Week 4, Term 2

Wendy is a kind and caring teacher who teaches Grades One and Two, and has been teaching at CNPS for 5 years. 

She grew up in England, and has a sister called Amanda. Wendy’s birthday is on January the 1st. She likes Red Pandas and her favourite ice cream flavour is honeycomb. 

She loves to swim, surf, and row, and she can play the piano, guitar, and viola. Her favourite book writer is Jane Austen, she likes the colour yellow, and the cupcake flavour she likes the most is lemon. 

She loves coffee and reading, and her favourite day of the week is Friday, because she gets to row her boat. She can speak French, and a little bit of Thai, because she lived in Thailand for four years. She loves strawberries, and is a wonderful teacher.

School Saving Bonus reminder and allocation to school activities

The Victorian Government is delivering the School Saving Bonus (SSB) – a one-off support of $400 for eligible government school students from Prep to Year 12 in 2025.

The SSB can be used for uniforms until Monday, 30th June 2025 after which you will not be able to purchase school uniforms using your SSB Code. Uniforms purchased after 30th June will need to be paid for by the parent/carer.

Any funds remaining after 30th June 2025, including online voucher amounts that have not been redeemed, will become a credit to use on school activities. However, the credit will not be available on your family account at our school until late July. To use any remaining SSB funds to cover the cost of school activities in July, please refer to the SSB online system and allocate the funds to school activities before 30 June 2025.

The Department of Education’s SSB contact centre will remain available until 30 June 2025. The contact centre can be reached by calling 1800 338 663, between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm on weekdays.

Hello from the Preps!

In Literacy, we were excited to meet two more of Milo’s friends: Uncle Upton and Kylie Koala. With only two more characters left to meet, the excitement is building as we get closer to Milo’s big birthday celebration. Our independent writing continues to shine, and it’s been fantastic to see the growing confidence and creativity in every student’s work.

In Maths, we have been exploring doubling and halving, and the highlight was designing our very own ‘Double Monsters’! Our Big Question focus this week was all about how we can look after our bodies and minds to beep happy and healthy. We learned about the importance of sleep, healthy eating and wearing helmets to help us keep happy and healthy. This was also part of our Wellbeing discussion, where we’ve been learning what it means to be brave – something the Preps are doing more and more each day as they take on new challenges with courage. In our STEAM challenge, we read ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’ and then paired up to design and build the strongest bridge for the Billy Goats to get across the river. 

Next week, we’re excited to meet the final two characters of Milo’s friends and continue our PMP adventures. In Maths, we’ll be naming and describing shapes, and we can’t wait for another hands-on STEAM challenge! We will begin our new Big Question ‘What do we know about where we live?’ 

Finally, a special thank you to former student Milla, who has been working in our classrooms as part of her work experience. We loved having you with us, and the students truly enjoyed learning alongside you. 

From Lauren and Nicole

In Literacy, we have continued to expand our sentences, this week with a focus on adjectives. We wrote sentences describing what students’ lives were like in the olden days, imagined how we would like to travel to school, and wrote a Big Write about arriving at school to find our teacher has been replaced by a…

In Maths, we were measuring the length of just about everything! We used string to measure our handspans and armspans, and compared these with our classmates. We measured our heights and our heads using informal units such as icypole sticks and matchsticks, and we justified our thinking of whether the tallest person has the longest feet. 

In Wellbeing, we focused on respecting and valuing difference. This included discussing different likes and dislikes, noticing the ways that families can be different and how peoples’ bodies and appearances can also be different. We talked about how differences are important and these differences doesn’t make anyone better or worse than anyone else.

Next week, we are looking forward to our excursion to Buda Historic House to find out more about our Big Question, ‘What do we know about where we live?’ If your child hasn’t returned their note and payment, please do so as soon as possible. We will also be commencing ‘Star of the Week’ next week, so stay tuned for more information from your child’s class teacher!

We hope you have a great weekend,
Wendy, Laura, Claire, Sarah and Andrew

Answers to pictures –  a) toaster   b) washing machine   c) calculator

Welcome to the Silver Banksia! 

Our Literacy and BQT have been intertwined this week as we have been learning about our Big Question of “what do we know about where we live?”. This week, we have begun exploring this from a First Nations perspective. Students were fascinated to explore the history of colonisation (approx. 250 years represented by 25cm of string) compared to the time First Nations people have been here on this land (approx. 60,000 years represented by 60 m of string). In Literacy, we have started ‘fluency partners’ which will build the fluency of comprehension of key texts that we are reading. Our writing focus has been on recounts. Have a read of some students’ descriptions of their morning routine below.

In Maths, we have been revising equivalent fractions and moving on to simplifying fractions by finding the highest common factors. We have been locating fractions on a number line and revising how to convert improper fractions into mixed numerals.

In Wellbeing this week, we started the week with a wellbeing afternoon on Monday. Students across the 5/6 cohort were mingled and we focussed on community building activities within the cohort. There were lots of positive responses about the afternoon from students and teachers. In RRRR, we were learning about how talk can be harmful or helpful, a big discussion delving into the reasons behind hate speech and the importance of calling it out.

