Dear Parents and Carers
Community of Achievers
Term 4 has started with great excitement for our community. It's great to see all our students back at school and engaging in their learning and working towards completing their courses for the 2024 academic year.
This term, we have a number of exciting events happening, including Dripstone Day celebrations, NTLC Pitch to the Minister, Nurse Mary’s Health Tours, Power and Water That’s My Water Expo, Bell Shakespeare Performance, and our annual Presentation Evenings to name a few.
This year due to the large number of students and awards we will be holding two award nights. On Tuesday the 10th of December at 5.00pm in our gym will see our Year 9s Graduate and then move onto their Dinner Dance. While Wednesday the 11th of December at 5.00pm in our gym will be our Year 7 and Year 8 Award Night.
So far, we’ve seen incredible progress in both our academic programs and extracurricular activities. A special congratulations to our TOMS Teams who represented the Northern Territory at the TOMs Final in Sydney last weekend at brought back to our community The Spirit of Toms Award. Congratulations also to all our students who represented the NT in their sport of choice there are too many to name individually. All our students should feel extremely proud for their results in NAPLAN as we as a school saw amazing growth in all areas. From exciting classroom assessments and projects our students continue to demonstrate their passion, creativity, and commitment to excellence. I encourage you to stay engaged and celebrate these achievements alongside us as we work towards completing all courses.
As we move further into this academic year, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for the continued support and collaboration that make our school such a special place. Whether it’s the hard work of our dedicated teachers, the enthusiasm of our students, or the unwavering support of our families, together we are creating an environment where every individual child can thrive.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, or suggestions. Your input is invaluable as we work together to provide the best possible experience for our children and our students.
Thank you for being such an important part of our school community!
SCHOOL COUNCIL
The next and final School Council Meeting for 2024 will take place on Thursday 21st of November 2024, from 5.30pm in the School Library. All students, parents and carers are invited to attend.
At the last meeting, the School Council Members had the opportunity to visit our Market Garden to see its progress. Ms Leash and Ms Jakobson's classes have been hard at work on the foundations of the garden.
Thank you to School Council for investing in this project!
DRIPSTONE TEAMS HEADS TO SYDNEY
On Saturday 31st of August, the Tournament of the Minds Competition took place at Dripstone Middle School.
We are so proud of our four participating teams for all their hard work over the past six weeks and for completing this challenge.
During the competition, we celebrated victories in the Language and Literature and The Arts categories for Secondary students. Our two winning teams will advance to the TOMs Finals in Sydney this November! Additionally, our Year 7 STEM Team received the Highly Accomplished Award and the Spirit of TOMs Award.
Congratulations to all the students who participated in this competition and a huge thank you to Ms White, Mr Uddon and Ms Kuo for their ongoing dedication and support.
Tournament International Finals Sydney
Over the weekend, our teams gave it their all in the Tournament International Finals, and we are thrilled to announce that The Arts Team brought home the Spirit of TOMS Award!
This program is all about enhancing our youth's potential through problem-solving, teamwork, and creative thinking. We couldn’t be prouder of our students for their hard work and dedication. Way to go, #TeamDripstone!
Dripstone Middle School Community thank our sponsors for their kind donations which helped get our Language and Literature Secondary Team and The Arts Secondary Team to the Tournament of the Minds International Finals to Sydney. We appreciate their kindness and support!
#CommunityofAchievers
HOT100'S APPLE FOR THE TEACHER
Voting is now open for Hot100 Darwin's Apple for the Teacher Competition 2024!
Thanks to Hot100 Darwin for stopping by this week to deliver fresh mangos for students and staff!
This year, Dripstone has three teachers nominated in the competition:
👩🏫 Mr. Greg Cilento
👩🏫 Ms. Shanae Kuo
👨🏫 Mr. Peter Bader
Voting closes on Wednesday 13th of November at 8am, and you can vote once per day! Click here to cast your vote!
JAPAN TRIP
The 2024 Dripstone Middle School Japan trip kicked off on 11 September with 14 students and two teachers, Ms. Emma Fisher and Mr. Kevin ‘Darcy’ Fitzgerald, flying from Darwin to Tokyo. They spent the first four days in Tokyo, exploring iconic sites like Asakusa Shrine, Tokyo Tower, and the vibrant streets of Harajuku. The group then travelled to Aridagawa, where they stayed with host families, experienced Japanese culture, and attended our sister school, Kibi Junior High School. Their final adventures included visiting Nara, Kyoto, and Osaka, enjoying traditional temples and a tea ceremony. Overall, it was a transformative 16-day journey!
