The Northern Natter - Week 5, Term 3

What a perfect day for a Winter Warm-up! The kids look adorable in their PJs (so do the teachers!) and as I write this, they are snuggled in their rooms, watching movies. A perfectly Fun Friday! A BIG THANKYOU to "souperstars" Andrew Stephens, Claire Edwards and Liz Stearne for leading the organisation of the soup lunch, along with all the wonderful parents/carers who made delicious soups, lent slow-cookers and assisted with serving. We appreciate you all. Thank you also to Hannah Ryan and the SRC representatives for their assistance.

OUT OF SCHOOL HOURS CARE

Sadly, the OSHC project for our school has reached a stalemate, with no progress on service approval and no staffing, despite months of advertising. I have sent a letter from School Council to parents today, via email, outlining what has been happening, and what our next steps will be. I am in conversation with Winters Flat PS and Campbells Creek PS about the possibility of partnering with them. We are committed to providing some form of service for our families, and I will provide a further update as soon as possible. OSHC has become a challenging space in schools across our district, and we will continue to explore options for before and after school care.

PARENT PAYMENTS

Recently, a parent gave some feedback, that they found it difficult to know how much the contributions for our students are, so we have added this information to the top of the newsletter as a permanent feature. You will find the school's banking details as well as the amounts (Prep-2 $200 and Gr 3-6 $325) in the header of our weekly newsletter. Currently we are sitting at approximately 60% of our families contributing. Thank you to those who have been able to make a payment for 2024. We are very happy to receive payments at any time!

SPEAKING OF PERCENTAGES...

We have had 5 parent responses to the Parent Survey (around 4 % of our families), and we would appreciate many more! The link is: https://www.orima.com.au/parent.

You will be asked to enter a PIN: 798296 is our school generic pin for all respondents. Even though I am keen to get those numbers up, a reminder to please only complete one response per household. The survey is open until the end of August, so if you could please find about 30 min in the next couple of weeks, it would be appreciated.

CHESS CLUB

We are looking forward to participating in the local Chess tournament at CSC in a couple of weeks; I will send information home to parents of Chess Club students next week; we have a team of around 10 committed students who have been attending lunchtime chess during Term 2 and 3. A special mention to Saatchi Wiegard, who was offered a $500 Chess Scholarship this week, along with a student from Winters Flat PS. Saatchi will appear in an upcoming edition of the Castlemaine Mail, to acknowledge his enthusiasm and skill for Chess. Congratulations to Saatchi!

See below for a shout-out to one of our sporting superstars... Jomal Nicholson. All the best for next week, Jomal; we look forward to hearing all about it!

Enjoy the weekend,

Sam C

BOOK CLUB

Issue # 6 of book club has been handed out.

Orders are due back by Friday 30th August.

Angela

SSV Team Vic Hockey

Hi Everyone, my name’s Jomal and I’m in Grade 6. About five months ago I tried out for the SSV (School Sport Victoria) Team Vic Hockey team. There were three trials and after three road trips to Melbourne, they sent out the email of who made the team and I was really excited to see that I had made it. Since then, we have been training every Thursday in Melbourne and now the time has finally come when we go to Cairns to play the National Competition against all the other States and Territories. Two weeks ago, two people from Hockey Melbourne Club came to the pitch to present our playing tops to us. I’ve met heaps of team mates from all different parts of Victoria and I can’t wait to play with them. I play full back and am super excited to leave on the 17th to play. This has been a great experience.

CNPS Fete 2024!

Hey North community,

With our bi-annual CNPS Fete set for Saturday 19 October, we are in full swing with planning.

We have an abundance of fun stalls and activities planned for the day and now need your help to make sure they can all get up and running.

At this stage, we’re asking anyone interested in leading a stall to sign up using the link below - from crepes to craft, storytelling to time trials & Devonshire Tea - we need you!

volunteersignup.org/WACR4

If you have any questions about what’s involved, please contact us via email at cnpsfete@gmail.com.

Volunteering is an excellent opportunity to have fun and contribute to our school's major fundraising event, which directly benefits all children at our school. It's also a great way to engage with the school community and meet new people.

