Photo Of The Week

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Newsletter Editor

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Julianna Term 1 Week 3

Posted on February 20, 2020 by juliannam

Hello Everyone,

Many thanks to all those parents and teachers who were able to attend our parent teacher evening. Before dispersing to our classrooms we had a Community activity, thank-you to Jess, which involved writing down the key words inside a body-outline listing the skills, attributes, strengths we are looking for our kids to achieve. On the outside all the challenges, obstacles we envisage they are going to encounter during their life. We have now pinned these around the school for you to see and ponder over.

Blocked Drain- this is the one just inside the gate. It would be great if someone can clear the pipe that runs out to the street.

Booster Seats - 24 seats were purchased. We are still looking for those missing seats!

REMINDERS…….

EMERGENCY WALKWAY behind the classrooms, Jess, Charles, staffroom, craftroom, Leesa and Sarah. All staff, parents, kids, please be super vigilant that you DO NOT in any way block this walkway. We will be getting a skip next week so if you think there is stuff in this walkway that can go please add it to the pile on the basketball court!

Dogs - please email a request to the office for permission to bring your dog onto the school grounds

Fees – due on the 20th February.

STOP!! - If you are thinking of bringing something into the school for the craft room, classrooms etc PLEASE, PLEASE CHECK with the office or the class teachers before you do so.

UP COMING EVENTS!

Monday 24 Feb 6.30pm – School Council Meeting

 Playground Build Week – 2nd to 5th March.  Please check the roster on the noticeboard and  add your name to any or all slots that you could be part of this exciting playground building team!

Wednesday 4th March - Community Breakfast

Cheers Julianna

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Preschool News Term 1 Week 3

Posted on February 20, 2020 by katrinaa

Hello everyone,

Thanks to all the families that attended our parent information night on Monday, we hope you were able to gain further insight into our wonderful school and community.

It seems the children are getting into the groove of becoming a preschool community. It can be tricky for some children to make the transition into preschool of a morning though it isn’t taking everyone long to settle in.  It’s lovely to see the group embracing each other through lots of group dramatic games where everyone is welcome to join.

This week we’ve begun looking at agreements with an emphasis on group time behaviour and respect. The Elders are very familiar with these agreements, sharing their knowledge of with children new to preschool. Copies of many of these are on Storypark for families to access at home.  Everyone has the opportunity to add to these if they wish. We’re also emphasising that each child attempts to write their name on the polyglots list if they would like to play it. We’ve got some very astute little people who are seeking the assistance of older to write it for them when needed.

We had our second music lesson with Abi on Monday and again the children were really engaged. The song they composed with her the week before was extended on adding an underwater sea creature twist to it, who knew learning music concepts could be so much fun! Spanish has also been a big hit with the children as well. Children in their second year of Spanish are relishing in being able to revisit previous learning while children new to preschool are keen to learn key words. Is impressive to see how attentive everyone is during these lessons.

For families that are new to preschool and are after maintenance hours we often put out bags of laundry next to where the children sign in and out for parents to take home and wash. We’re also planning on putting up a list of ongoing jobs families may be able to help us with throughout the term so keep an eye out for it.

Lastly a reminder that all children need to bring either a legionnaire or broad brimmed hat each and every day they come to preschool. Also please help us help your child by ensuring all their belongings are labelled.

That’s it for this week!

Love

Katrina, Michael and Hannah

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Jess Class Term 1 Week3

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Jess

Dear Parents,

Thank you to everyone who came along on Monday evening to hear about the inner workings of my classroom. It was lovely to see you all and to share with you all the wonderful things the children are up to. It was also lovely working with the whole school to think about all the attributes we desire for our children in the face of external pressures they may face in their lives.

We had our first visit to the park on Monday morning where we had a fabulous time playing a huge class game of ‘Flush the Toilet’ (it’s similar to ‘Stuck in the Mud’ but way more hilarious!). There was also tree climbing, eating morning tea, imaginary detective games, swinging and more.

Our big adventure though this week of course happened yesterday. Who would have thought we would find a terrapin turtle on our decking! Chris R. had seen it earlier in the day at the bottom of Zeta Road and knocked on all the nearby houses in case it had recently gone missing. So what to do? Off to the golf course to return the poor thing back to the wild of course. Well, who would have thought that our bold adventurers would be faced with such adversary? Straight into a Bull ant’s nest! Well, it was quite dramatic and the children were very brave. What a drama, what a story!

Some of the children have had their first cooking session today with Jane. They have voted this term to bake a chocolate rainbow cake and for each group to share a piece of their cake with the classmates. Very sensible of them…

Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered their time for swimming on Tuesdays, it is wonderful to have a full roster already. Literacy stations will begin next week on Tuesday and Thursday. It would be wonderful if you could please volunteer to help in the classroom for this time. I have put another volunteer roster up for this on the window. If you are available, please just write your name in.

That’s all for today!

