Cowaramup Primary School Newsletter

Cowaramup families have a strong connection and association with Cowaramup Primary School.

Throughout the years, Cowaramup Primary School has been characterised by high quality teaching and support staff who have set high literacy and numeracy standards, resulting in excellent academic achievement and progress.

Our school prides itself on developing a positive school culture through managing behaviour in an educative, supportive way.

I  would like to thank Narelle Rodley for her last three years as the Chairperson of the School Board.  She has done an amazing job.  As a School Board we have been fortunate to have her leadership and passion to continue to make Cowaramup Primary School a great place for students to learn.

Congratulations to the parents below who are now joining the School Board in 2021. 

Each have unique skills and abilities and I look forward to working with them all.

Benjamin Ross Warner

My family and I are new to Cowaramup, moving from Busselton two and a half years ago to our rural property which we are establishing into a small business. My son Billy is currently in kindy with my daughter Charley starting in 2022.

We spend our spare time at the beach, BMX track or eating out. My wife is an artist, running her own photography business and I am a fly in fly out Dad.

When not at work I run the farm. Lucky for me I am on a great roster however not all Mums and Dads are as lucky.

I believe my wife and I understand what it means to work hard and I would like the opportunity to represent the Mums and Dads that are working unique arrangements.

Joel Hall

Professional experience (engineer – Department of Water)

o   Strong project management skills

o   Member of professional boards and advisory groups

o   Collaboration with stakeholders, communication and community engagement

• Interest in science, maths and environment (degrees in environmental engineering and science)
• Engaged in junior sport (Auskick coach 2019)
• Community connections (active member of Cowaramup Men’s Shed)
• Good understanding of challenges faced by teachers (both parent teachers)
• Good understanding of bureaucracy
• Sense of humour (Possum – Say G’Day to the Bay day 2019 and 2020)
• Long-term commitment to Cowaramup Primary School (children in Kindy and Year 2)

Michelle Bretherton

My strengths are: 

Understanding the process 

My previous career was in local government in Victoria as a Governance Advisor working closely with the council meetings process and also the various committees in council. My team created the agenda and minutes for the council/committees. As well as helped other teams create policies, frameworks, Terms of References and other processes. I also attended the council/committee meetings to provide support to the Executives, CEO/chairperson in meeting process and procedures. 

Organisation and planning skills 

I was a project lead in the 2020 Kindy play area upgrade. Leading the “garden group” to create and deliver two main spaces, namely the sensory path and Perspex wall gardens. This involved coordinating a number of people to help in four busy bees during the school holidays. Designing the sensory path, organising and acquiring materials and resources, negotiating donations and funds. I also was a main contributor in the creative group helping to deliver mainly the fairy garden. I liaised with the K3 kindy teacher, kindy mums and Precious Plastics to create the rainbow recycled bottle cap arch way and also found, refurbished and installed the big red toadstool.

Relationship building skills 

I have helped facilitate many workshops through my career in local government around organisational change, policy development and team building. Each workshop represented an opportunity to understand the nuances of the particular work area and their deliverables. I was able develop strong relationships with select member’s various teams.

My Interests are:

Building community 

I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the kindy upgrade project. It gave me an urge to stay connected in the community. The root of the community it’s the primary school. Supporting local businesses and initiatives like Woven, precious plastics, Community Garden, Men’s Shed and the Gourmet Food Merchant + other local shops to name a few. I hope to be part of the team who can help shape what our community can be in the future.

Creative arts

I really believe that above technology a strong relationship to the arts is essential. Art, craft, design, music, drama all help build problem solving, creativity, independent thinking skills that are transferable. Our creative ability is what sets us apart from computers. I am a member of Woven Cowaramup and have my own small creative business on the side.

Environment 

Our climate is evolving and we need to set some good examples and habits in our children. What is more “hassle” for us to do now in terms reuse and recycle will become second nature. Looking after our environment should be second nature and building an awareness of our foot print is important. 

This term for Year 5 and Year 6's our topic in Indonesian was Makanan Indonesia (Indonesian Food).  To celebrate the end of this topic we made one of the more well known and popular traditional dishes from Indonesia – Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice).  It was a great way to celebrate all the hard work the students have put into their learning this year.

Sampai jumpa lagi!  - Ibu Vans

We were very fortunate to get some Australian Government Funding through a grant to increase resilience in our students through play.  The Year 5 students have undergone some intensive training to upskill in providing alternate activities for the younger students at recess and lunchtime and become PLAY leaders. 

