Curtin Primary School Newsletter

We at Curtin Primary acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, past, present and future.

We would like to thank the traditional custodians for nurturing this precious land where we live, learn and play.

We promise to protect plants, animals, earth, water and sky and care for everyone in our community.

Dear families and friends,

The students are all thoroughly enjoying our specialist visitors who bring with them components to aid learning about robotics. Students are challenged to create small robots using components that have different features and characteristics. This stimulates creative and critical thinking as they work around solutions to meet given criteria.

I’d like to let you know a bit more about the school’s executive staff team and our roles. In addition to our Principal, Merryn O’Dea, Deputy Principal, Maryanne Hayes and Business Manager, Colleen Myburgh we have four staff who support students, teachers and learning in the school. We are commonly called “SLCs” shortened from School Leader Level C. We are Deborah Fitzgerald, Kate North, Clare Farr and myself, Leslee Roberts. We work across the whole school but, in addition, have specific areas of focus.

In implementing our school action plan, we have 5 areas of specific focus and these are also areas of professional development for teachers. The plan states our beliefs that all students are capable and successful writers, all students are capable and successful in number understanding and calculation and all students display dispositions for wellbeing and learning. It is our job to support teachers in developing the learning in these areas. A professional learning team (PLT) composed of teachers from across the school and executive staff has been formed for each area, with two teams addressing dispositions and wellbeing. In addition, the Australian cross curriculum priority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures as well as the general capability of intercultural understanding forms our fifth team.

In addition to coordinating the teams, the executive staff have team leader responsibility for year levels.

From week 4, each executive staff member will be teaching personal and social capability skills to the students in their year groups. The focus of the lessons across the school will be consistent and included in school newsletters. The executive staff member will work closely with the class teacher in each of these areas and support the learning of skills with the current concepts for learning-based curriculum. Clare Farr works with our student support team and coordinates the RTI (response to intervention) program.  She will be implementing evidence-based literacy and numeracy intervention and support for targeted students across the school.  Clare also leads our Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL) team and uses behaviour management data to drive focus areas for re-teaching across the whole school. Deborah Fitzgerald is the gifted and talented liaison officer (GATLO) at the school and is responsible for coordinating external enrichment and extension opportunities. Deborah also fosters community partnerships, cultural connections and oversees sustainability across the school. Kate North is the NAPLAN co-ordinator for the school.  She also works closely with all teams on student welfare and assists teachers in a coaching and mentoring role with literacy and in other subject areas. Kate also has specific responsibility for our student leadership teams and whole school initiatives that help with the organisation of our learning programs and resources. I have a role in collation and analysis of data across the school along with curriculum mapping. Within each concept we have mapped the 8 key learning areas, the 7 general capabilities and 3 cross curriculum priority areas as outlined in the Australian curriculum.

Please don’t hesitate to email any of us if you would like to discuss our roles and how we can support you.

Kind regards,

Leslee Roberts

Just a reminder for the start of the school year that student safety is a priority at Curtin Primary School.

We ask that you follow the below rules. Please share with any carers eg. friends, relatives, nannies.

Access

• Access gates to the playgrounds will be open from 8am to 9.30am and from 2.30pm to 3.30pm each day. Outside of these hours the gates will be locked and access to the school will be through the front office only. The back carpark will remain locked throughout the day.
• The playgrounds are supervised from 8.30am in the morning. Children are not to be left unsupervised before this time.
• After 3pm the playgrounds are not supervised. Students should not be waiting for pickup by playing unsupervised in the playground. They should be waiting near the front office so when you arrive you don’t have to search for them. This also ensures all students safety as we do not have staff on duty after school.
• If children are supervised, families are still able to play in the junior playground after school. Exit from this area after 3:30pm will be via the front gates as all other gates will be locked.
• When collecting students from the Junior After School Care access is through the front of the school only.
• Access after 3:30pm is through the front doors of the school only – for security reasons do not exit any other door.

Parking

• When dropping your children at school in the morning please be mindful of other cars in the front carpark. The front driveway is a No Parking - Pick up/Set own Zone only and is not for parking your car.
• The school has developed a safer and more structured way to deal with afternoon pick ups in the front driveway. Please read the below document.
• The back carpark is for staff only. Children are not to be dropped off in the back carpark at any time. Large trucks also use this entrance for deliveries and pickup garbage. It is not safe for children to be there at any time.
• The South Preschool carpark is for preschool parents only. Do not park there at any time unless picking up preschool children.
• Please be mindful of our neighbours and do not park in driveways, nature strips or on footpaths.

