As we move through the first third of Term 4, with the weather warming and the forecast for a long hot and dry summer, we must all be well prepared and ‘bushfire ready’ both here at school and home, especially if living in a higher risk area.

We have recently updated our school’s bushfire response plan for 2023/4, which forms part of our local emergency management procedures.

The bushfire response plan ensures what action we need to take on days of increased fire danger or in the event of a potential or actual bushfire threat. The bushfire response plan also assists the Department’s Security and Emergency Management (SEM) unit in providing emergency services key information regarding the location of students and staff during a bushfire emergency.

It is important that families are familiar with our school’s response in preparation of a bushfire emergency. You can help us prepare for the fire danger season by:

1. familiarising yourself with the following information relevant to our school, which is rated as a R2 site.
2. talking to your child/ren about what will happen if a bushfire occurs when they are at school.
3. making sure your emergency contact details are updated and made available to us before the start of the fire danger season.
4. having your own bushfire survival plan in place for days of catastrophic fire danger or in the event of a bushfire threat.

Our school’s procedures for Fire Danger Days rated as Catastrophic and Extreme

‘Catastrophic’ Fire Danger Days – declared in advance

In the event of the Country Fire Service (CFS) declaring in advance (the day before), a ‘Catastrophic’ fire danger rating for the Mt Lofty Ranges, the school will receive confirmation from relevant department personnel (Education Director / Department’s Emergency Management team) regarding the closure of the School and Out of School Hours Care Service.

If and when this situation arises, no staff, students, volunteers or contractors will be able to attend Coromandel Valley Primary School or OSHC service.

Parents and carers will be informed via SMS and email – as listed on our school’s database.

The following forms of communication will also be used, and can be accessed:

• Letters handed out to all students on the days if the alert is received prior to school dismissal
• Information posted on the school website www.coromandps.sa.edu.au / Schoolzine email, Seesaw notification and the Coromandel Valley PS Facebook Page
• Department for Education – Emergency Information Hotline on 1800 000 279
• CFS Website: http://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/
• Radio: tune into ABC Radio 89.7
• Information provided by the evening television and radio news services

****Reminder this is for the Mt Lofty Ranges District****

Parents / carers should make provision for the care of their child/ren on days declared in advance, as per their family’s bushfire survival plan.

‘Catastrophic’ Fire Danger Days – declared on the day

Although the CFS will generally declare the fire danger rating prior to the relevant day, it is possible for a Catastrophic Day’ to be declared or escalated on the relevant day. In these instances, the department’s specific procedures for ‘catastrophic’ fire danger days change substantially.

In the event of this occurring in the Mt Lofty Ranges, Coromandel Valley Primary School will remain open unless otherwise directed by an authorised representative of the emergency services.

If we receive information of a bushfire approaching the school:

• we will enact our school’s Bushfire Response Plan.
• all people on site will be instructed to move to the Bushfire Refuge, being our school gym/hall.
• families will be notified by SMS.
• our OSHC service and any after-hour school sports will be cancelled.
• we ask that families do not attempt to collect students until the all-clear is given as it is important that Main Road does not become congested, restricting access to emergency services vehicles entering the school grounds.

‘Extreme’ Fire Danger Days

On days where the fire danger rating is ‘Extreme’ we will enact our school’s Bushfire Response Plan, where in the event of a bushfire approaching the school, all people on site will be instructed to move to the Bushfire Refuge, being our school gym/hall.

Families are encouraged to read the Bushfire and your child’s school or preschool brochure on our school website.

Student Free Day – Friday 10^th November

A reminder that next Friday, 10^th November is our final Student Free Day. Staff are very much looking forward to working with Sam Leane, focusing on ‘The Big Ideas in Number – Trusting the Count ’. This work aligns with our site improvement planning and will further enhance our teaching practice in Maths over the next few years.

World Teachers Day - Thank you

Last Friday, October 27th, marked World Teachers’ Day in Australia, a day dedicated to celebrating the remarkable contributions of teachers worldwide. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated team of teachers at Coro who come to school every day to make a difference in the lives of the young people they teach.

Our teachers consistently go above and beyond, especially in the face of the unique challenges presented over the past few years.

Their unwavering dedication, resilience, and commitment to our students make an immeasurable difference in our school community. They not only impart knowledge but also provide support and care, adapting their teaching methods to meet the needs of our students.

Thank you to students and families who acknowledged our teachers last Friday as part of celebrating World Teachers Day. Messages and small tokens of appreciation were gratefully received. Thank you.

Pathway Rectification Project

The Pathway Rectification project is nearing completion with the week beginning the 13^th of November being clean up week. The final concrete pour is imminent, with the pre-constructed handrailing to be added soon after. It will be great to have some extra parking and easier access available in the coming weeks.

