CHAPMAN PRIMARY SCHOOL Thursday 26 February 2015 Perry Drive, Chapman ACT 2611 Ph: 6205 7300 Fax: 6205 7307 Website: www.chapmanps.act.edu.au “Achieving Excellence Together” Principal P&C Contact Board Chair Email Anne Simpson 6205 7300 Joanne Forster 0407 258 095 Sheree Bond school.information@chapmanps.act.edu.au After School Care 3.00pm After School Care website After School Care email Chapman P&C Website Term 1 Week 4 DATES TO REMEMBER Family Picnic, 5.30pm – 7.00pm Yr 3 Assembly, 12.10pm Yr 3 National Capital Excursion Preschool Family Picnic, 5.30pm-7.00pm Canberra Day Public Holiday Yr 2 Assembly, 12.10pm Yr 5/6 Camp Borambola Harmony Day Celebrations Yr 4 Assembly, 12.10pm Thursday Friday Monday Wednesday Monday Friday Wed-Fri Thursday Friday 0408 880 655/6288 0655 www.chapmanpandc.info cpasc@bigpond.com www.chapmanpandc.info Reminders Kindy Screening paperwork now OVERDUE. 26 February Student Medical Action Plans must be redone for the New Year 27 February – please see front office. 2 March Uniform Shop Hours 2015 4 March Mondays & Fridays 9.00-9.30am 9 March 13 March 18-20 March Attachments 19 March Chapman Class Carers for 2015. 27 March Welcome to Chapman 2015 Family Picnic and Games Today 5.30-7.00pm Dear Parents and Carers Fingers crossed it won’t be raining at 4.30 today and that we all get to enjoy an opportunity to relax, chat and get to know one another at the Welcome Picnic. Congratulations to Jon Tucker and the PE committee who once again planned and facilitated a fantastic swimming carnival day. Their careful planning meant that all children had the opportunity to participate in races of their choice, and those who were there to cheer their houses on, also got to spend plenty of the time enjoying rotation activities in and out of the pool. Parent volunteers did an amazing job of keeping time, organising races and supporting the teachers. Well done children, teachers and parents. We are excited! Today we receive a delivery of 15 shiny new bikes, helmets and tools in preparation for the Ride and Walk to school program that will be launched on 25th March. Jon Tucker, Tegan Kennedy and Trish Beck have been preparing storage space for the bikes and Trish has enrolled in a bike maintenance course. Perhaps you’ll get a glimpse of the bikes at tonight’s picnic. Planning a birthday celebration This year we celebrate 40 years of schooling at Chapman Primary. We have tentatively marked Term 4 Week 2 (also Children’s Week) as the time that we will host some community celebrations. This time also links with other activities including Alkira and the annual school fete. To commence the planning of the birthday celebrations, a meeting will be held on WEDNESDAY 25TH MARCH at 6.30 pm, prior to the P&C meeting which will follow at 7.30pm. If you are interested in helping plan the events, have strong connections to people who have attended Chapman Primary and/or have skills/interest we invite you to attend this meeting. Or perhaps you could let your contacts know! Update on Security Measures Following on from our school community consultation night in Term 4 last year and relating to additional security measures, we wish to provide you with an update on items tabled for action: Alarms and security monitoring Alarms have been checked by the security monitoring department and measures put in place to reduce the occurrence of alarms being activated by Bogong Moths. Conversations with ETD re response to alarms by the security company 2. Departmental fencing of the school. The school has over 50 external doors and our ability to lockdown in an emergency or crisis has always been problematic and has also provided easy access to vandals and thieves. Since our consultation night, EDT has prioritised the school in its schedule of fencing. All ACT schools are to be fenced. They have presented us with a number of fencing design alternatives for the school to review, and a preliminary design has been signed off on by the Principal, the Board Chair, and the President of the P&C. Our preferred design has now been lodged with the department who will schedule the installation of the fence according to its priority list of schools awaiting departmental required fencing. If you have any queries relating to these matters feel free to contact Anne Simpson, Sheree Bond or Jo Forster. Thankyou to all who have worked to make the drop off and collection of children within the internal carpark (Perry Drive) safer for the community. A reminder to all this kerbside area should not be used for stationary parking between 2.30 and 3.30pm. As the school bell does not ring until 3pm and most children take at least 5 minutes to come from class please consider delaying your pickup time or if you arrive early use the carpark behind the hall, along Tauchert St or even the carpark at the bottom of the oval. Visit from the Director General of Education and Training On Monday, I had