Students have been enjoying their learning during the Robotics incursion.

Thank you to everyone who has made their payment. Could we please ask that any outstanding payments are made as soon as possible?

Events may be viewed and added to your personal calendar on the Skoolbag app

 Notes may be downloaded from links found below

Well done to all our students who made speeches to their houses for House Captain last Friday.  Every year the number of students nominating themselves for house captain gets larger. 

Congratulations to the following children who were voted as House Captains for 2020:

Friday 28 February (Week 4)

BIG SPLASH,   Catchpole Street, Macquarie

Those children who wish to enter competitive races and/or be considered for selection in the school swim team, will be bussed out to Big Splash in the morning to compete (bus will leave shortly after 9am).

Those children who do not wish to enter competitive races, will be bussed to Big Splash at recess (11am) where they can watch and cheer the last few races, participate in mini races, novelties and slides under close supervision.

Swimming notes were sent out last week.

YEAR 2:  If your child is in Year 2 and born in 2012 (turning 8 this year) they may only attend the carnival if they compete in a 50m competitive race.

You can collect a permission note from the front office.

Swimming notes MUST BE RETURNED BY FRIDAY 21 February to ensure entry and to assist with booking transport.

HELPERS

We love family members coming along to help at the carnival.  We have 2 sessions:

1.     9.30-12pm        Place Judging and Timekeeping

2.     12pm-2pm         Supervising slides and assisting with novelties – You don’t have to go in the water!

I’d love to have as many helpers as possible, especially the afternoon session. 

If you are able to help for either session or both, please email me at the above address or click on the link below.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OQOK9XUnux13NBsgRlO2oRbw513mLsz8yX39K9yq2is/edit?usp=sharing

PARENT V TEACHERS V STUDENT RELAY

On the day, we invite parents who are interested, to join us in a 50m relay event.

The Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge starts on Monday 17th February 2020.

All students in the school are enrolled to complete the challenge.

The book reading requirements for 2020 are as follows:

Traditional participation

Preschool to Year 6         

30 books             

Students can make their own book choices, including novels, non-fiction, poetry, or books

in a language other than English.

Books read to students may also be recorded.

Optional: Reading a book and then writing a book report can be recorded as two items on the student reading record. The written report shows further engagement and deeper understanding with texts through reading and responding.

Challenge yourself to read something different

Preschool to Year 6         

30 books             

Students can challenge themselves to read a range of different texts. Broad items are included in the challenge lists. Each book read can only count towards one item on the list.

Note: Book reports do not replace reading an item on the list.

There are forms available in the library or parents can download the form.

 https://www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/word_doc/0016/1342051/2020-CMRC-Individual-P-6-Student_Reading-something-different_Reading-Record.docx

https://www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/word_doc/0018/1342053/2020-CMRC-Individual-P-6-Student-Reading-Record.docx

The canteen is open from 8.45am until 1.45pm. If you have any canteen queries, Lizzy can be contacted on 6142 2581 during these hours.

Please come and join us for the first P&C meeting of the year and our AGM.

The Curtin P&C meets in Weeks 3 and 7 each school term and all parents and carers are welcome to attend. The AGM is one of the more important planning meetings that we hold. At this meeting we will be finalising our calendar of events and begin discussion about our funding commitments for the year.  We welcome participation, ideas and input from the parent community in all P&C activities and would love to see as many of you there as possible, so please come along and help us to create a vibrant, supportive school community in 2020!

Light refreshments from 6.30pm, meeting start from 7pm. 

The P&C coordinates Class Parent Representatives across the preschool and school to provide a vital information and engagement link between the school, parents and the P&C. 

The key responsibilities for class parent reps are to:

• pass on information from the class teacher;
• gather email addresses of class parents (with help from the teacher) for a class contact list; 
• pass on information from the P&C;
• encourage interaction between parents by holding a class picnic/bbq, organising a trivia night table etc;
• organise or find a delegate to run a stall at the Twilight Fair.

If you would be willing to take on the Class Parent Rep role for your child’s class in 2020, please contact your class teacher or P&C Parent Rep Coordinator Sally - sallyjoyhawkins@gmail.com.

Your help is very much appreciated.

The uniform shop is located opposite the canteen and is open from 8.30am until 9.30am each Wednesday.