User:Megan.asquith/Nulkaba Public School

Nulkaba Public School

Overview
Nulkaba Public School is located just north of Cessnock, about 2 hours north of Sydney. It opened in 1926 and has grown into a school of excellence. There are now 16 classrooms that are all in use by its 397 students. Not only does the exceptional staff teach what is required of them by the N.S.W Department of Education, the school also offers many extra activities.

Curriculum
Nulkaba Public School caters for students from Kindergarten to Year 6. Teachers cover the six key learning areas of English, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Human Society and its Environment, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education and Creative Arts. Our classes are organised into stages.

•	Early Stage One refers to Kindergarten

•	Stage One includes Years One and Two

•	Stage Two includes Years Three and Four

•	Stage Three includes Years Five and Six

History
Nulkaba, meaning ‘place of ironstone’, was home to the local Aboriginal people, the Kabar tribe. Nulkaba Public School is built on the meeting place of The Kabar tribe, who were renowned for their survival and leadership skills. Corroborees were held on the ironstone earth to thank the ‘Mother Spirit’, who sent a messenger bird to the tribe when danger was approaching. In 1984, a bird bath was placed in the school’s special garden to provide for the messenger bird, which still remains today. The school colours of green and red represent the head band of the tribe and the vegetation their leader created. Today, you will find original Aboriginal bark paintings from a tree in the playground on display in the library. The school has grown dramatically since it opened with one building in 1926, and now accommodates for almost 400 children.

Environment
The large, clean playground is home to many maintained sporting facilities such as a covered basketball court, a soft-fall netball court, cricket nets, hockey goals and brand new turf for field sports. It also has two separate fixed play equipment areas for the use of both infants and primary students. All classrooms are equipped with air conditioners and an interactive whiteboard. There are many new classrooms and old ones that have been revamped with new carpet and new paint. Other significant buildings include the administration block and the brand new hall that is fully equipped with seating, a stage and a canteen that is open every day.

Technology
Nulkaba Public School has an interactive whiteboard in each of it 16 classrooms. These engage students by adding an element of fun and it also teaches them the skills needed to survive in this technological world. The school has a computer lab in the library, as well as a bank of laptops for students to access anywhere in the school. The brand new hall has been equipped with a projector and screen with state of the art sound and lighting systems, including stage and laser lights, which is great for school productions and celebrations. On the schools website you can access up-to-date information about what is happening around the school, as well as download permission notes and weekly letters in both written and audio form. Class teachers use blogs to communicate with parents and to display students’ work and photos. All of the school’s online information is available on the new app for smartphone’s and tablet computers.

Sport
The school’s motto, ‘Play the Game’, is lived up to in every aspect of the school, especially when it comes to sport. To begin with, all students are encouraged and supported to lead a healthy lifestyle and to develop necessary social skills during planned sport and physical education lessons. However, Nulkaba Public School seems to go above and beyond this duty in many sports, and the school has a very good track record for individuals and teams representing the school at a state, and in some cases, national level. All students attend annual swimming and athletics carnivals. Team sports include basketball, hockey, soccer, netball and rugby union, to name a few. One of the more popular sports of late has been rugby league as students are fortunate enough to have Newcastle Knights player, Joel Edwards, as a mentor.

Creative and Performing Arts
Nulkaba Public School have an assortment of talented children who enjoy taking part in visual arts, drama, dance and music. Students are encouraged to develop their artistic skills by exploring many different media during class lessons, including the form of digital art while creating backdrops for the school production. Talented children from Nulkaba Public School have previously entered Operation Art and these artworks now hang around the school, or are on display at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Students are also exposed to opportunities to develop their skills at GATS workshops and camps. Nulkaba students engage in large-scale drama productions tri-annually.

•	1996~Send me a Dream

•	1999~Fiends and Heroes

•	2002~Just in Time

•	2005~Stars on Stage

•	2008~Around the World.

•	2011~Aladdin (Early Stage 1 and Stage 1) and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (Stage 2 and 3)

Children are also encouraged to explore the field of drama by participating in local events at Cessnock re and Maitland Performing Arts Centre productions such as The BFG, The Witches and James and The Giant Peach. Many students in the school have a desire to dance, which is encouraged with teachers trained in dance. Dances have been appreciated by many audiences, as students have participated in events such as the Coalfields Rock Spectacular in 2010 and the whole school production in 2011. Those students who have a keen interest in music are also catered for, with there being a school band, guitar ensemble and choir which perform at regular school events. Private lessons take place during school hours for instruments such as piano, guitar, drums, clarinet, flute and saxophone. Some of the students are also involved in the Cessnock Community of Great Public Schools’ choir that perform in competitions and at community events.