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Ardtornish NewsletterTerm 3 Week 5 - 21st August 2025
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No 14
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In this issue
Diary Dates
August 27th - Zones of Regulation Parents Session, Finance Meeting 3.30pm September 2nd - Canteen Meeting 2.15pm 3rd - Grounds Meeting 4.30pm, FACE Committee 5.30pm 5th – SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY 8th - Farm Barn Excursion Receptions, Governing Council Meeting 7pm 10th- Kildare Transition 12th- SAPSASA Tennis Carnival 15th- PUPIL FREE DAY Road Crossing
Monitors Wed 27thAug – Tue 2nd Sep Toby D, Aaron S, Billy H Wed 3rd Sep - Tue 9th Sep Lily C, Kimbarly U, Emily M Wed 10th Sep – Tue 16th Sep Stelios P, Xavier M, Chase P Please arrive by 8.25am |
The Speaker of the Australian Federal House of Representatives Visits Our School
On Monday, 11th August, our school had the privilege of hosting the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Milton Dick MP, as part of his initiative to promote civics education in schools. He was accompanied by our local Federal Member, Mr Tony Zappia.
Ninety highly engaged students listened attentively as Mr Dick delivered a presentation about his role, what a typical day in Parliament looks like, and his work in the community. Several students had the opportunity to participate by dressing in costumes as the Serjeant-at-Arms and the Speaker, while everyone experienced the process of voting on a bill. A highlight of the session was when Mr Dick showed students a historic parliamentary dispatch box. He explained that it had only recently been opened for the first time in more than 80 years, after the long-lost keys were discovered in a storeroom at Parliament House. Inside were five very old Bibles once used for swearing in members of Parliament as they took the oath of office. Students also examined a replica of the parliamentary mace and learned that the real mace, made of gold, is valued at several million dollars. Following the presentation, all students moved to the hall where they worked together to unfurl one of the enormous flags that flies over Parliament House and learned it is the third-largest flag in the world. It took all ninety students to carefully spread it out without letting it touch the floor. To conclude the session, Mr Dick invited our SRC representatives to sign a special record book, commemorating the fact that they had seen and held the flag and learned about the speakers role. Acknowledging our Outstanding School Support Staff
This week we formally recognise the wonderful contribution School Support Staff make to our site. It is a time to celebrate their vital and skilled work in supporting staff and students. Support Staff undertake a wide range of roles in our school, focused either around administration or curriculum support.
As admin support officers they help to coordinate, plan and run a wide range of school functions e.g. looking after student medications, the grounds, organising special functions, monitoring facilities, tracking our finances and much, much more, the list is endless. Curriculum support includes keeping our library functioning well, managing our ICT network, running the canteen, providing special needs support and working with large and small groups of students as well as providing one on one tutoring for others. The skills, dedication and energy that our Support Staff bring to their work in assisting student learning and wellbeing makes a significant difference to student achievement and so on behalf of the whole school community we would like to express the appreciation we have for each and everyone of them. Mark & Deb. 
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Canteen ROSTERTuesday 26th Lisa, Sara
Wednesday 27th Anna M Thursday 28th Jess C Friday 29th Chris G Tuesday 2nd Arrym, Lily Wednesday 3rd Deb M Thursday 4th Deneice, Tui Friday 5th SCHOOL CLOSURE 
Feedback about Acquaintance Night
Each year, we hold an Information Evening (Acquaintance Night) to help parents connect with their child’s teachers and gain insights into the year ahead. To support working families and those with more than one child at the school, in 2025 we offered two 45-minute sessions: Session1: 6:00 pm Session 2: 7:00 pm Followed by the Annual General Meeting of the Governing Council: 8:00 pm - 8:30 pm in the Library We are exploring whether earlier session times would better support families or if we should keep the times the same. Please complete this short anonymous survey by clicking on the provided link to give your views and help us plan for 2026. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdc0yFaTVMTFQFjSPQX-9ZjHh6s5j8rbX5C-FeIXVYpIQ-KLA/viewform 
Hiragana Competition 2025!
Another exciting and fun-filled Hiragana competition was attended by Ardtornish students, this year at Mawson Lakes Primary School. Arjun and Sara (room 8) and Olive and Rin (room 4) fought very hard to be the first to read Hiragana charcters and words and were excellent competitors representing our School. The day began with team war cries, which Ardtornish won! (Ichi ni san shi! Go Ardtornishu!) Then there were 4 rounds of Hiragana reading, interspersed with brain breaks, finishing with trophy presentations, lucky dips and a delicious sushi lunch! A most enjoyable day was had by all attendants. Jenni Krasnoff, teacher of Japanese & HASS 
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MHS Stem Session
Recently a few students from each year 6 class attended the Modbury High School STEM Program. Mr Luke Adelidas, the STEM teacher, explained the activities to us and then we got the materials. We did a multitude of activities such as building bottle rockets, and learning about flight time and air pressure. We considered everyone’s ideas and converged to decipher the most optimal solution to building a bottle rocket. We had to time how long our rockets were airborne. The shortest time being 0.2 seconds and the longest time being 6 seconds. We put a certain amount of water in the rockets and tested which one would fly in the sky the longest. Some worked well and some didn’t so we had to think of ways to modify our rockets to figure out how to make it fly longer. After recess we made parachutes out of garbage bags and strings. We made one regular one and another one with an adjustment - more string, better vents with a bigger or smaller hole, etc. After adjustments we tested them on the oval. It was a fun day and we learned a lot. (by Arjun, Chase, Emily, Sara, Annabella) 
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This term, Room 22 took part in the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Shadow Judging, and what an adventure it was! The students explored the Early Childhood category, diving into a selection of beautiful and exciting picture books.
Room 22 created a special treasure box, and after reading each story filled the box with little items that captured the heart of each book. These boxes were a creative and hands-on way for the students to reflect on the characters, settings, and themes they loved most. From tiny props to hand-drawn pictures, each treasure box became a mini celebration of storytelling!
When it came time to vote, "The Book of the Tooth Fairy" sparkled as the clear class favourite! 🧚♀️✨ The students loved the magical story, the fun illustrations, and, making their own tooth fairy boxes.
Room 22 has truly shown a love for reading and a big imagination when it comes to creating. We are so proud of their thoughtful discussions, creative work, and joyful participation in this national event.
Way to go, Room 22! 🎉📖💫
Room 22 created a special treasure box, and after reading each story filled the box with little items that captured the heart of each book. These boxes were a creative and hands-on way for the students to reflect on the characters, settings, and themes they loved most. From tiny props to hand-drawn pictures, each treasure box became a mini celebration of storytelling!
When it came time to vote, "The Book of the Tooth Fairy" sparkled as the clear class favourite! 🧚♀️✨ The students loved the magical story, the fun illustrations, and, making their own tooth fairy boxes.
Room 22 has truly shown a love for reading and a big imagination when it comes to creating. We are so proud of their thoughtful discussions, creative work, and joyful participation in this national event.
Way to go, Room 22! 🎉📖💫
