Newsletters
Annesley News Issue 226

This Week at Annesley Junior School: Bullying No Way – National Week of Action (12-16 August 2024)

This week, Annesley Junior School proudly participated in the Bullying No Way: National Week of Action. This nationwide initiative involves thousands of schools and supporters, all united in their commitment to bullying prevention. The week offers a valuable opportunity to connect with students, staff, and our school community to implement effective solutions to prevent bullying.

The theme for this year’s campaign, Everyone Belongs, emphasises the importance of fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion for all students—values that are at the heart of what we do at Annesley. We understand that bullying often takes root in environments where individuals feel marginalised or excluded. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that every student feels valued and respected.

According to the Australian Education Research Organisation (2023), “Positive school climates that value diversity and inclusion can foster a sense of belonging, provide a protective factor against negative peer relationships, and reduce bullying.”

For more information about Bullying No Way Week and bullying prevention, we encourage you to visit the Bullying No Way website.

This week at Annesley, our students engaged with their buddy classes where they participated in meaningful discussions about respecting and valuing diversity and committing to ways to ensure everyone feels they belong at Annesley Junior School. Kin and Sharyn also visited classrooms to talk about the definition of bullying, which was summarised at assembly by Year 5 students as follows:

Is it Bullying?

• When someone does something unintentionally hurtful, and they do it once, it’s Rude.
• When someone does something intentionally hurtful, and they do it once, it’s Mean.
• When someone does something intentionally hurtful or tries to have power over you, and they KEEP doing it—even when you ask them to stop or show them that you’re upset—that’s Bullying.

Kin and Sharyn also emphasised the role of all staff at Annesley in helping everyone belong. Every student from Reception to Year 6 looked at photos of teachers and personalised learning staff to identify those they know and those they don’t. This information will be used to arrange visits from staff members who are less familiar to students during Book Week, where they will read stories in classrooms to build positive relationships, support belonging, and ensure that students know who they can turn to for help.

We encourage parents and carers to use this opportunity to have open and honest conversations with their children about the impact of bullying and what they can do if they need support. The Bullying No Way website also offers tips on how to approach this discussion.

We hope that by fostering a culture where all students value differences and help each other to belong at Annesley, we can not only stop bullying in schools but also in the wider community.

Sharyn Darrell
Director of Primary School

Science is a shared human endeavour and we are all scientists in a myriad of ways. Our intrinsic curiosity pulls us to observe, reflect and seek understanding about our world and how it works. our collective wisdom is bigger than the sum of its parts and incrementally, working together as a community, we can discover more than ever. Annesley is committed to impacting the world for the better.

Here are some stories of parents in our community doing just that. Please download the below PDF and enjoy!

AJS_Spotlight-on-Scientists.pdf (annesley.sa.edu.au)

In Episode 3 of the Leadership Talks Podcast, our School Leaders Hugh and Louis discuss the ‘Showdown’ with Port Power’s Assistant Coach, Josh Carr.

The Quest is unique initiative designed to foster and develop resilience, empathy, and perseverance through a series of experiences where students ’learn by doing’. This has very much been front of mind as Base 5 tackle the infamous Mt Loft Hike and 30km bike ride. In addition to this, students also visited Treasure Boxes to assist with the social justice aspect of their Quest journey.

These experiences have been both challenging and rewarding for students as they continue their preparations for the Camp Willochra Expedition in week 7. Check out some of the action shots from the last two weeks.

The Visual Arts Studio is full of colour and magic as a new group of students have joined us for Semester 2.

Base 3 students are focusing on the Central Idea ‘Changes to the balance of ecosystems can impact the survival of living things’ under the Transdisciplinary Theme of ‘Sharing the Planet’ in their classrooms and in the Art Studio.

In Visual Arts Base 3 students are focusing on observational drawing of their chosen creature that is endangered and can be found in the Adelaide Zoo. Students are working on various techniques using soft lead pencils to develop our skills on tint and shade and to add value to our illustrations when creating fur, feathers and features.

Base 5 students are connecting with their Central Idea ‘Human migration is a response to challenges, risks and opportunities.’ Students will be researching artists that have migrated from Australia like Judy Cassab. Base 5 students will be learning about Adelaide based street artist Peter Drew and what it means to be Australian.

Base 6 students will be designing captivating space for their ‘PYP Exhibition’ to connect with their chosen Lines of Inquiry. The exhibition is a culmination of the Primary Years Program. Students will work with the inquiry they are in the process of creating to bring it to life! Students will have the opportunity to use papier-mâché, large canvas, acrylic, watercolour and charcoal.

