It’s not just the children who are delighted with the new playground, our crocodiles finally have a pond to swim in! Showing no fear, only sheer delight, the children seem to have things under control. How I love the joys of childhood and the simple pleasures in life… a rain storm and a puddle to jump in.

The outbreak and rapid spread of the Coronavirus is a major concern for our community and the world at this time. The media bombards us with information that can be reactionary, inconsistent and quite confusing. As we have seen, the situation is developing rapidly, it is difficult to make assumptions about what might happen over the coming days and weeks and consequently, recommendations necessarily change. Therefore, as a school, we endeavour to develop a broad continuity strategy and to provide information to you with clarity and in a timely and helpful manner.

Following my last update (see school website, 4 March), I would like to assure families that we continue to monitor this situation closely and that we are looking to adjust our practices as needed, to prioritise the safety of our students and the wider school community.

Ongoing Travel Restrictions

Students and staff are not to attend school if they have:

• Left, or transited through mainland China in the last 14 days (they must isolate themselves for 14 days from leaving mainland China);
• Left, or transited through Iran, Italy or South Korea on or after 1 March (they must isolate themselves until 14 days after leaving these countries); or
• Been in contact with a confirmed case of Coronavirus in the last 14 days (they must isolate themselves for 14 days after the date of last contact with the confirmed case).

If this need for isolation affects your child, you should notify the School immediately so that we can make arrangements to facilitate their learning during this time. Please also ensure that if you or another one of your child carers (or people living in your house) has been travelling overseas or has been in contact with a case of Coronavirus, they should not be visiting the school for any event including drop-off and pick-up at the start or finish of the day.

Illness and Display of Symptoms

In the event that your child or a family member is diagnosed with Coronavirus, please inform the school immediately via  kc.rochester@claremont.nsw.edu.au

Consistent with current guidelines, students and staff who are unwell with respiratory (or other) illnesses should remain at home until symptoms resolve. In accordance with our current practice if any student becomes unwell, they will be checked by our school nurse. We will implement our infection control guidelines and follow the advice provided by the NSW Ministry of Health.

Please consider the impact of your child’s illness on other children, their teachers and others in our school. Do not send your child to school if he/she should exhibit a fever. Do not dose your child with Panadol and/or Nurofen prior to coming to school. Do not send your child to school if they exhibit coughing and other cold symptoms. Whilst it may be inconvenient for working parents to have your child at home, masking a child’s fever with a morning dose of Panadol is dangerous, careless and selfish, as this compromises the health of individuals, the entire school and even the greater community.

If you are concerned about your child’s health, please consult with your GP. If your child has an ongoing immune-compromised condition, please contact our school nurse immediately on Monday to discuss any revisions to his/her current health plan via s.neville@claremont.nsw.edu.au

If you chose to not send your child to school, because you are fearful of them contracting Coronavirus, at this point in time, the school is not able to provide them with the work they have missed out on.

Excursions and offsite activities

All excursions and sport will be assessed on a case by case basis evaluating the venue, crowds and travel arrangements. Unless further information comes to light this weekend, the Year 6 excursion to Canberra will continue as planned. We will email and SMS Year 6 parents should we receive any information that requires us to cancel the excursion at the very last minute. If over the weekend, parents choose to not send their child on the Canberra excursion, please inform the school immediately office@claremont.nsw.edu.au. Please understand that refunds are not possible. Your child will join Year 3, 4 or 5 for their learning should they not attend the excursion. 

School Events

At this point in time, our ‘Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day’ will go ahead as planned for Tuesday 17 March. Given that the elderly are particularly susceptible to Coronavirus, a level of caution is required on the part of all visitors in determining whether or not to attend. The event will be recorded and posted on our website. Given the rapid escalation of the spread of the virus in Sydney, the cancellation of this event may ultimately be required, and we ask for your understanding should this be the case.

