Currambena school blog

We are making progress with our play and will probably have characters and a script well underway by Friday! We are quite excited about the idea of filming and live streaming the event from school with parents getting together in groups of safe sizes to share the excitement of our productions. It will be a very different experience from the usual one but will certainly have its own highlights! We are working towards live streaming the event and hoping families will get together and watch it, glass of wine in hand!

This week (apart from play discussions) we have been celebrating Book Week in various ways. We’ve had readings each morning with the whole school and we have plans for a dress up book character parade on Friday (possibly being filmed and live streamed!) On Tuesday, Moses came to talk to our class about his books and about the process of becoming a writer. We have also been reading and listening to children from other groups in the school, Sarah’s, Preschool (in Buddies time) and Charles’s group too. I hope you enjoy seeing the photos showing such concentration and focus! We have also begun looking at different media where we find stories, including film, drama and graphic novels. This is our new English topic. In our spelling time, one group each week is now choosing their own interesting words from the dictionary to learn, write in sentences and be tested on.
Tomorrow we are having a practise for live streaming… Greg has offered to come in and film and stream the dressup parade at 10:30! The link will be emailed either tonight or tomorrow morning. Please watch us if you can!

In Maths we have been learning to be really fussy about those four digits in 24 hour time… and exactly where is the hour hand pointing on an analog clock at 25 to 4! We have also continued to work on improving our time and accuracy on times tables!

PIPs are in progress too with most of the group having chosen their topics already and begun research. These are due on 13th November… not very many weeks away!

It was great to be able to go to the Lane Cove Pool again this week! Our school Council decided it was safe, given all the COVID safe procedures in place at the pool, and there was almost nobody else there when we arrived at 1:45! I was able to see everyone swim. I will be watching a different stroke each week and making sure everyone is developing their skills and strength.

Also this week, it is great not to have to take temperatures and hand sanitise at the gate! all the children can come straight in…! Another step towards normalcy!

I have some money left over from our sleepover… we didn’t spend quite as much as I expected on dinner and snacks… and I’m wondering if it would be OK with everyone if I donate this money to our sponsor child in Chad? We are rather short of funds for him this year since we lost almost a term’s worth of ice block money while we were in lock down. Please let me know if you’d rather I returned the money to you. It’s about $10 each.

A couple of people have already emailed me about camp. Could you please email to let me know if you are interested in being a cmp helper this year for all or part of the week, Monday 7th to Friday 11th December? We will need drivers as well as parents to stay and camp with us and there are also going to be plenty of jobs to do before and after camp, sorting gear and helping us prepare. Once I know who is interested in coming, I can work out how best to hold our meeting about it.

I thank that’s all for now.

Have a great week.

Love,
Wendy

I started preschool when I was four years old which was about seven years ago. As a preschooler, my three main passions were sharks, spiders and Lego. There was a room in the back with lots of Lego. That’s where I spent most of my time. Now, my passion lies in video games. Man, how times have changed!

In my first year of preschool, I met Jay. I think that we only ever became friends because we have the same name… but that one detail was enough to spark a lifelong friendship. I still do think the spelling of my name is better than his.

Often, I used to think about living at school. I had an entire plan in mind, where I’d sleep in the library. It never happened of course but it was always fun to fantasise about.

I don’t have much memory of Kindy, but I do remember that Sue was a really great teacher. I even got to spend my next year with her by my side.

It was all fun and games in Blake’s class. The way he played with us was very enjoyable. I especially liked wrestling with him in the pool.

After Blake’s class, I stayed back a year. My new teacher for the year was Marius. Marius was one of my favourite teachers. He taught in really imaginative ways and always helped me out if I got stuck on something.

After Marius’s class, it was off to Sarah’s. Sarah could be tough and scary but she was overall a great teacher and helped me overcome many things. In Sarah’s class, I loved saying gratitude at the end of the day and writing the My Places book, which I hope will remain there for years to come.

Louise’s class was a blast! Louise herself was another one of my favourite teachers. She was always optimistic and saw the bright side of things. My favourite things about this year were the rafters, Muffin and Honey (the pet rats) and the class trivia at the end of the year. This year is when the work really began to get challenging.

When I first entered Wendy’s class in year five, I was extremely nervous but the year sixes and Wendy really welcomed me into the class and we had some good laughs together as well. Getting to do buddies, shops and a lot more camps was very exciting. By now I only got my work done in the nick of time and things were getting very complicated socially. But I came out better than when I arrived.

In Wendy’s class my favourite things were PIPs, all the camps with Canberra and Jervis Bay as my favourites. And I loved the big sleepover at the end of term three, even though I only got four hours of sleep.

Wendy herself is probably my favourite teacher in Currambena. She was always laughing at jokes made in class, chatting with me as if we were both students, helping me with work, sorting out problems and even things going on at home, all with a big smile on her face. But most of all, Wendy made me feel like we were equal.

And that brings us here. Before I know it I am in year six. I am one of the oldest kids in the entire school. Now I look downwards instead of upwards when I’m talking to other kids. I remember watching the kids in the older classes and thinking “I’m going to be like that one day” and here I am. Seeing how much I’ve developed over the years brings tears of joy to my eyes.

I’d like to offer a special thanks to all my teachers, Sue, Chris, Michael, Crafty, Blake, Tammy, Marius, Sarah, Louise, and Wendy. Thank you for being there throughout my entire Currambena experience, whether it was learning, playing, or just chatting.

I’d also like to offer a special thanks to my friends, Jay, Sean, Zak, Lucas, Charlie, Noah, Zoe, Arin, Elke, Sienna and, yes, even you Tess. Thank you for sticking by my side for the last seven years, supporting me and cheering me up when I need it and chatting and laughing with me always, you guys are like family to me.

And a special thanks to my little sister, for always being there for me no matter what.

Currambena, I can’t thank you all enough for welcoming me into the community, and making me feel happy and joyful throughout the whole experience. Throughout high school, university, my jobs, my retirement and my goddamn deathbed, Currambena will always be in my heart. Thank you. For everything. I love you guys!!!

-Jai