Dear Parents and Carers
Community of Achievers
Term 2 has been an incredibly busy time for our school community so far. This newsletter is filled with events we have had this term, but we have so many more to come.
Our students have had many opportunities to participate is a range of wellbeing activities that continue to build the Dripstone Community Spirit. While other students have led a range of activities throughout our school.
A special congratulations needs to go to our 130 Ambassadors for their commitment to leading programs and events throughout our school community. Look out for the School Ambassadors Special Edition Newsletter to come in the next couple of weeks, which highlights the Ambassadors’ work within the school this year, and photos from the Ambassador Badging Ceremony.
PEER SUPPORT
A new initiative led by Irini Pikoulos, Assistant Principal has been the embedding of a Peer Support Program through Years 7 and Year 8. Irini led the training for our Year 8 and Year 9 Ambassadors, Mr Rose and Ms Kuo. At the end of the Training Day 1 our Ambassadors had planned a series of lessons that are being presented by them on a Monday morning during a Personal Learning lesson to Year 7 and 8 students that explore topics like bullying. This program will continue throughout the year and will be accompanied with our Learning Curve Program (Social and Emotional Program) that is found in your child’s diary. It is amazing to see such leadership amongst our Ambassadors.
SCHOOL CAPTAINS
Congratulations to our 2024 School Captains. The four students were selected for their outstanding contribution to our school community over the last 2 years and for maintaining an excellent school record in attendance, academics, and community events.
SCHOOL REVIEW
This past week the School Review Team visited our school to do our 2024 School Review. Thank you to all the staff, students and parents who contributed. The report will be out in 14 days and will guide our community through our next phase of our School Improvement Agenda over the next four years.
SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING
The next Dripstone School Council meeting is this Thursday, 6th of June 2024 at 5.30pm in the Library.
Come and hear about the following:
• Status update on Dripstone Middle School moving to a comprehensive model (Year 7-12)
• Viewing of the latest ‘Spotlight on the School’ video
• What exciting things the students are up to in the Ambassadors’ program
• Update from the Principal on general happenings around the school
• How money is being spent within the school
All students, parents and carers are welcome to attend.
WELLBEING PICNICS
The Wellbeing Team organised a series of Wellbeing BBQ Picnics for each year group. These picnics provided students with the opportunity to socialise, enjoy outdoor activities and bond with their peers and teachers.
A huge thank you to the Wellbeing Team for hosting these picnics, and to the staff and students who helped set-up and cook the sausage sizzle!
NO WOMEN LEFT BEHIND CONFERENCE
In April, Dripstone Middle School’s female teachers and students presented the only school-led STEAM stall at the No Women Left Behind Conference, showcasing famous women in STEAM and exciting projects in growing plants using coding, aerodynamics, and hydro-dipping! Students were also inspired by incredible speakers talking about being a woman in male-dominated industries, violence against women, and more.
Students also had the opportunity to see their teacher, Ms Shanae Kuo, MC a small portion of the presentation on the Play House Stage at Darwin Entertainment Centre.
ANZAC DAY
Earlier this term, the Dripstone Middle School Community came together to honour those who bravely fought and sacrificed their lives for the safety of others at the Dripstone ANZAC Day Service.
Thank you to the special guests, veterans from Billeroy Veterans & Families Community Centre, service men and women and families who were able to join us at the service.
We are incredibly proud of our students who led the service and the students who are Army and Airforce Cadets for taking part in a respectful and reflective ANZAC Day service. Well done to Ms Conroy also for organising and guiding the event.
Here is the video that played at the service.
ATHLETICS CARNIVAL
The 2024 Dripstone Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 14th of June (Week 9).
Students will need to nominate themselves for two or more events to attend the carnival. Students can sign-up for the Athletics Carnival online via the iPads that are at the Front Office or laptops in G11. Students have also been emailed a link they can use to sign up for the carnival.
Last year Phoenix won the Athletics Carnival. Can they go back-to-back, or can Alexandra or Carpentaria take the crown?
The Dripstone House Captains leading the teams this year are:
COLOUR FUN RUN
During our Week 5 Whole School Assembly, we announced to students that we will be hosting a School Colour Fun Run on the last day of Term 2 (Friday 21st of June)!
