Building the Education Revolution
Commonwealth funded
Primary School in the 21st Century (PS21)
National School Pride (NSP)
Hi Everyone,
There is not much to report from the past week.
We are still waiting for tender documentation to be completed and we anticipate that it will be ready and issued to construction companies on Friday.
The quiet before the storm…………………….Hope not!
Labeling of asbestos
Currambena has recently engaged P. Clifton and Associates to undertake a full Hazmat (Hazardous Materials) inspection of the school. The results of the inspection were much as we had anticipated and it identified asbestos containing building materials in several areas around the school.
“All hazardous construction materials found to be present within the various buildings at the Currambena School were all in good condition at the time of the site inspection and do not pose a measurable risk to persons at the school whilst these materials remain in-situ and undisturbed.”
Where asbestos was found is has been identified as bonded and of low risk, however, as part of our obligation to The NSW Occupational Health & Safety Regulation 2001 we will be labeling the asbestos to ensure that anyone working in the area is aware of its location.
In addition, an asbestos register now forms part of our sign in/out sheet for maintenance days and for external contractors. It’s a simple and short register so please read and sign it before you undertake any work. If you identify asbestos materials that require maintenance please let Julianna know and the school will engage a licensed contractor to do the work.
The full hazmat report is available in the office if anyone would like to view it.
Jessica (0411220111 or jkimber01@bigpond.com)
Posted September 10th, 2009
in Building the Education Revolution
by juliannam
Hello Currambena!
THANK-YOU
-To our gorgeous Tracy for producing our lovely newsletter each week. We look forward every week to your beautiful photos especially the cover shots.
-To our parents who come in on Monday and do a fabulous canteen.
-To all our wonderful CASP staff who run a very caring fun after school care program. It always amuses me when I hear the various conversations floating into the office. Parents being given a very clear message that they are….too early as the child has not had their bread time, or they have not had enough play time or they want to stay right to the end!
LOOKING FOR… Sisse our Danish student teacher is staying in a studio flat in Bondi and she happened to mention yesterday that they have a cook top but no oven!!!! So my request to the community is … does anyone have a working bench top oven that they are not using and could lend to Sisse till they leave in late January.
NITS
Have you parent groups organised your BIG WASH weekend yet?
Activities coming soon…….
Your Child and High School Monday 14th September from 7pm -9pm. Wendy will be speaking along with various ex-Currambena students.
Information morning next Wednesday 16th September starting at 10am. If you know of anyone who is interested please pass on this date. I am trying to be more efficient with time management and not have individual tours of the school where possible.
Dance social Friday 25thSeptember We have a bush band booked! If it is still cold we will start up Steve’s firepit so either way it should be a hot September night. So a big circle on the calendar please.
REMINDER
The traffic warden is still with us so take care where you are parking and for how long.
With love,
Julianna
Posted September 10th, 2009
in Coordinator
by juliannam
Hi Everyone,
On Monday 21st the school will be celebrating peace day and 350 day together. We will be singing some songs of peace as a school and listening to Annabelle Osborn (Rupert’s big sister) who was recently awarded a peace advocate award. We are going to try and take some photos and send them to some newspapers etc. We are asking all the children to wear white t-shirts on the day and make a giant human peace sign. 350 pertains to the number of parts per million of pollution that the world can manage in the atmosphere.
After the rubbish free day, there has been considerably less rubbish thrown out in our class. However there is considerably more plastic containers strewn around. Please keep using the re-usable containers but it would be great if you could label them so they don’t get lost and left in the playground. Speaking of things lost in the playground, there is so much lost property at the moment I wonder if the kids are actually wearing anything home. Please come and check the baskets for any lost property that might belong to your family. There are baskets outside each classroom and one in the foyer.
Lastly, Wendy is holding a “your child and high school” talk on Monday the 14th September from 7-9pm. There will be some ex-Currambena students talking about their experiences as well as other parents to share ideas with.
Have a good week, from Olivia
Posted September 10th, 2009
in Olivia's Class
by oliviam
Posted September 10th, 2009
in Photo of the week
by Newsletter
Hello Everyone
The excursions to Longueville last week went really well and the children did some really interesting drawings of the city skyline and the harbour Bridge. They are up on the walls in preschool so come in and have a look at them and the accompanying photos. Playing in the park was also fun.
This week we have continued with buildings by discussing homes and doing an experiment. We have also been doing a unit on protective behaviours – talking about things we can do to keep ourselves safe in a variety of situations. We have also had clay out for children to build with.
Yesterday Sisse had a Danish hotdog stand in preschool and children ordered hotdogs with various accompaniments and chocolate milk.
It’s Information Morning next Wednesday so let friends know if they are interested in coming to find out about Currambena.
Please label all possessions especially lunch box plastic containers and lids as they are becoming the new litter!! Also please claim your child’s lost property. Thanks!!
