Centralian Middle School
PDF Details

Newsletter QR Code

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: 

21 September 2021

Newsletter Articles

Important dates

Wednesday 22 September – Alice Can Dance – 5pm & 7pm - Araluen Arts Centre
Wednesday 22 September – School Council Meeting
Friday 25 September – Last day of Term 3
Monday 11 October - Day 1 of Term 4 – Staff professional learning day, no school for students
Tuesday 12 October – First day of Term 4 for students

From the Principal

Werte! Hello

What an action packed term! I want to thank those who took the time to complete our annual school survey- we really appreciate the feedback. We will use this feedback to start to work on developing our 2022 Annual School Improvement Plan – yes it is that time of year already! Our student leadership group will be working with our teachers Emma Forrester and Stacy Vueti to ‘unpack’ the data and to start to develop their own plan for improvement.

We have received our NAPLAN results just recently and are waiting for the individual student reports to arrive so that we can send them out to you. We are currently achieving either above or very close to the NT Mean in every area. The greatest variation in both Year 7 & 9 is in numeracy so we will be setting some numeracy targets for 2022.

Carol Watson our business manager for many many years has retired. We will be hosting a retirement party for Carol in the near future as it was with great sadness that her husband Roger has recently passed away. Please contact the school if you would like to reach out to the family during this difficult time. Justin Latham our HPE Teacher has accepted a promotional position at Yirara College- I would like to thank Justin for his contribution to CMS and wish him all the best for his future.

Vaccinations for COVID have started this week- I do want to stress the importance of being fully vaccinated. We are all important – we have family who love us and people who care for us and I want to ensure that we are all safe. The only way that we can reduce the risk is by having a vaccinated population.

Finally- have a fantastic Term 3 break! I understand that our school holidays can be a time to relax and refresh but for some it may be a source of stress. There are plenty of activities around town to keep young people busy and lots of services that you can access. I also want to acknowledge and thank our amazing staff for an incredible Term 3 – they do an amazing job every single day.

Warm regards
Cassie O’Bree
Principal


Ms Cassie O’Bree

School news and updates

Position Available - Maths and Science Teacher

We are looking for a new Maths and Science Teacher to begin at CMS for Term 4!

For any enquiries contact Cassie O’Bree on 8955 2333.

Alice Can Dance 2021 – In Colour

We are so excited to see all the hard work our students, GUTS Dance Central Australia and other local students have put into Alice Can Dance 2021 - In Colour !

Tickets are available online or at the Araluen Arts Centre Box Office. Please see the details below.

NAIDOC 2021

On Monday of Week 8 CMS celebrated NAIDOC 2021. After a school assembly, we had a smoking ceremony, cooked up and enjoyed a delicious morning tea of kangaroo tail, sweet potato and wattle seed damper at the Alice Springs Language Centre.

Year 7

The Year 7 Small Groups classes have been learning about the human body and how to stay healthy. We were lucky to have our school nurse visit our classroom this week. She showed us how to measure our heart rate and blood pressure and the staff had their blood sugar levels measured. It was a great afternoon of learning about what nurses do in our community and how we can keep ourselves healthy.

Year 8

In Week 7, the Year 8s went off on camp to Hamilton Downs. We had three days of games, food, walks and heaps of Spotlight! After arrival on Wednesday, unpacking and a watermelon refresher, we made ourselves at home and played some games. Miss Steele-Park presented us with a beautiful tiara to be awarded to the winner of each game. We popped balloons and battled for chairs (musically), with the final winner of the tiara getting immunity from dishes for 24 hours! We ended our first day with burgers and a bumper edition of Spotlight.

On Thursday morning, Mr Johns led a bush walk to see the petroglyphs, seeking out cairns on the way to help us navigate. Mr Johns held a mini-science lesson on different types of rocks, and some students took turns navigating. The rest of us held a soccer game, where the students reigned triumphant (by one goal). The rest of the day was packed with volleyball and capture the flag, and finished off with a delicious butter chicken, prepared by an extraordinary teacher/student culinary team!! (followed by another round of Spotlight).

We were met with rain and thunderstorms on Friday, greeted warmly by some and less warmly by others. After bacon sangas for breakfast, it was time to pack up and head back to town, although not before some of us got soggy in the puddles.

