Term 2, 2024

From the Principal

This term we welcomed 2 new leaders, Ms Raj Bhatti as our Inclusive Education coordinator and Ms Leah Thornton as our International Student Program (ISP) and EALD coordinator. We also welcomed 6 new teachers and 113 new students.

Our Council of International Schools (CIS) re-accreditation visit was held on the 18^th - 24^th May. The CIS team consisted of Mark Beach from New Zealand, Hamish Farquharson from Malaysia, Wendy Parry from Thailand and Frank Catalano from Melbourne.

During the visit, the team visited classes as well as meeting with students, teachers and parents. The main focus was on 4 projects that highlighted school improvements in the teaching of vocabulary and oral language, the use of learning walls, and supporting students with learning needs. As part of the final report, the evaluation team stated that they were privileged to see first-hand the school’s nurturing and inclusive environment, where every child feels valued and supported. This dedication was evident in the personalised attention given to each student's academic, emotional, and social development, as well as the implementation of programs promoting safety, inclusiveness, mental health, resilience, and a sense of belonging. Also noted was that the staff cultivate a culture of empathy and respect, encourage positive relationships between students, staff and visitors, and provide a safe environment for all students to learn, grow, and thrive as productive global and Australian citizens.

Throughout the term the student wellbeing team facilitated a range of targeted student support programs to further enhance student engagement and inclusion. This included our school-based peer mentoring program; the Sammy D Foundation violence prevention program; Respect, healthy relationships programs for boys and girls; and our Palestine workshops which resulted in an art exhibition. The school worked closely with our Community Liaison Officers, Fariba Ahmadi and Bushra Rasheed, members of the STTARS team, and Relationships Australia (SA) to deliver these programs.

A term 2 highlight was our recent Refugee Week and Student Achievement assembly, where we had the pleasure of having the Honourable Mira El Dannawi MLC (Legislative Council Member) as our guest speaker. She spoke about her personal experiences having arrived in Australia from Lebanon as a young adult and the importance of refugee week. Dr Amanda Ruler and Dr Nicholas Wickham from the Medical Association for Prevention of War (SA) also attended the assembly. Student performances were very impressive and many students were proud to be presented with certificates for academic achievement and class awards.

The 11^th of June student free day provided staff with an opportunity to update their First Aid training and to further engage in sharing of good classroom practice with a focus on oral language. There was also an opportunity for staff to do some on-line training provided by the Department for Education on “Teaching Intensive English”.

The additional shelter now available for students has already been utilised on many occasions, with students making good use of it on the cold, rainy days we have experienced this term. With a few more wintery days to come, we have been reinforcing the need for students to ensure they are prepared for an Australian winter by purchasing school jumpers and rain jackets.

As we prepare for term 3, and the ongoing increase in student numbers, families need to be aware of significant changes to all school bus routes. Further information will be available on the Adelaide Metro website during the school holidays and will be updated on both our SchoolZine app and website.

Lastly, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the 172 students who recently graduated from Adelaide Secondary School of English and wish them well in their future studies.

Ms Anti Macri

Picture 1:  Honourable Mira El Dannawi MLC (Legislative Council Member), our guest speaker at Refugee Week and Student Achievement assembly

Picture 2:  Dr Amanda Ruler and Dr Nicholas Wickham from the Medical Association for Prevention of War (SA) 

Picture 3:  Whole school Refugee Week and Student Achievement assembly

Picture 4: Student performance at assembly: (from left) Fabiana A Medina Jaramillo, Vichayaporn Boonyen, Aline Marora, Leaphea Chou, Amirmahdi Ebrahimi

Picture 5:  Student performance at assembly: singing in sign language (Auslan)

Picture 6:  Staff at their First Aid training

New shelter enhances outdoor enjoyment for students

We are thrilled to announce the latest addition to our school's outdoor facilities - a brand new shelter for our table tennis area!

Designed to provide both sun and rain protection, this structure ensures that our students can enjoy a game all year round. 

The shelter, with its modern design, has already become a popular spot among our students, enhancing their outdoor experience and encouraging interaction.