the pleasure of hosting a visit to the school by Diane Joseph. In her role as leader of education in the ACT, Diane regularly visits schools in her jurisdiction. It is always a great opportunity for me to showcase our great school and for our successes to be acknowledged by Diane. I also had the opportunity to discuss the School’s Strategic Plan 2015-2018 and the more detailed Annual Operating Plan both of which will soon be available on the school website www.chapmanps.act.edu.au/. We have two Strategic Priorities: Improve student outcomes from Preschool to Year 6 Enhance school and community connections These priorities will be our key focus for the next four years and involve engaging the whole community in a range of actions that will bring about school improvement. We have started the year with a process of ‘putting the faces on the data”. Through professional learning and conversations with teachers, within teams and across the school, we have focussed on the analysis of longitudinal PIPS data, reading data and NAPLAN data for year 3 and 5 to determine where each child is in relation to their cohort. We are now looking at strategies we can employ to ensure every child is making progress over the term/year. This is ongoing work for all our teachers as we want to know everything about how every child learns and grows. As teachers we want to be continually growing and exploring ways we can be better teachers. Our school plan identifies ways we can achieve our goals. Some of the actions include: being involved in research, coaching and mentoring, observations of colleague’s teaching practices, developing our curriculum and giving feedback to each other. This year we are adopting the Kids Matter program as a framework for our already deeply embedded Chapman VALUES FRIENDS and to enhance strategies that will assist in improving the health and wellbeing of our children. Strengthening family/school partnerships is our priority for the Education Training Directorate and is articulated into our school plan by focussing on the engagement of parents as active participants in their child’s learning and the school environment. During the year we will be providing opportunities to connect with the class teacher personally, through workshops and through the online space MyLearning, to find out about your child’s learning. Of course parents are always welcome in the classroom to support aspects of learning and the class teacher. Parental engagement conceptual model What aspects of family Short term engagement matter most for outcomes for children’s outcomes the child Family‑le High expectations Belief in the d learning importance of education Shared reading Self‑efficacy Parent/child conversation, especially around learning, social Academic issues, family stories Homework support that provides competence/ an appropriate environment, confidence rules that are consistent with Motivation and school expectations, that engagement in encourages autonomous learning learning and fosters positive parent‑child Persistence interactions Cognitively stimulating Skills for learning environment Support for social and emotional Social and emotional wellbeing, peer relationships, wellbeing teacher relationships Family‑schoo Communication about l partnership children’s wellbeing and progress Communication about what children are learning and specific information about what families can do to help Engagement in the school community and positive attitudes to school Longer term outcomes for the child Academic achievement • literacy • numeracy Mental health and wellbeing Mitigating the impacts of disadvantage on educational outcomes Education capital: Our evidence base Defining Parental Engagement 2014 SRC Representatives Congratulations to the children who have been selected to represent their class as our Student Representative Council (SRC). It was a pleasure to present certificates to our new SRC representatives at the special SRC Assembly in Week 2. SRC plays an important role in the life of Chapman Primary with all children having an opportunity to have a say in the way we want our school to be. Congratulations to the SRC Leadership Team, (President) Cooper Terry, (Vice President) Bethany Robertson, (Secretary) Charlotte Rose and (Treasurer) Kai Livingstone on their appointment for Semester 1. This 2015 SRC will again be capably led by Ms Tegan Kennedy. Words of Wisdom from James Hazell in Year 6 “I now think the entire main idea is that treasure doesn’t always come in the form of rubies and silver but in the form of knowledge and information. The reason why I think this is because rubies and silver is not what makes us rich but in information and knowledge we are able to accomplish more projects that ever before and it allows us to complete our wildest dreams in reality.” Look forward to seeing you at the picnic Anne and staff Food Safety & Medical Alerts A number of our