From the Principal
CAMP
How fortunate were our year 3 and 4 students? They were able to attend their camps as planned. I was also lucky enough to spend a day with the year 3 students. I saw students setting personal goals, challenging themselves and achieving personal bests. Students participated in a range of activities including high ropes, the giant swing, bush cooking and wildlife encounter. The teachers who attended were so pleased with the students who made the most of every opportunity Thank you to the staff members for giving up their precious personal time to make the camp so worthwhile and exciting for our students. Thanks to Amy Carhart, Britt Hudgell, Joel Pollard, Penny Bradley, Rebecca Batten, Brett Nathan, Kae Slattery, Dallas O’Brien, Brooke Schiano and to Beau Landes who jumped on board at the last minute. Special thanks go to Liana Macklin, year 4 and Maddie Kelly, year 3 for coordinating these camps. Our students will have made many memories to reflect on in future years during this time.
YEAR 2 SLEEPOVER-CANCELLED
Our year 2 sleepover originally scheduled for the end of term 3 has been postponed due to the current lockdown being extended. We hope to still be able to run an exciting event for the year 2 students at some point in term 4. Thank you for your understanding as we move through the current restrictions.
PARENT STAFF CONFERENCES
We are planning our term 3 opportunity for parents and students to formally meet with teachers. Traditionally, students are involved in planning and leading these conferences. Due to this disrupted year, we are planning a more traditional meeting between parents and teachers. Students are also welcome to attend the conferences and contribute, but they will not be expected to lead the discussion. This is an opportunity for parents, students and staff to ensure they are all on the same page with regards to a student’s learning goals and achievements. In order to minimise last minute disruptions, these meetings will be held online via WebEx. You will soon receive a notification via Compass inviting you to choose a suitable time for your conference. The duration of the meetings will be 10 minutes. If further discussion is needed following the meeting, teachers will make another appointment. We plan on returning to the student led conference format in 2022 for all year levels. Thank you in advance for making the time to meet with your teachers.
PRINCIPALS’ DAY
It was a principal day with a difference this year, with very few students on site at school. There were many kind cards and messages delivered to our office. I spent quite a bit of time on Saturday reading carefully crafted messages from students across all of our year levels. The year 3 students even created a dance and song they shared all the way from camp. Prep students sent their best wishes via Seesaw. I know Linda, Amanda, Liz and myself felt very special with those acknowledgements.
Thank you to our community.
REFLECTING ON REMOTE AND FLEXIBLE LEARNING
As our lockdown continues, teachers carry on finding ways to innovate and teach your children whilst online. In addition to reading, writing, discovery and maths lessons, I have seen lots of Carnegie chefs learning to cook a range of delicious items, I have heard of the incredible Japanese lessons classes are having, the informative STEM day the year 6 students experienced and of the opportunities for students to catch up with their friends in open sessions. We feel these different sessions are vital for the well being of our students. We are prioritising the well being and connections of our students and are waiting to hear when we will be able to return to onsite learning.
HATS
A reminder that as we are a sunsmart school, the wearing of sun hats is compulsory from August 16th this year. Although it is still cold and wintery, we are required to ask students to wear their hats. Please take the time to find your child’s hat, ensure the name is visible and clearly written and ensure it is sent to school every day for the remainder of the year.
LOST PROPERTY
We continue to have a large amount of unnamed lost property items delivered to the lost property tubs each day. There are several items that appear to be brand new. If your child has misplaced an item of uniform or a water bottle, please take the time to check the lost property tubs when you are next able to be at school.
REMINDERS
1. If you need to enter the school office for an essential reason, please ring the doorbell, then check in with our QR code. QR code check ins are required to be used by all parents and carers who enter school buildings. QR codes are not required for parents who are coming onto the grounds for drop off or pick up.
2. Face masks are necessary for parents and carers within our school grounds.
3. Parents and carers should not congregate in the school grounds either before or after school. Please practise physical distancing. We encourage families to make their way home promptly at the end of each school day.
WORDS OF WISDOM
Liz Harley & Karen Bentata-Grimm