Term 3 Week 8 Newsletter
From the Principal
Dear Calwell Families,
We hope our Dad’s enjoyed Father’s Day and the gifts our students brought home as well as spending some special time with the family.
It has certainly been a tough few months, in fact two years, with COVID impacting on teaching and learning and the health and well-being of staff, students and the broader community. One of the most significant impacts has been the lack of opportunity for parents and carers to come into the school and actively engage with us. It’s time to put that behind us and as we move into Spring the staff and leadership team are keen to end the 2022 school year with a focus on bringing parent/carers back into the school to engage in a range of events and activities.
Why is it important to have a school P&C or Community Association?
- It provides a centralised forum for members of the community to come together and the opportunity to get a better understanding of the day-to-day operation of the school
- Meetings provide an opportunity for parents/carers to ask questions and provide feedback
- The association can advocate for and promote the school which in turn helps increase enrolments and attracting teachers
- The association provides the vehicle for parent/carers to be actively involved in decision making and to work with the school on how best the school can meet the needs of its community
- As well as more formal activities the Association provides a more informal meeting opportunity for parents/carers, school leaders and teachers
- The association may at times be involved in assisting the school to organise and run events and volunteering within the school
How can you be involved?
You are invited to attend an informal meeting to help establish the Team Calwell Community Association.
When: Wednesday 21 September 6.30pm - chat with drinks & nibbles
Meeting 7.00 – 8.00pm
Where: Staffroom in the Administration Building
We also want to end the year by providing our students with the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities that will enable them to follow an interest, learn a new skill and interact with students across the school. So, what do we have planned?
TERM 3
Market Day – on Wednesday 7th September our year students will be holding the annual market day where students can purchase items, participate in an activity and have some fun. The money raised supports Year 6 Graduation activities.
Movie Night - on Thursday 15 September we invite the community to come together at the Limelight Theatre to see the screening of Super Pets on the day of its release. Tickets are available through the front office.
Open Classrooms – Monday 19 September 2.30pm - 3.30pm AND Tuesday 20 September 8.30am – 9.30am an opportunity for you to visit your child/ren’s classroom and for them to proudly share their work with you.
Tea & Talk – after you have visited your child’/ren’s class on Tuesday 20th September please join the leadership team for an informal catch-up over a cuppa with the Leadership team. Bring your questions and your feedback. We are keen to hear your ideas as we prepare for 2023.
TERM 4
Three Wacky Wednesdays – 12/10, 2/11, 23/11. School Parliament will set the themes for these.
Lunchtime Disco K- Yr 6 - Some dancing exercise on Wednesday 19 October
Stay and Play 3-4pm– Thursday 20/10 and 3/11 Bring afternoon tea and join your children in a range of activities. A great opportunity for students to have a play date and for parent /carers to meet and chat.
Day for Danial 28/10 – get your red gear ready. The Day for Danial highlights child safety. We hope everyone will dress in red. Class activities will focus on staying safe.
Friday STEAM Rotations - Mixed age groups will work together to complete a variety of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths activities on a Friday afternoon in Weeks 1,3, 5, 7 .
K-6 Colour Run 5th December – Back by popular demand, time to be covered in colour!
Movie Excursion – whole school excursion for K-6 on Thursday 15th December
End of Year Celebration - Join us under the new shade structure over the basketball court between 5.30pm – 7pm for and end of year gathering. Details to follow……….
Year 6 Market Day Moved
Rain seems to always be on the horizon when we have events planned this year. To avoid the strong prediction of rain for this Thursday we have moved our Market Day to tomorrow Wednesday 7th September.
Pupil Free Day
A friendly reminder that this Friday 9 September the Education Directorate has scheduled a pupil free day for all ACT Government School. We thank you for supporting teachers. Supervision will be available for students who are unable to stay at home. Please notify the front office on 61421900 if your child/ren will be attending school. This will assist us to arrange staffing for the day.
2023 High School Enrolment
A friendly reminder that regardless of the high school your year 6 child is transiting to in 2023, an enrolment request must be completed and submitted (on-line).
2023 Preschool Enrolment
Enrolments for our preschool groups are still trickling in. Children who turn four by 30th April 2023 can be enrolled into the preschool program.