students across the school have a range of allergies to some or all of the following foods nuts, eggs, raw potato, sesame seeds, gluten and dairy products. The eating of these foods, or foods containing them, or even physical contact with these foods for some children, poses a serious risk to these children’s health. As you are aware some people are highly allergic to some foods and can have life threatening anaphylactic reactions if they eat or are in close contact with the food. Our school has defined procedures in line with departmental policies to guide us in designing a management strategy to cater for children with severe allergies. We are asking all families for their cooperation in assisting us to minimise the potential of an allergic reaction for these children. We request that parents support our school safety procedures by not supplying the following foods in children’s lunchboxes: Cashews Pistachios Macadamia Peanuts/peanut butter Hazelnuts Sesame seeds Whole eggs /egg sandwich (Kinder -Yr 2) Mayonnaise (containing raw egg) We also request that other food products that contain nuts e.g muesli and energy bars be saved for home treats. We have been talking about these issues as they relate to the needs of children in specific classes/units. It is important that children do not share their food with their classmates during eating and play times at school. We also encourage regular washing of hands before school and after eating times during school. We look forward to your continued support with protecting the wellbeing of our students. If you have any concerns or questions please contact Kathy Dawson. Preschool What a great start to the year we have had with all our groups! The children are very settled and have coped very well with our routines. We have been investigating lots of different things at preschool. We have talked about recycling our rubbish by putting paper and hard plastics in the recycling bin. We recycle our food scraps by feeding our worms or putting scraps into the compost bin. We have also investigated colours in our paintings and our craft and know that when you mix colours you get a new colour. We are enjoying the outdoor learning environment especially the fairy garden, the obstacle course and the sandpit. We are also making new friends and getting to know everyone’s name. Please remember to put sunscreen on your child before preschool. We will reapply sunscreen before going outside in the afternoon. The Preschool Team Kindergarten - The Garden Welcome to the Kinder Garden. In Kindergarten we have all been learning about the Chapman FRIENDS values. We have learned them well as we had a very happy and friendly Water Play Day on Tuesday. We heard lots of words of encouragement to class members, please and thank you, gentle voices and helpful cooperation. Best of all were the smiles and happy children who returned to class. Students have been participating in the PIPs programme, which is administered by the child’s teacher. This will be the last week and classes will resume as normal next week. The Mystery Reader programme has begun each Friday morning and is always very exciting and well received by the students. So far we have had Mrs Simpson ‘The Pirate’ and two parents. This is a time for the students to hear other adults reading favourite family books. We have a few remaining spots available, so if you would like to participate and have not yet chosen a date please see Mrs May for a possible time. The Kindergarten Team Michelle May, Tessa van der Hoek, Priscilla Reyenga and Kristy Messenger. Year 1 - Where the Forest Meets the Sea Well the year is off to a good start and we are already at Week 4! The children have settled into their classes and have started some fantastic learning. During the past weeks we have been learning about the Chapman FRIENDS values. We know what the acronym stands for and have participated in role plays, artworks and circle time to gain a better understanding of what the FRIENDS values are and how to use them in our lives. Our next Integrated Inquiry unit, How We Keep Ourselves Healthy, will start over the coming weeks. We will be looking into healthy eating, exercise and good hygiene. We have also started a gross motor program once a week for each class. This consists of rotations that build muscle, strength and co-ordination. Ask your child which is their favourite gross motor activity… Home Readers start this week. Your child’s reading level may have gone up or down over the Christmas break, this is quite normal. A regular reading time at home is a great way to form a routine and for your child to relax and focus on their reading skills. Remember home readers are designed to be easy and help your child build their confidence, fluency and expression. A little house keeping; Please remember to label all student belongings including; lunchboxes, clothing etc. If you still have outstanding