18 February 2025

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Welcome to 2025! What a wonderful start to the year as students new and old settle into their classes. Sarah Corry has taken some well earnt Long Service Leave, and I have been fortunate to return to Henbury to replace her for a term. It has been great being back and seeing some old faces and meeting many new staff, parents and students. Term 1 is already a busy one and with an increase in students we welcome many new staff, parents and carers to the Henbury family.

 Your leadership team:

WELCOME

We would like to welcome the following new staff to Henbury:

Shannon Gorman- Teacher                       Sally Seden- Teacher
Kelly Newton- Teacher                               Sandra Evans- Teacher
Tony O’Reilly- Teacher                               Ian Bateman-VET Inclusion and Engagement Officer
Tiani Kempster- SESO                                 Paul Campbell- Aboriginal Education Officer and SESO
Chloe Williams- SESO

David Panjer
Acting Principal

NUTRITION

As part of our school activities, we offer parents/carers a nutrition program in which students are provided with recess and lunch throughout the school year.  The cost of this program is $30.00 per week.  This price factors in recent inflation and public holidays but does not allow for adhoc absenteeism.  If your child is going to be away for more than 2 days in the same week and we get a minimum of one weeks’ notice, we can make a manual adjustment to your costs and will arrange for a credit note or refund to be processed. Non-payment will result in suspension of the program.

EXCURSIONS

Excursion notes will be coming home for shopping, community access, work experience, VET and swimming. Student excursions are an integral part of students’ learning and development in a variety of areas.

SCHOOL COUNCIL AGM

If you would like to have a say in how our school operates, our School Council AGM will be held on Wednesday 12^th March. We encourage any new or existing parents to join. We would also like to encourage a first nation voice for our school council as we have 55% indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled. You don’t need any experience to join, just a passion to provide the best for your child. We meet two or three times a term on Wednesday from 4:30 to 5:30 (times/days can be altered to suit the cohort of parents on the committee).

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

All staff attended the Day 1 ‘Start up Session’ led by David Panjer where the focus was on the ‘Henbury Way,’ our pedagogical framework, and how Structured Teaching is embedded into every Henbury classroom. Staff looked at the 2025 ASIP focus, Data informed practice including ways data is used to inform teaching and learning for our students. Flynn presented ‘The Learning Pit’ which is a place where learners face challenges, embrace struggles, and climb out with new understanding and success. Raylee Parker and Amanada Philp presented the importance of active supervision, and the learning opportunities that break times present.

THE HENBURY WAY

Throughout 2024 Henbury staff worked hard to create The Henbury Way, our pedagogical framework that guides our teaching practice. Below is an explanation on The Henbury Way.

SPECIAL NEEDS TRANSPORT

Your CDC special needs transport contact at Henbury School is Lauren Hofmeyer: lauren.hofmeyer@education.nt.gov.au, 8997 7077.

SOCIAL RECREATION @ HENBURY

Any enquiries for Social Recreation @ Henbury (SR@H) – out of school hours or holiday program care, please direct to Noor Arbon henbury.sra@education.nt.gov.au

HENBURY PRECINT CAFÉ AND OP SHOP

Lastly, the Henbury Precinct café is opening 27 February. Open hours are 8.30am - 1.30pm, Thursday to Saturday. Please come by and support our fabulous students with their learning, and grab a delicious coffee, cold drink and snack/meal. The Op Shop is already open for donations and sales. Check out our Facebook page for more details!

STUDENT ABSENCES

If your child is away from school, it is important that you notify the school as soon as possible.

You can do this by calling the front office on 89977077 or emailing henbury.admin@education.nt.gov.au. Absence notifications can also be sent via SchoolZine which is our newsletter app. Just a reminder to please keep unwell children at home.

SAFE & FOUND PROGRAM

The Safe & Found Program NT Police was launched in partnership with MedicAlert Australia on Tuesday 3 December 2024.  The program is an initiative of Western Australia Police and has been in use for around 3 years to great success, with 95% of Safe & Found members located within 2 hours of being reported missing.  NT Police are very excited to have launched the program in the Territory and believe it will be of great benefit to the community.  Queensland Police will be launching the program Thursday next week, with the hope of a national roll out complete by the end of the year.

Planning ahead is the key to saving lives.

Safe & Found member information is collected and stored securely online by MedicAlert, ensuring NT Police will have immediate access to critical ‘Lost Behaviour’ information when undertaking emergency search operations. The service leverages global data on 'Lost Person Behaviour' to optimize search strategies, positively reducing search time and increasing the likelihood of a safe return. A Safe & Found ID bracelet is also included with membership for protection when out in public. This bracelet is engraved with all the details needed for a safe return should the wearer appear lost or disoriented. 

SchoolZine PHONE APP

Henbury School currently uses SchoolZine to publish newsletters throughout the year. The school newsletter is an important communication tool to inform our school community of student learning, important notices and upcoming events.

To increase accessibility to this service we would like to introduce the SchoolZine app.

This is a free app that can be easily downloaded onto any iPhone or android device which allows school newsletters to be viewed conveniently on any smartphone or tablet device.

To download this app please see information attached. Please ask at the front office for assistance if required.

SPORTS VOUCHER

Please find below the ‘Apply Now’ tile for the Sport Voucher Scheme. Feel free to use it in your school’s communications.

Key Details:

• Semester 2 (2024) vouchers are available now
• Semester 1 (2025) opened on 1 January 2025
• Applications close on 24 May 2025
• Vouchers expire on 31 May 2025
• Each eligible child gets two $100 vouchers per year
• Open to children Transition to Year 12, including home-schooled students
• Can be used for sport, recreation, swimming, and music lessons

How to Apply:

Parents and carers can apply online at 24/25 Sport Voucher Scheme (Parents/Carers) | Search | GrantsNT Administration

UPCOMING EVENTS – Term 1, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday to the following students that celebrate their birthdays in January/February:

COMMUNITY NOTICES