Canteen Internet Ordering System

Internet lunch / recess ordering is ready to go. Our full menu is available to view online as well as special event and meal deal information and ordering. There is no cost to register, so go to https://www.scamps.com.au/online_canteen_registration01.asp

Our school registration ID is 2554963. Then log in and have a look around, it is a very simple program (SCAMPS now known as School 124), your children will definitely be asking to do their own orders. The order lunch / recess icon does not appear on screen until you have funds in your account. Funds may be added to your account over the counter at the canteen or via direct deposit to Corrimal East Public School Canteen Account (details on the site).

With direct email access to the canteen co-ordinator this site allows greater communication for all and contact with any ideas, concerns or suggestions.

Please contact Jodie (jodieaj *at* hotmail.com) with any questions.
All families registered and with funds in their account by the end of term will go into a draw to win a $20 credit for their account.

Parent Morning Tea

On the last day of term (Thursday April 9th,) all parents are welcome to attend an ICT showcase in the Library, followed by morning tea. This in-service will start at 9.00am and finish by 9.45am so that participating parents can join me for a quick chat and a cup of coffee immediately afterwards. We’ll be looking at activities students have undertaken so far this year and directions we’re heading in.

One of the main areas we’ll look at is the use of iWeb and how this software is enabling students to publish content to the school intranet. We’ll also see younger children using Kid Pix to make all sorts of creations.

I’d like to show how we’re improving student access to technologies across the school. I’ll also explain how our network works, and how this benefits students.

If you are interested in attending this in-service please leave your name at the front office.

Hope to see you then.

David Burke

Staff Professional Development

During our whole school staff meeting this week we had a focus on Literacy with new Writing programs being highlighted.

Mrs Pepper walked the staff through the excellent PM Writing program which strongly features various text type structures while Mrs Gonzaga introduced the Writing Rescue package which strongly incorporates Grammar.

Both of these programs were professionally presented and helped provide a common thread and direction of writing activities being implemented across the school K – 6.

Mobile Phones

A friendly reminder to all students that mobile phones should not be brought to school unless an arrangement has been made with the front office.

Mobile phones are valuable and some students are leaving them in their bags during the day. I believe it is only a matter of time before the theft of these phones occurs. If you need to bring them to school please let the front office and your teacher know so that we can ensure their safe storage during the day.

2009 P&C Executive Committee

At the last P & C meeting we held our Annual General Meeting. Our positions were declared open and a new Executive committee was elected for 2009.

Thank you to last year’s committee for your magnificent support of the school and congratulations to the new committee.

The 2009 Executive committee is as follows:
President: Scott Penning
Vice-President: Sharon McFarlane
Secretary: Leanne Banach
Treasurer: Marie Ledwos

All community members are invited to attend our P & C meetings which are held on the second Tuesday of each month in our staffroom at 7pm.

University of NSW Competitions

Applications for Computer Skills, English, Spelling, Writing, Mathematics & Science Competitions close this Friday 27th March 2009, for students wishing to participate.

Mr Chapman

School Photos

Our school photos will take place on Tuesday 31st March.
Please note that all students should wear their summer uniform for these photos.
Envelopes have been sent home for families who wish to order a copy of their child’s school photo.

Contrary to advice on the envelope sent home, students can bring their orders in, prior to the photo day.

If you have more than one child attending this school, and would like a photo of them together, you can pick up a Family Photo envelope from the office. There are spare photo envelopes available at the office. Parents paying by cheque should make cheques payable to MSP Illawarra.

Anzac Service

We will be holding our ANZAC service on Thurs 9th April and it will commence at 10.00am (after the parent in-service), on the front asphalt area.

Easter Hat Parade

On Wednesday 8th April our school will be having an Easter Hat Parade in which each of our classes will participate.

Buddy classes will design and make Easter hats at school, however, if you wish to make a hat at home please feel welcome to.

The Fundraising committee will be holding an Easter Raffle and any donation of Easter eggs would be greatly appreciated. These eggs can be brought to your child’s teacher who will then send them to the front office. We are also looking for donations of baskets, trays etc to use to display / wrap the prizes.