We understand that collecting your child / children from the Kiss and Drop Zone at the end of the school day can sometimes be a difficult experience. Please follow the directions of the teacher on duty, who is there to not only keep your child/children safe, but also ensure the careful flow of traffic through this area.

To assist the teachers on duty, please encourage your child/children to be on the look-out for your car at all times. Remind your child to always wait behind the yellow lines on the steps, until the teacher on duty says it is safe to walk to their car. Please stay in or with your car. If, once stopped, you need to call out from your car to get the attention of your child/children, please do so safely. Please do not walk to the steps to collect your child.

The teacher on duty can often see more than the parents in their cars. The teacher is looking out for cars that are about to move on, or those about to stop. Please watch the teacher's hand signals carefully and if the teacher asks you to move forward into a different car park please do so. This is important for efficiency and to stop traffic banking up out onto Main Road. 

At peak times, the teacher on duty must ensure all 8 car parking spaces are filled, and the cars stationary, before the teacher will say it is safe for the children to walk and/or be escorted to their car. As the bank of cars reduce, the teacher will watch out for new cars entering the Kiss and Drop Zone, wait for them to stop, before allowing the children to walk and/or be escorted to their car.

For cars parked closest to the school, the child will be directed to walk, or be escorted to their car on the school side of the cars. For cars parked closest to the Main Road, children will be escorted across the zebra crossing, and will walk along the Main Road side of the cars. This is to make sure that the centre ‘path’ is kept free of children, so, should a car wish to pull out, they can do so, and then proceed to move safely and slowly through the centre of all cars. As cars drive away, the same process happens again.

If you have any questions or concerns, please speak with your child’s teacher, or leadership.

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 2024, please let Karen in the front office, by phone 8278 3693 or email dl.0104.info@schools.sa.edu.au

This will help us with our forward planning for the 2024 school year. Thank you.

A friendly reminder that Friday 10th November will be a pupil free day.

21 schools from across the state took part in zone qualifying tournaments across the year, with Coromandel Valley one of the 11 primary schools making it through to the State Championships.  From the qualifying tournaments, Coromandel Valley was able to enter 5 players, with Finn, Hamish, Jackson, Shravenn and Tyler, taking their place amongst the 77 competitors.

With only the best primary school chess players taking part, it was always going to be a tough competition, and Coro did exceptionally well.   After 8 rounds of play, East Marden Primary took out the State Championships with a score of 21.5.   Coromandel Valley were just 3 points behind and finished in 6th place.   Our individual results were:

    =14^th  Hamish                 5.0 points

    =14^th  Finn                       5.0 points

    =33^rd  Jackson                4.0 points

    =33^rd  Tyler                      4.0 points

    =63^rd  Shravenn             2.5 points

The Chess Club continues to meet on Monday lunchtimes in the Mr Johnson's classroom and anyone is welcome to come along.

On Thursday 26^th October, the Year One students walked to Winn’s Bakehouse Museum and Watchman House as part of their inquiry into the History of Coromandel Valley. Students learnt about the history of Watchman House and Winn’s Bakehouse, as well as taking part in a scavenger hunt around the buildings, looking for artefacts dating back to almost 150 years ago. Students were told a fascinating true story about the baker’s son – Hector Winn, and how he had to wake up at 2 am most mornings to help with the baking, and then the delivery of the bread (sometimes travelling as far as Reynella on a horse and cart).

Winn’s Bakehouse Museum and Watchman House will be open again for a special morning tea on Saturday 2^nd December, and all families are encouraged to visit these historic places and learn about their history. More information can be obtained by contacting the National Trust of Coromandel Valley.

Sustainability at Monarto Zoo

We went to Monarto Safari Park for an excursion for sustainability. The thing I learnt was that the sustainability at the park was very big to make the animals feel like they’re at home. The thing that I also learnt was that they have a box there that you put your old phones in. They will take out the coltan metal because in Africa they collect coltan to make phones, they have to mine to get the coltan for the phones, which means they have to chop down trees, Monarto are trying to stop that so they can save the chimpanzees.

My favourite animals there were the chimpanzees, especially the baby. The mamma of the baby was cleaning it. The chimpanzees were doing some acrobatics on the hoop together. The other thing I liked was the Meerkats. There was a tunnel from habitat to habitat. We also got to be zookeepers. We scooped up yellow-footed rock wallabies' poo and got to go into a special area in the yellow-footed rock wallabies' enclosure. When we went on the safari park bus we saw some giraffes, they were eating and an ostrich was with them too. One of the painted dogs came super close to the bus. We saw three lion brothers all side by side. We also saw hyenas. My class won against the other class with how much yellow-footed rock wallaby poo we scooped up. When we saw the chimpanzees we got to see the baby and kid chimpanzees eating. We also got to see the other chimpanzees drinking, grooming each other and resting. We also saw some rhinos. We got two class photos, one in front of the animal wall and another at the upside-down rhino statue. We also saw some cheetahs.

