Coordinator

Julianna Term 4 Week 3

Hello Currambena!

 CONCERT                                                                                                                            Friday 13 th November. 5.30pm  full assembly of all cast members from every class. 6.00pm SHARP silence will be called and the show will begin!  Please bring a picnic  dinner, a rug or two and possibly some camping lights. Location – Tambourine Bay (see attached map).

Boxes of  BEAUTIFUL 2010 CALENDARS are here in the office.      It would be really helpful if a couple of parents could set up under the blue umbrella and start selling them. A single calendar is $18.00, two or more are $15.00 each.

 RENOVATIONS

Our bathroom is coming along beautifully. We had a couple of anxious days putting various innovative barricades up across the door way to keep out inquisitive feet!!! I was in a quandary as to whether I should warn the kids or not. Warning them that stepping on the floor tiles before they are dry will move them out of position could possibly be an irresistible temptation  to prove me wrong or oops…… she was right!!@$

 THANK-YOU

If you have not been up to our library recently please pop in. Kerrie and her helpers are doing a wonderful job with beautiful mural paintings on the walls around the verandah and lots of enticing books on display. Thank-you, thank-you all you creative library people.

RESIDENCY STATUS

A newly added  requirement for our census which is linked to our funding is the residency status of every student. I have put a template on the back of the newsletter which I would really appreciate if you could fill it in and return it to the office

 REMINDER

All fees for school and CASP  are due Thursday 12 th November. If you are being challenged by this deadline please speak to me now.

 With love,

   Julianna

Posted November 5th, 2009 in Coordinator by juliannam

Photo of the week

newsletter cover header

Thursday 5th November 2009 Term 4 Week 3

lilly week3

newsletter cover header

Posted November 5th, 2009 in Photo of the week by Newsletter

Preschool

Preschool Week 4 Term 4

Hello Everyone

This week has been taken up with concert practices, prop making, water colour painting and practising new found and proudly acquired climbing skills. We have also been discussing what costumes the children would like to wear. Please ask your child what they have decided on or come and ask us. We have a list the children’s decisions in preschool. Some children want to wear dress-ups or ordinary clothes from home, others want to borrow preschool dress-up clothes and there are some who want to make costumes with their parents.

In preschool we want the concert to be a joyful experience for all of us, so we do not make children perform if they are uncomfortable with this. We all practice together daily so that all the children are familiar with the performance, but on the night your child may choose to watch. This is absolutely okay with us.

We are planning a concert rehearsal on the morning of Friday 13th November. We plan to leave preschool at 9.45am and return by about 10.45am. We will need drivers to take the children who are in preschool on a Friday down to Tambourine Bay. Each child needs a rear seat with a seat belt. If you can help come and put your name down on the list outside preschool. 

We need all the other children to attend this rehearsal so that they are familiar with the environment and procedure. Please meet us at Tambourine Bay at 10.00am. Please be aware that there is water at Tambourine Bay and everyone attending with their child or driving other children to the practice needs to be responsible for the children in their care.

The concert is on at Tambourine Bay Friday 13th November at 6.00pm sharp. Julianna has put a map of the location in the newsletter. We need everyone to be there at 5.30pm with their child dressed in their costume, picnic rugs, dinner, chairs for older people and camp lights.  For the concert to be fun for everyone we need everyone to do the following-

  • No little children on stage during other  performances.
  • Respect the hard work of the kids and do not talk during performances.
  • Take home all your rubbish at the end of the evening.
  • There will be a visual barrier up behind the stage to show where the water begins at Tambourine Bay is, but this is not a physical barrier. You need to be aware of your children’s whereabouts at all times.
  • All parents are responsible for their own children before and after the performance.

There will be a rubbish-free day each Wednesday. This has been organised by Wendy’s kids following their success in reducing our rubbish on the rubbish-free day held last term. So on Wednesdays please send lunch using as few wrappings (cling film, tin foil, ziplockbags, wrappers), disposable containers and commercially prepackaged foods as possible. Please decant things into re-usable containers labelled with your child’s name. Thanks!!

