Henbury School eNewsletter

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Term 2 was action packed. In the last few weeks our students were heavily involved in several sporting events hosted at school and in the community – including Henbury Sports Day, Interschool Athletics and Soccer, and the NT Links Netball Competition. NAIDOC Week celebrations, our Transition and Pathways Information Session, and Students-on-Track at the Supercars were highlights in a very busy Week 10. Students and staff alike have certainly earnt the 3-week break!

End of Term Assembly is always a wonderful way to celebrate and reflect on our student’s progress and achievements. It was great to see students receiving awards for improved attendance, academic progress, demonstrating our school values, among other things. We enjoyed two singing performances from Yellow 4 students Jacob Gill and Miley Lam, and Kinisha McDonald and Aiko Buckland – well done to these students! See below for award recipients:

Click here to download the Term Two Assembly Program

Good On you Recipients
Yr 7 - Nelson for Great independent work
Yr 8 – Tiara for Literacy
Yr 9 – Marlee for Literacy
Yr 10 – Deklian for Always trying in the classroom
Yr 11 – Jacinta for Caring for another student who was crying
Yr 12 – Andrew for working hard in RWI

Pizza with the Principal for improved school attendance

Petersen Martin
Harvie Nova
Angus Nelson
Jacob Morgan
Jordan Emily C

By this time families and guardians should have received your child’s Education Adjustment Plan (EAP)/Transition EAP (TEAP), Progress Report and Attendance Record for Semester 2. These are sent via email for most students. If you have not received, please contact the front office. Progress Reports provide details of your child’s academic learning goals and showcase their progress and engagement. Please take the time to go through the reports with your child and celebrate their achievements. If you have any queries about your child’s report, please contact their classroom teacher. Student ID cards were also sent home at the end of term. Reprints are available for $10 from the front office if needed.

As the holidays have now commenced, I’d like to wish all our families and wider school community a safe and enjoyable break. We look forward to seeing students return on Tuesday 15June.

Raylee Parker
Assistant Principal

BLUE 4 HAS HAD AN AMAZING FIRST SEMESTER

Hello from Blue 4!

We’re a class full of boys who are happy, fun, and creative, and we’ve had an amazing first semester!

One of our absolute favourite parts of the term was our book study on Fantastic Mr Fox. We didn’t just read the story, we acted out scenes and made delicious recipes like roast chicken and vegetables, and donuts with pâté, just like in the book. We compared the movie and the book and voted unanimously that the book was way better!

Each morning we start our day with quizzes, and it’s always full of laughs and learning. We love it so much that we even invite guests to join in and showcase how we start our day.

We’ve also really enjoyed community access, where we practise social and communication skills out in the real world. It’s been a great way to grow our independence, build our confidence and get to know one another.

Everyone in Blue 4 gets along so well, and we’re proud of how strong our classroom team is. This term, we welcomed two new classmates, Petersen and, most recently, Chase. Both boys have fit in perfectly, and we’re excited to make more memories together.

The Boys of Blue 4

A tonne of fun was had by all at our Henbury Sports Day, held Friday 5 June. We utilised the Dripstone’s oval for sprints and other field events. Instead of house chants this year we had a ‘Dance Off’, which was a great laugh, with Blue taking out these extra points. We welcomed Simon Moran, our Para Pathways Development Coach, who facilitated some extra practice for students in the lead up to the interschool Athletics Track and Field Day. The final points were close on the tally board, with Green Crocs taking out first place, Red Dingoes in second and Barras in third!

Yellow 5 have had a productive Term. We have almost completed our garden plaques. Using inspiration from our school farm and the mosaics in front of the school, students have designed and made garden plaques using air dry clay. They have written artist statements to go with their plaques. They all did such a great job!

ATHLETICS

On Tuesday, 17 June, 32 students from Henbury School proudly represented the school at the Darwin Regional Athletics Championship. Throughout the day, several students achieved personal bests with some even breaking records. Students were awarded ribbons to celebrate their achievements and showed incredible team spirit by cheering on and supporting their peers throughout the entire event. Every participant embodied the Henbury School values, demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship, determination, and teamwork.

