School Newsletter Term 4, 2023

From the principal

As the end of 2023 nears, we take the time to reflect on many things, including our achievements and challenges. This year, we reached a peak in enrolments never before seen at the school, with over 480 new students enrolling and having more than 220 students transition at the end of term 4. We currently have 48 different cultural groups represented in the school, with the majority of students coming from Afghanistan, China, Vietnam and South America. 
As a result of our increasing student numbers, many new teachers and support staff have joined the school, enabling us to continue on our improvement journey whilst maintaining a focus on increasing student achievement in reading and writing. Throughout the year we have celebrated student achievements and progress at assemblies and we have had former students share their successes. The important work we do to develop effective learners, by teaching the foundational skills, the knowledge, the competencies and capabilities they need to successfully navigate future challenges and further education, has been highlighted and is reflected in student success. 
Having positive role models share their experiences is also an important part of the learning journey for our students, and recently we had the pleasure of hosting the Children’s Peace Literature Awards. The celebration was organised by Psychologists for Peace and our students had the opportunity to shine, asking interesting and thoughtful questions of the award winning author, Maryam Master.

Students were able to relate to the author, a former refugee who now calls Australia home, and were extremely appreciative of the large collection of 101 new books donated by the psychologists. 
Some of our post transition students recently had the opportunity to work with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra as part of their music elective, creating an inspirational piece of music highlighting their migration journey. Many students also participated in a range of community service activities, targeted programs and excursions, as part of the school curriculum.
As a school community we take pride in making our school a place where everyone belongs and is able to be their best and achieve their best. Together with our families and various community organisations, we will continue to endeavour to meet the individual needs of all of our students as best we can by providing quality education as we move into 2024.
Although it’s time to farewell a large number of students as they make the move to their new mainstream schools, we need to acknowledge the determination, courage and strength they have shown as they have embraced new opportunities and worked hard to improve their English language and communication skills. We also remind them of the importance of our school values of respect, responsibility and resilience. 
Lastly, thank you all for your ongoing support and collaboration throughout 2023.
Wishing you all the best for the festive season.

Anti Macri

Student response to Q&A session with the winning author Maryam Master:
* While I was asking Ms Maryam questions, I felt a little nervous because it was my first time holding a microphone and standing in front of a crowd, but I remembered the character Aryan from the book ... who hid in the bin when he was supposed to be reciting the poem. I reflected and thought I must be braver than him. It was a special moment for me.  Sokim D

* When I met the author online, I was full of questions to ask her about her refugee experience and how she became a famous writer in Australia but time was limited. However, I was glad others asked similar questions and clarified my thoughts. I was pleased I could relate to her experiences in Australia.  Neda O
* ... I am so proud of her because, even though she faced a lot of problems as a refugee when she arrived, she worked hard and became a successful author in Australia. She has inspired me.  Zainab H

Lolly Stand

On Monday the 4th of December, Class 22IB ran a lolly stand as part of our Community Service activity. We wanted to raise money to help homeless people, and chose two charities to donate the money to: Catherine House and Hutt Street Centre. Each student contributed $5 and our teacher bought lots of lollies and iceblocks with the money. Our wonderful students made posters to advertise the lolly stand, and visited Home Groups to explain what we were doing and why. The lolly stand was a great success, and we raised over $200. We feel proud of our efforts.  Ms Emma Hills

Volleyball

This term we had a mixed volleyball team competing against other schools in the western zone. They learnt to play as a team and improved their individual skills each week, which helped them to make it into the final, where they had a narrow loss to Woodville. Well done!  Mr Tom Ellenbroek

ARA Leadership Day

Australian Refugee Association (ARA) Leadership Day took place in week 4 this term. Olexij and Ma-Musu from ARA came to run games and activities exploring leadership qualities and responsibilities with our Student Representative Council (SRC) members. There was then a self defence workshop followed by role plays using puppets. The highlight of the day was a leadership panel where we heard from Ma-Musu and her journey as a cultural community leader for African young people, and Brett from South Australian Police (SAPOL) talked about being a police officer. Then our school Principal Anti Macri talked about her journey into leadership and her beliefs around what makes a good leader. The day finished with a questions and answers for our panel. It was yet another successful Leadership Day run by ARA and the Student Wellbeing team.
Ms Leila Haq