Our fundraising target is $20,000, which will go towards purchasing new tech equipment for the school.
For every $1,000 raised collectively as a school, students will be able to vote a teacher to be slimed at the event… but that’s not all! If we reach our target of $20,000, we will slime our Principal, Ms Pikoulos and the leadership team at the event!
We have currently raised just over $3,000, and students have been busy voting for who they want to see slimed at the event!
For students to participate in this event, they will need to sign-up online via www.schoolfunrun.com.au and return a signed permission form to the Front Office. You can download a copy of the permission form here.
CANBERRA TRIP – INFORMATION NIGHT
To the Parents/Carers of students who are attending the Canberra Trip this year.
You are invited to join us for a Parent Information Evening to discuss the Canberra Trip in July 2024. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and to gain more information.
Please confirm your attendance to this information session by emailing irini.pikoulos@education.nt.gov.au with ‘CANBERRA PARENT EVENING’ as the subject.
HUMANITIES NEWS
Students in Year 7 Humanities have been learning about what archaeologists do and how their work helps us discover how people lived in the past. Students did their own cookie excavation where they had to get the chocolate chips (artifacts) out of their cookies (dis site). Students found that the biggest challenges were to not break the cookie.. and not to eat it!
JAPANESE NEWS
The Year 8 and Year 9 Japanese students had the opportunity to speak with our sister school, Kibi Cho Junior High School in Aridagawa, Japan. Students conversed in a mixture of Japanese and English discovering that they have more in common with their peers across the ocean than they had once thought.
Despite the language barrier, it seems that the students are developing unique friendships. Both groups cannot wait to meet each other in Term 3 when Kibi Cho students will come to Darwin and Dripstone students will go to Japan.
Thank you to Hirano-Sensei at Kibi Cho Junior High School for organising the opportunity for our students.
GREEK NEWS
The Year 7 Greek class had their first attempt at cooking, making a Greek sweet called ‘Karithes’. These are baked coconut cookies, topped with a maraschino cherry, while the Year 9 Greek class worked on making spanikopitas (spinach pies).
Well done students on embracing the Greek cuisine!
ART NEWS
Dripstone Middle School submitted two artworks in the Nightcliff Community Bank 2024 Jetty ArtSpace Competition, held during the Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival in May.
The first piece was submitted into the Middle/Secondary School category, which was a collaboration project between all our Art classes. This piece was a tribute to the people of Ukraine. This piece received 3rd prize.
The second piece was submitted into the Under 16s category – a portrait of Kobe Bryant, by Year 9 student, Cristiano. This piece received 2nd prize.
Well done to everyone involved!
JUDO NEWS
The Year 7.1 and Year 8.1 Judo classes both had a 1-house Judo session with Australian Olympian, Ivo Dos Santos. Students had the opportunity to learn some new moves and were able to ask Ivo questions about his experience.
Ivo is from Melbourne and runs the Senshi Academy. He was on the Australian Judo Team during the 2012 London Olympics and holds 6 Oceana Championship titles.
Thank you to Top End Judo Academy for the opportunity!
SPORTS NEWS
Congratulations to our Yianni and Summer (both in Year 8 ) who represented Dripstone Middle School at the School Sports Golf Gala Day and took our first place in the middle school division!
Thank you to McDonalds Casuarina for being a sponsor for our School Sports Program!
STEAM NEWS
As part of the Year 8 STEAM Class, students are undertaking a Drone course, where students are learning to build a flight simulator game using Unity. This teaches students about Pitch, Roll and Yaw of a plane and code the elements to control it.
CLONTARF NEWS
The Year 7 Clontarf boys were lucky enough to have Haley from St Johns Ambulance come in over the course of three weeks to speak to the young members about the importance of First Aid. Haley also demonstrated how to apply first aid on burns, cuts, and bites and demonstrated how to correctly perform CPR.
During the last session, the boys had the opportunity to get in the ambulance, turn on the siren and dress up as a Paramedic.
This was a great experience for the boys and, to get some knowledge and understanding if they ever need to apply First Aid on someone.
DEFENCE NEWS
To celebrate Navy Week, Dripstone Middle School Defence and Stars students had the opportunity to visit and tour HMAS Coonawarra. Students had the chance to see what a day-in-the life is like for those serving in the Navy and partake in learning about the different fitness activities and rope techniques used in the Navy.
