15 March 2023

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

We are well and truly over the halfway mark of Term One and students have settled well into their classes for 2023.

Parents, carers and important stakeholders are being invited to Education Adjustment Plan (EAP) meetings with their classroom teacher over the coming weeks, to develop goals and recommendations for the year.

Thank you to those who have already attended. Your voice in your child’s education is extremely important to us.

Last week we had Structured Teaching practitioner, Gail Prenton visit. The purpose of Gail’s visit was to observe classrooms in action and support staff with the implementation of the Structured Teaching framework. Below is a model that helps explain what Structured Teaching is all about. Seven of our new staff also attended Day One training on Monday with Gail. Staff have shared strategies with one another and are really excited to have Gail back for a visit later in the year.

On Tuesday 14th March, we had the official opening of Henbury Precinct. We invited official guests, sponsors and supporters of Henbury School and celebrated with students serving drinks and food and the unveiling of an official plaque. We would not be operating this program without the backing and assistance of our School Council, the NT Government, Meredith from Kosh NT Investments, the Airport Development Group and their supporters of the Darwin Airport Development Group Charity Golf Day in 2022, Darwin City Council, Darwin Convention Centre and the businesses, sponsors and individual supporters of 10 years of the Halikos Henbury Corporate Luncheon. And most recently Brendan and the team from BTC Construction who physically helped us turn our vision into this beautiful space that our students deserve. Finally, to Tony and George from The Village Centre Management who helped guide us on our Journey.

PHOTO DAY

A reminder that photo day is on Thursday 23th March. Please ensure that your child wears their uniform on the day and that order forms are sent back to school.

Contact the front office on 899 77077 if you have any further questions or if you require a replacement order envelope.

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. Please ask at the front office for assistance if required.

SRA HOLIDAY PROGRAM

SOCIAL RECREATION @ HENBURY

Any enquiries for Social Recreation @ Henbury (SR@H) – out of school hours or holiday program care, please direct to Noor Arbon henbury.sra@education.nt.gov.au

ALL ABILITIES NETBALL THURS NIGHTS AT MARARRA

The All Abilities Netball Tournament is an out of school netball competition for people with a disability. Games are held at Marrara Netball Stadium of Thursday evenings from 5:45 – 7:30pm, starting 27th April. There are three clubs involved in the tournament – Banks Bulldogs, Tracy Village Falcons and Pints Netball Club. As this is an out of school sports tournament, parents/carers are required to attend with their young person each week. Cost involved is the purchase of a uniform.

Please contact raylee.parker@education.nt.gov.au ; sarah.corry@education.nt.gov.au ; amanda.thomas@education.nt.gov.au via email or phone 8997 7077 if you would like an expression of interest form.

NATIONAL TOUCH FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT

A BIG Congratulations to some of our Henbury Students past and present, who were selected and trained to compete at the National Touch Football League Tournament (NTLs) in March this year.

Athletes travelled to Coffs Harbour NSW to compete against teams for other states. It was the first time Touch Football NT has sent an All-Abilities Tier One Open Mixed Team to the event.

The Team did exceptional on their first tournament placing 3rd out of 5 teams. We are very proud to receive feedback that all athletes performed at their best, supported each other, and fostered an environment of encouragement and inclusion. Congratulations to former Student George M for placing 3rd Highest Try Scorer in the competition. You also might find a Tik Tok video of 2022 Henbury graduate Keanu running a full field try.

Well Done NT Devils and the Henbury School Students who were involved!