This June, some of our Henbury legends are stepping up — and down — as they take on The Push-Up Challenge from 4–26 June 2025 to raise funds and awareness for mental health.

As a team, we’re aiming to smash out 3,214 push-ups in 23 days — representing the number of lives lost to suicide in Australia in 2021. Every push-up counts toward starting conversations and supporting critical mental health services.

You can get behind us by:

Donating to our fundraising page (it’s tax-deductible!)

Click here to view more information

Joining the Henbury Legends Team and being part of the fun!

Let’s push for better mental health — one rep at a time!

On Saturday and Sunday 13 and 14 June, Henbury students from the Banks Bulldogs All Abilities Team competed in the NT Link Netball Competition. Rosie, Jacob, Nicholas, Camillia, Narvia, Shianne-Rose, Billie and Fred played 4 games against The Pints team and The Thorny Devils visiting from Alice Springs. Rosie took out the Spirit of the Game award, presented by the No More campaign. Completion was fierce and it was wonderful to see players have the opportunity to further develop their skills and have some fun.

WORLD GIRAFFE DAY

It’s not something you see every day at a school in Darwin – but Friday 13 Jun was all about African giraffes at Henbury! Teacher Sarah Clifford was inspired after a trip to Africa to bring awareness and be part of the plight to save Namibia’s giraffes, and we thought why not. Through a raffle, ‘dress up as your favourite animal’ coin donation, and the profits from some giraffe inspired goodies, the school raised enough to adopt a giraffe!

Yellow 2 student Seb took out the prize for best dressed and had the privilege of choosing Henbury’s adopted giraffe – Ninja, a male giraffe who has a calm and sweet personality who roams free in Namibia, who likes to move between river systems, and is quite popular with his fellow giraffes. We will receive monthly updates on how our Ninja is travelling. A big thank you to Sarah for bringing this important cause to the forefront, and to all staff who helped bring this day together.

TRANSITIONS & PATHWAYS PARENT INFO SESSION

Our annual Transition and Pathways Information Session for students and parents/carers was held on Thursday 29 June. We hosted 22 organisations (see list below), who connected with our school community and kindly gave an overview of their services and how they might assist our students and families with their current and future supports and options. We had a great turn out from parents/carers and students and staff from our senior classrooms. It was wonderful to see several of our graduated students also in attendance – as part of the organisations they are now associated with and also attending to connect and find out information from our guests. If you would like any follow up information from the session, please contact the front office to direct your inquiry.

In the lead-up to their 2025 Darwin Fringe Festival debut, Performing Arts students from Blue 1, Blue 2, Blue 3, Green 2, Green 3, and the Senior Skill Sets class have been hard at work creating the magical world of From This Land.

This original production explores themes of environment, transformation and connection using large-scale, wearable puppets. Students have been deeply involved in designing and constructing these striking creations using recycled and repurposed materials - sculpting, painting and costuming their puppets to represent Top End native animals. Each puppet reflects the unique vision and style of its maker.

The rehearsal room has been alive with creativity, problem-solving and collaboration as students learn to bring their characters to life through expressive movement voice and performance.

We’re thrilled to invite our school and wider community to experience From This Land during one of our public performances:

Wednesday 16 July at 11:00am
Thursday 17 July at 10:00am
Thursday 17 July at 6:30pm (evening performance)

Each performance will include pre-show entertainment by the Henbury Beat Choir and a BBQ fundraiser will be held before the Thursday evening show — a perfect chance to enjoy a bite to eat while supporting our students’ work.

From This Land is proudly presented as part of the 2025 Darwin Fringe Festival. Tickets are available through the following website, with discounts available for groups and concessions:

Click here to view more information

We’re incredibly proud of the students’ achievements and can’t wait to share this powerful and imaginative production with you.