Staffing News
Both our Executive teachers Emma Vince and Alyssa Owen will be taking some Long Service Leave. Emma will be away the last two weeks of this term and Alyssa Owen will be away for the first two weeks of Term 4. They will both be travelling overseas and visiting family.
Next Term we will be welcoming Rhianna Lockett and Katie Bicket back. Rhianna and Katie will both work across the school supporting students, teachers and helping to prepare for 2023.
Social Media
We have noticed an increase in negative peer interactions via social media for students in Years 3-6. Parents/ Carers play a key role in guiding their children as they first encounter the online world and begin to learn through exploration, play and social interaction. The eSafety Commissioner advises that the right age for your child will depend on their level of maturity and your family routine and suggests asking yourself the following questions before handing over a digital device:
- Does my child have a good sense of responsibility?
- Are they able to stick to the rules?
- Do they show a good understanding of actions and consequences?
- Do they come to me or another trusted adult when they are distressed or if they encounter problems?
- What are the rules about when and where my child can use their smartphone? For example, will they only be able to use it while they are away from the house, and not in their bedroom at night.
You may be surprised to learn that there are minimum age restrictions for certain apps that we often hear younger students discuss using for example Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter which all have a minimum age restriction of 13 years old.
Linda Neeson
Principal
Principal's Afternoon Tea
CARES Awards
PBL Awards
Athletics Carnival Placements
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.
- Markey Day (K-6) Wednesday 7th September
- Pupil Free Day Friday 9th September, please contact the office if you are planning on sending your child
- Community Movie Night Thursday 15th September
- Year 6 Assembly Friday 16th September
- Kindy Botanical Gardens Excursion Monday 19th September
- Open Classroom Monday 19th September 2:30pm-3:30pm
- Open Classroom Tuesday 20th September 8:30am-9:30am followed by Tea & Talk
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
Assembly
Due to the ongoing covid risk we will continue to have assemblies in junior and senior groups. We are required to continue to have assemblies as ticked events. Outlined below is the schedule of hosting classes. We encourage families only to attend when your child/ren’s class is hosting. To register your attendance please book in using this link https://forms.gle/ghsgsxQPrku8WFod9
Assemblies start at 2:15pm.
Scrivener
During Readers Workshop lessons students have been exploring the reading strategy connecting. Making connections is a reading comprehension strategy that helps students to find meaning in a text by connecting it to their background knowledge. In groups students have been involved in rich discussions using the following 3 sentence starters:
This reminds me of when I…
This makes me think of when I…
I felt the same way…
Corin
Years One and Two have begun their new Technology unit about Digital Systems. The students have enjoyed finding technology in their classroom and building their understanding about the difference between hardware and software. They even had a look at some old digital systems and were horrified to learn that in the past you had to wait a whole week to see the photos you took on a film camera!
Googong
Years 3/4 have been learning how to write procedures in a clear and effective way. We watched a video of children who wrote out the instructions to make a sandwich and their dad followed their method, exactly as it was written, which led to some funny mistakes. We then looked at fairy bread and individually wrote out a procedure for ‘How to Make Fairy Bread.’ After writing, we worked in partners and used craft materials to ‘make’ the fairy bread. This hands-on, engaging lesson helped us to check if our instructions were clear, detailed, and easy to follow. When we came across some instructions that could be misunderstood, we were able to have a laugh and edit our writing.
Bendora
Year 5 students have begun their coding Inquiry, starting with coding their classmates to navigate from Point A (the classroom) to Point B (a set location in the schoolyard). Their algorithm needed to include a starting event, loops, if/else statements and be tested for errors. The testing stage provided much comic relief when students found their code asking classmates to walk into walls, or did not stipulate what type of movements were required, which led to fantastic discussions around the specificity needed for algorithms to be successful and the decision-making capabilities of machines.
Year 6 has been doing many great activities this fortnight. In math, students were looking at how to convert percentages into decimals and fractions. Some students also calculated the percentage of missed tackles from their favourite NRL players and then converted that percentage into decimal and fractional values. In technology, students looked at binary numbers and how computers use binary codes to understand operational instructions and user input and to present a relevant output to the user. Congratulations to the year 6 students who went to the Zone Athletics Carnival to represent Calwell Primary.
