In very challenging times it has been great to know we belong to an extremely supportive and caring community. Teachers have embraced the challenge of moving to an online home learning format and have been provided with time to familiarise themselves with a range of different platforms to deliver this. I thank them for the extra work they have done to ensure we facilitate learning for all. They are an amazing group of educators.

We really appreciate the positive support and feedback from families and we even received some beautiful fruit to share. Thank you for your kindness and understanding. We appreciate that this is a very difficult time for many families and our thoughts are with those who are experiencing hardship.

Strong relationships built on care, have and always will be central to our school community. This will continue with families as we proceed to new learning pathways. Please communicate with staff if you require support, we will be available to help with this transition.

OSHC Director

It gives me pleasure to introduce our new OSHC Director, Dennis Shanahan. Dennis has had extensive experience working in OSHC over many years and we are very happy to have him join our team. 

Hi, My name is Dennis Shanahan and i am the new OSHC Director here at Coromandel Valley Primary School. I have spent the last year living in Queensland where i established a brand new OSHC service as an OSHC coordinator for 230 children. Prior to moving to Queensland i was the OSHC Director at Edwardstown Primary School where we had a well received program by the community. I am excited to be back in Adelaide with my 3 children who are all currently in highschool. I love to ride my bike and look foward to cycling in Adelaide again. I am a Hawthorn supporter in the AFL and cant wait for the season to start. I look foward to meeting all the families and to continue to run an enjoyable OSHC service that feels like an extension of home. 

Please be aware that there has been a change of date for school photos.

School photos are currently booked for Friday 15th May, this slightly later date was our only option to choose.

Envelopes for orders will be sent home week 1 term 2.

Year 1 students visited the Living Kaurna Cultural Centre last week, where they saw some Aboriginal artwork, learnt how Dreaming stories can be told through paintings and what the different symbols meant. Students had the opportunity to paint their own piece of art, which they took home with them.

Arya (Year 1) - I went to the Living Kaurna Cultural Centre. It was fun.

George (Year 1) -  Yesterday we went to the Living Kaurna Cultural Centre. We did painting.

Patrik (Year 1) -  Yesterday we went to the Living Kaurna Cultural Centre. The guide was Tom and we went under a bridge and he showed us the Aboriginal paintings. Then we painted our own. Then we went back on the bus.

Is it a bird, is it a reptile, is it a mammal?

Learning about biological classification helps us identify and group organisms based on their common characteristics.

Alex from the Nature Education Centre visited the 6/7 classes with a variety of different animals from different classes of taxonomy – insects, amphibians, reptiles and marsupials.  We started to make connections and build on the knowledge that we had been learning about in science. 

We are now using this experience to create and classify our own organism in our MYP summative assessment.

Sarah Todd

Science Teacher

The bus tyres screeched to a halt as all of us kids raced out, estatic for the journey ahead of us.  We all ran down to the wetsuits, competing to find a dry one ....

30 minutes earlier, all the year 6's and 7's grabbed their bags and boarded the bus, preparing for the aquatics adventure ahead.

Aquatics is a 2 day water safety program, hosted at Pt Noarlunga beach, there are many different activities to do down there, varying from surfing to fishing.  Its a very enjoyable experience for all.  Here are a few things our Coro Yr 6's and 7's have said about it -

"Very exciting and a great learning experience" Jaymie

"Good experience to face your fears and try new things" Chloe

"Good opportunities to catch up with friends out of school or in other classes" Hunter

Sabelle and Tayla

Yr 7 students

During week 6, both Year 3 classes enjoyed a fantastic incursion event facilitated by the Australian Museum of Childhood to support our next Unit of Inquiry: Toys and Games. The learning focus of this Unit is built around the central idea that change in play occurs across time and location. Our lines of inquiry consider similarities and differences between toys and games around the world and across time including Indigenous, local and global perspectives. An additional focus for this Unit involves exploring how toys and games work.

This incursion event provided students with many opportunities to participate with the program and explore our lines of inquiry. Our museum facilitator passionately delivered the program with opportunities to explore hands on activities involving toys and games.

Year 3 Team

You would have heard this catch phrase a lot recently and every time I hear it the song from High School Musical goes through my head! Nothing is truer though as we experience this rapidly changing world and try to make sense of it in our own minds, let alone trying to explain to our children.

Here are afew tips to consider when talking with your child about the current situation:

• Don’t be afraid to discuss coronavirus – avoiding a topic can make children worry more. Stick to facts and be reassuring.
• Speak at an appropriate age-level – don’t overwhelm and go into massive detail
• Take cues from your child – ask them what they have heard and what questions they have
• Deal with your own anxiety – don’t talk with them when you are feeling anxious or panicked
• Focus on what you are doing to stay safe
• Stick to routine – this is extremely important for children at all times, but especially in times of uncertainty

This is also a great time to be talking to children about all the things we have to be thankful for. Big or small, we can all find things to be grateful for. What is it for you? Currently I’m enjoying not having to go to basketball games on a Friday night at 9.30pm and also having more time to walk my dog, not to mention less ironing as my husband ditches the business shirt while working from home!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like to chat or I can help with anything at this uncertain time (jenni.forder365@schools.sa.edu.au)

Jenni Forder

Pastoral Care Worker

Here are some great online levelled and decodable reading books that you may like to use to support your child’s reading development.

Find decodable texts and support information at:

https://portal.flyleafpublishing.com/

Our school also has access to in2Era books and activities online until 31 May 2020 or until notified otherwise.

This online access includes over 550 books: phonics readers, guided reading, traditional children’s literature, mathematics, science readers, and picture books. Each category of book has associated interactive activities such as comprehension quizzes, projects, videos or games appropriate to that category.

Using in2era

To use in2era, simply follow these steps.

1. Go to https://in2era.com.au/home
2. Enter our school’s login details:

Username: reading2020

Password: reading2020

System Requirements

in2Era requires an internet connection and an up-to-date browser such as
Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari. Tablets require a minimum 1GB + of RAM and a dual-core processor.

Enjoy reading!

Michelle O'Connell