November

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Ponderings

Welcome to the end of Term Four and 2016.

Staffing:

It is with excitement that I share with you the names of our new staff for 2017.

In the position of Acting Deputy will be Sarah Norquay. Sarah is currently at Charters Towers SDE as a Senior Secondary Teacher. Her teaching areas are Business and Information Technology Systems. Sarah has taught in a P-10 school (Yarraman) and has also held positions as Head of Faculty and VET coordinator in a private school. I look forward to welcoming Sarah to our school.

Also joining us is Rickie Izstein. Rickie will be teaching in the Primary area, is a local to Charleville and has been at St Mary’s for a few years. It will be lovely to have her on board as well.

I would like to farewell Kate as she goes on to greener pastures and thank her for the love of the school that has been evident in all of her work with the students, staff and parents. You will be sorely missed and welcome back at any time.

And farewell to Judy Connolly who has given over and above her required duties in her 19 and a half years with us. Judy has been busy in many roles: teacher aide, cleaner, tour guide, gardener, confidante, social coordinator and I am sure there are more. She has given her attention to the finer details in every area. We wish Judy a wonderful journey in the next chapter of her life and want her to know that she is most welcome back when she has the time to visit and play.

Staff School Opinion Survey responses for 2016

As promised Staff responses are in this Newsletter.

I am excited that:

100% of staff feel that:

• They enjoy working in this school
• This is a safe place in which to work
• Students are encouraged to do their best at this school
• Students are treated fairly at this school
• Student behaviour is managed well at this school
• The school is well maintained
• They have the necessary skills to do their job at this school
• They are well prepared for the different aspects of their job
• They have the required skills to use the necessary ICTs to do their job
• They are aware of the occupational health and safety procedures
• Information and communication equipment is well maintained
• Staff are approachable
• The school is well organised
• They are well informed about things that are important for their work
• They are encouraged to participate in professional development
• They are encouraged to take responsibility for their work
• The school has a strong sense of community
• They would recommend this school to others
• This is a good school
• They feel that working at this school is rewarding

Over 95% of staff feel that:

• The school takes staff opinions seriously
• The school looks for ways to improve
• The school gives them opportunities to do interesting things
• Social, cultural and racial diversity are respected
• They can access necessary information and communication technologies to do their job
• Students with a disability are well supported
• Staff at this school are interested in their wellbeing
• The school provides useful information online
• The school celebrates staff achievements

And over 90% of staff feel that:

• Staff are well supported at this school
• Staff morale is positive at this school
• The developing performance process helps them to improve their work
• Staff have a good team spirit
• There is good communication between staff at this school
• The school asks for their input and encourages them to provide constructive feedback
• They are encouraged to take leadership roles and encourages coaching and mentoring activities
• The school makes reasonable demands in their job

In the 85% range are:

• Staff feel they have a good work/life balance and they receive useful feedback about their work in the school.

There is work do be done.

Thank you again for everyone who completed this feedback. Your input has informed our planning for 2017 and will be evident in the Annual Implementation Plan.

The year that was:

Each one of you has a story, or many, to tell about your year...the year that was, the year that has flown…how time flies when you are having fun!

Well I am going to tell you a story about our school.

Once upon a time, long, long ago, well, actually, in January 2016 our teachers, Mrs Lofthouse, Miss Farrer, all the staff, and I got together and took step one: We planned for success for a great year.

Now, as we planned we had to put lots of people into our story and lots of action.

We had to have a sizzling start…

So we chose:

Kick Start Conference…to Kick start our year. Hockey, lantern making, swimming, gymnastics, Home Tutor sessions were all packed into a busy successful week.

That went well and next our story had to have Tightening tension… oh no! We had tightening tension all year…

Minischools…what to do? Where to sleep? Have we packed everything? Most importantly what to eat?

Multischool… for our secondary students with Longreach and Mt Isa – will we get the bus? Who will be new? Will I know anyone?

Lessons on air… will web conferencing change this term? Will the internet hold up? Did my dog eat my homework or did it fly off the mail truck? Or into the cloud?

Cluster Musters… They were action packed, we caught up with friends, and learnt some new skills!

And our story goes on…

Sports Muster… Students were leaping, gambolling, laughing, playing and photo were taken

Followed by:

A big party… Who doesn’t like a party? This is where we Celebrated 50 years of distance education…we heard yarns from the past, jumped on jumping castles, saw old things and felt excited … this was a very happy interlude in our story.