So please help us to make this Fete Day a roaring success!

SRC News

SRC Events Calendar

Week 6 – Book Week and the Book Week Parade

Week 9 – CNPS Neurodiversity Awareness Day

Prep News

Hello from the Prep rooms! 

In Literacy this week, we have continued focusing on reading and writing words, with four and five letter words. We are becoming more confident and it’s amazing to see what words we can write! In writing we have been using the connective ‘but’ in our sentences. In Maths, we continued exploring sharing (division) by finding equal groups of echidna spikes, frogs on lily pads and teddy bears at the cafe. It involved some trial and error to make sure that the groups of animals were equal.

In R.R.R.R this week we looked at the topic of stress management and explored different scenarios and ways to help us when we feel overwhelmed. We will continue looking at this topic over the coming weeks, reading different picture story books, participating in activities and class discussions. We were very excited to be invited to go and see the Grade 1/2 Olympics and France Expo on Monday. We enjoyed talking to the older students and seeing what they learnt about.

Next week in Literacy we will be focusing on reading and writing words with ‘ck’. In Maths, we will be exploring chance, deciding whether events will happen, won’t happen or might happen. To finish another busy week, we will have the Book Parade next Friday to celebrate Book Week. We can’t wait to see what costumes everyone comes in to celebrate amazing books!

Enjoy the weekend and the warmer weather as we approach Spring.

Nicole and Lauren

1.2 News

Hello from the 1/2 unit!

A big focus for us this week was our Personal Inquiries. Thank you so much for helping students research their inquiry topic at home. Students were bursting to share their new learning with their classmates and enjoyed creating an artefact to show their learning. We had posters, dioramas, plasticine models, stop motion animations, French food, costumes and craft creations which were proudly shown at our expo. Lots of families and students from other classes came to visit and we were very impressed with the confident way students were able to explain their learning to others.

In Literacy we celebrated Science Week by focussing on this year’s theme, Species Survival. We investigated the Eltham Copper Butterfly, a threatened species that lives here in Castlemaine. Students found out about their habitat, the threats to survival and what we can do to help protect them. We used this information to write our own sentences with a focus on using adverbs in our writing. Students also completed their Cold Write for this term when they wrote a recount about a special celebration that they have experienced. We also enjoyed learning about our new ‘Stars of the Week’ Jarvis (1/2S), Matilda (1/2W) and Edie in (1/2SB)

In Maths we have been exploring the concept of time with a focus on making clocks, reading and writing analogue times and the duration of time. We began tuning in to our new big question, ‘How and why do people celebrate?’ by looking at images of the many different celebrations and traditions around the world.

It was a relaxing end to our week with our Winter Warm Up Day; wearing our comfy PJ’s, enjoying the yummy soup that our parents and carers kindly provided and ending with a movie. It certainly made it a fun Friday! Thank you to all the volunteers who made this possible for us.

Next week will be a shorter week as there is a Curriculum Day on Wednesday and students are not expected at school. Students will explore Fractions in Maths and will enjoy celebrating books and Australian children’s authors and illustrators in Literacy as we share this year’s CBCA shortlisted picture books of the year. We will continue to delve into our big question ‘How and why do people celebrate?’ and we are looking forward to seeing everyone’s fabulous costumes at the highly anticipated Book Week Parade on Friday!

Have a great weekend!

Wendy, Bec, Sarah and Sally

3.4 News

This week, our Grade 3/4 students have been engaged in exploring the arrival of the First Fleet and its significant effects on the Australian landscape, environment, and the lives of Aboriginal people. Through our discussions, students gained a deeper understanding of how these historical events shaped the country we live in today. Building on this knowledge, the students practiced writing paragraphs using complex sentences and subordinating conjunctions. This exercise not only enhanced their writing skills but also allowed them to express their thoughts clearly and creatively. We took this learning a step further with our Big Writes, where the students crafted beautiful narratives and recounts from various points of view. These pieces reflected the diverse experiences and perspectives of the time, showcasing the students' ability to empathize with and imagine the lives of different people during the First Fleet's arrival.

