Dear CMS families,
Welcome to a new school year. On behalf of the entire CMS Community I would like to wish your family health and happiness for 2011.
The teachers are preparing a busy year for the children. The students will enjoy lessons, camps, excursions, clubs, special events, assemblies, fairs and many more opportunities to engage in their studies. Of course, it won’t be as successful without the parent support that we rely upon every year, so we encourage Moms and Dads to get involved in the many evenings and events that mark the CMS calendar. If you are new to the school and didn’t make it out for the Meet and Greet evenings in Holder and Red Hill, I encourage you to stop by the New Parents’ morning tea to be held on February 25th.
This year at CMS we are focussing on four main initiatives:
2011 marks re-registration of both our childcare and education licenses in Holder and Red Hill. Demonstrating compliance in all areas will take a concerted effort and as much as it is a once every five years occurrence that can seem a bit daunting it will give us time to pause and reflect on all that has been accomplished at our school over the past half-decade. Secondly, this year we have undergone a fundamental change in the way we look at the maintenance of our facility. We began in the summer, pruning, cutting, edging and weeding and I think that the grounds are off to a good start. However, there are many more facility issues to tackle and we want to ensure that the plans are in place for ongoing maintenance and capital replacement. On the education side, as a school we have decided to highlight Writing as a curriculum area in 2011. We know that our children have a love of reading and we would also like to encourage a narrative culture at our school. Therefore creative and persuasive writing will be a theme at our school this year and our focus will extend back from the Cycle 3 classrooms to the way we present opportunities for children to write in Cycle 1. Lastly, we spent a lot of time last year at meetings discussing our school’s values. In our conversations the words Respect, Community Spirit, Independence, Individuality and Caring came through loud and clear and it is our hope that we can continue to articulate our Montessori Principles, not only in words but in actions throughout the year.
So it’s on with the show! I hope to see everyone at our first Parent Education session on Thursday March 3rd and enjoy the busy days ahead with your young family.
Peace,
Jack Rice
Principal, CMS
Our afterschool program continues as last year from Noon to 5:30 p.m. but with 2 changes. This year all students at CMS are welcome in our afterschool program as we have obtained a license for children through to age 12. We are also billing the program differently as we are only charging parents for the time which they use the program and we are selling prepaid hours at the office. Gumnut has been very popular in the first 2 weeks of the term. For enquiries about the program please contact Shannon at the main office.
UPCOMING DATES
Term 1 2011
Feb 23 Learnscapes Meeting
Feb 25 New Parents Morning Tea
9.15am Holder
Mar 3 Parent Education Evening
Mar 4 Schools Clean Up Day
Mar 5 Working Bee
Mar 13 Working Bee
Mar 14 Pub Hol – Canberra Day
Mar 15 Annual General Meeting 7pm
Mar 21 Harmony Day
Mar 25 Cycle 2/3 Reports due
Mar 30 Canteen Day
Apr 1 NEW Disco
Apr 15 Last day of Term 1
Training
Three of our staff will be continuing their training this year. This will inevitably mean some time away from their classes. This is unfortunate for the continuity in the classrooms, however, as a Montessori school, investing and committing to a well trained staff is a top priority. Jackie Kirk and Carolyn Hunter will have completed their AMI 6 – 12 designation by the middle of June, as such they will be absent from school for a few weeks in terms 1 and 2 of 2011. In addition Sarah Beresford Jones is beginning her 0 – 3 training in 2011. The school appreciates the patience of the students and the parents in coping with these disruptions to the normal routines. An AMI training diploma is an extensive undertaking and we look forward to celebrating each of the staff member’s accomplishments when they have completed their terms.
Zoe Clark
I would like to take this opportunity to inform the CMS community that Zoe Clark will be leaving the school at the end of Term 1.
Zoe has been a valuable and integral member of the CMS community since she arrived in 2007. On behalf of our school, I would like to thank Zoe for her contributions and wish her all the best in her future pursuits. I know that Zoe will miss her students.
I am currently interviewing applicants for Zoe’s position in Karri and will communicate with the community once a candidate has been selected.
Policy Review
Each quarter we review several of the school policies. Our entire set of school policies can be found at the main office. The policies we intend to review over the first term are: Accident Reporting, Admin Data Systems, Anti-Bias, Behaviour Management, Business Continuity Plan, Code of Ethics and Crisis Management. A smaller file with just those policies currently under review is also available at the office and your input is welcome.
Financial Assistance Program
The school offers a small amount of short term financial assistance for families that may run into temporary issues in paying their school fees. There is an application form at the main office. Past recipients must re-apply each year.
NEWS FROM THE BOARD, FEBRUARY 2011
The first CMS Board meeting for 2011 was held this week. Preparations were made for the AGM next month and we hope to see many of you there. Several positions on the Board will be vacated this year so there is an opportunity for interested CMS members to participate. We would particularly welcome dedicated people with finance/accounting and project management skills.
Our Board workplan for 2011 was also discussed. Items of general interest include some new capital development initiatives; strategies to further strengthen communication between the Board and the school community and review of means by which the Board can best support the growing school.
On the subject of communication, I would like to alert you to some recent and upcoming additions to the school website. The Strategic Plan for 2010-2012 and CMS Board nomination forms are now available on the website. The CMS survey that was conducted late last year has been painstakingly analysed and the results/conclusions will soon be available. We welcome any feedback.
We wish you all an enjoyable term.
Sue Wigg
On behalf of the CMS Board.
Road Safety
Please remember that Mulley Street is a 40km School Zone from the Grant Cameron Centre to the far side of St Jude’s Primary School and that vehicles are required to stop for children using the crossing at St Jude’s.
Terry Scanlon
Over the years Terry has contributed to making CMS the school we see today. He has willingly given his time and energy to help us in the grounds whenever we need a hand.
Terry helps many other schools around Canberra with their mowing. Now that we have a new grounds team we can allow him more time to help others.
We would like to express our appreciation and gratitude for his generous donation of time and energy.
Cycle 1 Playground
It is a pleasure to see CMS community spirit in action as families chat with one another at 3.00pm pick up time in the Cycle 1 playground. Please be mindful that you need to supervise your children carefully so that garden beds are not damaged and accidents on the play equipment are avoided.