Determination of events and gatherings such as our weekly Chapel service, the P&F Disco later this month, and ANZAC events will be communicated, as we receive advice from authorities. 

Possible Closure of the School

If given the direction by government authorities to close the school, we will do so. The school leadership team has developed a ‘Continuity Plan’ which will be implemented should closure be required. The key priorities within this plan include;

• Preparation over the coming weeks. This will involve checking and testing student log-in details for apps, Seesaw, and other online home tools (via their Home Learning next week);
• If your child/ren are to be at home for an extended period of time, parents are encouraged to test online safety settings and net filtering security of home computers and devices. Check these things now. The school will not take responsibility for this;
• Continuation of student learning at home, via our regular online platforms and apps, as much as possible;
• Providing students with their school iPads to allow access to online home learning;
• Endeavouring to support student wellbeing by providing emotional support and connection to the school community as much as possible;
• Regular communication by the school, and if possible with communication access to teaching and other staff for students and parents; and
• Developing a sense of belonging, connection and support for the children and school community. Our school community can, and will, remain strong together. Since 1882 we’ve stood!

Please note that this situation is unprecedented, therefore, the school’s response and specific actions will be determined by time, context, the health and availability of staff... our access to resources and IT support, therefore cannot be guaranteed.

How we will communicate with you

In the event of closure, a detailed Communication Plan will be emailed to all parents. In the mean-time, necessary Coronavirus updates will continue as normal via:

• Claremont College School App alerts
• Updates provided on the school website homepage
• Email and/or SMS to parents

Please support us by ensuring that you now have access to the above AND that your personal contact details are always up to date on your Parent Portal. Please contact our IT Manager, Mr Andrew Nield immediately should you not be able to access your parent portal page via a.nield@claremont.nsw.edu.au

We are a faith community, so let’s keep our eyes on Jesus

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phillipians 4:6-7 

As new information becomes available, I will write to you again to keep you informed about the school’s position. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your understanding and support.

All Claremont dads are invited to join me at the Coogee Diggers, on 30 March from 7pm, for a steak, drink and Dads’ chat. Sean Johns from ‘The Fathering Project’ and I will be facilitating an informal conversation on the topic of ‘the power of a Dad’s story’. We will be exploring the power of your stories (your culture, your background, your faith, lessons learned and mistakes made) in the life and development of your child.

Our nights at the Diggers always provide us with a great opportunity to get to know others, build community, and to also plan some of the Dad’s and Kids’ events for the year ahead. We always need some helpers to ensure the success of our initiatives.  I hope to see you there.

Thank you to the many parents who attended the P&F ‘Bubbles and Bites’ last Friday evening. Thank you to the team of Year 1 parents, who organised everything so brilliantly. It was a wonderful occasion. Thank you also to the Year 6 parents who attended. 

I am grateful for the opportunities like ‘Bubbles and Bites’ which bring us together as a community, for it is in community, working together as a School and parent body, with our conversations together, or shared purpose, consultation and collaboration, that we find the solutions to best care for your children.

Next week our Year 6 students together with 4 staff members travel to Canberra for a 3 day excursion visiting the National Museum of Australia, Parliament House, The Australian War Memorial and other places of interest. As mentioned above if you make the decision over the weekend to NOT send your child on this excursion, please inform us before Monday morning at office@claremont.nsw.edu.au 

Have a great weekend. This morning in Chapel I preached on the beauty of God's creation … may I encourage you to go for a walk, enjoy the coastline in the sun, the rain, whatever the weather. Stay off your technology, care for yourself, enjoy your family and the people you love.

Be blessed.

Doug Thomas           
Principal

  Follow me @DougJThomas

At Claremont College, we expect our students to take pride in our school. We encourage students to wear their uniform as a way of identifying themselves as a valued member of our school community, and to learn to understand and display respect and responsibility. While your child should be taking responsibility for how they wear their uniform, we ask that you assist them with setting high standards. Recently staff have reported that many students are not wearing their uniform correctly. Please read the following uniform reminders.