Jess x

 

 

 

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Charles’ Class Term 1 Week 3

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Newsletter Editor

Hello everyone

I hope everyone has enjoyed their week. On Monday we held our parent teacher evening, I wanted to extend my thanks to the parents who attended and participated on the night. I hope all your questions were answered adequately. If you were unable to attend on the night my door is always open from 8:30 to 9:00 AM or email me at charlesh@currambena.nsw.edu.au.

This week we continued our routine of going to Lane Cove swimming pool. This Tuesday was particularly hot as it is recommended all children attend school with a wide brim or legionnaire style hat and are encouraged to also wear their hats during morning tea and lunch.

In literacy, children have been looking at informative texts and how they can be used to provide people with important facts and information about topics of interest. This week we have also began our literacy groups which focus on developing the children’s reading, comprehension, phonics, and writing skills.

In numeracy this week children have been developing their addition skills outdoors using hands on materials they find in the playground to create addition sentences. This topic will tie in with a subtraction topic next week.

Our science topic has been very engaging, looking at living and non-living things, which ties in with our chosen animal topics and personal interest projects. Next week we will be investigating the external features of living things and how they use these features to survive in the wild.

In class the children have voted on an incursion this term involving animals, specifically of the reptile and amphibian variety. The date for this event is to be negotiated.

Regarding classroom helpers for swimming and literacy groups, on my classroom door is a table which I ask parents to fill in when they are available to assist.

 

House keeping

  • Regarding absences, if a period of leave is planned during the term for a holiday, a signed document is required. This can be obtained from Julianna in the office.
  • Children must be picked up prior to 3:30PM, beyond this time children are unsupervised and will be sent to blue umbrella where they must be registered.
  • Swimming and literacy helpers wanted, a table is found on the door of my classroom.
  • Wide brim or legionnaire style hats are recommended for children to wear during morning tea and lunch.

Regards

Charles

 

 

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Sarah’s Class week 3 Term 1

Posted on February 20, 2020 by sarahm

Thankyou to those who were able to make it to our Parent/Teacher night on Monday. And thankyou to Jess for organising the pre-class meeting activity. As one of the parents said, it was a nice way to remind us of why we are all here – at Currambena! If you were unable to attend there are life sized outlines of children displayed outside some class rooms. On the inside are things parents want/wish for their child and on the outside are the external factors that impact on this being achieved. Jess talked about the fact that we can’t control the external influences but we can support what’s on the inside, so children are equipped to handle what ever comes their way. This is what we are trying to do at Currambena and clearly you are too!

In Rock and Water last week we played games that helped support ‘working together’. We had discussions about how sometimes you have to stand strong as a Rock and sometimes the group will need to be like Water working together to help another. We talked about where we might use this in everyday and what could we do if someone was in a difficult situation and needed support?

I have now handed out all our work and text books and most were all very excited to get started. We began our spelling this week! Each week the children will be given 8 focus words which come from the unit (in their spelling book). They are given time to work on the spelling of these before being quizzed each Thursday. Also this week, we did some handwriting practice and continued with our knowledge of ‘time’. We began with a game of BINGO which consolidated quarter past and quarter to. The majority of the group then focused on skip counting by 5′s and transferring this to telling the time at 5 minute intervals. Others are working independently and completing activities on minutes in between.

In small groups, we started researching the chosen Natural Disasters. We also started locating more answers to questions on personal project. Topics being researched this term are: Ancient Rome, Native Foods of Australia, Lego, Strange Creatures, Animals native to North America, Hanukkah, Bugs, Wolves, Coffs Harbour, Tornadoes, 3D Shapes and Building Houses. With this wide range of topics in the mix, presentations are sure to be interesting.

Thank-you’s …….. to Gina (Evie’s mum) who has put her hand up to be our class rep. And to Maura (Hugo’s mum) who helped out with personal projects on Wednesday.

Don’t forget our build week is starting week 5 on Monday, 2nd and Crafty is still needing some expert builders!!!!! And our Welcome Breakfast is on Wednesday, 4th at 8 am.

That’s us for this week! Have a nice weekend.

Love, Sarah

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Leesa’s Class Term 1 Week 3

Posted on February 20, 2020 by leesaj

Hi Everyone,

Another week has passed and we have been observing how quickly some of our Sea Monkeys have grown and the unique swimming style they have. We have continued to giggle about the text ‘James and the Giant Peach’ and had a go at either drawing a new cover for the text or a life still picture of a peach.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Parent/Teacher Information Night on Monday. It was a great evening of discussion and collaboration. If you weren’t able to attend or still have some questions, please don’t hesitate to pop in for a chat.

In Mathematics we have continued to explore place value, partitioning of numbers (5171 = 5000 + 100 + 70 +1), reading and writing 3,4 and 5 digit numbers and completing quick mental questions on a range of topics.

For our Living Things topic, we completed a table checklist to determine common needs that living things have. We will continue to explore this and research more information about Sea Monkeys later in the term.

The children have investigated nouns this week. We revised what a noun is and completed sentences containing these. Reading, Writing and Spelling have also occurred and will be a weekly activity.

