Newsletter T3 Wk9

NAPLAN RESULTS

NAPLAN results have now been sent home and the results have clearly highlighted certain strengths and future directions for our school.

Our Year 3 results have highlighted certain areas of Literacy and Numeracy which need to be addressed. Writing is still a concern, however, there are certain signs that indicate a shift towards the positive. Our Grammar and Punctuation results show that we have over 50% of our students in the top two bands which is in accordance with State data and above our Regional level.

Areas that need further progress include Spelling, Reading and certain strands of Numeracy. In Measurement, Data, Space and Geometry our school has more students in the top two bands compared to both State and Regional levels.

Our year 5 results were outstanding with overall Literacy, Reading, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation, Writing, and all strands of Numeracy showing greater than State and Regional levels number of students in the top two bands.

Growth from Year 3 to Year 5 was also extremely strong with our school growth as follows:

School Growth State Growth

Overall Literacy : 86.6 77.6

Reading : 104.2 87.7

Writing : 62.3 60.2

Numeracy : 107.1 95.3

Information obtained from the NAPLAN results will serve as the starting point when refining our targets for our Management Plan.

Irrespective of results Literacy, Numeracy and Information Technology will always provide the cornerstone of our teaching learning programs at Corrimal East Public School

In Term 4 the staff will formalise these plans which will help ensure that our students are exposed to high quality teaching programs that address areas of need and build upon past successes.

There have been some pleasing indicators, however, there is still much to achieve to ensure all students are receiving the required support to help them realize their full potential.

NAPLAN INFORMATION

Next Tuesday night (29^th September) at 6.30pm I will hold a special NAPLAN presentation for our parents to be held in the school Library. This should run for about 40 minutes and I will be able to present a wider perspective of our school’s results and hopefully give clear directions as to where our school is heading in the next few years.

GALA DAY

This Friday our school will participate in a Gala Day, with the boys playing Dragon Tag at Dalton Park while the girls will be playing AFL at Guest Park.

Our school will be running the canteen at Dalton Park. If you are able to offer any assistance with the canteen, even if only for an hour, please contact the office and leave your name and contact details.

SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECTS WEBSITE

A new website is now available for anyone seeking information about school projects being constructed in NSW under the three year $14.7 billion, Building the Education Revolution (BER). This site is a fantastic source of information for school communities to see how their project is progressing. Key features of the new site include Twitter, blogs and vodcasts which would allow instant communication about any program.

Check it out at: www.ber.nsw.gov.au

CHILD PROTECTION SURVEY

The National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) is inviting all Australians to participate in an online survey to help bring child abuse out into the open. Follow the link at: www.preventingchildabuse.com.au.The survey is open until 1 November.

KEEPING SAFE ONLINE

As a parent, there are several actions you can take to help keep your child safe online and not having a computer in your child’s room may be an answer. Check out the latest Click ezine for advice on cyber safety and much more: www.schools.nsw.edu.au/click.

STRANGER DANGER – ALERT-

As you may have heard on the news there has been an incident of a man in a red car approaching school children.

Please talk to your children and remind them of the strategies to use if they are approached.

Newsletter T3 Wk8

SCHOOL WORKS

This week I have had a seemingly cast of thousands assessing our school for major works under the Building the Education Revolution program.

A team from Richard Crookes Construction measured, surveyed and took photos as an initial fact finding task. These results go to head office and they equate our building wish list with available money.

Hopefully we will receive some positive news in the next month or so. Once major works have been budgeted and approved, work will commence before 1^st December.

This building will impact on the school in the short term however, the benefits will far outweigh any short term problems. We just need to be flexible.

PUBLIC WORKS

The two rooms known as the Oosh room and the RFF room have now been cabled, which means for the first time at Corrimal East Public School we have every classroom networked.

These two rooms are also set up to house an Interactive white board. This presents exciting possibilities as we look for extra ways to extend our students in the key area of Technology.

PRESCHOOL VISITS

This week we continue our communication with our local preschools. We have visits organized over two days, they are as follows:

· Wednesday 16^th September – Pioneer Road Long Day Care and Gumnut Village will be visiting our school from 9.30 am – 10.15 am.

· Thursday 17^th September – KU East Corrimal will be visiting our school from 9.45am – 10.30 am.

