Week 1 Term 3

Acknowledgement to Country

Coming up in Week 2

Monday 29th

Tuesday 30th

• JC Stay and Play (Pre-school space)
• Year 10 Road Safety Presentation by ACT Police

Wednesday 31st

• Mitch Tambo and Lele - NAIDOC Performance

Thursday 1st August 

Friday 2nd

• JC 9:15am - 10:15am Assembly 5/6 Hosting
• JC 12:15pm - 2pm  1/2 Bush Play
• SC 9:20am - 11am 201 Ice Skating

Coming up in Week 3

Monday 5th

• JC yrs 3/4 Bungee Program

Tuesday 6th

• JC Athletics Carnival
  
• JC Stay and Play (Pre-school space)
• SC 10am - 11:30am 203 Ice Skating
• SC 11:30am - 1:40pm Extended Bike Ride 222

Wednesday 7th

Thursday 8th

• JC  8am - 10am Cost of Living Expo
• JC - League Stars Intro Clinic

Friday 9th

• JC+SC  10:10am - 11am Peer support, Science experiments
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Symposium  

Prinicpal's Message

Welcome to term 3.

We have had a smooth start to the term. Students have come back settled and ready to learn, in particular students on the senior campus are adjusting well to a new timetable.

School improvement

This week members of the senior leadership team attended a School Improvement workshop with Linda Bendikson PhD. The workshop was attended by principals and deputy principals from all ACT Public Schools. Linda shared her research on the cycle of improvement; specifically, ways for school leaders to define a problem and plan strategies to gain quick, measurable wins. She challenged school leaders to name priorities clearly and to set challenging targets. This work will assist teachers and school leaders to sharpen our focus in Professional Learning Teams, improve consistency of practice and ultimately improve student learning outcomes. School leaders will use the tools outlined by Linda to help analyse the 2024 NAPLAN data which is due to be released very soon. In the next few weeks, we will share a summary of the NAPLAN data with you.

Social Media

We have been alerted that there are a few CCS associated accounts live on different social media platforms. These accounts are created by people to cause harm to members of our community. We have made reports to Tik Tok and the eSafety Commissioner alerting them to these accounts. We ask for your support to shut down such sites. If you become aware of any such accounts, we encourage you to make reports to the relevant social media platform. As a community we must work together to look after the wellbeing of all students within the CCS community. The eSafety Commissioner website has a wealth of information - Report online harm | eSafety Commissioner

We regularly advertise online workshops and online safety tips for families via the school newsletter. Earlier in the year we also offered the ThinkUKnow workshop for families.

This term, as a part of a health unit, year 5/6 students are explicitly learning about digital safety. Students will use eSmart Digital Licence resources from the Alannah and Madeline Foundation to learn about topics such as -

• Balance in technology use
• Behavioural and content cyber risk awareness
• Identifying cyber threats

Students will reflect on their own online use and the positive and negative impacts it can have on their wellbeing, social skills, and general balanced life. The Alannah and Madeline Foundation website is a useful resource for families.

Special events

This term there are many opportunities for students to display their talents and experience different ways of learning. So far, the term 3 calendar has events such as

• Various Outdoor Education excursions and trips
• Jump Rope for Heart activities
• Book Week
• NAIDOC week performance
• Book Week performance for JC students
• Bush Play sessions
• Athletics carnivals
• Peer support sessions
• Science Week
• Various sport gala days e.g. soccer and netball
• Year 6 combined band performance
• Regional Athletics carnival
• JC Learning Journey AND
• The SC ‘Back to the 80s’ musical.

I am so proud of students who have bravely put themselves forward and dedicated hours of their personal time to practice for the upcoming performance. The dates you need to mark in your diaries are:

7pm Thursday 15 August

7pm Friday 16 August

7pm Saturday 17 August

Tickets are $15 per person and can be purchased via the link. Huge thanks to Ms Hoolihan, Ms Miley-Read and Ms Roberts. They have all dedicated an enormous amount of personal time to prepare students, soundtracks, source props, collate costumes, create choreography (with support from Mrs Cramond) and much more. Thanks also to Mr Hawke for his support creating sets with his woodwork skills. Without such amazing staff opportunities like this would not be possible. I encourage everyone in the CCS community to support the students by coming along to the musical.