JAPANESE NEWS - Kibi Junior High School Visit
16 students and two educators from Japan joined the Dripstone Middle School community in August of this year. The students and accompanying adults came from Kibi Junior High School in Aridagawa, Wakayama Prefecture.
This visit represents an ongoing, decades long, sister school relationship between Dripstone Middle School and Kibi Junior High School (Kibi-chu). Each year, students from Kibi-chu visit Darwin and experience the daily life of an Australian middle school. The relationship is reciprocal, with Dripstone students visiting Kibi-chu every two years.
During the glorious late dry season weather of August, Kibi-chu students enjoyed a range of activities and experiences. They were treated to the full suite of electives available at Dripstone, with Japanese students participating in media, drama, Japanese, music, judo and art classes with their Australian peers.
The Dripstone community was glad to welcome their Japanese friends into our school and share with them all the wonderful experiences of being a Dripstone Middle School student, even if it was for only one week.
DUKES NEWS - AMBASSADORS CAMP
14 of our Duke of Edinburgh Ambassadors recently took on their Adventurous Journey at Territory Wildlife Park. From setting up tents and learning snake first aid to catching cane toads and braving a rainy night, our students embraced the challenge and learned valuable skills along the way. We are proud of their teamwork and resilience!
Thank you to Ms Kuo for her excellent organisation and Mr Webb for helping make this camp possible!
DUKES NEWS – LAKE ARGYLE CAMP
Students who are a part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Program travelled to Lake Argyle, WA to complete their Adventurous Journey Section for their Silver Award.
During this camp, students participated in activities such as canoeing, swimming, cliff jumping, cooking and bushwalking. Whilst in WA staff and students also had the opportunity to explore Kununarra and visit the Waringarri Aboriginal Art Centre.
Students came away with an appreciation for the beauty of the area, all while learning how to work effectively together as a group or individually, and develop their resilience, perseverance, endurance and survival skills.
Thank you to Ms. Rose for her excellent organization and Ms. Deb, Mr. Bader, Finn and Mackenzie for helping and making this camp possible!
A MESSAGE FROM YEAR 9.3 HUMANITIES CLASS
Since the beginning of Term 3, students from Year 9.3 Humanities class have been privileged with the help from Clontarf, Food Tech, Woodwork, Science, SWANS and Humanities classes to help start up an edible garden in Dripstone Middle School’s very own backyard.
This garden will provide us with fresh fruit and vegetables, benefiting us to become a healthier and happier school community. This project won’t only help us, but the environment as well.
To be able to achieve this goal, students will be hosting a range of different fundraisers:
• Help us grow our garden by adopting a plant!
• Want a prize? Participate in our raffle for the chance to win a Barbeque!
So, what are you waiting for? Grab some coins and help our fundraising efforts! We hope our little garden can encourage more of our school staff and students to think locally about food security for the future!
HUMANITIES NEWS
Ms. I Pikoulos's Year 9 students have been studying WW1 in their Humanities class. Students explored Australia’s involvement in The Great War and what life was like in the trenches.
Students baked ANZAC biscuits and learnt about the origins and the significance of the ANZAC biscuit. A symbol of unity and remembrance.
Nathan and Josh gave an inspirational speech to students about their commitment to excellence in Judo and not giving up when striving for your dreams.
Students walked away inspired by Nathan and Josh’s message to work hard and never give up on your dreams! Do whatever it takes
MUSIC NEWS - THE BEAT FESTIVAL
Congratulations to all our amazing present and past students who show cased their talents in the annual Beat Festival.
This year we had Indiana and Ann Mariya hosting the evening and other students including Vhanna, Rosie, Rajonya, Angeline, Jasmine, Mia, Summer, Charlotte, Kevin and Isabelle who performed in the choir or band. Thank you to Ms Barling for her fantastic work with our choir and band!
Well done to all students who participated and the NT Music School!
DEFENCE NEWS
We had the pleasure of welcoming Australian Defence Force members from the Army and Navy visit our community and give our students insight into careers in the medical field.
Students had the opportunity to hear from a range of speakers including one of our ex-students, Riley, and then participate in a range of interactive activities.
At lunch time our students challenged these officers to a game of volleyball.
We thank our serving members for taking the time to visit and inspire our students with their stories!
CROSS COUNTRY 2024
The annual Cross Country (XC) took place on Friday, September 6 2024, with a 1.5km course set around the school. A large number of students from all year levels participated, proudly representing their houses: Carpentaria, Alexandra and Phoenix.
