Term 1 Week 4 Newsletter

From the Principal

Dear Calwell Families,

We have had a very settled start to the year and enjoyed meeting families at our recent Meet & Greet BBQs. Thank you to all the parent/carers who attended.

Facility Upgrade

You may have noticed the work being undertaken at the back of the school hall. A new reverse  cycle heating and cooling system is being installed. This has been a big undertaking and we look forward to the system being up and running, especially being able to cool the hall on those really hot days. A new reverse cycle system was also installed into the preschool and is running well.  

School Crossing & Parking

Late last year I contacted Urban Services to again raise my concern about the safety of Calwell students when crossing Downard St and Casey Cres. I have requested that the crossing on Downard St, despite being a 24 hour crossing which is a higher grade than a school crossing, have school crossing flags added. The location of the crossing so close to the school’s exit gate makes visibility difficult and flags would highlight the need for drivers to take extra care. 

Please be aware that parking on the nature strip outside the lower oval next to the crossing is illegal, and a fine can be incurred. I am anticipating that this area will have bollards installed to prevent cars parking in this area as they not only obscure the view of drivers coming out of the school, but often place students at risk when leaving the area by driving off the curb into the street and crossing.

Parking is an issue at the school as there is little or no street parking available, however, traffic congestion and parking issues last for a maximum of 15 mins each afternoon. Spending significant funds on providing additional parking spaces in a relatively small school for such a brief time of difficulty is at the heart of the issue. A little patience and cooperation from our school community will continue to keep our students safe, which MUST always be the priority.

Thank you for your continued support in following the drop-off and pick-up procedure. This is working well when all drivers follow the guidelines and don’t park in these areas. Arrangements to remove one of the disabled car spots at the front of the school and move one further down should also assist. I hope this work will be undertaken before the start of Term 2. 

Footsteps Dance

The dance program delivered by Footsteps Dance begins on Wednesday. Having support from professionals in the field of dance ensures that this core part of the Arts Curriculum is delivered in a skilled and engaging way. The work covered in these weekly lessons will contribute to your child’s grade in The Arts.   

Before & After School Supervision

Students should not be arriving on school grounds before 8.30am as this is the time staff are expected to arrive at work. Formal supervision on the playground begins at 8.45am. Before and After School Care is available to families who need assistance outside 8.30am and 3pm. Students should also leave the school grounds as quickly as possible after the 3pm bell as there is no teacher supervision.  

Frozen Friday

Our students really enjoy the opportunity to purchase something from the canteen at recess on Fridays. Please be mindful that the recess break is only 20 minutes and this is not enough time for students to consume multiple ice creams. 

Swimming Trials

Congratulations to the students who participated in the Swimming Trials. Our thanks to Mr Susko and parent helpers. A small number of students will now represent the school at the Tuggeranong Swimming Carnival.  

BASE Testing

Our Kindergarten teachers have completed the start of the year BASE Testing (previously PIPS) which provides us with baseline information of the English and Mathematics skills students have when they commence school. The second test in term four will provide us with valuable information about the growth these students make in their first year.

Community Engagement Grant

We are still looking for interested parent/carers who would like be on a working party to guide the  implementation of this project throughout the year. We hope to hold the first meeting next week and will set a meeting time based on the groups availablity.  Please phone the school and leave your name and number or  email contact@calwellps.act.edu.au if you would like to be involved. 

PBL Safe Frisbee

As always, we are encouraging our students to be Safe, Respectful Learners. As a special incentive, a limited edition PBL Frisbie was on offer for the students who earnt the most 'Safe tokens’ in their classes so far this year. Congratulations to the following students:  

Kinder -Leah K, Penny G, Willow T,  Lucy A and Mitchell A

Year 1 – Logan A, Amelie F, Bycen T, Kaydence E and Skyla B

Year 2 – Cooper L, Angela F, Fletcher J, Aya K, Hussain T, Ryan T, George M and Wara F

Years 3/4 -Brodey L, Karina L, Connor G , Isobel A, Harper M, Lewis T, Talia A and Aeman A

Years 5/6 – Tyrah W, Emily P,  Dom M, Khade B, Isabella M and Aaira A

Linda Neeson

Principal

Community Feedback

Feedback is a very important part of the home / school partnership and informs decision making in many aspects of the school’s operation. We receive community feedback through:

• the annual School Improvement Survey conducted by the Directorate
• the school survey sent out each year at the Term 3 Learning Journey
• School Board parent representatives
• written and/or oral feedback from parents/carers throughout the year

Last year much of the feedback we received focussed around these areas:

• using Seesaw for communication as well as for sharing student work
• the teaching of a second language
• more lunchtime clubs for students
• environmental, waste reduction, garden projects
• student welfare and behaviour support
• parking & traffic issues
• building community through school events

What action have we taken in response?

