Term 1 Week 2 Newsletter
From the Principal
Dear Calwell Families,
It has been so lovely to see the children settle into their new classes and begin to establish new friendships and make connections with the children and staff in their class. Each class has developed their PBL classroom expectations and have begun establishing daily routines and procedures.
This week we welcome Jason Walmsley Principal Charles Conder Primary school who will be the acting Principal of the school while Linda is on leave. Please come and say hello to Jason if you see him around the school this week.
We are looking forward to seeing our community at our upcoming Welcome BBQ. Families are invited to come and see your child/ren’s classrooms, meet their teachers and stay for a sausage sandwich. You are welcome to bring your own picnic and stay and mingle with other families. This event is scheduled to be held on Wednesday 15 February from 5-6:30pm. In the event of poor weather the event will be rescheduled.
We would love for you to connect with other members of our school community and encourage you to come and join our P&C. The first meeting of the year is scheduled for Wednesday 22 February 7pm in the staffroom. All families are welcome to attend and this is a great way to get involved in the school.
This newsletter also includes information regarding nominations for out School Board. If you are interested in nominating for the board or have any questions about this please contact the school.
Over the coming weeks kindergarten children will participate in BASE testing during class time. This provides initial data on children’s literacy and numeracy skills. Kindergarten families will receive an outline of their child’s progress later in the term.
This week children will receive a note about our upcoming swimming time trials. This year our competitors only swimming time trials will be held at the Lakeside Leisure Centre in Tuggeranong on Monday 20 February 9am-11am. The trials are for students who are competent swimmers and can swim continuously in at least one of the four strokes (Freestyle, Breaststroke, Backstroke or Butterfly) for a distance of 50 metres or more.
As we finally move away from pandemic restrictions families are reminded that if children are unwell you should keep them at home. Please ensure you notify the front office if your child has covid-19 and ensure they stay home until they have recovered and are symptom free.
I look forward to seeing you at the welcome BBQ next week and at pick up and drop off times this week.
Katie Brown
Deputy Principal
Book Packs
Book packs are the most important resource for students to support their learning. To ensure that teaching and learning can go ahead we have distributed book packs, however, ask that families please make payment as soon as possible. We understand that some members of the community may be experiencing financial strain and encourage you to contact the Business Manager, Jennifer Hartcher, if you would like to make a payment plan or require financial support from the school Jennifer’s direct line number is 6142 1904.
Calwell CARES
2023 School Board Nominations
The School Board is the policy making body for the school. Board membership consists of three parents (elected by the parents), two teachers (elected by the teachers), a nominee of the Department and the Principal as executive officer. Members are elected for a two-year term.
Responsibilities of the Board include the development of school policies, philosophy and priorities, approving the annual budget and the disbursement of funds, and approval of the Strategic and Annual Action Plans. The school’s new Strategic Plan 2023 2027 will be developed this year.
The Board is established at the end of term one each year to provide the opportunity for new parents to settle into the school community before elections are held.
There is a vacant position on the School Board for a parent representative. Nominations open 11:00 am Monday 6th February and close at 11:00 am Wednesday 22nd February 2023.
Forms will be available at the front office from the 6th February or can be emailed to you by calling 6142 1900. The new Board commences on 1st April 2023. Nominations must be:
- In writing and signed
- Endorsed with the consent of the person nominated
- Delivered to the Front Office, marked to the attention of the Returning Officer for the School Board by Wednesday 22nd February by 11:00am.
If more than one nomination is received for the vacant position the Returning Officer will conduct a ballot. Should an election be required details will be advertised in the school newsletter. Candidates are required to provide a brief statement detailing where their particular interests lie in the school, what skills or experience they bring to the Board and how they will represent the parent body to accompany their nomination.
Nominations must be received before the closing date by either:
- Hand delivery to the front office, or
- Email to contact@calwellps.act.edu.au with “CPS Board” in the subject space.
The names of all nominees will be announced on 22nd February
If an election is required, the voting period will be from 27th February to 6th March. Further information: contact the Assistant Returning Officer, Jennifer Hartcher, on 6142 1900 or by email: jennifer.hartcher@ed.act.edu.au
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.
- Canteen orders every Wednesday, via flexischools.
- Preschool to Year 6 Welcome back BBQ Wednesday 15th February 5:00pm-6:30pm
- Swimming Trials (opt in students only 8 yrs +) Monday 20th February
Scrivener
This week Kindergarten have been settling into the routines of our school week. We have been learning to unpack and pack our bags, line up in our correct class groups and where our playground boundaries are! We have also been learning about Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL) and what it means to be a ‘safe, respectful learner’. We have been developing our fine motor skills and learning to write our names with the correct pencil grip and correct letter formation.
Corin
This week 1/ 2 have been revisiting the five Learning Assets. When exploring the learning asset of collaborator, we talked about what a collaborator does and how to be a collaborator before we practised being collaborators. We worked in teams to build towers out of different resources. For each learning asset, we reflected on which tool worked best for us, such as taking turns when being a collaborator or moving away to be a self-manager, before putting these reflections into Learning Assest Toolboxes.
Googong
What a fantastic start to the year 3/4 have had! We have settled in well to our new classrooms and are quickly adjusting to the routines and procedures. In week 1, we engaged in lots of fun getting to know you activities and concentrated most of our time learning about the brains purpose and functions. As a unit, we read the ‘Fantastic Elastic Brain’ and each created a flip book demonstrating our understanding of the following parts of the brain; cerebrum, cerebellum, hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex. We then linked this learning to the importance of having a ‘Growth Mindset’ and unpacked the difference between having a ‘fixed’ and ‘growth’ mindset. The 3/4 team are thrilled to be back and are looking forward to the exciting year ahead!
Bendora
In 5/6 we have been busy with our usual beginning of the year activities: Creating name tags for tote trays, art pieces to put up around the room, holiday recounts to ease back into writing, choosing books to read and learning math games to help our mental computations.
