Dear Families and Friends

As we reach the halfway point of term one, we want to express our gratitude for your ongoing support of our school. 

Unlike this time last year, families have been able to come onto school grounds and visit classrooms and chat with teachers before lessons start or at the end of the school day. We're so pleased to have this practice restored.

We also appreciate the generosity of our families, who have volunteered their time to support various activities and events, including school sports. Many of these activities would not be able to occur without the generous support of our parent volunteers.

We especially look forward to everyone joining us for Sports Day on Friday, 24^th March. Please refer to an email (Sports Day Information) sent out Tuesday of this week for all the details.

Students are doing a great job preparing for the day. The energy and enthusiasm in each of the house teams is excellent, with sports leaders looking forward to leading the team chants and the health hustle.

Education Leaders Day

To begin this week, I had the opportunity to participate in State Education Leaders Day and the inaugural Numeracy Summit, both held at the Convention Centre. The intent of the day was for all South Australian preschool, school and corporate leaders to come together in an extended dialogue to collectively determine our shared purpose for public education in South Australia moving forward. There were a number of key speakers, including the Premier, the Minister for Education and the Chief Executive of the Department for Education as well as many other educational experts.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN is the annual national assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7, & 9 and will begin on Wednesday 15th March, and continue throughout the week following into the next week. This is much earlier in the year than previous years, aiming for a faster turnaround in student results.

From 2023 NAPLAN reporting is changing. Each student’s NAPLAN report will show how they’re tracking against 4 levels of achievement, known as proficiency standards. These will replace the 10 NAPLAN bands.   

The standards are: 

• Exceeding
• Strong
• Developing
• Needs additional support.

The standards are set at a challenging but reasonable standard of literacy and numeracy expected for the child at the time of testing. 

Reporting will include clear descriptions for teachers and families about student progress against these levels of achievement.

Our Year 3 & 5 students will commence their NAPLAN testing Wednesday with the Writing test. Students who are unable to sit the Writing test on Wednesday only have the provision to catch up on the following day, Thursday. From Thursday 16th to 23^rd, students will sit the Reading, Language and Conventions and finish off with the Numeracy test. There will be times set aside throughout the week for students who have missed any of the tests to catch up.

Please ensure your child(ren) arrives at school on time, after a good night’s sleep and healthy breakfast in the morning.

Information about withdrawal from the test(s): 

Withdrawals are intended to address issues such as religious beliefs and philosophical objections to testing. Participation by all students is expected; however, in certain circumstances, students may be withdrawn from the testing program by their parent/carer. Ultimately, this is a decision for parents/carers but is best done in collaboration with the school. If you wish to withdraw your child, a request form must be submitted by Tuesday, 14th March. Request forms are available at the front office.

Useful Tips for Parents

• Kidspot – How to help your child with exam anxiety leading up to NAPLAN
• Information for NAPLAN parents and carers 

Dogs on School Grounds 

As is the case in all SA public schools, dogs are not permitted on school grounds – as per the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995 and regulations. 

Arrangements must be made with the Principal in advance (via your classroom teacher) if you would like to bring in your dog for show-and-tell. 

Please also ensure that dogs are not left tied up at the school entrances, as this may block access to and from the grounds while also frightening some students. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

With Easter falling within the school term this year, there will be an early dismissal, 2:10 pm on Thursday 6^th, April.

As a parent, it can be heartbreaking to see your child feeling anxious about school. It's important to remember that anxiety is a common and normal emotion, but one that can provide challenges for families when supporting their child in getting to school. Below are some strategies for supporting children who are anxious about coming to school.

Acknowledge Their Feelings
The first step in helping an anxious child is to validate their feelings. Let them know that it's okay to feel scared or nervous, and that you understand how they're feeling. Ask them to explain what specifically is causing their anxiety, and listen without judgment. Sometimes simply being heard and understood can go a long way in reducing anxiety.

Address Their Concerns
Work with your child to address their concerns. If your child is worried about being separated from you, create a plan for drop-off and pick-up that allows them to have a sense of control and familiarity. If they are anxious about making friends or being on their own, talk to them about ways to make connections with other students, such as joining a lunchtime club.

Teach Coping Strategies
Help your child develop coping strategies that they can use when they feel anxious. These may include deep breathing exercises, positive self-talk, visualisation techniques, or mindfulness practices. Encourage your child to practice these strategies at home so that they become second nature when they're at school.

Involve the School Staff
Involve school staff in supporting your child's anxiety. Talk to your child’s teacher about strategies that have worked in the past, and develop a plan that everyone can follow.

By working together with your child, the school, and other caregivers, we can help anxious children feel more confident, capable, and excited about their learning and social experiences at school.

Hello, my name is Michelle O’Connell and I am the Autism Inclusion Teacher (AIT) for our school. I am very excited and honoured to undertake this new role. Over the last two weeks, I have attended some amazing professional development training, that have helped me build a deeper understanding of ways to support neurodivergent thinkers.

