Dear Parents and Carers
Community of Achievers
Looking back on 2023 I am proud of the way our students and staff have excelled over the year, and how we kept student wellbeing and learning at the centre of our work. This is a great credit to our staff, who continue to work hard, working smarter together to ensure our school improvement journey has continued, to achieve outstanding individual and whole school results.
I’d like to congratulate all those students who received awards at the various Presentation Evenings. It was wonderful to celebrate the great improvements students have made in their learning, the outstanding academic achievement that was recognised and those that have shown the qualities of citizenship and leadership across the school. They have reflected the school SOAR values of Safety, Ownership, Achievement and Respect in many ways. Thank you to all parents and families who play a critical role in helping their child achieve these great results, and for your ongoing support during the school year.
Year 9 Graduation and Dinner Dance
Congratulations to our Year 9 students who graduated on the same evening and celebrated with a Dinner Dance. A big thank you to Ms Marg Vatskalis who has been the Year 9 Coordinator this year. She has ensured that all our Year 9 students have been supported and cared for in many ways and provided a range of pathways for success in their learning. We would like to wish our Year 9 students all the best in their Senior Years of schooling. Remember to SOAR towards your goals and aspirations and always remember you are only limited by your imagination.
Season’s Greetings
I’d also like to on behalf of our school community and School Council Chair, Rebecca Moussa wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year. I look forward to seeing you all in 2024.
Reports
Reports went out via Compass. Please remember that teachers focused on growth in student learning as well as assigning an A-E Grade which reflects their achievement level, according to the Australian Curriculum Standards.
If you would like a hard copy of your child’s report, please contact the school on (08) 8983 7777 or email dripstone.middle@education.nt.gov.au.
Day One 2024
Classes are being finalised for 2024. We aim to keep students together in the same class for English, Maths, Humanities and Science to provide stability and strong relationships for core classes. When students are placed in classes, teachers consider a number of factors to ensure your child is well-placed. If changes are required, these will need to be made in the first 2 weeks of the school year. Please contact the school within the first 2 weeks if you have concerns regarding your child's class placement in 2024. Please inform the front office if your child is not returning in 2024.
On day one, Tuesday 30 January 2024, all students assemble in the gym for a welcome before moving into Year Level assemblies At the Year Level Assemblies students will receive their timetables.
School Break
The first day of school for students is Tuesday 30 January. The Front Office will be open from the 15 January for purchasing of school uniforms and materials.
We would like to remind our community that all students should be wearing full school uniform. This consists of the Dripstone shirt and shorts. Black jackets with the school logo are available from our Front Office. If students are wearing alternative jackets or jumpers, they should be only black with no insignias/logo, nor should they have hoods on them.
School Council Thank You
Thank you to our School Council Chair, Ms Rebecca Moussa and School Council members who have worked hard behind the scenes this year, as strong partners to make improvements to the school. This year our STEAM Learning Environment, ensuring our students have access to great technological and innovative learning spaces. All parent contributions made over the next 4 years will see that money invested in technology for out STEAM Area.
NAPLAN
Dripstone Middle School has been listed as the second top performing school in the Northern Territory for NAPLAN results! Congratulations to our students and teachers for this incredible achievement!
Term 4 Highlights
Darwin Solar Car Challenge
Early in the term, Dripstone STEAM students took part in the Solar Car Challenge as part of Mr Uddon’s course.
The challenge started with Engineers Australia providing Solar Car Kits to the school, which students used to design and build their miniature solar cars with. After a few weeks of building and testing their cars, students then attended the "Accelerating the Future" event, hosted by Inspired NT at Hidden Valley Raceway, which was held in conjunction with the Bridgestone World Solar Car Race.
Selected students also had the opportunity to present their Science Fair projects at the Accelerating the Future Symposium, which explored how renewable energy, transport and circular economy can accelerate the Territory towards a sustainable $40 Billion economy by 2030.
ICT Highlights
Mr Uddon’s ICT classes from Year 7 to Year 9 were selected to participate in this year’s Charles Darwin University Code fair.
In partnership with Larrikin Interactive and Rise Project Consulting, Dripstone students participated in a two-hour game development workshop. They explored the artistic angle of game development using an online 3D modelling tool.
World Teachers Day and Apple for the Teacher
Each year, Hot100 run an Apple for the Teacher competition, which coincides with World Teachers Day. This year, Dripstone Middle School had 20 teachers nominated in the competition – the most nominations of any school in the Northern Territory! This is just a testament of the hard work and dedication that our teachers give and the positive relationships teachers have with their students.
