SSO Appreciation Week

Week 5 (next week) is SSO Appreciation Week. With this week also being Book Week, we will acknowledge and appreciate the invaluable presence of our School Service Officers (SSOs) and the positive impact they have on the lives of students, teachers and families throughout week 6.

We are very grateful at CVPS to have an awesome team of people who work tirelessly for our students and school. Our team of SSOs support students, staff, families, community and the school as a site in so many varied ways. Our school would not be able to operate as effectively without them.

Thank you to Sue, Karen, Jenny, Nicole, Chloe, Vicky, Yvonne, Marieke, Jen, Sam, Christian, Kathryn, Suzie, Jenni, David, Hugo, and Keith – We hope you enjoy the week.

Congratulations Penny

It was great to be able to welcome back and celebrate Penny Blackwell’s remarkable and well-deserved U11 BMX World Championship triumph. At our Monday morning assembly, the Year 6 students formed a guard of honour, waving green and gold streamers, while Penny rode through, before being cheered on and interviewed by our communication leaders on a medal winners’ dais.

Becoming a world champion is never easy and is a very expensive exercise for the families involved. The Blackwell family would never ask, so I will… If there’s any business out there that would like to support a world champion through some form of donation/sponsorship, please feel free to contact the school, and we’ll gladly pass on any necessary details. 

The Grateful Garden

Keep an eye out for the August Edition of SA Life magazine featuring our very own Grateful Garden.  Kim Syrus visited Coro in June to chat with students and staff about the history of garden, improvements made and what it means to them and the school community.  We’re very fortunate to have such a lovely and inviting space providing students a unique learning experience. SA Life Article

Book Week 2025

We are excited to be celebrating Book Week next week from Monday, 18^th, through to Friday, 22^nd of August, culminating in our much-anticipated Book Week Parade on Friday.

For further details, please see the separate article below.

Progressive Achievement Tests

Later this term, students in years 2-6 will be participating in the annual Progressive Achievement Tests – PAT-Reading and PAT-Maths.

The Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) are online reading comprehension and maths assessments aligned to the Australian Curriculum. The tests are administered each year and provide teachers with information about the learning strengths and needs of their students.

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

Again this year all students in Year 1 will participate in a phonics screening check. The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check assesses how students blend sounds together to read a word. The data from these tests will inform our teachers of the teaching of reading for our Early Years students.

What is phonics?

Phonics is the relationship between letters and sounds and is vital in learning to read. Some children struggle with learning to read so it is important that these children are identified quickly so teachers can plan for any specific support they may need 

What is the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check?

The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is a short, quick assessment that tells teachers how your child is progressing in phonics. Your child will sit with the class teacher and will be asked to read 40 words aloud. These words include 20 real words and 20 nonsense words. The test normally takes a few minutes. If your child is struggling the teacher will stop the check. The check is carefully designed not to be stressful for your child.

Teachers then analyse the results and, if necessary, plan for any additional support that students might require.

Why use nonsense words?

The assessment includes pseudo or nonsense words to see if the student is able to use their knowledge of blending to read a word rather than their memory of having seen that word before.

More information

If you have any further questions, please talk to your child’s class teacher.

2026 Reception Enrolments

We were blessed with gorgeous weather on Tuesday, for Special Person’s Day, which made walking around our asphalt area even more pleasant for our many visitors as they watched and encouraged our brave buskers. Some families were able to enjoy a picnic with their young people outside in the sunshine, which was lovely to see.

All of the buskers did a magnificent job on their various instruments. The staff, instrumental teachers and other students are extremely proud of the dedication and effort put into practice this year, and the performers' willingness to put themselves out there and play in a public forum. We are so grateful to all visitors and supporters who contributed coins to the busking hats – your generosity meant we raised $743.05 for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation!

Thank you to all those who were able to come and enjoy the concert too. Our choirs, soloists, jump rope team and other performers were excited to have the opportunity to showcase their skills.

We look forward to building and improving on our community events; thank you to all those who have provided some feedback on the day.