When the dust had settled on the last cars meandering home…the excitement built again…

Canberra and Snow Trip… Such tension…will there be a toilet open in Bourke in the middle of the night? Will there be enough snow when we get there? Will the animals be awake for our early morning visit to the Dubbo Zoo? Will the students sleep on the bus?

More Minischools… Wonderful activities and Home Tutors providing delicious meals.

Another Multischool… Secondary students cut up the gizzards of goats!

Swim Muster and Graduation… For the children who swam for their house this was a fun afternoon followed by an evening of celebration for our year 6 students going in to High School and our year 10 students going on to study and training.

Each and everyone one of you fitted all of this or many parts of it, in to your story with all of the other things that you have to do…like school work, riding motorbikes, school work, mustering cattle, feeding dogs and cats and chooks and goats and alpacas, and camels…don’t ask me about camels!!!! Unless you have lots of time for a long story that ended badly for me. (Not the camel).

We have had a drought in our story…this makes an enormous difference to what goes on in our school and our story…and then we have had rain. Beautiful, wet rain, bringing the wonderment of renewal…

We had Dynamic Dialogue: we walked, talked and stalked each other throughout our story! “I thought I was going to die from cold” in the pool at Roma.

We got angry with each other, we said things we wish we hadn’t…we forgot to remember the kindness in each other and in ourselves….we had fun…we had busy times and slow times…the ups and downs of life…like a rollercoaster.

Show, don’t tell: Did we show each other how resilient we are? How we are always learning? Did the actions and activities of the year show you what a great school you are part of? Did they show you how much you have grown and how far you have come? My view of our story is yes we showed!

Did we Ban the boring bits? Well maybe not all of the time. We still had to sit in the class room, plan our lessons, I still had to pay the bills, some of you had to mend the fences, feed the stock while you looked at the clear blue sky and wished there were big dark rolling clouds coming in…and there was always the washing, the cooking and cleaning… boring unless…you made it fun, made it mysterious while you did those boring bits!

And as with every story we need an Exciting ending:

I wrote this story with this ending in mind:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

Oops sorry got a bit carried away with Charles Dickens there…

Now our story ends with a celebration of achievement and effort demonstrated at the Awards Ceremony and carries on in the report cards that will arrive in your mail. For each and every one of you, your story this year, our story this year deserves an

A +

We have much to be proud of and much to look forward to. Thank you for being part of this story.

Wishing you all a wonderful and happy break.

Yours in education
Jenny

Magical marvellous welding magic:

A special thank you to the families who have welded our sculptures in our school grounds.

These have come in over the last two years and add to the uniqueness of our school.

Your creativity and skills in welding are much admired by all visitors and residents of the school.

We were surprised with the McAuliffe family Horse that appeared after Speech and Awards. It was a lovely surprise and fitted in well. (Although Mrs Lofthouse might be responsible for it doing a bolt! We will have to keep our eye on her!)

From the Deputy’s Desk

Thanks for the memories

When I first came out west to be a govie (somewhere back around 1993) I was told by the family I briefly worked for at the time I wouldn’t last…

Challenge … Accepted

I have been extremely fortunate in my time in SW QLD

• I got to spend time on a property south of Morven with a wonderful family and made some great friends in the local community (oh and met Tony)
• I spent a bit of time in St George teaching what could possibly be described as a challenging year 5 class
• I came back to Charleville SDE and spent many years as a class teacher and a year travelling around the south western corner meeting many great kids and their excited, worried and passionate parents. I also had a wonderful travel buddy
• I spent some years at the local primary school where my role varied from class room teacher to curriculum coordinator and behaviour management specialist to DP
• Then it was time to come home to SDE – initially as a class teacher and then as the Half Principal some of you know me as now!

I was also warned that if I swam in the Paroo, I’d never leave??

Challenge … Accepted

This year has been an interesting one

Trying to live in two different places 1000 km apart has been interesting and definitely challenging

But now the time has come to go

I just want to say thanks to everyone for all the memories and helping to make my time, for the girl that wouldn’t last in the bush, a great one.

Sure there have been challenges, and there have been plenty of times when we may not all have seen eye to eye. One thing I am absolutely sure of though, is that each and every one of us has always had the very best interests of our future (these kids) at heart.

