Photo of the week – term 2 week 5

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Newsletter Ed

PotW NL 2022 T2 W5 emmavinnie (4)

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Julianna Term 2 Week 5

Posted on May 26, 2022 by juliannam

Hi Everyone,

Thank you to all who braved the wet and cold and attended the AGM meeting on Friday night. We now have Nikki Lawless as Chairperson, Noni Papalia as Deputy Chair and Jason Yu as Treasurer. Welcome to our new members, Ashley Halseth, Merriden Varrall, and to Jason, who agreed to come on for another term to help manage the finances of the school. Welcome to Sarah who has replaced Leesa as the second primary teacher on Council. We are short one parent member and we are urgently looking for someone to be co-opted on as secretary and manage our Council minutes. If you think you could manage this please drop me an email or drop into the office.

A very big thank you all our council members of 2021 and especially to our outgoing members, Julie Daly, Evan Fogarty, and Leesa Jerrick. It was another very big year with many meetings and much discussion, which everyone managed with due diligence and great care for the Currambena community.

Wow! A Currambena Social at last. Please see the flyer for the Winter Fest Art Social. We are urgently calling for helpers to assist with setup of the trestle tables and, possibly, a couple of gazebos, serving of the pizza and hot chocolate, and, lastly, the pack away. If you can assist with any, or all of these areas, please let me know asap. I am thinking we need at least 8 people.

 Cheers Julianna

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Preschool News: Term 2 Week 5

Posted on May 26, 2022 by katrinaa

Hi everyone,

The weeks seem to be flying by now with a myriad of things happening on a daily basis. We were fortunate not to lose power on Monday though were prepared with camping lights and torches at the ready if we did. We had the school to ourselves, however, the inclement weather meant we spent the day mostly indoors at preschool as it was too wet and cold to go exploring around a very quiet school!

Our “Buddies Time” with Wendy’s class is progressing well. There’s lots of group play occurring between the Elders of the school and the preschool children. The younger preschool children are beginning to feel more comfortable with Buddies, which we are hoping will lead to these children eventually feeling confident enough to participate.

We’re really fortunate to have Abi working with us in Preschool on Monday and Tuesday at the moment. Her beautiful voice and expertise in singing is leading to some fantastic musical experiences throughout the day. On Monday we posed the question “What is the difference between singing and shouting?” to her during our group music time. Abi spoke to the children about using their diaphragms to sing and demonstrated where this is. In music we’ve continued to learn The Rainbow Snake. This week Michael began teaching the children Beds Are Burning. On Wednesday we spent some time in Wendy’s class being part of the audience as they rehearsed singing it for Children’s Voices this Friday. This has definitely sparked enthusiasm in mastering the lyrics.

There’s excitement in preschool as the impending excursion to Lane Cove Plaza this Friday for Children’s Voices for Reconciliation is quickly approaching. From next Wednesday onwards every fortnight we’ll be heading up to Lane Cove Library to take part in storytime and spend time exploring the junior section of the library. We’ll need everyone to arrive at Preschool as close as possible to 9:00 am, so children can get ready to leave and be at the library by 10 am, our set storytime. We’re also looking at the possibility of starting weekly visits to Kimberley Playground soon.

Currently, there is a steep rise in respiratory viruses affecting children attending early childhood education and care services. This includes influenza (also known as ‘flu’), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and COVID-19. These illnesses are contagious and can spread easily between young children, especially in preschool, where children learn and play in close contact with each other. Young children who get the flu may be infectious for longer and spread it to adults. It’s really important for parents to keep any sick children at home where they can get the one-on-one attention they need and keep their illness from spreading to others. In preschool, we continue to remind children to wash their hands often and provide well-ventilated spaces to play. As the days are now quite cool, please, ensure you pack a few changes of warm clothes.

That’s it for this week!

Love

Lisa, Michael, and Katrina

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Emma and Vinnie’s class term 2 week 5

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Emma

We’ve had another great week! Isn’t it a plus when rain is forecast, but the sun shines instead!

The week started off with a wonderful adventure to the Powerhouse! There were so many amazing exhibits – about eucalyptus, fashion, old technology, keyboards, and mini cars! There was a steam train everyone climbed into to explore, and an “experimentations” area with so many interactive science things. The kids then loved getting wet and exploring the fabulous water area at Darling Harbour afterwards. Don’t forget the bus trip, often it’s the most exciting part of the excursion! I’m sure everyone slept well on Monday night, the teachers definitely did…

In English this week we’ve been writing our own version of the cyclic tale the “Very Hungry Caterpillar”: the “Very Hungry Teacher” and the “Very Hungry Child”. Maybe the children can retell the story to you at home! Ask them to tell you who are the characters, where is the setting, and what is the repetitive phrase! We’ve been starting reading groups, which has been great, as Vinnie and Emma are able to provide support and challenge to different groups of students with their reading, wherever they are up to in their learning, as we all learn at our own pace.

