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- Principal's Report
- Deputy Principal's Report
- 100 Days of Kindergarten
- From the DSM Desk
- Step into the Limelight Art Competition
- Lost lunches and 'emergency' sandwiches
- Additional Koori Preschool sessions from 2024
- Improving child, youth and family services
- Big skills for small bikes – Register for the July and September course now!
- Winter in the City – 30 June to 16 July
- Help fight the spread of illness this winter
- COVID Smart Reminder
Dear families and carers,
Learning Showcase
It was so exciting to see all our families on site on Tuesday for the Learning Showcase. The students did such an incredible job, sharing their learning with their special guests and hopefully taught their guests something new. We had over 90% of our families attend. A very big thank you to the teachers and our support staff for their organisation and preparation.
The Learning Showcase, Summative Semester Reports and Parent/Teacher meetings make up the reporting cycle, aiming at providing families with information regarding their child’s academic achievement and social/emotional development. We will be hosting Parent/Teachers meetings throughout Week 3 in Term 3 (week starting 31 July). Information regarding how to book a meeting with your child’s teacher will be shared in Week 1.
Kindergarten to Year 6 Summative Semester Reports were due to families yesterday with Preschool’s going home on Tuesday. Please contact our front office if you haven’t received your child’s report. A big thank you to Sarah Ebbage, Kate Herrington and Dani Hogan for their administrative support getting those reports out.
Staffing
Due to family commitments, Libby Sensei will not be available to provide our Year 3-6 students with Japanese in Term 3. I know that Libby has done a brilliant job building the profile of Japanese at Campbell and we aim for that momentum to continue. One of our regular relief teachers, Ebru Unal will take on this specialist role. She will be provided with support so there is consistency whilst Libby is on leave. Ms Unal is a familiar face to all of our students as she has worked across the school for the last couple of years.
In Week 3 next term, Timmy Holness will be retiring! Timmy has been a Year 5/6 teacher at Campbell since 2020. From his very first term at Campbell, Timmy made an impact in our senior school. He is incredibly passionate about preparing students for their lives outside of primary school and has been a founding member of the Future Focus professional learning, working across the school with all staff. We wish Timmy all the best of luck in his next adventure, and we hope he takes some time to celebrate the 20 plus years he has had in education.
Helen Scott and our new executive teacher, Kerry Johnstone will be job sharing and working with 5/6H (soon to be 5/6SJ). Helen has been working with the Year 5/6 students throughout the year and Kerry comes across from Neville Bonner as their 5/6 team leader. We know they will continue to support our students as we head into the last two terms of the year.
Safe Holidays
I hope that all our families have a safe break and take the opportunity to enjoy some quieter starts to the mornings. Term 3 calendar is already starting to take shape and is looking like another jam-packed term!
Erin Minehan
Term 2 Reflection
What a busy and incredible term we have had at Campbell Primary School! There are too many highlights to mention them all here, but it’s safe to say that our students have had lots of opportunities to engage in enriching and valuable learning experiences.
We kicked off the term with the wonderful mosaic workshops with local artist, Tina Van Raay. Each student from Preschool to Year 6 worked with Tina to either contribute to her phenomenal mosaics (which hopefully we will see displayed next term), or create mini-mosaic boards together. It was great to see the engagement and enthusiasm from our students. Big thank you to the P&C for supporting this enriching experience!
Below is a picture of the amazing near-complete mosaic, which will be displayed outside next to the hall’s corridor.
Our students challenged themselves physically in the Cross Country Carnival, where we saw lots of people strive to do their best and feel incredibly proud of their efforts. Sports carnivals require a tremendous amount of organisation from our staff and help from our family volunteers, which is always hugely appreciated.
Many of our students went on excursions around Canberra and the local area. Kindergarten explored the Lennox Gardens, Years 3 and 4 went for an adventure day at Birrigai, and Preschool students were artists for a day when they visited the Canberra Museum and Gallery. It’s wonderful to see our learners getting out and about more now that Covid restrictions have been lifted. Many thanks to the teachers, support staff and volunteers who work together to make these excursions happen!