The following teachers were nominated:
👩🏫 Ms Nektaria Pikoulos
👨🏫 Mr Razor Xu
👨🏫 Mr Tim O’Neill
👩🏫 Ms Shanae Kuo
👨🏫 Mr Luis Nankivell
👩🏫 Miss Louisa Waller
👩🏫 Ms Kylie Lovegrove
👩🏫 Miss Kim Boardman
👨🏫 Mr Darcy Fitzgerald
👩🏫 Ms Kaaryn Jakobson
👨🏫 Mr Joey Uddon
👨🏫 Mr Guillaume Puig
👨🏫 Mr Greg Cilento
👨🏫 Mr George (Rose) Triantafillos
👩🏫 Miss Eliza Sellars-Jones
👩🏫 Miss Bianca Stokes
👩🏫 Mrs Alicia Scobie
👩🏫 Mrs Airlie (White) Oldham
👨🏫 Mr Adarsh Charan
👩🏫 Ms Kerri-Anne Pratt
Thank you to Hot100 for bringing mangoes to the school for students to enjoy, and Hon Lauren Moss MLA for delivering a cake on World Teachers Day for staff to enjoy!
Aquaponics
The Science Faculty this term has worked hard at establishing Aquaponics. A special thank you to Ms Shane Kuo who has led this. Ms Kuo’s year 7.2 class had the opportunity to explore Aquaponics in Science. Part of their learning, the students went to Bunnings Darwin to purchase materials and to construct their own 'grow beds'.
Students were then able to visit Charles Darwin University to view a commercial aquaponics set up and get a clear understanding of how aquaponics is used in real-world context.
School Edible Garden Project
To support the Aquaponics at Dripstone Middle School Humanities has worked on an Edible Garden Project. A special thank you to Ms Alesha Scobbie for leading this project. Before graduating last week, the Year 9.7 Humanities class officially handed over their Edible Garden Project to Dripstone Middle School, which will be passed onto the next generation of Year 9 students in 2024, and beyond, to continue maintaining and operating.
The Edible Garden Project was a way for students to learn about food sustainability, business and economics. Students had to generate their own income (made by hosting bake sales and fundraisers) to pay for new equipment and plants. Students also developed a business relationship with Bunnings Darwin, who kindly provided more materials and equipment. A special thank you to Tony from Bunnings Darwin for his time and sharing his knowledge with the class!
As the garden grows, it will be able to provide the school with freshly grown food for students to cook and eat, whether it be in Food Technologies class, Clontarf or Stars.
Territory Young Scientist
Throughout the year, Science students have been working hard on lab reports, research tasks, videos, and inventions in their science classes. By the end of Term 3, 17 students were selected to submit their work to the Territory Young Scientist Competition - a statewide competition that aims to celebrate the achievement of students who excel in scientific inquiry and research.
The awards ceremony took place on the 28th of November, where 12 Dripstone students received recognition for their outstanding work. Congratulations to all the students who submitted their projects, with a shout-out to the following students for their well-deserved prizes.
• Sadik (Year 9) - 1st place for Individual Scientific Communication (video) & 1st place for Individual Innovations and Inventions.
• Lia, Abby, Indiana and Ann Mariya (Year 8) - 1st place for Group Scientific Inquiry.
• Luka, Mia, Amelie and Katy (Year 9) - 2nd place for Group Innovations and Inventions and 3rd place for Group Scientific Communication (video).
• Aiden and Khadim (Year 7) – 2nd place for Group Scientific Inquiry.
• Yeehung (Year 9) – 2nd place in Individual Scientific Communication (multimedia).
Tournament of Minds
Earlier this term, the Dripstone STEM and Dripstone Language & Literature Tournament of Minds teams had the opportunity to fly to Melbourne to compete in the International Tournament of Minds Competition 2023!
Students enjoyed exploring Melbourne and meeting other students from interstate schools who also came to represent their states/territories.
Well done to all students involved and a huge thank you to Mr Uddon and Ms White for supporting the students through this journey! Also massive thank you to our incredible sponsors who helped our students get to Melbourne!
Dripstone School Ambassadors
The Dripstone School Ambassadors had yet another massive term, kicking off with the Northern Territory Learning Commission (NTLC) End of Year Pitch at the Darwin Convention Centre. This event was attended by over 500 students and 60 teacher commissioners from 40 schools across the Territory.
