As they would have said in the Melbourne Cup, "We are heading down the last straight, only 4 weeks to go!"

I cannot believe that this year has gone so fast!

The teachers have crammed so much into this term so far and so much more to do as well!

Still to come:

1. Swimming Pool rewards day to come on the December 4, 
2. Trip to Yalgoo and Cue for sporting events and on country learning camp December 7-10, 
3. TLG - Teach Learn Grow Team will be out, November 23-27,
4. We have a Disco planned for November 25,
5. Protective Behaviors workshops and puppet show for December 15

So, so much still to do! Full on fun learning, so don't miss out!

I would like to welcome Miss Marika Stephaniw to our team. She is a perfect fit for our team, and I am so excited to see what we can all achieve together in the future.

She has a real heart for working in Remote schools with Indigenous students and has so many great ideas!

She says that she already loves being here and we love having her here as well.

Parents don't forget you are welcome to join us here at the school at any time. Our classrooms are always open, and we would love you to share in all our exciting learning programs. You will be amazed at all the exceptional work we have been achieving. 

The photos only show a little of all the learning we do here, so I hope you enjoy them.

Fiona Tamminga

Principal

Night Skies Over Pia

A beautiful image of the moon behind the clouds out at Pia. 

We are surrounded by beauty here!

Farewell to our Pigs

We bade farewell to our pigs. We loved having you here, now you are off back to the Ag College. We miss you!

Pia Wadjarri Melbourne Cup School Fashion Parade and Hat Design Competition

We really enjoyed our Melbourne Cup Day celebrations. We had a hat parade which was so much fun. Everyone loved making our hats for the event. The teachers put on some fancy hats as well. The boys wore fancy ties. The afternoon had prizes!

Making bead designs in art

Take a mould plate

1. Place the beads on the plate in the design of your choice
2. Place a sheet of oven proof paper over the pattern
3. Iron the paper until the beads melt together
4. Wait for it to cool
5. Peel of the design from the plate
6. Turn it over
7. Place the paper over the other side and iron again
8. Wait to cool and the design is finished

The patterns look fabulous!

Growing from Seeds

Preparing our seeds for the garden beds. We grow them in these egg cartons until they are big enough to transplant into the garden beds.

Deadly Halloween Cupcakes

As a part of our regular cooking classes, students made Deadly Halloween Cupcakes. Super Scarey!!!

Our entry into the Dairy Industry Picasso Cow Competition.

Students had a wonderful time learning about the Dairy Industry and healthy foods while designing this amazing artwork which they then painted.

Artwork from NAIDOC Week

1. Lanscapes with crayon and Edicol
2. What does NAIDOC mean to me?
3. Animal dot painting

Eating damper and sausage curry up on the Pia Lookout. It overlooks the whole of the Pia countryside. An amazing vantage spot and place to reflect.

These holes are caused by erosion, water seeping through the rocks breaking it way slowly, bit by bit. The students took great pleasure showing us these amazing formations. They create underground caves. Measuring 2.5m deep from the surface of the rock. You wouldn't want to walkalong here in the dark of night!

 The local name of this area funnily enough is the Break A Ways.

Jonas and Janet Kirk

We received a lovely gift this month from our faithful friends Jonas and Janet. Useful books for our library and gardening projects and a lovely little letter. Thank you Jonas and Janet for your ongoing support of our school.

Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots Program

Jane Goodall, Roots and Shoots program sent us out these amazing resources for our sustainability research projects. Thank you so much for this amazing pack of resources!

Mr Paul from the Murchison Settlement

Gifts from our fabulous friend, Mr Paul, from the Murchison Shire

Every 5 weeks we reward students whose attendance is 80% or greater. They receive a book, a certificate and a small gift. This lets them know that we appreciate their efforts in coming to school. It has been the most amazing journey for some of these children whose attendance rate was once 40% or less to now have an attendance rate of over 80%.

I am ever so proud of these students and thankful for their teachers who are dedicated to developing engaging learning climates for these children.