We believe that our investment in student amenities like this not only enriches their school life, but also promotes a healthy and active lifestyle. Stay tuned for updates as we continue to enhance our school’s facilities.

Ms Kellye Rowe (Business Manager)

SA Refugee week

Well done to all our students who entered the SA Refugee Week Student competition, a big thank you to all staff who supported their students to create art works and our amazing art teachers for all their support! Benjamin Gachruzi’s (class 18IA2) poster was selected to be included in the final SA Refugee Student Poster Exhibition, which is on display at Adelaide Festival Centre from Friday 21st June until Friday 11^th August.

Ms Martha Maiorana

Palestinian Arts Exhibition

The war within Gaza created intense feelings of distress and grief amongst many of our students from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Several students from Gaza, Palestine, enrolled at Adelaide Secondary School of English (ASSoE) in March 2024. Their stories have moved the school community, and their strength, pride and resilience have been inspiring. Shortly after their arrival, a forum about Gaza was held for students supported by two Department for Education Community Liaison Officers (CLOs) and members of the school wellbeing team. The focus of the forum was to enable students to express their feelings of solidarity, despair and hope, and then plan on how to share their feelings and thoughts within the school community and beyond.

The students decided to create a display, and this evolved into the exhibition. The students worked with Bushra Rasheed and Fariba Ahmadi (CLOs), Palestinian facilitator Enaam Oudih from Relationships Australia (SA), photographer Razan Fakhouri and artist Alissar Aleid, to facilitate four student art workshops and create the exhibition elements. The following themes emerged for the display: The beautiful history and land of Gaza, Gaza during the war, our hopes for the future and supporting Gaza. The Exhibition has been set up at school in the South building and the launch event, attended by the artists, parents and community members, was held on Thursday 20^th June. The exhibition will also tour to the Department for Education foyer, 31 Flinders St Adelaide, from 1^st to 5^th of July and be open to the public.

Mr Paul Coats

World peace

Class 39AB1 created a beautiful poster to support peace worldwide, demonstrating their dedication and compassion. The students conducted thorough research to find symbols that represent Palestine and its people. They discovered that the watermelon, the key of return, and Handala are prominent symbols. The watermelon signifies resilience, the key to return symbolises the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, and Handala is a well-known national symbol and personification of the Palestinian people's struggles and hopes. By incorporating these symbols into their poster, the students show deep solidarity with the people affected by war and express their commitment to global peace and justice. Their thoughtful and informed creation serves as a powerful testament to their empathy and desire for a peaceful future.

Mr Alex Sirenko

Reconciliation week

Class 18IA2 created an Aboriginal flag where they worked together and wrote words to show that everyone belongs, and saying sorry can fix wrongs.

Ms Ourania Svingos

Pathway assemblies

This year the Student Engagement Coordinators have introduced 2 informal celebratory assemblies each term. The assemblies are in addition to the formal student achievement assemblies held every term and the graduation assemblies held at the end of terms 2 and 4. The pathway assemblies are aligned with behaviour charts in each classroom that reward positive behaviour around the school values of Respect, Resilience and Responsibility. The highest scoring student in each class is rewarded with a very popular $10 canteen voucher. The separate pathway assemblies A, B & C are a fun way to recognise student success with the recent addition of class sharing to the assemblies. The pathway assemblies are held in week 5 and 9 every term and it has been delightful to see how genuinely supportive and full of cheer our students are for their classmates' successes.

Student Engagement Coordinators

Sammy D Violence "Impact" Prevention Workshop

This term in Week 6 (7^th June), we welcomed Mr Neil Davis and Ms Jessie from the Sammy D Foundation of South Australia, to deliver a workshop to 40 students about the impact of violence. The purpose of this workshop is to educate young people about the wide impact that violence has on the people around them, such as family and friends, through hearing the experiences of others.

In the workshop, Neil talked about his experience of losing his son to violence. His son, Sammy, was a popular and friendly young person living his best life in Adelaide. Sadly, one night at a friend's backyard party, Sammy was trying to de-escalate a violent altercation and became the victim of a single fatal punch to the back of his head. Neil recounted the events that led to the tragedy, and how his, and others' lives were changed forever that day, with the aim of deterring young people away from violence.