In 2023, the Dripstone Learning Commission had the inquiry question "How do teacher-student relationships and wellbeing impact learning?”. Throughout the year, Dripstone students developed a wellbeing framework, fostered transition of primary school ambassadors and created community events to build positive relationships with staff at the school. Students were able to present this framework and their findings to Ministers and Executives from the Department of Education at the End of Year Pitch.
In Week 9, the School Ambassadors then set off for their final excursion for the year. They started the excursion by dropping off recycled juice boxes, cans and plastic bottles collected from around the school to the Envirobank Recycling Drop’n’Go Smart Pod at Casuarina Village. A new initiative they plan to continue in 2024. Students then visited Member for Casuarina, Hon Lauren Moss MLA, at her local office to present their NTLC End of Year Pitch.
The Ambassadors then headed to Kmart Casuarina to purchase gifts to donate to the Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal. The Ambassadors have been fundraising throughout 2023 for various causes, with money raised during Dripstone Day set aside for the Wishing Tree Appeal.
Congratulations to the Dripstone School Ambassadors for the meaningful work and impact they have made in 2023!
Dripstone Day
The annual Dripstone Day celebrations was held on Friday Week 6 and was a day full of fun and excitement for the Dripstone Community. Students and staff were first entertained at the Dripstone Day Talent Quest, which put students’ talents up on the main stage, before moving into The Mall to begin the Dripstone Day stalls. Students had the opportunity to purchase delicious food or handmade pieces from their peers. Money raised at the stalls on Dripstone Day was split between various causes, including the Kmart Wishing Tree and Foodbank.
Clontarf Presentation Night
On the 22 November, family, friends, academy partners and staff gathered to celebrate the achievements of the Clontarf Academy members of Dripstone Middle School.
Congratulations to all of the award recipients, graduating members and to the Clontarf Academy staff for hosting a great event!
Stars Presentation Night
Dripstone Middle School Stars Foundation held its Annual Awards Presentation Night. Many awards were presented in recognition of the Stars values of Respect, Honesty, Pride and Commitment. Well done to the Dripstone Stars Mentors for hosting the ceremony and for all their incredible work this year. Thank you to the families, friends and staff who attended the event!
VETDDS Presentation
Congratulations to Year 9 Dripstone students for completing their Certificate I in Engineering in 2023! Students received their certificates at a presentation at Nightcliff Middle School.
Congratulations especially to Alexandra and Nathan. Alexandra was awarded the Safety Ambassador of the Year, and Nathan the MYTC Student of the Year Award for 2023.
During their course, students were able to build a billycart, which they were able put to the test during a billycart race against the other students from various schools at the end of their presentation ceremony.
Defence News
Dripstone Middle School had the pleasure of welcoming Billeroy House members, Paddy D and Dan (Tank), to speak to Dripstone Defence Students, and other students who are interested in joining the Defence Force in the future.
Students had the opportunity to hear the inspiring stories of Paddy and Tank's time served in the Defence Force and their continued support for veterans. Paddy and Tank also brought in memorabilia, which students were able view and hold, as well as learn some history about the use of Australian flags within the Australian Defence Services.
Dripstone Middle School Presentation Night 2023
On Tuesday 12 December, Dripstone held its annual Presentation Night, which recognises the achievements of students throughout the year, as well as farewell the graduating Class of 2023. After the Presentation Night, Year 9 students who graduated were able to celebrate at the Year 9 Dinner Dance – it was certainly a night to remember!
Dripstone Mega Raffle
In 2023, the Dripstone Dukes and Greek classes have been fundraising for a Study Tour trip to Greece in 2024. The classes have hosted numerous bake sales, sausage sizzles and even a Trivia Night throughout the year to raise funds for the trip, and a couple of raffle ticket fundraisers. Last week, the Dripstone Mega Raffle was drawn in front of the entire school at the final whole school assembly of 2023.
Congratulations to the winners!
🥇 1st Prize - Kate B (ticket # 0230)
🥈 2nd Prize - Kurt Christensen (ticket # 0237)
🥉 3rd Prize - Nicole Millar (ticket # 0143)
🏅 4th Prize - Aaron Moore (ticket # 0135)
🏅 5th Prize - Anisha (ticket # 0217)
🏅 6th Prize - Ian Morrison (ticket # 0235)
🏅 7th Prize - Salas Abraham (ticket #0275)