Thank you and Merry Christmas!

What a marvellous finish to the year! The children had a wonderful Picnic Day; loving their pirate endeavours during the Treasure Hunt and successfully discovering the icy-pole loot, enjoying some fun Christmas activities and sharing in a lovely picnic near the lake to enjoy each others' company.

Groceries were purchased for the Chelsea Uniting Church Christmas Hamper Appeal using the children's fundraising money. These were collected on Wednesday and they will be distributed to families in need, no doubt helping to make their Christmas a little brighter this year. 

Thank you all so much for the very generous and thoughtful gifts and your very kind words! We feel completely spoilt. It has been an absolute pleasure working with your children this year. They are so much fun and we are really going to miss them. We look forward to watching their continual development and success in years to come.

A MASSIVE thank you to you, the parents and grandparents for your help and support throughout the year. We loved having you listen to the children read, come on excursions, help during MAD Week, watch them in their sporting endeavours, be there for assemblies, special days and performances plus everything else you have done. So many of you also contribute your valuable time to other areas of the school community and we really appreciate your commitment and effort. Thank you for making this year wonderful!

Finally, we wish you all a fantastic Christmas and a safe and happy holiday.

2015 Final Week

Thank you for supporting our Christmas Celebration on Monday evening. The children looked great and sang beautifully!

A big thank you to Allison (George's mum) for bringing in 'World of Maths' on Tuesday. The students had a wonderful time working through all of the puzzles!

Thank you for all of your support in assisting your child to fundraise for the Chelsea Uniting Church Christmas Hamper Appeal. The Year 1s proudly raised a combined total of $424.10! What a marvellous way to make a difference!! 

Thank you to everyone for supporting our class Secret Santa. We know the children are very excited about opening their gift next week. A reminder that your child needs to bring in their gift wrapped for their classmate by next Tuesday 8th.

We will start to send home books that the students no longer need. If you could send in a plastic bag next week for their gumboots to go home in that would be great. Their Portfolios, headsets (provided by the school), reading pouches and dictionary will follow them into Year 2 and therefore will not be coming home.

Take home reading will finish this weekend so that a stocktake of books can occur. Your children's reading has improved dramatically this year. Please ensure they continue to improve by reading every day during the holidays.

Next week's schedule is as follows:

Monday and Tuesday are normal school days. The children must bring their iPads to school each day this week fully charged.

Wednesday is our Picnic Day and the students can wear sunsmart casual clothes and runners. There are no lunch orders on Wednesday so please pack a snack, lunch and a drink.

On Thursday the children must be in Summer uniform. At 3.20pm there will be a whole school farewell to Mr Bolger on the grass area by the lake. School finishes at the normal time of 3.35pm.

Have a great weekend!

Week 8 Wrap-up

We have had another jam-packed week! The students had a great time completing the Swimming Program. They also loved their Orientation experience and came back extremely enthusiastic and excited about their classes and teachers for next year and the opportunity to make new friends and experience new things by being open-minded risk-takers.

On Monday during the school day we will be having a Dress Rehearsal for the concert that night. The children need to bring their black pants and t-shirt to school in their school bag and they will change into this before the dress rehearsal.

On Monday evening the Prep - Year 4 Christmas Celebration Concert starts at 7.00pm. Our classrooms will be open from 6.30pm. Students need to meet at their classroom dressed in their black pants and black t-shirt and girls with their hair in a high bun (if possible). Once you have dropped your child at their classroom please go and seat yourselves ready for the concert. We will bring the students over to the gym as a Year 1 group. At the conclusion of the concert you can collect your child directly from the hall. Please make sure you have told your child's classroom teacher before you leave with your child so that we can mark the roll to ensure everyone has been collected.

Thank you for supporting your child to undertake chores to earn their $10 for the Chelsea Uniting Church Christmas Hamper Appeal. We hope you have been enjoying the extra help around the house!

