From the Principal…
Welcome Back,
On behalf of the staff at the Canberra Montessori School, I would like to welcome the entire community back for Term 1 2010.
My first impression of CMS is one of a supportive community with huge heart. Teachers and parents have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome in my new home. It has been fascinating learning about the history of the Canberra Montessori School; I think the success of the school is a testament to the tremendous vision of the founding families and the courage of new families that come to the school each year looking for an authentic Montessori education for their children.
My goals for the year are to stabilise the operations at the school, to build trust amongst the school community and to look for new ways to grow the school. Most of all, I plan to enjoy the children at the school. I look forward to them teaching me about Australia, and I will share with them a little about Canada as well.
When I discovered Montessori Education, 7 years ago, after teaching in a mainstream school for 12 years, I was amazed at how my own educational philosophy matched with the Montessori Method. My belief in prepared environments, guided choice and intrinsic motivation were validated by my observations in Montessori Classrooms. But I soon learned that there was a higher purpose to Montessori Education – one that I never forget to observe every day: Montessori schools are peaceful places. There is a joy at our schools that is difficult to measure but it is always present. As I watched the children bounce in to school on the first day, I felt a great sense of calm and reassurance as it is the same energy that children brought to my previous school – 30,000 km away but connected by a common set of values.
I look forward to meeting all the members of the school community at our upcoming evenings and special events. I wish you a happy and successful first term.
Peace
Jack Rice
Principal, CMS
Upcoming Dates
TERM 1 2010
Feb 1&2 Pupil Free Days
Feb 3 Children return to school
Feb 10 Meet & Greet 7pm
Feb 11 NEW Meet & Greet 7pm Red Gum
Feb 12 NEW Picnic – 5.30pm Meet the New Principal
Feb 20 Working Bee 9am – 3pm
Feb 24 Parent Education Evening 7pm
Feb 25 New Parents’ Morning Tea 9.15am Holder
Mar 3 Canteen Day
Mar 5 Schools Clean Up Day
Mar 8 Canberra Day – Public Holiday
Mar 16 Annual General Meeting 7pm
Mar 25 Cycle 2/3 reports due
Apr 2 Public Holiday – Good Friday
Apr 5 Public Hoilday – Easter Monday
Apr 7 Canteen Day
Apr 9 Last day of Term 1
Please check the Bulletin regularly for changes to published events.
Term Dates for 2010
Term 1: 3 February – 9 April
Term 2: 27 April – 2 July
Term 3: 20 July – 24 September
Term 4: 12 October – 15 December
Parent Education Evening
Please mark Wednesday February 24th on your calendar as that is our first Parent Education Evening of the year. The mingling starts at 7 p.m. to be followed by demonstrations in the Cycle 1 and 2 classrooms. A “Standardized Montessori Quiz” for parents will follow and those parents with perfect scores will be entered into a special draw (rest assured, no results will be published). It should prove to be a fun evening, see you there.
NAPLAN Testing
Interested families may like to view on our website Jack’s response to the NAPLAN Testing results.
Do we have your up to date
email address?
Future Bulletins will be emailed to families and posted on our website. If you have not been receiving them by email please make sure we have your current email address as it is also used for many other important messages from the school.
Please Note Changed Date
Re BBQ – Meet the New Principal
Jack’s family arrived yesterday (Wednesday 3rd)! To allow them to get settled and able to enjoy this event as a family, the BBQ has been postponed until Friday 12th February.
New details:
BYO picnic
(BBQ facilities available)
Venue: Weston Park Yarralumla (follow signs)
Date: Friday 12th Feb
Time: 5.30pm
Temporary School Closure on days of Catastrophic fire danger rating
Parents, carers and students need to be aware that the Canberra Montessori School will be closed on days where a fire danger rating of “catastrophic” has been reached. This decision has been made following a risk assessment by the ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA).
The daily fire danger rating is published by the ESA and announced in the media. A rating of catastrophic means that if a fire starts, it is likely to be uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast moving, similar to the January 2003 event. On such days, advice from ESA is that people in areas of Canberra identified as “at risk” should relocate to other areas. Further information is available on the ESA website http://www.esa.act.gov.au.
It is expected that a Fire Danger Rating of ‘catastrophic would be declared by ESA around 4:00 p.m. to be effective the following day. It is the responsibility of parents and carers to not attend school on days with a fire Danger rating of catastrophic. While the school will endeavour to reach families by use of the school website and voice mail systems, parents and carers should not expect to be contacted directly by the school and are advised to be aware of ACT emergency management communication channels such as local radio, television and online services such as www.canberraconnect.act.gov.au.
It is important to note that catastrophic fire ratings are very rare. Only 6 days in the last 53 years would have yielded conditions in Canberra where the fire rating index would have exceeded 100 (catastrophic level). Our first concern at CMS is the safety of our students; this policy simply supports this fundamental priority.
Jack Rice
Principal
CMS
Reminder: for families who are paying by 10 monthly instalments, the first one is due on 26th February 2010.
Tree Planting – Family Sponsorship
With the official opening of the new building early in March (date to be confirmed) a tree planting opportunity is provided. Families will be able to nominate a tree they wish to sponsor.
An outline of the plan is as follows:
Trees are being selected from Yarralumla Nursery
A list in the office will be available shortly for families to select their tree.
Cost of trees and metal tag with family name engraved will be $15 - $20
At the working bee on 20 February the ground will be prepared from 9am – 11am
Families can plant their tree from 12 noon
At the official opening the guest of honour will plant a tree to mark the occasion.
Thank you to Charlie Blumer for taking this project on.
Back to school vaccination
With children returning to school, parents are urged to vaccinate them against a resurgence of H1N1 influenza.
As with all flu viruses, H1N1 influenza spreads easily from person to person and when it gets into a school or child care centre it can quickly spread to children and their families. Parents need to get themselves and their children vaccinated.
During the pandemic in Australia last year the highest rates of hospital admissions was in children aged 0 to 4 years and intensive care admissions were highest in babies less than one year old. Almost 75% of children less than 10 who were hospitalised with pandemic influenza had no underlying medical conditions.
The H1N1 influenza vaccine can’t be given to babies less than six months of age. To protect these vulnerable children, parents are urged to have the vaccine.
Children aged 6 months to 9 years require two doses of the Panvax® H1N1 influenza vaccination given at least four weeks apart.
People aged 10 years and over require a single dose of Panvax®.
Once vaccination is completed you will have protection against H1N1 influenza for at least a year.
The H1N1 influenza vaccine is free. To protect yourself against H1N1 influenza, book an appointment now with your GP or call the Community Health Intake Line during business hours on (02) 6207 9977.
Dr Charles Guest
Chief Health Officer
25 January 2010
HATS!
Please remember to provide your child with a suitable sunhat during Terms 1 & 4.
“Suitable” hats are either broad-brimmed or legionnaire style (flap at back). The brim or front flap should be at least 8-10cm wide. If your child doesn’t have a suitable hat they will need to spend outdoor time in a designated shade area. Baseball caps or beanies are not “suitable”.