16 October 2020

Newsletter Articles

Important dates

Saturday 24th October – School Community Working Bee
Monday 26th October 5pm – School Council meeting
Friday 30th October – World Teachers Day
Wednesday 04th November – Year 9 Transition Visit to CSC
Monday 9th to Friday 13th November – CMS celebrates NAIDOC Week 8.30am and 5.00pm Wednesday 11th November – School tour and information session
Friday 20th November – Year 6 Orientation Day
Tuesday 15th December – Year 9 Presentation Night

From the Principal

Dear families

Welcome to Term 4! It has been great to see all of our students return this week and get straight in to the business of learning. Term 4 is a very important term for all of our students. It is the term when the learning really comes together and our students can start to apply their understandings in new contexts and situations. It is also a time or transition: our Year 9s are preparing to make the jump to Centralian Senior College, our Year 8s are preparing to take on the responsibility as our leadership group, our Year 7s stepping up into Year 8 and our Year 6s are preparing to make the transition to CMS.

Term 4 is also a time that we look at the school’s structure and priorities for 2021. An important part of this is understanding how many students will be at the school. If you know of someone who might be considering joining the school next year, in any year level, please encourage them to contact the school as soon as possible. Students in Year 6 in government primary schools can collect enrolment forms from their school office; anyone else can collect from CMS. Also, if you will be leaving the school next year please also let us know.

World Teachers’ Day is coming up on Friday 30th October. This is a day to acknowledge and celebrate the work that our educators and school staff do every day. We are very fortunate at CMS to have a passionate and committed staff who go over and above to do whatever it takes to support our young people to progress in their learning. We also have a number of staff who have been nominated for Teach in the Territory Excellence Awards, and they are recognised later in the newsletter.

We are about to start our annual PAT assessment in Reading and Maths. PAT testing helps us to identify how students have grown over the year and also any gaps in their knowledge that we can then target these gaps or misconceptions in our curriculum delivery. Students will complete two assessments over the next three weeks, during class time, and will debrief with their teacher shortly after the assessment concludes.

Work is about to start on a new playground at CMS. This has been in the planning stages for two years so we are delighted that the work is about to commence. The new playground is going next to our basketball courts under the shade structure and includes exercise equipment, climbing structures and swings. Its going to be a great addition to our school.

We are holding a Community Working Bee on Saturday 24th October to improve our grounds and facilities. We are running the event in partnership with Desert Life Church and the Arid Lands Environment Centre. The event will run from 8.00am-12.30pm and will include work on a new sitting area for students, painting areas across the school, cleaning out the Community Garden space and cleaning up and improving our school environment. We are expecting 100 volunteers from the Desert Life Church and we are hoping that we also get a significant number of families to join us on this morning. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, so please check your schedule and come in – we’d love to see you!

Warm regards
Paul van Holsteyn
Principal

We are collecting enrolments for students commencing at CMS in 2021, in Year 7, 8 or 9. Enrolment packs are available from CMS or from your primary school. We will provide a movie ticket to the first 50 people to return their completed enrolment forms.

School news and updates

Community Working Bee

We are having a Community Working Bee, in partnership with Desert Life Church and the Arid Land Environment Centre.

8-12.30pm on Saturday 24th October.

Please join us to help enhance the school and start preparing the Community Garden site.

Welcome to our new staff

We welcome four new staff to the school this term.

Ms Ashleigh Casey joins CMS as one of our Year 8 English and Humanities teachers, teaching 8.5 and 8.6 and is the homegroup teacher for 8.5. Ms Casey worked at CMS about ten years ago as a tutor, so it is great to have her back. Ms Casey has been working for the last five years or so at Darwin High School.

Mr Justin Latham joins CMS as a Year 7 Maths and Science teacher, teaching 7.5 and 7.6. Mr Latham has taught in two secondary settings in Alice Springs so has a good understanding of the town, and has previously taught in various settings across regional New South Wales.

Mr Owen Davies joins the school as the 7.2 teacher, taking over from Ms Pav Pathik who is teaching Maths across our Small Group Classes. Mr Owen has worked in a range of school settings in New South Wales and has also spent considerable time in the university sector supporting teachers as they go through their training processes.

Mr Daniel Mar Fan joins CMS as our new Maintenance Officer. Mr Mar Fan is a carpenter who grew up in Alice Springs and has worked a wide range of roles in this town.

Congratulating our Teach in the Territory Excellence Award nominees

We have a large number of staff who were recently nominated for Teach in the Territory Excellence Awards. These awards will be announced in a ceremony on World Teachers Day on Friday 30th October.

