Northern Living magazine/issue 176/March 2023

INSIDE: your guide to education options in the north

A lifestyle magazine that is delivered in Mawson Lakes, Salisbury and connecting suburbs. (see map). You can also pick up a copy from the Salisbury Community Hub, Parabanks Shopping Centre, Mawson Lakes Library and Mawson Shopping Centre or go to www.northernliving.info

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EDITORIAL

office@northernliving.info

(08) 8180 9455

GRAPHIC DESIGN

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PRINTING

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DISTRIBUTION

Delivered to residential letterboxes and businesses in Salisbury and Mawson Lakes, see map opposite. Pick one up from the Salisbury Community Hub, Mawson Centre or Mawson Central or read it online at www.northernliving.info

PUBLISHER

Northern Living is independently owned, produced and published by Avery Magazines.

PO Box 2320

SALISBURY DOWNS SA 5108

(08) 8180 9455

ABN: 61 689 116 731

© COPYRIGHT

All material appearing in Northern Living magazine is copyright unless otherwise stated. Copyright may rest with the provider of the supplied material. No part of Northern Living magazine will be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Northern Living Magazine takes all care to ensure information is correct at the time of printing, but the publisher accepts no responsibility or liability for the accuracy of any content, illustrations, photographs, advertisements or pricing. Views expressed are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher/editor.

MAGAZINES

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FEATURE STORIES

HEALING WITH ANGELIC MUSIC Local musician Loretta De Palma tells us about the joy of sound healing and music therapy

EDUCATION FEATURE Your guide to education options in the north

CHANGES TO NAPLAN TESTING What do they mean for you and your child?

HANDS ON LEARNING Consider a trade career with St Patrick’s Technical College

REGULAR ARTICLES

4. 16.

17.

18.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Local news & info

KID’S PAGE Farmyard fun

RECIPE Almond cookies

YOUR AREA

Marra Dreaming Gallery

ON THE COVER

Mawson Lakes resident Loretta De Palma is not only a talented musician, accomplished recording artist, composer, conductor, performer and teacher, she is now also a certified sound healer!

See story on page 5.

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9. 11.

MAWSON LAKES CLEAN UP DAY EVENT

Join us on Sunday 5 March 2023, 10am12pm for a community clean up!

Meet outside Tamarind Modern Indian Restaurant for a briefing then walk to Mobara Park, Mawson Lakes

Gloves, tongs and bags will be provided.

All rubbish will be left at the Mobara Park toilet block for collection by Council .

Remember to be sunsmart with your hat and sunscreen!

The City of Salisbury is home to many amazing cultures, and this diversity has resulted in Salisbury being named the first and only Intercultural City in South Australia. Throughout Harmony week, there will be a range of events and displays that aim to facilitate a celebration of how all our differences make Australia a great place to live.

On Friday 24 March 2023, you’re invited to come to teh Salisbury Civic Plaza and Commmunity Hub to celebrate Salisbury’s rich diversity. The event festivities will feature a colourful, intercultural parade, performances, live music, food and so much more.

For those that are able to, attendees are invited to wear something orange, or a traditional cultural outfit. See you there!

CONNECT WITH US

Share your local photos with us on Instagram. @northernliving.info

HARMONY WEEK 2023 M P

range of dairy, vegan, sorbets

Taro Coconut, Pandan

HEALING WITH ANGELIC MUSIC

Mawson Lakes resident Loretta De Palma is not only a talented musician, accomplished recording artist, composer, conductor, performer and teacher, she is now also a certified sound healer!

One day a dear friend asked her “What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?” This thought led Loretta into a deeper journey of exploration into her spirituality and she discovered the wonders of sound healing and music therapy.

“Sound healing and therapy is a wonderful aspect of music that can improve your physical and emotional health and wellbeing. It has been both musically and spiritually fulfilling and empowering to share and use my skills in this light.”

Loretta studied classical music and teaching and completed her bachelor degree from the Elder Conservatorium at the University of Adelaide in 2004. Since then she has performed

and recorded with many local artists, musicians and ensembles, conducted and led the Yorke Peninsula String Orchestra, and played in many musical productions including with the State Opera of South Australia.

Loretta is also a successful teacher and now she can utilise her knowledge of sound healing and music therapy in one-on-one sessions.

Healing with sound is believed to date back to Ancient Greece when music was used in an attempt to cure mental disorders. Throughout history, music has been used to boost morale in Military troops, help people work faster and more productively, and even ward off evil spirits. More recently, research has linked music to a number of health benefits, from boosting immune function and lowering stress levels to improving the health of premature babies. Bookings are by appointment only, contact Loretta to find out more about the healing benefits of sound therapy. See ad below.

PHOTO: WWW.JUANSIMAGE.COM

What do the NAPLAN test changes mean?

By Glenn C. Savage, Associate Professor of Education Policy and the Future of Schooling, The University of Melbourne

Australia’s education ministers last month announced changes to NAPLAN that will start right away. These include bringing the testing date forward and changing the way results are reported.

These new standards are designed to give teachers and parents better information about student capabailities.

Remind me, what is NAPLAN?

NAPLAN was introduced in 2008 and is an annual test of all Australian students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It aims to see whether students are developing basic skills in literacy and numeracy.

So what will the changes mean for schools and students?

Earlier testing date

NAPLAN is done by schools in a specific testing window. As of this year, the window will move from May to March.

This year’s test will also be administered entirely online for the first time (with the exception of the Year 3 writing test).

