Staffing news

Congratulations to Mike Shaw, who has been reappointed to his current Assistant Principal role until the end of 2023.  

Next term, we welcome Leah Osborne back from leave. Thank you to Adele Taylor for her work throughout Term 2. Leah (3 days) and Adele (2 days) will continue to share the class during Term 3.

Mid-Year Student Reports

Mid-year reports will be sent home next week. Over recent weeks, teachers have been busy preparing students’ reports based on assessments and evidence of learning over the first semester.

Students in Years 1-6 will receive a written report (individual comments in Maths, English & General) with A-E grades, whilst Reception students will receive a written report referenced against the Foundation achievement standard.

When receiving and reading your child’s report, please take time to acknowledge their efforts and achievements as well as how they are progressing with their approaches to learning (e.g. attitude, effort, work habits, etc)

Staff Illness / Relieving Staff

At this time of the term and year, staff can and do fall ill, requiring them to take sick leave. Similarly, teaching staff may be involved in extracurricular activities and professional development workshops. 

During these times, we do our best to employ temporary relief teachers (TRTs) who know our students and school well. I want to commend our students who understand the importance of positive learning behaviours when their teachers are absent from school. The feedback we receive from TRTs is most complimentary of our students and their behaviour.

A current challenge for most schools, not just in Adelaide or South Australia, but across the country, is a significant shortage of relieving teachers.

Leaving CVPS?

Aside from Year 6 students graduating at the end of this year – if your child will not be returning to Coromandel Valley Primary School in 2023, could you please inform us via the front office on 8278 3693 or email. This will help us with our forward planning for the 2023 school year. Thank you.

Congratulations to the Junior School Choir, who performed at two City of Mitcham Citizenship Ceremonies last week.

The students performed “I am Australian” in both Kaurna and English, as well as our National Anthem “, Advance Australia Fair”. The students did a fantastic job receiving numerous positive comments and feedback about their performance and behaviour during both ceremonies. Thanks to Mrs Stuttard for organising and coordinating an excellent student experience.

A friendly reminder that on the last day of term, Friday 7^th July, students will be dismissed at 2:10 pm, with the OSHC service beginning from this time.

Students can also choose to wear casual clothes the last Friday.

Please note that the first day of Term 3, Monday 25^th July is a Student Free Day. Staff will be working on a component of our Site Improvement Plan, undertaking professional learning within the area of numeracy.

A reminder to all families and friends that dogs are not permitted on school (DfE) grounds unless authorised by the principal. This forms part of a dog owner’s responsibilities and the laws that apply to dogs to ensure the safety of children.

If you are walking your dog to school, please arrange to meet your child/children by the school gate. Thank you for your assistance with this.

The retaining wall is coming along with expected completion date around the end of Week 2 next term. Once completed we will notify families about the kiss & drop area being able to be accessed. Please continue to mindful when using the church carpark, being patient and not using it as a kiss and drop area.

The year 4s visited the South Australian Art Gallery as part of our inquiry into the creative process. We took part in a series of thinking routines related to the artwork on display and even found time to fit in some mindful sketching on the lawns of the Museum.

What a day yesterday was, I was so amazed by all of the amazing artwork and how much time it took to make them.  Some artwork had so much detail and others just had lines on a page but, they are all art.  When I walked into the red room I was amazed with how much string they used and how many questions had formed in my head.

by Adeline

On Monday we went to the Art Gallery. We looked at artworks, sculptures and walls. The thing I liked most was the pumpkin room. The pumpkin room looked like an infinite pumpkin patch inside the cube made of mirrors. The room itself is weird because it’s covered in dots.

by Elliot

This place was gigantic, anyone could get lost in the art gallery for it was not only big, it was like a maze with all the stairs and walls plus the art. The moment we walked in everyone went ‘oohhhhh and ahhhhhhh’.

As we made our way up the stairwell there were artworks everywhere they were so cool. And we were so amazed at how talented these people are.

by Ava

Yesterday when we went to the art gallery in the city I was amazed. It wasn’t just any boring paintings & sculptures, it excited me!

There was the red room with a giant web which made me wonder is there a spider living in the web? And how long did it take to build? Because it was huge.

It was incredible. We also found a picture with a lot of numbers but you have got to look closely to see it. But I liked the yellow room the best the seeing glass was an amazing sight!