In Maths, we’ve been continuing learning to add with objects or drawings and find the total. Some students are already able to count on from the bigger number, which is awesome to see some amazing budding mathematicians. Everyone’s contributions are valued as it’s not just about finding an answer, it’s about HOW you get the answer, and we appreciate everyone has different ways of working things out and we can all learn from sharing each others’ ways of thinking.

The kids are having so much fun exploring pushes and pulls in the playground for science, and our Tuesday school sport, mixing with kids of different ages. In the craft room the class has been working on some epoxy pendants to make cool jewellery pieces.

Lots of love!! Emma and Vinnie

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Jess Class – term2 week 5

Posted on May 26, 2022 by jessk

Dear Families,
We had an excellent time at the Powerhouse Museum on Monday and saw almost all the exhibitions! To begin, we were lucky enough to stumble across a tiny little room at the top of the museum dedicated to lace and lace making. The children listened attentively as they were told stories around some of the pieces that were kept there which dated as far back as the 16th Century! Some children also had a chance to use the bobbins and contribute to a group piece that was in the process of being woven. We were mesmerised by the exhibition called ‘Eucalyptusdom’ which explored humans’ changing relationship with the gum tree and some children were very interested in learning about the way that oil is drawn out from the eucalyptus leaf. We finished our tour with a hands-on experience at ‘Experimentations’ and the very popular ‘Transport’ area where great fun was had on the train and looking at the micro cars, aeroplanes, and rockets. After a quick lunch, the day finished with a very wet but adventurous walk to Darling Harbour where the children got to play in the fabulous Tumbalong Park.

In other news, we have been continuing to practice the ‘split strategy’ in maths and find ways that we can write this process down in a series of number sentences. We also been busy with exploring the ‘ai’ and ‘ay’ sound in phonics. There has been a lot of dancing and shows inside the classroom, and running games have been popular outside (when it’s not raining). We’ve also been doing a little bit of singing and dancing to the song “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” from Mary Poppins. A fun and uplifting song that dovetails nicely with our studies of “Up in the Air”.

A note about library books and readers:
Please remember to return all library books and readers every Thursday, so that other children have the opportunity to borrow them.  It would work best to send them back in a dedicated library bag to keep them protected and to help indicate the routine to your child.

Have a lovely weekend,

Jess

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Sarah’s Class week 5 Term 2

Posted on May 26, 2022 by sarahm

Hello everyone!

And the rain is back… how lovely. But as I write this we have a beautiful sunny day. Thankfully, the wet weather on Monday didn’t dampen spirits as we embarked on our journey to the Powerhouse Museum. The excitement and energy from the children was palpable, to say the least. Once inside (the museum) we congregated on a massive ground floor space where we had our morning tea and listened to a guide talk to us about museum rules. With many supervising adult eyes upon children we walked from floor to floor taking in all exhibition spaces, learning about the history of wood and its use and the first steam trains. We interacted with light shows and things which could be pushed, pulled and experimented upon. All and all it was a fabulous engaging experience. We then braved the (light) rain and walked to the playground at Darling Harbour for some more interactive water play. The buses picked us up from this point returning everyone to school stimulated and exhausted.

We had a gorgeous morning (on Tuesday) discussing all the things we like about our school. We shared which places in the playground were our most favourite and why and then wrote about them. This information will be edited and re-written with the inclusion of a picture/painting and eventually will become our class book. Every year I have had children create a class book. Over the years these books have evolved from being presented in a plastic folder and plastic sleeves to now professionally printed in hardback. I have kept all copies of books over the years for new children (in the class) to read and look at drawings created. It is always gorgeous to observe children engage with the previous year’s writing and storytelling. So we are starting this process now and linking the writing to all the stories we have been reading, about places, community, and the importance of passing on ‘our stories’.

We began some work on Division this week and looked at its relationship with Multiplication. Olya and Lorraine focused their teaching practice on delivering tasks to the group.

On Friday morning we will be attending the Voices for Reconciliation for Children event at Lane Cove Plaza to support Wendy’s class who will be performing. We also farewell Olya and Lorraine who have done a wonderful job on their first prac experience. We wish them all the best on their next adventure and hope they take a little of the Currambena ‘magic’ away with them.

That’s us for this week folks!

Love, Sarah

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Leesa’s Class Term 2 Week 5

Posted on May 26, 2022 by leesaj

It has been chilly and rainy this week, though the sun has peeked out of the clouds as much as it can. We have discussed bringing in more clothing to keep warm and more food as some of us are needing it.

Our whole school excursion on Monday, to the Powerhouse Museum, was lots of fun and very informative. The experimentation section was a favourite with scientific and technological concepts included in the exploration. Pulley systems, sound and light waves, magnetic forces and static electricity, just to name a few.