Carpentaria aimed for their second consecutive XC victory after a strong win at the Athletics Carnival in Term 2. Results were recorded for the Top 10 and Top 20 finishers, which contributed to the overall participation tally.
In the final standings, Phoenix claimed 561 points, followed by Carpentaria with 497 points and Alexandra with 488 points.
Two records were broken on the day. Jack F (Year 8, Age 14), representing Alexandra, breaking the record at 5:06secs and Keely Landry (Staff), representing Carpentaria, who completed the event in 6:12secs.
R U OK? DAY
On the 14th of September we supported R U OK? Day with staff and students participating in a range of activities that raised awareness for mental health and wellbeing.
This was a day where we checked in on each other by asking R U OK? and then listened with compassion, kindness and care.
During lunchtime there were a range of activities run by our Student Ambassadors which included:
• In PL Classes students wrote positive words and messages on hearts to display in The Mall in the 'Garden of Kindness'.
• A free sausage sizzle
• Decorated cookies by the Dripstone Student Ambassadors
• Photobooth
• Nail painting
• Positive Messages Stall
Special thank you to Ms. I Pikoulos, Ms. Kuo, Mr. Rose, Mr. Horatio and our Front Office Staff for their help!
NURSE MARY’S HEALTH TOURS
In Term 3, Year 8 students had the opportunity to build on their health knowledge during Nurse Mary’s Health Tours.
Students heard from experts about mental wellbeing, drug and alcohol education, gaming addiction and even had the opportunity to travel to our local courts and participate in mock trials. This is a great program that is about prevention and education.
Thank you to our visiting experts and Nurse Mary for her amazing work!
RIGHTS OF A CHILD
Our Police Auxiliary, Michelle held a lunchtime activity for students that included games to help students better understand their rights as a young person.
This activity saw students engage in a active way as their laughter filled the mall.
Great job Michelle!
MALL CONCERT
Dripstone Music students celebrated the end of Term 3 by hosting a Lunchtime Mall Concert. Students had the opportunity to showcase their musical talents to their peers.
Well done students! Thank you to Ms Barling and Mr Webb for their inspiring work!
JERSEY DAY FOR CANCER
The Dripstone Middle School Community Ambassadors held a Wear Your Favourite Sports Teams Jersey Day.
The Ambassadors collected gold coin donations, and all proceeds were donated to cancer research. This event help to promote awareness about cancer research.
Well done, Ambassadors!
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
The Dripstone Middle School Community was fortunate to have the Little Café visit us. Year 7 student, Archer, impressed both staff and students with his amazing work ethic during the visit.
Staff and students were lucky enough to drink a wonderful range of hot and cold beverages as well as taste Archer’s famous choc chip biscuits.
Well done to Archer and the Palazzi Family!
Dripstone Yearbook 2024
This year, Dripstone Middle School is producing a yearbook. The yearbook will showcase our student’s activities and achievements throughout the year and will provide your family with a memento of your child/ren’s school year.
The 2024 Yearbook will cost $26.00 and orders can now be taken via the Bookroom. Full payment is required at time of order. The books are due to be delivered at the end of Term 4.
The pre-order cut off date is next Friday, the 15th of November 2024.
At time of enrolment, parents and carers would have nominated on the enrolment forms whether they give permission for their child/ren's photo and name be used in a yearbook. To check whether you have given permission for your child/ren to feature in the yearbook, or to change your preference, please call the Front Office on 08 8983 7777.
DRIPSTONE ALUMNI STORIES
Meet Oresti Rakkas - the first member of our Dripstone Alumni Series! Read about what he’s been up to since leaving Dripstone.
We want to hear about how you have been making your mark on the world since leaving our Dripstone Community!
Be a part of our Dripstone Alumni Series that will showcase the achievements of former Dripstone Middle/High School students and to inspire the current and future generations of Dripstone students!
If you have an exciting and inspiring story to share, please email nektaria.pikoulos@education.nt.gov.au for more information on how to be a part of the Dripstone Alumni Series.
Communications
Dripstone Middle School uses the Compass Manager App to communicate important information, messages and newsletters to parents and families. Parents and carers can also report student absences, view reports and attendance, and contact teachers directly via the Compass app.
To set up your account, parents/carers should have received a notification via the email address supplied to the school. This notification contains your username and password. Download the Compass app and log in using the details listed, then follow the prompts. If you have changed your email address or phone number, please contact the school to update these details.
If you have any issues logging in, please be in touch with the Front Office on 8983 7777.