At the end I wanted to go back there again & I thought maybe one day I can be an artist or someone I know could be one to?

by Isla

I was amazed when I walked into the art gallery, there was everything that I could think of, such as upside down spinning trees, a room full of body parts and string, a room with polka dots everywhere and a mirror box with unlimited pumpkins from the mirrors reflecting off each other, it was amazing! There was even something that said ahh ahhh ahhhh avo’s 4.4 a $.

We had seen most of the things after a hour or two, my favourite exhibit was the pumpkin room. We also had a lot of tasks, which included picking a theme and finding 5 paintings that fit with our chosen theme and also finding art that related to the Elements of Art we are learning about. It was really fun, including the pumpkin and red rooms. 

After we had lunch, we sketched something outside the art gallery in our art books.

The best thing drawn was definitely the bin chicken and the trees.

by Harry.S.

Yesterday I went to the art gallery and was happy and excited. I saw a puppet that was made a long time ago. It was a little scary but it was so cool. I liked how the eyes looked like real eyes and it had a realistic mouth. They used it to make a funny show so people can laugh and have fun.

by Era

I never knew how cool a fake pumpkin field could be until today.

I was sooo excited that I was at the art gallery and there were sooo many things to see. The pumpkin room was great, it was a small room but it felt huge.

by Macie.W

Last Monday all the year 4's travelled by bus to the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) to learn more about our inquiry topic, "the elements of art". First we were split into groups of 4 or 5 and chose a writer to write all the artworks we find, then we had to choose a theme to find artworks about that particular theme. My group chose rainy day. It was really hard to find paintings of a rainy day because there were more portraits of people than landscapes. I thought the "Dark matter, bright light" was the most Amazing sculpture (in my opinion) because it reflects of the light. I also loved "The pumpkin room" because if you put your head in a little box you will be able to see lots and lots of pumpkins.

After we examined the artworks we went outside to sketch something we saw. I really enjoyed my excursion to the art gallery and would like to return soon so I could explore more interesting artworks and sculptures.

 by Georgia

On Monday all the Year Fours went on an excursion to the Art Gallery of South Australia.  When we got there we hopped into our groups.  Then we had to choose a theme for us to look for. My group chose texture for our theme.  First my group and I went into a room at the front of the art garrlery, it had aboriginal art work.  The artwork looked so interesting because all the patterns were joined together and there were lots of swirls in the artwork.  There was a tree that was spinning upside down in a room.  At the bottom of the tree it had all of these leaves.  Then there was this room called the pumpkin room.  There was this box that was covered with mirrors and a window that you could put your head into.

When we walked out of that room we saw a room called Absence Embodied (red room).  There was string hanging from the ceiling and walls.  At the bottom of the string there was feel and legs hanging from the string.  I really enjoyed the experience of the art gallery and learning more about different elements of art.  I would definitely come here again.

by Isabella 

On Monday all the year 4s traveled by bus on an excursion to the South Australia Art Gallery. First we were separated into small groups and decided on a theme we wanted to explore the art gallery. After that we went off to explore. I really like the group that I had.  It was my first time there so I didn't know where things were. I was on writing duty where I had to write down 5 paintings with texture which made me work hard and fast but it was still fun.

The red room and all the other artwork was really fun to look at and admire. The red room was so cool it made me feel like I was near a spider web but with a nice spider that I could trust. It was really cool exploring and seeing all the art with texture. It had red string everywhere and hands holding it from the floor which was really weird. Finally, we went back to the grass where we started, we had to sketch something around us then took the bus home. I would definitely come again and explore more.

by Anissa 

SkyWatch Astronomy Education visited the Year 3 and Year 5 students on Wednesday 29 June.  We stepped inside the dome, worried if we would all fit!  Students sat inside, waiting eagerly for the viewing to start.  A movie was projected on the dome for us to imagine what it would be like, 60 years from now, looking down from colonisation on the moon.  We saw meteorites, dinosaurs, lightning storms and rapids.

We learnt new terminology (or refreshed our current understanding) of the seasons, earth’s rotation, orbit and eclipses.

When the movie finished, we examined the current southern hemisphere constellations and projected positioning of the planets from our viewpoint.

During term 2 our Year 1 classes have been learning about Kimochis (Japanese for Feelings). Over the term we met 5 different Kimochis characters who helped us learn about our emotions and how to be good friends.

