Crafers Primary School

Hi all

As I reflect on our 2019 achievements there are many people to thank.

To the families who have supported us in both big and small ways, sometimes in ways that are visible to others but often more discreet we thank you.

From driving students to out of school events, attending camps and excursions, supporting literacy/numeracy programmes and class projects to running Pedal Prix and Governing Council committees your input has been invaluable. Many hours of volunteering go into providing a wide range opportunities for our students. The input that we receive from the Crafers community is appreciated.

At CPS we are fortunate to have a dedicated team of educators who do their utmost to provide a safe, challenging and engaging learning program. This year we have had strong success in improving educational outcomes. The number of students maintaining or attaining high results has increased across reading, writing and numeracy.

Earlier this year I indicated our strategic intentions and I am very pleased to report that each of the following has developed well with several initiatives in place.

• Teaching and Learning – wrap up of the Visible Learning project and transition into a new collaborative learning model for staff
• Learner Support Framework – Student Review Team that leads the management of additional learning support programs
• Information Communication Technology – installation of fibre optic cable that has made significant improvement in our connectivity. Planning for 2020 which will see the development of new ICT resources and learning programs
• Wellbeing Action Team – Leading the development of a CPS Wellbeing Strategy incorporating individual, small group and class programs for learner wellbeing.

Our CPS Outreach program has had a very successful first year. Many community members enjoyed the Outreach Expo on Monday night in the gym as a part of our Community Night. CPS Outreach is an opportunity for students and teachers to identify a way to ‘learn through helping’. Each class has developed its own project and the results have been outstanding. Classes have cooked morning teas and collected food donations for Hutt St Centre, loaned money to entrepreneurs through kiva.org, collected books for others, worked with RSPCA, fundraised and assembled solar lights for those without power, made shoe boxes of love and worked on recycling and local sustainability projects.

I have been thrilled with the way that staff, students and community have embraced the Outreach project and look forward to its continuation in 2020.

As the school year comes to a close there are always mixed feelings as we bid some students, families and staff farewell.

We wish all of those people the best of luck in their new adventures in 2020. 39 Year 7 students and 15 Year 6 students transition this year and head to a variety of high schools. They have grown to be strong leaders of CPS and go into high school with a wide variety of pathways. We look forward to hearing more of their achievements over the coming years.

Thank you for the way that you have supported CPS in 2019. Enjoy a safe and happy holiday period.

On Monday evening the school community enjoyed a balmy evening out on the oval, entertained by the orchestra, band and choral group. It was a lovely opportunity for families to share a picnic meal and unofficially wish the year sixes and sevens that will be leaving us in 2020 farewell. 

In week six, the year 7s went to Port Vincent for our aquatics camp.

We left the school early in the morning and traveled on a bus for three hours. The bus ride was good and we were definitely ready to get off by the end.

When we arrived at the Tuckerway Hostel, we ate lunch, unpacked our stuff, changed, and then walked down to the beach for our first activities.

When we got down to the beach, the instructors explained what we would be doing that day. We had four activities to do. They were: knee boarding, windsurfing, kayaking and sailing.

At the end of the day, we all walked back up to the Tuckerway Hostel and got ready for dinner. 

It was very hot inside the dorms and everyone talked for ages. Eventually, we all fell asleep and slept through the night.

In the morning, we all got up early and had breakfast. We had the choice of either cereal or toast. After packing up, we walked down to the beach to do our second set of activities.

During the camp, everyone had the opportunity to do the four activities twice. Unfortunately, because of the dangerous fire conditions, camp shortened to two days. Luckily we did leave when we did, as the next day there were two fires on our route home. As the day and the camp ended, we were all very tired and happy to go home. The bus ride was good and we got home in no time. The camp was so much fun and everyone enjoyed it.

An ongoing tradition at Crafers Primary School is for our House Captains to run a competitive knockout volleyball competition in Term 4. They hold two competitions, one for the Year 4/5’s and another for the Year 6/7’s. This year we had 18 teams enter the competitions and it was a great success. The competition was fierce and it drew in large crowds that enjoyed sitting on the sideline barracking for their favourite teams. 

Congratulations to DSS for taking out the Year 4/5 competition and Wubzy for taking out the Year 6/7 competition.

I would like to say a massive thank you to all the House Captains for their hard work in organising such a successful competition. They have put in a lot of their own time into organising and running the event and I know the other students are extremely grateful for their efforts.

Victoria Gaetjens

We would like to thank all the dedicated parents and students from Room 12, Mrs. Kaeding’s class and Room 3, Felicity’s class who put in a tremendous amount of energy into this garden makeover which formed part of their “Buddies Sustainability Project”.

We would also like to acknowledge and thank Jane and Peter Rowat from the Karkoo Nursery, who so generously supported us with plants and water feature at cost price. You can find Jane and Peter at 207 Main Rd, Blackwood SA 5051. 

Please note that next year the lunch orders will change to Wednesday and Friday. Please continue to use QKR to order directly with Maria's.