Crafers Primary School

Hi all

Welcome to Crafers Primary School 2019!

Classes have got off to a fabulous start and are quickly settling into class routines. Thank you all who attended our Acquaintance Night last week. It was a great chance for teachers and families to meet and discuss the year.

We welcome several new families and staff to CPS this year. It has been a pleasure to see new students connect across the school.

In Room 11 Kate Price joins us with her Year 5 team. Kate has recently returned from teaching in England and has smoothly joined the team.

In Room 1 Sybila Ford joins us as Year 6/7 teacher and Wellbeing Leader. Sybila comes to us from Norwood Primary School with a range of leadership experiences across STEM and differentiated learning. Sybila will be leading the development of our Wellbeing Strategy this year with a team of staff and students. This will build on the successful work of previous years and help us define our work moving ahead.

You may have already heard a little about our new approach to student leadership. We are maintaining the traditional House Captains and Student Leader elections as has been held over some time however the work that those leaders undertake will be broadened significantly. The elected group will be known as our Student Leadership Executive. They will operate in three portfolios covering Policy and Communication, Student Wellbeing and Student Voice in Learning. House Captain selection is complete and we are currently finalising the voting process for Student Leaders.

Over the next few weeks the Student Leadership Executive will participate in leadership development workshops at school, developing the vision of the group and the brief of the portfolios. Each class will have the opportunity to inform the executive group on a regular basis. I am really looking forward to developing the model with staff and students over the coming months.

As a part of our Information Communication Technology Strategy we are working toward reliable and high speed connectivity. In early January our Wi-Fi system was enhanced significantly across the school. At the end of this term we will be connected to the Department for Education’s high speed, fibre optic internet roll out. This infrastructure work will position us well for the future and I thank our ICT committee for their relentless work in making this happen.

The Crafers Primary School Site Improvement Plan has now been endorsed by Governing Council and our Education Director Nanette Van Ruiten and will be posted on our website in the near future.

Regards

Garry            

On Tuesday the 12th of February the junior primary students undertook an education session about bugs and slugs. Students explored what invertebrates are and why they are so important to the survival of life on earth. They were introduced to the wonderful diversity of the invertebrate world and got up close and personal with a wide range of living animals. They also had the opportunity to see a range of species and living invertebrate animals up close. This enabled further learning about living things, habitats and life cycles.

John McGregor, Melissa Hurren, Sarah Sutton, Simon Osborne and Anne Holub for the time and effort they generously gave throughout the summer holidays.

These wonderful people watered and cared for the newly planted areas so that they survived the hot weather.

Parents & Friends volunteers organise a range of much-loved regular and ad-hoc activities throughout the school year including:

* Mother’s Day Stall

* Father’s Day Stall

* End of Year Celebration catering

* Quiz Nights

* Election BBQs

* School Disco catering

* Ladies Night 

For many years, our Parents & Friends Committee has been managed by Naidine Cullen and a wonderful group of volunteers. Naidine is stepping down from Governing Council this year and we thank her for her generosity and hard work.

We’re now calling for a new Parents & Friends committee. Ideally, a small team of parents/carers will take over running the P&F committee. Handover will be provided by Naidine and plenty of support will be offered by the school community.

Joining a committee is a wonderful way to make the school a better place for our kids to learn and for our families to come together. 

To register your interest in the Parents & Friends Committee, see Sophie in the front office or phone Governing Council Chair Colin Koch on 0419 878 799.

Note: Committee members do not need to be members of Governing Council. 

Tuesday Afternoon Performance Group will start next Tuesday 19th February 3:30 - 4pm in the Ruth Beare Hall. All students are welcome; we would especially love to see some of our older students come along.

Maths Club starts next Thursday 21st February. Students in Years 2 - 7 are welcome 3:30 - 4pm in Room 1.