As the ship sailed through the narrow water, there was an eerie silence. It was early in the morning I had got out of bed and was the only one up on the two ships. We were already battered and bruised from the battle.

Keir, 3/4 H

As we go through the beautiful mountains, I see some pine trees and lots of animals. I love going on an adventure. As I look through the windows, I see waterfalls and people canoeing or swimming. “I love it!” I exclaimed.

Tessa, 3/4 H

In Maths, we've been continuing our journey with division, using different strategies to divide both small and large numbers. The students have been working hard to master these skills, and it's great to see their confidence growing as they tackle more challenging problems.

In STEAM, Mr. Scott's 3/4s have been having a blast with their latest project: building marble runs with a twist! The challenge was to create the slowest marble run possible, and the creativity and engineering skills on display were impressive.

It’s been a week full of creativity, critical thinking, and hands-on learning, and we are so proud of the work our students have produced! See you next week for more exciting adventures in learning!

Hannah, Louise, Mr Scott, Claire and Nicci

5.6 News

Greetings from the citizens of the Silver Banksia!

This week we have been learning about different paths to citizenship. We have looked at women’s suffrage in Australia and learnt that Victoria was the last state to give women the vote. In addition, we have studied the reasons for migration and how people have been welcomed (or not) as new Australian citizens. In Maths, we have deepened our understanding of 3D shapes and their 2D representations. Word Study saw us complete the fy-fect-fact-fice base; semicolons were the grammar focus this week.

‘How babies are made’ was our topic for Preperation for Puberty this week, with a homework task for students to discover more about their birth story! Friday was our Winter Warm Up with students spending a cozy day in their PJs eating delicious soup prepared by CNPS families.

Next week we continue with Preperation for Puberty, and Friday is our Book Week celebration. We can’t wait to see students’ costumes on the day. Don’t forget that Wednesday 21st will be student free!

Liz, Sam, Jay, Rhys, Giovanna and Hannah.

PE News

District Cricket / Tennis Grade 3-6

On Friday 6th September all our Grade 3-6 students will participate in our District event.

Our Grade 5/6 students will participate at Wesley Hill in either modified Cricket Blast matches where all students get to experience fielding, bowling one over, keeping wicket for one over and batting with a partner for two overs per match, or modified Hot Shots Tennis matches where all students play singles and doubles.

Our Grade 3/4 students will participate at Castlemaine Tennis Club and Western Reserve in both Hot Shot Tennis matches and skill-based Cricket activities, alternating sports after a lunch break.

Permission notes went home this week. We will require the assistance of parents / carers to supervise groups.

Victorian Institute of Sport Open Day Opportunity for Families in the School Holidays

We are thrilled to announce that the VIS Open Day will be back this October!

This year’s Open Day will serve as an unofficial welcome home celebration for some of Victoria’s brightest stars as they return from competing at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games - young Victorians will have the opportunity to rub shoulders with their idols and start dreaming of emulating their incredible feats.

The free event will provide members of the Victorian public the opportunity to meet world class athletes, learn from high performance sport experts, tour through and experience the inner workings of a high performance sport facility.

The event welcomed more than 1000 Victorians of all ages in 2023 and provided a fun, safe and educated experience they will never forget. This year’s event promises to be even bigger with over 15 sporting organisations showcasing their sports and expertise.

When: Wednesday 2 October 2024 (during school holidays)

Where: VIS Headquarters at Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park

Time: 10:00am - 2:00pm

As part of the VIS Open Day, attendees will have the opportunity to:

Meet some of Australia’s 2024 Olympic and Paralympic heroes, ask them questions and hold their medals

Attend interactive demonstrations with VIS experts, such as cooking sessions with specialist sports dietitians to learn how to prepare a recovery/fuelling meal

Participate in basic performance testing in the gym, such as a WattBike test, jump testing on force plates, Nordboard testing to measure eccentric and isometric hamstring strength, and sprint profiling using biomechanics, which allows participants to compare their results with some of Victoria’s fastest athletes

Learn about or try a new sport with numerous VIS partners, such as Hockey Victoria, Netball Victoria and Table Tennis Victoria.

