Centralian Middle School
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56 Milner Road
Alice Springs NT 0870
Subscribe: https://cms.nt.edu.au/subscribe

Email: Centralian.middle@education.nt.gov.au
Phone: 08 8955 2333
Fax: 

6 November 2015

Newsletter Articles

Principal's Note

Dear Parents and Caregivers

As you may be aware, Centralian Middle School currently has two programs supporting our young women; the Girls Academy, sponsored by Role Models and Leaders Australia, and Girls @ the Centre, sponsored by The Smith Family. From the end of this year the Girls @ the Centre program will cease to operate at Centralian Middle School and I wish to outline the arrangements we are putting in place to ensure the young women at our school have access to a support program that meets their social, emotional and educational needs.

The school has enjoyed a long and successful involvement with the Girls @ the Centre program and its sponsors, The Smith Family. The NT Government had offered to continue funding The Smith Family for the next two years to continue working with the students currently engaged in the program until they complete their studies at CMS. Although The Smith Family has chosen not to accept the funding and to cease their involvement with Centralian Middle School from the end of this year, I am grateful that they have committed to work with the school to develop a transition process to allow students in their program to access the Girls Academy program.

The successful Girls Academy program will be reshaped to incorporate components of the Girls @ the Centre program. I have attached a preliminary list of activities throughout Term 4 that have been jointly created by the school and the staff of the Girls @ the Centre and Girls Academy programs. You can see that plans are well underway to ensure all young women have a support program that meets their needs. I am committed to providing the resources to cater for the needs of all our young women and seek your support to encourage your child to take advantage of the program.

I look forward to working with you to ensure our young women continue to have support for their social, emotional and educational needs. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any queries or concerns.

Yours sincerely
Eddie Fabijan

Girls Onsite Program Transition

Transition to the reshaped program led by Role Models and Leaders Australia

  • All activities will focus on Year 7's & 8's as the Year 9's already have a transition plan to Centralian Senior College (CSC) and the Girls Academy at that site.
  • Girls @ the Centre have invited staff of the Girls Academy to their 'Breakfast with a Mentor' which will be open to ALL girls from both programs to attend. This will occur in Week 4 – Thursday 29 October.
  • Jodi will contact Petra at CSC to arrange joint contact times with the Year 10 students, which the Year 9 students can participate in, and also to meet and greet with Petra and the Girls Academy teacher.

Joint activities together, during lunch time and after school starting Week 3 Term 4

  • On Tuesdays there will be Indoor Beach Volleyball and/or Bowling.
  • On Thursdays the girls will produce a joint mural for the school.

Joint activities, during onsite program learning time starting Week 5 Term 4

All students are currently offered lesson time to engage in learning with their girls' program. These lesson times will combine and girls will participate in lesson activities around wellbeing development, health, nutrition and personal development.

At this time there are planned sleepovers (camps) for each year level, with current consideration being:

  • Week 5 (6 November) for Year 7's
  • Week 7 (20 November) for Year 8's.

Joint activities together, starting Week 9 Term 4

  • Combined Christmas event for students, teachers and families.

Wellbeing team support

The Wellbeing team will work with both programs to

  • Conduct a General Staff meeting to discuss the needs of our girls. The desire is to develop an understanding of particular concerns, looking at the issue/s, what has already been put in place, what discussions have occurred with their families etc.
  • Provide ongoing monitoring of students during the transition phase.
  • Discuss what external agencies they've been using for their program and whether or not they recommend we use them going forward. We will also discuss particular support (eg. Headspace) for specific students.
  • Girls Academy staff will begin participating in meetings that may arise, such as; case meetings, re-entry, and truancy meetings that involve students in the Girls @ the Centre program.
  • Make necessary adjustment to the transition program so as to maximize student wellbeing.
  • Meet regularly with the students to provide effective communication and to monitor any concerns.

