CSPS Newsletter 25/10/2024
Principal's News
Dear Families,
Term 4 has started smoothly, with a return to some somewhat warmer weather and a spring in the step of students and staff. We are all brimming with enthusiasm for a busy and fun term, with numerous learning challenges planned to keep students engaged.
CSPS Swimming Carnival
The first big event for Term 4 was our annual CSPS Swimming Carnival for Years 306, held last week at the Doone Kennedy Aquatic Centre. Highlights of the event were some super-fast swimmers and a large number of students who displayed tremendous courage and persistence in completing their races, not earning ribbons bit definitely earning the admiration of everyone for their continuing enthusiasm. The final result was quite close, with Wattle being the winning house with 420 points, Banksia coming a close second with 410 points and Bluegum coming a commendable third place with 347 points. Thank you to parent volunteers who assisted at the event and the many parents who came along to cheer on our students. Also, thanks again to Mr Latham for organising another excellent carnival.
Students on school site
I again remind parents/carers that students are not permitted on school grounds without an adult before 8:30am. We are seeing a number of students arriving very early and this continues to be a real safety issue. Staff have duty of care for students between the hours of 8:30am and 2:55pm. Before 8:30, staff are busy getting ready for the school day and after 2:55pm staff are still busy with meetings, planning and preparation. If your child has an accident before 8:30am or after 2:55pm, there is no-one available to care for them. Families who require before and after school care need to contact Scots Uniting Childcare, who offer a very convenient service on our site. If you are running late for pickup, please telephone our office and your child/ren will be asked to wait in our front foyer.
We know that quite a few families like to stay on at school at the end of the school day for children to play. We do value this time as a chance for parents and children to form connections. Unfortunately, we need to limit the availability of our spaces due to recent vandalism and other poor behaviour which has created security concerns. From Monday 28th October, the school grounds will be closed from 3:30pm onwards, unless parents are waiting to collect children from an afterschool activity eg. chess. This is similar to processes followed by other schools. Fortunately, we are lucky that our beautiful city has numerous public parks in which families can gather and relax. If any community groups would like to use our outdoor space for sporting or other activities, please contact our office to arrange a lease agreement.
Planning for 2025
It’s hard to believe that another year is almost over! Staffing processes for 2025 are almost complete and we will be sharing information about staff movements closer to the end of the year. We are now in the midst of formulating classes for 2025 and again this information will be shared near the end of the year. If you have had any recent change of circumstance and intend to move at the of 2024, please inform our office as a matter of urgency as every movement in or out affects class formation.
Prep-2 Water Orientation
Our P-2 Water Orientation begins next Monday 28th October. All P-2 classes will be travelling by bus each day for two weeks to the Friends Pool to participate in invaluable Water Orientation sessions. We are very grateful to our School Association for their ongoing support of this very worthwhile program.
Colour Run
This week all children have received information about our Colour Run, to be held on Thursday 21st November. This year children are asked to source sponsors for their run. It should be an exciting, fun afternoon, with the chance to “slime” a teacher for each $1000 raised! Don’t forget to hop online to sign up this week. The class with the most sign-ups will receive an icy pole for each person.
Susan Jeffery
Principal
Class News
Year 5/6
Welcome to 5/6 Isaac’s last newsletter item for 2024. Term 3 was once again a busy term and term 4 looks to be just as busy with celebrations for our current grade 6 students to look forward to as they prepare for their transition to becoming high school students.
This newsletter item will be a reflection on time we shared with our Kinder Buddies at the end of Term 3.
Year 1/2K News!
Reading strategy: Summarising
In 1/2 we are learning how to be researchers. Students have been learning how to read, listen and watch information, then summarise what they have learnt. They then used this learnt information to make connections and write their own opinions based on facts.
Excursion: Sustainability Centre
On Thursday the 17th of October we went to the Sustainability Centre with the Prep/1 class as part of our inquiry into how we can care and connect to places. Our first stop was the Frog Ponds, where we listened to a story read by Anna and used our senses to connect to the place around us. We then got to explore the pond and area, catch tadpoles and see if we could find any frogs.
We returned to the Sustainability Centre to learn about some of the tools and technology used by Indigenous Australians and had a STEM challenge involving making chain reactions. Students worked in teams to create their own Rube Goldberg Machines. Finally, we ended our day with the Aboriginal Educator, Karen, learning about the Aboriginal flag, and creating Gods Eyes using the colours of the flag. Thank you to the volunteers who came along to support our excursion.
Lift
Please save the date, Tuesday 3rd December, 2:00 – 2:45pm. We are holding a ‘Celebration of Learning’ in all classrooms, for parents/carers to visit and view learning undertaken throughout the year. Please take this opportunity to engage with your child/children in acknowledging and celebrating their individual growth as learners.
School Association
At the meeting this week we discussed the upcoming fundraisers for the term and started looking ahead to next year. Christmas will be here before we know it.
Volunteers - we need your help. Are you free Thursday 14th or Thursday 21st November. We are looking for some help with the snack shack and the colour run day. Drop us a line at cspsa.treasurer@gmail.com
Don’t forget some of the important dates this term:
- Guess the jelly beans in the bottle leading up to the fun run;
- Snack shack Thursday 14th November;
- Colour fun run Thursday 21st November;
- Association meeting (the final for 2024) Tuesday 26th November 6pm;
- Christmas raffle drawn end of term 4;
- Pizza in the park @ the Legacy Park Community Hub Thursday 19th December 5pm-8pm
Colour Fun Run - School Association Fundraiser
Scholastic Book Club
Issue 7 closes 31st October.
Taroona High School _ Stem
stem_next
Taroona High School is excited to announce that stem_next is back for its fifth year in 2024!
stem_next is a science fair showcasing STEM Teaching and Learning in public education, from Taroona High’s feeder primary schools right through to its colleges. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) exhibits from UTAS and local industries, are also on display. stem_next aims to develop student awareness and mastery of Science and Technology. stem_next is fun, hands on, educational and inspirational! There will be food vans, prizes and so much more!
Come along on Thursday 21November 4:00pm - 7:00pm @ Taroona High School and explore the STEM world!