I believe embracing Autism, and building a better understanding and knowledge, will benefit our society as a whole.  Supporting Autistic people in education will also ensure they reach their full potential, and be happy, healthy human beings.

Isn’t that what we all want in life?

Autistic people are neurodivergent. Neurodivergences are differences in the way people think, feel and learn. Developing deeper understandings about all neurodivergent learners is crucial in supporting them grow and develop successfully.

If we know better, we do better!

Wanting to find out more? Here are some websites you may like to visit:

National Autism Helpline - AMAZE

https://www.amaze.org.au/autismconnect/

Supporting girls with Autism – also a workshop that you might find interesting

https://www.yellowladybugs.com.au/

If you would like any further information, have any questions or have ideas as to how we can best support Autistic students at our school, please contact me on michelle.oconnell50@schools.sa.edu.au

Michelle O’Connell

Teacher Librarian/ AIT/ Literacy Support

The Receptions classes participated in a ‘Mini Festival’ incursion led by Nature Play SA. Students had a wonderful time participating in clay making, potion making, cubby building, painting and water play. The students showed excellent collaboration and creativity to develop our approaches to learning. This incursion linked into our inquiry into how we express ourselves through play and gave students the opportunity to practise their self-management, communication and social skills in a different setting. 

My favourite part was building a cubby with Mason.

My favourite part was clay making and potion making.

My favourite part was painting outside.

I enjoyed painting because my painting was colourful.

I enjoyed making a potion using flowers, water and leaves.

Southern Heights and City South districts held their annual combined Swimming Carnival in Week 5. 

Well done to the following students who represented our school

Sienna P

Taylor H

Mila K

Isla B

Lacey H

Logan P

Oliver A

Sebastian L

Special congratulations to Sienna, who finished first in 100m freestyle, second in 50m butterfly, and third in 50m backstroke.

Sienna now has the opportunity to represent Southern Heights in the State Swimming Carnival in May. Good luck Sienna!

Mr De Lyster

PE Teacher

Two of our students, Penelope and Lars competitively race BMX at the Happy Valley club.  Penelope is the gold medal and Australian Jersey holder after placing first at the national titles last November! Lars's grade were non-competitive but he attended many state and interstate competitions and also rode at the national championships.

Penelope, Lars and their older sister Isabella (2nd in the country) have all been offered a place in the Australian team to ride at the World BMX championships in Glasgow Scotland in August this year which is an exciting opportunity for them!

We wish them well and look forward to hearing about it when they return.

We would like to remind our school community about the Australian Road Rules around schools. Please take a look at the brochure attached -

schools_and_traffic.pdf

School sports are a great way for your child to learn new skills and be part of a team with their peers. In Terms 2 and 3, the winter sports available (from Year 2) for girls and boys are Soccer, Netball and AFL Football (pending student interest and coordinator).

Please find attached the link to the online sport nomination form for Out of Hours School Sport for Terms 2 & 3.

https://coromandps.schoolzineplus.com/form/7

Please ensure nominations for all winter sports are received by Thursday 6th April.

Please also consider volunteering as a team manager or coach. This is a rewarding way to give back to the school community, and school sports reply on parent volunteers to operate.

To read our sports policy please click on the following link

https://coromandps.schoolzineplus.com/after-hours-sport

Here are some opportunities for children to get active and experience the fun and challenge of orienteering.

See sa.orienteering.asn.au for full 2023 calendar.

KID-O
Upcoming events:
19th March -Aberfoyle Park    
26th March -Belair NP 

What is KID-O? A game based orienteering program for children who are pre-independent orienteering age (0-7)

What does it involve? With parental supervision, children will partake in a number of orienteering based activities that will help in the development of gross motor, fine motor, sensory, problem solving, observational, and navigational skills.
Each time a child participates in KID-O they will receive a sticker towards an end of year certificate.How much does KID-O cost? Free! (if you wish to do an orienteering course as well, you will need to pay and enter this separately via sa.orienteering.asn.au

Southern Darts

Upcoming training days:
26^th March- Belair NP
2^nd April- Lady Alice Goldfields

Who are the Southern Darts?
The Southern Darts is an orienteering training group for children aged 8-11 years. These are the years children learn basic orienteering skills and transition to independent orienteering.

Our training activities are held once a month before orienteering events. They are fast, fun, and focused. Children learn one to two new skills at each training session which they can use in practice in the event after.

All training events are free, but you’ll need to register and pay for the event after.

Training events usually start 40mins before the event starts. More information will be available at a closer date.

For more information email Bridget at coaching@sa.orienteering.asn.au

Coromandel Valley Primary School OSHC was invited to showcase our programming and documentation styles at the Gowrie SA Programming 2023 Expo on Feb 28^th at the Thebarton Community Centre. We were one of two OSHC service in the state to be asked to showcase our service to other OSHC's, ELC and Kindergartens.