Children visiting our school will be joining with our current Kindergarten students and participating in a short literacy lesson. At the conclusion they will meet with their parents where they will enjoy a quick morning tea.

DIY SCHOOL DAYS PARENT FOLDER

Have all your child’s school information organised in the one place, neatly filed and easily accessible. It’s not impossible! Simply go to: www.schools.nsw.edu.au/news/schooldays/index.php then download and print off folder covers and section dividers. It also contains useful homework helpers, a school handbook and information on student health. It looks great when it’s finished and you can add in your child's school reports and artwork throughout the year. Store the folder in a handy place and your life will be so much easier.

CHILD PROTECTION SURVEY

The National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) is inviting all Australians to participate in an online survey to help bring child abuse out into the open. Follow the link at: www.preventingchildabuse.com.au.The survey is open until 1 November.

KEEPING SAFE ONLINE

As a parent, there are several actions you can take to help keep your child safe online and not having a computer in your child’s room may be an answer. Check out the latest Click ezine for advice on cyber safety and much more: www.schools.nsw.edu.au/click.

HATS

As the weather starts to heat up it is timely reminder that, as part of our Sun Protection policy, all students need to be wearing hat once they are outside. A simple precaution now by wearing a hat can save a lot of grief in later years when sun spots change into melanoma. Please support the school on this issue as we are endeavouring to instil heavy lifestyle choices for our children.

NAPLAN RESULTS

The NAPLAN results are in and your child’s report will be sent

home today.

Newsletter T3 Wk7

SCHOOL ORACY COMPETITION

Last Thursday our Oracy finals were held in the school hall and was well attended by supportive parents and relatives. Grade finalists included the following students:

Kindergarten: Tiarne E (KB), James F (KF), Julian L (KP), Maddison L (KF), Kynan C(KB)

and Ryan C (KP).

Year One: Caelan B (1B) and Jacob P (1B).

Year Two : Ethan A (2B), Vanessa J (2R), Jasmine P (2T), Taj B (2R), Kayde J (2T).

and Jade P (2B).

Year Three : Annalise W (3T), Ellen Z (3C), Grace SG (3T) and Ebony P (3C).

Year Four : Kye C (4C), Thomas D (4V), Tayla H (4C) and Phoebe T (4V).

Year Five : Tama HR (5F), Alex O (5G), Jamie L (5F) and Jade R (5G).

Year Six : Madison K (6P), Tyler J (6G), Karmen F (6G) and Noah R (6P).

Congratulations to all grade finalists, they spoke with great enthusiasm and vigour on the day!

Our overall Grade Oracy Champions for 2009 are as follows:

Kindergarten: Kynan C (KB) Year One : Jacob P (1B)

Year Two : Ethan A (2B) Year Three : Ebony P (3C)

Year Four : Thomas D (4V) Year Five : Jade R (5G)

Year Six : Karmen F (6G)

A special thank you to all parents and teachers who helped support these students with preparation for the Oracy finals.

NATIONAL LITERACY and NUMERACY WEEK

Last week was also National Literacy and Numeracy Week and we co-ordinated several activities with a focus on Reading and Writing. On the Monday Cartoonist Dave worked with our students and on the Wednesday we had various community members share stories with our students. I was privileged enough to be one of the presenters and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of sharing several books with 2/3T and KF.

A special thank you to the following community members who helped with our storytelling. Our children are the beneficiaries of your kind support and assistance! Thank you to the following people:

Mr John Mayfield, Ms Carol Bond, Mr Scott Penning, Mr Rob Vergano

Ms Leanne Smith, Ms Sharon McFarlane, Mr Hedley Privett, Mr Ron Heffernan,

Mr Chris Cranny, Mr Bruce Dowling and Ms Jennifer Hayward.

Thank you again, Mrs Bland, for your terrific organization.

PUBLIC WORKS

Last Friday our school received funding from the Department of Commerce to cable the RFF room and the Oosh room. This will enable both of these rooms to receive internet access. I expect both of these rooms to be utilized in the near future as a base for special needs students, therefore, the need for computer access to these rooms is essential.

NEW BELL SYSTEM

The Department of Commerce has also approved the installation of a

new bell system which will incorporate our school’s OH&S procedures.