By Lily 4/5B

On the 17th of October, we went to Monarto Zoo and learnt so much! Sustainability is a very big part of life for the animals and people at Monarto Zoo. If you are an animal living at a zoo wouldn’t life be great? The answer depends on their habitat as well as what they are given.

Keepers have a big job caring for the animals and maintaining their living environment, which includes cleaning out their poop, making sure they are fed and watered and making sure their habitat is a replica of what it might be in the wild. You have to be very careful at a zoo because even intruders could come here! Other animals such as rabbits and foxes might try to take things like food and hiding places. If you work at a zoo you have to be able to sustain the animal's equipment, e.g. if a chimpanzee ripped a hole in the netting of its swing the maintenance group at the zoo would either replace it or fix it.

I really enjoyed seeing the African Painted Dogs (there is a picture above) right up close because they seemed so curious and cautious at the same time. They know how to defend themselves but at the same time, they are so cute and just look like a harmless house dog. I would’ve loved to learn more about the White Rhinos because they seem like such interesting animals! They have horrible eyesight but great hearing! I was very intrigued about how Ostriches are raised, the females lay the eggs but then leave and it’s the males’ job to raise them and care for them. I had an amazing day here at Monarto Zoo and can’t wait to come here again!

By Freya 4/5 B

Yesterday we went to Monarto Zoo. We got to have a look at all the different types of animals. My favourite two were the chimpanzees and the meerkats. The rhinos have bad eyesight and have to keep their head very low to the ground because they need to smell around so then they don’t bump into anything. They also have less population because of their horns.

People like to kill them and cut their horns, they then sell them for lots of money. Even a little chunk can be worth lots. We also got to go to the yellow-footed rock wallaby’s enclosure to learn about what it’s like to be a zookeeper. We got to pick up the poop and we had a competition with Mrs Taylor’s class who could pick up the most poop. I also learnt about the antelopes. They have a special part in their coat that they use for air conditioning. They trap cold air in there and throughout the day it keeps them nice and cool because they live in the dry desert.

Throughout the day I had so much fun and I wish we could go back there again. I liked watching the chimpanzees go around and seeing what they do in their daily life. Another one of my favourite things was getting to go on the Safari bus and have a look at all the different types of animals I thought that was a very cool experience.

By Amber 4/5 B

On Tuesday we went to Monarto Safari Park as part of our sustainability unit. The staff there taught us many things about habitat, animals and food and about sustainability that we will remember.

Up at the Chimpanzee enclosure, they have a box where you can recycle your devices. The reason that they recycle them is because inside a mobile phone there is a material called coltan. They find coltan in the ground so they have to mine it and destroy an animal’s habitat. If you donate a phone then you are saving an animal's life. At Monarto they have an animal restoration program that they use to increase the numbers of endangered animals and sustain the ecosystem. When they do this they have to put them in the spot where they were before. The reason these animals get endangered is because of introduced species like cats that hunt other animals. Before they put them back they have to kill all the introduced species so that the other animals will survive.

There are a lot of rules for a great habitat. They told us that in a habitat they can’t put animals in one enclosure that eat the same food because they will fight for it. Male rhinos are separate from the females but chimpanzees work together and aren’t separated. For reasons like this, they have to do a lot of research on their behaviour and habitat. To sustain the animals’ good health they have to clean the habitats (scoop up poop etc.) so that diseases don’t spread.

We had an amazing time and learned so much! The staff were wonderful and inspiring. We hope to go back again.

4/5B in front of the upside-down Rhino By Flossie 4/5B

Is Frank Smith Park Your Local Too?

Last weekend a group of keen community members headed along to FSP, brought together by some parents from school (Friends of Frank Smith Park) and Sustainable Onkaparinga.  The afternoon started with a guided tour, run by Tait and Leanne from Sustainable Onkaparinga through the wetlands.  We learnt about the vegetation along the riverbank and the role they play within the ecosystem. Next, we planted some natives, donated by Sustainable Onkaparinga, to help regenerate the wetland area.

It was fantastic to see some smiling familiar faces and their supportive families enjoy spending time in such a special location.

If you think you might be interested in joining in on any further clean ups or planting opportunities, if so, send me through an email at Sarah.Todd476@schools.sa.edu.au and I’ll pass it on.