Ethan’s Trip to Coffs Harbour

We went to Darwin airport then we caught a plane to Brisbane. It took 3 hours 40 minutes. When we landed in Brisbane we had another 4 hour drive to get to Coffs Harbour and we didn't get to the accommodation until 1:50 in the morning. On Wednesday we woke up at 9am and had breakfast then we had to go down to the fields to look at where we we're setting up, and what the fields looked like, and then watch the other NT team play. On Thursday we had our first game. We got to the fields early for a picture with all the other ability teams and then we played. Our first game we versed the Champions and we lost. We lost our second game and the score was 20 to 10. We won our third game though. We went out for dinner that night and it was really good. We woke up early the next day and had a game straight up in the morning at 8:50, which we won. We went back to the hotel to do our laundry and then watched the other NT teams play their games. We came third on the ladder. We did a bit of sightseeing on Friday. We went to the big banana and played laser tag and went on a long big indoor slide. It was fun. We went shopping and had lunch, then went back to the fields to watch grand finals. I saw the NT play and win their first game. They were all crying with joy. We drove to Brisbane on Sunday and went to a big shopping centre called DFO which was pretty disappointing because it was really small. George liked the stores. We had a delayed flight which didn't arrive in Darwin at 10:50 PM.

Northern Territory Learning Commission (NTLC)

On Friday 17th February Henbury school students voted in the annual NTLC representative elections. All classes turned out to vote and there were record numbers of candidates to choose from. The rivalry was competitive but friendly. Candidates put forward a variety of ideas such as, Teachers V’s Students Basketball and an upgrade to the playgrounds to include extra wheelchair friendly equipment. (NTLC-1,2,3,4,5)

The successful Learning Commissioners for this year are;

PURPLE 2

Purple 2 have had a great start to the year! We are working hard on our social skills and checking in with each other each morning. We are also practicing our conversational skills during lunch eating time and over board games. Uno is still a favourite of most but we’ve tried some others too!

Skill sets started two weeks ago and we are enjoying our new electives.

Kaleb is working in the garden for horticulture, he’s been getting weeds out. He saw his friend Zy. He’s been placing plants and flowers. He likes the yellow flowers, sun flowers and the little ones. Kaleb would like to know what’s your favourite flower?

Dekkie works with Matumba collecting and sorting recycling. They pick up the cans, like coke and poppers too. They pick up the paper from the yellow bin. It gets taken to the recycling garbage bins. they have to wear gloves and a high vis vest.

Lashyah goes to the Enterprise Ed room to help create all sorts of pieces that get sold in our Henbury Precinct café at Cas Village. Lashyah has been ironing fabric squares, sewing the wheat bag sections together and then filling with rice.

Lebron is part of our kitchen crew. They are busy taking lunch orders from a different classroom block each week, cooking up their orders and then delivering! Last week was a great success for Purple block who had the chance to order spaghetti bolognaise or a toastie and a piece of rocky road. Keep an eye out for when Lebron visits your class with the menu and brown bags to order.

Chantelle and Max will both be attending sports and rec in the hall with Lucy and we look forward to hearing how their first session goes this week!

YELLOW 4

Yellow 4 has welcomed a new student to the school this year– Nivek! He is finding new places and activities to enjoy around the school.

We’re making healthy choices every day. We take turns choosing healthy recipes, shopping for ingredients, cooking for our classmates and enjoying the meal together. Our favourites so far have been tacos, fried rice and fruit salad – yummy yummy!

We’re also working together to develop our communication skills. We love our morning chats! If you see us, say hello!

PURPLE 4

In Purple 4 we take our health and wellbeing very seriously. Being active every day is so important, and we enjoy a variety of activities to keep our bodies strong and supple and on the go.

Everyone loves the swimming pool. We take care to be safe when entering and exiting the water, and love using a variety of pool toys, such as noodles, the magic carpet and balls.

When using the bikes, we always wear our helmets, making sure they are fastened securely. We take turns and look out for other riders, making sure we give way and wait safely for others to set off.

The trampoline is also popular. After removing our shoes, we take turns to bounce one at a time. We also use the climbing frames, swings and often take a short walk. On most days we also finish the afternoon with a dance…there’s always something happening to keep us fit!

Our best health tip is to always keep hydrated with water. Whenever we finish our outside activity we always top it off with a drink to rehydrate.

PURPLE 3

Purple 3 have been busy getting to know each other and making friends this term.

We have been sharing our favourite activities with the class so we have been bike riding, drawing, painting, reading, singing and even have had the therapy dogs Scout and Harlow visit us a few times! Fantastic start to the year!

UPCOMING EVENTS – Term 2 2023

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday catch ups to the following students that celebrate their birthdays in;

January, February, and March

COMMUNITY NOTICES