There will be three distinct bells which will communicate clearly to

people on school grounds at the time the following emergency bells:

· Emergency Evacuation

· Lockdown and

· Lockout.

An all-clear bell will also be used.

Please note this funding is not part of the $2000000 BER funding

we expect to receive as part of the Government’s Round 3 funding.

Newsletter T3 Wk6

SCHOOL ORACY COMPETITION

This Thursday, 3^rd September our Oracy finals will be held in the school hall. This is an important day for each of the finalists as they receive the opportunity to present their speeches in front of a larger audience.

We run Oracy at Corrimal East Public School so as to:

· Promote public speaking skills across the school K – 6.

· Allow all students the opportunity to appreciate the presentations of others and recognize the strengths of their peers.

· Develop effective listening skills and the knowledge that listening to others is a valuable learning experience.

· Encourage students who display special abilities in this area to perform to their personal best and promote this as an activity for the enhancement of Gifted and Talented programs.

· Encourage confidence in students and the ability to speak in front of an audience.

Grade Finals will take place on Thursday 3^rd September. Finalists will have been notified by separate letter.

Times are as follows:

K – 2 : 10.00 – 11.00

3 – 6 : 11.30 – 1.00

The duration of speeches for each grade are as follows:

Kindergarten - 1 minute long

Years 1 and 2 - 2 minutes long

Years 3 and 4 - 3 minutes long

Years 5 and 6 - 4 minutes long.

Good Luck to all finalists!

NATIONAL LITERACY and NUMERACY WEEK

This week is also National Literacy and Numeracy Week and we will be coordinating several activities with a focus on Reading and Writing. Today we had a cartoonist work with our students and on Wednesday we have invited various community members to share stories with our students. Mrs Bland has reported on these events later in this week’s Carooma.

Thank you again, Mrs Bland, for your terrific organization.

SCHOOL ZONE ROAD SAFETY

A reminder to parents that from 1 July 2009 the government has increased fines and loss of demerit points for all driving offences occurring in school zones. We are committed to providing a safe environment for all our students and visitors, so please observe the 40km/h speed limit during school hours and stop in designated drop off areas only.

STARTING SCHOOL

If you have a child starting school next year it’s important to enrol your child and to attend Kindergarten orientation later in the year. Watch a vodcast on starting school and Kindergarten orientation at www.schools.nsw.edu.au/news/ezine/yr2009/issue03/watch/index.php . You might know of other families that would like this information.

NEW MONEY PAYMENT SYSTEM

Our new money collection system seems to be working really well and I have received very positive feedback from staff, students and parents. Mr Auchterlonie made this unit, and as with all of his work, has produced an outstanding result. We are very lucky to have Mr Auchterlonie at our school. Thank you Mr Auchterlonie for your continued hard work!

SCHOOL FETE

Thank you to the many parents, staff and students who supported our Family Fete Day. A huge show of support by our school community was in full evidence and it was a great opportunity to talk with so many of our community members.

A bit windy but what a relief no rain! All in all a perfect day for a fete.

A special thank you to Sharon McFarlane and her committee who worked tirelessly to ensure the Fete was a success.

In anyone’s terms this was a great success and again this can only be attributed to the fantastic work of our whole school community.

Again, thank you very much for your support!

Library News

Cartoon Dave’s Visit: today, many of our students have enjoyed a fun session with Dave Hackett (Cartoon Dave)learning to draw cartoons, and hearing about his life as an author of 8 books. Thanks, Dave for coming to our school.

Everyone reads! – reading sessions with invited guests; On Wednesday this week, we will be hosting 12 members of our school community as they each talk to a number of classes about their reading experiences. These sho7uld also be fun and informative sessions, and we thank each of them for donating their time to our school and helping us to promote reading as an enjoyable and worthwhile activity. Thank you to Ron Heffernan, Bruce Dowling, Patrick Flanagan, Carol Bond, Sharon McFarlane, Jenny Hayward, Chris Cranny, Paul Dorin, Scott Penning, Leanne Smith and Mr Schofield.

Premier’s ReadingChallenge; Congratulations to Ellen Z for completing the 2009 PRC. All entries have now been processes and sent to Sydney for official certificates to be printed.

Kim Bland – Teacher/Librarian