Cranbrook Newsletter - Term 2 Week4 2022

Principal's Message

Welcome to our Week 4 newsletter.  I hope all the mothers enjoyed a lovely Mother's Day last weekend. 

Thank you to the Student Council who ran the Mother's Day Stall last week and to the ladies from the P&C, together with members of the PCR group, who ran a beautiful afternoon on Tuesday for our Mothers.

Please be reminded to consult Queensland Health's Time Out brochure, if ever you are unsure about the correct course of action to be taken, when it comes to your child being ill.

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. 

Friday, 20 May is National "Walk Safely to School" Day. This national campaign encourages all primary school children, their parents and carers to walk safely and regularly to school. Remember! Until they are ten years old, children must always hold an adult's hand when crossing the road. 

From My Readings...Are We Raising Great Kids? – Make Caring for Others a Priority! 

Research shows that parents tend to highlight their children’s happiness and achievements over their children’s concern for others. Yet, this should be a priority as children need to learn to balance their needs with the needs of others, whether it’s passing the ball to a teammate or standing up for a friend who is being bullied. 

They need to hear from parents that caring for others is a top priority. A big part of that is holding children to high ethical expectations, such as honouring their commitments, even if they don’t want to. For example, before kids quit a sports team, choir, or a friendship, we should ask them to consider their obligations to the group or the friend and encourage them to work out problems before quitting. Instead of saying to your children: “The most important thing is that you’re happy,” say “The most important thing is that you are kind.” Ensure that children always address others respectfully, even when they’re tired, distracted, or angry and emphasise caring, yourself, when you interact with other key adults in your children’s lives. 

It’s never too late to become a caring person, but it won’t happen on its own. Children need to practice caring for others, express gratitude for those who care for them and contribute positively to others’ lives. Studies show that people who are in the habit of expressing gratitude are more likely to be helpful, generous, compassionate, and forgiving—and they’re also more likely to be happy and healthy. Learning to be caring is like learning to play a sport or an instrument. Daily repetition—whether it’s a helping a friend with class work, helping out around the house, or having a classroom job—help make caring second nature and develop and hone children’s caregiving capacities. Learning gratitude involves regularly practicing it. 

Don’t reward your child for every act of helpfulness, such as clearing the dinner table. We should expect our children to help around the house, with siblings, and with neighbours and only reward uncommon/unexpected acts of kindness. Discuss with your child about the caring and uncaring acts they see on television and about acts of justice and injustice they might witness or hear about in the news. Make gratitude a daily ritual at dinnertime, bedtime, in the car, or on a family walk. Express thanks for those who care and give to us and others in large and small ways. 

Children learn ethical values by watching the actions of adults they respect. They also learn values by thinking through ethical dilemmas with adults, e.g. “Should I invite a new neighbour to my birthday party when my best friend doesn’t like her?”. Being a moral role model and mentor means that we need to practice honesty, fairness, and caring ourselves. But it doesn’t mean being perfect all the time. For our children to be able to respect and trust us, we need to acknowledge our mistakes and flaws. We also need to respect children’s thinking and listen to their perspectives, demonstrating to them how we want them to engage others. Model caring for others by doing community service at least once a month. Even better, do this service with your child. Give your child an ethical dilemma at dinner or ask your child about dilemmas they’ve faced. 

Here’s a simple way to teach your kids to calm down: ask your child to stop, take a deep breath through the nose and exhale through the mouth, and count to five. Practice when your child is calm ... 

Read more from the article by following the link below.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Jeff Capell - Principal

A reminder of our Extra-Curricular Activities available in Term 2

Coming up....

Chappy Week

Week 6 which is 23 -27 May, is Chappy Week.  Our lovely Chappy Danielle is holding a few events to promote the importance of what a Chaplain does in state schools and to raise a few extra dollars to help this vital work.  Our traditional 'Chappy Dinner' is being held in October this year and more details will be available closer to the time.  Please pop in to any of these events and say hi to Danielle and the other members of the Chaplaincy Committee.   

Icy cups are coming back!  Look out for them next week outside the Uniform Shop.

As part of Chappy Week, we will be holding a whole school disco on Thursday 26 May.  The theme is Tropical.  

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

NAPLAN 2022

One more week to go!  Keep up the great work, students.

Positive Behaviour for Learning

A big congratulations to our weekly PBL snappy winners:

Week 3 was Zion.

Week 4 was Leah.

Thanks for being safe, responsible and respectable students.

In Week 5, our PBL lesson statement is:  I Encourage and Support Others.  Have a chat with your family about it.

In Week 6, our focus lesson will be 'I am determined to improve'. 

What is my child learning?

Here's a snapshot of what each cohort is learning this term.

Let's have a look at what the Preps are doing.....

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From The Arts

1/2D have been focusing on their portrait art this week!  Haven't they made a great effort!

After school on a Tuesday afternoon, students who opt in to Drama Excellence with Ms Earle have a ton of fun refining their drama skills.  They were super excited to receive their 'Drama Excellence' badges last week. 