Book your free tickets to secure your attendance and receive further information in the coming weeks and lead up to the event.

Victorian Institute of Sport Open Day 2024 | Humanitix

Performing Arts News

Performing Arts

We have had an exciting term already with a few Performing Arts excursions happening. The grades 3 – 6s went to The Ulumbarra Theatre in Bendigo to watch the play, The Peasant Prince and then the CNPS Choir headed on the train to Melbourne Town Hall last week to perform with 300 other students as part of the Boite Schools Chorus.

Grades Prep to 2 will be heading to Bendigo on the 6th of September to watch a circus performance called I Wish… Families in those grades, please see the note that went home this week with the information and return payment as soon as possible.

Later in the term (date TBC) all the students across the school will be participating in Busking for Change. Busking for Change is a fundraiser by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF), developed by Josh Pyke to engage Primary School students in a musical literacy and raise awareness about Indigenous languages. The 2024 song is Shordi Krik. Once our students have mastered the song, they will ‘busk’ or perform the song collectively or individually to you, their friends, family.

The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) is a national charity of the Australian Book Industry, working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remote Communities across Australia. The ILF is Community-led, responding to requests from remote Communities for culturally relevant books, including early learning board books, resources, and programs to support Communities to create and publish their stories in languages of their choice.

Values Awards

Prep E

Nala Larkins

For the thoughtful way you show kindness to others in the classroom.

Elliot Dunstan

For the way you kept on trying and didn't give up when solving "sharing" problems in Maths this week.

Prep N

Hazel Stanford

For the impressive way and enthusiasm you showed when sharing 12 teddies in our Maths task.

William Edwards

For the focus and hard work you have put in to improve your handwriting.

1/2 S

Hugo Smith

For the kind and inclusive way you play with others.

Emellia Menich

For the pride and independence you’ve shown when preparing to share your knowledge at our Expo.

1/2 S

For the curious and brave way you shared your new learning at the Personal Inquiry Expo.

1/2 SB

Frances Box

For your gold medal effort at presenting your learning about Equestrian events

Xavier Bottomley

For always having a go at your writing. You’ve come a long way!

5/6 HG

For taking the time out of your busy day to help the 1/2 s with their learning. Thank You!

1/2 W

Matilda Maddison

For your beautifully researched and presented project about French art.

Louis Ryan

For the passion you showed learning about and teaching us about archery.

3/4 CN

Ivy Rose Richardson

For the enthusiastic way you share your knowledge and contribute to class discussions.

Asther Brown

For the way you have been focussing on your learning to ensure you finish set tasks.

3/4 H

Frankie Clayton

For reading and editing your writing and making it a habit! Well done!!

Flynn McNab

For putting in your maximum effort in Maths!

3/4 L

Brax Grant

For the way you used similies in your writing.

Henry Capes-Baldwin

For the thoughtful gift you gave Louise to help her organise teams.

3/4 PS

Elijah Adeoba

For your incredible effort during writing.

Arlo Sherry

For your dedication to improving your skills in all areas.

5/6 HG

Martin Flatz

For putting your spatial reasoning skills on display during a Maths task.

Edan Lacy

For politely helping the teacher to understand an oversight.

5/6 J

Tully Cox

For your commitment to athletics and practicing discus and shotput at lunch times.

Charlotte Morrison-Blunck

For the focus and improvement you have made when writing sentences with semi colons.

5/6 R

Carys Rosestone

For the courageous way you support the class in trying something new!

Sophia Miller

For taking on challenges in your learning of nets and 3D objects

5/6 SL

Clementine Stephens

For the way you are applying yourself during Maths lessons.

Frederick Capes-Baldwin

For demonstrating an open mind when asking questions during citizenship lessons.

Indonesian

Ted Cordy

For the focussed way you have been working on your housing project. Bagus!

Performing Arts

Henry Casley

For having the courage to share your monologue with the class. It was great!

Elio Hynam-Smith

For the curiosity you demonstrated while learning about musical notes.

Stilt License

Jasmine Robinson

Thomas Say

Stilt License level 2

Chloe Osborne

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