A BBQ lunch will be organized with preorders being taken between the times of 11.00 – 11.45. This will be followed by the parade - 12.00 noon – 12.45pm. I hope you are able to come to this fun event.

Lunch Ordering Online

Last week you should have received the information to go to the site to register. If you would like me to email the information to you, please send me an email at jodieaj@hotmail.com.au .Funds can be put into your account by paying over the counter at the canteen or direct deposit into the Corrimal East Public School P & C Canteen Account. (Details on the site). You can email me with any queries also.

With thanks,
Jodie Jenkinson

Easter Raffle

We are now seeking donations of Easter Eggs towards our huge Easter Raffle.
Donations can be handed in through your class teacher or at the office. Your support towards making this a success is appreciated. Tickets will be on sale closer to Easter.

With thanks,

Sharon McFarlane
Fundraising co-ordinator

P&C Meeting

Tomorrow night ( Tues 10th March) in the staffroom at 7.00pm. Tea and coffee supplied, just bring your own mug. This is our Annual General Meeting so come and vote for who you want on the committee.

No animals allowed on school grounds

A friendly reminder to all families that pets are not to be brought onto school grounds. Some of our students, particularly our younger children can become quite scared when confronted by an animal.

It is also Department policy that stipulates that pets should not be brought onto school grounds unless it is part of a special news talk or school theme.

Congratulations Daniel SG

Last Thursday a group of our swimmers represented Brokers District at the Area Swimming Carnival held at Dapto.

Congratulations to all swimmers who represented our school with distinction but a special congratulations to Daniel SG for coming third in the final of the Butterfly event.

He now will represent South Coast at the State Swimming Carnival held at Homebush in April.
Good Luck Daniel!

Pre-schools

This week I intend to touch base with our local pre-schools and day care centres with an aim of fortifying an early and productive relationship. This will build upon the positive relationships that were established last year with our local pre-schools.

I hope to encourage visits to our school from these centres at least once a term culminating in our kindergarten orientation program which is held in Term 4.

The Best Start Kindergarten Assessment Program was adopted for the first time this year. This is an outstanding initiative as it provides our Kindergarten teachers with invaluable data in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy.

David Schofield

Principal

From the Principal's Desk - T1 Wk7

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

This week Wendy Dowling, the Executive and myself were able to formulate the school’s budget for 2009.

This budget determines the amount of expenditure for each curriculum area. This includes the purchasing of resources and teacher training which involves the hiring of casual teacher replacements.

As our school has committed itself to a journey which will significantly lift the Numeracy and Literacy levels of our students we have made changes to our general framework at Corrimal East Public School.

Each morning we have a Literacy focus right across the school, in the middle session there a K – 6 Numeracy focus. Technology incorporates elements of both and is no longer a stand alone subject.

Last year we purchased the “Maths Milestones” program which is a proven program that has had great success across several regions in Sydney. A number of schools in Wollongong have also begun implementing this program.

I look forward to seeing pleasing results in Numeration as the benefits of this program begins to kick in.

Our school has also purchased the “Writing Rescue” program which enhances Writing skills with an emphasis on Grammar and Punctuation. These were identified as areas of improvement after last year’s NAPLAN tests.

Staff from our school have also been participating in the Key into Comprehension program which provides wonderful strategies for the explicit teaching of both literal and inferential comprehension. Each of our teachers 3 – 6 has participated in the 8 week demonstration provided by a Department consultant, Kathy Dobinson, while the whole staff have participated in a staff meeting presented by the same consultant.

Again I look forward to seeing these strategies being used across the school and in the process enhancing our student’s learning outcomes.

David Schofield

Principal

Premier's Reading Challenge 2009

Our school will again be participating in the Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) in 2009. This challenge is aimed at encouraging students from K – 6 to read, both for enjoyment and to improve their literacy skills. Most schools throughout NSW, both state and independent, take part in the Challenge, and it has been offered to Corrimal East Students since 2004.

For more information on the Premier's Reading Challenge, visit: https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html

Book Club

Our school participates in the Scholastic Book Club. Each term two issues of order forms are sent home showing books available for purchase. These issues are Wombat, Lucky, Arrow, Star, Special issues and software. Please forward orders accompanied by full payment in an envelope showing your child’s name and class.