On a Wednesday afternoon is Visual Arts Excellence, also with Ms Earle.  These students have also now received their badges.

Sports News

A big congratulations to Cwade who has made the NQ Schoolboys Rugby League U12s team.   

Sporting Schools Tennis will begin this coming Tuesday 17 May.  It will run every Tuesday, with the final session on 7 June.

Sporting Schools Touch Football will begin this coming Thursday, 19 May.  It will run every Thursday, with the final session on 9 June.

Season 1 sport has now finished.  Well done to all the students who participated - who learnt or developed their skills, worked as a team and had fun.  Of course, a huge congratulations to the Open boys Rugby League team and their coach, Mr Wilson, on their grand final win.  There was huge excitement when they arrived back at school last week!  Team photos are below.

Season 2 options have been advertised and places will be confirmed next week. Forms must be returned by Thursday, 19 May.  Season 2 begins on Thursday, 2 June. You can access a copy of the note below.

Cross Country training will be held AT THE COURSE this coming week, on Monday and Thursday.  Please meet Mrs Woods at the main car park at Bicentennial Park in Hermit Park, ready to begin at 7am.  We would really appreciate some adult help please - just to supervise, not run. Please contact Mrs Woods if you have any questions.  lmvon0@eq.edu.au

On Friday, 27 May, selected students have the opportunity to particpate in either the Bill Nettle Rugby League Cup or the NQ Netball Cup.  Notes have been sent home and must be returned by Monday, 23 May.  Copies of the notes can be accessed below.

From the Resource Centre

Class Borrowing Days

Please return your child’s home reader and library books on the following days:

For students in Prep / Year 1 / Year 2 / Year 3…..you must have a library bag to protect your books.

The Premier's Reading Challenge is here!  

The Premiers Reading Challenge is not a competition, but a way to encourage students to develop a love of reading for life.  Students are encouraged to select a range of fiction and non-fiction books suited to their reading ability and record books read during the reading period, 9 May - 26 August. 

To complete the challenge:

* Prep to Year 2 must read or experience at least 20 books                                                                                      * Years 3 and 4 must read at least 20 books                                                                                                                    * Years 5 and 6 must read at least 15 books

To acknowledge students' great efforts in completing the challenge, a certificate signed by the Premier, will be awarded.

Below are the applicable forms for the various age groups and a little video to get you excited!

It's Guidance Officer week!

This is Cranbrook's fabulous Guidance Officer, Drew.  

Guidance officers are specialist teachers who deliver a broad range of services to school community members. They contribute to the development of a comprehensive student support and wellbeing program that is responsive to the needs of the school community.

Guidance officers may work directly with students in addition to working with a student's teachers, school support personnel, family, other specialists or external support providers.

Support offered by guidance officers includes providing advice and counselling on educational, behavioural, vocational, personal, social, family, and mental health and wellbeing issues.

Thanks Drew, for caring for our students and our Cranbrook community!

2022 School Photos

Don't forget to return your envelopes!

From your P&C

A huge, heart-felt thank you, to the beautiful ladies of our P&C, who organised our wonderful Mother's Day Afternoon last week.  Thank you to those who attended.  The photos were posted on our Facebook page and they are just gorgeous! 

Second-hand Uniforms........If you have any current uniform items that are in great condition but your kids have grown out of them, bring them into the Uniform Shop for a credit!Uniforms bought back are sold on the Second-hand Rack for a discounted price.
Make sure you check in regularly to check current second-hand stock levels and save some money!

Tuckshop Volunteers required!  Come and join our wonderful team at Cranbrook Tuckshop!To keep the prices as low as possible we need volunteers to help out our Convenor.You do not need to give a full day, an hour or so once a week can be of great help!If you are interested please contact Lillian at the Tuckshop or call Bridget on 0402 142 961.

Spotlight on:

Our Inclusion Team!

This term has seen some changes to our team and we are excited to have Mrs Justine Beal join us as our Acting Head of Inclusion.  Justine has had many years of experience in this field and is excited for her new role.

With the departure of Mrs Lindgren, Year 3 teacher, Mrs Jenny Gordon, has joined the team and is looking after the Year 2 and 3 cohorts.

Stacey and Louise have also joined our team, on a part-time basis.

Our Inclusion Team works within the classroom and beyond, to give support to a variety of students needing that little bit extra assistance.  They are very valuable to our  school and we are grateful for their dedication.

Were you caught out in the rainy weather without an umbrella?  Did you know, for just $12.50, you can have your very own Cranbrook Umbrella to take on the elements?  They turn up everywhere across Townsville.  These two were spotted at a recent Pimlico High School P&C Meeting!  Order yours via the Qkr! app, or directly with the office. 

Sports Pride Fridays

Community News

Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information in this issue of our newsletter at the time of publication. 

For all enquiries please contact our School Office on 4726 1222.