Principal's News
Remembrance Day
We held a ceremony on Thursday morning for the whole school to remember the fallen who served in the wars for Australia. Our School Captains read poems and we observed a minute’s silence and played The Last Post. It is important to take the time to teach our young children about the traditions and historical significance of major events in Australia’s history. Thank you to Mr Bourke for his preparation with the music specific to the service, and our students and teachers for engaging in Responsible, Respectful, Co-operative and Courteous practice.
2022 Transition Visits
We have really looked forward to having our new Foundation students for 2022 commence their visits onsite. They managed to meet their big buddies for 2022 last Friday and had a great time creating jelly fish as an art activity. A big thank you to Mrs Spain and the Foundation team for their excellent organisation which has enabled the visits to re commence.
Shingles/Chickenpox
We recently had a case of shingles at our school. Shingles is a disease caused by a reactivation of the chickenpox virus. It causes a painful blistering rash.
If your child develops a blistering rash, please seek medical advise from your General Practitioner.
Your child should not attend school until all blisters have dried. Any child with an immune deficiency or receiving chemotherapy should be excluded for their own protection. Otherwise, contacts are not excluded.
Student Reports in Semester 2 2021
The process for reporting on student progress at Cheltenham East Primary School in Semester 2 continues. Teachers are looking closely at data collected from assessment and student work samples, to analyse growth and achievement for Semester 2 2021.
As explained last week, teachers are aware of the significant challenges that our students have faced this year and the resulting impact on learning that these challenges have had. All growth should be celebrated and the teachers have been extremely pleased with student attitude and effort since returning to onsite learning.
When looking at your child's report, keep in mind that all growth this year is hugely positive. Many students will not have grown academically a full 12 months, over this period. This is particularly relevant for senior students (in years 3 - 6) who have significantly more skills and content to master during the year. CEPS remains committed to using the data and observations to analyse the students' next area of focus and working closely with our students to ensure they make strong progress throughout 2021.
The Education Department has announced the continuation of funding to schools in 2022 around the Tutor program, to ensure that all students affected adversely by remote learning have support in further learning during 2022. This funding will continue to support the employment of tutors throughout schools to work closely with the affected students to support them in closing the gap between their 2021 performance and usual capabilities.
Sun Smart Uniform
All children should be wearing hats outside now. If your child has lost their hat, please make sure that it is replaced through the Primary School Wear uniform shop. Any children without an approved school hat will be directed to a shaded area during recess and lunchtimes. Children also need to be wearing an approved school uniform to school as per the school uniform policy.
Sensory Garden Project
The proposed works on the Sensory Garden development in the eating area will finally be starting this Monday, November 15th. City Living Property Services will be carrying out the works and will be putting fencing around the eating area on Friday. This will mean most of the eating area will be fenced off for the safety of the children and visitors while the works are carried out. They will not have access to the eating area for an extended period (At least four weeks.) Alternative eating areas and access points will be used while this is happening. The workers will access the site from the Coolac St side (Removing fence panels) and part of the roadside curb and footpath will have restricted access for car parking and pedestrians. There will also be a traffic controller to direct vehicles in and out of the school site. Please be extra vigilant if you use the Coolac St side when entering or exiting the school. Year 2 children will need to enter through the Bike Shed gate. The works will certainly make the eating area look fantastic for the future.
Parking
Please attend to the parking restrictions around the school. Kingston Council is resuming officers in community area to enforce traffic rules. I bring your attention to the 2min Parking Zone on Silver Street and the Kiss & Go Zone on Coolac Street. When these zones are not used correctly, we are seeing the push of traffic back onto streets and as a result, our students are being placed at risk getting in and out of cars in no-standing areas.
FOR THE BENEFIT OF EVERYONE’S SAFETY, PLEASE FOLLOW PARKING REGULATIONS
Thought For The Week
Wayne Bach
Principal