Orders are returned to the school by Scholastic and distributed to the respective children in their classes. The program rewards the school with bonus points (based on purchases in each issue) and the school is then able to obtain valuable resources for the Library and classrooms at no cost.

We are looking for a helper for Book Club. If there is anyone who has an afternoon twice a term that they could give us to help Mrs Privett organise the book club for the children, please ring the office and leave your name.

Fete Surveys

Could all Fete Surveys be returned to school by Friday 6th March so that information can be tallied and discussed at the
P & C meeting next Tuesday night.

Technology News

This year at Corrimal East we have some excellent activities planned for students to make use of a range of technologies across the curriculum.
Over time, students will be building digital portfolios in the form of a website which will be published inside the school. These portfolios can be viewed from computers on the school network allowing students to share their work and showcase various talents.
Students can also save their sites to a USB drive to take home and view on any computer. Already our Stage 3 students have started and are keen to continually add content to their sites.

Mini Movies
This year we will be entering the Illawarra South East Region Mini Movies Festival, which is organised by a group of very dedicated local teachers. Public schools from right across the region enter this competition every year. In November, all schools involved can attend the official screening of all the short films at a local cinema. This is something I have done with my previous schools and students really enjoy it. Watch this space!

DET Portal
To access student email accounts from home, go to: http://portal.det.nsw.edu.au
Any student who forgets their password should see me on Thursday or Friday.

School Website
Our school website is regularly updated with photos, news and events. The address is www.corrimale-p.schools.nsw.edu.au
Soon we should have some student creations to showcase. Bookmark the site and visit often!

- David Burke

Brokers Swimming Carnival

On Friday 27th February, 40 children from Corrimal East competed at the Brokers District Swimming Carnival. Our whole team swam very well, with the following gaining places:

Daniel SG 1st 100m freestyle

John C 2nd 100m freestyle

Shannon M 2nd 50m 9yrs free

Ebony P 3rd 50m 9yrs free

Daniel SG 1st 50m 12yrs free

John C 2nd 50m 12yrs free

John C 1st 50m 12yrs breaststroke

Mani M 2nd 50m 12yrs breaststroke

Daniel SG 3rd 50m 12yrs breaststroke

Bryahna F  2nd Jnr 50m Backstoke
Daniel SG  1st 50m 12 yrs Backstroke
John C  2nd 50m 12yrs Backstroke
Daniel SG  1st 50m 12yrs Butterfly
Mani M  2nd 50m 12yrs Butterfly
Daniel SG  1st Snr Medley
Junior Girls Relay 2nd
Senior Boys Relay 1st
Daniel SG was the Senior Boy Champion
Corrimal East Public School 3rd in the overall point score.
Well done everyone!

- Mr Privett and Mrs Flanagan

Clean Up Australia Day

Last Friday each class spent approximately 20 minutes cleaning up an allocated area within the school grounds.
This was followed by a brief talk about keeping our Environment clean so that future generations can enjoy our beautiful country.
The Mercury were here to take some photos so keep a look out for these photos in the paper!
A special thank you to Mrs Burns who co-ordinated this school initiative.

Congratulations Jonathan C

Jonathan has been selected in the Brokers and Area cricket team. This is an outstanding achievement and we wish him all the best trialing for the South Coast cricket team. These trials will be held shortly.

Scooters, RIP Sticks and Skateboards

Commencing today scooters, rip sticks and skateboards will not be allowed to be brought to school.
There have been several concerns regarding their storage during the day and possible theft.
As they are not allowed to be used in the school’s grounds, there is no real point in bringing them to school.
Also a friendly reminder that you are not to ride bicycles on school grounds under any circumstances. Last week we nearly had one of our parents knocked over by a High School student riding his bike on school grounds.

From the Principal's Desk

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Classes are now well and truly into their routines and it is pleasing to see students happy and engaged in their classwork.
I will be decorating the front foyer with samples of student work and this will be on a class rotation basis.
This will not only brighten our front foyer but also showcase some of the outstanding abilities students from our school have.

- David Schofield