Maitland Area School

Wow, what a great time we had on Wednesday, December 5 at the Year 7 Graduation Dinner!

With all our Year 7s present and with over fifty family members and friends, we started the evening in good form with a delicious meal served by the Yorke Valley staff.

My speech was next, and I highlighted three proven methods of success, and how they're  available to anyone - our students included - to take with them into their senior schooling and indeed into their adult lives.

Chelsea Koch and myself then presented each Year 7 with a certificate (and told the guests a little about their special attributes) before Charles and Bethany gave a short address and cut the cake.

While the guests were served we all went out to the courtyard for photographs (like the one above!) then returned to have our dessert.

Lots of thanks to the students and their families for attending and making the night so special, and to the Yorke Valley Hotel for hosting us.

For this week's assembly 6/7T presented our stop-animation videos and electrical skill-testers.

We invited audience members to test their skill, but no one was able to trace the wire's length without the light bulb lighting up.

The animations were well received, especially the 6/7S boy's 'Slenderman'.

Mr Tuck also handed out a lot of Birthday Cards.

This year's Illawonga Camp was the first three days of Term Four, so well done to everyone for remembering to be there on time straight after the holidays!We left Maitland at 8.45, with our usual bus-driver Brian (who has told us 'this is his last year' four years in a row!) and we were delivered to the campsite just in time for lunch. A quick bite and we were straight into the afternoon's water activities.

 

The two Year 6/7 classes visited Point Pearce on Thursday September 13 as part of their Aboriginal Cultural Studies. Along with teachers Martin Salmon and Pat Hasting and elder Eddie O'Loughlin, the students visited sacred sites and learned about life for the traditional custodians of the area.

Tuesday September 11 was show night at the Adelaide Festival Centre for our Festival Choir.

Over a magic two hours, the choir, along with 300 students from 24 different schools, entertained an appreciative audience with music, dance and drama, demonstrating once again the talents of our students and their teachers.

Friday September 14 was Planting Day at MAS.

Victoria Johns, along with groundsmen Sean Caroll and Trevor Allen had spent weeks previously planning the plantings, ordering shrubs, groundcovers, grasses and trees, marking out and digging holes and laying the underground watering system.

With the big day here - and thousands of dollars of plants on hand - it was time to enlist the help of the students.

The Receptions, assisted by the older Year 9, 10 and 11 students, were the first to receive the planting instructions and it was amazing to see the playground beds and areas around the PAC gradually being transformed.

The Year 1/2 class received their help from the Year 8s and the job was almost half done.

After recess the Year 3s, 4s, 5s and 8s had their turn and by the time the Year 6/7 classes arrived it was almost all over bar the watering.

Principal Andrew Gravestocks and Deputy Aaron Ward soon had the BBQ going (with help from some fine student chefs) and lunch time saw a well fed school admiring their new gardens.

A big thank you to the amazing Victoria Johns for her energy, expertise and organisation. Thanks as well to Anna Allen, Fiona Hollams, Janine Burrows, Ashley Nankeville, Bron Polgreen, Kerry Rowe, Sarah Wescomb, Lucy Allen, Trevor Allen, Sean Carroll and all the students and teachers who helped.

Now the wait while they all grow!

6/7T hatched chickens this term as part of their Ag Studies lessons. We had a great success rate with15 chickens going home with students.

 

 

On Tuesday the 21st of August 24 students from years 5-7 attended the Festival of Music Choir rehearsal at Magic Millions, Adelaide. It was an early start to the day with students meeting in the bus bay at 6:15am but this didn’t stop our MAS students from shining on the day! 

Our 2012 Book Week Assembly was held in the Performing Arts Centre on Friday, August 24. Each R-7 class had prepared a presentation promoting a favourite book, and like each year, there was keen competition.

Students and parents were welcomed by Librarian Deirdre Moloney who introduced the  Book Week theme - 'Champions Read' (very fitting in this Olympic year!) - and our two judges Caroline Brown and Loren Mills.

6/7S and 6/7T combined to run the August 10th assembly.

Along with guests 3/4MN and 5G, they presented a dramatised version of the Ancient Greek Olympic Games. Well done to all the narrators who read the Odes and to the actors who played the athletes, judges and priestesses of Ancient Greece.