This week Caitlin, our student teacher, led two sessions on persuasive writing. The children explored the text ‘I Wanna Iguana’ by Karen Kaufman Orloff. They discussed and recorded ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments the two characters had for getting a pet iguana. Then, the children decided on a topic they would like to convince someone on. They used a letter format to convey their persuasive techniques. Some of these letters may make their way home to see if their persuasive techniques can work. Topics included getting a pet, travelling, objects for different purposes, and some children took the opportunity to ask for less of certain materials.

In Mathematics, we have moved on to multiplication and started to explore our times tables and different strategies to use to answer questions.

The sound for this week was ‘l,ll’ as in ‘lizard’ and ‘bell’. The children completed activities with this sound that included contractions and suffixes.

Our next library visit is on Monday 30th May. Could all children please remember to bring their books to return, a hat, and comfortable walking shoes.

This Friday 27th May we will be part of the audience for Children’s Voices for Reconciliation. Wendy’s class will be performing on the day. We also say farewell to Caitlin, as this will be her last practicum day. We wish her all the best in her future studies and teaching journey.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Leesa x

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Wendy’s Group Week 5 Term 2

Posted on May 26, 2022 by wendyp

Here we are in the middle of the term already and there is so much happening in our group!

Our Science topic has been a central focus over the past week with some wonderful lessons and activities. Amelia taught the group about the human brain last week and this week we’re moving on to the heart. Much interest was expressed and many terrific questions were asked.

Then, on Monday, we had our excursion to the Powerhouse Museum and it was great fun. The exhibits were really interesting and relevant, especially the hands-on experimentation with magnets, forces and electricity. Lovely to have a day out with the whole school, too. The play area at Darling Harbour was a great hit in spite of the drizzling rain.

Then, on Tuesday this week, we had a fabulous session on chemistry from a real life chemist (who also happens to be Meg’s mother!). Amanda gave a fascinating lesson on what chemists do, then focussed on the concepts of density and polarity in liquids. All the children made miniature lava lamps from ingredients of their choice. It was so engrossing, I completely forgot to take any photos! Sorry!

In amongst all this excitement, we have been rehearsing Beds Are Burning for our performance on Friday up in the plaza for Reconciliation Week. Lily and Sophie will be making speeches, Ewan and Taal using the tapping sticks and our guitars sounding terrific.

I have now collected all the forms for Canberra (thanks everyone) and our fingers and toes are crossed that we will get there this time. Maybe we’ll even get to meet Kylea Tink when we visit parliament! I hope you all have Monday 20th June to Wednesday 22nd in the diaries!

In English, we are continuing our focus on language features in different types of writing, this week formal informative writing. In Maths we are working on decimals, tenths, hundredths, and thousandths!

Many thanks to Olivia for taking the group last Friday when I needed to be away from school, and for part of Wednesday, too. Amelie and Isabella, two of our Macquarie Uni students, finish up this week and have given some great lessons and completed a wonderful first prac! We wish them well in their chosen career! Amelia will be with us for a week or so more.

Take care and stay warm and well!

Love,
Wendy

PS I hope you enjoy this excerpt from ‘A Day in the Life of a Button’ by Cooper.

“Aahhh, such a beautiful day, I’m shining in a beautiful way. I’m gonna stay right here and not move because I’m a button”.
The Next Day.
“Aahhh, such a beautiful day, I’m shining in a beautiful way. I’m gonna stay right her- wait, there’s a person coming! Yes, yess, YES! Finally someone is going to click me! That person looks a bit like….. Taal. He’s coming over now, get ready”… click… “YEAH HE CLICKED ME”… click… “ Again? Hmm, that’s wei” – click- “rd. OK bro sto”-click- “p it”.
“Bro, ST”-click- “OP! H”-click- “E”-click- “L”-click- “P”-click- “M”- click- “E”.
Click, click, click, click, click.

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School Meeting Minutes -Term 2 Week 4- 20th May 2022

Posted on May 24, 2022 by jessk

Chair people: Jess’ Class

1.Welcome by Evie and Puffin
Welcome to Caitlin, a new student teacher in Leesa’s room.

2. Pacman by Soren
Soren explained that it’s important to respect the rules of the pacman game, which is similar to tip but staying on the lines of the basketball court.

3. Signs by Emma
Emma asked if we could put “climate action now” signs outside the school on the fence. The majority voted for yes.

4. Lost property by Emma
Emma held up lots of jumpers which are in lost property, now that it’s winter. A reminder to please write names on belongings and check the lost property boxes outside the staff room if you are missing anything.

5. Craft room by Leesa
Chris is away today, so ask your teacher if you want any supplies from the craft room.

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Photo of the week – term 2 week 4

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Newsletter Ed

NL 2022 T2 W4 preschool (4)

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