Students got to hear from serving members about their career, journey, and all the amazing places and experiences they’ve had while serving. Students saw different career opportunities that are available within the Navy.
DRIPSTONE AFL NEWS
In Term 2, Dripstone Middle School has been competing in the Darwin Middle School’s AFL Boys Competition. Our boys team have had a successful run for the season, placing 3rd on the ladder before the Semi-Final round.
Dripstone will play Haileybury in the Semi-Finals on Wednesday 5th of June at 3.30pm on the Dripstone Middle School Oval.
To see the scores and progress from the season, please click here.
Good luck, boys!
OPEN FORUM
Thank you to Nurse Mary for organising a Health and Wellbeing Open Forum for students.
Students from all year levels were able to hear from various service providers, that they have access to for free support, and ask questions about their programs and services.
Thank you to Road Safety NT, Drug and Alcohol Intensive Support for Youth (DAISY), Headspace Darwin, Anglicare NT (Reconnect), CatholicCare NT (YES Program for Youth), Amity Community Services and NT Health (counselling for gaming – 14 y/o+) for a very informative info session!
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Congratulations to the following students who have achieved in a range of areas in our community.
The finalists for the Northern Territory Young Achiever Awards have been announced and we are proud to have Dripstone community representation in this years awards!
Congratulations to Dripstone student Summer (Year 8), who was a finalist for the ZipPrint Sports Award, and to Ms Shanae Kuo (Science Teacher), a finalist for the Minister for Youth Excellence in Youth Leadership category! Summer also won the Hot100’s People Choice Award at the NT Young Achiever Awards, and won an Apple Watch!
Mobile Phone Policy – Off and Away All Day
As you may already be aware student mobile phones are not permitted to be used in Northern Territory Government schools and are to be off and away all day. This policy applies to mobile phones, smart watches and all other devices that allow electronically based distractions.
At Dripstone Middle School students are not permitted to have mobile phones in their possession during the school day. Smart watches must be placed on flight mode so phone calls and messages cannot be sent or received during the school day.
Mobile phones owned by students at Dripstone Middle School are considered valuable items and are brought to school at the student’s or parent’s risk. Please note that Dripstone Middle School does not have accident insurance for accidental property damage or theft of personal items. Students and their parents are encouraged to obtain appropriate insurance for their personal items.
The only exemption that is available under this policy is if a student has a health condition and their phone is used to monitor it and the student has a medically approved documented Health Care Plan.
Please see our policy.
UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS
HOMEWORK CENTRE
The Homework Centre is available for Year 8 and 9 students to use on Wednesdays after school from 3.00pm to 4.00pm.
Students who are wanting to use the Homework Centre will need to pick up a consent form from the SWAN’s Room and have it signed by a Parent/Carer.
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. Order cut-off date will be Friday 20th of September 2024 (end of Term 3).
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.
Early Departures
Just a reminder that permission for early departure will not be obtained unless the school has authorisation from a parent/caregiver. Parents/caregivers should notify the school, either through a note, Compass notification, email or telephone call to the school on 8983 7777. When students leave the school, they need to sign out at the Front Office before leaving the grounds.
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.
ATTENDING SCHOOL EVERY DAY
We have been working with the Attendance Team to ensure that all students are attending school every day, five days a week.
If your child is sick, they are to stay home. Please contact the school if your child will be LATE or ABSENT from school by calling the Home Liasion Officer, Mr Laqui Papalii on 8983 7758 or 0437 202 001; Ms Karen Newman the Aboriginal Education Officer on 8983 7759, Compass, email or text message. Please feel free to leave messages on our answer machine.
Please contact the school with the reason for their absence. If your child / student is sick for 3 days or more consecutively, the Department requires a medical certificate to cover the period of absence.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
Entries are now open for the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards. This award seeks to capture the imaginations of school students across Australia, inspiring them to express their thoughts and feelings through the medium of poetry in their pursuit of literacy excellence.
“Listen, I have an Idea” has been selected as the 2024 theme.
This theme is optional. Students are encouraged to write about topic and experiences that spark their poetic genius.
To learn more about the Awards and how to enter, please visit www.dorothea.com.au