One and All (1st - 4th October, 2023)

The October school holidays saw three of our brave senior students sign up for the final voyage for the year on the replica Tall Ship the One and All. Ali Korshidi, Goytom and Nena wrote applications and met with Rotary sponsor clubs prior to their voyage, they then met on the docks of Port Adealide on a rainy Sunday morning to meet their fellow sailors from schools from all over the state. The students sailed for 5 days and 4 nights. They returned full of stories and new friendships, reporting back to their Rotary clubs on return. We are grateful to Rotary for their on-going support of our students on this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Ms Leila Haq

Ali Khorshidi Ali (class 17TB)

Goytom Yirdaw Mekonnen (class 6TA2)

(Nena) Nyawargak Pal (class 19AA1)

Community Service

This term, class 8IC went to an excursion for our Community Service. We collected rubbish along the River Torrens area. We did this so that students could learn to be aware of keeping our environment clean.  Ms Grace Leong

Mariposa Trails

Mariposa Trials has been attending ASSoE in Term 3 and 4, running workshops around positive mental health for our Spanish students. This has been very helpful for our students. A big thank you to our Spanish BSSO for her support.  SWT

Celebrated DIWALI- Tuesday, 14th November 2023

Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a major Hindu festival that is celebrated across India and around the world. It commemorates the victory of good over evil. Students and staff at ASSoE celebrated the festival with cultural food, cultural costumes and fun activities around the school.
Teachers from South Asian backgrounds generously lent out dazzling outfits to see many of our staff dressed in ‘bollywood style’. This coincided with the school’s casual day, making it a rainbow of colours wherever you looked! There were Indian sweets as well as Rangoli chalk drawing, henna and music. ASSoE teachers modelled appreciation for others cultures as they embraced the fashion, traditions and beliefs held within celebrating Diwali.

Photos from our Diwali day

Cultivating Future-Ready Minds: Flinders University’s Insightful ‘River Journey’ Presentation

In a recent educational session, learners from classes 13AB2, 17TB, 28TA1, and 39AC were engaged in an insightful presentation titled ‘River Journey’ by Flinders University. This session was designed to broaden their understanding of the dynamic nature of today’s workforce. The specialist from Flinders University elaborated on how the employment landscape is being reshaped by various factors, including digital transformation, global connectivity, new technological advancements, automation, and the necessity for adaptability. The primary focus of the discussion was on “Skills of the Future,” identifying essential competencies required for prospective job applicants. In an exciting development, our students are scheduled to visit Flinders University’s Bedford Park campus next week. This excursion will offer them a chance to interact with university attendees, explore important aspects of higher education through stimulating questions, and participate in diverse workshops covering multiple disciplines, especially in the STEM field.  ]

Mr Ash Parekh

Finding Our Voice

This term in English, class 31PT studied a unit called “Finding Our Voice”. This means people listening to something important you have to say. A series of guest speakers discussed with us different matters to do with finding our voice.
Mayor Angela Evans and Selma Barlow from The City of Charles Sturt Council talked with us about listening to people.
Mark Gauci, who started the community group Rosetta Street Greening, talked with us about having your voice heard.
Sergeant Michelle Hollis and Senior Constable Brett Massey from SAPOL talked with us about the limits to using our voice.

Community United
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is a global campaign led annually by the UNWomen (a United Nations organisation). This campaign takes place all over the world. It runs every year from the 25th of November to 10th December (Human Rights Day)!
The Student Wellbeing team has been providing primary prevention education with our SRC students over the past few weeks around respectful relationships. We have participated in the clothes project in which t-shirts and texters were donated by the City of Charles Sturt. The students decorated t-shirts with words promoting positive and respectful relationships.  SWT