Cumberland

                             Mrs Leanne Schulz

Christmas Service

The Cumberland Christmas Service focused on the true meaning of Christmas and the wonderful blessings that the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ has on our community and lives. Each class sang and performed a Christmas Carol beautifully. Year 6 student, Ezel F, impressed us all with her amazing voice while singing Noel. What an incredible performance!

A big thank you to Miss Jessica Healey for her wonderful Chapel services throughout the year. The College is extremely blessed to have a dedicated Chaplaincy faculty, who support the commitment of the Christian faith and values.

Presentation Night

Just a reminder that all Cumberland students are expected to attend the Presentation Night on Monday 9 December and be at The Plenary, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre no later than 7.00pm. At the Plenary, students should proceed downstairs to the Lower Ground foyer to meet their Homeroom teacher who will mark the roll. Parents may enter from the Ground or Level 1 foyer doors. Students should wear summer uniform with blazers (boys must not wear t-shirts under their summer shirt). At the end of the evening, Homeroom teachers will wait with their class until parents collect them.

Step Up Day

As you know, Step Up Day is fast approaching and is next Thursday 12 December from 9.20am - 1.00pm. On this day, students move into the next year of schooling and into their new classes. The day will be full of excitement, as students settle into their new class with their new teacher/s. It is important that parents support the school’s placement of their child in their new class and help focus on the positives of a new year, new friends, new learning and new achievements. Managing change and building resilience are life-long skills and it is important for us all to support the transition into a new classroom and new year.

The classes have been created following a number of set criteria taking into consideration the academic, social and emotional needs of students, and much time and effort has gone into their formation.

Parents often feel anxious about the new class and teacher/s as every parent wants their child to enjoy schooling and have a great learning year. It is very tempting to want to find out as soon as the ‘change over’ occurs. Parents are asked to drop off their child(ren) as usual and not ‘wait’ in the playground to find out, as this does not support building a child’s independence or resilience and hinders the transition process. Parents are also asked not to message their child as this encourages students to break our technology rules and interferes with children’s ‘school-life’.

Thank you for trusting us to make decisions based on the best interests of all students.

Year 6 Celebration Evening

Next Wednesday 11 December is an exciting night for the Year 6 students and their families as we officially celebrate the end of their Primary School years and their transition into Secondary school. The Performing Arts Department have been working hard with the Year 6 Homeroom teachers and students to ensure that the evening is memorable.

Year 6 is a big year, being the highest year level in Cumberland. I remind the Year 6 students often that they are all leaders and all capable of leading by example, through their words and actions and in the way they role model expected behaviour, apply themselves to their school-work and wear their uniform. The younger children do not look for the badge, they look for the example. The Year 6 cohort are to be congratulated on their exemplary behaviour and work ethic throughout the year. They have been an absolute delight to get to know and represent the College and their families beautifully.

Final Assembly

Parents are welcome to attend the Final Assembly for the year which will be held on Friday 13 December during Period 2, commencing at 10.00am. During this Assembly, Colour Awards  will be presented, the 2019 Captains will be thanked, and the 2020 Cumberland leaders will be announced. Parents will be notified if their child was successful in attaining a Colour Award or a Leadership position, however, will be asked to keep this news secret so that it will be a great surprise for their child.

There were over 35 applications for Colour Awards and a panel of teachers and I scrupulously went through the applications for Colours ensuring that students met the criteria. Not all students were successful, but should continue to strive for a Colour in future years. An overwhelming number of 40 students applied to be a part of the Year 6 Leadership Team for 2020.  All applicants were interviewed for these sought-after leadership positions, and are to be commended for their willingness and self-belief in going through this process; they are well on their way to developing leadership skills. Cumberland has 18 main leadership positions and so not all students will be successful. I have admired the comments the students made when asked what they would say to students who were not selected. The comment most made is for them to hold their head up, that they should be proud they tried and that there are many more opportunities as they make their way through the school. These are such mature responses – a testament to the quality of students we have in Cumberland.

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Update

Kitchen garden has been an amazing experience, learning all new recipes and different skills. We have used a variety of fruits and vegetables from the garden such as broad beans, spring onions and carrots. One of our favourite recipes was beetroot choc chip muffins! We had to learn all new things because we were in the new kitchen garden building. We had a great experience with our cooking group each week. All the Year 5 students wish there was more!

By Darcy C

Performing Arts Showcase

The Cumberland and Fairview students got to enjoy a day of Performing Arts in the Chapel and Performing Arts Centre on Wednesday 4 December. A very big thank you goes to Ms Thomson, Mr Scandrett, Ms Leonard and Mr Barker for preparing students for their performances throughout the day. Each class performance engaged the audience and entertained us all! We certainly have some very talented students.

Reflection by Caleb D

We got to watch the Fairview students perform songs for us on stage in the Chapel and Performing Arts Centre and Cumberland classes also got to showcase their talents from Performing Arts classes for the Fairview students. What I liked most about the Primary Performing Arts day was when some instrumental lesson students performed for the whole Prep to Year 6 students.

I have been learning how to play the flute for 18 months with Mr Muddyman and I was selected to play one of my favourite songs that I have been learning on the flute ‘Super MARIO Bro’s. theme’ song. I was nervous before stepping out on stage, but I played well and the audience cheered loudly, making me feel great. I also enjoy playing 'The Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'See You Again' on flute. My flute teacher is a talented woodwind and piano teacher. I always learn fun songs with him and I am becoming more comfortable performing for an audience. Everyone else that sang, played drums, played piano, played violin and guitar did an awesome job.

3A Maths

In Term 4, 3A have been learning about volume and capacity in Maths. We conducted an experiment using a small spoon and a 1 litre container. We needed to predict how many spoons it would take to fill the container. We predicted that to fill 1 litre it would take 21 spoons. As we filled the container, we changed our prediction to 35 cups, then 40! We used water to fill the container because it would not create any air gaps. The parts we enjoyed most were making a video to share with the class and when we finally filled the container. We found out that it took 39 spoons to fill the container. We learnt that you need a flat surface to find out how much water you have and you need to be accurate when filling your spoon.

Kara D, Noah M, Eva J, George S  -  3A

Important Dates