Term 3 Week 2 Newsletter
From the Principal
Dear Calwell Community,
I would like to start by thanking the Calwell Community for making me feel so welcome over the last week. I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone and learning about the school processes and procedures. I would like to acknowledge the amazing work that Katie Brown and the leadership team has done over the last 6 months in supporting the school community while waiting for the principal recruitment process to be complete. I have appreciated the students coming to introduce themselves and tell me what they love about their school. Thanks to those parents who I have met either before or after school and for coming up to say Hi! Thanks also to our teachers who have welcomed me into their rooms to share their practice. I have been impressed with how many students are engaged in their leaning as I walk around the school.
Parent Workshop
This morning a number of our parents and myself attended a parent workshop which was facilitated by Yvonne McLauchlan who is the Social Worker at Calwell High School. The workshop is called understanding and responding to big emotions and focussed on developing our knowledge and strategies in supporting our kids to self-regulate and to have a better understanding of why our kids might express themselves with big behaviours. Topics covered included emotion coaching, developing co-regulation strategies and understanding different behaviour responses.
The workshop is being repeated this evening in our hall at 5.30pm. A number of parents have already said that they are attending however there are still some spots available if you would like to come along. Please email Yvonne at yvonne.mclauchlan@ed.act.edu.au if you would like to come this evening and you have not sent an RSVP.
Positive Behaviour For Learning
As I get to know our school I have noticed that PBL really supports our school culture and expectations. The PBL program is thoroughly embedded and the students and teachers have reflected that this is something that is important. Our focus for this fortnight is being safe when in the front of the school or when out of the school. We will be reminding students that we need to be safe by staying in bounds and away from the road. We are respectful by listening to adult instructions and as learners we make good choices and use a strategy when upset. Please reinforce this learning with your children at home.
Child and Family Worker
I wanted to remind our community that a support worker from The Child and Family Centre at Tuggeranong will be attending Calwell Primary School each Friday during Term 3. They offer a wide range of services and supports in relation to parenting for children under 8 years of age. These include:
- An intake or single session advice service
- Parenting programs such as Circle of Security, Cool Little Kids and Tuning into Kids
- Case management and case coordination
- A range of targeted playgroups for children under school age
- Children’s behaviour and emotional wellbeing clinics
- Referral pathways to external services for children or parents
If you would like to make a time to meet Bek and have a chat, please email Katie.Brown@ed.act.edu.au or call the front office on 6142 1900. This is a great collaboration, and all families are welcome to access the service.
Morning and Afternoon Tea Chat
Next Thursday 3 August at 2.30pm and Friday morning at 8.15am, I would like to invite parents and carers in for a tea or coffee to meet myself and to tell me a bit about our school and community. I am hoping to have these catch ups regularly throughout the term so if you can’t make this one then please join us for another. Please let the front office know if you are coming along so we have an idea of how many will be here. Please call on 61421900 or email contact@calwellps.act.edu.au to RSVP. I will send a reminder home next week.
School Board
After the recent nomination process we can announce that Daniel Hoffman has been appointed to our School Board. Welcome Daniel and thank you for taking on this role to support our school community.
Kind Regards
Ben Roberts
Principal
Calwell CARES
Gold 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.
- Parent teacher interviews during week 2
- Managing Big Emotions workshop Tuesday 25th July 5:30pm
- Hot Food Friday 28th July
- Walk to school morning Friday 4th August
- Years 5/6 Assembly Friday 4th August
- Hot Food Friday 4th August
- Book Club due Monday 7th August
Donations for Breakfast Club can be left at the front office. Examples include margarine/butter and Jam.
Scrivener
Kindergarten students were excited to be back at school after the break. The focus has been on our 100 days of kindergarten celebration. We have been practicing how to count to 100 and we have been looking at what 100 items look like. The children got to dress up like they were 100 years old to celebrate being 100 days smarter. The children also enjoyed an incursion where they got to learn about native animals and made their own animal from straw.
Corin
This week we participated in the Bush Animal program! 1/2 were able to touch and hold Indigenous artefacts such as a cooleman and see how these were used. We experienced how natural resources can be used to make toys by wrapping string around handfuls of straw to begin to create our own bush animals, like snakes and crocodiles.
Googong
In Science 3/4 students have begun their new unit ‘Material World’. They have looked at objects such as gloves and raincoats to investigate the types of materials used to produce these items. Students discussed the properties of various materials to suit the purpose and function for example object = raincoat, material = plastic, property = waterproof. Together we have explored the difference between natural and man-made materials to understand the process of where they come from for example wood is a natural resource that comes from a tree. Students are enjoying our new unit and have lots of interesting questions for us to discover.
Bendora
5/6 students have been building their mental computation strategies through rich tasks and open ended games as a warm up for maths lessons. These tasks are focusing on strategies involving the four operations. Students have begun engaging in a new geography unit of work called Beyond our Borders focusing on the Asia region. They will be investigating the geographical diversity of the Asia region, the differences in the economic, demographic, social characteristics between countries and cultural diversity including that of indigenous peoples.
Hockey ACT
Last term Hockey ACT ran 4 sessions of hockey clinics which children across the school enjoyed. Last week Ally from Hockey ACT delivered a hockey kit to the school for us to use during PE lessons.
Winter Walk to School Week
This term we will be taking part in the Winter Walk to School Week as part of the Ride or Walk to School Safely program which will be in week 3 this term on Friday 4 August. We will be encouraging our students to ride, walk, skate or scoot to school. It is the perfect opportunity for students and school communities across Australia to embrace active travel and healthier habits. Ride or Walk to School program reminds us to consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more riding or walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around.
This term, we will be running a ‘walking school bus’ to Calwell Primary School again. This will be held on 4 August 2023. It was a great walk last term, and we are hoping to get even more students and parents involved this term. We know that walking all the way to school isn’t realistic for many of us, therefore we will meet in the car park at the bottom of Casey Cres at the start of Calwell District Playing fields next to the netball courts where it’s easy to park. Staff members will meet students from 8am and will walk together to school from there. Parents/carers are more than welcome to join us on the walk. We will start the walk at 8.15am.
We hope to see as many students, teachers and parents/carers walking to school as possible.
Online Safety Webinars
Ni Bonchi Judo Club