All children need to have their leather black school shoes polished. Boys’ hair must be a conventional hair style, with hair above their collar. If it is possible, girls’ hair must be tied back. A school sunhat is essential. If your child’s hat is lost or damaged, a new one needs to be purchased. We have a strict policy of ‘No hat, no play’. This applies to all Sport and PE activities as well. Students may wear the cap to Sports/Gala days.

For Sports uniform days, your child is to wear white sneakers with white laces only. Plain white ankle socks are to be worn. These are the socks that can be turned over once, not the more hidden anklet type socks.

We have noticed that some students are wearing accessories that are not part of our uniform. Earrings can include small silver or gold studs only. Smart watches are not permitted however your child may wear a traditional form of watch. Hair accessories can include dark green ribbons or green hair elastics.

We have been experiencing some heavy rainfall this week. I would like to thank the staff who have volunteered to be of extra assistance on car lines. Even when it has been raining, many children have exited their car without their raincoats on. We ask that your child put their raincoat on at home before travelling to school, to help the transition from the car into school even smoother. All children are required to have a yellow raincoat and it is to be stored in the front pocket of their school bag when it isn’t raining.

Lost Property is located outside our School Hall. Please ensure your child’s name is on all of their items so our Year 5 Lost Property monitors can help return the items to the correct child. Our monitors are not always able to hand out all of the items, so please ask your child to check Lost Property on a regular basis.

We thank you for your assistance and attention to upholding our high uniform standards.

Larissa Cameron
Deputy Principal

The positive behaviour we will be concentrating on next week is - our school uniform. 

Wear your uniform with pride. That includes polished shoes, neat hair, dark green hair accessories.

Larissa Cameron
Deputy Principal

In Year 5 the following student’s comment in response to a discussion about the differences between solids, liquids and gases had us all in stitches!

Teacher: Tell me something you know about the difference between solids, liquids and gases.

Student: It’s easier to move through solids than it is to walk through my dad’s gas.

Joseph Millward

On Sunday, Joseph Millward was at Maroubra Beach with his family, when he did something awesome! Joseph was able to rescue a little boy on his surfboard who was being dragged out! 

The boy’s Mum was so thankful and Joseph’s Mum was obviously so proud of him. Well done Joseph!

Joey Acland

Joey is challenging himself to swim to save lives. ReachOut has a program called Laps for Life. Joey will be swimming 70km during the month of March in the hope to raise $500.00

THANK YOU! Last year we participated in the Earn & Learn Program through Woolworths. Here are some of the resources we received last week. They have gone into your children’s classrooms today. We know your children will benefit from your generosity.

Tuesday 10 March, 2pm, School Hall

Why Should You Come Along?

We hope to answer all of your questions...

• Will my child get lost in a big learning space?
• Is there any structure to the teaching and learning?
• What if my child needs to work in a quiet environment?
• Is co-teaching experimental?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of having multiple staff for my child? 
• Is there any research to back up this style of teaching?
• What is it like for the teaching working in these learning spaces?
• Are all staff suited to this style of teaching?
• How does the school support the teachers to make the most of co-teaching? 
• How do students manage a traditional school environment after they leave Claremont and go to High School?

We also hope to discuss with you any questions we may not have thought of yet. Please come along and join this important discussion. To book please click here.

Janelle Ford
Deputy Principal

Parents of students in Years 1 -6,  if you are interested in your child/ren having the opportunity to participate in up to 37, fast paced courses across a 2-day program - called MindQuest 2020 - then please read the attached flyer. The 2-day program includes courses in chemistry, earth sciences, drama, LEGO robotics, art and much more.