Warm Regards

Julie

JC Assembly times

Please note the new day and time for Junior Campus Assemblies.

Every second Friday beginning Week 2 at the new time of   9:15am to 10:15am

we look forward to seeing you there.

Director General update

Spotlight on Staff - Rachel Salter

How long have you worked at CCS?

I’m currently in my 6^th year at CCS.

Describe your role at CCS.

I’m currently acting as a literacy executive teacher on the junior campus, implementing new literacy programs across all year levels. I enjoy teaching students from K-6 but my comfort zone is Years 4-6.

What do you enjoy about working with children/young people?

I cherish the ever-changing rhythm of each day; it's never a repetition. The joy of witnessing students learn is truly fulfilling.

Describe your work in education in three words.

Empowering, inspiring, transformative

What are your strengths? What are you passionate about?

My strengths lie in fostering creativity, adapting to diverse learning styles, and cultivating a supportive learning environment. My passions revolve around igniting curiosity, nurturing growth mindsets, and fostering a love for lifelong learning.

What is something people don’t know about you?

Dancing is my passion. Recently, I've returned to coaching, revelling in the growth and development of my dance students.

Winter Walk 2 School Week

Winter Walk to School Week 5 – 9 August 2024

Are you prepared for the upcoming Winter Walk to School Week?

Winter Walk to School Week is from 5 to 9 August 2024. It is an opportunity for the Canberra school community to encourage walking, riding, scooting or skating to school even in the colder months of winter.

Make sure they’ve got their winter puffer jacket, gloves and a beanie before they pound the pavement.

Whether their walking, riding, or scooting to school let’s continue to venture outside in the cooler months.

To read more and get involved, visit Winter Walk to School Week 5-9 August - Transport Canberra.

Spotlight on Staff - Bec Brown

How long have you worked at CCS?

I started at CCS in 2018.

Describe your role at CCS?

Student support officer based on the JC and Learning Support Assistant Coordinator P-10. 

What do you enjoy about working with children/young people?

I love getting to know students and supporting their school learning journey. It can be so rewarding watching them grow.

Describe your work in Education in three words.

Enjoyment, patience, caring. 

What are your strengths? What are you passionate about?

I believe my strength is my connection with children and willingness to always give 100%. I am passionate about making a difference in students' lives every day. 

What is something people don't know about you?

My favourite colour is red. 

Parent Portal Reminders

Parent Portal is now available. It is a secure online platform used to share student information between you and your child’s teachers.

Some reminders about Parent Portal:

• If you already have a Parent Portal account, use this Parent Portal access link to start using the great features.
• You can’t access Parent Portal directly through the ACT Digital Account website, you need to use the link above.
• When you are logged into Parent Portal, we recommend saving the browser as a favourite or to the homepage on your mobile phone for quick access in the future.
• The website can only be viewed using a web browser on your computer, mobile phone or tablet. An app is not available at this time.
• If you still need to register, you will need an access key and a Parent Portal registration link via email to link your existing account to your child’s records. If you haven’t received this, please contact the school’s front office team for assistance.

Head to our website for all the details: Home - Caroline Chisholm School

Caroline Chisholm is offering information sessions where families can come into our school and get assistance around obtaining an ACT Digital Account, registering for the Parent Portal, or seeing how the Portal can be used.

If you are coming to start your ACT Digital Account, please 

Supporting Student Safety

Planning for a transition in 2025 for Children with Development Delay, Disability or Diverse Learning needs.

Parents and carers are invited to an online session on Thursday 1 August from 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm to discuss planning and supporting their child’s transition to a new school or program in 2025. The session will provide parents and carers of children with developmental delay, disability, and diverse learning needs, information, and practical suggestions to support their child’s move to a new school or setting. The session will be relevant for children commencing preschool through to college at any ACT public school.

Parents and carers can register and send any questions to DisabilityEducation@act.gov.au including the school year their child will commence in 2025.

Cost of Living Expo

ACI Public Education Awards 2024

Free Pop-Up Influenza Vaccination

Online Safety