Next term we welcome back Leah Osborne to our school. Leah returns from leave and will undertake a range of roles to support classroom planning and provide literacy support for some of our senior students. We look forward to having her rejoin our team.

Pupil Free Day

The first day of term 3, Monday 20th July will be a pupil free day. Staff will use this day to continue the moderation of writing samples, explore great writing strategies, and reflect on our programme of inquiry. OSHC will be available for this day. Please contact Dennis or Kevin should you need to book for the day.

Reports and 3 Way Discussions

I would like to acknowledge the dedication of staff over the course of the term to support online learning and then transition back to face to face learning. Given significant interruption to learning, staff have worked hard to complete semester one reports which will be sent home next Friday. Following on from this, families will be invited to a 3-way discussion during Wk 3 and 4 of next term.

We have enjoyed hosting the weekly Virtual Assemblies providing an opportunity to share news and classrooms around the school. We appreciate the very positive feedback we have received from families who have in the past been unable to attend Assemblies. Next term we will go back to having a whole school assembly on Monday mornings and will continue to stream this so that families have the opportunity to view news and recognitions.

Thank you to families for following social distancing guidelines and communicating via email and phone calls.

COVID-19 update for Term 3 

• Please drop off and pick up your child from outside the classroom - this will support staff to manage the number of people inside of buildings. We would ask that families continue to email and phone the school to communicate. Our children have done a great job of organising themselves in the morning and we are confident that they will continue to develop their organisational skills.
• Volunteers will be invited by staff to recommence work within the school. Please ensure you have completed the volunteer induction before commencing volunteer work within the school.
• Cleaning (extra 3 hours per day): daily clean of the playground, shared areas, classrooms, high touch surfaces, and tabletops.
• Our assemblies will initially be held for students only. Parents will be provided with a youtube link to view assemblies.

On behalf of the staff, I would like to wish families a safe and relaxing holiday. 

Liz Pelling

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.

At the last Governing Council meeting, we discussed parent use of Kiss and Drop as well as the Church Car Park.

Parents are reminded that we have a contract with the church that provides parking for our families on the provision that we adhere to guidelines. Thank you to those families who are putting the safety of all as a first priority.

The Church car park is not a Kiss and Drop area. Parents who use the Church car park in the morning must park their car and accompany children into the school grounds.  In the afternoon, parents must park and walk into school grounds to collect their children.

Over the past two weeks, leadership has been monitoring this area and we have had to remind students on a daily basis to move back to the verandah area to await pick up. Church representatives continue to remind us that parking is only permitted around the perimeter of the church property. Parking next to the church building is strictly prohibited as this impacts the church foundations. The orange cones around the church are placed there to prevent parking. Unfortunately, we have had to ask vehicles to move on a daily basis. A breach of the conditions could jeopardise our agreement with the church.

Interestingly we have noticed that there are up to 10 parks available from 3:20 pm so it may be advisable to slightly delay your trip to the school.

Please share the above information with Grandparents or other family members who are responsible for dropping off and picking up students from the school as this too is an issue.

Thank you to all who were able to complete the Canteen survey recently. We have gathered some interesting data that will inform our actions moving forward.

From the 141 reponses, 70.2% of respondents would like to see the Canteen open on an additional day per week. A combined percentage of 76.6% of people told us that they would prefer Monday, or that they had no preference of day, so Monday looks like a good option. A lunch order could be the perfect way to ease into your week!

49 people let us know that they would be keen to volunteer in our Canteen, depending on the day. Early next term, we'll put the call out, and if you're available to help on a Monday sometimes, please let us know.

We really appreciated your feedback, and we're excitedly exploring some new options regarding the foods we may be able to offer in the Canteen. It looks like fried rice could be a popular choice, amongst other healthy options.

Once again, thank you for participating in the survey, and helping us improve the Canteen for the benefit of all our children and families.

How to help kids with maths.