Because it will be done online and completed in term one, results can be made available faster. Parents and schools are due to receive students’ individual reports in July 2023.

Experts have long criticised the late reporting of NAPLAN scores, arguing it did not allow enough time to actually use the results in a given school year. The new approach gives schools more of a chance to work with and respond to NAPLAN data.

What about test prep?

The earlier testing date will mean schools have less time for test preparation. This is not necessarily a negative thing. “Teaching to the test” has always been a significant concern for parents, teachers and researchers because it takes away from more authentic learning opportunities.

With NAPLAN in March, schools have little time to explicitly teach for the test and more of the school year to focus on other content. However, there is a risk it could lead to more intensive test preparation in the first months of the school year for students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Or it could see teachers in earlier grades spend more tim on test preparation for subsequent years.

New standards

Another key change to NAPLAN is students’ results will now be reported against four levels of achievement instead of the existing ten “proficiency bands”. These new levels are “exceeding”, “strong”, “developing” and “needs additional support”.

For students to be deemed “proficient”, they will have to meet either the “exceeding” or “strong” level, which is designed to “support higher expectations for student achievement”. As such, the changes could actually mean more students (not fewer) are identified as performing below minimum standards. It is also hoped the new easy-to-read standards will make the results more accessible for students and parents. However, schools will likely need more resources, such as teacher aides and professional learning, to ensure that students actually receive the extra help they need.

Will this make a difference?

While the new changes are intended to produce positive impacts, it remains to be seen how meaningful they will be. Theoretically, making it easier to receive and understand results will make it easier to improve student performance.

But measuring student learning and achievement is a very complex process and requires nuanced interpretations. All measurement is prone to errors and blind spots. While the new changes might offer schools and parents simpler reports, we must not assume this automatically means cleaner or more useful data.

The changes will certainly be welcomed by many who have argued for earlier and simpler NAPLAN reporting. Hopefully, they will also lead to better outcomes for students and more fruitful conversations about the purpose and importance of NAPLAN for Australian schools.

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN STATE SCHOOL TERM AND HOLIDAY DATES 2023

TERM 1 (11 weeks)

START: Monday 30 January, 2023

END: Friday 14 April, 2023

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

START: Saturday 15 April, 2023

END: Sunday 30 April, 2023

TERM 3 (10 weeks)

START: Monday 24 July, 2023

END: Friday 29 September, 2023

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

START: Saturday 30 September, 2023

END: Sunday 15 October, 2023

TERM 2 (10 WEEKS)

START: Monday 1 May, 2023

END: Friday 7 July, 2023

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

START: Saturday 8 July, 2023

END: Sunday 23 July, 2023

TERM 4 (9 weeks)

START: Monday 16 October, 2023

END: Friday 15 December, 2023

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

START: Saturday 16 December, 2023

END: Sunday 28 January, 2024

SUNDAY 2nd of APRIL 2023 10am to 3pm

northern Sponsored by:

KIDS PAGE

SPOT 10 DIFFERENCES

FIND THE WORDS HIDDEN IN THE GRID

ALMOND COOKIES ricciarelli

Ricciarelli are dense, chewy Italian almond cookies originating in Siena. They are a distant, and much less fussy, Italian cousin to the French macaron and make a great addition to the lunch box.

Ingredients

5 egg whites at room temperature

50ml bottle almond essence

500g almond meal

300g caster sugar

icing sugar for coating

method

1. Whisk egg whites till white and frothy, but not dry

2. Mix in bottle of almond essence

3. Combine almond meal and sugar

4. Add wet ingredients and mix using your hands

5. Roll mixture into balls with damp hands

6. Roll balls in icing sugar for crispy outing

7. Place on baking tray and press down with a fork

8. Bake in moderate oven about 45 mins until dry

Optional:

Press an almond into the centre before baking.

SUDOKU

The goal is to fill a 9x9 grid with numbers so that each row, column and 3x3 section contains all of the digits between 1 and 9.

EASY

MEDIUM HARD

YOUR AREA

MARRA DREAMING GALLERY

Marra Dreaming Gallery is a cultural community centre, established in 1999 by Aboriginal women from various regions of Australia.

Located on Commercial Road Salisbury, the gallery was set up to provide a space for Aboriginal people to develop their artwork and is now a thriving meeting place for the community to experience and explore Aboriginal culture. Their authentic art pieces, created by emerging and established Aboriginal artists, are for sale and are exhibited in their art gallery located on site. Artists work in residence and visitors may observe them creating pieces such as Boomerangs, Didgeridoos, paintings on canvas, ceramics and more.

Marra Dreaming Gallery also run arts and crafts programs for both Aboriginal people and the wider community.

SOLUTION page 6

Some of their workshops include:

• Traditional basket weaving

• Contemporary Aboriginal art

• Ceramics painting

• Beading

Marra Murrangga Kumangka means, ‘hands work together’ in the Kaurna language (pronounced Gar-nu) and this is the ethos of the organisation.

Marra Dreaming Gallery

22 Commercial Road, Salisbury

Phone (08) 8285 2311

Email indigenousarts @marradreaming.com.au

Opening Hours

Monday to Thursday 9am to 3.30pm excluding school and public holidays

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON www.discoversalisbury.com.au

USEFUL NUMBERS

THE LAST LAUGH

Q. Why did the scarecrow win a Nobel Prize?

A. He was outstanding in his field.

SUDOKU SOLUTIONS from page 17

Crossword EASY MEDIUM

Solution no 16,471

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2023 Events in the

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