At Coromandel Valley Primary we invite our Yr 7 students to apply for student leadership positions in different focus areas. All interested students adress criteria in a written application, which is reviewed by a panel to select the most suitable leaders. Our students leaders help to initiate and develop whole school action and manage a student action group, with the support of a focus teacher.

Thank you to all of the 38 students who applied for a leadership position. Congratulations to the following Yr 7 students who were successful:

Community Leaders: Sam W, Alana S, Indi P, Seb M

Wellbeing: Emily L, Nicholas H

Environment: Rhiannon C, Sam D.                           

Sport and fitness: Finn W, Summer R

Arts: Max M, Daniella DB

ICT: Lachlan T, Nathan G

Global Learners: Danny K, Finn H

Each of the 6 Primary Schools in the Mitcham Hills Partnership elect 6 student leaders who meet as a group, twice a term, to explore issues relevant to students and learning within the Mitham Hills SRC. In 2019 meetings will be held at Belair Primary School and will involve the exploration of student agency.

We would welcome any parent volunteers who would like to support with our student action groups. There are lots of things happening around the school. please let us know if you are free on Friday afternoons when we work in action groups.

Next week, on Friday 15th March, we will once again be joined by Simon Brooks, an educational consultant, to continue our learning around developing a "Culture of thinking". Part of our site improvement plan is a focus on explicitly exploring the development of skills that foster student critical and creative thinking. 

Over time, staff have developed skills and strategies to enhance student voice and allow opportunities to clearly explore student understanding. One of the most commonly asked questions at Coromandel Valley Primary School is;    

"What makes you say that?"  or WMYST 

It is a very simple question, but it invites students to develop their reasoning and justification skills, as they explain their thinking. We have noticed that it also contributes to open mindedness and respect as students are able to view the world from multiple perspectives.

This year sports day will take place on Friday 5th April. Children enjoy a day of team building and competitive physical activities.

We are looking for parents who have some time to help out with the BBQ. Please phone Karen in the front office (8278 3693) if you have some time to volunteer or email her at karen.hayes453@schools.sa.edu.au.

There will also be a cake stall run by parents and friends. Any donations of baked goods will be gratefully accepted. 

We look forward to seeing parents and friends join us for this whole school event.

The 2019 National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence has a new theme: Bullying. No Way! Take action every day. This theme builds on the 2018 journey to Imagine a world free from bullying, by inviting school communities to turn big ideas into action.

As we have a pupil free day on Friday the 15th March we will hold a special assembly on Monday 18th March where our student leaders will raise the awareness of "Taking action every day". We will veiw videos about how we can all help to take action every day. Parents and families are very welcome to join us at this assembly to be a part of this worthwhile initiative. 

This year we received a grant, to support school initiatives, which will see our Wellbeing student action group explore different ways to counter bullying in our school community. We will be working on a film about friendship and inclusivity that we can share and help support people at our school. Madison Moser, our social work student, will be supporting students to create this film as part of the Wellbeing student action group.

We are very fortunate to have two social work students with us from Flinders University who will be completing 500 hours of service at our school.

Madison and Monika will be working in classrooms across the school to support groups of children and develop their skills.

I’m Monika, a social work intern from Flinders University. I will be doing my placement at Coromandel Primary School for two terms. I am very happy to be placed in the school to learn more about social work.

I enjoy sports including badminton, camping and rock climbing. I love being around children at Coromandel Primary School as they are so friendly. The teachers and staff have made me feel very welcome. My quote: “ study hard and play hard”. I hope I can make the most of my time at the school and learn as much as I can.

My name is Madison and I am studying a Bachelor of Social Work at Flinders University. I will be completing my first placement at Coromandel Valley Primary School and am extremely grateful for this opportunity.

My role/purpose as a social work student is to respond to the needs of the students and school community. I aim to advocate successful learning outcomes through the relief of distress, the removal of barriers or inequalities, and assisting students to realise their full potential in a safe and inclusive learning environment.

Over the course of my placement, I hope to deliver and engage in programs that reflect areas of mental health, building friendships, body image, peer pressure, bullying, and dealing with difficult emotions.

Our children are using the internet.  This is okay. It’s a part of their world, as it is ours.   We need to remember though, that like we closely watched our child on the playground as a pre schooler, as parents we need to be watching our children when they are online.

