2025 Term 3 Week 8 Newsletter

Message from the Principal

Dear Families, 

Welcome to our Week 8 newsletter. It has been another busy and exciting fortnight at Alyangula Area School, filled with learning, creativity, and community spirit. We are so proud of the way our students continue to embrace opportunities both in and out of the classroom, and we look forward to sharing some highlights with you below.

Last week our Year 5/6 students embarked on “camp” and had the most wonderful time together. Over the two days they enjoyed fishing and beach activities, swimming, spotlighting at night, movies, and even an Indigenous art workshop. Camps like these give our students such valuable opportunities to connect with each other, build independence, and learn new skills, and it was fantastic to see the students embracing each experience with so much enthusiasm. Thanks to Mr Simon Nolan and Ms Jacinta Logan for their planning and running of the camp, and to Mr Sarah and Ms Sara for their support during the camp.

Our SRC have also been busy leading fundraising activities, with PJ Day and a Special Lunch raising $181 and $542. These funds will be used to support student wellbeing and break time activities that all student driven. It is always exciting to see student leadership in action, and we are grateful to our SRC members for the effort they put into making these events successful.

There was plenty of buzz at assembly this morning as Colour Fun Run prizes were handed out. Thank you to all the families who supported this initiative by sponsoring or helping your children seek sponsorships. Congratulations to class 2/3G who raised an incredible $1058 and won themselves a class party, with T/1 coming in a close 2^nd with a total of $1030! This is an outstanding achievement, a big thank you to all our families who supported the school through sponsorship!

Looking ahead, we are very excited for our Annual Arts and Culture Festival next week. Students will spend the day rotating through a variety of cultural workshops, before coming together in the evening to perform in front of families and the wider community. They have been practising diligently and can’t wait to share what they have been learning. Families are encouraged to contribute a dish from their class’s chosen culture, with containers available for collection from the admin office from Monday. Food tickets can be purchased in advance or on the night, and any extra hands to help sell food will be warmly welcomed. This is always such a highlight on the school and community calendar and a wonderful celebration of the cultures that make up our community.

This term in Literacy, we have had a strong focus on fluency pairs across our primary and secondary classes. Fluency pairs involve two students reading aloud together—one reading while the other follows along and then swapping roles. This practice helps students to build smooth, accurate, and expressive reading. Developing fluency is an essential part of reading success, as it supports comprehension and allows students to focus on meaning rather than decoding each word. Families can support fluency at home by encouraging children to read aloud regularly, listening to audiobooks while following along in the text, or simply reading together as a family. These small, consistent practices make a big difference in building confident and capable readers.

Thank you to all the families who have completed the School Survey so far. The survey window has been extended until Wednesday, so there is still time to have your say if you haven’t already. Your feedback is incredibly valuable in helping us reflect on our programs and plan for the future.

Finally, it was heart-warming to see the beautiful cards and artworks being created across classes in the lead-up to Father’s Day. Our Father’s Day stall was an overwhelming success, almost selling out on the first day, and it was lovely to see students carefully selecting gifts for their dads and special people. If you're looking for a last-minute gift, don’t forget to purchase a ticket to go in the draw to win a Ninja Woodfire™ Pro XL Outdoor Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker. The raffle will be drawn on Monday 8 September, and every ticket sold helps us provide additional resources and opportunities for our students. 👉 https://www.trybooking.com/DEKNJ

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, and to the dads, grandparents, special people, and father figures in the lives of our students, a very Happy Father’s and Special Person’s Day. Thank you for enriching the lives of our children— we hope you enjoy celebrating with your families.

Mel Dougherty

Congratulations to our Awards Winners

School Sport N.T. Regional Athletics Carnival

Last week a group of very excited Alyangula/Umbukumba students travelled to Darwin for the School Sports N.T. Regional Athletics Carnival. Alyangula was represented by Robert Devlin, Lenny Nolan, Noah Leighton, Flynn Wagstaff and Cooper Gould in the 10 – 12 years age group and we also had Joseph Farrow competing in the 13 years and above events. 

 The boys all gave their best efforts, and it was great to see Joseph win the shotput and Noah finished 3rd in his javelin event. After the events were completed, the boys had a great time at Leanyer Water Park and they had heaps of fun 10-pin bowling at KingPin, but I’m sure the highlight was a game of Laser Tag. 

 I’d like to thank the boys for their awesome efforts and behaviour while they were away as representatives of Alyangula Area School. You have made us proud! A big thank you must also go to the parents who made the hefty financial sacrifice to send the boys for what was a few memorable few days. 

 Hopefully next year we can send an even bigger squad from Alyangula. 

In the Classroom - 3/4D

Breaky Club - Every Tuesday

We’re excited to announce that Breakfast Club will now be held in the canteen every Tuesday morning from 7:30am, starting Week 5! The ESS team will be running the sessions to make sure your children start their day with a healthy meal.

Please see the attached flyer for all the details and feel free to share it with your students.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Father’s Day Raffle

We’re excited to announce our Father’s Day Raffle – and this year’s prize is something every BBQ lover will want to win!

We’re raffling off a Ninja Woodfire™ Pro XL Outdoor Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker – the ultimate setup for outdoor cooking, grilling, and smoking all year round.

🎟️ Ticket Prices:

• $21 each

• OR 3 for $52.75 (includes booking fee)

🗓️ Raffle Draw:

• Monday, 8th September

Tickets can be purchased online via TryBooking:
👉 https://www.trybooking.com/DEKNJ

All proceeds go towards supporting our school community. Don’t miss out on your chance to win this amazing prize – thank you for your support!

Term 3 Calendar

Position Available - Library

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