Shhhh! This time of year is all about giving and each child will be a Secret Santa for one of their classmates. The children in Year 1 will give one another the gift of reading. In line with Cornish's focus of sustainability, please choose one gently-used book to give to their nominated classmate. The children will find out who their nominated classmate is early next week. Please wrap up the book and leave it under the tree in the classroom by Tuesday 10th December.

After such a mammoth few weeks the children are understandably incredibly tired. Please make sure your child has a very restful weekend so that they're ready to enjoy their final two weeks of Term 4.

Show & Share for the next two weeks will be free choice.

Enjoy a wonderful weekend!

Exciting times!

We have had yet another busy and wonderful week! 

The students excitedly participated in the Swimming Program. This will continue next week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. 

The children did a marvellous job during the Student-Led Conferences in sharing their learning progress and insight with you. We're sure you are just as proud of them as we are!

As part of our current unit of inquiry we have identified the importance of people working in order to contribute to their community. As the children may have already told you about, during this unit the students will be raising money for the Chelsea Uniting Church Christmas Hamper Appeal by doing chores around the home. With this in mind, the children will be negotiating with you some chores they can complete to earn money. Each child will have a goal of raising $10. We are hoping the children will be using and honing their skills in negotiation, following through on responsibilities, being reliable, as well as developing their numeracy skills involving the days of week and counting money. We would like the children to have completed all of their chores and to have brought their $10, their letter and their chore record sheet to school by next Friday 27th November. We would also like each child to have a photo of themselves on their iPad undertaking their fundraising chores.

Orientation Morning is on next Tuesday. Students will come to their Year 1 classroom in the morning, where we will take the roll and then head to the gym as a whole class. They will then learn of their Year 2 class for 2016 and will spend the first half of the day, up until 12.30pm, enjoying the orientation program.

The students are busy preparing for the Prep-Year 4 Christmas Celebration. Please encourage your child to learn and practise the words to the songs (located on the Christmas Songs page on this blog) so that they will be confident on the night.

Have a lovely weekend!

Communities

What an eventful fortnight it has been!

We had a great Junior Sports Morning last week with plenty of sportsmanship and personal bests on show.

The Year 1s were also involved in the Smart Start learning session run by the Commonwealth Bank. They learnt all about the differences between a need and a want and the importance of wisely spending your money on things that you need and saving.

This week we have been very lucky to have not one, but two, wonderful guest speakers!

Our first guest speaker was Rev. Claire Dawe from the Chelsea Parish of the Uniting Church. Claire explained the many community services that the parish offers, such as a community breakfast, benevolent society, a food van and a Christmas Appeal, to help members of the community that may not otherwise be able to afford to buy enough food. The children realised that there are often people within our wider community who don't have the resources they need.

Our second guest speakers were Matt (Jake's dad) and Marnie who talked to the children about the role of the police force in helping our community. The children loved hearing about the resources that the police use including the police car complete with siren! 

The Year 1 Swimming/Water Safety Program begins next week. Each day the children need to come to school wearing their Sports Uniform with their bathers on underneath. In a separate bag they need to bring their towel, cap, goggles and underwear. Students need to wear their normal shoes to and from school, but they can change into thongs to wear to the pool.

All children must wear a swimming cap in the pool. You are more than welcome to come and meet your child's class at the pool and watch the swimming session. Please be mindful that we are encouraging responsibility and independence so please allow your child to organise themselves and their belongings as much as possible.

The Prep - Year 2 Music Recital is on next Tuesday 17th November from 9:15 - 10:20am in the Sustainability Centre. If your child is performing in the recital they need to wear their School Uniform including blazer to school on that day. There will be plenty of time for them to change into their Sports Uniform before we go to Swimming. Please feel free to attend if your child is performing.

Student Led Conferences will take place next Thursday 19th November from 4 - 8pm. You are required to book in online for this. We look forward to seeing you all there! 

Over the next two weeks we need each student to bring in a junk mail catalogue for the store that your family does their weekly grocery shopping at (Woolworths, Coles, IGA, Aldi).

Enjoy the sleep out and have a wonderful weekend!