Sarah Walsh
Years 3-6 School Art Teacher

Semester One was full of beautiful creations in the Junior Primary Art Studio. It is always fascinating to watch children’s skill levels improve dramatically over a short period as we concentrate on specific skill sets in each year level. In Reception students have become more confident in line, composition, and colour choice. Our final project for the semester completed our learning on self-portraits with children posing for a black and white photograph. Students pretended to be in their favourite place in the Annesley community and painted their background using watercolours.

In Year 2 we revisited Kaurna symbols and related them to special experiences with grandparents or important people in their lives. We used large, bold symbols to connect with bright colours to create vibrant artworks.  Grandparents loved hearing the stories behind the Kaurna inspired artworks and bonding further with their grandchildren during Learning Celebrations.

Throughout Junior Primary Enterprise a small cohort of children took on the exciting task of bringing an old doll house back to life. They wanted to create a resource that children could use in the library to play quietly with or to help regulate emotions. Children designed, painted, and made all aspects of the doll house, each room a reflection of their joyous personalities and creative natures. The doll house features a rainbow library, princess bedroom, star gazing lounge and a bathroom with a big bubble bath. Sounds like the perfect abode – when can I move in?

After such an incredible Semester 1, I can’t wait for all the inspirational artwork semester 2 holds.

Penny Marshall
Junior School Art Teacher

Monday 26^th August at 6pm

Everyone welcome – more information to be shared on School Stream next week

During the school holidays, we learnt that our Uniform Supplier Silver Fleece has unfortunately gone into liquidation. We have secured a new Uniform Supplier who will soon start manufacturing Annesley Uniform items for our students. This does mean however, that there are some current and possible further supply issues for some items and sizes until new stock is available. We thank our community for your patience. If you have any uniform items you are no longer using at home, please consider donating it to Unify for other families to utilise. Donations can be left at the Front Office or Café.

Through recent engagement with the Unley Council, they have confirmed guidelines for our community to follow when using the Kiss ‘n’ Drop zone. Drivers must remain within 3 metres of their car in this zone and can only remain stopped for 2 minutes. If a driver moves further than 3 metres away, the 2 minute period no longer applies. We have had regular inspections from Unley Council of this zone recently. We ask our community members to adhere to these guidelines to avoid getting fined, and to keep our Kiss ‘n’ Drop zone functioning effectively.

Whilst our staff engage in Professional Learning our Primary students are welcome to attend OSHC. Our ELC will also remain open on this day.

If you require OSHC for your child on this day, please book at place using the Xplor App, just as you would for a Vacation Care booking.

Lauren and her team will have a day of fun experiences to engage the children.

A reminder to Primary families that supervision for our students is provided from 8.30am on school grounds. Prior to this time, students are not to be left onsite without an adult family member. Our Before School OSHC Service is available to families requiring early supervision from 7.30am to 8.30am. Similarly, staff supervision is provided after school until 3.45pm. OSHC is available to families needing care after school until 6pm.

Calling all families to donate gently used Annesley uniforms to Unify, our student-led pop-up shop for second-hand uniforms. Your contribution not only promotes sustainability but also helps support many of the school’s initiatives. Your ongoing participation is greatly appreciated and contributes to the continued success of our school community. Donations can be left in the Unify tub located in the Front Office.

Our Bouncing Bean Café and Unify Second-Hand store are open at the following times each week:

Before School: 8.15am – 9am, Everyday
Morning Break: 11.05am – 11.45am, Everyday
Wednesday Afternoons: 3pm – 4pm

We warmly welcome our Grandparents and special friends to join us on the following dates. These special event dates have been planned and integrated into the students’ learning experiences in each year level. Teaching staff will share more details as these events approach.

Reception: Wednesday 6th November
Year 1: Friday 30 August
Year 4: Monday 19th August
Year 5: Thursday 17th October

Monday 19th August: Base 4 Grandparents and Special Friends Day
Wednesday 23rd August: Year 5 2025 Parent Information Session
Friday 23rd August: Book Week Parade
Monday 26th August: Annesley Parent’s Association AGM at 6pm
Friday 30th August: Father’s Day Morning
Friday 30th August: Year 1 Grandparents and Special Friend’s Day
Monday 2nd – Thursday 5th September: Base 5 Camp
Friday 6th September: Primary Student Free Day (OSHC and ELC open)
Thursday 12th September: Year 2 production
Monday 16th – Wednesday 18th September: School photos

Our website now has a volunteering page under the Community Tab that outlines clearly the process we require our family members to follow to volunteer at Annesley. This process meets legislative requirements in order to keep our children and volunteers safe at Annesley. See more here.