NAIDOC DAY

NAIDOC Day was a vibrant celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, marked by a series of engaging activities. From damper making, where participants learned to prepare traditional bush bread, to handprint decorating on cloth flags and bags, the event was rich with hands-on creativity. The legend of the Rainbow Serpent came to life through storytelling and imaginative character creation, while boomerang and animal painting captured the beauty of native wildlife. The aroma of a traditional BBQ featuring kangaroo and goose filled the air, alongside face painting and friendly rounds of boomerang throwing. Children and adults alike joined in Indigenous games, thoughtfully adapted for all abilities. Meaningful moments emerged as students created storylines with Aboriginal symbols to add to a wall mural, explored the echoing sounds of the didgeridoo, and practiced the intricate art of pandanus weaving. The day was an enjoyable tribute to connection, culture, and community. A special thank you to all who supported the event including Dingo Cockatoo Aboriginal Culture and Danila Dilba Health Service.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), the Australian Government’s privacy regulator, is seeking input from parents and carers to assist them in its development of the Children’s Online Privacy Code (the Code). The Code will put children at the center of privacy protections in Australia. By the time a child turns 13, it's estimated that 72 million pieces of data will have been collected about them. The aim of the Code is to strengthen privacy protections for the handling of children’s personal information. Your insights as a parent or carer are important. To have your say, please take a few minutes to complete the parent discussion paper here Children’s Online Privacy Code (consultation for children and parents) | OAIC. Your support is also important in helping your child or young person to take part too, please assist them in filling out the appropriate worksheet, provided in the link above. This consultation will be open until the 30 June 2025. You can read more about the Code here Children’s Online Privacy Code | OAIC

V8 SUPER CARS

On the last day of term, Friday 20 June over 70 students and 25 staff attended the Hidden Valley Raceway, “Darwin Triple Crown Supercars” Students on Track event. Our V8 fans definitely got their fix of all things fast and loud! There was so much to see and do – including spectating trackside, participating in pop up activities, touring in the Porsche pits, relaxing on deck chairs and even knocking out a few push ups as part of the school Push Up Challenge for Mental Health.

Our biennial fundraising event ‘Henbury Corporate Luncheon’ will take place at the Darwin Convention Centre on Friday the 28 November. Our dedicated ‘HCL’ team have already been working behind the scenes preparing for this massive event. The money raised goes towards our attendance and engagement programs, communication technology and the Henbury Precinct training initiative ‘Café and Op Shop.’

If you have a business or know of a business who would like to support our event as either a sponsor or to donate items or services that will go towards our mega raffles, auctions, and prize draws, please get in touch with our team:
📞 8997 7077 or 📧 hcl.Henbury@education.nt.gov.au

Henbury School is endorsed as a deductible gift recipient, making your financial contributions tax-deductible. Please see attached our Henbury Corporate Luncheon package.

Click here to download the Henbury Corporate Luncheon flyer

UPCOMING EVENTS – Term 3, 2025

Friday 20^th June	Last day of Term 2
Monday 14^th July	PD day for all staff. NO school for students.
Tuesday 15^th July	First day of Term 3. Students start on this day.
Friday 25^th July	Darwin Show Day public holiday
Monday 4^th August	Picnic Day public holiday
Wednesday 6^th August	Henbury Pride Day
Thursday 14^th August	Year 12 BBQ fundraiser at Palmerston Bunnings
Friday 15^th August	Bullying NO WAY day. Students to wear purple.
Wednesday 27^th August	Henbury Science Day
Friday 28^th August	Father’s day stall.
Thursday 11^th September	RU OK? Day. Students to wear yellow.
Thursday 18^th September	Whole school assembly @ 11am
Friday 19^th September	Footy Colours Day. Student to wear their football team colours. Last day of Term 3

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday to the following students that celebrate their birthdays in June:

Nelson F – 6^thKaleb C – 9^thDaudi J – 10^thZyethan C – 11^thAshley M – 11^thLucie B – 12^thOliver A – 13^thAlexander S – 13^thLaura Y – 13^thJavik J – 17^thLeilani A – 21^stIvy D – 23^rdManoli S – 24^thGerard S – 25^thAJ P – 27^thSelenia B – 28^th