So please continue to challenge one another and to aim high. It is only when we set great expectations that we will meet them.

Soon I will be off to meet new people and follow my dream in Cowra

Challenge …. Accepted

It’s going to be

Legend … (wait for it) … ary

All the best to all for 2017 and beyond.
Cheers Kate Lofthouse (Half Principal 2010 – 2016)

PLO Prattle

Another year is done and dusted, where has 2016 gone, I’m not sure if it’s as we get older it appears to go faster.

Congratulations to all the students who have put in a great effort this year. It doesn’t matter if you got an award at Speech & Awards or not, as long as you had a go, you are still a winner.

Kick Start Conference brochures were placed in mailbags the week of Speech & Awards, if you haven’t received a brochure can you let me know so that we can get one sent out.

The last article for the year from Michael Grose: Picking your battles with your children.

Be careful with what you fight with kids about

Have you ever painted yourself into a corner because you chose the wrong battle with a child?

Recently I saw an older dad (Mr. 50+) who argued with an over-tired four-year-old over food.

“Come on Justin, just two bites. Two bites and you can go. Come on, two bites.”

“NOOOOHHHH!”

“Come on. You’re being silly. Two bites. Come on, two bites.”

The more the dad insisted; the more the little boy dug in.

Like a dog with a bone the dad wouldn’t let go. But the little boy was part Rottweiler he wasn’t letting go either.

Here’s the rub.

This argument had nothing to do with food. It was about winning, or more accurately, “I want to make you!”.

This dad was on a loser as he could lead a horse to water but he couldn’t make him drink it. The harder he fought, the harder the boy fought back. There are two lessons from this little story.

1. We need to choose our battles wisely

We choose our battles as parents. Food, bedroom tidiness and choice of clothes (although this one is a hard one indeed!) are common battlegrounds between parents and kids at different ages. Each is an area that children have some control over and each is an area that can be seen as a barometer of effective parenting.

I’m not suggesting that parents let kids do as they wish. I think we need to be careful about the battles that we choose as we risk harming relationships, and causing unwanted stress over relatively minor matters.

In the case of Mr. 50+ dad, there was no way his son was going to starve so there was no point engaging in a 15 minute Mexican stand-off over two measly bites of his meal. It was a silly fight for a parent to have as in effect the parent turned into the child and the child turned into the parent.

2. Avoid the first impulse

We so easily get sucked into the vortex of conflict that’s created by a child’s unwillingness to cooperate. It’s to say- ‘Don’t fight’ – but when a child thrusts his chin at us in defiance and we react on impulse (yep, we get tired but when we’re tired we always revert to our base level of skill) we get dragged into a fight/battle/argument we can’t win. And before you know it you blurt something out along the lines of “and you’re getting nothing for Christmas this year!!!!!” Before you know it you’ve backed yourself into a real corner.

There’s got to be a better way. And there is. Here are three ideas that will help.

1. Build two lists

Create two lists. One consisting of the issues worth fighting with kids over (e.g you need to be home when you say you will) and the second of things that aren’t worth fighting over (e.g spotless bedrooms). I’ve found that many parents transfer items on the ‘worth fighting over’ list to the ‘not worth fighting over’ as they get more experience.

2. Step back and breathe

One way to stop being dragged into fights we can’t win is to step away from the source of conflict (in Mr. 50+’s case a few deep breaths and a walk into another room may have helped him gain some perspective) and take a breath or three to clear the air (and your head) may help you keep things in perspective.

3. Focus on what you’ll do

Telling kids what they should do tends to use fighting words.

‘Do this!’ is a coercive statement that invites a ‘No!’

Rather than tell kids what to do, focus your language on yourself. Rather than “Come and eat” which can invite an “I’m not hungry/ready/I’m playing a game” response try something along the lines of “I’ve just served up”. Now comes the interesting bit. Keep reminding your kids and you’ll train them to ignore you.

Take the meal away after ten minutes as they are still playing a game and then you are letting your kids know that you’re not getting involved in games of their making.

Parenting is always easy when there are no kids around. I’m sure if Mr. 50+ read this he’d nod his head in agreement with the good sense it makes.

On the other hand, he was pretty determined not to let his four-year-old eat those two extra bites.

Yep, we need to be careful what we fight with kids over if we want to maintain good relationships; give them some say over their lives and get some joy out of family life.

Hope you all have a lovely and restful Christmas break.