Not everyone on the internet is a nice person, just like that playground.  But in this ‘space’ anyone can be there: child, teenager or adult, from any part of the world.

Some people put things on the internet, that our children (and even ourselves) don’t like, or want to see or hear.

There is a ‘challenge’ circulating at the moment, that’s been around a few times over the past few years, and has reappeared again this week.  It’s not the first of its kind, and it most definitely won’t be the last.

Please read the facts about this in the linked article: https://www.snopes.com/news/2019/02/26/momo-challenge-suicide-game/

Whenever we see things like this, or hear about these type of internet scary stories, check SNOPES first. It’s a fact checking site for hoaxes and fake news. Our kids may often hear about these types of things at school, but most likely it’s the caring, diligent parents amongst us who are becoming alarmed by the disturbing content some individual(s) are putting online.

MOST importantly we need to make sure our children use the internet on devices in a ‘public’ area of the home, and ensure they know to close the device and come to us safely whenever they see something they find scary, threatening or inappropriate online. 

Finally, we need to know the favourite apps our children are using (whether it’s YouTube comments, chat in Fortnite, content on TikTok), and work out the parental controls, if there are any, and how to report anything inappropriate.

Michael Shaw

Assistant Principal

Year 7: Science – classification.

We worked with the teacher at the zoo to figure out different classes of animals. Although our time was quite limited, we managed to see plenty of animals and look at their genus and species levels.

I learnt about classifying animals with the seven levels: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. Nathan

You can remember this order using, “keep ponds clean or frogs get sick”. Sebastian

At the zoo I learnt the above, and: goats are sneaky, one stole food; snakes have small tails. Nick

Days of Swimming, Scary but Fun

Water splashing, kids trying to catch a breath, it’s swimming time so get your bathers on!

Splash! the sound of a thousand arms thrashing through the chilly iceberg water. Instructors teaching us how to live near water and survive in very dangerous situations. Calling for help, survival strokes are what we learnt to do.

What a stunning week of  having fun, swimming like champs and everyone trying their best.

Class 4M

In week 4 the year sixes and sevens attended  Port Noarlunga beach to do aquatics. The activities that we did included; surfing, snorkelling, boogie boarding, stand up paddle boarding, fishing, canoeing, wind surfing and wave skiing. All were extremely fun and exciting. Everyone has learnt a lot.

On the first day the weather was a bit colder than we would have liked however, we were provided with warm wet suits to swim in, yet the sea was not as cold as we had expected.

The second day was a few degrees warmer and so was the sea.

My favourite activities were, snorkelling, boogie boarding and wave skiing.

Snorkelling was one of my favourite because it was easy to get around and was surprisingly clear to see the fish around us, it was also easy to see the scenery.

Boogie boarding was also one of my favourites because it was simple to understand and easy to move along the water.

Wave skiing was one of my favourites because it was fun to push yourself along the water and ride the waves.

We were very grateful that they provided the equipment for us and we didn’t have to bring any extra items as it would be hard to take with us. 

I am extremely grateful that we got the chance to do aquatics at Port Noarlunga beach.

Olivia and Alice

The Receptions visited the Road Safety Centre and learnt all about how to keep safe when playing outside, walking & riding on footpaths, wearing seatbelts and crossing the road. Our hosts, Grant and Merrilyn were fantastic and helped to make it a very enjoyable and educational experience. All the children were able to have a go at riding a bike around the ‘simulated’ road track and practise the road rules they had learnt. A big thank you to our parent helpers who came along and volunteered their time!

On Friday, Southern Heights and City South districts held their annual combined Swimming Carnival. It was a nice balmy evening and the carnival ran rather smoothly.

Well done to the following students who represented our school: Aaron M, Finn H, Alex V, Ewan C, Flynn M and Jethro B.

A big thanks to Dermott for timing the freestyle events.

Mr De Lyster

PE Teacher

We had a fantastic session in week 2 and I was so impressed with how well everyone worked together and joined in the learning.

The first week is always a set up week , learning about the equipment, looking at the coding software and of course getting to know our EV3 robot.