Mid Term Wrap-up

The students have done a wonderful job completing their summative assessment tasks for our unit exploring light! They have each produced an informative poster about light. The sheer size of many of their posters means that we won't be able to display them all at once. Instead we will be putting each student's poster up on display outside the classroom for a short time over the next few weeks. Stay tuned as we will send you an email to let you know when your child's work will be on display.

There will be no Show & Share until further notice as we will be using that time for the students to present their Light posters.

Next Friday is the Prep - Year 2 Sports morning from 9.30 - 11am. Students will need to wear their Sports uniform on this day.

A reminder to please return your child's permission form for the Primary Water Safety Program.

Enjoy a lovely relaxing long weekend!

Moving into Week 4

The students have been working really hard on their summative assessment task for our unit of inquiry exploring light.

There will be no Show & Share for the next fortnight whilst the students complete and then present their summative assessment tasks.

In anticipation for the Prep-Year 4 Celebration Evening on 30th of November the children are also busy learning several songs that they will perform. It would be wonderful if you could help your child to practise the words at home too. Please see the Christmas Songs page on the blog for a Youtube clip of each song as well as the song lyrics.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Year 1s are scientists!

We have had a very eventful and informative last couple of weeks. A big thank you to Adam Sofis (Alex's father) who came and spoke to the Year 1s last week about his work as an electrician. The children loved learning more about electricity as well as sharing their own knowledge.

This week each class visited the secondary science lab where we used light boxes to explore many of the scientific concepts that we have been learning about. The students had a wonderful time being scientists!

Please ensure that iPads are 100% charged each day. Please also clear your child's iPad of unnecessary home photos, videos and apps as these take up a lot of storage space. At the moment we find we need extra storage space when creating school presentations.

Another reminder that the school jumper is not to be worn as an outer garment to and from school.

Finally, this is an incredibly busy time of year and the children are working really hard. Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest so they are prepared for the school day ahead.

Welcome to Term 4!

Welcome back! We hope you and your families have all had a wonderfully relaxing break.

This term starts on Day 2, Week 1 of the timetable.

A reminder that students are required to wear Summer Uniform during Term 4. If they wear an outer garment to and from school (not compulsory) this must be their blazer and not their school jumper.
Students are also required to wear their school hat when out in the yard. If students don't have their hat they will need to play undercover.

Show and Share for Week 1 will be free choice. For Show and Share in Weeks 2 and 3 we would like the students to choose a plant or animal and explain how it is connected to the sun. For example, plants - photosynthesise, reptiles - raise their body temperature to give them energy, humans - to see and to make vitamin D.

Please see the updated App List and ensure the required apps for Term 4 are downloaded onto your child's iPad. We have also included a list of apps that may be deleted.

Looking forward to yet another exciting and action-packed term!!

It's the holidays!

Welcome to the September school holidays!

All of the children have taken home multiple books to read during the holidays. With many of the children moving up a level within a 3-4 week period it is important that they keep their reading up over this long break. Please encourage them to record all of their reading in their school diary and to read from a variety of books. They can also work on IXL Maths, and/or try to give them lots of practical opportunities to develop their mathematical skills such as telling the time, measuring when cooking or building and shopping where they can add and subtract money. As adults we use maths regularly each day and there are lots of wonderful opportunities to consolidate and extend your child's knowledge.

In the last day or so we have set up a light experiment in the classroom. We have encouraged the children to have a go of it at home during the holidays too. They have the instructions in a Pages document on their iPad however if you require a little more detail about what is involved here are the directions.

Our new unit on light is proving to be fascinating for the students. The last two weeks of Show and Share have really highlighted the vast range of ways that we use light. Many students have asked about an app that we have been using as a teaching tool, it is called 'Bobo Explores Light'. The children are not required to have it but for those who are interested in downloading it this is the link https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/bobo-explores-light/id463809859?mt=8

We celebrated the end of our busy term by spending this week's Dhumba-dha biik session on the island toasting marshmallows. The children loved the opportunity to cook on an open fire so don't be surprised if they request to have a fire at home during these holidays!