MindQuest - NSW Talent Enrichment Quest - Applications close 13 March 2020

Brenda Dalheim
Head of Learning Enrichment

We will have a PUPIL FREE DAY for a Staff Professional Development Day on Monday. On this day our staff will all be participating in Day 1 of a ‘Certificate of Gifted Education, which will be presented by staff from the School of Education at UNSW. The second day of this Certificate will be held on the staff day at the beginning of Term 3. 

TeamKids will be open for the whole day.

The children in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 are very excited about welcoming their grandparents and/or special friends to school on Tuesday, 17 March (9:00am - 10:30am). Your child will bring home two invitations for the event and we ask that you please share the details of this invitation with a maximum of four grandparents or special friends. The RSVP sticker in your child’s diary needs to be completed and returned by Monday 9 March.

Unfortunately, with so many visitors at the school on this day, we cannot extend the invitation to parents and younger siblings on this occasion. We would ask that you assist us in this matter by explaining to your child that this is a day for their grandparents and/or special friends and that you will come and visit them in their learning space on another day.

We ask that visitors be seated in the playground by 8:50am. Parking can be difficult around the school and visitors may have to plan to be here a bit early.

The area directly in front of the school on Coogee Bay Road will be a drop off zone between 8:30am - 8:45am and pick up zone between 10:30am - 10:45am. There are always some mums and dads who drop visitors to the school for this event. This is a great idea as it alleviates parking issues. We will have some helpers at the gates to direct our visitors and to provide assistance if necessary.

In the case of wet weather, we will relocate from the playground to the school hall.

We will commence our morning on the school playground with some music at 8:45am, followed by entertainment provided by each Infants grade starting at 9:00am. The children will then show their visitors around their learning space (we do have a small lift for those who require assistance) and will return with them to the playground for morning tea. We will conclude by approximately 10:30am. Once again, thanks for your understanding in regard to not being able to invite parents and younger siblings. We expect that space will be very limited with over 300 visitors expected on the day. 

Mrs Emily Eu
Head of Infants

Claremont College
Greek National Independence Day March

Sunday, 29^th March 2020
1.00pm, Martin Place Cenotaph

Dear Parents,

We are approaching the upcoming Annual Greek Independence Day March, and we would like to invite you to come along to represent our school.

The day will be a great opportunity to celebrate your Greek Cultural heritage on such an important day in the Greek Calendar, so please come along to represent the school with other Claremont College students and parents in marching at this event.

All students attending the march will be required to wear their full school uniform.

Please let us know if your child/ren will be attending this event via Trybooking by Friday 20^th March 2020; https://www.trybooking.com/606168

There are three ANZAC events coming up and we hope that you and your families are able to join us:

Sunday 5 April, Combined Schools ANZAC March & Service

(assemble at 10:20am for a 10:30am start)

• The march begins at the corner of Carr and Dudley Streets, Coogee, as the students march a short distance to The Coogee Diggers Club, where there is a special schools’ service to commemorate ANZAC Day.
• Our Senior Choir have been asked to sing the New Zealand National Anthem, and
• Our School Captains have been asked to read the poem ‘The Ode’ this year.
• Please note: there may be a Choir practice with a band at the end of this service, to prepare for the Dawn Service.  

Saturday 25 April, Dawn Service

5:30am, Goldstein Reserve, Coogee Beach

• Our School Captains will lay a wreath on behalf of Claremont College.
• The School Choir will be singing the New Zealand National Anthem.
• All students to come in their school uniform, along with their families.
• All Claremont students invited gather on the steps adjacent to Coogee Bay Road for a group photo at the end of the service, and to enjoy the sunrise. 

Friday 1 May, Claremont College ANZAC Day Service

9am, on the School Playground

• This is always a very special service at school where our school leaders take an active role in all aspects of the service;
• Our Senior Choir will be leading the New Zealand National Anthem; and
• Our Junior & Senior School Choir will be leading the Australian National Anthem.

We will be asking all of the Claremont families for numbers closer to these events, but need to know now who of you will be able to attend the two events that are not on school days, that is,

➔    The Sunday Schools March on the 5 April, and
➔    The Dawn Service on Saturday 25 April.