Personal Interest Projects have begun with all the children choosing their topics and starting to research for information. We have a range of topics from dogs, speed cars, mythical beasts and Minecraft. We will have time each week to work on these and will aim for Week 9 and 10 to present them.

Reminders:

  • All children need a hat and drink bottle every day.
  • If your child is away, arrives late or is picked up early could you please send me an email on the day preferably before 9am.
  • Monday 24th February is our first Lane Cove Library visit. I will be encouraging the children to borrow at least one book on their Personal Interest Project topic and if they have any books to return please remind the children to bring them in.
  • Each Tuesday this term we will be attending the Lane Cove Aquatic Centre for swimming. All children need swimmers, a hat, a towel and a drink bottle.
  • In week 5 starting Monday 2nd March we will have a Build Week. If you can volunteer your time or resources, please speak with Crafty Chris.
  • Wednesday 4th March is our Welcome Breakfast starting at 8am.

Thank you to Jo (Cooper’s mum) who has volunteered to be our class rep and to Nikki (Imogen’s mum) who has put up her hand to wash our class towels and pillowcases.

That’s it this week. Have a fantastic weekend!

Leesa x

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Wendy’s Group Week 3 Term 1

Posted on February 20, 2020 by wendyp

Hi everyone.

We’ve had another fun week with a great mixture of productive work time and some really fun activities.

Last Friday, we had a Valentine’s Day Ball here at school during the day… a small group did the organising… decorations, food, music…. everything was done and the event went from 1:15 til 2:30 on Friday. The whole class had a lot of fun and everyone helped with packing up at the end. An amazing feat when the decision to have it was only made on the Wednesday at Class Meeting! I was very proud of them all!

Another fun event was our trip to Synergy on Tuesday. The Lane Cove Youth Centre is called Synergy and is currently located at Centrehouse on Longueville Road. They run a fabulous after school program and the youth workers often act as mentors for young people. They gave us lunch and we played in the centre for an hour or so before heading off to the pool for our regular swimming time. It was great to see two of our ex-students there, telling the group what is on offer at Synergy when children are old enough to go there and saying a few words about how much they have enjoyed their association with the centre.

In between, we’ve been reading Henry Sugar with much enjoyment, writing about imaginary characters this week, revising homophones and other tricky spellings and practising our handwriting on some very silly Spike Milligan poems (which you might be lucky enough to have recited for you if you ask!) In Maths we have moved on to whole number, place value and money problems. PIPs are underway and Languages is also going well. We have our Spanish learners with Carolina, French is with Sally, Latin with me and several students are pursuing independent language learning using Duolingo (Greek and German). Our art project this week is a collage so our craft table is awash with magazines and paper cutting! We are also continuing to do some practice tests for those who choose to do them.

It was lovely to talk to those of you who were able to come to the PARENT MEETING on Monday night. I will send home a brief summary of this for those of you who were not able to attend. I realise I forgot a couple of small but important things which I will include in the email so please read it when you see it. I will attempt to resend the attachments which some people reported would not open.

Many thanks to Lynda for helping with marking last Friday. As I said last Newsletter, I would love help on Fridays for the next 5 weeks if anyone has time to spare. Please let me know. It would also be fabulous to have help some Monday afternoons for cooking… again, please let me know if you have any time for that. Every third Monday we go to Lane Cove Library but the other two Mondays we’d love to do some cooking.

I think that’s all for now!

Have a great week. Love, Wendy

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School Meeting Minutes Friday 14th February 2020

Posted on February 20, 2020 by leesaj

CHAIRPEOPLE: MAYA and TAAL

1. Plasticine by Peri and Lochie

In Leesa’s Class we have plasticine bases and this is a reminder to not touch them please.

2. Welcome by Jess
Jess welcomed Kitty and Kira to the school.

3. Welcome by Jess
Jess welcomed Charles to the school.

4. Ball by Jasmin
Jasmin informed the meeting that Wendy’s Class will be having a ball today and that it is only for Wendy’s Class.

5. Holes in the sandpit by Ryan
Ryan reminded the meeting that when digging holes in the sandpit to please fill them in when you have finished playing.

6. Welcome by Skye and Ruth
Skye and Ruth welcomed Phoebe to the school.

7. Being disrespectful by Ryan

Ryan reminded the meeting to speak nicely to each other.

8. Bush fire donations by Wendy

The meeting voted to give 60% to animals and 40% to people.

9. Money by Zak

Discussion occurred about the maximum money to bring to school for canteen. The meeting voted that the limit is $10 for canteen and $15 for the shops.

10. Preschool Children by Katrina

Katrina reminded the meeting about the school agreement to not pick up preschool children and not to help them climb up onto objects.

Meeting adjourned. Preschoolers first. Sustaining time.

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FOR SALE

Posted on February 20, 2020 by wendyp

Last year our delightful Japanese visitors left us four sets of child size black gumboots and four non stick frypans which we would like to move out of the staff room!

The boots are size 6 (one pair size 7)
The pans have two handles and seem quite sturdy.

If you would like any of these, please give a donation to the Currambena building fund and come and get them! All are pretty much new.

 

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