We are please to be able to offer you access to a Webinar for Parents and Caregivers in regards to ‘Back to Front’ Maths from Tierney Kennedy.

Tierney talks about why Maths is different in today’s classrooms for the first 15 minutes.

The next 15 minutes is about what families can do to support ‘maths learning’ at home.

She finishes off with strategies you can use to support learning for your child.

The link is here:

https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2539198244531860737

There is the a parent page she refers to as well, the link is here:

https://www.backtofrontmaths.com.au/daily-teaching-help/parents-portal

Michael Shaw - Assistant Principal 

FRIDAY 3RD JULY - 2:10 DISMISSAL

WE HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY

This term the year 6/7 classes have been learning about sustainable architecture. We have been looking at ways houses can be more sustainable. In science, we explored renewable and non-renewable energy. We followed the design cycle for this unit. We first inquired and analysed into what sustainability is and researched sustainable features. Next, we developed ideas, a design specification, and what we could test it on and created a floor plan for our house. Next, we created the solution, we made our houses in the tech room (see below) where we made sure that our houses had lots of sustainable features. Finally, we evaluated our product to see what we could improve on our house. All the year 6/7 classes really enjoyed this science and design unit and can’t wait for the next unit.

Archer Yr 7

Dear families, friends and guardians of the Coro kids,

We are the environment group and we looking small pots that you don’t use.  We are looking to grow indoor plants to teach the Coro students the importance of plants and how they improve the air quality and how to care for them.

We will be putting them up for sale later in the year so you can buy the plants the kids have grown. The profits made from the plant sales will be used to improve the school grounds and environment.

Please bring the pots to the front office from 20^th – 24^th of July.

Thank you for your help,

Aquilo, Archer, Jackson, Harry, Matthew, Alex, Isabella, Sonny, Flynn and Riley C

2020 Environment Group

Young Writers Award

It was wonderful to hear many enthusiastic young writers eager to send in their pieces of writing for the Young Writers Award at the end of May.

Congratulations to Isla B. who received notification that her entry into the Young Writers Award has been shortlisted to the final 10 for her Years 2/3 category. She will be notified if she has made the final 3 by mid-August. We wish her all the very best of luck and look forward to hearing how it goes.

If anyone else has been notified, it would be great to hear from you so we can acknowledge your achievements too.

Local Bookshops

 The Resource Centre is continually endeavouring to stock up to date resources and increase our library supplies with current trending books that the children request. Recently, I went to our local book shop in Blackwood. I was greeted by friendly and helpful staff and I bought a few books that are more difficult to source to add to our collection. If you need a book for your child or yourself, you might like to head on into Blackwood and visit the Shakespeare’s Bookshop. http://www.shakespearesbooks.com.au/

Old Books

We have been having a thorough sort through of our current collection and have found some resources that no longer meet our needs. Thank you to those who supported our book sale and came in and purchased some of our books. I know there were some very excited children who were happy with their bargains.

The left-over resources were sent down to South Pacific School Aid where they were very well received. These books will be sorted through and sent off to schools in the South Pacific. You can find them on Facebook to learn more about all the fantastic things that this organisation does. https://www.facebook.com/SouthPacificSchoolAid/

Premiers Reading Challenges

It is wonderful to have many children that have been busy reading and bringing in their challenge sheets early. The closing date for this is 4th of September

We have had a keen interest in the STEM challenge and have quite a few entries already. We will be sending these off to be judged and all entries need to be received by us no later than Wednesday 1st of July.

All entries for the Indonesian challenge need to be in by Wednesday 19th of August.

Donations

Thank you to those families who have donated books to the resource centre this year. We are always looking for resources that are in good condition for the children. If you have any Lego, construction blocks or books that are no longer require and are in good condition we would greatly appreciate them.

Michelle O'Connell

Teacher Librarian

Due to the wet and muddy conditions our spare clothes are running low.  If your child has borrowed any clothing can you please return them clean to the office.

