Cranbrook Newsletter - Term 2 Week 2 2021

Principal's Message

Anzac Day March - Strand Park

Fifty of our students from Prep to Year 6, including our school Captains proudly represented Cranbrook State School at the Anzac Day - Strand Parade this year.  Thank you to Mrs Suringa and our other staff members who organised and led our students along the Strand to Anzac Park on Sunday morning.  

Ninja Park Playground Approved

We are excited to announce that we will be adding a new Ninja Park style playground to our school in the near future.  

Student Achievement

Parents were informed  last week via email of any concerns regarding learning outcomes and were as such encouraged to book a time to meet with their child’s teacher. Some parents may ask why they weren’t informed earlier about their child’s achievements and our response is that we work on 10 week units and this period is about allowing teachers to respond to the formative data they are collecting on a weekly and daily basis. After 10 weeks, our teachers will now have a plan on how to move forward for the final 3 terms of the year.

Remember, your child is being assessed against a new Year Level Standard that is the same standard at the end of the year meaning every child has at least another 6 to 8 months to meet the standard. Your child’s new teacher is ready to discuss this plan with you, if you didn’t attend the Parent/Teacher interviews. 

This week, the school coordinated our first parent / teacher interview process for the year. Whilst it is recognised that the fifteen minute window is all too short to discuss the myriad of topics relating to our children, it is an opportunity to establish a clear understanding of both teacher and parent perceptions.

As Principal, I encourage my teachers to seek out parents when issues arise.  Sadly, as good as we all are, there are times when issues exist in the absence of teacher and parental awareness. It is essential that communication is seen as a two way process. Educators greatly appreciate the correspondence from parents that alerts us to difficulties, concerns or general learning blockers.

If you do have any concerns, please do not wait for the scheduled fifteen minute window for reporting.  Contact your child’s teacher in the first instance to express your concerns or to celebrate your child’s learning achievements.

A Busy Term

Our student learning is again forging ahead with our continued focus on Quality Teaching and Learning by implementing the Australian Curriculum as well as our renewal process for the Teaching and Learning of Reading, Spelling and Writing. Our teachers are working extremely hard to increase their professional knowledge and skills in these areas. 

On the sporting fields we wish our cross country runners all the very best as they compete at the District, and for some, Regional, State and hopefully National level. Just like our weekly interschool sport teams we know you will all be proud to be representing Cranbrook.

Looming large for our Year 3 and 5 students will be the NAPLAN testing program in May.  I wish to acknowledge the work teachers and students are undertaking in preparation for this process.  All the very best boys and girls – all I can ask is that you do your best, remembering, Only Our Best is Good Enough!  Parents are reminded that they should speak to their child's classroom teacher if they are concerned about any stress or anxiety the testing may cause.

Breakfast Club

As the weather begins to get cooler in the mornings, we are looking to provide toasties for the students at Breakfast Club.  Donations of cheese and canned spaghetti would be greatly appreciated, as these items are not provided by our sponsors.

Emergency Contacts

Please ensure the school has up-to-date information regarding emergency contacts so that you can be reached if an illness or accident should occur.

Jeff Capell
Principal

Positive Behaviour For Learning

Congratulations to Peyton in Year 3, who is this week's PBL Assembly Draw Winner!

Australian Early Development Census

Playing our Part to Build a National Picture of Child Health

In early June 2021, our school, along with thousands of others across the country will begin preparations for the fifth Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). 

The AEDC gives us a national picture of the development, health and wellbeing of children in their first year of full-time school. Since 2009, the census results have helped communities, schools and governments plan services and develop better policies to target support for children and families.

Children don’t miss any class time, and parents/carers don’t need to supply schools with any new information for the census. The AEDC gives us data at a school and community level - it isn’t an assessment of individual children.

We used the results to support help plan and more effectively allocate the right kinds of services and support for children and families. Some teachers have also noticed that completing the assessments made them more aware of the needs of individual children and the class as a whole and that the census results are useful in planning for transitions to Year 1 and developing class programs.

Participation in the AEDC is voluntary. Parents/carers don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census.

To find out more about the census and how communities are using the data to help children and families visit the AEDC website: www.aedc.gov.au.

If you have any questions, you can contact your class teacher in the first instance.

Amanda Allender
Deputy Principal

From the Resource Centre Week 2

2021 School Photos

John and Pam de Rooy will be photographing at Cranbrook State School from Monday 17th May to Wednesday 19th May 2021.  Students will be handed an order form soon. 

To order,  please submit one envelope per family and include student's Surname, First Name and Class. 

Photo pricing schedule: -

• [A] (21x30cm) laminated class group enlargements - $25 each
• [B] Individual students pack consisting of: (2) 6”x4” & (4) 3”x2” photos - $20 each
• [C] Combination of [A-Class Group] and [B-Single Portrait Pack] - $40
• [E] Sibling pack consisting of (2) 6”x4” & (4) 3”x2” photos of siblings - $20 each
  

When purchasing two or more of [C] from same family one sibling pack is free. Sibling photos are students enrolled at the school.

School/Sports/Music/Indigenous/Environmental Captains, Music Groups, Resource Assistants, Sports Excellence group enlargements - $25 each.

Each student will receive an envelope with pricing schedule.  Please return the completed envelope with payment enclosed to school office before Friday, 14th May 2021.

Please contact Atherton Tableland Photography direct on 0418 980 644 if you have any questions or queries regarding ordering school photos.  On completion of orders, all photos will be delivered to school administration to be handed out to students who have placed an order.

