Term 1 Week 8 Newsletter

From the Principal

Dear Calwell Families,

This term has been full of activities and seems to have flown by especially as it has included two short weeks and is only nine weeks.

Term Events

We look forward to hearing about the experiences of our Year 5/6 students who left for Camp Cooba yesterday.  Camp always provides a great opportunity for our students to work in a different environment, challenge themselves and get to know each other better. Hopefully the weather doesn’t have too much of an impact! We are also looking forward to the Years 2-6 Cross Country Run and Mini Athletics event next week. Parent/carers are always welcome to attend. Students across the school have thoroughly enjoyed the Footsteps Dance program this term. The final session is next Wednesday.

Student Safety and Well-Being

The safety and well-being of students and staff is a priority at all ACT Government schools. Here at Calwell we have very clear expectations and processes which are followed in managing accidents or unacceptable behaviour which may impact negatively on student or staff well-being.  All incidents that staff are aware of are followed up, documented and appropriate action taken in keeping with the school and Education Directorate’s policies. We understand that from time to time parent/carers may not fully understand or feel that the actions taken by the school in response to an incident meet their expectation. Parent/carers are always welcome to make an appointment with the deputy, Ashley Coutts or myself to discuss decisions.

School Board

We will be welcoming Tanya Goodman to the School Board as of next term. I would like to thank Chris Waslin for her contribution over the past year. Chris will be continuing to contribute to the school supporting reading and as a member of the Committee working on the Community Engagement Project. 

Checklist Report

Our Term 1 Checklist Report will be sent home next week. This report is designed to provide you with brief information about how your child has settled into the new school year as well as indicating your child’s early progress in English and Mathematics. This report provides teachers with the opportunity to raise any concerns with parent/carers well before the formal first semester report and in time to work with families to develop strategies to support their child’s continued learning growth. Teachers will make contact to arrange a meeting if needed. Please also feel free to contact your child’s teacher to organise a meeting if you have any questions or concerns.

Principal’s Afternoon Tea

I always look forward to having afternoon tea with the students who have been selected to join me to celebrate their hard work and achievements. I particularly enjoy hearing their feedback about the past term, things they like about our school and any suggestions they have to make the school even better.

Linda Neeson

Principal

Principal's Afternoon Tea

CARES Awards

Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to Zara, Lucy and Aleks on qualifying for the Tuggeranong Regional Swimming Carnival.

Preschool

Across the Rosellas, Cockatoos and Magpies, educators have noticed children tuning into print and an emerging interest in learning to read and write names. For young readers and writers, the most important word in their world is their first name. Learning to read and write their name is a proud milestone for preschoolers, families, and educators. Through play, children have been exploring names and letters and experimenting with role play writing. We have provided a variety of resources to encourage their investigations, such as whiteboards, name cards, word cards and magnetic letters.

Families can support their preschooler by engaging in conversations about the letters within their name, modelling writing their name, encouraging them to have a go at signing their name on drawings or labelling their belongings.

Scrivener

In Kindergarten we have started our new Inquiry Unit where we are looking at ‘The Past’. This week we began discussing memories and shared some of our favourites. Here are some students drawing their favourite memories.

Corin

Year 1

Year One have been engaged in a variety of literacy activities. They have been predicting and doing independent reading in Reader’s Workshop, writing about a topic of their choice in Sustained Writing and learning about the different types of nouns in English lessons. The students enjoy reading new books and sharing their ideas with a partner or the whole class.

Year 2

Last week we started our Unit of Inquiry on The Past - the same, but different. To start our unit we had a discovery afternoon where we looked at a variety of artefacts and asked questions using post-it-notes. The artefacts included a slide rule (old calculator), record player, vinyls, old phones, game boy, butter churn, typewriter, polaroid, VCR tapes, and music boxes. We had a lot of fun!

Year 1

Year 2

Googong

In Googong the students have been looking at ways to enhance a narrative story. They have been brainstorming words that describe things using the five senses (see, hear, smell, touch, taste) and incorporating them into their writing. They have also looked at ways to describe emotions, creating a ‘Show Don’t Tell’ poster where the reader needs to guess the emotion.

Bendora

This week is the second last Footsteps lesson and the 5/6 students are close to mastering their dance moves to the song ‘Can’t Hold Us’. They have been working collaboratively to share their artwork with their new found skills and techniques, moving their bodies in dynamic and strong motions.

Parliament

During our last Parliament meeting we discussed suggestions about how to improve our school. Many classes wanted the Dogman book series added to the library for us to borrow and take home and read. Parliament representatives thought this was a great idea and these books will be ordered and added to the library collection.

Many students have been asking for a ‘Night-Time Disco’ this year as we were unable to hold one in 2020 due to COVID. After talking about supervision in Parliament and when the disco could be held, it has been agreed that this will happen in Term 2 and Term 4. The dates will be released later.

To continue to build on the gardens we already have, Parliament members have been discussing how to add more gardens around the school. With the help of Mrs Neeson, Parliament applied for a Woolworths LandCare Grant. If we are lucky enough to receive the grant, our plan is to put money towards raised vegetable beds for students to plant, grow and harvest vegetables and continue to extend the current garden beds.

Many students have been asking teachers if there will be a Colour Run this year. Parliament have approved a Colour Run this year, pending changes to COVID requirements. Stay tuned for more information.

Each Friday our Parliament leaders hold ‘Frozen Friday’ with Paddle Pops, juice sticks and juice boxes. After feedback from students, Parliament have decided to add frozen yoghurt  and small bottles of water to the menu.

Isabella M

Speaker of the House

Calwell Parliament

Calwell High School Canteen

Did you know that the lunch orders you place at on Flexischool are made at Calwell High School canteen?

Calwell High School canteen is looking for volunteers. If you have any spare time on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday from 9am and have a Working with Vulnerable People card we would love to hear from you.

Please call the canteen on 6142 1942 Wed-Fri 8.30am-2.00pm.

The Smith Family Saver Plus

Holiday Happenings

Tuggeranong Repair Cafe

Brindabella Blues Football Club