Term 2 Week 10 Newsletter
From the Principal
Dear Calwell Families,
Important Messages
- The teacher strikes mentioned in the local media does not include ACT Government schools. The strike will only impact local NSW public schools and Catholic schools in the ACT.
- The Education Directorate has confirmed that there will be two pupil free days in Term 3. All ACT schools will have pupil free days on Friday 5 August Week 3 and on Friday 9 September Week 9. A notice from the ACT Education Directorate is accompanying this newsletter email.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Parent/Carers are encouraged to meet with class teachers face to face for Mid-Year Interviews. This is an opportunity to discuss how your child is tracking academically and socially. Teachers will talk about your child’s areas of strength and those requiring further development. These interviews will enable teachers to personalise the reports that you received recently. Interviews are being held this week and in week 1 of term 3 for those teachers who were unable to hold interviews this week due to illness.
Camp Survey Results
The result for the recent survey we asked the community to complete regarding school camps is below. It seems clear that there is community support for camps to continue and for the length of camps to remain as they have been. There does appears to be some support to reduce the number of camps to two whilst students are at primary school. This will be discussed at the next School Board Meeting before any decision is made.
Question | Limited | Worthwhile | Essential | ||
How valuable do you think a camp experience is for Yr 3 /4 students? | 17% | 47% | 37% | ||
How valuable do you think a camp experience is for Yr 5/6 students? | 4% | 33% | 63% | ||
Do you agree with students in yrs 3-6 going on camp EVERY year? | 50% NO / 50% Yes | ||||
Would you prefer two camps while your child is at primary school Students to go in either Yr 3 or 4 AND Yr 5 or 6 | 43% No / 57% YES | ||||
Do you think the current cost for school camps is value for money? | Yes 47% | No 23% | Unsure 30% | ||
How many nights should camp be for Yr 3 /4? | 1 Night 60% / 2 Nights 40% | ||||
How many nights should camp be for Yr 5 /6? | 2 Nights 60% / 3 Nights 40% | ||||
Are excursions more affordable and better value for money for your family? | Yes 30% | No 17% | Maybe 53% | ||
Do you think a greater number of school excursions would be more valuable for your child/ren? | Yes 27% / No 73% | ||||
Staffing Matters
Given the number of staff absences due to illness Term 2 certainly presented us with significant staffing challenges, however we are very pleased to have been able to maintain classes and programs with minimal disruption.
I would like to let the community know that Rhianna Lockett will be remaining on leave for an extended period. Year 3 /4 students will remain in the classes they are currently in for the remainder of the year. Ellen Tyrell will be on Long Service Leave for term three and we welcome Caroline Cave who will be taking the Rosella preschool group during her absence. Caroline has been working with Ellen this week to ensure a smooth handover. I will also be taking some Long Service Leave for the month of August. During my absence Katie Brown will be acting as principal.
Linda Neeson
Principal
CARES Awards
PBL Awards
Notes Home/Due & Dates to Remember
A reminder for parent's to please download the SZapp to view our Newsletters and upcoming events. If you access the calendar and click on the date on an excursion/incursion permission notes are attached to re-print if needed.
- Last Day of Term 2 Friday 1st July
- First Day of Term 3 Monday 18th July
- Years 1/2 Canberra Theatre excursion - The Twits - Friday 22nd July
- 101 Days of Kindergarten Wedneday 27th July
- Pupil Free Day Friday 5th August and Friday 9th September
Team Calwell uniform orders
On friday 1st July our last uniform order for the year for Team Calwell hoodies and beanies will be placed. If you would like to order please get an order form or contact the front office.
It’s not too late to enrol for 2023
If you forgot to enrol your child or young person in an ACT public school for next year, don’t panic. Enrolments remain open throughout the year. You can find out more information and apply online. Support is also available from this school or by calling the Enrolments Telephone Service weekdays on 6205 5429
Scrivener
In Kindergarten we are enjoying using our growing letters and sounds knowledge to participate in Writers Workshop. We have been independently creating sentences using the process think, draw, write. First students think and share ideas with a partner about what they might like to write about. Next, they draw a picture about their idea. Finally, students have a go at writing their ideas using our sentence checklist. We think they are doing a fantastic job!
Corin
In writing, we have begun to explore the structure and topics of information reports. We used safe online resources such as Epic and Kiddle to choose an animal to research. We drew our animal and labelled its features using descriptive words, before writing sentences about our animals' appearance.
Googong
In 3/4 we have been building our Learning Assest skills as thinkers, collaborators, communicators, researchers, and self-managers. We have been engaging in a variety of STEM challenges that encourage us to develop our critical and creative thinking, problem solving, trial and error, construction, and organisational skills. Through these hands-on experiences we have found solutions to complex questions and problems and built a variety of creations that serve different functions. We have loved working together to show off our unique talents and capabilities.
Bendora
The Year 5 Ukulele Band has been busily rehearsing for their duets this week, where they will get to show off their singing and playing skills. They are sounding amazing, all the practice is paying off! They will be performing songs such as Octopus’ Garden, Crocodile Rock, Waltzing Matilda and Shake It Off.
In Mathematics, Year 6 have been calculating the distance their paper airplanes have been thrown in metres and centimetres. Students then ordered their distances from smallest to largest on an empty number line.
In Art, students have been creating blosom trees and silhouettes of national animals around the globe.
Camp Australia Holiday Program
SUPA Holiday
Families of students who attend the Christian SUPA Club at school may be interested in this holiday program on 5 & 6 July. Our regular relief teacher, Cliff Armitage will be working as one of the leaders.
The Smith Family Saver Plus