We have gorgeous Currambena Calendars for sale – $30.00 for two or $18.00 for one. See Julianna to buy some as Christmas/end-of-year presents!!

Lastly, thanks for the boxes, Christine. Thanks to everyone who does all our washing week in and week out, we really appreciate it!

Love from

Sue, Chris and Gabriela.

Posted November 5th, 2009 in Preschool by sueg

Building the Education Revolution

BuildTeam Term 4 Week 3

Building the Education Revolution

Commonwealth funded

Primary School in the 21st Century (PS21)

National School Pride (NSP)

 Hi Everyone,

 We have spoken with the architects and they have proposed some design modifications to the new classroom. The biggest changes are a simplification of the roof line, a change to the internal ceiling structure and an overall reduction in the building size. These changes should make us some significant cost savings which will begin to bring us closer to our budget. In addition there are changes to the materials that will be used and some of the detailed finishes. Once the changes have been drawn up we will pin the sketches on the notice board.

 We will be meeting with Lane Cove Council tomorrow to discuss the changes and find out how long it might take to have them approved through council. But at this stage the architects are anticipating starting on site next year. This is a delay of about 4 months – it will take completion to mid way through next year.

 Jess (jkimber01@bigpond.com or 0411220111)

Posted November 5th, 2009 in Building the Education Revolution by juliannam

Currambena Chatter

Play in preschool

Wendy has summarised creativity, play and resilience wonderfully in response to an article in the SMH last Wednesday .

In preschool we provide for large tracts of time for free choice so that preschool children can play the games they choose. This is essential as they make sense of the world through play. Lots of time to play results in deep and satisfying play. The children test themselves in many areas when they play – physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively.

Our preschool children are extremely fortunate in having the whole, rich and ever-changing playground and all the materials within it to use to develop physical confidence, inspire their imaginations and form complex social groupings. They are also fortunate to have older children and adults to play with, plan with and help them make the resources they need for play.

We believe that even very young children need to take appropriate risks to develop their bodies, their spirits and their resilience. This lays the foundation for healthy risk-taking in the teenage and adult years. We believe that bumps, bruises and scratches are part of learning. They set up a store of resilience and rationality for later life, when the challenges have a huge impact.

Posted November 5th, 2009 in Currambena Chatter by sueg

Currambena Chatter

Playground Creativity

Responses from Wendy and Sue to article from  Sydney Morning Herald (Wed Oct 28th)

Are children actually less resilient these days, as one school principal quoted in this article asserts?     I don’t think Currambena kids are!

Maybe those “cotton wool kids” who are never allowed to climb trees or run across hard surfaces or use a real knife when cooking or a hammer in craft… maybe they cannot help being less resilient, having had no opportunities to discover for themselves that falling hurts and metal tools can be dangerous as well as useful.

When children are permitted to participate in the real world, choose their own challenges and learn from their own efforts, whether successful or otherwise, they learn that it is very important to think ahead. What are the risks here? What are the safety issues I need to consider to keep myself and those around me safe?

They learn that it is OK to make mistakes and have accidents because most of these are wonderful learning opportunities! If they are NOT making mistakes, it usually means that are not courageously trying new things but taking soft and familiar options which will ensure they are not challenged physically, intellectually, socially or emotionally.

It also means they will not have the chance to develop the skills to pick themselves up after an accident or mistake and have another go!

And that’s what resilience is all about.

Posted November 5th, 2009 in Currambena Chatter by wendyp

Fran & Jo's Class

Aussie Kids…. Week 3 term 4

Hi everyone

We had a brilliant time at Greenwich Baths and the cool water was much enjoyed as we got our first real taste of summer. Thanks to all the drivers who make this important event possible. With our large class it really does take some doing and the help is greatly appreciated.

