Currambena Primary and Preschool

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

Hi Everyone, welcome back to school. I hope you all had a great break.

Already this week, we have decided we would like to go to CSIRO in Ryde for a session on force and movement. This will link in nicely to a science theme we will explore later on in the term. For the first half of the term however, we will be more focused on the school concert which is at the end of week 4. We are also having a visit from Mr Insektus next Monday (26th October) to check out some weird and wonderful species in the insect world.

There has been some discussion between some of the children in the class about growing up and changing bodies so I thought now might be a perfect time to explore this within the whole class group. I will also take this opportunity to discuss protective behaviours as well as puberty and some drug education if it arises from the children. If there is anything you would like to talk to your child about first please do so in the next week as we will start these themes mid next week.

Well, summer is definitely on its way and we have begun to talk about our needs when the weather is hotter. I would like to ask that all parents ensure their child is putting on sunscreen at the beginning of the day. I remind the children to put more in the middle of the day. I will also ask them to put more on if we are leaving the school along with a hat. Please make sure that your child has a hat to bring (possibly one that stays in their trays) to school.

This term we will be doing swimming for sport. We will be going to Lane Cove Pool each Monday afternoon so please pack swimming costume, towel and goggles. Sarah (from Fran and Jo’s and CASP) will be coming up and teaching us some water safety skills for a few weeks so that we will all be prepared for our camp to Mowbray Park (canoeing and swimming in the dam) and summer. Having said that, there will be no swimming next week because we are having the visit from Mr Insektus.

Yesterday, we walked up to the Lane Cove Library to borrow some books. We will be doing this again every second Wednesday. If your child does not have a library card, please fill in a form that has been sent home or pick one up from the library. Once you have filled it out please take it to the library to receive the card. You can keep your card at home but please leave the card number at the desk under Olivia’s class at Currambena. That way no cards get lost at school. Having said that, all the books that your children borrow are on their own cards and responsibility is on them to keep the books safe and returned on time. We have a Lane Cove Library box in the classroom so that they can stay safe at school which we take up to the library on each visit.

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

 From Olivia

Tonight’s the night!  Our excursion to the observatory is finally here. I am hoping that everyone has checked with me about money owing but if not please come and check how much you need to pay for your child’s dinner. Until it is paid, I will be out of pocket.

This term seems like it has flown along and I can’t believe it is almost school holidays again. During the last two terms we have had a steady flow of children join us and we welcomed our 22nd member of Olivia’s class last Monday. A huge welcome to Jacinta and her family. This means that my class is now full.

These last two weeks of term seem full of excursions and performances. We had a Commedia Dell’ Arte performance yesterday and next Tuesday we will be watching a performance by the Theatre of the Deaf. The children have also voted on having an end of term party on Friday 2nd October. There was a very in-depth discussion about the types of food we should have and the consensus was that we bring a mixture of healthy and a small amount of junk food. We also spoke about the actual point of a party is a celebration, not actually just an excuse to eat. I would like to request just small amounts of food to share, for example, rather than a giant bag of chips perhaps just a medium sized one to share. And please remember the healthy party food like fruit skewers, muesli cookies etc.

This morning, we had a discussion about physical violence and the importance of feeling safe within our class. We all agreed that being able to trust people helps us to feel safe and supported. We also voted that if someone in our class is physically violent that they can’t be part of the group for the rest of the day and will have to be sent home. This seems quite harsh, however the decision was made by the children in their class meeting and I think reflects how important this issue is for them.

That’s all for now. Have a great weekend!

Cheers, Olivia.

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

Hi Everyone!

Thank you to Wendy’s class who organised the rubbish free day last week. It was a real eye opener for all of us as to how much waste we produce from lunches. Also a huge thank you to Sarah for taking my class yesterday when I was sick.

In case you haven’t noticed, newsletters will be coming out on Thursdays for a while. Please let me know if you get the newsletter electronically so that I can ask for fewer paper copies to hand out.

There has been talk of having some piano performances in school meeting this Friday. I will be talking to my piano students to see if they would like to participate. If you are interested in seeing your child, please ask them if they are going to be performing first and then come to school meeting on Friday morning at 9.30 am.

That’s all from me. Have a good week!

Olivia