Program location and employment opportunity

  • For 2016, the school has provided the upstairs C Block to house the program. The space is extremely large and will provide the flexibility they need. During Weeks 8, 9 and 10 of Term 4 both programs will work collaboratively to move resources and create a harmonious environment. Wall space will be utilised to recognise both programs by displaying photos and other items so that the history of Girls @ the Centre and Girls Academy is not lost.
  • The Girls Academy has commenced an advertising process (this Friday's Centralian Advocate) to appoint additional staff to the Academy.

Programming into 2016

  • The weekly program will cater for the needs of all girls in the school in 2016. Later this term, the Girls Academy will publish a 2016 calendar of activities.

Strategic Plan

Follow the link for our department's new Strategic Plan for 2016 and beyond. We will look at this to promote alignment between what the system wants and what we are doing.

Given these targets and the work of our community, the interesting challenge for us to consider is to dream what our school will look like by 2018?

Upcoming Events

The onsite programs are looking forward to an exciting Week 6. Both Clontarf and Girls at the Centre will be holding their End of Year Awards on Thursday 12th November and Centralian Girls Academy, on Friday 13th November.

RSVP is requested if you are able to attend. Please refer to invitations for further details.

Colour Splash

SRC are running a CMS Colour Smash in Week 9 to raise funds for our School Leadership Camp in 2016 and to continue supporting Acacia Hill School with their Blue Earth Active Program.

Cost is $10 per student which will include a white t-shirt and a barbeque lunch.

All students are encouraged to get involved.

Welcome Science

Welcome Science with Mr. Nolan.

By Bert Yamma

Today in welcome science we saw a snake and I held a bearded dragon.

We were trying to work out the difference between a blue flame and a yellow flame on the Bunsen burner. We found out the blue flame is hotter because the blue flame melted the piece of glass quicker. But the yellow flame was brighter.

The yellow flame left a black mark on the water filled balloon, but the blue flame didn't leave any mark at all.

We also learnt that you cannot pop a balloon full of water over a Bunsen burner.

I really liked how the water filled balloon didn't pop when we put it over the Bunsen burner.

Welcome Science with Mr. Nolan.

By Jonathan Doolan

We were trying to work out which flame was hotter; the yellow flame or the blue flame.

We put 100 ml of water into a glass flask. We lit the Bunsen burner with the yellow flame. We used the stop watch to time how long it took the water to boil. We lit the Bunsen burner with the blue flame. We used the stop watch to time how long it took the water to boil.

We learned that the blue flame was hotter because the water boiled faster with the blue flame.

I really liked learning about the Bunsen burner.

Maths and Science School of Excellence Workshop

Ms Parker reported our first Maths and Science workshop was a great success with 14 students attending from various primary schools. Students were keen, keen, keen and a credit to their schools.

Thank you for all your support.

Science
VIEW GALLERY
Science
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Congratulations to our Excellent Staff

We are pleased to announce two of our staff members were nominated for World Teachers Day Awards. Ms Rachel Fata was nominated for Teacher of the Year and Ms Vicky Goude was for Support Staff of the Year.

Small Groups

Miss Pinto's Class Visits the Reptile Centre

In Week 3 some very brave SGC students visited the Alice Springs Reptile Centre.

Reptile
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Reptile
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SGC 2016 Camp

Small Group students visited Adelaide in Week 3. It was a busy week with visits including Adelaide Zoo, Glenelg Beach and Rundle Mall.

Jim, Sunita, Tatiana and Renee wrote about their highlight of the Adelaide Trip.

It was more than just hot, it was boiling!

As we were driving along the long road home, we suddenly heard a noise, it went BANG, BANG!

Mr. G pulled over on the side of the road and we all jumped off of the bus because the tyre was flat. We thought to ourselves "We'll never get home!"

