Calwell Primary School eNewsletter

From the Principal

Dear Families,

Welcome to our Week 8 Newsletter. Its great to be enjoying the sun today after a couple of very cold days this week. We are looking forward to our Community Movie Night which is being held this Thursday at Limelight Cinemas in Tuggeranong. School staff will be there to meet you and hand out your pre purchased tickets. We hope everyone has enjoyable night.

Team Colours Day

Next Wednesday the 26^th June our Student Leaders will be running Team Colours Day. This is an opportunity for our students to dress up in their favourite jersey, team shirt or anything else with their team colours. Please do not feel that you need to buy any particular item for this day. We encourage our students to creative with what they wear. Team Calwell shirts are a great option! It is also State Of Origin on Wednesday night so we may see a lot of blue and maroon.

Reports

Our teachers are busy writing student reports at the moment so they are ready to go out in Week 10. We will send home information about how to read the report. We are planning Parent/Teacher Interviews in Week 2 of next term. This is an opportunity for you to discuss the report and your child’s achievements and learning habits. This year all interviews will be booked using the new Parent Portal that will be released later this week. Information about the portal will be provided to families to help guide your sign up.

Enrolments

Next year seems a very long way off however it is time for us to start our planning around class structures and staffing. If you know that your child/children will not be attending in 2025 it would be really helpful if you could let the front office know. Alternatively, if you know of family or friends who are planning on enrolling then please encourage them to do so sooner rather than later.

Positive Behaviour For Learning

During weeks 9 & 10 students in K-6 will be revisiting areas across the school where students are required to stay in bounds. Students will complete boundary walks with their classroom teachers to ensure that all students across the school are aware of where supervised and safe areas are to play and where the unsupervised areas of the school are located.

At our last PBL staff meeting staff revisited the school PBL Matrix. The matrix informs the PBL signage around the school and is a central location to collate the Calwell PBL Expectations. PBL expectations change over time and every 5 or 6 years school review the language used to support students. Our Year 6 Students Leaders were given the opportunity to have their voice about what expectations should look like within the matrix. An opportunity for parents, carers and the wider community to have a say about what should be included will be offered via our newsletter in Term 3.

Our student leaders enjoyed participating in this review of our PBL expectations. It is important to capture student voice in our whole school processes and procedures to develop their agency and sense of belonging.

Thanks to Emma Vince for her continued work with PBL across the school.

School Psychologist

We are very pleased to welcome Kim Squires to our team in the role of School Psychologist. Please see her welcome letter attached.

Kind Regards

Ben Roberts
Principal

Hi everyone!

My name is Kim, and I am very excited to be joining the Calwell Primary School community as your new School Psychologist.

I have a passion for working with young people and am dedicated to supporting the learning and emotional wellbeing of our students. Outside of school, I enjoy listening to audio books, playing video games, and spending time with my friends and family.

I’m looking forward to getting to know the Calwell Primary School community, it is always lovely meeting new people who are just as enthusiastic about working with young people as I am. To start a fun conversation, here is one of my favourite questions to ask people: “If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why?”

I am at Calwell Primary School two days a week, usually on Thursdays and Fridays. If you have concerns about your child, please talk to your child’s teacher in the first instance. If necessary, these concerns can be brought to the Student Support Team which I am a part of. I am looking forward to working with you all, thank you for welcoming me so warmly into your school community!

……………………………………………………

Warm regards,

Kim

Principal's Afternoon Tea

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.

- Community Movie Night Thursday 20th June 6pm

- Bookclub due back Thursday 20th June

- Team Colours Day Wednesday 26th June

- Years 3/4 Assembly Friday 28th June

- Last Day of Term 2 Friday 5th July

- Pupil Free Day Monday 22nd July

- First Day of Term 3 Tuesday 23rd July

Lost Property

Preschool

This term the Garawang and Bandalug children have been learning how to use their voice respectfully to have their needs and wants met. We have learnt our voice is our superpower and it can be used to make friends, share ideas, help to make class decisions and join in conversation.

Celebrating what makes each of us different and our individual strengths helps build a sense of pride in our community and self. The children have made their own mini magazines called zines showcasing each of their superpowers, their interests and likes.

Another benefit of using our voice effectively is being able to have a say in the learning that takes place in the classroom. The Bandalugs have been sharing their ideas in order to build cubby houses. Their cubby house plans show collaboration with one another. They have learnt to listen to each other’s ideas and share their own. The Garawang class are venturing into the world of the solar system. Sitting outside during lunch, the discussion moved to the seasons and how the sun helps us keep warm. A question “Why does it get colder in winter?” has sparked a curiosity to learn more about the sun and planets.

The garden has taken off with the children enjoying caring for and harvesting the plants for home. The Bok choy has almost finished its life cycle. If you would like to add to the garden please feel free to bring in a plant that can go where the Bok choy once grew.

The goal for this term if for the children to share their ideas and opinions about preschool, to understand we all have choices and when we make choices it can affect others. Their voice will help inform our new Calwell Preschool philosophy.

Term 2 and we have hit the ground (or space) running in Science, so to speak.

This term is about Earth and Space.

Did you know scientists have discovered a massive planet as light and fluffy as fairy floss? Year 1/2 have been learning and sharing information what they know about our solar system and planets. We have been acting out being Earth, Sun and Moon to work out how they move around each other in space. Shadow play has been the highlight (or lack of light) during this term. We got to play with Lego and torches! Check out the night sky and work out what phase the moon is in. Best to rug up!

Students in 3/4 have been looking at a resource that is a lot closer to home. The water cycle is the main topic that they have been learning. There has been many experiments involving water including water cycles in a bags, bottle and bowls, evaporation, and condensation. Have a think about how water moves in our urban environment and why we need to look after this important resource.

Year 5/6 students have been looking up into space and our solar system. They have created their own mnemonic to remember the order of the planets and discovered the importance of the Sun. We are currently working out why we have seasons. Have you seen the aurora australis that has been happening recently?