By the end of the session in Week 2 : 

• Everyone was coding their robots to move forward/backwards, 
• Experimenting with different coding parameters and meeting the 4 levels of challenge presented.
• Understand the difference between 'Move Steering' and 'Move Tank' Block : Figure of 8 challenge completed

In Week 3/4:

• Maze Challenge - Utilise knowledge from previous weeks to navigate the mat
• Charles -- Will be embarking on the Gripper challenge (fondly known as "Bomb Disposal challenge")

In Week 5/6:

• Robot Wave Challenge - Students will have to organise and display team communications skills to achieve this.  I will attempt to capture a video of their effort (Just the robots).
• Introduction to Loop and Data wires
• Charles -- Gripper Challenge and Switch coding extension programs

In Week 7/8:

• Dance Challenge - Students will work together to create coding for the robot to dance.  The chosen song will the, "Hokey Pokey".
• The coding challenge in this involves understanding the flow process,  knowledge of the coding blocks and trying to synchronise to the beat. 

The key in this program is for the student to utilise their knowledge and navigate challenges successfully by exploring, experimenting and refining their coding.

I have attached a website below, if you are interested in virtual robotics.

https://www.virtualroboticstoolkit.com

Morgan

Robokids Director

Next week, I will be talking with some of the Upper Primary classes about inclusivity and kindness, with a focus on how we can feel safe at school, help others to feel safe at school, and how to stand together to ensure a safe classroom environment. We will also discuss what are respectful relationships, and how we build respect within the class community.

There is a great article explaining how Random Acts of Kindness can improve your own Wellbeing. Here is just a snippet:

“Why do random acts of kindness increase a person’s sense of happiness? Because kindness can promote gratitude. You are kind to others in need; having that awareness then heightens the sense of your own good fortune. Kindness promotes empathy and compassion; which in turn, leads to a sense of interconnectedness with others. Kindness can forward the will to live in depressed individuals who feel isolated and different; that is why performing volunteer work is so powerful. When you feel connected with others, you lessen alienation and you enhance the sense that we are more similar than dissimilar in our experiences. Feeling connected melds us together rather than divides us. Kindness is potent in strengthening a sense of community and belonging. “

https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/emotional-nourishment/201711/why-random-acts-kindness-matter-your-wellbeing

Jenni Forder

Pastoral Care Worker

As you know, we are offering Children’s University again this year to students between year levels 3-7.

This is a great opportunity for all students to continue building successful habits of learning in their own time outside of their classroom learning activities. More information can be found at www.childrensuniversity.com.au

Nomination forms and payment to be returned to the office by Thursday 14th March.  Please find attached the enrolment form or they are available at the front office.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to email me on dan.johnson50@schools.sa.edu.au.

Dan Johnson

Yr3 teacher

When enrolling your child at school you must provide emergency contact information and details of any medical conditions that may require intervention at school.  Please inform the school immediately of any changes to contact details or the medical condition of your child.

Students are under our care while at school. Staff are trained and competent to deliver first aid in response to illness, allergic reaction or injury.

If your child is showing signs of illness, please keep them home for the day.  Children who are vomiting must be kept home for 24 hours after the last episode.  If a child becomes sick at school, they will be assessed by a staff member before a parent or carer is contacted.

Medical conditions and care plans

Where a medical condition has been identified, parents are asked to provide a health care plan written and signed by both a relevant health professional and a parent. All medications, including short term, must be accompanied by a care plan and have a pharmacy label. The care plan should document recommended emergency and routine health care support. All care plans should be monitored and reviewed every 12 months or earlier if there is any change. 

Self-management of medications needs to be an agreement between parents and the school. It is not age related, but the student needs to have a good understanding of their medication.

Medical emergencies

In the event of a medical emergency an ambulance will be called and a parent or carer contacted. If you do not have ambulance cover the cost of the ambulance service is covered by The Department for Education.  Any student transported by emergency services will be accompanied by a staff member.

Jenny Tucker, SSO First Aid

**ISSUE 2 BOOK CLUB OUT NOW**

All orders are due to the front office by WEDNESDAY 20th MARCH.

Please ensure that all details are completed on the order form, including the students name & class, contact number & credit card details for those paying online.

NO LATE ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Bron

 From the Church

During lent ( March 6 to Easter) our church will be open during afternoon school pick up time. (2.30 - 3.15 pm Monday to Friday) 

We would like to invite you

⁃ to come into the church to look at our beautiful stained glass windows

⁃ to sit in the quiet for a few minutes

⁃ to drop off a can of food or a packet of pasta for the needy

⁃ or to drop off /fill in a ‘please pray for slip’

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please pray for ............................................(eg Jane) 

Because........................................................(eg has to have surgery next week)

(This information will be kept confidential)