• We have reviewed communication processes and developed a Communication Guideline document with Seesaw now a key communication link for parents/carers and class teachers
• Students in years 3-6 will have a weekly Indonesian lesson
• a lunch club is available in the first half of every lunch break. Clubs offered will vary from term to term to meet student interest
• we have established a gardening club and applied for a Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant of $1000 to support the purchase of garden beds
• PBL is continuing to be embedded into the school. We have established the CARES Room adjacent to the playground where Executive staff will support students who attend following playground  issues or incidents
• discussions are underway regarding the school crossing and we are continuing to look for ways to improve traffic flow through the car park
• we have a Community Engagement Grant of $18,000 to support enhancing parent engagement with the school and community events in 2021

Swimming Trial Placements 2021

CARES Awards

Naplan

NAPLAN Online will occur in our school between 11 and 21 May 2021.

NAPLAN Online is a more engaging assessment that adjusts questions to each student’s achievement level. It also delivers more precise results to schools and parents more quickly.

NAPLAN provides valuable information to schools and parents about literacy and numeracy achievement. It supports school improvement processes by enabling teachers to monitor student progress over time and to identify areas of strength and development.

All eligible students are encouraged and supported to participate in NAPLAN testing. Visit www.nap.edu.au to see interactive versions of the test and for more information.

Preschool

Thank you to all the families who came along to our ‘Meet and Greet’ BBQ. We hope you had a lovely evening meeting school staff and other families. Many families are now connected on Seesaw and accessing their child’s digital portfolio. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need any support to sign up and get connected to Seesaw.

This term, preschool are exploring the concept of belonging. We are continuing to learn routines. Having a predictable daily routine supports children to develop a sense of trust and confidence in their new environment. Preschoolers are anticipating the next step in the day and showing increasing independence. As their confidence grows we are seeing children form new friendships and engage in cooperative play. We are looking forward to watching and supporting these friendships to grow throughout the year. Educators are supporting children to initiate and join in play with others.

Preschoolers have many new faces and names to learn. It is very common in these early days that your preschooler may not be able to name their friends yet. Rosellas, Magpies and Cockatoos are playing a variety of name games to support children to learn the names of their peers.

Scrivener

Kindergarten have started looking at the beginning concepts of print. We have been having discussions about book handling and the different parts of books including the front cover and back covers. We have also been discussing directionality of print, which includes beginning at the front and ending at the back, turning pages left to right and where we start reading the page. 

Corin

Year 1

In Year 1 we have been exploring the Learning Asset, Self-Manager. Students are learning how to manage their own learning by working independently and staying on task. We have been practising how to be a Self-Manager during Reader's Workshop and Inquiry. In Readers Workshop, students are to independently select their own quality text to read and complete set tasks. During Inquiry, we have been learning about foods that help us to Go, Grow and Glow. Students are using their Self-Managing skills to  stay focused whilst sorting foods into each category. 

Year 2

This term we have started our Unit of Inquiry, ‘Food and Me’. We drew and painted fruit bowls featuring some of our favourite fruits and vegetables. We have been practising using watercolour paint and have been experimenting with mixing colours to create our artwork.

Year 1

Year 2

Googong

Students in 3/4 have been working hard during Maths lessons to understand place value. As part of their learning they explored the different ways to represent numbers. They then created think boards to show their understanding. The think board looks at numbers written as words, expanded notation, standard form and using base 10 blocks.

Bendora

Year 5 and 6 have been learning how we can use a Growth Mindset when faced with a challenge. We explored the ‘Power of Yet’ by being Self-Managers and completed a display to reflect on what we can do and what we can’t do YET.

Parliament

This year we will continue some of the programs from last year and start some new things. Last week our Parliament team discussed what these programs/activities would be and look like. We will be continuing the recycling program from early 2020 which was stopped because of COVID. Students who bring juice boxes or milk to school can remove the straw after drinking and place the container in a labelled bucket which will then be taken to the Government bottle return centre to be recycled. We will also be continuing the bread tag collection. Please bring your bread tags to the front office to support Aussie Bead Tags for Wheelchairs. If you would like to find out more check out the Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs website. New clubs have started this year following Parliament requests last year. Dance club - Join Miss Bicket in Corin on a Wednesday first half lunch to get involved. A few of our kind mums will be running a Craft Club in the hall on Monday lunch time. Come along to make awesome crafts. 

Future events  

• Colour run later this year ( if COVID-19 restrictions allow )
• State of Origin Dress Up - term 2 date comes out later  

The Smith Family Saver Plus

Tuggeranong Repair Cafe

Brindabella Blues Football Club