Avondale Herald

The last week of school was yet another busy one at Avondale. Besides our successful transition morning that ran across the school for all students, we also celebrated our end of year achievements at the Preschool Assembly, as well as our Celebrate 2009 Assembly.  It was a privilege having the Australian High Commissioner, Mr Doug Chester attend our special event as our guest of honour. It was also wonderful to share in the reflections from the year. Congratulations to all children on their many achievements – we are very proud of you.

The success of a school year rests with the cooperation of staff. Our teachers, administration team, the aunties and grounds people that keep the school spotlessly clean, our outside shadow teachers and of course our always friendly and welcoming security guards, make a difference to the lives of our children. I would like to express a personal thank you, to all staff, and the PA for their help and support, and in particular for creating a warm and caring environment that Avondale is now renowned for.

I also farewell families and teachers leaving AGS at the conclusion of the year, and especially our Year 6 graduates who make the transition to High School. My advice to you all is to embrace the many opportunities that come your way and tackle life’s challenges in an optimistic and positive manner.

I wish all families in the Avondale community a well deserved and safe holiday.  I would like to thank everyone for again being so positive and supportive to me in my role as Head of the Primary School.  2009 has had its many challenges, however, at the same time it has been most rewarding to sit back and reflect on the many accomplishments. As I look at all that has been achieved over the past year on our quest for excellence, let us remember the simplistic, but powerful words spoken by Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who climbed Mt Everest with Hilary:
“Mountain climbers always help each other”.

We look forward to our children coming back to school in 2010 to our new campus at Phoenix Park, enthused and ready for yet another busy and exciting year at Avondale.

Upcoming Events

Orientation Day for New Students
22nd January 2010

First Day Back for Students
25th January 2010

Martin Tait
Head of Avondale Grammar School

Silver Award

Congratulations to  Demmi Papadelias  on receiving her Silver Award this week.

Demmi Papadelias [5/6H]

This week Jasper Knox has been attending the Tottenham Hotspurs International player development course. This has been a wonderful opportunity for Jasper to work with some highly respected coaches as well as to learn many new skills. Football (soccer) plays a big part in the lives of many of the students at Avondale. It is wonderful to see our students succeeding outside the school environment.

I would like to congratulate all the piano students for their hard work in 2009.  All of you have worked hard and improved in your piano playing techniques. This term we started the Star of the Week award to showcase the students’ hard work. This has encouraged the students and motivated them to work hard. I have always enjoyed the footage on my blog and you are welcomed to listen to the students’ work on http://joyousnote.blogspot.com

I hope dads and mums are pleased with the familiar classical tunes like Beethoven’s 5th Symphony that filled your homes this term and also Scott Joplin’s Entertainer that entertained you during the Back to the Future Concert.

My heartfelt congratulations to Jasmine Wong for attaining a good pass in the prestigious ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal School of Music) Pianoforte Grade 2 Examination. Also to Jasmine who has taken a little diversion from her classical piano journey with Jazz Improvisation lessons in term 4.

Some of the students embarked on a journey to learn about midi and sequencing. It was great to inject modern technology into piano learning. I have the songs sequenced by the students using the Garage Band uploaded to my blog as well. Do log on and enjoy them.

There will be a Christmas Recital by the students posted on this website for those of you who would like to enjoy some Christmas Carols on piano. Wishing all of you a blessed Christmas.

Ms Joyann Lim
Piano Tutor

PA Xmas Party

I hope all families who attended the PA Xmas Party at the Singapore Polo Club enjoyed themselves last Friday night. There was an excellent turn out of parents who shared in the end of year fun and celebrations. A big thank you to all the parents who helped organise this wonderful event that we hope becomes a tradition at Avondale.

Back to the Future Concert

Congratulations to all children from Preschool to Year 6 for their wonderful performances in the Back to the Future Concert last Wednesday – you should all be very proud of yourselves. Whilst I was unable to attend the night, it was tremendous to hear about the confidence of each student in their different roles and class sections. A big thank you must go to Mrs Sinden and her committed team of Ms Krishnan, Ms Picken, Mrs Collins, Ms Coplin and Mr Ramos for their incredible work in leading this spectacular musical. Their hard work and tireless efforts (along with the teachers) on such an enormous production is much appreciated. I would also like to thank the many parent volunteers for their countless hours spent behind the scenes in helping organise and make backdrops and costumes, as well as help with the training of children on certain musical scenes. Special mention should be made of Mrs Hay, Mrs Jacques, Mr Porter, Mrs Wong and Mrs Thorogood for their added efforts in going above and beyond the call of duty in these areas.We are fortunate to have so many talented parents at Avondale. Your time and effort was really appreciated and ensured the success of the musical.
We hope parents enjoyed the morning tea on Thursday for all the voluntary work they have contributed, at not only the school concert, but with the many events throughout the course of 2010.

New Resources

We have recently purchased a number of resources (thanks to the generosity of the PA). They have helped support the school with gymnastics equipment to compliment our PE programmes, x 2 Science In A Box kits (where we had a brief presentation from Bryan Pennington the Director of the Company last Friday to staff, some parents and children) and have also put money towards extra books for the library and musical instruments to help improve the class programmes. On behalf of the staff at Avondale, I would like to say a sincere thank you for these added resources which will definitely benefit the children at the school.

Phoenix Park Move

I would like to inform all parents that with the move to Phoenix Park next Friday we will have email and phone lines down on Friday the 18th December. The emergency contact number that will be available will be 8223 0991. The children will have finished up for the term on Thursday the 17th December following the Celebrate 2009 Assembly.  The School Office plans to be fully operational at Phoenix Park from Monday the 21st December on the current number of 625 88544.  Please refer to the mentioned emergency contact number if any problems arise.

Our final week of school will be an exceptionally busy one for all the staff at AGS in packing up their classrooms, offices and areas of the school before the move to Phoenix Park.

We appreciate your support and patience with the change.

Reporting Process

The School Reports will be communicated to all families at the conclusion of this term. The written report will be sent home twice a year (Term 2 and Term 4) and is based upon information the teacher/s have gathered during the reporting period. This is one of the strategies used to communicate with you about your child’s achievement, effort and behaviour, along with parent-teacher interviews.
The levels of achievement are based on the New South Wales Board of Studies outcomes and indicators for that Stage, achievable over a period of about two years.  The following demonstrates the staging used in the various grades;

Kindergarten – Early Stage One
Year 1 – Stage 1
Year 2 – Stage 1
Year 3 – Stage 2
Year 4 – Stage 2
Year 5 – Stage 3
Year 6 – Stage 3

The children in Preschool will be assessed through portfolio work and their own assessment profile and parent-teacher interviews, however, NOT through the same official School Report as Kindergarten to Year 6. Class teachers will also be sending home children’s portfolio samples in Week 9 for parents to view.
If families would like to read up on the NSW Syllabus it would be beneficial to look at the following website on www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au
If you have any questions in relation to reporting, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher/s through the communication message book or school diary.

Upcoming Events

Transition Programme
14th December

Preschool Final Assembly
15th December

Celebrate 2009 Assembly
17th December

I hope all families enjoy the weekend!

Martin Tait
Head of Avondale Grammar School