Thank you!

What a marvellous finish to the year! The children had a wonderful Picnic Day; loving their pirate endeavours during the Treasure Hunt and successfully discovering the icy-pole loot, enjoying some fun Christmas activities and sharing in a lovely picnic near the lake to enjoy each others' company.

Groceries were purchased for the Chelsea Uniting Church Christmas Hamper Appeal using the children's fundraising money. Rev. Claire Dawe collected these on Friday and they will be distributed to families in need, no doubt helping to make their Christmas a little brighter this year. The Indigenous Literacy Foundation were also extremely grateful for the children's fundraising efforts; awarding the school a beautiful certificate of appreciation.

Thank you all so much for the very generous and thoughtful gifts and your very kind words! We feel completely spoilt. It has been an absolute pleasure working with your children this year. They are so much fun and we are really going to miss them. We look forward to watching their continual development and success in years to come.

A MASSIVE thank you to you, the parents and grandparents for your help and support throughout the year. We loved having you listen to the children read, come on excursions, help during MAD Week, watch them in their sporting endeavours, be there for assemblies, special days and performances plus everything else you have done. So many of you also contribute your valuable time to other areas of the school community and we really appreciate your commitment and effort. Thank you for making this year wonderful!

Finally, we wish you all a fantastic Christmas and a safe and happy holiday.

2014 Final Week

Thank you for all of your support in assisting your child to fundraise for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the Chelsea Uniting Church Christmas Hamper Appeal. The Year 1s proudly raised a combined total of $450.80! What a marvellous way to make a difference!! 

Thank you to everyone for supporting our class Secret Santa. We know the children are very excited about opening their gift next Wednesday. Thank you also for supporting our Christmas Celebration last Monday. The children looked great and sang beautifully!

We will start to send home books that the students no longer need. If you could send in a plastic bag next week for their gumboots to go home in that would be great. Their Portfolios, headsets, reading pouches and dictionary will follow them into Year 2 and therefore will not be coming home.

Take home reading will finish this weekend so that a stocktake of books can occur. Your children's reading has improved dramatically this year. Please ensure they continue to improve by reading every day during the holidays. 

Next week's schedule is as follows:

Monday is a normal school day with the children wearing their Summer Uniform. The children must bring their iPads to school each day this week fully charged.

Tuesday is our Picnic Day and the students are to wear their sports uniform. As we will be out for most of the morning on the property, please have your child bring a waterproof jacket in case of rain. There are no lunch orders on Tuesday so please pack a snack, lunch and a drink.

On Wednesday the children must be in full Summer uniform. Please remember that the jumper is not an outer garment for travelling to and from school. As school finishes at 12.30pm the children will not require any lunch just a snack and a drink.

Have a great weekend!

Exciting times!

We have had yet another busy and wonderful week! The students excitedly participated in the Swimming Program. They also loved their Year 2 Orientation experience and came back extremely enthusiastic and excited about their classes next year and the opportunity to make new friends and experience new things by being open-minded risk-takers.

On Monday evening the Prep - Year 4 Christmas Celebration Concert starts at 7.30pm. Our classrooms will be open from 7pm. Students need to meet at their classroom dressed in their full costume by no later than 7.15pm. Once you have dropped your child at their classroom please go and seat yourselves ready for the concert. We will bring the students over to the gym as a Year 1 group. At the conclusion of the concert, the students will be brought back to our classrooms for you to come and collect them. 

We know your children have been eagerly undertaking chores to earn their $10. This fundraising money is due by next Wednesday 3rd December. We hope you are enjoying the extra help around the house! 

Shhhh! This time of year is all about giving and each child will be a Secret Santa for one of their classmates. The children in Year 1 will give one another the gift of reading. In line with Cornish's focus of sustainability, please choose one gently used book to give to their nominated classmate. Please wrap up the book and leave it under the tree in the classroom by next Friday 8th December.

Enjoy a wonderful weekend!

Indigenous communities

A very big thank you to Moana, Will's mother, who came and spoke to the Year 1s about her experience living in an indigenous community in the Northern Territory. The children noticed many similarities and differences in resources between this community and our own and also discussed influences that affected the community. The students loved learning more about the indigenous culture and way of life.

On Monday there is a Dress Rehearsal for the Christmas Concert. Students must bring their costume in a named plastic bag to change into before the rehearsal. Students will already be wearing their blue sports shorts and white runners and socks, so in their bag they will need their "Christmassy" t-shirt (for both boys and girls) and a red, green or white cap for the boys. Girls do not bring tinsel for their hair for the dress rehearsal. If they choose to wear this they only require it for the performance evening.

The Year 1 Swimming Program runs next week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. 1S' session begins at 11am at the pool and 1M's at 11.45am each day. Each swimming session goes for 45 minutes. Each day the children need to come to school wearing their Sports Uniform with their bathers on underneath. In a separate bag they need to bring their towel, cap, goggles and underwear. All children must wear a swimming cap in the pool. You are more than welcome to come and meet your child's class at the pool and watch the swimming session.

Orientation Morning is on next Tuesday. Students will come to their Year 1 classroom in the morning, where we will take the roll and then head to the gym as a whole class. They will then learn of their Year 2 class for 2015 and will spend the first half of the day, up until 12.30pm, enjoying the orientation program.