To help us with preparations, could you please complete the form by CLICKING HERE.

Janelle Ford
Deputy Principal

Parent Seminar@ 2:00pm: Why Co-teaching? - 10 March - Bookings open

Year 2 - School House Museum Excursion - 23 March - Parent Portal

Parent Seminar @ 2:00pm: Home Learning Policy 2020 - 24 March - Bookings open

ANZAC Services Participation registration

Newspapers Needed

Dear Year 3 Parents,

Next term in Year 3, we will be using newspapers to create sculptures in Visual Arts. We ask that you collect together any old newspapers in the coming weeks, and over the next holiday break, to contribute to our school supplies.

Regards,
The Year 3 Team

Odd Socks Required

Dear Parents,

As an eco-friendly way for students to rub out their whiteboards, we ask that you please send an odd sock to school for the class to use. This will prevent students from using tissues, and it will make good use of the lonely socks of the Claremont community.

Please do not buy new socks, as this will defeat our eco-friendly intentions. The socks will be placed in a box for students to share. 

Regards,
The Year 3 Team

Learning Festival

Dear Parents,

The Year 5 Learning Festival will be taking place this term on Monday 6 April (Week 11). The students will be showcasing their incredible ‘Genius Hour’ projects that they have been creating throughout the term. Please come and join us in the school Hall from 9:00 - 9:40 am. 

We look forward to sharing the projects made by our Year 5 geniuses with you.

Year 5 Team
Hannah Mackay, Adelaide Marquet, Rachel Shiels and Sinead Kelly

Sustainability Tip of the Week

Remember to Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle.  There is a reason we say these in this order.  We always want to reuse things first.  If we can’t, then we try to reduce what we use. Recycling is the final step where we give out old things to someone else to make new things. 

The Eco Warriors Team

Reversible Waste Workshop 

Explores the what, why and where of household waste.

Have you ever wondered how metal is made? What about paper? What about plastics? Have you ever wondered where metal, paper and plastics go after we have finished using them?

This week, Claremont College has been answering these questions with the help of a Waste Education Officer from Randwick Council. This hour long workshop, called ‘Rubbish Today, Resource Tomorrow’, allowed students in each grade to explore the life cycle of natural resources from nature to landfill.

This hands on experience allowed students the opportunity to apply their problem solving skills to address the issue of unnecessary waste. Students sorted (clean) rubbish into the various recyclable categories and discussed how recycling gives natural resources another life.

It is our hope that this experience will better equip our students to rethink their consumption of single-use materials in the future.

Some reflections from our students: 

Stella Copland in Year 4 - ‘’I really enjoyed learning about where our rubbish goes. I can’t believe there is so much!’’ 

Chloe Melikyan in Year 4: ‘’I loved sorting the rubbish and understanding where it should go.’’

New Fiction Titles to the Collection

Peter Hellier is an Australian comedian, actor, children’s author, television and radio presenter. In his first ever childrens’ book Helliar introduces us to the main character Frankie Fish. Frankie is a twelve year old boy who hates visiting his grandparents. His Grandad is cranky, yells a lot and never lets Frankie venture inside his shed. Following a school prank that went wrong, Frankie is packed off to stay with his grandparents. During his stay Frankie makes a huge discovery in the shed, a homemade time machine! Frankie and his Grandad go back in time on an epic adventure but will they ever return home? The following titles in the collection continue the time machine travels visiting Scotland, China, Vikings in Norway and even Ancient Greece. These books are fun and full of adventure.

The Library collection has all four books in the collection.

Recommended for ages 8+ years old.

Mrs Susan Kesur
Library Assistant

Choir

Choir is now in full swing and we are working diligently to find our ‘blend’ and create our first performance pieces. This week is the last week that the choir contract will be online to fill in. Please ensure that you do this with your child before Monday Week 7. This can be located in the Years 3 - 6 sections. It is important to understand that a choir is a team and our positive contribution is vital.  Thank you.