Students listened sensitively and respectfully to the story, supported our bilingual support staff, and asked questions appropriately. They had small group discussions about friendship, or "mateship", and how young people can support each other to de-escalate stressful and potentially violent situations. Through role playing scenarios of stressful situations, students were able to rehearse what they might say and do to support a 'mate' to stay away from violence.

We are grateful to Neil and Jessie for taking their time to share their painful experience so that our young people might be discouraged from being involved in violence. As a father who had lost his son to violence, Neil wished that his son had had a 'mate' that could have helped his son on the night that Sammy lost his life.

Ms Michelle Smith

Transition forum

On the 4^th of June our exiting students participated in our Transition Forum. We had 16 of our former students return to ASSoE to speak with our students about their experiences of moving to a new school. Our alumni answered questions and supported discussions around mainstream education and tips for successful transition.

Ms Martha Maiorana

Volunteer week

Currently, class 11AA2 is learning about the communities we are part of and community service. A small part of the services we are providing for others has been to make a small thank you package for the volunteers at our school in preparation for Volunteering week.

Mr Alex Racz

Our class made small, boxed gifts for Volunteer week at ASSoE to say thank you. While making the boxes we did lots of good things like teamwork and helping each other. We worked hard to make the boxes look beautiful, we also wrote sentences showing our appreciation for our volunteers. Hassan Rahimi (Class 11AA2)

Gardening

On 22 May, Class 47AC did some helpful work for our school garden. We moved mulch from the west side of the school to our school garden. We used wheelbarrows and shovels to move the mulch. We put the mulch in between the garden beds. Now the paths are easy to walk on and the plants will enjoy the mulch.

Zoe Li, Yaffa Fang and Mr Peter Wallace

Environmental Science

This term, classes 29AA1 and 41IC enjoyed an Environmental Science experience at Urrbrae Agricultural High School, with Mr Braund and Mrs Timochshenko. The learning outcomes included understanding how wetlands work to reduce pollution, and how water samples are collected and analysed. It was especially interesting to collect and then look at the many small creatures that live in the wetland. Much thanks to Vanessa from Urrbrae Wetland Learning Centre.

Mr Tim Braund

Respectful relationships workshop

Research shows that sexuality and respectful relationships education curriculum does not adequately meet the needs of students from migrant and refugee backgrounds. As such, this project was designed to address this gap by meaningfully consulting with and engaging young people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds to design, develop and deliver respectful relationships education that reflects their learning needs and lived experiences. This project provided Arabic and Farsi speaking young women a unique opportunity to design a culturally appropriate respectful relationships education programme for use in their school. Across a series of co-design workshops in late 2023 and early 20024, 20 student leaders explored gender norms, problems that emerge in relationships to make women feel disrespected or unsafe, and ideas and strategies for addressing problems. They also explored barriers to accessing supports (community, health, legal and medical/sexual health) along with concrete ideas for how to address these barriers. These student leaders used these discussions to develop a workshop, which they delivered to their Arabic and Farsi speaking peers. This exciting project was enormously impactful for the ways in which it created a safe and supportive environment for young women to explore the issues affecting their lives and communities. Most importantly, the students argued that it is vital for young women to continue discussing these issues together - and for young men to be educated on this topic as the most necessary next step.

Ms Martha Maiorana / Ms Koula Giannini

School sport

This term we had a badminton team playing against other schools in the western zone. All players in the team have improved their skills each week and they have beaten every other school except for Henley High school, who they will play in the final in week 10. Good luck!

We have had a volleyball competition at recess time this term. We started with 14 teams. Now we are down to the final 4 with the final to be played Monday week 10. Who will be the winning team?

