Issue 1
Issue 1
Issue 1
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The CONCH<br />
<strong>Issue</strong><br />
1/2008<br />
February<br />
Community News & Chat for Darwin Middle School<br />
PO Box 2257 Parap NT 0804<br />
Email: admin.darwinmiddle@ntschools.net<br />
Welcome<br />
Telephone: 8942 5200<br />
Fax: 8942 5211<br />
Dear Parents,<br />
Once again our thanks as a school staff for your assistance in ensuring a fluid and effective start to the new school<br />
year. The students in our school are a terrific group of young people and the feed back I am getting from them, a<br />
number of parents and staff is that they are really enjoying their school and the many exciting educational<br />
programs we are running. Another piece of good news is that the Performing Arts Building is now in operation.<br />
Facilities include:<br />
• Dance/ Ballet Area & Stage<br />
• Music Room<br />
• Four (4) music tuition rooms and storage<br />
• Macintosh Laboratory<br />
• Sound Recording Studio<br />
• PE Store<br />
• Manual Arts/Arts Area<br />
• Toilets<br />
• Performing Arts/PE Faculty Offices<br />
• Maintenance Officers office and compound<br />
Works in progress include grounds development, additional bike paths, some fencing, stage lighting, curtains & sound<br />
for auditorium. The Sound Shell is also having soft fall laid during the first term break.<br />
On another note; included in this correspondence is a staff photo and contact details for enquiries with which staff<br />
may be able to assist. Our school motto is RESPECT and I think this is an important value for all of us to work<br />
towards upholding. As a community we are all stakeholders in giving our students every opportunity. Communication<br />
is the key to ensuring that the best outcome is available. If you are concerned about your child’s progress contact<br />
the teacher and relay your concern. Alternatively you may wish to acknowledge the good things that are occurring<br />
with your child. The staff too will have information and perspectives on your child’s progress and will be able to fill<br />
out the broader picture. We are now finalising a date for our first parent interviews and this will provide a formal<br />
opportunity for parents to get an update later this term on thier child's progress.<br />
Thankyou<br />
Marcus Dixon<br />
Principal<br />
Darwin Middle School
Contacting Darwin Middle School<br />
When contacting the Darwin Middle School about your child, one point of call would be your child’s Pastoral Care<br />
teacher or if you require information from a specialist subject teacher you can contact them via email or by calling<br />
our front office staff who will pass on the message. Email addresses are first and second name separated by a full<br />
stop then @ntschools.net eg. to contact Jane Perkin the email address would be: jane.perkin@ntschools.net<br />
The phone number for Darwin Middle School is 8942 5200.<br />
Darwin Middle School Staff<br />
Back Row (left to right): Veronica Ross (7V1), Dahna Milosavljevic (8N2), Ben Slocombe (7C2) , Rhiannon Frawley<br />
(7V4) , Grant Ebbers (Physical Recreation), Tracy Etherington (Music) , Fansi Hitanaya (7C1) , Lovell D’Souza (7V2),<br />
Jill Ravens (School Counsellor), Merryn Brown (7C4), Kelly Ku (Administration Officer), Phillippe Monforte (IT), Glen<br />
Alp (Maintenance Officer).<br />
Middle Row (left to right) Jodi Peters (Physical Education), Bernadette McGrath (8N3), Jacqui Murray (Driftwood<br />
Café), Nick Miaris (8N4), Paul Reardon (8M2), Hayley Ettridge (Indonesian), Linda Joy (8M3), Helen Leach (Senior<br />
Teacher Science), Sam Grinceri (Lab Tech and Home Economics Assistant), Mere Barlow (7V4), Sue Neal (Special<br />
Needs/Student Services), Loraine Caldwell (Senior Teacher Year 8 Humanities), Tina Watt (PA to Principal &<br />
Assistant Principal).<br />
Front Row (left to right): Barbara Roberts (English Second Language), Antony Vanderwey (8M4), Joshua Thomas<br />
(Aboriginal Islander Education Worker), Rene Cajayon (8N2), Jane Perkin (Assistant Principal), Marcus Dixon<br />
(Principal), Tricia Smith (8M1), Jeannie Bennett (Senior Teacher Year 7 Humanities), Kelly Gregorio (7C3), Kana<br />
Shinozaki (Japanese), Pam Vaughan (Home Liaison Officer), Helen Macmillan (Manager Administration).<br />
Absent in this photo are: John Moulds (Senior Teacher Maths), Paula Simeone (Italian & Librarian), Aphrodite<br />
Georgiadis (Finance Officer), Nilda Scott (VET), Peta Lazar (Library Tech).<br />
Diary Dates<br />
Wednesday 12 March - School Council Annual General Meeting 6pm for a 6:30pm start in the Staff Room<br />
Wednesday 12 March - Blue Light Disco 6 - 9pm in the Assembly Area (Darwin Middle students only)<br />
Week 10 - Parent teacher interviews (date to be advised)
Uniform Supplies<br />
We have the following uniforms in stock:<br />
• Cargo Shorts in all sizes @ $20<br />
• Basketball Shorts in all sizes @ $10<br />
• Skirts in all sizes @ $25<br />
• Female T Shirts in all sizes @ $37<br />
• Unisex T Shirts in size youth 14, M, L, XL, 2XL and 3XL @ $37<br />
A large order of Unisex T shirts in smaller sizes are expected to arrive just after the Easter weekend. We will let<br />