Cheers
Helen Cook
Parent Liaison Officer

Digital Discoveries

NEWS FLASH: Switch to Blackboard Collaborate now

The new Blackboard Collaborate is now being used and as a school we have switched to the new system as of 16th November.

For full instructions on how to access the new Web Conferencing using the Blackboard Collaborate Launcher please view the appropriate documentation below:

iPad App of the Month: Explain Everything

Use this app to create videos and projects using the interactive screen casting whiteboard. Have students explain and animate their thinking through:

Creating slides, using a laser pointer, draw with a range of tools, add text and maths equations and include videos, images and audio files.

You can easily drag, rotate, scale and copy objects and then record a narration via audio or video.

Export the files as mp4 ready to send to the teacher or fellow students to watch.

For more information and a link to download from go to:

Student Work Celebrations: Year 8 Strong Passwords

The Year 8 ICT students have been learning about the importance of creating strong passwords and have developed the posters below to help others with keeping their data safe.

Check out the latest blog posts:

Prep – Year 3 Student Link:

Years 4 – 9 Student Link:

Year 10 Student Link:

From the Technician’s Table: End of Year Clean Up

When you buy a car, you know you’re going to have to maintain it. The oil needs to be changed, the air filter replaced, the tyres changed – all on a regular schedule – so you can trust your vehicle will be available when you need it to get you safely where you want to go. Keeping your computer working well is much the same; it involves ongoing maintenance, not a ‘one shot’ fix. Spending a little time maintaining your computer will ensure that your computer is working for you when you want to use it.

The following tips will provide you with general information to help you maintain your computer. If you require more specific help you can use the Help feature in Windows, which contains answers to many questions.

Purchase an UPS

This is an Uninterruptable Power Supply and will keep your computer from shutting down during power outages and will protect your computer from low and high voltage occurrences. A UPS is far superior to a surge protector and will save your computer from almost any power type disaster.

Backup

Backup any data you cannot afford to lose to at least two separate physical drives. You can use CD-RW, USB Memory Sticks or External Hard Drives. The time to backup is when you create something you can’t afford to lose.

Defragmentation (Defrag)

The Operating system stores new data in whatever space is free on your hard drive and so data files become spread out across the disk as they are updated. This causes extra work to read them each time you use them. The defragmentation process sorts through the data and stores them in a more efficient manner – making your computer work smarter and faster.

Steps

1. Open My Computer.
2. Right-click the local disk volume that you want to defragment, and then click Properties.
3. On the Tools tab, click Defragment Now.
4. Click Defragment.

Note: If this is the first time you have ‘defragged’ your computer it may take a number of hours.

Disk CleanUp

This utility will remove files on your hard disk that you no longer use, thus making more room and making your computer run more efficiently.

Follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2. Right-click the disk in which you want to free up space, and then click Properties.
3. Click the General tab, and then click Disk Cleanup.
4. Click the Disk Cleanup tab (if it is not already selected), click to select the check boxes next to the files that you want to remove, and then click OK.
5. Click Yes to proceed with this action, and then click OK.

Cleaning

Dust is the enemy of computers and yet they tend to attract dust more than any other object in your home. Invest in a dust cover to help reduce static and protect your computer screen. Canned air is also handy for cleaning keyboards and other hard to reach places. Canned air releases a concentrated blast of air through a thin straw.

Teaching and Learning Library

I blinked and it was gone! How on earth are we at the end of yet another year!? I feel like it was only a few weeks ago that I was preparing the Student Free Day sessions for staff and the Kick Start sessions for parents.

But alas, the year has gone by. It certainly hasn’t been without its challenges but most importantly it certainly hasn’t been without it successes.

Let’s celebrate:

• $10,000 worth of readers purchased
• Teachers further developing their toolbox of skills by attending numerous professional development opportunities
• Students who are becoming more comfortable with taking a risk and challenging themselves
• Networking with other SDEs for support, sharing of ideas and practices
• Happy and smiling faces at all field events and even in the school room!
• C2C materials which have shown an improvement over the years
• Oh… and the list could go on.

I feel that I am very lucky to work with such a fantastic group of teachers who are passionate and focussed everyday on helping our students to grow and develop. I’m also thankful that I get to work with such a great group of parents who go above and beyond everyday to ensure their child gets a good education.