Senior Choir Parents, please also ensure that you have discussed the dates for the ANZAC services with your child and whether or not they will be attending. We will be rehearsing the New Zealand Anthem over the next few weeks so it is important to know who can attend one or all of the services. 

Tutors

Thank you for your patience as we negotiate and coordinate the replacement of tutors who resigned at the beginning of this year. Helena Kacarovski will take on Emma Joy Hanley’s students. Please contact h.kacarovski@claremont.nsw.edu.au  if you would like to pursue piano lessons please click the following LINK.

The brass blow tests were a huge success last week but we did not get through all of the students who were interested. We will continue these Tuesday lunchtime of Week 6. Following these blow tests, please contact sambeenz@yahoo.com  if your child wishes to begin a brass instrument this year. Sam will be able to advise if your child is physically ready to learn a brass instrument. 

Please contact the office if you are waiting to hear from a tutor after registering for lessons.

String Ensemble

Junior Ensemble will now take place on Friday Recess with Dominique Guerbois.

Senior Ensemble will continue with Margaret Machamer but the time has been changed to  Mondays at 7:45am. 

Concert

For our biennial CAPA showcase this year, we have asked for the children’s input by asking them to write a script to be performed in the show!  As you may be aware, we as a concert team write the show from scratch so that we can showcase the talents that each child has to offer. The theme is ‘love’ and there are no limits or rules. (We do not want to stifle creativity). Love can mean so many things, love of Jesus, God, family, friends, country, passion for hobbies, life. It could also be inspired by the hurt caused by love, loneliness, grief, unrequited love... 

You could:

• Write a poem 
• Write a monologue
• Write a short story or dialogue

All of the above could be inspired by a love quote, a real family story, bible verse, song, poem. What a great ‘hook’ to grab the audience's attention!

The due date will be extended to Friday of Week 7, 13 March. Submissions can be emailed to the office or handed in paper form to the office for attention of the Concert Team.

Please note - we would like these scripts to be written by the students with minimal help from parents.

Please also explain to your child that submitting a script will require a lot of resilience as only a few scripts may be used. We may even choose your child’s script yet they may need to completely rewrite it so that it works in the ‘bigger story’ of the show. We are really scouting for talent, and for student ideas to make this process more student led and to give opportunities to be part of the writing. As a team the show is being brainstormed, drafted and edited right up to Term 3 so we would love for our students to be part of this creative learning process.

Mrs Tara Barr
Head of Music

Key Dates

Important Dates for Term 1

Friday 20 March                  Closing date for Term 2 Morning Skills Registration
Saturday 4 April           IPSHA Cross Country Carnival

IPSHA Swimming Carnival

On Wednesday, 39 Claremont Students represented our College at the IPSHA Swimming Championships. Our swimmers competed against the best swimmers from over 50 schools on the day. We all tried our hardest, swam our best and lots of PB’s (Personal Bests) were reached. At the end of the day, everyone was tired. We all felt proud of ourselves, and we also felt proud of each other! Many students commented about what a great experience it was to race in the Olympic Pool against such a strong competition and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and opportunity. Each event had over 100 swimmers competing to be one of the 5 swimmers that progresses to CIS. Although we didn’t have any swimmers qualify for CIS, there were quite few who achieved impressive results in their heat, including a number of first places. A special mention to Jai Cavenagh (Year 6), Tessa Chua (Year 6), Joey Acland (Year 6) and Ashley Cavenagh (Year 2), who all finished in the top 8 for some of their events and only narrowly missed out on selection for CIS. Well done to all our swimmers on representing Claremont in such an excellent way.

