31 July 2024

From the Principal

Welcome to Term 3!

Traditionally, for us, Term 3 is a less impacted and busy term. And I hope that you all enjoy it!

Since COVID, we have held an “Independence Month” at school. It was a big recommendation from the school community as to just how successful a month where students had to take more responsibility for themselves (and their bags and things) was. This year with the build underway, we may need to push this back a little further than normal, but stay tuned for more details soon.

Cambridge Capabilities – Practising

For three years now, we have read and analysed student, family and staff data sets while aligning the trends and information we see to contemporary models and research into what dispositions make for the best learners, and now we feel like we’ve come to a natural stopping point (maybe just for now, maybe forever). This work will always stay live, and we will always grapple with what makes a great learner. However, for now, it may just be time to move on from more individual Cambridge Capabilities and get to work embedding what we have.

As such, this week and next, our students are exploring what we believe is going to be our last Cambridge Capability for the time being, Practising. For us, Practising is defined as: Mastering the hard parts through repetition. In our EAGLEs Framework, practising is aligned with Grow Grit.

Doing things over and over again to get better at them is a key part to any good learning. When we think of sports stars – they practise all the time! Good learning is no different. We need to practise. We need to break down complex skills into bite-size chunks and then practise them until we are perfect. Sometimes it might be boring (or people practising might say this). You need to practise perfectly to master what you are doing. The shadow side to practising may be that you become obsessive about practising. Due to a need to be perfect, you may miss the chance to do other exciting new things.

Practising has been a popular Capability from teachers of our older students. They see a real need for our students to do this to be great learners in life, particularly when students leave our school. 

Redevelopment Update

The new Kindergarten classroom is very near to internal completion! Pending some administrative ticks (ie fire permit), we should be ready to move in before the next Newsletter! Shelley and I had the chance to walk through last week and it is looking and feeling great! It is really exciting to have the first new classroom at our school in over 15 years nearly complete. The outside landscaping will need to stay protected for a little while as it grows into place. We will have a movement plan circulated before we take over the space. Fingers crossed all goes to plan over the next 10 days or so. 

The new two-storey building is taking shape with the steelwork nearly all in place and a crane back on site to get the roof underway. The external brickwork has also progressed. We are, thanks to VOS’s hard work and good planning, back on track for a mid-November entry to this new building. We have been able to catch up on this part of the overall build by a few weeks.

Not long now and we can finally start to see and feel the finished products of the work of so many over so long a time! I’m on leave for two weeks for a wedding, so folks may well get to see it well before me. I’m looking forward to seeing it on my return.

Swimming and Water Safety Program for Grades 3-5

Next week our grade 3 to 5 students start Swimming and Water Safety! It is a fantastic program and we thank Mr Thomas for his organisation of the 2 weeks. We know that it is extremely tiring for our students… we also know that they eat a lot more food. Cooked Lunch usually has next to no leftovers during Swimming and Water Safety! If you can remind your child to schedule some extra recovery time in, they most likely would very much benefit from it.

Friday Afternoon Sports

This year our grade 5 and 6 students are again involved in our Friday afternoon sports (a mix of netball, soccer and football) with local schools in the area. We participate every second Friday and this year, due to the redevelopment, we are visiting other schools on those afternoons to participate in netball and football/soccer games. Importantly, thank you to the parents and community members who are helping out during the term. We really can not do it without your support.

See you soon (not this week or the next though!) – Courtney.

Start of Term Reminders

We are a Nut and Egg Aware School

A reminder to families that we are a ‘nut and egg aware school’. There are several students within our school community that are highly allergic to nuts as well as students highly allergic to eggs.

Please do not send nuts, or foods containing nuts in your child’s lunch box.

Please do not send egg sandwiches, or hard-boiled eggs in your child’s lunch box.

SunSmart Program

Children are required to wear hats when outside at all times from September to April.  Digger, Legionnaire or “Bucket” hats are the only hats to be worn at school and children without a SunSmart hat will be required to remain under the shaded area.  Sunscreen will also be available to students, and this will be located in classroom areas and at the office.  Application of school sunscreen is your child’s responsibility so please ensure they can confidently apply this to themselves.  Please also feel free to apply sunscreen at home in the morning prior to the school day. This is in line with the SunSmart Program sponsored by the Cancer Council.  Hats are available for purchase from the school office for $10.

Levies

Invoices are now overdue. Please pay promptly. Contact the office if you wish to discuss payment options.

Contact Details

Has your phone number, email or address changed? Please inform the office of any changes as they occur.

Volunteering at School

If you are volunteering in our classrooms and/or coming along on an excursion this year, you MUST obtain a Working With Vulnerable People Card and complete the Safeguarding training 

When you have completed your training, please send your certificate via email to cambridge.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au and take a screenshot of your certificate and save it on your phone.

Lost Property

Lost property is located at the MPR end of the main corridor. Please clearly name items of clothing, drink bottles and lunch boxes. If students are recycling second-hand clothes, please delete the old name. Any un-named items that are left at the end of each term will be disposed of.

Car Park Safety

Please drive slowly and with care in the carpark. Do not park in the bays allocated to buses, even for a short time.