resources missing from your child’s book pack please send them to school as soon as possible. Don’t forget the Chapman Welcome Picnic, Thursday 26th Feb! We hope to see you there. The year 1 team, Prue Anderson, Tegan Kennedy, Laura Poultney and Helen Tranter Year 2 – Animalia The children have all settled in well to our class routines in Animalia. We have commenced our differentiated word study, reading and maths groups and have been very pleased with how keen and engaged the students are. We would like to say a big thankyou to all the parents who have volunteered to help in the year 2 classrooms after attending our Information Evening and we look forward to working with you all over the year. The children have had a fantastic day at the swimming carnival, participating in a range of aquatic based activities, races and having a bounce on the giant jumping pillow! Team spirit was strong and the houses almost blew the roof off CISAC with their cheers and chants! We look forward to seeing our families at the ‘Welcome Picnic’ to be held this Thursday at the school. Bring a picnic and a rug and enjoy a relaxing evening getting to know our community. We have begun our Integrated Inquiry History unit called Then and Now with a main focus on the changes in technology over time- in particular how we communicate. If you have any artefacts that you could lend Year 2 to support our inquiry we would greatly appreciate it. Our Year 2 assembly is in Week 6 and we hope to see you all there! Melina Clark (Daring Dragons), Sharon Hickey (Ingenious Iguanas), Lee Hodges (Zany Zebras), Bek Lane (Logical Lions) and Kate Pottenger (LSA). Year 3 – The Tree House Year Three have had a very busy start to the year and are settling into routines well. Students have started their BEE Spelling groups and teachers are busy programming targeted lessons to meet their students spelling needs. Maths groups have been very productive with a focus on Number work, in particular Place Value. Number will remain a focus throughout this term whilst also exploring other areas of the Mathematics curriculum on Thursdays and Fridays. Students have been busy preparing for our first school assembly which will be held tomorrow in the school hall from 12.10pm. It was wonderful to see so many Year 3 students so enthused at the swimming carnival on Tuesday and being so supportive of each other. It seems that everyone had a really great time and we would like to thank Mr Tucker for his organisation of the event. We are really looking forward to our excursion on Monday to the National Capital Exhibition. The exhibition will provide students with an opportunity to understand the development of Canberra and will provide a thorough and engaging account of how Canberra has developed over time. This is closely linked to our Inquiry unit: ‘Chapman, You’re Standing in it’ focusing on our key question ‘How has our Community Changed?’ Homework is due on Tuesday, we look forward to looking at all the work the students have completed at home. Students are also reminded to read every day and also explore Mathletics regularly. Lauren Daniel, Mark Shiels, Fiona O’Hare and Trish Foster. Year 4 – The Land Of Oz It has been a busy couple of weeks in Year 4. We have completed our FRIENDS values unit of work and have created STUNNING portraits which we have proudly displayed in our unit. It was fabulous to see so many children participating in the swimming carnival on Tuesday. Whether competing in races, games or rotations, a wonderful day was enjoyed by all. Thank you to all the parents who helped out on the day too. Students have settled quickly into the unit routines. Last week we began working in our differentiated reading and maths groups. Spelling matrix sessions have begun on Thursday and Friday mornings from 9:00 -9:30. If you are able to help out during this time, we would love to see you! Please ensure you sign in at the Front Office first. Homework will also commence this week. Children will have a grid with a mixture of compulsory and optional activities designed to support curriculum taught in class. We are looking forward to seeing lots of Year 4 families at Chapman’s family picnic this afternoon at 5pm. Fiona Duncan, Sheridan Brill and Paul Campbell Year 5/6 - Superheroes Notes We know at the start of the year there are a lot of notes for you to manage. Please continue to send back the following notes. - Getting to know your child - Band offers - Camp - Voluntary contribution - Class carer information The front office keeps copies of all notes if required. Band Update Year 6 band has started for the year with IMP lessons on Monday afternoon and Friday morning, with a lunch time practice on Wednesday. Mrs. Foggett is excited to continue working with these talented musicians. The multi-talented Miss T will be taking on Year 5 band this year. Offers of placement went home last week and are due back ASAP. We are