Thank you teachers and students for a memorable camp!

Year 9 VET Week at CDU

This week, all Year 9 students were given the opportunity to participate in a VET Taster Course at CDU. This is a fabulous opportunity for our students to get an idea of VET options available to them as they progress through the senior years of schooling.

In Plumbing, the main projects that students are doing this week include making sprinklers using copper pipes and PVC pipes. The students have learnt how to use a variety of tools and techniques for cutting, flaring, measuring, drilling and welding pipes. Next term, our students will continue to build on those new skills by designing and putting together the irrigation system for a small garden.

Cookery and Barista students completed Hygiene and Health & Safety units, and are now busy in the kitchen and café learning to make different types of coffees (including serving delicious hot coffees to their teachers!), hot drinks and mocktails, kitchen skills like different knife techniques, and cooking up some delicious food!

In Business students have been learning about the ins and outs of running a successful business, and skills including budgeting, invoicing, and team collaboration. The Retail course is helping students gain knowledge of key components of customer service and running a retail business.

The Music students are hard at work creating their own beats and learning how to use music editing programs, exploring the music studio and experimenting with different instruments. The Media students are creating their own films using still and moving cameras and learning how to use film editing programs.

Lots of hands on, practical learning happening across the campus! Thanks to CDU for facilitating this important opportunity for our students.

Utnenge

Utnenge welcomes two new staff members, Rachel Abbott, Georgie Sutton.

Werte, My name is Rachel. I’m a born and bred local, my language group is Perteme. Before coming to CMS I was at CAAC Back on Track program working in the Juvenile Justice. I wanted to come to CMS because my wish is for all our kids to have an education.

Hi I’m Georgie Sutton, I’ve been in Central Australia for 6 years. You might recognise me form Larapinta PS, Bradshaw PS and Ntaria School, or Polly Farmer.

Utnenge students have been busy around the school helping at the community gardens and learning some cooking skills. Our Ceramic pieces have been fired and we have been experimenting with stencils lately, so should have some impressive images for the next newsletter.

Stars Foundation

A big day for our Year 9 Stars today. Our young women travelled over to Centralian Senior College for a breakfast with our fellow Year 10 Stars students, as well as a taste of what next year will have to offer at the Senior College. Students also engaged with members of our Community at the World Suicide Prevention Day event at the Council Lawns, were involved in a smoking ceremony and laid flowers in honour of people we have lost. The day finished off with our young women visiting KFC to take part in some work experience. Students got to see what it was like working in a fast food restaurant and even had the opportunity to make their own burgers. All of our Stars women represented themselves, their school and Stars Foundation with respect and pride. What a great day for all!

Clontarf Corner - Week 6 to 8

After school activities

Our Academy members have been competing after school against St Philips in basketball, taking it in turns of hosting the venue with both teams playing in good Clontarf spirit.

The fellas also got a couple opportunities to participate in Bubble Soccer, which was held at the YMCA. This was a treat for the fellas who went t morning trainings. All the fellas thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rock Wall climbing has also been on the agenda which was a good experience for the fellas.

Titans take on Barkly Challenge

Central Middle Academy travelled to Tennant Creek for the Battle of the Barkly

Arriving at Tennant Creek, academy members set up camp at the high school, organising dinner and getting ready for bed for a big day of football over the coming days. Playing 5 competitive games over the Wednesday and Thursday against Palmerston, Haileybury/Arnhem, Taminmin, Sanderson, and Nightcliff, the lads held up really well. Managing to fit in some time for Mini Golf as well, before an informative health session on the negative side effects of Alcohol and Smoking, the fellas were well engaged and took important information away with them.

Finishing the carnival with a sprint and longest kick competition before the presentations for the Clontarf Spirit All Star game. Each Academy selected the three players who displayed the most Clontarf Spirit on and off the field to participate, with Liam, Lazarus and Valic proudly representing.

A brief stop at Devils Marbles on the way home gave the fellas a good opportunity for a photoshoot.

Employment

....Meet Jack!

Jack attends Centralian Middle School in year 7, and is enrolled in the Clontarf programme. Jack has been interested in paid work since the beginning of the year, and recently commenced work as a stablehand with trainer, Dylan, from the Alice Springs Turf Club.

