Dear CMS families,
The weather for the Spring Fair could not dampen the spirits of the organizers, the volunteers or the children. It was a great day and I would like to thank all those who attended and made the day such a special event for the entire community.
I can scarcely believe that we have reached the half-way point of term 4. There are a number of special events on our calendar and I am looking forward to our Arts Extravaganza on Tuesday November 29th and our Graduation ceremony on Monday December 12th. We are also planning a breakfast for later in the term as a way of thanking all of the volunteers at our school who put in countless community hours throughout the course of the year. CMS is a special place because traditions continue, and those traditions don’t just happen, they are made special by an extraordinary effort by all of our families. On behalf of the staff and the children…Thank you.
We continue our efforts to make our school safe, thank you to all of the parents that heeded the memo and map from the children and are following the correct traffic flow in the car park. We will continue to monitor the action and make sure that we continually tweak the environment to make it as safe as possible. As always, slow down and be alert for little people at all times.
Recently I came across a lovely clip from a Montessori parent that I wanted to share with the community. If you look carefully at the bottom of our website, you’ll see a link to the presentation. Enjoy.
Lastly, I would like to mention that our school has recently partnered with a charitable organization in town, named Karinya House; that provides support for young mothers who need assistance. This term we have opened up a couple of spaces in our Parent Toddler program to Karinya House mothers and with the community’s permission I would like to use our annual Holiday Season charitable drive to collect donations for Karinya. We will soon place a box around the office where families can donate new or gently used baby clothes and products for Karinya. More information about Karinya House can be found at http://www.karinyahouse.asn.au/.
Peace
Jack Rice
Principal, CMS
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FROM THE BOARD
This year the Board is trying to make sure we have regular direct feedback and discussions with the various groups and committees that contribute so much to our school. We had Learnscapes in not long ago, and at our most recent meeting the Board was very pleased to welcome Liz Holt, of the Fundraising and Social Committee. Liz gave us a fabulous insight into the history, operations and purpose of the FSC. If anyone is in any doubt as to how hard this team works and what they contribute to the school, you might be interested to know that since 2002 they have more than tripled their annual raising from $9000 to $30,000. By this time next year they will have raised almost $250k since 2002; a truly awesome effort.
It’s important to remember that the FSC adds so much more than just cash to the school, although the new benches and shade-sails near Jacaranda and other projects are testament to what they achieve on that front. They organise fundraising for other charities, like Spiky Hair Day and the Money Snake. They provide great social opportunities for the school to get together as a community. Often getting involved with the FSC is the way new families meet new friends and start making those connections you need as a parent. Of course, participating in the FSC or the events they organise, whether you’re a parent or a student, also provides great enjoyment for everyone, creates fantastic memories of your time at CMS and really helps embed that spirit of peace and generosity to
others that is so important to all of us at the school. (And we can look back fondly on the tea-towels and plates for years to come, although the mangoes will be long gone!).
So thank you to Liz and the team for the work they do and if you’re keen to get involved, please talk to Liz; you’ll be glad you did.
We’re also very excited at seeing the school grow with the addition of the new Cycle 2 classroom. It may not look like much has happened, but watch this space! (Or rather, the space between Admin and Gumnut). Fencing will shortly be going up, concrete pads will be poured and then our new classroom will be arriving all the way from Queensland ready to be set up over the summer. We know the anticipation is mounting amongst the Cycle 1 children who will be forming that first class and we look forward to its opening.
Finally, the Board would like to express our thanks to Steve Stern, who after 6 years on the Board is stepping down. Steve was Chair for five of those years, and steered the school through some of its roughest patches, including the time we were without a principal. He has put a huge amount of his time, effort and heart into this school and the results have been clear. You really can make a big difference to the school by participating on the Board, as demonstrated by Steve, so please consider standing when the AGM rolls around in Term1. Thank you, Steve.
MESSAGE FROM OUR BURSAR, SUSAN TONG
We now have an EFTPOS machine at the front office. It’s mobile too which means we are able to carry it out for our fund raising activities wherever we go.
The facility accepts key cards, MasterCard and VISA credit and debit cards, and can be used for all fund raising projects, capital entry fees, building fund donations, membership renewals, Parent Toddler programme, Gumnut programme, applications and registrations. Unfortunately we are not able to accept payment of tuition fees by EFTPOS. We hope you enjoy this new service.
FELICITY’S CORNER
This time of the year is always busy but this year seems to be especially so!
Recently the primary classes participated in the " life education" program which covers areas of health and personal development education. A mobile classroom was set up outside the Karri class and each primary class had an hour and a half session which involved presentations and activities. All agreed that it was a beneficial and fun way to learn about health issues. The program will be booked again for 2012.
The Cycle 3 class are currently trialling the "mathletics" online program. After a two week trial we will assess the benefit of this as a learning tool.
The primary children will begin a two week intensive swimming and lifesaving program each afternoon, commencing Monday 28th November.
Helen Still our new cycle 2 director will be visiting The school during week 7 to meet the students that will make up our new Cycle 2 class " Waratah". I will contact each family when I have a definite date for Helen's visit.
Transition visits have been happening in all primary classes and open sessions (now known as “Parent Child Sessions") have been well attended this week. Remember that you are always welcome to make an appointment to observe in your child's classroom. See Tonia in the office.
The "arts extravaganza" on Tuesday 29th November is gearing up to be a great event. A sausage sizzle will kick things off at 5.30pm followed by a concert and art exhibition. Please make sure that you return the RSVP slip (in class pockets on Monday) to your child's class director, as we will need to know exact numbers for catering purposes.
Finally just a couple of quick reminders. Please phone the school before 9am if you child is sick or unable to attend. The primary directors have also asked me to remind you that now that it is warmer the children will not have access to heating lunches in the microwave. If you would like to provide your child with warm food, please heat it at home and place it in a thermos. Thanks for your co operation!