Week 8, Term 3

CNPS Fete 2024 - 6 weeks to go!

Donations, donations, donations

We've got some really fun market, food and activity stalls planned for the fete and we need your lovely donations to make these a success!

Stalls that need donations now include:

• Make your own terrarium - jars and vases, mini figurines and decorative rocks and gems

• Book stall - reads for all ages in good condition

• Lucky number - fill a jar with small goodies

• Kids dress-ups for the transformation tent 

• Handcrafted items for kids or adults

• Preserves, pickles, sauces

• Chocolate bars, blocks and boxes.

See the flyers below for more info and pics. We've set up tubs in the office hallway so please start dropping things off as soon as you can. If everyone is able to make a donation or two we should have plenty on the day. Thank you, thank you!

Marquees please

We're hoping it will be a sunny day for the fete and we need more marquees! If you have a marquee or camping gazebo we could use on the day please let us know asap at cnpsfete@gmail.com. 

Next week...

More updates to come with details about how you can get involved and highlights about what's happening on the day, including a roving CNPS choir, SRC-run downball tournament, delicious curry and tex mex options, lemonade stand, bands, market and activities and heaps more!

 This week was an exciting week as our prep students went on their very first excursion.  The performance of I Wish at the Capital Theatre was a fun experience, amazing the students with its bright colours and exciting atmosphere. It was not only entertaining, but it also had an important message about the value of difference and individuality. A big thank you to Nicci for organising this wonderful opportunity for our students.  

In literacy, we explored the ‘ch’ sound and practised reading and writing words that feature this code. We continued improving our sentence skills, focusing on using joining words ‘but’ and ‘because’.  Our writing skills were demonstrated in the Cold Write topic My Adventures with My Pet, where we showed our understanding of capital letters, full stops and spacing between words. During our Big Question, we explored the similarities and differences between birthday celebrations from around the world with our own birthday traditions.  In Maths, we have been exploring the concept of ordinal numbers, enjoying a variety of games and activities that help us understand the language of positing things in the correct order.   

Next week, we will explore a new code and begin learning about different sentence types, including questions and statements.  In maths, we will build on our time telling skills by learning to read o’clock and half past times.  On Tuesday, we are celebrating Neurodiversity Awareness Day. We look forward to everyone wearing a colour of the rainbow to show support for neurodiversity. We will also be participating in some activities to help us learn more and raise awareness.    

Have a great weekend,  

Nicole and Lauren 

 Hello from the Golden Wattle building! 

In Literacy this week we have been learning about the four different sentence types: statement, question, command and exclamation.  We learned that each sentence type is used for a different purpose and the punctuation mark used depends on the type of sentence.  Students experimented with each sentence type when they wrote a statement, question, command and exclamation that accompanied a picture prompt. 

In Maths we have been working on understanding shapes.  We have been busy recognising and describing the features of shapes and then used our knowledge to determine the area of an object.  We measured the area of our Maths books, readers and our lunch boxes!  

As part of our Big Question, “How and why do people celebrate?”, students found out about Diwali which is an Indian celebration.  Indian families decorate their doorways to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth into their homes. They create beautiful patterns, called rangoli, on the floor using brightly coloured rice powders or sand. The most common patterns are shaped like a lotus blossom, a symbol of welcome.  Students had a wonderful time creating their own rangoli around the school using chalk.  Students also investigated Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr and were amazed to learn about people fasting during the day.  They enjoyed making and eating a traditional dish of date and coconut balls! 

In our Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program we have been focusing on Gender and Identity.  Students have been reflecting on their own identity (likes, dislikes, strengths) and through discussions, role plays, games, and scenarios have been developing an awareness of positive and negative gender norms. 

On Friday we had a fantastic time in Bendigo when we visited the Bendigo Capital Theatre to watch the acrobatic and entertaining performance of I Wish.  Thanks so much to Nicci for organising this experience for us and to the parent helpers who assisted us on the day. 

Next week we look forward to continuing our focus on the four sentence types in Literacy, exploring 3D shapes and measurement in Maths and learning about Indigenous ceremonies, Thanksgiving and Chinese New Year as part of our Big Question, “How and why do people celebrate?”. 

Have a lovely weekend! 

Wendy, Sarah, Bec and Sally 

Thanks for reading this week’s news from the Silver Banksia, 

We have enjoyed our wintry start to Spring this week and returned (mostly) to a normal schedule following the completion last week of P4P. In Literacy, students used their five senses as we practised building tension in creative writing. They completed this term’s Cold Write with a narrative that included ideas about Australia’s history and our citizenship inquiry. We explored the magna carta and how it has led to the human rights enjoyed across the globe today. In Maths, we converted between fractions, decimals and percentages to perform calculations. In RRRR, we began to tune in to our positive self-talk. 

On Friday, our students ventured to Wesley Hill for the Castlemaine district Cricket and Tennis competition. 

Next week, students will begin to explore their own question related to our citizenship unit. This will culminate with an expo in week 10. Students will continue to work on applying their strategies for fractions, decimals and percentages, and apply these skills in a rich task called “Entertainment Adventure!” 

Have a nice weekend everyone. 

Prep E   

Dot McGuinness - for the impressive way you included capital letters, finger spaces and full stops in your sentences about adventures with your dog. 

Oona Davies - For coming to school every day with a positive attitude, ready to pursue your personal best. 

Prep N 

Alice Dalley - For challenging yourself to include more detail in your cold write. 

Alfie McGregor - For your focus and enthusiasm during all classroom tasks. 

1/2 SB 

Wesley Hattam - For the consistent way you show focus even when there are distractions around you. 

Kuli McHaffie – for the kind and caring way you look after others.  

1/2 S 

Lilah Gale - For your impressive effort and focus during your daily maths reviews. 

William Chaplin - For the creativity you show when making tessellations in maths. 

1/2 W 

Archie Wilson - For your careful consideration and thoughtfulness when working through our maths problems. 

Erica Nightingale - For your beautiful and thoughtful creation of Rangoli patterns during maths. 

3/4 CN 

Rufus Eastwood - For the dedication you have shown to improve your number facts during two-minute maths. 

Ruben Baxter - For the way you have been engaging and showing curiosity when learning about the solar system. 

3/4 H 

Whole Class - A belated well done for working collaboratively when working on our inquiry presentations. 

3/4 L 

Taylah Cole - For consistently making strong choices and pursuing your personal best. 

Elke Hart - For your intriguing wonderings about space. 

5/6 HG 

Lachy Allen - For volunteering to share your writing with the class. 

Rory Healy-Aarons - For seeking support when something wasn't right. 

5/6 J 

Otto Cormack - For your attention to detail with pronouncing dinosaur names. 

Hendy Stant - For the positive way you mentioned enjoying our lessons on the Magna Carta. 

5/6 R 

Larina McHaffie - For the way you help others and keep our classroom tidy. Thank you for always going out of your way for others. 

Ava Turley - For the focus and effort you put into using division and multiplication to calculate fractions. 

5/6 SL 

Ria Blundell - For going the extra mile by completing some 5 senses writing at home. 

Asha Jeffreys - For the perseverance you showed during this week's maths reviews.. 

Indonesian 

Gillian Crawshaw - For noticing what needed to be done and quietly doing it before anyone was asked