• Cloud has feelings that change like the weather. We call this being moody and we can go from happy to sad or mad quickly! It’s OK to have these BIG feelings and we need to focus on how we behave through them. Cloud’s key message was: It’s OK to be MAD but it’s not OK to be MEAN! 
• Bug has a soft voice and finds it hard to ask for help or seek out friends to play with. Bug needs to put a brave feeling in front of shy so that a left out feeling doesn’t come his way. Bug’s key message was: Put your BRAVE in front!  
• Huggtopus (nickname is Huggs) is full of energy and loves people! Huggs can be so affectionate that people find it a little bit over the top and uncomfortable. Huggs’ key message was: For SILLY to be fun, it must be fun for everyone!  
• Lovie Dove (Lovie is her nickname) is the most caring of all the Kimochis characters. This kindness and care can turn into worry as she overthinks situations and is concerned for her friends. She has a baby (Turtle Dove) under her wing that she provides a safe home for and is available in times of trouble and big feelings! She is a wise character and helps others with her wisdom! 
• Lovey’s key message today was: Who can you PUT UNDER YOUR WING and WHOSE WING ARE YOU UNDER?
• Cat is a strong leader and has lots of really great ideas! Cat can be really bossy with these ideas and needs to be reminded to choose helpful words! When we make a mistake it’s OK to ask to redo; to try again. Cat teaches us how to say sorry and repair relationships.  Cat’s key message was: Redo hurtful moments and choose helpful words

Each week there was a craft and the students were able to make their own Kimochis characters Check out their creations! 

Jenni Forder

Pastoral Care Worker

4 Coromandel Valley students - Cassian, Finn F, Jackson G and Lily Z - recently took part in the Term 2 Southern Zone Primary Schools Chess Tournament.

5 schools and 46 students took part in the tournament, with the Coro team the smallest on the day.   With only the top 4 students from a school contributing to the final score, we were at a huge disadvantage.

But all 4 students did a fabulous job, not only representing the school well with their results, but also showing great sportsmanship.  St Martin de Porres were the clear leaders all tournament, but it was between the remaining schools.   After 6 rounds with just one round of games to play, Coro were sitting in equal 3rd place, finally finishing in equal 4th.   Final results were

We had some excellent individual results with Cassian, Finn and Lily finishing in equal 15th place on 4 wins from their 7 games, and Jackson finishing in equal 24th place on 3 wins.   Lily was the 3rd placed female competitor of the tournament, missing out on the first place trophy by just half a point.  Special mention to Cassian, who was competing in his very first interschool tournament.  Congratulations to all of our students for competing so well!

The Chess Club continues to meet on Thursday lunchtimes in the Music Room and anyone is welcome to come along.   It would be great to have some more students take part in the Term 3 tournament.

David Shaw

This year, members of our school community have been participating in Children’s University which has been a great opportunity for students to continue building successful habits of learning outside of their classroom.

We have been offering Children’s University lunchtime club two times a week this year to further support participants. Children have been invited to attend the computer room at lunch time to check in and reflect on learning, participate in research tasks, visit learning destinations virtually, access other online learning activities and use the printing facilities.

Congratulations to our participants who have been very busy collecting learning hours in their passport towards their graduation.

Dan Johnson

Y5 Teacher

I've had such an overwhelming response for the Native Bee and Butterfly garden, it's fantastic!

Students have been popped into groups, based on year level for the first phase (this term). The second phase will be during Term 3.

The R-2 students have participated in two bee hotel making masterclass with Keith (our groundskeeper) and myself. We cleaned, sanded and bundled bamboo, ready for bees to nest.

Students in Years 3-6 had the opportunity to participate in a lunchtime session with Dr Katja Hogendoorn, a native bee scientist on Wednesday 15 June.  She left us some plants to attract the native Pea Bee.

Our upcoming excursion to SA Museum, Waite Arboretum and Wittunga Botanical Gardens is on Monday 4 July, Week 10 where we will gather some more information to start our garden project.

Mrs Todd is meeting with the landscaper (Gondwana Landscaping Consultancy) on Friday Week 10 to survey the projected planting area (out the front of the school).

Last week our Boys Knockout Soccer team played a round of matches against three other schools at Frank Smith Reserve. The boys played with discipline, skill, and good sportsmanship throughout the day.

They won their first two games easily, beating Hawthorndene 6 – 2 and Mt Barker South 4 – 0. In our third game, we played Glen Osmond, who were too good for us on this occasion, beating us 2 – 0 and knocking us out of the competition.

We look forward to next year’s competition.