Aitken College Newsletter

Cumberland

   

                             Mrs Leanne Schulz

Cumberland Day of Excellence

Last Friday, students participated in our final Day of Excellence for 2019. Focusing on coding and robotics, students had the opportunity to select the activities of interest to them. Throughout the day, students moved with their group to participate in a variety of activities. Students used their iPads to code dance parties, land reindeer, sketch with robots, play Sphero golf to name just a few of the activities on offer. A big thank you to Jayne Boon for organising the day; her creativity and expertise helped make the day an overwhelming success and showcased ICT in the Primary School.

 

Liana K 5K

Day of Excellence in Term 4 was great because there were a lot of fun activities to do throughout the day. There were robots and coding. The day was a lot of fun day for everyone to enjoy because it had challenges and easy activities so everyone could be involved!

 

Maya D 5K

On the Day of Excellence, everyone did different activities in different rooms instead of our own. We did Tynker, Dance Party and much more! Year 3-6 were in groups of 5 and chose 4 different coding activities. Each group had to name their group by saying ideas and agreeing on a name for their group. Everyone had so much fun; now that day might become a memory for all of Cumberland to remember!

 

Jasiah C 4A

Day of Excellence was amazing! We got to code, draw and create our own designs. My favourite activity was Sphero because we got to code it to follow the path, talk and played games with it. I also liked Day of Excellence because I got to do it with my friends. It was a great experience!

 

Brandon S 4A

Term 4’s Day Of excellence was so much fun! For the day, we were put into different groups to do different activities such as Dance Party, Scratch, Tynker, Sphero, code your hero, ozobots and dash/dot and you also got to choose team names. My groups’ team name was Footprints on the Moon. If I had to choose a favourite, I would choose the Ozobots. For ozobots, you can create lines by coding the ozobots to use markers. Black is the main marker and you can also make lines using red, blue and green to create special movements like speeding up, spinning, slowing down, doing the moon walk and much more! In my group, we created two tracks and made a race. I lost! It was really fun and I hope to do it again next year!

Step Up Day

Thursday’s Step-Up day was a busy day in the Primary School. All students moved into their 2020 class to meet their new teachers and classmates and spent the day completing activities in their new class. We also welcomed our gorgeous new Preps to school for their first school day experience.

A lot of time and consideration was put into creating class lists and the Primary School team has worked hard to ensure students are placed in classes that best support each child’s learning needs. Some children may be emotional as we come to the end of the school year and families are encouraged to talk to their children about coping with change and help them focus on an exciting year of learning that awaits them in 2020.

 

We welcome two new members to the College for 2020, Miss Brittany James and Mr Tom Marks. 

Year 6 Celebration Evening

The Year 6 Celebration Evening was a night to remember! The Year 6 students presented their reflections of their primary years and entertained families with some outstanding performances. Each student was awarded a certificate to commemorate their precious years in Fairview and Cumberland. The Year 6 cohort have been incredible leaders of the Primary School and are a credit to their families. They are kind, caring, compassionate and hard- working students who have been a pleasure to teach and get to know. The staff and I wish them well with their transition to high school.

 

I would like to say a very big thank you to the Performing Arts Staff, Michael Cooper, Beth Thompson, Jevon Scandrett and Jade Leonard for organising such an outstanding evening. Also, a final thank you to our dedicated Year 6 teaching staff, Maria Koullas, Emma Dowling and Ron Rees who care deeply about the students in their care.

Final Assembly

At the Final Assembly, we were entertained by three talented students. Suveer livened up the CPA with a catchy saxophone medley, Owen captivated the audience with his entrancing creative dance, and Ezel wowed the audience with her beautiful voice! Thank you to all three performers!

 

Many awards were presented to students. Awards included Sport, House, Service and Cultural Colours, 2019 Semester 1 and 2 Class Captains, and 2019 Cumberland Leaders.

 

The new Year 6 2020 leaders were also announced. Congratulations to the following Leadership Team:

Fun Run Award

Congratulations to Isabel P in 5K for raising an amazing $1209.70 for the Fun Run Fund Raiser. What a wonderful achievement! She received a certificate, medal, a laptop and a lava lamp.

Yuroke Award

Congratulations to Emilee S for receiving the 2019 Yuroke Award from the local Member of Parliament. This was awarded to one Year 6 person for:

  • Having a positive attitude and growth mindset
  • Forming good relationships with peers and teachers
  • Going out of her way to be helpful and supportive of others
  • Being diligent, conscientious and trying her hardest in all areas of the curriculum

In the Spirit of Giving at Christmas

Rather than students receiving a token gift at the end of the school year, the teachers and classes decided to give to others and be grateful for the things that we have in our life.

 

I would like to thank all the Cumberland students for showing compassion and giving to others by donating to several charities.

 

Each student as a parting gift for the year was given a certificate acknowledging their generosity.

  • Year 3 students donated $200 to Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
  • Year 4 students donated $200 to WWF Wildlife Foundation.
  • Year 5 students donated $200 to The Royal Children’s Hospital.
  • Year 6 students donated $200 to Wildlife Victoria.

At the Farm this Week

This week, some Cumberland students visited the farm during lunchtime to watch a sheep shearing demonstration! Students also got to say hello to our four new alpaca’s!! It was very exciting!

Farewell

We farewell Mr Josh Sibley as he is moving to another school in 2020, and thank him for his contribution to Aitken College and the work he has done with 3S. Also, thank you to Ms Amanda De Lacy who stepped in seamlessly to teach 5M in Term 4 when Ms Samantha McAdam went back home to Scotland.

Christmas Wishes and Thank You

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the families for such wonderful support throughout the year. It is always very much appreciated. I am very excited to be the Head of the Primary School in 2020 and look forward to establishing positive relationships with you all throughout the years.

 

I would also like to thank the amazing Primary staff that we have for their dedication and hard work throughout the year. We are all very blessed to have such skilled and caring teachers. Finally, I would like to thank all the wonderful students we have in Cumberland. They are kind, thoughtful and caring towards each other. They all work so hard and always strive to be the best people they can be. We are all very proud of them! We are very blessed!

 

I wish you all a safe and happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the new year. On behalf of the Primary Staff and myself, thank you for the support and take care over the Christmas break.