Disabled Car Park

We have two disabled carparks near the school gate. We also have several families who either have disabled children or carers. These families need the car parks. We understand that the carpark can get full at times, but please, do not park in the signed spots unless you have a valid disabled parking sign.  

School Gates

As we all know, manners are very important, but we ask that when opening the school gates, please only let out the child that is in your care.

Office Hours

8.10am – 3.30pm

Uniform Shop

Opening hours 8.10am – 3.30pm. Alternatively, uniform can be paid for via Qkr. Items can be collected from the office or handed to students. See side panel of newsletter for Qkr instructions. 

Class Times

School commences 8.40am
School concludes 2.40pm

Duty of Care

It is important to note, before 8.10am and after 2.40pm, your children need to be supervised by an adult (unless they are at after school care or waiting for a bus to go home). To be clear, please do not drop your child off before 8.10am and please collect them at 2.40pm, as our duty of care is not before 8.10am or after 2.40pm. We appreciate your support in keeping everyone safe with supervision.

Student Absences

Please notify the school office by 8.40am each day your child is absent from school. There is a link to an absentee form on the sidebar of the Schoolzine newsletter.

Student Late Arrival or Early Departure

Students must be signed in/out by a parent/carer using the Kiosk electronic sign in/out at the office, if they arrive late or are leaving school early. If you take your child after Assembly, please sign them out at the office.

Qkr App

The Qkr phone app gives parents the opportunity to pay for uniform, canteen orders and the Cooked Lunch Programs on smart phones and other devices. Instructions are on the side panel of the newsletter.

Clarence Children’s Services

Please see link below for information regarding all care services Clarence City Council have to offer.

Carpark Disruption Term 3 Week 2

On Wednesday 31 July, Thursday 1 Aug and Friday 2 Aug, our carpark area where the buses pull in will be out of action due to the builders needing this space to bring in a large crane. Buses will drop students off at alternative areas, supported by staff. Parents/carers are asked to please be extra vigilant and patient at drop off and pick up times.

School Association News

The next School Association general meeting will be held on Wednesday 14 August from 5.30pm – 7.00pm.

Olympic Fever!

Olympic fever has taken over Cambridge Primary School! Our entire school is excited and engaged in exploring various aspects of the Olympics, making it a perfect opportunity to practise our Cambridge Capabilities.

In Art, students have been creatively expressing their Olympic spirit by painting and drawing the iconic Eiffel Tower. This artistic exploration has been a fantastic way for students to connect with the host city's culture and history.

Our Fluency Buddies have been working together to read and discuss information texts about the Olympics. This has not only improved their reading skills but also deepened their understanding of the event's significance and history.

Adding a fun twist to our Olympic celebrations, we even have a "Spud Olympics"! Students have been crafting potato athletes and competing in various spud-tastic events. It's been a hilarious and imaginative way to bring the Olympics to life in our school.

The Olympics has also been a great opportunity for incorporating maths into our learning. Students have been calculating scores, measuring distances, and exploring statistics related to different Olympic sports. It's been a wonderful way to see maths in action and understand its real-world applications.

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Join Us in the Celebration!

Mark your calendars and get ready to celebrate Fathers’ Day with us. We look forward to seeing you at the stall and helping you find the perfect way to say “thank you” to the remarkable men in your lives.

For more information, please visit our school fb page 

We’re seeking enthusiastic new volunteers to join our team this year, as we’re a bit short on help. If you’re interested in lending a hand, please get in touch with us via our fb page or leave your details at the school office. 

Let’s make this Fathers’ Day unforgettable!

The Fundraising Team

Every school day counts

Welcome back for Term 3 – we hope you had a great break!

As we move into the second half of the school year, sometimes regular school attendance can be challenging.

There are so many reasons to go to school. It’s a chance to be around friends, learn new things, grow and have fun.

This term is packed with exciting things such as excursions, incursions, assemblies, 5-6 Winter sports, 3-5 Swimming and Water Safety, Book Week, a silent disco and the 2024 swimming carnival.

For tips on creating better attendance habits, visit the Anything can happen website.

Please talk to us if you’re having trouble getting your child to school. We’re here to help.

Scholastic Book Club Issue 5

This term’s Scholastic Book Club Issue is Issue 5 and orders are due back by Wednesday 7 August.

Dental Health Week – 5-11 August 2024

Assemblies in Term 3

Assemblies are held in the MPR and start at 1.40pm. All are welcome to attend. This term’s Assemblies will be on:

Friday 2 August
Friday 16 August
Friday 13 September

Let’s Celebrate!

2024 Term dates

Term 1:  Thursday 8 February to Friday 12 April (Easter Break Fri 29 March -Tue 2 April)
Term 2:  Monday 29 April to Friday 5 July (Student Free Day Friday 7 June)
Term 3:  Monday 22 July to Friday 27 September
Term 4:  Monday 14 October to Thursday 19 December (Student Free Day Friday 25 October)

Remaining Student Free Days 2024

Friday 25 October 2024, Term 4 week 2. (Thursday 24 October – Hobart Show Day Public Holiday)