We are running low on spare pants in particular for both boys and girls in sizes 4-6.  If you have some old ones that you would be willing to donate to the school, please drop them in to the office.

The long awaited Coro Kitchen Garden is now up and running.

The kitchen has everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink. There are 3 ovens, a microwave, a fridge/freezer, two sinks, a handwashing station, plenty of bench space, cookware, and utensils.  It’s located in the old art room adjacent to the oval. 

The vegetable garden has been planted with winter veg and herbs which we hope to harvest and use in the kitchen.  We’ve also signed up for the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program for inspiration. Teachers may be able to incorporate time in the kitchen and garden into their units of inquiry.

The year 6/7 Community Student Action Group has helped set up the kitchen and revive the existing vegetable garden. Students in 2M have designed and made 3D printed signs adding colour and interest to our garden.

We would be interested in any donations of kitchen items (in good condition) or soil, mulch, pots, and plants for the garden.

Jenny Tucker

SSO

Unfortunately due to the current global climate, we have been unable to have visitors into the school, but that didn’t stop us!

In week 6, students in year 3 learnt about animal adaptations and about the weather in an interactive science virtual incursion hosted by Questacon in Canberra.  They were animated presenters that shared exciting science with us over the computer!  Students were able to interact with the presenters (University students) over a virtual science circus show!

For activities that you can do at home - https://www.questacon.edu.au/outreach/programs/science-circus/activities

In week 9, students in year 6 and 7 continued their learning on renewable and non-renewable resources and participated in an online virtual incursion with an education advisor from SA Water.  He shared some information on waste, recycled and salt water, talked about a zero cost energy for the future.  It was fantastic to be involved in an interactive session where students were able to ask questions of a person in the field!

Earth Sciences in Year 4

This term in science, year 4s have been interested in looking at the earth and what is beneath our feet.  We have examined rocks, looked at soil, tested the soil pH, done some experiments on weathering and come up with some solutions for our erosion problems up by the big side.  We have realised that the bank has changed over time.  It is slippery, there are exposed roots and the bench is nearly buried.

Students have researched some ways that humans can prevent erosion and tried to come up with a solution.  They have made some short videos, voice recordings and created images with some prevention methods for Mrs Pelling and Keith to consider.

Science Donations

I’m looking for any donations of feathers, nests (empty), empty toothpaste boxes to use for the junior primary students next term.  If you have anything that you are no longer needing, could you please leave it in the front office or bring it to the science room.  It would be greatly appreciated!

 

Sarah Todd

Science

Following the amazing learning and artistic efforts that we enjoyed during Reconciliation Week, we are excited to share that Coromandel Valley Primary School has recently published a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). A RAP is a formal statement of our commitment to reconciliation. Please take a moment to read our RAP poster and let us know if there any actions that you would like to be a part of. We also invite you to express your interest in joining the RAP Working Group.

Please email Kylie Gardner for more information: kylie.gardner980@schools.sa.edu.au

We look forward to sharing RAP progress updates in future newsletters.

Over the past 16 weeks, Archie (pictured above) has been visiting Mrs Gardner’s, Mrs Melbourne’s and Mrs Niland’s Reception classes every week. Archie has been sharing his stories about developing social skills and friendships. The students have helped Archie solve social difficulties and friendship issues that they may face in their lives. Some of the topics discussed have included: sharing and taking turns, cooperation, angry feelings, empathy, worry, honesty, and building healthy bodies.

Archie had some help in the classroom discussions and activities from Pastoral Care Worker Jenni Forder. Archie and Jenni would like to thank the wonderful Reception classes for their participation in What’s the Buzz. Here they are with their What’s the Buzz class Graduation Certificates. Well done!!

Term 2

26th June - no longer a pupil free day, students to attend school

Term 3

4th September - Pupil Free Day

Term 4

13th - 14th October - Year 3 Camp

19th Oct - 23rd October - Book Week

23rd October - Grandparents Day

6th November - School Closure Day

9th November - Pupil Free Day