Claremont Cross Country Team

The 2020 Claremont Cross Country Team that will represent Claremont at the upcoming IPSHA carnival on 4th April is below. The team is based on the top 5 place getters (with the exception of 8/9) from last year’s Cross Country Carnival. Some age groups have more than 5 students only in the case where the times are very close to the top 5 and also a competitive time by IPSHA standards. The 8/9 combined category is made up of a mixture of 8 and 9 years olds based on the overall best times. If your child is new to Claremont and has represented their previous school for Cross Country in the past, please contact me. 

Unfortunately, due to staffing issues and unavailability of external providers, at this stage we are unable to offer a jogging club this year. However, if there are parents who would be keen and able to assist in supervising and helping to running a couple of these training sessions leading up to IPSHA, please contact me. The sessions would be on a Friday morning so there isn’t conflict with other extra curricular Sports. The Cross Country team will be notified directly if there are any updates to the training/jogging club.

Term 2 Extra Curricular Sport

Term 2 Sport information is attached below. The link for registration is in the document. Please remember to register online for all morning/lunchtime activities as soon as possible to avoid disappointment as some sports have limited positions. Registration will close Friday 20 March. Programs commence from Week 2.

Sport Skills Programs

Monday: Year 3-6 Tennis (Eastern Suburbs Tennis Centre) and K-2 Judo(lunchtime)
Tuesday: Year 1-2 Tennis
Wednesday: Year 3-6 Athletics
Friday: Year 3-6 Football (Soccer)

Claremont Champions

Congratulations to Marnie (Year 3), Anna (Year 6) and Zoe (class of 2019) Laurence who competed at the NSW State Combined Events Carnival in Tamworth over the weekend. During the weekend they competed in 6 events (sprints, long distances, jumps and throws). Points for each event were added up depending on speed/distance. Anna achieved a few personal best times, Zoe came 9th in her age group and Marnie won Gold! Some tough competition from all over the state and in very hot conditions. Well done, girls.

Well done to  Saskia van Geloven and Zali McCarthy from Year 4, who won their Oztag grand final with their undefeated team The Flames on Wednesday. They beat the Tie Dye Ninjas 3-0, with one try scored by Zali! 

A big shout out to Joseph Millward (Year 6) who rescued a little boy at Maroubra. Joe was out surfing and noticed the boy being dragged out and used his surfboard to help the child to shore. And look out for Joseph on Bondi Rescue in the years to come!

Mr Joel Geering
Sport and PDHPE

This week at Chapel we continued to explore our theme ‘20-20 Vision: How we see God and how He sees us.’ Mr Thomas spoke about God is the creator and His world and all of creation is amazing. Mr Thomas shared some photos of his travelling experiences where he was blown away by the beauty of God’s creation. We were reminded to respect and care for God’s creation and to always remember that each one of us is uniquely special and loved by Him. We are His most precious creations.

Verse of the week:

Oh LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  Psalm 8:1

It is nearly that time of the year again. Students in Years 3 to 6 (Infants students only if their ability is at Primary level) have the opportunity to sign up for the annual Inter-School Chess Competition.  

The competition runs every Friday afternoon in Term 2 for at least 8 weeks. Games are played on a rotation between home games (at school) and away games (at another school).  Parents of children on each team are asked to help out by providing transport when the team is playing an away game.

Participation in the competition is entirely dependent on the number of children to make a team in each experience level (Intermediate, Rookies and Junior Rookies). A minimum of 4 children are required to register a team in each level. 

As students have experienced in previous years, while chess is a friendly and social game, games can be highly competitive and opponents have a range of abilities. It is, therefore, important that students participating in the competition have substantial experience with playing chess and have attained a reasonable understanding of the rules in order to be competitive. With this in mind, please ensure you speak with your child before entering him or her into the competition.

The chess coaching sessions run by The Sydney Academy of Chess on a Friday mornings, have been highly successful and the children have thoroughly enjoyed learning new moves and strategies from our chess coach.

