School News – 3 March 2017

CHILDREN’S CROSSING

It has been great to see so many families taking advantage of the fine weather lately and either walking or riding to school.
But it has become apparent that some people are not using the children’s crossings correctly when arriving at or leaving school, particularly at the crossing on Camden Boulevard near Minter Way.
We are very fortunate to have a traffic warden working at this crossing who can stop cars and provide a safe passage for pedestrians.
But it is imperative that students and their carers wait for the warden to blow his whistle twice before stepping out onto the road, as the whistle signals that it is safe to cross.
Crossing must only be done between the two small red-and-white bollards on the kerb on each side of the road, and not in front of the larger bollard where cars are required to stop.
By failing to do this, parents and students are putting themselves at risk of being struck by a car- something we do not want to see happen.
Scooters and bicycles must also be walked across the crossing, riding them across the road or on school grounds is not allowed.
Those parents driving to school are also reminded that parking behind disabled bays, whether they are in the Camden Boulevard or Lyon Road carparks, is not permitted.
There are families attending Aubin Grove Primary School who need to use these bays on a daily basis and people need to be mindful not to block their access.
Drivers also need to be mindful of our neighbours that surround the school, and be respectful when parking near driveways and verges.

WEEK 6

Please be reminded that next Monday, March 6 is a Public Holiday and students will not attend school.
Then on Wednesday, March 8 the school will close at 11.45am for students from Pre-Primary to Year 6 as teachers conduct parent-teacher interviews.
Kindy students will attend school on Wednesday until 2.50pm as normal.

ARRIVING AT SCHOOL

Students must not arrive at school before 8.20am in the morning.
A number of students are currently coming to school well before this time, and if they are running around or playing they are at risk of injury as they cannot be supervised.
Teachers are on school grounds prior to opening their classroom doors (8.25am on the western side of the school and 8.30am on the eastern side), but they use this time to plan for the day, or meet with fellow teachers or parents.
Camp Australia is available to working parents who may need to drop children earlier.

VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS

Thank you to those families who have already paid their voluntary contributions for 2017.
Aubin Grove is a public school and does not charge fees to attend, instead receiving a grant from the State Government before relying on school-raised funds, including the $60 per child voluntary contribution, to provide additional items and programs for the school.
Last year the funds raised by the voluntary contributions were used for additional picnic style benches and seating around the school and additional shade sails.
Voluntary Contributions can be paid in person by cash or EFTPOS at the school office.
They can also be paid by bank transfer- BSB: 016 016, Account number: 4401 20903, including the student name as the reference.

STEM

From the first day it opened its doors, Aubin Grove Primary School has had a focus on using the latest technology to help facilitate student learning.
This year, the school will continue to build on that with a stronger focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
This is in line with Australian Government changes which will see digital technologies included as part of the national curriculum from 2018.
To get a head-start on the program, students and staff in years 1-6 are undertaking specialist learning, led by teacher Aaron Kubicek.
Mr Kubicek, who has nine years of teaching experience including three years as an information and communications technology (ICT) specialist, will spend one-and-a-half days in a Digital Technologies mentor and coaching role.
Mr Kubicek said the role would include working with teachers to up-skill and explore new STEM resources purchased by the school, and looking at how they could enhance their current teachings by integrating the Digital Technologies curriculum into their lessons.
“This prepares our staff and students for the new mandatory reporting, but more importantly ensures that our students are getting more exposure to digital technologies, how they work, why they work and how they can be used,” he said.
Mr Kubicek said there would be a strong focus on mathematics with logical thinking and problem solving; calculations; measurement and estimation; and literacy with communication, contextual understandings and collaboration.
“Students’ creative and critical thinking is also targeted, because they analyse problems, refine concepts and reflect on the decision-making process,” he said.
Examples of how STEM would be integrated into the classroom included designing, coding and testing programs, apps and games on the laptops; problem solving and coding using robotics to complete given tasks; and students developing and communicating design ideas through describing, drawing, modelling and/or a sequence of written or spoken steps.
Mr Kubicek will also work one day a week at the school as a Year 5 teacher, in addition to running his own before and after school robotics programs at various schools.