hoping to have the Year 5 band up and running with their new instruments soon. A reminder that on Friday 27th February at 8:15 there will be an information session for new band parents in the music room. Classroom Snapshot In literacy we have be looking at how words can paint a picture in our minds and experimenting with building on simple sentences. We used the text ‘Dogzilla’ by Dav Pilkey as our inspiration and worked in pairs to improve the basic sentence: “The dog barked and ran away.” - The terrible canine let out an extraordinary yelp and hurried away into the distance. - The creature howled and scarpered into the depths of a dangerous crater. - The horrified hound produced a screech that rumbled the sky and then she bounded away swiftly. - The terrified hound released a frightening screech and ran, leaving his courage behind. The Year 5/6 team. Excursion Medical Permission It is the responsibility of the parent to notify the school of any medical issues and/or medications that their child is taking. All students attending an excursion must have a current Excursion Medical Permission note completed. If the information that you provided on your child’s 2015 Excursion Medical Information form has changed since the beginning of this year (eg medications) please complete a new form for your child prior to this excursion. The Excursion Medical form is available from the school website or at the front office. Harmony Day is held every year to coincide with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The message of Harmony Day is everyone belongs. It’s a day to celebrate Australia’s diversity – a day of cultural respect for everyone who calls Australia home. We are celebrating Harmony Day at Chapman Primary School on Thursday 19 March 2015. Students are being asked to wear either orange or traditional dress/costume from another country. In addition, we would like to organise for one or two parents to visit their child’s class on the day and share something that represents their cultural background with the students. You might like to show some interesting objects/artefacts, teach the children a song/dance or share some pre-make food e.g.- spring rolls, sushi, damper etc. Please keep in mind we have children with severe allergies to nuts and eggs. If you are interested in sharing on the day or have any questions please ring the school on 62057300 and ask for Kirsten Waldron or you can email kirsten.waldron@ed.act.edu.au Sport News House Captains Congratulations to the following students who have been selected as House Captains for 2015: Austin Captains: Jessica Burrows & Zarden Hurley Vice Captains: Bethany Robertson, Ayden Maconachie & Jack Boxshall Doyle Captains: Bella Brooks & Marvin Boone Vice Captains: Tayla Julien & Ratu Cabebula Namatjira Captains: Sam Manton & Charlotte Kynaston Vice Captains: Cooper Terry & Ella Crane Perry Captains: Kai Livingstone & Olivia Farmer Vice Captains: Grace Obst & Cartia Johnstone All captains represented their respective houses with strong leadership and pride at our recent swimming carnival. The students will be acknowledged at this week’s assembly. Chapman Swimming Carnival Congratulations to all students who attended our swimming carnival. It was wonderful to see so many students having ‘a go’ and enjoying themselves. A big thank you to all parents who assisted throughout the day, we really appreciate the strong community support provided by our families. Individual results will be published in our week 6 newsletter; students who have qualified for the South Weston Carnival will be notified in the coming weeks. A ribbon assembly will be held on Friday week 8 commencing at 2pm in our school hall. Unfortunately we were unable to hold our 100m Butterfly and 200m IM events due to time restraints. If your child would like to be considered for these events at the South Weston Carnival please email me their personal best times by Tuesday 3rd March. Jon Tucker Jonathon.tucker@ed.act.edu.au Chess Club Due to the swimming carnival this week, chess club is on tomorrow instead (Friday 27th February). Same place and time. Year 4 Chapman Chillies Netball Team The year 4 Chapman Chillies Netball team is looking for some new players. If your child is interested in playing netball on Saturday mornings during Term 2 and Term 3, then please call Sheree Bond on 0419 909931 or email: bonds@homemail.com.au AFTERS News Chapman AFTERS welcomes Kellie Hackett as the new Director of the service following the retirement of Heather Harmer on 16 February. Kellie has a background in long day care centres, most recently as Director of the childcare centre at Parliament House. Welcome Kellie. AFTERS AGM 31 MARCH 2015 The date for the AGM is Tuesday 31 March at 8pm in the AFTERS building. The AGM and election of 2015 committee members will be followed by a general committee meeting. All AFTERS parents and carers welcome. Come along