Light and Dark

It has been a week of both light and darkness. On the one hand we have been enjoying the fun of Book Week - especially the character parade, storytelling in the dark and the science fair, but on the other hand it has been an extremely sad and difficult week with the unexpected loss of our good friend and workmate Glenn White. Glenn was such an asset to both our school and community and Dani and I miss him very much.

The Fathers' Day Stall is on Thursday and the Parents Association always do a magnificent job. Gifts range between $1-$5. Then on Friday, the Prep - Year 2 Fathers' Day Breakfast is on from 8.00-8.45a.m. Please ensure that you have RSVP so that we can cater accordingly. This also means that on Friday morning it will be very busy in the carpark. Parking for our Fathers' Day visitors will be on the grass behind the back basketball courts.

We are commencing our next theme this week 'How the world works' and we are investigating light. Show and Share for the next fortnight will focus on one of our lines of inquiry for this unit - How can light be used? Therefore the children can talk about any way that light is used e.g. party lights, a torch, a laser beam on a remote control etc.

Have a lovely weekend.

Books are lighting up Year One!

Book Week (fortnight) is in full swing! The Year One classes have already enjoyed some amazing activities and next week is shaping up to being super exciting too. Don't forget that on Thursday the children can dress up as their favourite character from a book. With our focus on sustainability please don't go out and buy a costume, simply see what you might be able to use from home. The Book Week Character Parade will be held during Primary Assembly. The children can then remain in their costume for the day. Don't forget to bring the book that their character features in!

Fathers' Day is fast approaching and we need to confirm numbers for the Fathers' Day Breakfast. If you haven't already done so please book to secure your spot using this link https://www.admindept.com.au/bookingprocess/Cornish-College/383

We have noticed that there are a number of students who do not have working headphones. Please check with your child to ensure that their headphones are operational and if they are not, please replace them at your earliest convenience.

The calibre of the last fortnight's Show and Share was most impressive. We really enjoyed hearing the children's presentations. Please note that there will be no Show and Share this week as both classes are busy finalising their current summative assessment.

Finally, please be aware that during Terms 2 and 3 the children need to wear their blazer to and from school. On days that they have Sport, they need to wear their tracksuit pants and spray jacket over their shorts and polo/rugby top.

Making connections

The Year 1 students have been immersing themselves in our invertebrate unit. Our trip to Seaford Beach was very successful and the data that we collected will be used by The Baykeeper to monitor the health of Port Phillip Bay. Both classes enjoyed macro invertebrate hunting on Friday in our lake where we found several different types of these tiny creatures.

Book Week (or rather fortnight) is coming. There will be a lot happening that week, including a book character parade and family lantern night so please check the Parent Notices for details.

For Weeks 5 and 6 Show and Share we would like the children to select an invertebrate (it can be the one that they shared in the previous weeks) and present its food chain to the class. As an added challenge they can also investigate if their invertebrate has any other connections to animals that are not food chain related e.g. Hermit crabs place sea anemones on their shell to protect them from predators and sea anemones eat the left over food that the crab doesn't eat.

Busy Bees

Well, Year 1 are back and they are as busy as bees!

Already this term we have participated in a drama incursion where the children got to experience life as an invertebrate in the garden. They have also enjoyed a lovely morning with their Grandparents and Special Friends.

Next week is shaping up to be a busy week too.

If you haven't already done so please return your child's permission slip to your classroom teacher (not the office!) no later than Monday. This is the link to the form if you need to print it off http://www.cornishcollege.vic.edu.au/sites/default/files/Term%203%20Week%202%20Year%201%20Excursion%20Invertebrates%20In%20Our%20Bay.pdf

On Tuesday we have school photos. Please check the uniform requirements as students must wear their full Winter uniform.

Mrs. Sturma and I are praying for tropical weather on Thursday as all of Cornish will be turning off their heaters for the whole day and rugging up. Students are to wear their school uniform on this day however they can add items of clothing such as thermals, beanies, scarves and gloves to help to keep them warm.