I’m going to keep my article short and sweet this time round because I feel I have taken up enough of your time this year, but I would like to encourage you (as I always do) to continue to learn over the Christmas break…

Step 1: lock the schoolroom door.
Step 2: Find some learning in whatever you are doing… in fact – build that love of learning! Bring out the boardgames, count the sheep that are going off for a haircut, carry a camera in hand and observe the growing grass that maybe hasn’t appeared for a little while. Or, simply have a conversation over a cold drink.
Step 3: Read together, laugh together, make memories together!

I’ll be heading off on a big jetplane to the icy wonderland that is Canada. So, I’ll be learning as much as I can too. Of particular interest will be how I manage the dogs who will be towing my sled through the Rockies! Here’s hoping I come back without any broken bones from skiing for the first time or frost bite from the incredible snow fall they are expecting this season.

Thank you once again for another incredible year. I wish you all the best for your holidays and hope it is everything and more than what you hope for. Whatever you do… I hope that you have fun!

Thanks
Zoe Farrer
Head of Department – Teaching and Learning

Western Alliance

7A students (and Mrs O) celebrated the year with a dress up day on-air. Everyone was challenged to dress as a maths concept covered this year. Above is photos of the three finalists: Izabella as a Stem-and-Leaf Plot, Mrs O as Agent Probability and Jayden as a Geometrist (yes, we did make that word up – it is someone who only does geometry).

P & C News

Congratulations on another very successful year. A huge thanks to all the parents and friends that work as part of the P and C and help with functions, fundraising and representing our school on different committees. It is a big team and a great team to be a part of and together we enjoy making a difference to our children’s education. We wish you a well-earned rest over the Christmas holidays and hope you recharge the batteries for the New Year.

Swim Muster/Speech and Awards/Year 6 & 10 Graduation

Thank you to all the staff organising, setting up, assisting at and cleaning up after these events. The students love competing in Swim Muster and catching up with their friends and teachers. Go Kanyanna. Glad to see you won the shield.

Graduation is always a happy and sad time. It is exciting to see the children reach that final year of Primary or High Schooling through our school and know that they will be embarking on their next adventure, but it is always sad to see them and their families go. We wish them all the best in their next endeavour and hope they have thoroughly enjoyed their time at CSDE.

Speech and Awards is a terrific time to celebrate the students’ successes. Congratulations to all those students who won an award and to all those who didn’t, but have put their best effort in all year. Congratulations too to all the home tutors out there on another successful year of teaching. Thank you to the VPs for stepping up and doing the various jobs at Speech and Awards. You all did a fantastic job.

Kickstart Conference

For those that haven't been before Kickstart is a great opportunity for students to meet their classmates and teachers and be involved in the many sports and cultural activities on offer. For home tutors (both Mums and governesses) the 4 days are full of tips to make a difference in the classroom and a perfect way to meet teachers and other home tutors.

P&C committee- many hands make light work!

All positions are open at our AGM in March and we will be discussing the positions at our face to face meeting at Kickstart in February. Our P&C is so lucky to have been set up really well in the past by a fabulous team. Please don't see this as large shoes to fill but rather a really organised process that is easy to follow on. Each position is offered with a mentor buddy to ease you into the role. Supporting the P&C with your time makes a difference to the education for all of our students. Come & join a great group & ladies & have some fun!

Management Meeting

Three Management Committee parent representatives are stepping down after completing their two year stints. Christie from Cunnamulla/ St George, Ann Worsnop from Quilpie/ Eromanga/ Thargomindah and Di Brand Charleville. We thank them for their time and energy in representing the parents from those areas on our school Management Committee.

St George/ Cunnamulla – Christie Goddard deelamonschool@gmail.com
Roma – Anne-Marie Flynn gfcolamba@gmail.com
Charleville – Di Brand dibrand@antmail.com.au
Quilpie – Ann Worsnop beechal@skymesh.com.au

Battery Drive

The battery drive is continuous, so please ask your family and friends if they have any old batteries and contact Sally and Damian Campbell on abc_campbell@harboursat.com.au . A huge thanks to Sally and Damian for their tireless work with this successful money spinner.

Heart Sister

We hope you have all remembered to bless you heart sister during the year and don’t forget Christmas is coming up fast. At next year’s Kickstart your secret heart sister will be revealed. I know I am excited to find out who has been my heart sister for the year. We will be running the program again in 2017, so for those who missed out this year, you can sign up for next year. Forms will be sent out in the blue mailbags before Kickstart, so that if you can’t make Kickstart, you can still join in the fun.

