Principals Report

It certainly has been a busy start to Term Four. On the 29^th of October Lisa O’Neill and I took our IMS students to Booleroo for their concert experience with students from multiple schools including Booleroo, Orroroo, Peterborough and Quorn amongst others. We left just after the start of the day and returned after school finished but the day was well and truly worth it. Kate Mawson, their teacher led and taught the large group of students, around 100 of them through a range of pieces that students had been working on throughout the year. Kate had seven members of the Adelaide Youth Orchestra, who provided valuable support, providing students with a vision of where their musical experience could lead to. The positives for our students were apparent as they went through entertaining games to keep themselves energised as well as the practice and preparation where they got their tempo and timing together in preparation for their big event. After lunch they performed for the Booleroo staff, students and visitors where everything came out with the desired results. Sammy, Pjay, Callum, Emily, Alice, Eli, Archie and Markesha all benefitted from a day where learning and fun were on the agenda. The IMS program is a great experience for our students and I recommend it to our students at Hawker as an extra opportunity to extend their learning here. Thanks once again to Kate for all her efforts and imagination with our students here at Hawker and around the region and to Lisa O’Neill from Hawker who has accompanied and organised our students weekly, and provided musical accompaniment on the piano.

Our COLA project is starting to move forward now with approval being provided to progress the project to a competitive tender. Approval for this via the Schools Upgrade Fund was made available earlier this year with $330000 committed for the project. There will be a three week tender period followed by a one week evaluation period this term for this project. The need for site visits will be minimal as this project has already gone through one process in 2022. This should take some costs off the final figure. The area around our sports court which includes our Basketball / Netball and Tennis courts will be fenced off during the construction period, which will take place early in 2025. Once finished however students at school and any community users will benefit from a sports area with a roof, providing protection from UV and heat over the year and also wet weather in winter.

I have sent out nomination forms for the school community award via Schoolzine for this award sponsored by Rowan Ramsey. The award will be presented at our Presentation night on Tuesday December 10^th 2024. Parents and community members can click on the link in the Schoolzine communication or come into the front office to make a nomination. Nomination forms emailed need to be sent to Julieanne Ashenden via the Front Office at Hawker Area School or by email to dl.0175.info@schools.sa.edu.au . Please make the email subject titled ‘Rowan Ramsey School Community Award Nomination’.

At our Pupil Free day on November 4^th our staff looked at the new SA Curriculum for Public Education which has been launched for schools this year for trial, with an introduction of each learning area planned out over the next year or so. The curriculum is the culmination of planning by the Department for Education via meetings on line and face to face with educators, as well as large student forums in 2023. The curriculum will strongly take into account our local context in SA and provides more flexibility for our curriculum to be delivered in the South Australian setting which often is quite different from school settings in the eastern states. After the SA Curriculum learning session all our staff had a look at our work within the Strategy for Pubic Education, with our area of impact focus on Wellbeing. This included a special look at personalised learning for our students and individual learning plans. Our Pupil Free Day coming up next week on Monday November 18^th will include a continuation of this work, and some time spent on a look at self regulation, which will continue on next year with professional learning being provided for our staff by the Self Regulation Service.

Our Presentation night will be on Tuesday December 10^th at the institute. Hayley Brown is our event coordinator for this night. Theme for the presentation night performances is Alice in Wonderland. Priya Moyle, who is very skilled in the area of performing arts, is involved with staff and students in the coordination of the performance for the night.

Our planning for staffing in 2025 is well underway. Recent panels have made appointments for a B1 Leader at Hawker Area School who will have leadership in the area of Wellbeing and Inclusion, a fulltime Special Education teacher and a teaching position in the primary and physical education area. Once appointments have been confirmed announcements on these will be made on Schoolzine and in the final newsletter article for the year.

Have a look at the articles presented by staff in this Newsletter, the second last one for the year. Preparations for the magazine are also well underway at the moment. I look forward to catching up with parents and community members over this term.

Mr Daren O'Neill

Principal 

Ms Ingrid Condon

Year 3-6 Teacher 

Priya Moyle

Year 7-12 Teacher

This term, our school had the pleasure of attending the Children’s University graduation ceremony in Adelaide, where we celebrated 12 of our students’ dedication to extracurricular activities. The two-day visit gave students a taste of university life and an inspiring look into new areas of learning and exploration.