Ideas for your child:

• Encourage your child to join our chess coaching program.
• Buy a chess board and play some games (explain the rules and possibilities as you play).
• Use a chess app on your iPad, laptop or smartphone and allow them to discover the rules for themselves.
• Teach them the ‘four-move-checkmate’ and how to defend against it.
• Using these tools will give you a great understanding of your child’s level of readiness.

If your child is interested in playing in this year’s Inter-School chess competition, and you are willing to provide transport assistance if your child is selected to play, could you please click here and complete the registration form, indicating your child’s level of experience, by Friday 13 March.

Kind regards,

The Chess Team

The first annual P&F event, Bubble and Bites was held last Friday night in the school hall. We had a fantastic turnout with over 120 parents and staff attending to welcome new parents across all grades and kindergarten parents to our school community. Following a Claremont tradition, the Year 6 parents were also invited so they could connect with their kindy ‘buddy’ parents. It was wonderful to see parents and staff chatting and mingling together, some till quite late in the evening (you know who you are!).

We heard from Mr Thomas who spoke about the planting project for Lake Conjola nursery and how we as a school community can do something practical to support the victims of the bush fires. Our school will soon become a nursery and if you are able to volunteer your time to come and help, please get involved.

Tom Haywood, one of the Year 1 grade representatives addressed the fathers about considering joining the P&F. It would be great to see the gender ratio be more balanced and as Tom pointed out, he is currently the ‘only’ male member on the committee. As a Kindy parent for the first time last year, joining the P&F has been a great way for him to be more informed and involved in the school.

Thank you to Mr Thomas, Mrs Ford, Mrs Cameron, the Kindergarten and Year 6 teaching teams who also took the time to attend. Special thanks to the Year 1 grade representatives who organised the event so well. To the main organisers, Morgan Ryan, Tom Haywood and Sylvia Tziortzis and their army of year 1 parents on the night, Shane Chee, Claire King, Alana Koch, Allyson and Jason Muir, Meredith Rogers and Phil Ryan.

For me personally, it was a lovely event to attend as my first official duty as P&F President. Finally, I would like to encourage you all to get involved in whatever way you can. Whether it be volunteering for the many projects that may pop up during the year, attending chapel or coming to one or a few P&F meetings throughout the year. We have a strong and vibrant school community and I’m looking forward to continuing to strengthen this in the year ahead.

Melisse Lee
P&F President

The next P&F Meeting is being held on Wednesday 18 March at 7.30pm in the school hall. All parents are welcome to attend.

Hi Lovely Claremont Parents,

Our first school event for 2020 -  70's Disco Style!!!

Friday, 27th March 6:00pm-8:30pm

Book your early bird tickets NOW through Flexischools.  Discounted early bird tickets close on Wednesday the 25th March.

Can't wait for you to bring your GROOVE on!!

Kind regards,
Grade 3 Reps - Natasha, Lyndel and Sylvia

Orders must be placed by 10:59pm the night before for delivery on the next school day.

If you are ordering a snack item, please specify in the notes area whether the snack is for Recess or Lunch.

Please note that orders are to be placed on the ‘Welcomeasy’ website and NOT Flexischools..

You must firstly create an account by following some simple steps. Go to

www.welcomeasy.com.au  

The Uniform Shop is open from 8:00am-9:00am on the following dates this Term:

18 March and 1 April

The Uniform Shop is situated below the School Hall with entry via the small gate next to the units. Whether you can make it at this time or not, parents are encouraged to place online orders (especially if you are purchasing accessories) via Flexischools. Please note, the Uniform Shop does not accept any second hand clothing except for Claremont school uniforms. It is very inconvenient if you leave other items. Thank you.

All *new uniform items* can be purchased from ‘Wylies’ at 

3/17 Green St, Banksmeadow (02) 9344 5796.

Please note that all communication should be through the email address: clothingpool@claremont.nsw.edu.au

Please refrain from calling or texting Roxanne Fielding directly.