The concert has taken over our week and the rehearsals are flying thick and fast. We have added in some extra features that will hopefully help you to decipher the multitude of characters and locations in which our play takes place. Hopefully! We are planning to walk to Tambourine Bay on Thursday morning (the 12th) with Olivia’s Class for a dress rehearsal. The concert is next Friday night, the 13th of November, and the kids need to be with us at Tambourine Bay at 5:30pm for a 6:00pm sharp start. Bring your chairs or rugs, a picnic dinner and please remember that you will need to take all rubbish home with you. After our class performance, your Aussie Kids will rejoin you in the audience and we end our supervision. As we have a change of location and the proximity of the water  -  vigilance is essential.

Please respect the other performances that are taking place, by minimising noise and making sure that no extra players join the show. The children have worked hard at creating this event and this will help to ensure that their performance meets their expectations. Thanks in advance for your help with this. In terms of safety, there is of course a lot of water around the park. We will be erecting a visual barrier to help you to keep your children away from the water that is closest to our performance area. Please have a look at the map in this newsletter.

The Currambena calendar for 2010 has arrived and is available from Julianna. This year the pictures included span 40 years of Currambena history. It is again a gorgeous production that attests to the great care and many hours spent in compiling it. The calendar costs $18 each or 2 for $30.

Have a good week!

Fran, Jo, Sarah, David and Sisse

Posted November 5th, 2009 in Fran & Jo's Class by franm

Olivia's Class

Olivia’s Class Week 3 Term 4

Hi Everyone,

Well we are busy busy busy with concert practices.  It is coming along wonderfully and the kids are absolutely fantastic. Many of the children have organised their costumes and have things at home that they will be using. Please could you check with your child about what they will need so that all is ready to go. We will also be having a whole school rehearsal this Friday after school meeting so if costumes are ready, please send all to school and I will set up a costumes box. We will also be doing a dress rehearsal next Thursday (12th) down at Tambourine Bay and we will most probably spend lunch down there too so please send food that doesn’t need heating. On the the Friday night all children need to be at Tambourine Bay at 5:30 dressed and ready to go for a 6pm sharp start. Please bring your own picnics, rugs/chairs and maybe a camp light or torch.  Lastly, a reminder that all children who are not on stage or who have finished performing are the responsibility of the parents. This also includes younger siblings who desperately want to get up on stage with their brothers and sisters. The children have worked very hard on their own performances and really love to have all the limelight directly on their performances. This also means talking throughout performances as well, because we will be outdoors, we will need all the help we can get from the audience to get the children’s voices heard.

The 2010 Currambena Calenders are ready for sale so please head to the office if you want one (or ten- they are great for presents and offices). The cost is $18 for one and $30 for two.

Sisse, our gorgeous Danish student teacher will be spending time in our classroom next week and then the last two weeks of term which means she will be coming to Mowbray Park with us.

I will be away next Monday (9th) afternoon on a course. Michael and Sisse will take the kids up to Lane Cove Pool with Wendy and her class. There will  be no other sport option so please help your children remember to pack swimmers and goggles etc. The whole class has voted that we will go swimming for sport for this term. Sarah (from CASP and Fran and Jo’s class) will come up with us to the pool weeks 5,6 and 7 to teach some swim skills with us to prepare us for canoeing and swimming at Mowbray Park. She is a qualified swim instructor.

That’s enough for this week I think.  Have a good one!

From Olivia

Posted November 5th, 2009 in Olivia's Class by oliviam

Wendy's Class

Wendy’s Class Week 3 Term 4

This week we welcome Emma and Vanessa, two student art teachers from UNSW who are spending two weeks with us. Great timing for us with all the play sets and costumes to create! Judith is also working hard to assist us so we are hoping it will all come together in time! Please help your child learn their lines if they ask… there is a lot of memorising needed from some of them. (Not to mention costumes and sets!…Detect a slightly panicky tone!??) Dress rehearsal here at school on Friday this week and then again at Tambourine Bay on Thursday next week.