We waited and waited in the boiling heat, sitting in the dust on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere. All around me I could hear yelling, whistling and screaming. As I lay there waiting I watched the white clouds move in the sky, my mouth was as dry as the desert. It seemed to take forever but finally an old friendly couple pulled over and helped us change the tyre. If they hadn't stopped we would have still been stuck there! Luckily there are still nice enough people that will stop and help you when you're in trouble.

SGC Camp
VIEW GALLERY
SGC Camp
Click images to enlarge

Online Bully

https://esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/esafety-issues/cyberbullying%5d

Clontarf Academy

Welcome

Please find a fantastic link below for a recent article published by Erwin Chandler from the Alice Springs News. The theme of the article is 'Careers and the Current Employment Prospects' for our young men. Congratulations to all staff involved in being a part of their journey. These fellas, no doubt, have incredible futures ahead of them.

If you see these students around campus please feel free to can congratulate them on their achievements.

http://www.alicespringsnews.com.au/2015/10/16/grabbing-opportunities-with-both-hands/

Warm Regards,

Tom Clements | Director
CMS Clontarf Academy
Centralian Middle School

Girls @ Centre

We hope you can make it to the Girls at Centre Awards Night on Thursday 12th November

Hello to all CMS parents from Girls at the Centre!

We have a really busy term coming up, but we wanted to let you know about two very exciting events happening in town!

The year 7 Girls at the Centre girls have been taking part in some community service this term and a component of this is holding two bake sales in the Todd Mall, just across from the John Flynn Church. The dates for these sales are Wednesday November 11th and Wednesday November 25th.

The money raised from the bake sales will be donated to two organisations as voted by the girls. These organisations are the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne and the UNICEF Nepal Earthquake Relief. The money raised will ensure that all those seeking asylum in Australia have their human rights upheld and receive the support and opportunities they need to live independently. It will also assist UNICEF in delivering clean water, sanitation and shelter to families sleeping rough, keeping children safe and setting up temporary hospitals as well as providing nutritional support, helping kids get back to school and giving them the psychosocial support they need to cope and recover.

The girls are really passionate about raising money for these charities and they would love your help! Below are a couple of ways you can show your support!

The first way you can help is by coming along to one (or both!) of the bake sales and purchasing some baked goods! Not only will you get to eat some yummy treats but you also get to do it guilt free because it's for charity. It's a win/win!

The second way that you can support the girls is by donating some baked goods on one (or both!) of the days! If you have some spare time to bake some cupcakes, biscuits or a slice etc we would love to take them off your hands and put them into those of the people of Alice Springs! If you would like to donate any baked goods please bring them to the front office either the day before or on the day of the event where we will collect them for sale. We would like to request that baked goods do not contain nuts due to the frequency and severity of allergies associated with them.

We would really appreciate your support for both our girls and the charities they have chosen to raise money for.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter,

Yours sincerely,

Girls at the Centre students and coaches.

Amanda Freestone Coach, Shelly Bestmann Program Manager, Jenna Browne Coach
Jodi Lennox, Acting Program Manager

Girls Academy

Samarra Schwarz –
Program Manager

Nicolette 'Sissy' Dunn –
Development Officer

Community Announcements

Lift the Load Off Lisa

Alice Springs Mosque Open Day

Carols by Candlelight Colouring Competition

Healthy Teeth

The Department of Health (DoH) provides a FREE dental service to all children attending primary and secondary school. If your child/children require a check-up or treatment, please contact Flynn Drive Dental Centre on 89516713. A parent or guardian MUST attend with their child/children

Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP)

Are you a migrant who wants to learn English?

The AMEP offers free English classes to eligible students. Day, evening and distance learning classes are available in Alice Springs. Free childcare is available during day classes.

English courses are also available for people not eligible for the AMEP.

For more information or to enrol:

T: 08 8946 6578 or free call 1800 019 119
Or at Alice Springs campus: P: (08) 8959 5254
E: rhonda.drew@cdu.edu.au or
E: migrantesl@cdu.edu.au

The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training.