you know as soon as they arrive.<br />
Author Visit Written by Jessica Lim and Harry Winspear, Nautilus 3<br />
Darwin Middle School was privileged to welcome Boori<br />
“Monty” Pryor to our School on Thursday 14th<br />
February. Boori shared some of the entertaining<br />
stories from his childhood with us. He has also written<br />
several award winning children’s novels with Meme<br />
McDonald. Some of those of books are:<br />
- My Girragundji<br />
- The Binna Binna Man<br />
- Njunjul The Sun and<br />
- Flytrap (which is one of his more<br />
recently written book)<br />
Boori had us all laughing, telling us the stories from<br />
one of his books. His exaggerated facial expressions<br />
and the way he told the stories was what had us<br />
laughing. From Boori we learnt that to make a good<br />
story you need some truth and experiences to which<br />
everyone can relate. To make it interesting you<br />
need to add some colour and flavour and even a bit<br />
of exaggeration.<br />
Photographic Competition<br />
You may have noticed that our Administration Office has some inventive pictures on the walls. These photos were<br />
taken by some of our students in a competition, details of which were in the last newsletter. We only had a few<br />
entries and the winner has been judged as being Harry Winspear with his photo entitled ‘The Five Faces of<br />
Education’. Harry wins a $50 Driftwood Café voucher. Other prize winners were Shelley Bryant, Dominic Cabrera,<br />
Miranda Cowley and Bayley Valentine. These students win a $20 Driftwood Café voucher.<br />
Please take the time to come in and see these inspiring photos from these imaginative students as shown in the<br />
photos below.
School Council AGM<br />
The final Interim School Council Meeting was held last week. It is important to acknowledge the incredible amount<br />
of work and time that this group of people have given to Darwin Middle School. Their firm clear directions and<br />
their intent to meet objectives has been astounding.<br />
Darwin Middle School will hold it’s Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 12 March at 6:30pm in the Staff Room.<br />
Light refreshments will be served from 6:00pm. If you would like to be part of the School Council for 2008 please<br />
contact Marcus Dixon or Jane Perkin on 8942 5200 for more information.<br />
Parents interested in nominating for a position will need to attend the AGM or collect from the school a nomination<br />
form so it can be submitted during the evening for consideration. Forms are available at the front office and can be<br />
collected by your child or sent electronically.<br />
Chinese Language<br />
We are pleased to be able to offer Chinese as a language choice commencing in Semester 2. If<br />
you had a preference for Chinese for your child please contact Tina Watt on 8942 5200 to advise<br />
your interest.<br />
Absences and Late Arrivals<br />
Student Absence<br />
Please call the school on 89425200 to notify student absence on the day of absence. Alternatively, you may send a<br />
note with your student upon their return to school. However, if your student is going to be absent for an extended<br />
period eg. holidays, please notify the school before going.<br />
Late Arrival<br />
If your student is going to arrive at school after 8am, please send a note with your student or call the school and let<br />
us know. Students must come to the front office upon arrival to school, sign the attendance register and collect a<br />
late slip to give to their class teacher. Late arrival without parent/caregiver authorisation will be noted and repeat<br />
occurrences will result in parent contact.<br />
Early Departure<br />
Permission for early departure will not be obtained unless the school has authorisation from a parent / caregiver.<br />
When a parent / caregiver notifies the school, either through a note, e-mail or telephone call, an Exit Note is<br />
completed for the student. Students can collect their exit notes from the office at recess or lunch and can use<br />
them to be released from class at the appropriate time. When students leave the school, they should sign out on<br />
the attendance register in the front office before leaving the grounds.<br />
Should you require further information please contact Pam Vaughan our Home Liaison Officer on 8942 5200.<br />
Reminder - School Photo Order Forms and Immunisation Forms<br />
Infocus Photography have requested all school photo orders to be back at school by Wednesday for collection. If<br />
you require any more envelopes please ask your child to collect one from the front office. Any photo queries need<br />
to be directed to Infocus Photography on 8945 4444.<br />
Eileen Hall (the Darwin High School Nurse) has also requested immunisation forms from Year 7 girls and Year 8 boys<br />
and girls be returned by Monday for processing. Eileen has been checking enrolment forms and may contact you<br />
regarding any health issues that your child may have. If you would like to contact Eileen, please leave a message<br />
with our front office staff.