit the front office staff or call us on 89977077. Voucher money can go towards school uniforms, book packs, hygiene and grooming packs, camping or the bus levy.

Voluntary Student contributions are $80.00/year. The school has EFTPOS facilities and these voluntary contributions can be paid at the Front Office.

SchoolZine Phone App

Henbury School currently uses SchoolZine to publish newsletters throughout the year. The school newsletter is an important communication tool to inform our school community of student learning, important notices and upcoming events.

In an attempt to increase accessibility to this service we would like to introduce the SchoolZine app.

This is a free app that can be easily downloaded onto any iPhone or android device which allows school newsletters to be viewed conveniently on any smartphone or tablet device.

To download this app please see information attached.

Any questions please direct to myself on the contact details below. I am available to assist with downloading the app any time, please ask at the front office for assistance if required.

SCHOLASTICS

Welcome back to Term 1. It’s a new year and a great time for students to KICK-START their reading habits and routines.

Issue 1 is now open. A hard copy has been sent out to each student. If you would like to place an order through the school please return your order form and money by Monday 1st March.

MENINGOCOCCAL B STUDY 2021

B Part of It NT is a research study offering free licenced and recommended meningococcal B immunisations to young people aged 14 to19 to protect themselves against meningococcal B disease, as well as collecting information that could help to inform if the immunisation may offer protection against gonorrhoea in the community.

Throughout 2021, those aged 14 to 19 in the Northern Territory can receive a free immunisation for meningococcal B, (the Bexsero vaccine, which requires two doses, two months apart) by enrolling in the study through their school or community health clinic.

The process involves two immunisations two months apart and two throat swabs, one swab with the first immunisation, a second immunisation two months later and the second swab 12 months after the first immunisation. All steps need to be completed for our team to understand the impact of our study.

On the day of the immunisations, young people who get their immunisation and provide a throat swab will be provided with a $20 voucher, or gift card to thank them for their time.

The Bexsero vaccine is licenced for use in Australia and available now to people in the NT, however there is a cost for those who receive it outside of this study.

Henbury School has reconsidered participation and will now be offering this study at school to eligible students in Years 10, 11 & 12. Alternatively, if eligible students and their families wish to take part they may participate through their local Community Health Care Centre Casuarina: (08) 89227301 or Palmerston (08) 89993344.

For more information access the link below:

Janine Kelsey
Henbury School Nurse

GREETINGS FROM HENBURY SCHOOL COUNSELLOR

Hello Everyone. I would like to introduce myself to new families who have joined the Henbury School community in 2021.

My name is Natalie Althouse and I am a registered Psychologist, employed by Henbury School in the dual roles of School Counsellor and Psychologist. I am an Aboriginal woman, born and bred in Darwin, with family connections throughout the Northern Territory.

In my role as a School Counsellor, I provide support to schools inclusive of:

• Critical incident response
• Suicide pre and postvention advice
• Professional learning opportunities for staff to improve wellbeing and safety of students
• Classroom observations, advice and support for teachers and support staff
• Teacher consults regarding individual or groups of students
• Short term counselling, case management and referrals to external agencies

In my role as a School Psychologist, I provide support inclusive of:

• Use of appropriate psychometric assessments to measure cognitive functioning and adaptive behaviours
• Scoring, interpretation and report writing based on results of psychometric assessment
• Diagnosis of Intellectual Disability based on results

All students of Henbury School require signed consent to access the School Counselling service and consent can be withdrawn at any time. Please contact the front office on 89977077 if you require a form.

2021 marks my seventh year working at Henbury and I am inspired everyday by the commitment, resilience, resolve and perseverance of the young people of Henbury. Henbury’s young people continue to show me there is value in every moment, and that we all have different abilities.

I look forward to meeting and getting to know you all throughout the year.

Many thanks
Natalie Althouse

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

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

Jake W – 4th
Kristine C – 5th
Bryony G – 7th
Navia S – 7th
Matthew R – 9th
Danny N – 13th
Jeremy J – 16th
Carl KB – 18th
Jamal M – 18th
Faye C – 20th
Luke D – 20th
Ilias K – 21st
Jashon W – 22nd

UPCOMING EVENTS – Term 3

COMMUNITY NOTICES