PLAY (meaning both the act of playing and also standing for the acronym: Positivity, Leadership and Activated Youth) is a wellbeing and resilience-building program for young students.   It has a brilliant impact at schools, working to:

• Build empowerment in students
• Facilitate games across the year groups
• Create a sense of belonging
• Encourage responsibility and teamwork
• Teach the importance of rules and positive values

The Year 5 students have been great mentors and the children in Year 1 and Kindy have been having a blast playing games like Bean, Scarecrow Tag, Duck, Duck Goose and other great activities.  These are really fun games that the year 5's will practice their leadership skills in.

A fantastic effort by all the Year 5's -  it is great to have such a giving and motivated cohort of leaders for 2021!  Next year these games will be out in full force so stay tuned!

The Year 1s headed to the Cape Naturaliste National Park on Friday 4 December.  It was a fantastic experience as Josh from Koomal Dreaming taught us about local aboriginal seasons and many different uses for plants in the area, including weapons, food and medicines.  We were treated to some aboriginal music as Josh played drums and the didgeridoo and we danced like emus and kangaroos.  It was a great day out!

The biggest vegetable Cowaramup Primary School has ever seen appeared on our table today... a 2.8 kg beetroot with a 60cm circumference.  Today we sliced this beauty up and cooked beetroot chips and boiled chunks of it.

Ms Niotakis (amazing gardener) along with the regular garden helpers took good care of the beetroot after Charlee Werren planted them.  The beetroot was the biggest vegetable we had ever seen.

Mrs Tassell said, "It may take a while to cook because it's so big".

We would like to thank Mrs Tassell, Alby, Summer, George, Sonny and Jayke who were our chefs for the day.  We would also like to thank Charlee W for planting the beetroot.

We tried them raw, baked and boiled.  Some people thought the raw ones tasted like soil; "It started sweet but had an aftertaste like dirt," Jayke said.

The baked ones tasted like a sweet soft squishy chip, but Harlee still thought they tasted amazing.  They looked oily and yellow and a bit squishy.  The boiled ones were yellow at the bottom and light red on top.

Three people liked the boiled ones best, and 17 liked the baked ones the most.  Four people didn't like any at all.

Even though they were ugly on the outside, inside they were beautiful.  -  by Harlee Pelham and Roxy Stent

Year 3s had a fabulous time on Monday, squirting each other (and their teachers!), sliding on the waterslide, playing "Duck, Duck, Goose" with buckets of water, and generally just getting down into some wild water fun!

The Canteen will not be open on Thursday 17 December, the last day of term.  However the Cowaramup P&C are generously providing a FREE sausage sizzle.  The sausages are gluten free and gluten free buns are available. For an indication of numbers and if you would like a vegetarian sausage option could you please visit our website on https://cowaramupps.wa.edu.au/web/entries.php?cat=0&sid=57049&catname=eForms&schoolid=73  and indicate how many of your child/ren would like to opt in for a free sausage sizzle.  Please note there will only be Tomato Sauce available as an option.

We have also put this on Notices as an eForm on the App where you can provide this information.  

Rapids Landing DTC is closed from Monday the 21st of December and will re-open on Monday the 1st of February at 8am.

In the event of an emergency on the 21st and 22nd of December please call – 0409 935 793 between 8am and 4pm.

From 23rd December through to the 26th January please call – 9313 0552 between 8am and 4pm.

From 27th January to 30th please call – 0418 269 234 between 8.15am and 4.15pm.

Alternatively please contact your Local dentist and if you receive the Child Dental Benefit Schedule ensure you use this as all our local dentists in Margaret River accept this.  If it is not an emergency you may email us at;   rapidslandingdtc@dental.health.wa.gov.au   and we will respond in February.

Remember to be brushing 2x daily with fluoride toothpaste and floss daily.  Keep sugars and snacks to a minimum and drink lots of water.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR - SEE YOU ALL IN 2021

2021 Booklists for Years K-6 are online and available for ordering. We have two preferred suppliers this year: Margaret River Office Products Depot and Callows. You can choose to order from either supplier or use an alternative.

To order directly online, please click on either of the links below and enter the school codes given:

• Margaret River Office Products Depot
• https://booklist.officebrands.com.au/margaretriver/cowaramup-primary-school
• use school code BTS003

OR

• Callows
• https://www.booklists.com.au/callowsnewsagency
• use school code CPS2021

You are also able to follow the links on our school website, cowaramupps.wa.edu.au to download a copy for your child/ren's year group next year. If you would like a paper copy, please visit us at the school office.

Charges and Voluntary Contributions for 2021 have now been sent via email and placed on our school website. If you would like a paper copy, or any further information, please visit the school office.  Please note these charges and contributions have been approved by the School Board.

Payment is not required until the start of the 2021 school year.