Following Reconciliation Day, we enjoyed a performance by Lucas Proudfoot, where students loved learning about his culture and participating in his music and storytelling. Many students raved about how much they enjoyed the performance and we hope we can have Lucas back another time! Thank you to our staff in the Cultural Integrity Committee for arranging this experience!
We also recently enjoyed a Taiko Japanese Drumming Experience, which was a very exciting opportunity to enrich our learning of Japanese language and culture. Many students enjoyed participating in the drumming and learning about this element of Japanese culture, which we can all agree was very loud but lots of fun! Thank you to Libby Sensei for organising.
We’ve wrapped up the term with a celebration of students’ learning, with the Learning Showcase and summative Academic Reports. All of our students should feel very proud of their achievements and growth this term!
NAPLAN
This week we have received preliminary data on our Years 3 and 5 students’ NAPLAN results. Back in Term 1, students in Years 3 and 5 participated in NAPLAN assessments in reading, writing, mathematics and conventions of language. Due to a change in how NAPLAN is now being scored, there has been a slight delay in sharing the outcomes of these assessments with the school and families. Families can expect to receive their child’s NAPLAN reports in Term 3, along with further information about the new scoring system.
Kate Herrington
Kindergarten will be celebrating 100 days of school on Friday week 1 of Term 3!
We have been counting up the days and are very excited to be so close to 100 days.
More information will be sent to Kindergarten families very soon.
What a fantastic term it has been - can you believe we are halfway through 2023 already? With fete, learning showcase, athletics, cross country, Mother’s Day stall and lots of Yumas it has been amazing to see our community being able to come together more and more frequently. Next term is looking to be just as exciting - watch this space! We have had a wonderful term of Defence Club with attendance from K to 3 growing, though with less uptake from our seniors. All students from ADF families are welcome at Defence Club in the CASAC building at recess on their respective days (Mon – K, Tue – 1&2, Wed – 3, Thu – 4 to 6). Sadly, we have also farewelled 2 families this term who are off on the next leg of their ADF adventure - we wish them both well as they navigate their move.
It is that time of year again when many of our families with serving ADF members receive their posting orders for 2024. It is the start of a very chaotic period for families of research, homefind, school searches, Toll visits and inventories, and a million other things (if you know, you know). It can also be an emotional time for the younger members of the family as they start to become aware of the prospect of starting at yet another new school and saying “see you later” to their friends here at Campbell. Part of the Defence School Mentor (DSM) role is to support families as they prepare for this type of transition. This will predominantly take place during Term 4 in the form of small group sessions for students. During these sessions we will work through some age-appropriate art and other activities as well as new location research for older students designed to help prepare for the move. Further information will be provided directly to impacted families late in Term 3 or early Term 4. To assist with planning, I am asking families to let us know that they have received a posting order and are intending to relocate at the end of the 2024 school year, either via the front office or by email (details listed below). I am so excited to hear about all the new adventures to come!
Finally, as we start receiving report cards for this semesters’ learning a reminder about the entitlement for families who posted into Canberra this year of the ability to access DMFS’s Learning Support (tutoring) Scheme. There is additional information here. Also a great resource to keep in mind for those preparing to relocate for after the move!
Should you have any questions or concerns I am available to CPS families Monday to Friday 9:00am–3:30pm. Should you wish to make contact please call the front office or email me directly at Karyn.heitmann@ed.act.edu.au.
Step into the Limelight Art Competition
Dear families,
Recently we ran an Art competition at Campbell Primary School to celebrate 50 years of Arts within the ACT school system.
Seven Campbell Primary students' art works were selected in the finalists. Their work will be displayed at the M16 Artspace in Griffith from Friday 4 to Sunday 27 August. Art from other schools across Canberra will also be displayed. If you have any questions concerning this, please do not hesitate to write an email to Peter Lawson at peter.lawson@ed.act.edu.au .