and meet the new Director. Canteen Shift: 8.50am – 12.30pm Canteen Manager: Chantell Hunt, Ph 6205 7309 Roster Secretary: Kylie Kynaston – Ph 6288 1098 or email kyliebear@tpg.com.au Wednesday 4th March Week 5 Week 6 Thursday 5th March Jacqui Taylor Friday 6th March Sue Cooper, Nicky Bowman & Ann-Marie Choules Wednesday 11th March Kim Greaves Thursday 12th March Jen Constable Friday 13th March Kylie Kynaston, Jo Forster & Candace Rhind Do not touch, pick or eat any wild mushrooms! Death Cap mushrooms are one of the world’s deadliest mushrooms and can be found across the Canberra region, usually in late summer and autumn. There have been four deaths and many poisonings in the ACT in the past 15 years due to Death Cap mushrooms. In Canberra, Death Cap mushrooms often grow near established oak trees in mild, moist weather. Death Cap mushrooms have been found growing on school grounds in the ACT. Parents and teachers are asked to remind children not to touch, pick or eat any wild mushrooms. As the Death Cap mushroom can easily be confused with edible varieties, adults are also strongly advised not to touch, pick or eat any wild mushrooms. It is difficult, even for experienced collectors, to tell the difference between the Death Cap mushroom and edible wild mushrooms. All parts of the Death Cap mushroom are poisonous and eating even a small amount of the mushroom can be fatal. Cooking the Death Cap mushroom does not make it safe. If you suspect that you or one of your family members might have eaten Death Cap mushrooms, you should seek urgent medical attention at a hospital emergency department. If you believe you have spotted a Death Cap mushroom, do not touch the mushroom with your bare skin. If it is in your own yard, the best option is to leave it be and make sure others stay away from the area. The mushroom will die in a few days. If you believe you have spotted a Death Cap mushroom growing in a public area, please contact Canberra Connect on 13 22 81. For further information on Death Cap mushrooms, http://www.health.act.gov.au/publications/fact-sheets. download the fact sheet online at Working With Children and Young People - Volunteers and Visitors Policy All visitors and volunteers involved with student related activities should complete a Visitor or Volunteer Nomination Form and, if required by the Working With Vulnerable People Act, be registered with the Office of Regulatory Services. Every visitor or volunteer must sign in on the Daily Sign-In Form each time they visit the school. Unless you are known to staff at the front desk and known to be registered as a visitor or volunteer with the school, your WWVP ID will be checked against school records to ensure their nomination has been completed and accepted by the school. Forms are available on request from the Front Office. Community News INFORMATION SESSION FOR PARENTS The National Disability Insurance Agency will be holding information sessions for parents at: Wanniassa School on Wednesday 4th March @ 6.00pm Mt Stromlo High School on Tuesday 17th March @ 6.00pm. These information sessions are particularly targeting high school and college families, and staff. Information sessions for parents of children in primary schools will be held at a later date, HOWEVER, if it is convenient to attend the high school session there will be an NDIA representative in attendance to talk about the primary school rollout. These information sessions will cover the complete process of applying for an NDIS package and what it means, information packages will be available and NDIA representatives to talk to. Weston Molonglo Football Club www.wmfc.org.au WANTED: Future Socceroo’s All Under 6 - U9 games @ Waramanga Oval! Season starts 2 May 2015, Join as a team & play with friends! For more info email: miniroo_registrar@wmfc.org.au CHAPMAN PRIMARY SCHOOL P&C ASSOCIATION 2015 CLASS CARER PROGRAM ANNOUNCING OUR 2015 CLASS CARERS Spots Anne Calder Frogs Kate Stewart Stripes Maria Stavrakis KMM Johanna Swoboda Turtles Maria Manton KKM Wendy McSpadden KTV Emma McDonnell KPR Donna Campbell 1LP Alison Callaway 1PA Katherine Heritage 1HT Alexis Macias 1TK Sophie Chen 2RL Yvonne Soper 2SH Kim Kirsten 2LH Fiona Spier 2MC Louisa Cochran 3LD Marta Goodwin 3OF Jodie Newman 3MS Emma Schremmer 4SB Maria Brady 4FD Mitchell White 4PC Charo Paynter 5/6RM Kellie Byrne 5/6HM Craig Plaister 5/6BW Sarah Jenkins 5/6DH Sarah Hundy 5/6KT Jodie Corby Coordinator Amanda Kingston Also a reminder to provide details to your Class Carer (if you haven’t already) to ensure you are part of the class contact list and receive important messages from your teacher, the school and P&C. CLASS CARER CONTACT LIST FORM CLASS CHILD’S NAME PARENT/CARERS ADDRESS EMAIL PHONE/ MOBILE Please tick if you want your details included on a class list circulated to the class year Please tick if I/We wish to be included as members of the Chapman P&C distribution list