Fundraising

The Crazy Camels Diary and Calendar forms and art work have been sent off. A big thanks to Kimberley Rains for organising this. I know I can’t wait to see what my calendars and diaries for next year look like. They should be back in the school for the last mail out this year.

NEXT meeting is our Face to Face Meeting at Kickstart
February 1st @ 3.45pm
GOT AN IDEA? BRING IT TO THE MEETING AND LET’S MAKE IT HAPPEN!
Afternoon tea provided.
Children will be supervised in the classroom with a movie.

AWARDS DAY WRAP UP

Thanks to Leonie Herwig and her team for another fantastic Speech and Awards Day in 2016.

A huge congratulations to the School Captains 2016, you each did a fantastic job MC’ing the day and delivered wonderful and inspiring speeches. The school wishes you all the very best in your future!

We also welcome our school and house captains for 2017 and wish them all the best for next year.

in order left to right: Junior School Captains – Ebony McDonald & Beau Campbell; Senior School Captains – Bill Brand & Alice Sewell; Narungi House Captains – Rowan Harrison & Henry McAuliffe; Kanyanna House Captains – Logan Flynn & Claire Freshwater

Congratulations to all students who have been awarded for their achievements and efforts

Year 2/3 C Wrap Up

This semester Year 2/3C has been extremely busy creating digital masterpieces.

After reading George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl the Year 2’s were inspired to create their own disgusting delights to feed to mean, nasty grannies everywhere.

You can gain further inspiration to get revenge on your wicked grannie by going to our YouTube channel and watching ‘Phoebe’s Earwig Pizza’, ‘Arlie’s Snail and Slug Sandwiches’ and ‘Sinead’s Moan and Groan Tea’ cooking shows.

Year 3 has been using the 7 Steps to Writing to help them write imaginative, animated stories about overcoming their fears. These highly entertaining stories have been turned into movies, for your viewing please, although you might need a grown up to hold your hand because they are seriously scary!!

If you need a break from those fear inducing stories than Year 3 has got just the balm to sooth those frazzled nerves. Using the poem ‘Desert Community’ by Frances Todd the Year 3’s have written their own adaptations. They have changed the mood and setting of the original poem but kept the syllable and rhyming patterns the same.

To finish off an extremely busy Semester the Year 2/3s had a long hard think about what problem they would like to fix when they are grownups. A great little twist on the old theme of ‘When I grow up I want to be’. I think you will certainly agree that not all heroes grow up to wear capes.

Year 2/3C has had a fantastic year of learning and growing together.

Until we catch up again next year.
Miss Herwig

Mini School Creations

Congratulations to all our developing Artists from Term 4 Minischools

For all those who may have missed the framed picture in the school foyer at Speech and Awards- Here is a piece of art work compiled from some of your beautifully painted Eucalyptus leaves that you did on your recent Minischool. Watch this place in 2017 for more.

When you are next in the library keep an eye open for your woven fabulous fish floating.

Farewell

IT’S TIME! The time has finally come to say farewell to my SDE family. It has been over nineteen years since I started at SDE and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in such a fantastic work place but, I am just amazed at how quickly those years have flown by. I feel I have contributed to the smooth running of the school during those years and been involved in a number of different areas during this time. I have met some wonderful families in the process and worked with some great students. How entertaining and interesting some of them were!

I arrived in Cunnamulla in 1966 as a governess to two little Keane boys in the Hungerford area. This was the same year SDE began and I really felt that connection when we celebrated our 50th Birthday. Those boys went through School of the Air and their children have been through SDE here with us and while they have all moved on, I have been enjoying life here on the other side of the fence since 1997.

I have seen the school grow from one building, A Block, and a little covered area, plus mail room and shared Library. So many changes, so many fabulous teachers and of course the awesome aides! What would we all do without them?! They absolutely keep the school functioning and I truly appreciate their support and friendship over the years and some have even become lifelong friends.

Thank you SDE for all the good times, the fabulous friendships and the wonderful workplace. Great memories!

Happy Holidays every one and my very best wishes for the future.

Judy Connolly

Australian Swimming Team Visit CSDE

Students and staff enjoyed a visit from the Australian Swimming team on 9th November. The team members answered lots of questions from students on air and shared some of their memories and goals.