On Friday morning we are off to Seaford Beach to work with the Baykeeper Neil Blake. As outlined in the parent notice the students need to be wearing their full sports uniform with gumboots. They must also wear a waterproof jacket (which is in addition to their Cornish spray jacket) and a beanie and bring a small backpack that contains a piece of fruit and a water bottle. Thank you to those parents who have already volunteered to assist us.

Friday night is the opening of the production "Two Weeks With The Queen." Tickets can be booked by following this link http://www.trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=144053&embed=144053

For Weeks 3 and 4 Show and Share we would like the children to find and photograph on their iPad an invertebrate in their garden, home or somewhere that they have recently visited. Then using the concepts of ;
Form (What is it like? e.g. describe it-size, shape, features)
Connection (How is it connected to other things? e.g. food web - what does it eat and what eats it?) &
Responsibility (What is our responsibility? e.g. what can we/should we do to ensure its survival?)
share what they have discovered with their classmates during their Show and Share time.

Finally, please ensure that your child has all of the required apps for this term loaded onto their iPad as we are already utilising them.

Have a great weekend!

Welcome to Term 3!

Welcome back to Cornish! We hope that you all have enjoyed a fantastic break and are ready for another fun filled term. School will start back on Day 8 of the timetable.

If you haven't already done so please log onto the parent portal and book in your progress meetings. This is now the only way that you can make a booking. Grandparents and Special Friends' Day RSVPs are also due and need to be returned to your classroom teacher as soon as possible.

We have another action packed term planned and we are currently looking for parent helpers for our excursion to Seaford Beach on 31.7.15. It is a morning excursion and we are aiming to be back at Cornish by 11.30am so if you are able to help please let your class teacher know.

As mentioned during the Information Session at the start of the year, the children are only required to participate in Show and Share once a fortnight during Semester 2. Of course, they are very welcome to continue to share each week if they wish to do so. During Weeks 1 and 2 we would like the children to share something about their holidays.

Finally, the App List has been updated on the Blog. We would appreciate it if you could please install the required apps onto your child's iPad prior to the start of Week 2.

Making a Difference

What a wonderful, action-packed term it has been, capped off by an incredibly successful MAD Week!! Thank you so much to all of our awesome parent and grandparent helpers during MAD Week.

Thank you also to everyone who has volunteered their time as a parent or grandparent helper this term. Your assistance is always greatly appreciated and we simply couldn't do it without you!

Your child has brought home take-home reading books for the holidays. Please make sure you continue to listen to them read these books, and enjoy sharing other books from home or the local library.

We wish you all a very relaxing, safe and happy holiday and look forward to Term 3.

MAD Week is here!

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to assist us during MAD Week. We look forward to working with you! During MAD Week the Year 1s will be focusing on indigenous Australian culture.

On Monday 22nd June the children will be out and about on the property for part of the day. We ask that they please bring a rain jacket (something more heavy-duty than their school spray jacket) to school too, in case of wet weather.

The Year 1s will be creating their artwork with their aluminium soft drink cans on Tuesday 23rd June. Please make sure your child has brought their four cans to school in a named plastic bag by this date. If you happen to have any spare cans at home, we would love these too please!

On Wednesday 24th June the Year 1 students will be making a traditional Japanese lunch, consisting of rice, vegetables and fruit. This will be in time for them to eat it for lunch, however, if your child may require extra food, please pack this for them.

The Year 1s will be attending The Great Book Swap on Thursday 25^th June. Please ensure your child has brought in their book and gold coin donation by this day.

On Thursday afternoon at 2.15pm the Whole School Aerial Photograph will be taken. Students wear sports shorts or tracksuit pants and a coloured shirt and cap, bandana or scarf (for their head) in their house colour. Students have noted in their record book which house colour they need to wear. Parents are more than welcome to join us for the photograph. Please wear a white shirt and white hat, scarf or bandana on your head.