Jack works two days a week after school, where he carries out various tasks such as grooming, feeding, walking, and keeping the stables clean. Jack's love for horses stems from his family upbringing on an outstation near Papunya.

When asked today about his work, Jack simply couldn't wipe the smile off his face, replying - "I just love working with horses, and caring for them. Oscar, one of the horses, is my favourite!".

What a great way to start the week!

Health checks

The health and wellbeing of our members is important to us, and this week the following students completed a full health check with the team at Congress. Over 45 boys have now received their annual health check-up this year. A terrific effort to this group of young men who are leading their younger family members to ensure they are fit and healthy.

Week 9 – Rhys Woods and Kendyl Forrester

Contact times

Education - In our contact times these past few weeks we have been lucky enough to be joined by Marty and Mick from Congress, who came along to give a couple informative sessions on Healthy Relationships. The boys were able to join in on the conversation, and will have taken some helpful information away with them.

Fellas have also participated in some boxing sessions through the Alice Springs Town Council, furthering the message of the importance of a healthy active lifestyle.

Polly Farmer – Follow the Dream

On Wednesday, September 15th Students from Follow the Dream CMS and CSC who have been regularly attending FTD sessions were treated to an afternoon at the YMCA for rock climbing and Subway.

Next Thursday, September 23rd will be our final session for Term 3 and pizza break-up event for the term.

If you’re interested in participating in Follow the Dream please see CMS school reception for a permission form.

Covid 19 Vaccine – School Immunisation Program

Last week we gave all our students a Covid 19 information and consent form. I you want your young person to be immunised through the school program, please return your forms to the front office as soon as possible. If you have any concerns/questions, please click on the following link.

Community Announcements

Desert Festival - Love A Local Portraiture Challenge’ for ages 5 to 25

Challenge yourself and show your love for a local by creating a portrait for the ‘Love a Local Portraiture Challenge’

The challenge is open to anyone in town aged 5 to 25 so let your friend and families know too! This is your chance to celebrate the people you love, whether it’s a teacher, a parent or guardian, a friend, or even a pet; show your love through photography, sculpting, screen art, painting, or a mix of media. Send us your best work and share your love with the world. Your Love a Local Portrait will be exhibited in conjunction with this year’s Desert Festival. Your portrait can be a still life of the local of your choice, you can embody the skills of Picasso in an abstract portrait, you can make a modern art piece, you can do anything.

Love a Local Portraiture Challenge
Yeperenye Shopping Centre
10am - 2pm 24 Sept - 2 October
Challenge announced (2pm 3 October)
BRING YOUR ARTWORK
CREATE AN ARTWORK
For more information contact:
Isla Hooper at lovealocalportraiture@gmail.com

Alice Springs Aquatic & Leisure Centre

Check out the posters below for activities happening during the school holidays at the Alice Springs Aquatic and Leisure Centre

Ranger for a day

Alice Springs town council is delivering “Ranger for a Day” workshops during the school break. For more details have a look at the poster below

Youth Theatre Workshops – Desert festival

Youth theatre workshop available for young people aged 12 – 18 years of age

For more info click here:

https://redhotarts.com.au/event/im-here-where-are-you-youth-theatre-workshops-i-desert-festival/

West Cricket Club

2021 Cochlear Aurora Photo Contest

Flinders’ STEM Enrichment Academy is sponsoring a STEM photo contest for students in Year 7-12.

For more info on how to enter, please click here

https://www.flinders.edu.au/study/schools-teachers/stem-enrichment-academy/aurora-photo-contest

Hamilton down Youth Camp

The Hamilton Downs Youth is a hidden gem located just 1 hour 15 mins North West of town. This great facility is available for hire and use by groups of all sizes and interests as well and many great activity options. It’s a locals favourite with many local school children, community groups and organisations using this wonderful facility.

For more info please go to:

https://www.hamiltondownsyouthcamp.com/

Facebook

Keep up to date with all our news and updates

Head on over to ‘like’ our Facebook page to keep in touch with school news, highlights and achievements of our wonderful students. We encourage people to like and share our posts.

Please read the terms of engagement before posting comments.

https://www.facebook.com/CentMS/