Romans 8:27 “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Bili God-Wa\arryuny limurru\ \uli ga \unhi

yol\uwnydja walala\ \aya\uny nh^ma

warrpam’thunna mar’wakmaraman, ga dhara\an yan

\ayi \uli ga nh^ma \unhi nhan\uny Dhuyu-

Birrimbirrwuny guya\anhawuy, \unhi \ayi \uli ga

bukumirriyamany \^\’thundja God– Wa\arrnhany

limurru\guny Garraywala\umirriwnydja yol\uw

walala\, yurr wa\any \ayi \uli ga \unhi \^\’thundja

nhanukiyingal God-Wa\arrwal yan \aya\uynydja.

news May / June 2010 Gäwa

It has once again been a busy yet exciting

term here in Gawa. It has been great to

see the children rise to many challenges

and also be involved in projects between

the school community and their extended

families. We thank the many visitors who

have blessed us with their talents and

enthusiasm this term and for the

continual efforts of our full time staff.

Praise God for

His blessings

upon our

school and

community!

Lara Hvala

Visitors from Down South It takes a lot of courage to perform in

front of visitors and we were all proud of

the students during our school open day.

The girls performed a banner dance, the

boys band and choir sung and then the

whole school wowed us with their singing

and traditional dances. Our visitors may

have only spent half a day here in Gawa –

but it was a great chance to show off our

art work, open our new cubby house,

share in devotions together and celebrate

all that God provides for us. A big thank

you to staff, the students and the families

in Gawa. You helped ensure the day was a

special day for all.

Opening of New Cubby The new cubby house for all students was completed this

month and it was fabulous to see the kids enjoying their

new play area. It is certainly a great place for kids to enjoy

themselves. We thank Mark for designing and constructing

the house and it was also great to have Birriminybuy and

Craig ‘officially’ open the cubby house on our school open

day. Lots of fun for everyone!

Farewell to Elsie Elsie has been teaching the Mayawa class this past semester and is returning home to New South Wales. We thank Elsie for all her hard work and enthusiasm here in the school and

the wider community. We wish her all the best on her next adventure.

NT Christian Schools Association: NEWS We are delighted to announce a new addition to the NTCSA family. The Mapuru community in north east Arnhem Land have always wanted Christian education for their children and in July 2010 Mapuru Chris-tian School will be open. Praise God for this wonderful news!

Since arriving at Gawa in February I have been teaching Mayawa class (T-5). The younger students were able to recognize very few letters of the alphabet and had little knowledge of numbers and maths. They now know the whole alphabet and are reading, spelling and writing words and constructing simple sentences and stories. The older students have also made good progress, they have been attempting difficult maths problems and have learnt to work responsibly in groups. Their reading has also improved. Well done Mayawa class, you have been an absolute pleasure to teach. With your energy and enthusiasm for school I know you will continue to do well. Elsie Marshall

Lara & Birriminybuy

Dhangguryun & Elsie

Craig Winkler & Birriminybuy cutting the ribbon

Bilipili dancing the “North Wind” and playing drums with the school band

Prayer and Praise: We give thanks for the wonderful team of teachers and visitors that have been in Gawa this term. They have offered their enthusiasm, knowledge, love and positive encouragement to all the children. Bless you all. We give thanks for the wonderful women’s and men’s fellowship evenings in Gawa and Ban’thula. We pray for those involved in Mapuru

Christian School. God has certainly been

wonderful!

Gawa Christian School, PMB 257 Elcho Island via Winnellie 0822 Northern Territory phone: 08 8987 9239 email: gawa@ntcsa.nt.edu.au

Success in Literacy It is great to report on our student progress over the year and to recognise the hard work, commitment and high attendance of all our students. Whilst all students have made progress we would like to make special mention of students who have excelled this semester. Congratulations to these students who performed well in the PM tests. Dhawaratji – Nov 2009 Score = 5 May 2010 Score = 11 Niny- Niny – Nov 2009 Score = 5 May 2010 Score = 14 Gomuru – Nov 2009 Score = 4 May 2010 Score = 14 Leilani - Nov 2009 Score - 11 May 2010 Score = 18 Mararrkinyawu - Nov 2009 Score 20 May 2010 Score = 29

Enhancing Literacy A brief 4 weeks at Gawa, that’s all I’ve had but have packed a lot into it. My role has been to support teachers in the teaching of literacy and to assist students one-on-one. I was happy to work in classrooms demonstrating and assisting in the Accelerated Literacy methodology. It was fantastic to see the enthusiasm that students in the junior (Mayawa) class brought to their study of Titch. They loved to read and re-read the story, and could tell a lot about how a narrative text works. Final touches are being put to their own story about a favourite young boy in the community, Sunny, who always gets the smallest things. The older students, (Damala class) have loved Paul Jennings’ stories and they have been learning to build suspense in their own writing. All students have been recorded on video while being tested to determine their reading benchmark levels. There are many fine readers in this school. Thank you to Lara and the staff for making me feel welcome, and a very big thankyou to the people of Gawa who have allowed me to enjoy their beautiful land.