During Week 2 students across all year levels came together to celebrate NAIDOC Week with a series of lunchtime activities.

The lunchtime sessions were planned by the Tirkanthi Environment Group, Brock, Maia, Charlotte, Sienna and Charlie, with guidance from Mrs Gardner (Arrernte Kuyani) and support from Mrs O’Driscoll and Mrs O’Connell. Students from across the school enjoyed activities that celebrated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures through storytelling, art, language, and food.

Throughout the week, students:

• Painted rocks using symbols that represent elements of Country and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.
• Made flag-coloured string bracelets and wrote book reviews featuring books written by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors.
• Created clay echidnas after reading The Echidna and the Shade Tree 
• Learned Kaurna greetings, feelings, and counting, and sang Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Kaurna.
• Made bush damper using saltbush and wattleseed - big thanks to Jenny Tucker for testing the damper recipe and preparing the kitchen for our damper making session and to the Healthy Living Leaders for helping lead the cooking. 

These sessions sparked joy, creativity, and deep curiosity. Students learned about the richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures through hands-on experiences and meaningful conversations. One of the most impactful activities was the Kaurna language session, where students proudly practised phrases and songs together.

We thank the Tirkanthi Environment Group for their leadership, and Mrs Gardner, Mrs O’Connell and Mrs O’Driscoll for their ongoing guidance and support. It was a powerful week of connection, culture and community.

Wattleseed Damper Recipe

Children’s University’s Exciting Learning Adventures!

In term 3, students will be engaging in a wide range of learning activities beyond the classroom, including lunchtime clubs, NAIDOC Week activities, and Science Week by exploring the unknown with nature's hidden language and then focussing on emotions, empathy and care (yoga, mindfulness activities).

To recognise the incredible effort our learners are putting into exploring and extending their knowledge, we are excited to present the “Educational Explorer Award” to the two students who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to varied learning experiences.

For Term 2, congratulations go to:
• Marlee (1C) – 135 hours of learning!
• Clancy (2O) – 75 hours of learning! 

Both students have embraced a diverse range of activities and challenged themselves with new and interesting experiences. The decision was tough, as so many students showed great enthusiasm and variety in their learning.

Well, done to everyone involved – we can’t wait to see what term 3 and term 4 brings!

Hope you have saved the date…

Book Week is just around the corner!

Next week we begin our ADEVENTUROUS celebration of books!

Join us for our well-loved Book Week Parade on Friday 22^nd August, commencing at 9.15, out on the green court.

We also invite you to the library afterwards for some light refreshments. We value our wonderful community and look forward to seeing many of you there to celebrate with us!

Michelle O’Connell

Teacher Librarian

The school and the church have an agreement that allows families to park around the church on school days for the specific sign-posted times.

Parking or standing next to the church building is not permitted. Please do not park in front of the chained area or on the lawn next to the hall.

Please enter the gate and move in an anti-clockwise direction to find a car park.

This car park is not a kiss and drop zone. 

If the parks are full do not stop and wait in the road area as this further congests the flow of parents who wish to drive around, and use Kiss and Drop as an alternative. 

We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to these guidelines and ask that you communicate this information to other family members who may be picking up your child.

At the end of week 3, we had five students representing the Southern Heights district at the State carnival for football (soccer), with 1 player in the girls' team and 4 in the boys' team. They had contrasting outcomes, but enjoyed the experience of competing with the finest talents that the state has at the Service FM stadium in Gepps Cross.

The Coromandel Valley Primary representatives of the boys' team were Brandon, Julian, Sebastian, and Theo. Although they demonstrated good teamwork and hard running, they found the going tough and were defeated in each of their games, the highlight being a 3-4 defeat to Adelaide North East.  

The girls' team topped their group undefeated in 8 games, and won their division with a game to spare. They came from behind in two games on Day Two, and stepped up a gear on Day Three and did not concede a goal. The team's goalkeeper, Lacey Hepden, is now a state champion.

Paul Smith

PE