Term 1 Week 4 Newsletter
From the Principal
Dear Calwell Families,
It was so nice to see the community onsite at the welcome BBQ last Wednesday evening. Hopefully this was the first of many opportunities to connect with the school this year. All families are invited to attend the first P&C meeting of the year to be held tonight (22 February) at 7pm in the staffroom.
I would like to thank Jason Walmsley Principal Conder Primary School for supporting the school over the past 2 weeks. Linda will continue her leave for the remainder of the term. During this time I will be acting Principal and can be contacted through the front office 6142 1900 or via email Katie.Brown@ed.act.edu.au.
This term we will be introducing 'Getting to Know You' interviews. These interviews will replace the end of term 1 check list report. Interviews will be held at various times from Monday 27 February until Thursday 9 March. A link for booking into these interviews will be sent later in the week. These interviews provide you with an opportunity to meet your child/ren’s teacher and share any relevant information about your child/ren and talk through your goals for your child this year.
Over recent weeks we have seen an increase in smart devices being brought to school including smart watches. We acknowledge that technology plays an increasing role within our lives and that families need to be able to communicate with their child/ren while they are travelling to and from school. Please ensure your child’s device is set for school mode during the day (if possible) and that if you need to get a message to your child during the day that you contact the front office for it to be passed on. All student mobile phones must be dropped off at the front office at the start of the day and collected at 3pm. I encourage you to explore the eSafety commissioner website https://www.esafety.gov.au for information on how to help your child stay safe while online. This website includes many useful resources for children and families.
This year we will be undertaking School Review. The review process provides the school community the opportunity to reflect on current practices and progress made towards improving the quality of teaching and learning. Every ACT Government school undertakes the school review process every 5 years. Our school Review will be conducted in week 3 of next term (8 May).
Katie Brown
Acting Principal
Calwell CARES
NAPLAN
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.
- 3/4 Assembly Friday 24th February 2:30pm
- Team Calwell Day Friday 24th February
- Wacky Wednesday Crazy Socks Wednesday 1st March
- Kindergarten Health Check forms due to front office by Friday 28th February
Breakfast Club
We are looking for volunteers to assist with Breakfast Club in the mornings from 8:30-9:00am. If you can help please contact the front office on 61421900.
Any donations of butter/margarine, vegemite or honey would be greatly appreciated. These can be dropped at the front office from 8:30am.
Preschool
This term we are exploring the concept of ‘Our Place’ and supporting children to build a strong sense of belonging and connection to Calwell Preschool. We are learning about about the rich history of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country where we play and learn. This week we started Yarn Time. During this time the Rosellas, Magpies and Cockatoos get together to share a song, story and afternoon tea.
Scrivener
The kindergarten students have settled in well to their new school routine. They are enjoying their time in the classroom, as well as the playground. To help the children focus and be ready for their leaning we have spent time examining the Zones of Regulation and what a focused learner looks and feels like.
One of our highlights this week has been our introduction to gross motor. Our first focus was body awareness and balance. During gross motor the students participate in a range of physical activities that target the foundation skills of different movements.
We have also started developing our knowledge of what make us special and unique. As we explore this unit of work students created self portraits and shared what makes them unique through thoughtful pictures.
Corin
This week in 1/2 during Science students observed and recorded changes in the position of the sun throughout the school day. We went outside at three different times during the day and students created annotated images which showed what part of the school the sun was above at each time of the day.
Googong
This term students in 3/4 will explore ‘heat’ in a Science unit called Heating Up. To capture students' interest and find out what they think they know about how heat can be produced, we brainstormed the ways students could warm up if they felt cold. We then conducted an experiment where each student held an ice cube and observed how and why the ice began to melt. Following this lesson students investigated primary and secondary heat sources by sorting items such as a kettle, hot water bottle, candle, window, computer into categories. They then recorded their findings in their Science journal. It has been great to see the positive levels of engagement during these hands on lessons form our students.
Bendora
Students in Bendora have been revisiting strategies for addition and subtraction, paying particular attention to the Split Strategy and the Algorithm Strategy. Part of this work has been playing a mental computation game called ‘The Farm Game’. This involves students managing crops dependant on rolls of a dice. The students play nominated rounds of the game and then add the monetary amount they earn, with the winner being the highest earner at the end of the game. Much excitement across the two classrooms has been noticed...with students becoming very strategic about the crops they plant! Creative writing in the form of Narrative texts are also being revisited by students. They have been brainstorming ideas for the orientation section of this text type, using images created by Mr Delfs and an AI program. Students will work towards creating a complete Narrative text of their own and then use a similar program to develop a front cover for their text.