Primary Information Evening will take place next Tuesday evening. This event is for parents only. The evening will begin at 7pm with the classrooms being open as an opportunity for you to meet your child's classroom teacher for 2015. At 7.30pm Mr. Bolger will welcome and address all new parents in the gym, and at 7.50pm we will move to the Sustainability Centre for a Primary Years Orientation for all new parents.

As part of our current unit of inquiry we have identified the importance of people working in order to contribute to their community. In the final weeks of this unit the students will be raising money for two community organisations by doing chores around the home. With this in mind, the children will be negotiating with you some chores they can complete to earn money. Each child will have a goal of raising $10 ($5 of this will go to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and $5 to the Chelsea Uniting Church Christmas Hamper Appeal.) We are hoping the children will be using and honing their skills in negotiation, following through on responsibilities, being reliable, as well as developing their numeracy skills involving the days of week and counting money. The children will be providing you with more information regarding this early next week.

There will be no Show & Share next week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Communities

The Year 1s have had an extremely interesting and informative week with not one, but two, wonderful guest speakers! Our first guest speaker Em Jenkins, daughter of Mrs Jenkins, shared with the students her experience of living in Botswana for six weeks. The students were very interested in learning about the similarities and differences between life and resources in Botswana and Australia, and they were even able to taste a delicious traditionally-inspired stew. Many of the children absolutely loved this stew, so please see the recipe at the end of this post in case you would like to make it at home.

Our second guest speaker was Rev. Claire Dawe from the Chelsea Parish of the Uniting Church. Claire explained the many community services that the parish offers, such as a community breakfast, benevolent society, a food van and a Christmas Appeal, to help members of the community that may not otherwise be able to afford to buy enough food. The children realised that there are often people within our wider community who don't have the resources they need.

Student Led Conferences will take place next Thursday 20th November. Thank you to everyone who has already returned their booking slip for this. Please ensure these are returned by Monday.

For Show & Share in Week 6 we would like each student to explain the factors that influence the community that they belong to. For example, money, weather (for sporting groups), number of people involved, access to facilities and standard of equipment available. Your child will need your support to first discuss this with them. Over the weekend please talk to them about how their community works in preparation for their Show and Share.  

Next week we need each student to bring in a junk mail catalogue for the store that your family does their weekly grocery shopping at (Woolworths, Coles, IGA, Aldi).

For Picnic Day this year we are planning on remaining at school and we are looking for parent helpers to assist us with an exciting Prep & Year 1 activity. If you are available between 9-11am on Tuesday 9th December please let us know.

Enjoy the market and have a wonderful weekend!

BOTSWANA STEW

Ingredients

500g beef mince

2 onions

2 carrots

2 capsicum (green/red)

1 zucchini

2 tomatoes

2 potatoes

2 cloves of garlic-crushed

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 tablespoon turmeric (+any other spices you like)

2 tablespoons hot chili sauce (+tablespoon curry paste if you like)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire  sauce OR 4 tablespoons BBQ sauce

2 tablespoons fruit chutney OR 1 tablespoon apricot jam with a squirt of tomato sauce

1 small tub tomato paste

4 cups of beef stock

4 bay leaves

salt/pepper taste

rice to serve

Method

1.    Fry onion in a little oil-add garlic when just cooked

2.    Brown mince, then add spices and diced vegies

3.    Add stock, tomato paste & sauces/bay leaves

4.    Simmer until veggies are cooked and sauce is thickened – you can thicken with a little cornflour if need be.

5.    Season and serve with rice

6.    ENJOY!!

Moving into Week 5

For Show & Share in Week 5 we would like each student to talk about different communities they belong to (for example, a dance school, sporting club, church).

A reminder that we require all Swimming permission forms to be returned now. Please make sure it is given to your child's class teacher this week.

At Primary Assembly this Tuesday 11th November we will be showing a short three-minute iMovie documenting the making of the Indigenous Plant Trail. After the movie the Year 1s will be acknowledged for creating the trail. Please feel free to join us at Assembly for this. It's not a problem if you are unable to attend, we will send you a link to the iMovie at a later date.

Student Led Conferences are coming up on Thursday 20th November. This is a wonderful opportunity for your child to share their exciting learning and progress with you!

Enjoy the weekend!

Term 4 is off and running!

What a wonderful Sports Morning we had this week! It was great to see such enthusiastic participation and teamwork from the children.

A reminder that all students must wear their school hat when out in the yard. Please ensure your child has their hat at school each day.

Swimming Program and Story Dogs notices need to be returned, as soon as possible, to your child's classroom teacher please .

There will be no Show & Share next week as it is a short week. For Show & Share in Week 5, we would like each student to talk about different communities they belong to (for example, a dance school, sporting club, church).

Another reminder that iPads must come to school fully charged. The students are currently using these for longer periods each day to complete a specific learning task.

It has already been an extremely busy year and we have yet another busy term. Your child may benefit from going to bed half an hour earlier on some nights to ensure they are well-rested for the next day.

Enjoy a wonderful long weekend!