Aussie Bird Count

The Aussie Bird Count is held for one week, each October as part of National Bird Week.  This aims to engage the broader community in the natural world while getting to know the birds in their local area through participation in this simple, fun, all-ages activity that can be done anywhere

Every class, reception to Year 6 participated in the Great Aussie Bird Count throughout the week.  We used a picture guide and binoculars to help identify the bird species. 

A total of 58 checklists, we sighted 43 species and counted a total of 1,579 individual birds! Go Coro!

Can anyone donate to Minton Farm

The Youth Environmental Leadership Group (YELP)- “Bringing back the Bandicoot’s to Frank Smith” will have their last session with Green Adelaide and the YELP program for 2024.  The Green Adelaide Education Officers have organised for a guest speaker, Bev from Minton Farm, Native Animal Rescue Centre. 

It would be lovely if you could donate something small that the students could take with them, as they are always looking for much needed food and supplies.  If this could be brought to the front office, before Tuesday 28 November, that would be fantastic.  I’m sure the animals thank you in advance!

Some ideas are things like:  rolled oats, Weetbix, sunflower seed, budgie seed, baby food puree fruit, nuts unsalted or you could check the webpage for other suggestions.

http://www.mintonfarm.org/donate-food-and-supplies.html

Sarah Todd

Science Teacher

With the onset of warmer weather, the school vegetable garden is currently in full bloom with a range of herbs, flowers, fruits and vegetables. Students from RL and 1P have been enjoying regular time in the garden with Jenny.  This supports the Reception unit of enquiry ‘Living Things’

I really enjoyed feeding the worms, trying the strawberries (even though I didn’t like them) and I liked working with Jenny - Chloe RL

I really liked seeing the bees and the butterflies in the garden – Archer RL

I enjoyed when I was chasing the butterfly around the garden – Eddie RL

It was fun when we got to plant the plants with worm wee – Halle RL

I liked looking at all of the plants and getting to try the strawberries – Hope RL

I enjoyed picking the strawberries – Levi 1P

I enjoyed growing the seed – Jack 1P

I enjoyed planting the seeds – Amelia 1P

I liked eating the strawberries and planting the seeds – Aurelia 1P

I enjoyed picking the strawberries – Grace 1P

Jenny Tucker

SSO

Following their amazing success at the recent District Athletics Carnival, three of our students were invited to compete in The State Athletics Carnival, representing Southern Heights.

Amber did very well in the shot put and finished 4^th, missing out on a podium finish by the narrowest of margins.

Sienna performed well in discus, finishing a respectable 7^th place.

Unfortunately, Liam was unable to participate in the discus event due to a broken arm.

On behalf of the Board of the SA Science Teachers Association (SASTA), I would like to congratulate Coromandel Valley Primary School for being selected as a SASTA Science Active School. The Science Active School Program is a new initiative by SASTA to recognise and promote schools that show a high level of engagement in science education within and beyond the classroom. Science Active Schools support and encourage the professional learning of their Science Educators through their involvement with, and support of, SASTA.

Teachers have a unique capacity to promote excitement about science and impact student outcomes. This award recognises the dedication, innovation, and engagement of Coromandel Valley Primary School teaching staff with Science Education.

As a Science Active School please accept the attached certificate to display at your school.  In addition, please use the personalised logos to display on school promotional materials, such as your website, newsletter, and email footer. Coromandel Valley Primary School will also be listed on the SASTA website as a recognised Science Active School.

Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition and thank you for your continued support of SASTA.

Kate Dilger 
South Australian Science Teachers Association     

This year we will once again be collecting non-perishable food items for the Salvation Army to deliver to families as part of their "Christmas Cheer" program.

Please consider donating non-perishable staple items such as tinned fruit, vegetables, pasta, cereal, tea, coffee, long life milk etc, as well as some Christmas items like mince pies, long life custard, Christmas cakes and puddings, chocolates etc.

Donations can be left at the front office and need to be at the school by Friday 8 December.

Thank you for supporting our local community this Christmas!

If you have any questions, please contact Jenni Forder (jenni.forder365@schools.sa.edu.au)

Thank you to the CVPS school community for the generous donations of gifts and money for the Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes.

With all the items that were donated, our Wellbeing Leaders were able to pack 20 boxes to go overseas this Christmas to bless a child in need.

Thanks again for your support of this project.

Please see attached information for parents and students regarding courses available in 2024 from the School of Languages.   The School of Languages (SoL) is a government school that provides after-school-hours access, choice and continuity in a wide range of Languages, to students from all schooling sectors. 

School_of_Languages.pdf