The concert itself will start promptly at 6pm on Friday 13th November. All children should be at the park ready to perform at 5:45pm but, as parking will possibly be an issue, it would be a good idea to come early and enjoy your picnic dinner before the show. Each family will need to bring their own picnic food and things including rug or chairs (at the back please) and parents will need to be responsible for their own children while they are not actually engaged in a performance. Let’s hope for a fine, warm night… wet weather option is back here at school in Aussie Kids’ room. Please be mindful of issues of sustainability when packing your picnic! Bring food in containers which can be taken home and washed. Let’s leave no rubbish behind us at all! And please be respectful of performances in progress. The acoustics are going to be interesting outside (to say the least) so please make sure children (and adults!) not performing are a very quiet and attentive audience.

Last week at Class Meeting, our group voted to have News at 9am on Monday mornings from now on. This is to prevent it from taking up too much of our Inside Time! It worked quite well this week  for the first time.

From now on this term, swimming is an option on Monday afternoons for sport. Please help everyone remember this!

Please come and buy Currambena Calendars from the office. They cost $18 each or two for $30 and they are just gorgeous. Perfect presents.

Thank you to all the parents who have spoken to me about Jervis Bay. It looks as if we will have plenty of helpers and drivers. In a week or two, I will hold a meeting to discuss details with you all.

We are also, believe it or not, actually doing quite a lot of academic work along with our rehearsals! We are working on a Science unit about Living Things, a Maths one on Time and an English study of Exposition.. a couple of these might make it into this Newsletter. Maths and Spelling text books, times tables tests and reading are all continuing as usual, too.

We did enjoy walking up to Lane Cove Civic Centre last week to look at the entries in the Eve Vonwiller Youth Art Awards, proud to see Jody and Isla represented there!!

Have a great week.    

Love Wendy

 

AN EXPOSITION by Shannon.

RUBBISH FREE LUNCH EVERY WEDNESDAY

It’s a fantastic opportunity to challenge yourself in not producing as much rubbish. When we entered the original Rubbish Free Lunch competition, we won so now that we are having a rubbish free lunch every week, We will be unstoppable in reducing rubbish.

It’s important to reduce our rubbish because we are in a drought. Climate change is happening and trees are getting cut down as we speak and reducing our rubbish is a big step to help save us, the environment and the world.

By not using as much rubbish, we help the environment in not producing as many fumes and greenhouse gases. So in the end, by reducing our rubbish on Wednesdays, we help save the world, stop climate change and live on a healthy, clean planet.

Posted November 5th, 2009 in Wendy's Class by wendyp

General

Minutes of School Meeting Friday 30th October 2009

Chairpeople: Hannah and Lilly

1. Rubbish Free Lunch every week by Jody, Shannon and Phoebe. This suggestion was discussed an the meeting voted to hold a Rubbish Free Lunch every Wednesday from now on.

2. Crystal by Milly. A crystal that Milly brought to school has gone missing from Olivia’s desk. It is very precious to Milly so please return it if you find it.

3. Books by Jo. Jo asked that the new books bought for Aussie Kids stay in the room. They have large coloured stickers on the front in the bottom right hand corner.

4. Sue’s birthday by Chris. We all sang Happy Birthday to Sue!

5. Chicken ladder by Sue. The ladder which the chickens use to go up into their nesting box has lost some rungs. Please could someone fix it today?

6. Sunscreen by Casey. Someone put sunscreen on the chickens and Casey does not want that to happen again.

7. Toilets by Kiffin.

8. Introduction by Rachel. Rachel introduced her cousins and aunt to the meeting. They were visiting from South Africa.

MEETING ADJOURNED. EVERYONE DO A JOB FOR THE SCHOOL.

Posted November 5th, 2009 in General by wendyp