ME!!

My name is Marika Stefaniw and I am the new teacher at Pia Wadjarri Remote Community School.  I have been working as an early childhood teacher in remote communities for over 6 years.  I am passionate about working with Indigenous children in remote communities.  I have been on an amazing learning journey whilst teaching in remote communities and feel honoured to be working here in Pia Wadjarri. 

I have only been in Pia Wadjarri this term and am loving everything about working and living here.  The country is breathtaking.  The community, school, staff, classroom, students and housing are amazing.  I have had a brilliant handover, thanks to Mr. Sean Firth and Mrs. Fiona Tamminga. 

The weekly timetable has assisted in transitioning me into the school and classroom.   I am continuing the programme that the students have been working on routinely and making a few adaptations including: using the Fitzroy Reading and Spelling programme, developing Math folders for each student, 10 minutes of puzzles and books after recess, rotating activities for Math on Friday’s, class jobs and several new incentives for positive behaviour.  Students receive ticks for positive behaviour which transfers into money to spend in the class shop at the end of the week. Five ticks also translates into one stamp on their reward chart.   I have also introduced a whole class reward system of marbles in the jar.  Students have chosen to have a sleepover at school for the class reward, which includes dinner, a movie and breakfast when the marble jar is full.   

As the school is participating in sustainable practices, I am using a War on Waste programme for Science. Students in both the junior and senior classes are learning about waste and the impact that waste disposal has upon the environment.  Students have buried rubbish to assimulate landfill and will be investigating sustainable practices including: starting a worm farm, recycling and reusing plastics and paper and investigating ways to save water.

I am taking both the junior and senior classes for cooking, with the support of Lulu to assist in preparing everything required for the cooking classes.  Students are creating their own recipe books for cooking, so not only will they cook at school, but take home recipe books at the end of the year to use at home. 

The library currently is in need of a lot of work to get it up and running for the students (and teachers) to use effectively.  As I have had many years of experience working in school libraries, I am able to put these skills into practical use in the school library.  Mrs. Tamminga and myself have already spent many hours sorting the books into fiction, non-fiction, reference and class readers.  We still have many hours ahead of us. 

I am only just starting my new adventure here in Pia Wadjarri and look forward to building relationships with community, exploring this beautiful country and working here at the remote community school. 

We have been enjoying outdoor classroom time with Miss Marika and Mr Bradley learning about rubbish!

 We are learning about how to separate our rubbish at the local tip and learning why we should do this.

Investigating Electrical circuits

 We have been investigating how electricity works, making circuits. 

New Look Senior classroom

 Our classroom has had a huge upgrade and looks fabulous!

Creating Neomad Characters

Senior Room has been doing some pre-work on characters in preparation for working with #Neomad #Neolearning. We are studying the book 'Neomads.'

We have been enjoying some great virtual lessons focusing on PLACES with the Neomad Team. We are looking forward to our next virtual lesson where some more of our pre-work comes into play.

Neomad Computer Art Characters

We have also had some regular dance break in our lessons to keep us switched on for learning!

Click HERE to view us in action

Congratulations to Mr Sean who was nominated for the Midwest Recognition of Excellence in Education awards.

'Sean is an innovative teacher, skilled in engaging his students. he is passionate about technology, encouraging students to be 21st Century learners. Sean models life-long learning, studying and teaching fulltime'.

Congratulations once again, the students are lucky to have such a dedicated teacher.

Pia Wadjarri RCS paid homage to past and present students [as at 2018] and their Elders by capturing what it is like to live on country and learn language, and recording this via an augmented reality book.

What does augmented reality mean? It is a process of videos that are paired to images that, by scanning with the Academy Live app, will come alive.

Interviews were recorded with Elder Lenny Merry along with Lawrence Merry and family.

There were limited editions printed however there are a few books still available for sale at $40.00 per book.

For further information please contact the Manager Corporate Services, Sonia Nelson, on 9923 5204 or by email sonia.nelson@education.wa.edu.au