On October 31st, students enjoyed a campus tour led by the University of Adelaide’s Outreach Team. They began at the EXTERRES, where they learned about the university’s research in space exploration. It was a unique chance to see how scientific research is helping to explore beyond our planet. Next, students visited the Tate Museum, where they explored a fascinating collection of minerals, fossils, and specimens—sparking excitement about natural sciences.

The following morning, students joined the University Breakfast Club run by the Student Union, which gave them a firsthand look at the community atmosphere on campus. They also toured the historic Barr Smith Library, taking in its rich academic history before heading to the main event: the graduation ceremony at Bonython Hall. This memorable ceremony recognised each student’s hard work and commitment to learning outside of the classroom. We’re incredibly proud of their efforts and look forward to seeing where this enthusiasm for learning will take them next!

In class this term, our Years 7-11 students dived into both Mathematics and Science topics. In Math, students tackled linear relationships, developing their skills in graphing and interpreting equations on the Cartesian plane—a crucial foundation for future algebra work.

In Science, students explored sound waves, studying how sound travels and applies in real-world contexts. They investigated the behavior of waves and experimented with sound reflections and refractions, deepening their understanding of physics through hands-on activities. It’s been a rewarding term full of growth, discovery, and new experiences, both in and outside the classroom.

Miss Sharon Lam

Mathematics / Science Teacher / SRC 

Term 4 Art with Miss Emily

This term has everyone excited as it is so close to the end of the year and Christmas.  The F-2 class has embraced their Christmas spirit and we have started out Christmas craft.  Our first project is creating Native Christmas wreaths.  This is a longer task than most other lessons we have done as the students have had to forage and gather trays and trays of gum nuts, seed pods, leaves and flowers to dry.  Our focus words and art elements are pattern, texture and aesthetics.  Amanda and Lachlan Hilder joined in the foraging on their journey to and from Clare gathering some very interesting items full of different textures and patterns.

Here is a look at where we are so far. 

The 3-6 term is an extremely busy one, we are doing textiles and by the end of the term students should be able to take home their very own hand made teddy bear.  This is a project I undertook with students back in 2010 with the help of my dear friend the late Campbell Wally.  With his help the schools in the district made over 100 bears to send off to the children of Haiti after their massive earthquake and cholera outbreak. Teddy bear making is by no means an easy task, it requires patience, accuracy and resilience to keep going when things aren’t going right, so we have our work cut out for us however it is a great activity filled with so many important and useful skills.  Below is a photo of Campbell and a group of students from 2010 who made teddies as well as a photo Thomas a bear that Anna Oakey made, Thomas sure has stood the test of time, still as snuggly and handsome as the day he was made.

With the term being the shortest of the year, it is very important that students come to class on Tuesdays ready to get stuck into their work otherwise they wont have a completed bear.  So what does this unit involve?? Students have been responsible for calculating how much material is required to complete one bear and assess how many meters of fur we needed to purchase.  They then searched through the spotlight webpage to choose fabric whilst sticking to the available budget.  We have looked at ways we can save money by making joints ourselves out of recyclable materials instead of purchasing them with budgeting being a very important part of the plan.  Students are now marking out their patterns and discovering the importance of accurate pattern marking with the age old saying of measure twice, cut once often being heard in the classroom so that their bear will actually end up looking like a bear.

Students will also be learning to use the sewing machine as well as hand sewing and just for good fun and an extra challenge try their hand at knitting a scarf for their bear.  So much to do with so little time but I have every faith that those that show up every week will get the job done.

7-8 art this term has moved into the Tech room as we take on Jewellery work.  We started the term making a small copper pendant as they developed and grew an appreciation of the jewellers tension  sawing skills.  They battled their frustrations with broken saw blades and sanding struggles to create wearable art.  Following this we worked with aluminium to make hand stamped cuff bangles which the boys all really seemed to enjoy.  We have a couple more small projects planned for the term which will use sterling silver as the material base. 

Miss Emily

Art Teacher

Hi everyone, my wife and I have only just moved to Hawker and we are very excited about our new careers in the school and in the hospital. We both love to travel and look forward to exploring more of South Australia. Cheers.

Mr John Connelly

SSO

My name is Jodi. I am originally from Queensland and have been living on a sheep station for 4 years just out of Carrieton with my husband, 3 children and all my dogs, sheep, chickens and ducks. I can play the violin and love all things gardening. I am excited for my new role as the Front Office Support person and look forward to meeting all the students and parent/caregivers so don't be shy and come and say hello!

Jodi Swan

Front Office Support