News in Sports

Interschool Cross Country Training

Selected students in years 4, 5 and 6 have received an invitation to be a part of the Cranbrook State School Cross Country Team for 2021.  Some of these training sessions with the team will be held at outside of school in weeks 3 to 5.  Students who have received a letter and permission form must return their form by Tuesday 4th May.  

Training Dates:

• Week 3 - Thursday 6th May
• Week 4 - Monday 10th May & Thursday 13th May
• Week 5 - Monday 17th May, Thursday 20th May

Please contact Ms Von Wald for more information.

Interschool Sports Season 1 - Game Draws

6th May
Rugby League

Seniors - TBA
Juniors - TBA

Hockey

Snr Mixed- 12:30pm v St Ant's Green - Grass 1 Hawks
6 A Side - 1:10pm v St Anthony's - Billabong 1

Netball

Jnr B - 12:30pm v Holy Spirit- Court 16
Snr B - 1:15pm v Holy Spirit - Court 13

What's On in Prep

Excursion - Museum of Tropical Queensland

An exciting opportunity has been given to our Prep students to visit the Museum of Tropical Queensland on their grand opening on Friday 7th May after recent renovation works.

The Preps will be participating in the World Science Festival and engaging in a variety of activities focussing on their Science unit for Term 2, Our material World.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on experiences while exploring materials and their properties. There is no cost for the excursion and travel to and from.

Parent permission is required for all students who attend. Permission forms with all the details were handed out this week.

Please ensure permission forms are returned to your student's teacher before or on Thursday 6th May.

Writing Readiness Skills

Our Preps have been busy engaging in Pre-Writing Skills.  These skills include holding and using a pencil and developing pre-writing shapes - the strokes that most letters and numbers and early drawings are comprised of.  Pre-writing skills are important and enable students to use a pencil effectively to produce legible writing and to assist in the improvement of their academic performance.   

Cat Rowbotham,
Prep Teacher

What Your Child is Learning in Term 2

The following attachments have information on what your child is learning this term at Cranbrook in their Year Level.  For more information on how you can support your child/ren, please contact the Classroom Teacher or Cohort Leader.

What's On in Year 6

This term the Year 6s are studying how natural disasters can affect living things. In particular, how can we use our scientific knowledge of natural disaster to best prepare for and manage our response to these events.

Students will be asked create a Minecraft village which will be hit by an unknown natural disaster! They will write a digital short story about a character who survives a disaster and will even complete their Maths tests in Minecraft! Wow it’s so much fun to be in Year 6 at Cranbrook!

This week, the students visited the Townsville Local Disaster Coordination Centre to support and enhance their learning with a local context. 

Nicole Bartels
Year 6 Coordinator

Mother's Day Afternoon

Mother's Day Stall

From the P and C

Tuckshop Volunteers Wanted

Please contact Lillian Raynor, our Tuckshop convenor if you would like to assist in our Tuckshop -  lrayn34@eq.edu.au 

The Arts Space

Art in a Suitcase

Last week, Year 6 classes were fortunate to have Cassandra Roberts from the Townsville Galleries come to present the workshop Art in a Suitcase.

Students created sculptures of reef creatures, using lightweight air-drying paper clay. The students sculptures were collected and will be used in a collective ephemeral artwork by Townsville primary schools to be exhibited during Strand Ephemera 2021 (17 – 25 July 2021). 

This was an enjoyable and much appreciated opportunity. Thank you both to Cassie and the Townsville City Council for this incredible workshop. 

Chaplaincy Fundraising Dinner

Chaplaincy Dinner Sponsors & Supporters

The Chaplaincy Committee, Cranbrook P and C Association and Cranbrook State School would like to thank the following businesses, supporters and families for their generosity and support towards the Chaplaincy Fundraising Dinner.  

Book Club Orders - Issue 3

Every Day Counts - Attendance

Regular, punctual attendance at school is expected of all students.  Students should be present at school ready to prepare for the day's learning by 8:30am.

Late Arrivals

Students arriving after 8:50am must report to the office to receive a lateslip.  If a student is late, a letter of explanation from the student's parent/guardian must be presented to the office staff on arrival.

Absence

If a student is absent and the parent/guardian has not notified the school, they will receive an automated text message by 10am that day.  

Parents will receive a text message informing them that their child is absent. If you receive one of these text messages, please contact the school to explain the reason for your child’s absence.

A working mobile number should be registered with the school, if available.

Please remember that absence is only marked for the days specified by the parents. If you ring up on a Monday informing that your child is sick and they remain away from school for the following 2 days because they are sick you need to inform us that this was the reason for their absence. You can inform us after the absence via a message directly to the teacher or by contacting our absence hotline or email.

If your child is absent, please leave a message detailing:

• Child's name
• Class
• Reason for absence
• Dates or duration of absence

Absence For More Than 10 Days

What is an exemption and why do I need it?

Every parent of a child of compulsory school age has a legal obligation to ensure their child is enrolled and attending school. Parents can apply for an exemption from this obligation when their child cannot attend or it would be unreasonable in all the circumstances for their child to attend school for a period of more than 10 consecutive school days.

Situations where an application for an exemption may be made include:

• Illness
• Family reasons
• Cultural or religious reasons

If your child is exempt from compulsory schooling, you are excused from your obligation in relation to compulsory schooling. 

The school principal is not responsible for providing an educational program for your child, however they may provide advice on other educational options available. Decisions about exemptions for up to one school year are made by the principal and decisions about exemptions for more than one school year are made by the relevant Regional Director of the Department of Education, Training and Employment, responsible for the supervision of the school your child attends.   

Attendance Award - Week 1

Community News