Congratulations to all of our nominees:

• Katharine Adams – Teacher
• Jacelyn Anderson – Teacher
• Andrew Brown - Teacher
• Catherine Harris – Teacher
• Clarence Jeanny – Teacher
• Julie North – Teacher
• Wellington Pasi – Teacher
• Michelle Pinto - Teacher
• Stephen Ryan – Teacher
• Shirlee Webb – Teacher
• Emily Webster - Teacher
• Frances Wilden - Teacher
• Scott Berry – Vocational Education Trainer
• JP Andersen – Support Staff
• Georgia Barlow – Support Staff
• Denise Casey – Support Staff
• Shelly Caspani – Support Staff
• Jeremy Cook – Support Staff
• Tiara Hawea – Support Staff
• Kiri McKay – Support Staff
• Julia Pearson – Support Staff
• Tenneil Wark – Support Staff
• Laryssa Montgomery – School Leader
• Simon Rowlands – School Leader
• Paul van Holsteyn – Principal

‘K-Award’ winner

This week we celebrate Isaiah Miller who has just been nominated for a 'K-Award' connected to his employment at K-Mart. Isaiah is one of four K-Mart staff in the NT nominated for these awards. Isaiah's employment at K-Mart came out of a workplace visit organised through our Clontarf program. Congratulations Isaiah!

CMS Champions

At CMS, we use our ‘Champs’ acknowledgement system to recognise when our students are demonstrating our school values of respect, responsibility and fairness.

At the end of last Term we had the pleasure of taking a select group of students bowling in recognition of them completing 10 Champs cards this term. Congratulations students! We are proud of you and love to celebrate your achievements.

Vegetable garden

Last term the Utnenge class planted a garden in the Language Centre courtyard. We grew the seeds and then we planted them out in the garden beds. They grew so fast and shot up like a rocket. We have sunflowers, beans, corn, zucchini, tomatoes, watermelons and flowers. There is one pea plant that snuck in.

We have been making compost in a compost tumbler that Bunnings gave us. Our compost is dark brown and crumbly and smells really good like wet dirt from the rain.

Thanks to Bunnings for continuing to support our garden project, this time with a donation of a new wheelbarrow and composting bin.

Year 7

Business Tycoons born through Business Booth Project

In Week 10 of last term Year 7 students tried their hand at planning and setting up a business enterprise. The culmination of the project was a Business Booth exhibition set up in the Year 7 area, where students displayed and sold their products. The day was a huge success for some and provided a lively marketplace for customers from throughout the school. Thanks to the parents who supported us in this project (especially those who baked cakes!). Reflecting on their efforts, some students could see themselves as business owners in the future. For others it was a definite NO! “It’s too hard, it takes so much effort,” they reported. They may be treating business operators with a bit more respect from now on. What a great experience and way to learn!

Small group Classes

Students in Small Group Classes are learning about Geometry. They are learning the skills to draw and read angles using geometric tools. They are also learning to cooperate and listen to their peers.

Centralian Girls Academy News

A few photos from Girls Academy for you to enjoy!

Clontarf Corner

Reaching New Heights

Isaiah Miller gained employment with Kmart through a worksite visit he attended during Term1. The following day Isaiah and a few other members started to put together resumes to hand in, Isaiah was the first to finish and was the first hired. With the great leadership and determination he showed for applying for a job it has really shifted a lot of our members to start thinking about employment. All the hard work he put in throughout the year has paid off by being nominated for a Kmart Award; Isaiah he’s one of four Kmart staff from the Northern Territory to be nominated for the "Reach Higher" award. Alice Springs Kmart Store Manager said, "Isaiah has joined Kmart early this year. In his short time at Kmart he has succeeded in everything he puts his mind to. Isaiah is a young Indigenous man and should be very proud of himself for working and going to school and always wanting to do better. Well done Isaiah and keep up the great work."

“From Little Things Big Things Grow”

Community Announcements

Alice Can dance 2020

Alice can dance 2020 film is screening at Araluen this weekend! So if you haven’t got your ticket yet call Araluen on 08 8951 1122.

You are in for a treat! This beautiful film celebrating our young people will feel your heart with joy! For more info visit the Araluen website:

2020 Junior Baseball season

Junior baseball season is starting! And it’s not too late to register!

Come to Lyle Kempster baseball Park this Saturday 17th October from 4.30 on for information and on-site registration.

Meditation Workshops – Taming the Mind

Saturday 31st October from 2pm to 5pm Araluen Arts Centre. For more info and to book a ticket go to:

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