Message from the Principal

September 21 is International Day of Peace and our school intends to celebrate. In Cycle 1 children will be encouraged to wear white on the day and will be making peace flags to mark the occasion. In Cycles 2 and 3 the students will gather for an assembly in the morning around the peace pole and will engage in songs and discussions of the importance of thinking globally while acting locally and the impact all of us can have in making the world a more peaceful place. In addition, Cycle 2 and 3 students will be making travelling peace stones; these are rocks adorned with peaceful messages and left at locations where they can be found by other travellers on their journeys. It should be a fun day.

It won’t be long until we head into summer and the School Fair and the Narooma family weekend will be upon us. Please note that we will have 2 pupil free days during the fourth term. First will be the day before school officially begins on October 12^th and the second will be on the Friday before the Narooma weekend which will allow families an extra day to journey to the coast.

Finally a special thank you to Lucy Reynolds and Kerrie Pillay for their presentation of “God with know hands” this past Wednesday evening. Many parents commented to me on how impressed they were with the talk and how amazed they were that so many disciplines could be inspired from one lesson. The evening marked our final Parent Education session on the calendar and I thoroughly enjoyed each of the presentations this year. If you have ideas for next years presentations please let us know.

I hope all CMS families enjoy a relaxing school break.

Peace,

Jack Rice

Principal, CMS

“Establishing a lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.”

                                                ~ Maria Montessori

Term Notice

There are currently 80 families on our school’s waiting list. Families that are leaving our school must provide 1 term’s notice or they will be charged a term’s fees in lieu of notice. We must be strict on this policy as we need to give families on the waiting list offers of place in a reasonable amount of time. So, if your family’s journey is taking you away from us next year :( please let us know as soon as possible. - Jack

Sep16    Fundraising Committee Evening

Sep 21   International Day of Peace

Sep 22   Canteen Day

Sep 22   Learnscapes Committee Meeting

Sep 24   Last day term 3

TERM 4 2010

Oct 11    Pupil Free Day
Oct 12    Children return to school
Oct 13    Fundraising Committee Meeting
Oct 14    Learnscapes Committee Meeting
Oct 16    Working Bee
Oct 20    Canteen Day
Oct 21    Fundraising Committee Meeting
Oct 24    Working Bee
Oct 30    Spring Fair

TERM DATES FOR 2010

Term 3:  20 July – 24 September

Term 4:  12 October – 15 December

School Survey

Thank you to all families that participated in our school survey. Results will be tabulated over the next couple of weeks and I should be able to report back in an upcoming newsletter. The response rate on the survey has been excellent! I think it speaks volumes about our community that so many people were willing to take the time to provide the school with such valuable feedback. - Jack

Training

Some parents may not be aware that there are a few staff members at our school that are indeed students themselves. Carolyn Hunter has been working on the AMI 6 – 12 training and Tomomi Ohashi is just about finished the AMI 3 – 6 course. Montessori training is not easy; it takes a tremendous amount of commitment and dedication to be able to complete the assignments and hours of observations. I wanted to take this opportunity to formally recognize Carolyn and Tomomi’s efforts and assure them that a celebration is not far off. - Jack

NAPLAN

Parents will have received reports of their child’s achievement on the NAPLAN standardized tests. I had the privilege of supervising the testing and I thought the children brought a great deal of seriousness and energy to the task. It would appear that our school did quite well this year in relation to the National Averages but again our school is so small that comparisons to overall results can be misleading. The key from my point of view is that the students were able to practice test taking which they will no doubt be faced with in the future. Over the coming weeks we will take a look at the trends in the data over the past 3 years to see if there is any data that can inform any of our practices in the future. – Jack

What To Wear to School Today?

Please remember to send your child to school in shoes that will be safe to play in, preferably closed in shoes that are firmly fastened. Ballet slippers/crocks etc. don’t offer safe support in the playground situation.

CMS also asks that children are not sent to school wearing logo-type clothing e.g. Disney, MacDonalds etc.

And lastly … it’s back to sunhats next term! Wide brimmed or legionnaire style hats will protect your child’s face and neck from the increasing UV levels as the days get longer and warmer.

Music in Term 3

What a wonderful time the cycle 2 and 3 students have had in music classes during autumn and winter. The Musica Viva Latin American group Tigramuna visited us in the newly finished Jacaranda building. The quintet introduced students to the art of music making through the ancient musical traditions of the Bolivian Andes, Chilean urban and Southern  folklore, Uruguayan African chants and Afro Cuban/European dance styles such as the Cha-Cha-Cha. Students also studied Big Band Jazz and trumpet pieces from ‘Doubling Up’ and ‘Buzz’ Musica Viva groups. On July 30th both cycle 2 and 3 students went to ANU to hear the Canberra Symphony Orchestra’s ‘Noteworthy’ Concert.

Various dances were learned. The composition of the instruments of the orchestra was revisited. A song writing competition through the ACMF was introduced. Songs from many ancient and modern traditions were learned. The ;history of music was studied through various ballets, operas and sonnets. Various games were played to enhance knowledge of music theory, listening skills and to discern different types of music.

Tuned and untuned percussion instruments were used regularly. Rhythm and beat concepts were solidified with music that encouraged movement. Ostinati were sung and played, songs were sung in rounds and with different parts. The repertoire of recorder playing was increased and sight reading of music was taught and encouraged. Opportunities for students to conduct a small group were provided. The Cycle 3 students visited the Mirinjani Retirement Village July 1st to share songs and recorder pieces with the residents as part of their community work. Students are now practising songs for the International Day of Peace and the Spring Fair. Ask you child to play or sing their favourite pieces of music to you. Have fun.                                                                                                 ~ Alison Waddell.

Clubs

Whether it was Aine or Suki’s gastronomic odysseys, book and gardening adventures or the soulful sounds of the clarinet, I can confirm that the Term 3 club list was a big hit. Next term there are a few more after hour activities for the children to enjoy. I would like to thank the staff that has taken up the challenge to give the gift of their time to enrich the afternoons for the children. - Jack