Terry Keily

Gäwa Op Shop Every Friday Kate and I have been driving to the Galiwinku markets to sell op-shop

clothes as a fundraiser for our school and Mapuru Christian School. Hot sellers have

been sheets, towels and childrens clothes. Its

been great fun getting out into the wider

community of Elcho each week, with both

the school children and adults in town

benefiting. Thank you to all those people who

have generously donated many items to our

school, it has been very much appreciated.

Elsie Marshall

It has been wonderful to have Basma, Joanne, Dhangal and Gotha in the classes again this term. At Gawa we have always believed it is important for our students to learn in their first languages of Warramiri and Djambarrpuyngu. Community elders participate and coordinate these lessons. Gotha has run a series of lessons about the seasons and Basma and Dhangal have helped with our lessons on fruits and seeds. Joanne also continues to assist in the junior class. We are blessed to be part of such a rich learning environment.

Lara Hvala

Language & Culture

Gapala and Terry

Gawa Op shop at Galiwinku markets

Elcho Island Seasons (Copied from a student’s workbook)

Mi[awarr: Raining sometimes. Lots of

bush food

Dharratharray: Strong east wind. We

eat fish, crabs and turtle.

Rarrandharr: Dry season. Getting hot.

Wolmay: Build up clouds. Time for

burning.

Dhuludur: Little rains. New shoots

growing.

Mayaltha: The wet season. Big rains and

plants flowering.

Gu]’mul: Raining. Little shoots begin to grow.

An ‘Artist in Residence’ program was run at Gawa Homeland this past month. Alie Kruize, a mosaic artist from Perth (and our art teacher, Salome’s mother!) spent the month working with both the students from Gawa Christian School and community members living in Gawa, Nanginburra and Ban’thula on 2 large mosaic installations. The students all designed and created their own mosaic piece which later became part of a huge mural which is now displayed against

the school library wall. Three large panels were designed by local artists symbolizing the three homelands involved in the project. Many community members worked for several weeks completing the

pieces which will be displayed in the homeland. Alie also made a new sign for the school. It was wonderful to see traditional art created using a totally new medium and all involved thoroughly enjoyed the process of creating such beautiful pieces which will be on show for years to come! A big thank you to Alie for orchestrating such a large project and for offering her time, expertise and enthusiasm in producing such beautiful artwork for us all to admire here in Gawa.

Mid Semester Break

School holidays for students June 12th – July 21st

Staff resume July 12th for the annual OVER THE TOP

CONFERENCE in Darwin

Gawa Christian School, PMB 257 Elcho Island via Winnellie 0822 Northern Territory phone: 08 8987 9239 email: gawa@ntcsa.nt.edu.au

Artist in Residence

We have been having heaps of fun outdoors in our art classes this term. The Damala class spent an afternoon down at the beach creating amazing sand sculptures. We looked at professional ‘sand builders’ sculptures and using their techniques made our own masterpieces. Mayawa class spent several art lessons collecting photos and drawing pictures to produce our own level one reading books. The children thoroughly enjoy reading books that contain photos of themselves and depicts things familiar to their lives here in Gawa. We hope to translate the books into Yolngu Matha to be used in our language class. During the term we use our artistic talents to create traditional art work which is added to our collection of art exhibition pieces. At every opportunity we enjoy showcasing the children’s amazing talent in the area of arts and crafts.

Salome Moes

Art Class

Amala Yothu It has been wonderful to have so many little ones coming to our Amala Yothu program this term. Parents and children enjoyed a morning tea party and made yummy pancakes to share. We continue to praise the efforts and commitment of our teachers Gawutjurrwuy and Bulangu as they ensure each morning is filled with hours of entertainment, learning and fun.

Above: New school sign & Alie, Gawutjurrwuy and Bulangu with community mosaic panels

Alie and some of the students with their beautiful group mosaic mural

Children and parents cooking pancakes at our morning tea party