This term, every year level is exploring printmaking in a range of ways.

Preps have been getting their hands messy while learning about colour mixing, creating playful "messy monsters." They are midway through their foam print project, which will continue next week.

Grades 1/2 recently completed beautiful ink drawings by sketching leaves with sticks—a unique challenge that differed from using brushes or pens. Now, they are learning about colour value, designing robots and painting them using just one colour mixed with white. Their challenge is to see how many shades of that colour they can create!

Grades 3/4 are almost finished with their collagraph print lunch boxes, some of which feature exotic and delicious creations! Prints and collagraphs are included in the photos to show the process. Next, they will be working on an animal portrait—painted with coffee!

Grades 5/6 are tackling a two-colour lino print, drawing inspiration from Torres Strait Islander artists and exploring the theme of ‘water.’ This project requires careful thought about what to carve away and how the colours will appear once printed. Their focus and skill in handling the carving process has been impressive.

Knitting Club has started this term in the Art room, Wednesday lunch times.

Cross Country

Congratulations to our students who ran the Division Cross Country today. Best wishes to our runners who finished in the top 12 of their event and progress on to Region Cross Country in St Arnaud on Tuesday 27th May. Photos next week! 

House Athletics - Grade 3-6

Our House Athletics is fast approaching on Friday 30th May with the track and field event rotations being held at our school from 9:00-1:30. Students may wear their house team colours on the day. Families and friends are welcome to come along and support this event. This year, there will some indigenous games thrown into the rotation mix to acknowledge and celebrate Reconciliation Week, as well as our Reconciliation Relay once we announce the winning team after lunch. 

Bendigo Braves School Cup

Our CNPS team has made it through to the semi-finals after their great performances in shooting, passing, agility and dribbling! The semi-final is on Saturday 24th May during the Bendigo Braves matches.

Please see a message from Nico, our amazing Food Garden volunteer/coordinator/parent helper... I also emailed this to parents during the week:

Hello,

I am writing to introduce myself. My name is Nico and I have been a volunteer up in the Food Garden since my eldest started school back in 2013. Now my youngest, Otto is in grade 6 and at the end of this year it will be time for me to pass the batten onto a new group of parents willing to coordinate the Food Garden.

Over the years the Food Gardon has developed into a wonderful regular outdoor learning time. The students get to spend time in nature exploring, growing food to eat and looking at the biodiversity within the habitat of the Food Garden. They make compost, learn about life cycles, develop a deeper understanding of sustainability issues and how to look after our gorgeous school chooks. Oh and let’s not forget making and eating delicious pizza!

The past few years I have worked alongside Mikaela and Rick who have both brought valuable knowledge and enthusiasm to the garden sessions we have.

In my view, having been the main organiser for the past few years it would be great to carry on the tradition with a small group of volunteer parents dedicated to running it, working alongside the teachers and bringing fresh ideas. Having a supportive group of volunteers and not just one individual makes a real difference.

If you think you would like to be a part of this please try and make time to come along to some Food Garden sessions, Tuesdays from 2:15. This will give you an idea of what’s involved, how much fun it is and to ask any questions of Mikaela, Rick or myself. Or feel free to email me nico@nicopye.com or give me a call 0499603786

Thanks

Nico

Prep E

Oscar S - for being a thoughtful maths partner when playing our maths doubles games this week.
Raeka G - for the impressive way you are sounding out words to spell and including spaces when writing independently.

Prep N

Bettie B - for the kind and respectful way you worked with your partner during STEAM.
Ruby M - for gaining confidence in writing and challenging yourself to write in more detail.

1/2 L

Mia N - for your deep thought into how schools in the future might operate.
Monty G - for the interest you showed when exploring and guessing the purpose of various historic artefacts.

1/2 CS

Jude K - for your amazing effort and concentration during spelling.
Elliot D - for the care and effort you are putting into your writing.

1/2 WA

Louis R - for the wonder and knowledge you showed during our Inquiry into old buildings.
Bon J - for your sensible yet enthusiastic work on measurement. 

3/4 PS

Sadie A - for the thoughtful way you looked after our Grade 4 guests during camp week.
Evie F - for your passion and hard work during multiplication practice. 

3/4 S

Anita F - for the impressive way you researched and shared your understanding of sun bears.
Audrey D - for the care and creativity you showed when presenting your knowledge of red pandas.

5/6 H

Ruben B - for clarifying and confirming your understanding.
Bailey B - for looking out for others and being generous.

5/6 J

Taylah C - for consistently striving to do your personal best in the classroom.
Ria B - for doing your best under challenging circumstances. 

5/6 BC

Jack T -  for the amount of thought and effort you put into your Cold Write.
Archer M - for your strong reading and ability to recall the story during a reading assessment.

5/6 BN

Eliza M - for being a classmate that always strives for your best and supports those who need help.
Hendy S - for your curiosity and sharing of your knowledge in our learning about Australia's history. 

Performing Arts

Banjo C - for your flexibility within the group for a positive outcome.

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