There is a talk on this Monday night, 16th September 2009, on “Your child and high school” from 7.00 – 9.00 pm. If you are curious about how your child will manage the transition to high school, come and hear from some ex-Currambena pupils and Wendy about this process. It is open to everyone, not just Currambena parents or those with children going into high school in the near future.
It is “The International Day of Peace” on Monday 21st September 2009. We are planning to celebrate peace by all wearing a white t shirt that day. We have been learning a song as well. There are other events being planned so keep a look out in the newsletter. We are combining this with 350 day, which is concerned with creating a visual to send a message to alert world leaders to take action on climate change. Have a look at the website - www.350.org
I have begun offering places to people on the waiting list for 2010 and having interviews with the new families.
Thanks to Michelle, Annabel’s mum, for scrubbing our easels.
Thanks for the art magazine, Charlotte.
Thanks to the community for returning some of our little ponies, Lucy, Scarlett, Rosie and Paisley were happy to see them back again.
Love from
Sue, Chris and Gabriela.
Posted September 10th, 2009
in Preschool
by sueg
“Through My Eyes” a song by Valerie Foley (mum of Billy in Fran’s)
“Through My Eyes”, sung by Thanh Bui, is a song about what it can feel like when you are autistic. I wrote the lyrics this year, inspired by the way our son Billy lives his life.
It’s been an amazing year for us, not least because Billy has found something at Currambena that we weren’t sure he would ever find – acceptance. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to write the lyrics of “Through My Eyes” before now, because we were too busy wondering how our little square peg would find any holes that were even remotely interesting to him. Autism, in our view at least, isn’t so much a disorder as a different way of seeing the world, and your relationship to it. That’s what “Through My Eyes” is about, and also, we have discovered, what Currambena is about!
Through My Eyes is available for download on iTunes Australia now (for $1.69), and all proceeds go to Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect).
It’s on YouTube too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HwDXoHnVxY
with love, Valerie
Posted September 10th, 2009
in Currambena Chatter
by Newsletter
Hi everyone,
Spring is here and we are all enjoying the beautiful weather. We will be taking full advantage of it with our weekly visits to Tambourine Bay. We have started this week and will continue to spend each Wednesday morning there, returning to Currambena around lunch time. We will be exploring various environmental, natural and sustainability issues and concepts. David will be extending these ideas in the classroom.
Monday the 21st September is Peace Day, which we will celebrate with a variety of activities across the school. We are hoping that everyone will be able to wear a white T-shirt that day so that we can make and photograph a giant peace sign as part of our involvement with the wider community that supports and celebrates this day. We’ll remind you again next week.
Next week we have the High School Evening on Monday from 7-9pm, which is a wonderful opportunity to hear from past students about their transition to, and experience at, high school. On Wednesday there will also be an information morning for new parents and students.
In our increased efforts to reduce the rubbish in our school, we have noticed that many of the items scattered about are reusable plastic containers. Please name them so that we can send them home and ensure that they help to reduce rubbish and costs rather than adding to them. It would also be great if you could label clothing, as our lost property piles are reaching astonishing heights once more. Also, please come and have a look through the basket outside our room so that you can reclaim some of the clothes, socks, socks and socks.
Cheers,
Jo
Posted September 10th, 2009
in Fran & Jo's Class
by franm
Hi everyone. I hope you are all having a good week.
We are very busy this week (what’s new??). We are writing our play, working on PIPs, completing text book pages in spelling and maths, doing science experiments, reading some scary stories, writing and reading poetry, working on area and perimeter and volume, singing and playing…
Some of our singing is in preparation for Peace Day on Monday September 21st. We are practising songs for the whole school to sing together. We are thinking of combining this day with 350 Day… a suggestion from Rachel… which is a day to promote awareness of climate change. 350 is the number of parts per million pollution in the atmosphere that scientists think the planet can sustain. Lots of issues to research and discuss.
Please remember the HIGH SCHOOL meeting at 7pm next Monday 21st September. Everyone is welcome. We will be talking about how children make the transition to High School, how we go about preparing them and how they manage the challenges of the different schools they attend. Some of our ex-students have been invited to come along and share their stories and it promises to be a good night.
A couple of other practical things: firstly, please help us to deal with the enormous amount of lost property around the school. PLEASE NAME EVERYTHING so at least we can return it to your child if it is left lying around. A big problem at the moment is plastic containers. It’s wonderful that people are trying to reduce the rubbish by sending re-usable containers but if they become lost property, it is even more rubbish. Naming these would be such a help. Permanent marker usually stays on for a while.
Secondly, my sister has offered to donate a rather good piano to the school so we would like to use it to replace the old one currently upstairs. The old one is not in especially good condition but might be fun for someone. If you would like it, or know someone who might, please let me know.
That’s all for now.
With love,
Wendy
Posted September 10th, 2009
in Wendy's Class
by wendyp