MAD Night is on Thursday night from 5 - 8pm. Students are required to wear their full Winter uniform, including blazer, to this event.

The Colour Run will be held on Friday 26^th June. Your child needs to bring a change of old, comfortable casual clothes (preferably white) to change into before this event. Students are asked to bring a gold coin donation to take part in this, with the proceeds going to The Royal Children's Hospital.

During MAD Week students will be required to bring their iPads and reading pouches each day. It is imperative that your child’s iPad is fully charged because they will be using this each day.

We look forward to sharing MAD Week with you!

This week the students have done a wonderful job retelling their stories to the class as part of their summative assessment task. On Wednesday afternoon the Prep and Year 1 students thoroughly enjoyed a drama performance by The Flying Bookworm Theatre Company who came and visited us at school. It was a highly entertaining and energetic show!

Have a wonderful weekend.

MAD Week is coming!

MAD (Make A Difference) Week is fast approaching! MAD Week is a wonderful opportunity for parents and other family members and friends to be involved in helping the children to make a difference in the Cornish College community.

We are still eagerly awaiting more parent helpers to assist us during this week.
Monday 22nd June, 9.30 - 11am & 11.20am - 1pm
Tuesday 23rd June, 9 - 11am
Wednesday 24th June, 9 - 11am
Thursday 25th June, 9 - 11am. 
Please let us know if you are able to help. Thank you to those parents who have already volunteered.

Also happening during MAD Week will be the Great Book Swap Challenge. Students and parents are invited to bring a pre-loved book in good condition from home along with a gold coin. They will then have the opportunity to swap their book with another one from the pre-loved collection. All donations will support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation to raise funds for the purchase of books for children in remote indigenous communities. Students may bring their books and gold coins to the CLIC any day leading up to MAD Week. They will then be provided with a special token to bring along to the Great Book Swap in MAD Week.

The Art Department is still seeking donations of clean, empty soft drink cans to use to construct an art installation during MAD Week. Please bring these in and put them in the collection tub located just outside the Art Room. Thank you to everyone who has already donated.

Show and Share for Week 10 will be free choice. There will be no Show and Share during MAD Week.

Have a lovely weekend!

Sharing cultures

The children thoroughly enjoyed the visit by indigenous dancer, Jacob Boehme, today as part of our ‘Magical Tales’ unit of inquiry. Jacob is a Melbourne born and based artist of Aboriginal heritage, from the Narrangga (Yorke Peninsula) and Kaurna (Adelaide Plains) nations of South Australia. We were lucky enough to have Jacob spend the morning with our Year 1s, retelling us the Boon Wurrung story of Bunjil Creating Man and then teaching us the dance and the song of this story.

The students also loved the National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday morning, when all of Cornish College gathered in the gym to share in a very entertaining reading of Aaron Blabey's "The Brother's Quibble".

On Wednesday afternoon the Year 9 and 10 Outdoor Education students introduced the very excited Year 1s to orienteering! Our students enjoyed working in small teams with their senior buddies to complete the orienteering course.

Another reminder that iPads need to come to school fully charged. Please remind and help your child to plug it in each evening so that it will be fully charged for the next school day.

When wearing their Sports uniform, students are required to wear their tracksuit pants and spray jacket to and from school. They may wear their sports shorts under their tracksuit pants and change into these during the day. When wearing Winter uniform students must wear their blazer to and from school.

There will be no Show and Share next week or Week 9 as we will be using this time to help the students prepare for their next summative assessment task.

The Prep - Year 2 Music Recital will take place on Tuesday 9th June at 9.15 - 10.30am in the Sustainability Centre.

During MAD Week we would love some parent helpers! Here are the days and times:  Monday 22nd June, 9.30 - 11am & 11.20am - 1pm
Tuesday 23rd June, 9 - 11am
Wednesday 24th June, 9 - 11am
Thursday 25th June, 9 - 11am. 
Please let us know if and when you are interested.

Have a brilliant weekend!