Mr Tom Ellenbroek

Excursion to Tauondi Aboriginal College

On Thursday 30^th of May, class 12AA2 and 6AB2 went on an excursion to Tauondi Aboriginal College for their Open Day. In line with their learning about traditional Aboriginal life, students were able to participate in activities and learn more information about Aboriginal traditions that are still being carried out today. Some of the highlights of the day included free food, face painting, creating art, free clothes and performance by singers of Aboriginal descent.

It was the 30^th of May that we went on an excursion to Aboriginal College. We had so much fun and the best thing about the excursion was that we played games and after playing they were giving us gifts according to our playing. Moreover, I got a doll as a gift and they had free food. There were lots of Aboriginal people, some were singing, some were playing and even some were eating food and enjoying the performance of the other Aboriginal girls. There were different kind of foods such as sausages, chicken, sandwich and for drinks they had milk, water and some juice.  Maryam Yaqoobi (6AB2)

It was an enjoyable day with my classmates. I met one Aboriginal person with Julian and he helped us to find free items then we went to eat food. They gave us free juice and lunch. After that Elisa and Yadira gave me their tacos then we went back to school by train.  Kian Jafari (6AB2)

It was a very nice day. I loved the excursion although the weather was very cold. I enjoyed being there with my friend Elisa and we enjoyed several activities. The food was delicious and it was free. There were some activities to get free items and also my friend and I went to watch like a man singing and then Elisa, Julian, Kian and I ate tacos and they ate our food.  Ruth Yadira Morals Xon (6AB2)

We went to Tauondi College and it was so enjoyable because everything was free and we needed to complete small challenging missions to get gifts (books, kneaded dolls and hats). There was plenty of free food and drink (sausage and coffee/tea), because they were for children to enjoy.  Nawid Hassan Zada (6AB2)

Transition excursion

Class 7TA2 went to the Bonython Park for their ‘end of transition celebration’ excursion. Students were having fun in the ‘barrel’ as well as having fun for a final class photo. All the best to students at their new schools.

Ms Gayle Schipanski

Flinders University incursion

Students from 5AB2, 6AB2 and 49TA1 participated in the Flinders University incursion and learnt about making informed choices about their future studies and careers.

Mr Ash Parekh

Exciting university campus visit for SACE students

Our recent Flinders University campus visit for the students from classes 6AB2, 49TA1 and 50AC studying SACE was an incredible success. The students were warmly welcomed and introduced to the diverse study areas and courses offered by the university, including information on entry requirements. They eagerly participated in a Q&A session, gaining valuable insights into university life and academic expectations. Following this, the students attended three captivating workshops/presentations: The Science of Flavour, Allied Health, and Big Issues in Education. Both students and accompanying teachers thoroughly enjoyed these sessions, which provided a hands-on experience of university education and ignited their academic aspirations. This visit was a fantastic opportunity for our students to envision their future educational pathways and explore the possibilities that higher education offers.

Mr Ash Parekh

Solar Buddy

Students from classes 8TC and 42TC took part in the Solar Buddy program, where they explored community service and global citizenship.

Mr Ash Parekh

Graduation assembly

We are proud to congratulate all 172 students who completed their studies at ASSoE this term.

It has been a privilege to teach and support them in their learning and their transition to Australia.

We wish them all the best as they continue their educational journey and we look forward to hearing of their successes in the future.

Our guest speaker was a former student, Mohammad Al-Khafaji (CEO of the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia), pictured here with his first teacher from 21 years ago Ms Hilary Parsons.

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The Department for Education recognises that active and passive smoking is a health risk.

Anyone in a department workplace or anyone involved in a department activity should be protected from the involuntary inhalation of smoke from tobacco and tobacco related products and aerosols from e-cigarettes. This includes smoke from cigarettes, cigars, pipes and vapour from e-cigarettes and other personal vaporisers.

Smoking, including using e-cigarettes (commonly referred to as ‘vaping’), is prohibited at all schools, preschools and early learning centres and within 10 metres of their boundaries. The ban includes smoking:

• within buildings
• at all outdoor areas and playgrounds
• at outdoor swimming facilities
• at camps and excursions and its facilities which are an extension of the site (premises)
• buses, government vehicles and private vehicles being used for department purposes.