Term 3 Week 4 Newsletter
From the Principal
Dear Families
Welcome to our Week 4 newsletter. It was great to see so many of our families come along for parent/teacher interviews in Week 2. If you were not able to make an appointment during this time and you would still like to then please feel free to contact your child’s teacher to organise a suitable time.
Congratulations to our Year 1/2 students and teachers who presented a fantastic assembly last Friday. The assembly was a really great reflection of the learning that has been happening in the classroom and it always so encouraging to see out students being so proud of their achievements.
Book Week
We are all looking forward to our annual Book Week celebrations next week. The theme for the 2024 Book Week is Reading Is Magic.
Along with many in class activities to promote the enjoyment of reading we have a number of other whole school activities to participate in. On Tuesday our Preschoolers will have the opportunity to Dress Up as a character from their favourite book. The rest of the school will have this opportunity on Friday where they will participate in a Book Week parade at 9.15am. Following the parade we would like to invite our parents/families to stay and participate in some shared reading with your child/children.
We are looking forward to our Book Swap which will be held each morning of Book week. Please send your child along with a gold coin donation which will go to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
Bullying No Way: National week of action
This year Calwell Primary School is participating in the Bullying No Way: National week of action, 12 to 16 August 2024.
Bullying No Way Week is a commitment being made by thousands of schools and supporters across the country. It provides an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to bullying prevention. It gives us an opportunity to connect with students, staff and school communities to implement workable solutions to prevent bullying.
The new hero colour for the campaign is purple – symbolising peace, strength and empowerment to take a stand against bullying behaviour.
The theme for this year's campaign is Everyone belongs. This theme highlights the importance of creating a sense of belonging and inclusion for students. We recognise bullying often thrives in environments where individuals feel marginalised or excluded, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that every student feels valued and respected.
“Positive school climates that value diversity and inclusion can foster a sense of belonging and provide a protective factor against negative peer relationships and reduce bullying.” (Australian Education Research Organisation 2023). For more information about Bullying No Way Week and bullying prevention, visit the Bullying No Way website.
During the week our students will be engaging students in meaningful discussions and activities aimed at promoting empathy, understanding, and respect for diversity. We encourage parents and carers to take this opportunity to have open and honest conversations with their children about the impact of bullying and what they can do if they need support. You can visit the Bullying No Way website for tips around how to have this discussion.
Thanks to Rachel Regan for organising our Bullying No Way purple parade today. So many of our students dressed up in some purple to help our community to think about the important messages that come from National Days like this.
2025 Planning
We are currently in the process of planning staffing and class structures for next year. Please complete the following survey link if you are planning for your child to not to be enrolled at Calwell Primary School in 2025. You do not need to complete this if your child is going to Highschool or if they are in Preschool.
https://forms.gle/junh9UYXjQztjYFz8
Kind regards,
Ben Roberts
Principal
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.
- Donut notes and payment due Monday 19th August
- Tuggeranong Athletics Carnival (selected students) notes and payment due back Monday 19th August
- Fathers Day stall notes and payment due back Friday 23rd August
- Year 2 Aqua Safe program notes due back Monday 26th August
- Years 3/4 Soccer Gala day notes and payment due back Monday 26th August
- Kindergarten National Arboretum notes and payment due Friday 30th August
- Market Day notes and payment due back Monday 9th September
Googong
English
This term in English, we've been busy learning about how to write procedures. Our students are practising how to use the right structure and language to guide the reader step by step. They've been focusing on using clear headings, making lists of materials, and including adverbs, time connectives, and verbs in their instructions. Students wrote instructions for their teacher who was an alien, on how to brush your teeth, or wash your dog or how to make a sandwich. Teachers followed the instructions whilst students learnt the importance of clear, explicit language and steps. There was lots of laughter!
Maths
In Maths, we've been sharpening our multiplication skills. The students have explored strategies like arrays, groups of, equal groups and algorithms. They've even created amazing towns that show how multiplication algorithms and arrays work together! We're also working on our times tables through a daily speed challenge. In our measurement lessons, students have been learning to identify different angles, including acute, obtuse, right angle, straight line, reflex, and revolution. To showcase their new knowledge, they’ve created some fantastic angle art!
Inquiry
Our Technology unit has been a big hit this term! We started our coding adventure on paper, where students learned to use symbols to guide a friend from one spot to another. Then, they used this knowledge to create algorithms for the programs Lightbot and Scratch. It's been wonderful to see how persistent and resilient the students have been while solving problems in coding.
Academy of Future Skills Incursions
Last Friday, our Year 3/4 students kicked off National Science Week with a special visit from Mr. Kent, the Assistant Director of the Academy of Future Skills. He challenged us to think like engineers and design a stagecoach that will be pulled by a Sphero robot. Next, we’ll become coders, programming the Sphero to pull our stagecoaches! The classroom is buzzing with ideas, designs, and materials as students prepare to build and test their creations this Friday. To help us complete our projects, we’re asking for donations of clean, recyclable items from home, such as boxes, lids, and old CDs or DVDs. We’d also appreciate any straws, wooden skewers, or sticky tape you can spare. Thank you for your support!
Library
During library sessions we have been reading the nominated books for the children’s book of the year. Students will vote for their favourites and the winners for each category will be announced after book week (Week 5).
Senior students have learnt how to use the program Oliver to search for books available in our library. It has been wonderful to see an increase in students borrowing a variety of books they are interested in.
