Chickens Anyone?

A Happy December to all the families at CHPS. It is the time of year when the Science and Sustainability team are looking for help with our chickens over the summer break.

If you would like to take a turn feeding and watering the hens, in exchange for awesome golden eggs, could you contact Mr Crook and inform him of your interest and the days that you are available.

Thanks very much, in advance.

Sports News

2023 District Swimming: Year 3-6

This is for students who will be in years 3-6 in 2023. District Swimming will be our first major sporting event in Term 1 (week 4) next year, so I am giving advanced notice for those who may swim competitively outside of school or for anyone interested in heading to the pools over the summer break to trial their favourite stroke!

Qualifying times are below - students are required to be able to swim 50m in their preferred stroke confidently.

Qualifying Times:

Stroke	All age groups
50m Freestyle	Under 55 secs
50m Backstroke	Under 60 secs
50m Breaststroke	Under 65 secs
50m Butterfly	Under 65 secs

If you would like to submit your time to me, please email laura.yorke@education.vic.gov.au to be considered for District Swimming.

Final message from the PE/Sport space

It has been a massive year in PE and Sport! Certainly different from the previous two years with Covid, but we wouldn't have it any other way at CHPS!

We welcomed Meaghan Carter half way through the year and the students have really enjoyed having her for their PE lessons and organisation of events! We will miss Ms. Carter next year but we wish her all the best at her new school in Healesville.

A big thank you to David Moreland and Rebecca Brown, who also joined the PE team this year, taking classes for their weekly lessons and all their extra help with sporting events and training throughout the year!

Thank you to Noreen McMenaman, who has been working from behind the scenes this year with organsing many of the sporting events. We hope to see Mrs. Mac back at school some time next year!

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped this year with any of our sporting events and interschool sport. Parents, carers and senior students, who volunteer their time are crucial for the running of events and being able to provide experiences for our students, so we greatly appreciate your support!

I would finally like to thank all the students at CHPS for their participation, commitment and passion towards their PE and Sport this year. It has been wonderful to see so many students with smiles on their faces from the joy physical activity brings. Whether it was a new skill developed, a challenge accepted, a goal reached or a new interest identified, you should be so happy and proud of your efforts!

Wishing all families, a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I look forward to seeing everyone back in 2023!

Many thanks,

Laura Yorke 🙂

Library News

I have now completed Stocktake in all areas from where the students borrow. There are still a large number of students with 43 library books out in their names. This includes 7 students who are not returning to the school next year. These books are valued at $552.00. It is important that all books out to students are returned now. Please ask students to have a good look at home and at school for these books. It is surprising the number of books that remain in school bags until the last minute. If students are still carrying the book in their bag, can you please ask them to bring it to the library tomorrow morning. A book is not considered returned until it comes back to the library.

Remember – these books will still be in your child’s name next year if they are not returned. They do not magically disappear over the holidays.

If you find a book at home that has a school stamp or library barcode on it, please return it as some teachers borrow books in their names and these are mistakenly taken home by students. There are other times when students simply forget to check the book out before they leave the library. These books show up as ‘missing’ after stocktake and there is no way of tracing them.

Please encourage your child to continue reading over the holidays and also take some time out to read to them. I advise all adults to head to the local library and borrow an audio book, sit back, close your eyes and listen, or listen to it while driving (please keep your eyes open if you do it while driving!). You will rediscover the joys of having someone read to you. Have fun when reading to your children – really get into it with voices and facial expressions – it provides memories for a lifetime. Reading is not just a quality pastime, it has also been shown to improve children’s speech, spelling and grammar. Remember that the Ringwood and Croydon libraries are just around the corner and often have activities on over the holidays. Their web address is https://www.yourlibrary.com.au/ Head there to check out what’s on over the holiday period. This will include all the libraries in the Eastern Region.

Another place to consider for a visit is the State Library of Victoria in the city. They often have free exhibitions (and not just about books). Their Web address is www.slv.vic.gov.au and click on the ‘What’s On’ tab.

Have a safe and happy break. Keep on reading!

Sue Offer - Library Technician

Waterwise at School & at Home

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