What's happening at CHPS
Sports News
Welcome back to another exciting year in PE and Sport. Welcome to our new families – we hope your children will enjoy participating in the many sporting opportunities coming up this year.
District Swimming Sports
The first event for the school calendar in sport is the District Swimming Sports, which is being held at the Tintern Schools Pool on Monday 19th February. This is open to children who turn 9 to 13years old this year. If your child swims in a squad, or is part of a swimming club and has had racing experience and you wish them to have a go at the District Sports (if they qualify}, please give me a time that your child swims their stroke in a 50 metre pool. Contested events are freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breastroke. If you wish your child to participate, please let me know by next week so I can register their entry.
Interschool Sport
Interschool Sport starts next Friday February 9th. All Year 6 students are expected to participate in a sport. We have started the trials for the Year 5 students and will finalise this by early next week. The notice for the Year 6s has already been uploaded to Compass, so I ask parents of Year 6s to complete the forms and pay online as soon as possible as payment is due by mid next week. Payment can also be made at the office. We have a six week competition in Basketball, Cricket, Rounders, Teeball, Volleyball and Hot Shots Tennis. We will require parents to assist with Girls Teeball, Girls Rounders, and Tennis. If any parents in the school are able to assist with Sport on a Friday morning, we will much appreciate you help. We cannot run sports without adult supervision, so if we don’t get anyone for the 3 sports needing supervision, we may not be able to allow the children to compete. Those who do help out will not have to umpire, they are only there to make sure that the children are organised, stay in order and behave. You may also be required to assist with scoring sometimes. Please contact me if you can help.
Sport Uniforms
This year, like last year, I am asking parents of girls to make sure their child comes to PE dressed appropriately. I would like to see them wearing their polo shirt with shorts or skorts. This allows them to move about more freely as the dresses sometimes get in the way. The Uniform Shop sells the “skorts “(shorts which look like a skirt at the front) or just plain blue shorts. It might be an idea to place a note on the fridge at home to remind parents of the day their child has PE so they can come prepared for a session of fun and games.
It is also a requirement that all students wear their runners to PE lessons, a safety issue as well as a comfort issue when running and working on the asphalt outside. Also we don’t allow black school shoes in the stadium as they leave marks on the newly polished wooden floor.
Noreen McMenaman - Sport / PE
Music News
Senior Choir – There will be a meeting next week at lunchtime on Wednesday(Feb 7) in the PAC for all interested students. We will discuss expectations and Choir contracts will be distributed.
Rehearsals will be MONDAY lunchtimes and THURSDAY before school, beginning at 8am. All rehearsals are in the PAC and the first rehearsal will be held Monday February 12th.
If you haven’t done so, please wash and return any choir uniforms from last year as soon as possible.
School Fair Talent Show and Stagestruck - This year there are to two performance opportunities coming very soon.
The Talent Show at the School Fair on Saturday March 24th, the last weekend before Term 1 finishes.
Stagestruck this year will be held on Tuesday April 24th, the second week of Term 2.
If you would like to perform at one of these events auditions for both the talent show and Stagestruck will be held at the same time. There will be a meeting at lunchtime on WEDNESDAY February 28th in the PAC for all students interested in auditioning. Auditions will start on THURSDAY March 1stand will continue on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday lunchtimes until all students have auditioned.
Whether students can perform at only one or both events will depend on the number of auditions.
If you do not audition you cannot perform at these events.
Junior Rockers do a great job delivering our Instrumental Music Program at CHPS. If your child would like to learn an instrument this year, they offer lessons in guitar, drums, singing and piano and you can choose private or shared lessons. If you are interested, head to www.juniorrockers.com where you can find more information and enrol your child online.
National Songwriting Competition 2018
Music: Count Us In (MCUI) is Australia’s biggest school initiative. The program comes together on our national Celebration Day when over half a million students sing the same song, on the same day, at the same time. It is a song written by students, for students. The Music: Count Us In National Songwriting Competition is currently open to help us find the writers of the 2018 Program Song. Students must write a song to a brief to have their entry/entries considered.
If any students are interested in having a go at this competition, please see me for more details or visit their website
http://musicaustralia.org.au/program/countusin/the-song/national-songwriting-competition/
Library News
Welcome back and to all those who have just joined our community – welcome. I hope you all had time to read some great books over the break.
Just a few reminders as we settle into the new school year. All children are expected to have a library bag before they can borrow from our Library. It does not need to be anything fancy – a plastic bag is ideal and I am even prepared to accept the blue satchels that some students have (as long as the book fits inside). If your child has a cloth library bag it is a good idea to put a plastic bag inside. Most of the damage done to our library books is caused by leaking drink bottles or squashed food (the natural enemies of the book).
We have a great selection of books in our Library and we are constantly adding new titles to try and keep the Library as exciting and fresh as possible. Relaxing with a good book, either reading it yourself or reading to someone special, seems to be overlooked sometimes in our busy lives but with reading comes so many opportunities. For those of you with students in the Junior level – please remember that library books are meant to be shared – your child will probably not be able to read these books on their own. Remember that reading is more than being able to recognise the words on a page. Comprehension is vital! It is often a good idea to ask your child about the book they have just read. If they can’t tell you much about it the book may be above their level. If they enjoyed it you may like to read it yourself! I have read some great books that were recommended by students! The reading books that they take home from the classroom are aimed at their reading level. These children – and those in the Middle level (and higher) still enjoy having books read to them and this is an important part of learning to read and comprehend. It also has other proven benefits such as improving grammar and vocabulary and providing shared times between children and adults.
Students can borrow the books for two weeks; Seniors now have four weeks. Overdue notices are first sent home when a book is overdue for 2 – 3 weeks. Follow up letters and emails are also sent home fortnightly after this. If you receive a notice and are sure that the book has been retuned please ask your child to see me in the library. A book is not considered returned until it is in the library. Sometimes books seem to get as far as the classroom and get stuck there. Please encourage your child to do a thorough check at home and in the classroom if they receive an overdue notice.
Please work with us to keep reading a priority in our children’s busy lives. This includes reading to them and discussing the books that they are reading.
Also please note that if your child had an overdue book at the end of last year it will still be out in their name – it does not magically disappear over the holidays.
Sue Offer - Library Technician