Looking forward to seeing the amazing work of Campbell Primary displayed for all of Canberra to see.
Kind Regards
Pete Lawson
Campbell Primary Arts Specialist
Lost lunches and 'emergency' sandwiches
We are experiencing a number of students on a weekly basis who have had unsuccesful lunch orders, lost lunches or damaged lunches. If your child fits in to this category, they will receive an 'emergency' jam or vegemite sandwich from the Front Office staff.
Due to the high workload in the front office, we cannot guarantee we will be able to advise you at the time, but on these occasions your child will receive a note to bring home to you.
If your child was supposed to receive a lunch order, please take this up directly with the canteen.
The canteen contact details are 6214 3582 or canteen@campbellpandc.com as the school does not have access to Flexischools orders/information.
Additional Koori Preschool sessions from 2024
Additional Koori Preschool sessions will be available at the start of the 2024 school year for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the ACT. Extra sessions of 15 hours a week will be offered at three of the ACT’s five Koori Preschools: Narrabundah Early Childhood School, Ngunnawal Primary School and Wanniassa School.
Koori Preschool provides children aged 3 to 5 years with a play-based, culturally safe learning program. Families attending Koori Preschool can also attend universal preschool. Children attending Koori Preschool do not need to live in the Priority Enrolment Area. Enrol now at education.act.gov.au
Find out more about Koori Preschool by contacting the Early Childhood Education Officer by email EDUKooriPre@act.gov.au or calling 620 71106.
Improving child, youth and family services
Due 5 July 2023
The ACT Government is looking at how the future design of its Child, Youth and Family Services program can best support ACT children, young people and families.
To help do this, we want to hear directly from the community about what is working and what could be improved. Three simple and quick surveys are open now to capture the views of young people, parents and carers and frontline workers.
If you, or someone you know can help us, please head to our Improving child, youth and family services YourSay conversation page and complete one of the surveys. You can also contact us at cyfsp@act.gov.au.
Surveys close on the 5 July 2023.
Big skills for small bikes – Register for the July and September course now!
Families can now register for the big skills for small bikes course run by Pedal Power ACT. Big skills for small bikes is a learn to ride course for younger children aged 3-8, which focuses on teaching parents and carers how to get their kids riding confidently and safely. This is a beginner course best suited to kids who are not yet riding on their own unaided.
The course includes 5 separate 45-minute sessions delivered each morning from Monday to Friday. Courses in the July and September school holidays are currently open for registration. More information on the course including dates, registration and pricing is available on the Pedal Power Website.
Winter in the City – 30 June to 16 July
The Canberra City Centre will be transformed into a magical winter wonderland from 30 June to 16 July.
The festival will feature snow play, toboggan rides and ice-skating, as well as delicious winter treats, live entertainment, and cosy spaces for all ages.
Book your tickets now and find more information on the Winter in the city event webpage.
Help fight the spread of illness this winter
One of the best ways to help protect you and your family this winter is to get the flu vaccine. It’s important to vaccinate your child as they’re at a higher risk of serious complications if they get sick and are more likely to spread it to others.
Help fight the spread of illness this winter by staying home if you’re sick and wash your hands regularly. Please read the stop influenza flyer from ACT health (1.4 MB PDF) or visit ACT Health Influenza (Flu) page for more information.
As you may be aware, there has been an increase in COVID-19 cases across ACT public schools in recent weeks.
To help stop the further spread of COVID-19 in our school, we are encouraging and implementing the following measures:
- Students who are COVID-19 positive or displaying symptoms (including a runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever) should test and must not attend school while unwell.
- Parents and carers must inform schools if their child is COVID-positive.
- Keep up to date with vaccinations.
- Families can access a free rapid antigen test (RAT) from the front office of their school.
- Nasal and saliva tests are available. Test when symptomatic or as a precaution.
- Practise good hand and respiratory hygiene.
- Distance where possible.
For the latest COVID-19 advice please visit the ACT’s COVID-19 website.