Thank you for the opportunity and privilege to lead such a beautiful school. The community have been incredibly welcoming; this includes the staff, students, and parents. I have been overwhelmed with kind words and greetings. I am looking forward to this next chapter, for us all. As such, it is my intention to lay the foundations from which to further grow CPS. Listening, observing, knowing the people that I serve will be key to our future success.

Our staff participated in 2 days of professional learning at the start of the year. We revisited our school motto of Welcoming Engaging Achieving and reflected on what each of these words mean for us. We considered how we work together as a community and we were inspired by UBUNTU; an African term meaning "humanity". It is sometimes translated as "I am because we are" (also "I am because you are"), or "humanity towards others"

This word inspired us all and we agreed that it reflects who we are at Carnegie PS. If you’re just a little bit curious, please watch this short story explaining the term The Story of UBUNTU

It has been a pleasure visiting the learning spaces as we start the year. Mrs Grimm and I have introduced a greeting to the students that challenges the brain to develop new pathways. We look forward to visiting classrooms more, once our start of year procedures have calmed down just a little. Already I’ve noticed that ‘sense of calm’ in the school; one of the conditions that supports learning and engagement. Our teachers have certainly invested their time and energy to ensure a smooth transition. Thank you.

We welcome new families to Carnegie across the school, as well as our new preps. I am sure the whole community joins me in welcoming you too. Like me, we are all new and I look forward to meeting with you and welcoming you to this wonderful community.

Our Foundation students commenced this week. We couldn’t be prouder of their efforts and attitude. Some students may fatigue a little quicker than usual for the first few weeks of the school year and this is very normal as they adjust back to school life and build up their stamina to learn.

We welcome new staff to Carnegie Primary School. Faisal Suryadi is teaching in our Year 5 team, Symone Tonkin has joined our Year 4 team, Christine Benjamin joins our Prep team and Emma Whitby is teaching in the Year 6 team.

DOGS AT SCHOOL

A reminder that dogs are to be left outside school gates in the mornings and afternoons. Although most of our community love to see dogs in the grounds, for the wellbeing and safety of the community we ask that your pooches remain outside the school gates to be admired from a distance. Thank you for your assistance with this.

HOUSE SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Our House Swimming Carnival for our year 3 – 6 students will take place next Wednesday 15th February at Harold Holt in Malvern. We thank Mr Pollard and Mr Hodges for their organisation of this major event. All the best for our competitors. May the best house win!

START UP

Our students have been spending time engaging in activities in their classroom and learning teams as they focus on our ‘Start Up’ program in these first 2 weeks. This initiative offers all students and teachers the opportunity to form positive and respectful connections.

We focus on:

Students getting to know their new classes and the daily routines
Establishing positive, engaging learning environments where each child feels valued
Developing clear, shared expectations and processes for classrooms and learning teams
Encouraging a sense of responsibility and active involvement in decision making
An awareness of the behaviours that demonstrate the values we hold
Support for self-directed learning

YOU TELL US – MEETINGS

In the coming weeks, parents will have a chance to meet staff after school. Our ‘You Tell Us’ sharing opportunity is Wednesday 22nd February. Invitations will be sent home shortly via Compass.

All parents will soon receive a year level Information Book via Compass, outlining some of the more general ‘housekeeping’ items as we commence a new year.

As this is the first newsletter for the term, it contains many ‘housekeeping’ items. Please take the time to read through the articles.

I do strongly encourage families to take the time to regularly read our fortnightly newsletter as it is one of our main forms of communication.

We are again looking forward to a wonderful year ahead.

WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECK

Like previous years, any parent or carer who wishes to attend an excursion and supervise a group of students (eg visiting the zoo) needs to have provided the school with a Volunteer Working With Children Check prior to the excursion. The primary duty of care rests with our teachers but on such occasions, parents may be the primary carer for a period of time at an excursion. If you choose to obtain a WWC check, please provide a copy to the office, so we can add you to our database.

These are free and relatively easy to obtain online at www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au. Thank you for your time and support in relation to this.

REQUEST FROM OUR OFFICE

If your child forgets something important at home and you need to bring it to school, you may drop it off at the front office along with your child’s name and class and we will get it to your child during a break time. If the item is not vital for that day, your child can bring the item to school the following day.

BEING SUNSMART AT CARNEGIE PS

Students are required to wear their school sun smart hat until the end of April and again from the 15th August. At Carnegie Primary School, students and staff are required to supply their own sunscreen. It is recommended that staff and students arrive at school each morning with sunscreen already applied. Students and staff should keep their sunscreen in their school bags and reapply as needed throughout the day. We also have many shaded areas available for play during recess and lunch breaks. Students must wear their hats during recess, lunch and PE lessons, even when playing in the shaded areas.

SCHOOL CONTRIBUTIONS

Thank you to all those families who have already settled their 2023 School Contributions. It would be appreciated if all payments could be made by 18th February. If payments are causing any concern please contact our office to make alternative arrangements. If you are unclear about any of these payments, please call the office for further details.

ANNUAL PRIVACY REMINDER FOR 2023

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

Amharic
Arabic
Dari
Gujarati
Mandarin
Somali
Sudanese
Turkish
Urdu
Vietnamese

Looking forward to a terrific year of learning together.

Karen Roberts

4A Celebrate Chinese New Year