Dear Parent / Carer,
I hope that this newsletter finds you all rugged up and warm on what has been a very cold first week to winter.
We have had large absences over the past week due to the nasty cold that is doing the rounds. Please remember to keep unwell children home until they are recovered.
Last Thursday I had the pleasure of taking three of our four young school leaders out to a special morning tea. We took this opportunity to share morning tea, prior to the Kiama Sorry Day flag raising and acknowledgement of country ceremony. Usually in Term 1 of each year we spend the day together in Sydney at the National Young Leaders Day, but unfortunately for us the weather had different plans for our day. I must say that it was nice for us to get out and discuss our school in such a wonderful location over a nice milkshake and cake.
Today we have a large number of children braving the cold at Willandra at the 2022 Tongarra Cross Country. Thank you to Mrs Kirby who is the team manager at the carnival, I am sure you will all need a very long hot bath at the end of the day.
Last night our Year 2 students and their talented teacher Miss Alpen had their opening night at the South Coast Dance Festival. During the day they arrived for their final technical rehearsal and during the evening they were involved in two performances, one at 6.00pm and one at 8.00pm . It was a very late night, but the children were fantastic. Those who have seen the performance would totally agree with me that our children really shone last night and are super enthusiastic about the following performances tonight and tomorrow. For those who were unable to make the performance, we will be holding a free performance in the coming weeks at assembly and again in Education week as part of the Community Of School's showcase on education. Thanks so much to Miss Alpen for all your hard work in putting together this performance and thank you to the Kookaaraa parents who have been so very supportive in costumes, supervision and generally encouraging your children. Thank you !
Regards,
Ms Greta Lewis
Principal (Rel)
'Our aspiring writers making the most of their trip to the big smoke at the Sydney Writers Festival'
Despite arranging to meet before the sun had even made its way up for the day, 20 writing enthusiasts from Year 4 - 6 braved the early morning air to travel to Town Hall last Wednesday. The Sydney Writers Festival was a fantastic day organised for primary schools with lots of inspiration provided to the audience by some renowned children's authors and illustrators.
Corey Tutt ('Deady Science') taught us of the many science discoveries made by our early indigenous people, such as the oldest man-made device - fish traps and the preserving powers of egg yolk which were used to maintain cave paintings. Remy Lai ('Pawcasso') shared how illustrators change reflect emotion in drawings. Matt Stanton ('Funny Kid') taught us the power of a twist to satisfy our brains that crave unpredictability. Nat Amoore ('Secrets of a Schoolyard Millionaire') entertained by enacting 24 movies in 12 minutes, and the importance of being an 'ideas thief' in creating books.
Ms Lewis purchased many signed copies of books by presenting authors and illustrators, so keep an eye out in the library and treat yourself to a read. I will leave it to the students to have the final say by sharing some of their important 'take home messages' from their day.
'Let it never be said that these senior students don't know how to argue!'
What do Tessa, Mahala, Amy, Reece and Nyasa have in common, other than being part of our Year 5 and 6 cohort? Give up? They are actually the 5 students making up our rather fabulous 2022 Premiers' Debating Challenge squad.
Last Tuesday, these debaters took on the other schools in our zone during a gala day hosted by JPS. This was the first time participating in a formal debate for most of our team. Not that you would know it if you were lucky enough to see them in action. In an exhausting day, which saw the squad take on Albion Park, Mt Terry and Tullimbar, Jamberoo managed to win all 3 of their debates! The adjudicators commended Jamberoo's effective team-work, polished structure and ability to present a well-thought-out argument.
All that remains is a final play-off against Tullimbar PS in a few weeks' time to decide who will be the zone champions of 2022 and progress to the regional finals' series.
A huge thank you must also go out to our debating development squad, India, Ella, Madeleine, Winter, Atticus, Ava and Amelia, who earned much praise for the visiting schools for the efficient way they coordinated the day when taking on the roles of chair-people and time-keepers.
The keen 2022 MCPS speakers from Stage 2 Ella, Samara, Maebry, Imelda, India, Lachlan, Amelia, Winter, Madeleine and Max.
Each year, many enthusiastic Jamberoo students volunteer to participate in the MCPS Competition. This year was no exception.
I was kept very busy learning all about our checkered history, various countries emblems, rights and responsibilities, the things we do well as a country and the things we need to learn from, racism, bilingualism, and the impact of sport, as I adjudicated the Stage 2 and Stage 3 competition. The presenters all wooed with their engaging manner and interesting, well-researched material. I then threw in some impromptu speeches and AGAIN they came up with the goods, despite only having 5 minutes to prepare their presentation. Jamberoo students certainly know how to confidently speak. Wow!
It was a difficult decision to decide on just 2 representatives with such terrific presentations, from our youngest Year 3s, in Max L and Samara, through to our 'seasoned' Year 6 speaker, Tessa. A difficult, decision but not impossible. Congratulations to Ella and India from Stage 2 and Reece and Tessa from Stage 3, who will be representing JPS at the zone final of the MCPS competition later this term.
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