Essential services and to those who have kept us safe - You are remarkable

Finding fun in every situation - You are Remarkable

Love is Remarkable

We have remarkable homes

God's love is Remarkable

Music is remarkable

Innovation is remarkable

Human diversity is remarkable

Humour is remarkable

Dreams are remarkable

As we wrap up Term 3, there is so much to celebrate and to be thankful for. Firstly, how great was the concert… it was remarkable. God’s hand was certainly leading and blessing us as we responded to the many challenges of COVID-19, determined that our concert would go ahead despite the many enforced restrictions. We were relieved and thankful for the glorious weather that we had for all of our outdoor filming. We could not believe that the filming was completed one day prior to the government forcing a ban on singing and dancing in schools. It was clear that nothing, not even a world pandemic can get in the way of everything that Claremont College represents… we are a collaborative, innovative and compassionate community - framed in 2020, by God’s love! 

We were delighted that last night’s launch seemed to go smoothly in our homes. We loved that the innovation of an online experience created new possibilities that previously we would not have thought possible. How wonderful is it that many of our grandparents tuned in from around the globe including New Caledonia and The Netherlands. 

I cannot thank my staff team led by the brilliant Mrs Barr, Mr Geering and Mrs Knoll enough for their commitment and dedication. This really has been a collaborative production and each and every member of the staff team deserves a wonderful break. 

Thank you to the large number of parents and grandparents who have sent congratulatory messages this morning and across today… you too are remarkable. Some of these quotes sum it all up:

“We are the grandparents of Jasper and Saskia VG living in the Netherlands and via Youtube we saw the performance "UNKNOWN20" and we thought we must congratulate you with the result. We know how much work this has been, but it was GREAT. . Again our congratulations from The Netherlands. Opa and Oma VG

“We would like to warmly thank you, the concert committee and all the staff team of Claremont College for yesterday’s outstanding virtual performance of the school concert. How wonderful it was for my husband and I to be able to enjoy the show and watch our grandson Oliver R (Year 3) evolve and to view this special performance from overseas, from our home in Noumea, New-Caledonia!
Staying connected through these troubled times was a great joy. In other circumstances, we would have flown to Sydney, a three and half hour flight. But our island is also cut off from the outside world. Our daughter provided us all the details to watch the video. We chose Vimeo and could access it without any trouble shooting.
Thanks to the professionalism, the enthusiasm and generosity of your school community the experiment was a success.  All the kids took part in the show with all their might and heart. They were simply extraordinary.
Once more, lots of thanks and congratulations from happy grandparents!
Mira and Emmanuel REECHT”

 “What an amazing production! 🥰 😭 🥰
To our wonderful school, Thank you!
Thank you for inspiring our children. For always putting them first. For helping us all put this year into perspective. For reminding us all what matters most - God, love, community. For always going high and for bringing so much joy into our lives.
God bless you all and happy holidays
With much love and respect"

“To all those involved, thank you! What a fantastic concert, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you Claremont College!” 

“Dear Claremont, Thank you for the wonderful night!!!
The concert was amazing and so emotional!!!!
Really impressive work!!!”

“Dear Mr Thomas and Staff,
Congratulations to all of you and the students for an amazing concert. Thank you for all your patience, hard work and mostly your passion to put all this together during this unknown year. May God bless you all, you are all his angels with lots of love and kindness to share.”

You may have heard in the media yesterday that the NSW Government has revised their regulations and are permitting school camps to go ahead.  Although school camps are now allowed to happen we will be going ahead with our alternate camp program since we have put so much into planning this, and I still believe that it is wise to take additional precautions to ensure for the safety of everyone involved.

Parents of students in Years 3 - 6 are advised that an email will be sent during holidays requesting your child’s medical and dietary requirements for the field trip day of the alternate camp program.

Congratulations to the following students who were presented with a Certificate of Achievement or Principal’s Award at our Merit Assembly over the last few weeks:

Chloe M, Anthony T, Aston T, Dominique K, Anya K, Albert B, Tabitha A, Lacey M, Saskia,  Poppy QR, Henry M, Marnie L, Alana P, Grace W, Victoria G, Charlotte B, Caleb S, Amber O, Zara R, Scarlett Y, Aiden P, Ben F, Peter T, Summer L.

During the break, it is important to me to provide my staff team with the opportunity for a much needed and well deserved rest. Our school emails will therefore not be attended to. You may still send us an email, or leave a voicemail message, but it may not be responded to immediately or until Term 4 resumes. In the event of a COVID-19 related issue you may email office@claremont.nsw.edu.au to respond to any further questions or concerns you may have after reading the app alerts from us. 

You will however, be able to contact the school by phone during the break (8:00am to 4:00pm).

In the situation that your child, member of your family, or other close contact tests positive to COVID-19 during the break, please inform the school immediately by emailing the Principal’s PA, Mrs Kathy-Clare Rochester,  kc.rochester@claremont.nsw.edu.au 

‘TeamKids’ bookings, inquiries and communications should be made directly via their website or by phoning Customer Service on 1300 035 000.

Doug Thomas 
Principal

  Follow me @DougJThomas

And that’s a wrap… hopefully last night was a night of celebration, fun and reflection. We as a staff were so proud watching our kids shine! There was such a buzz at school this morning and into the afternoon as we watched the performance again today. We talked about what each item meant and watched with pride as we saw our friends, brothers and sisters on the big screen!

Didn’t get to watch it last night? Don’t stress. You will be able to view the performance at your own leisure, in your own time at any time over the school holidays. The link will also be accessible to family members overseas. How wonderful that they will be able to connect with your kids and get to enjoy the performance too?! Each family will also receive a USB in Term 4 with the performance.

Please ensure that if you forward the link on, make it to close family only, and they understand that no content is to be shared on any social media to protect our school community. This is a CLOSED event and password protected for a reason. 

Claremont College proudly presents

A Claremont College Musical

24 September 2020

Who would have known that this is how 2020 would unfold? It has been a year of surprises and so we give you ‘Into the Unknown’.

Putting this together has been an amazing experience. Our concert committee had been working hard since January, meeting, plotting, and getting excited about our 2020 production, when COVID brought everything to a halt. Then I got just the thing I needed…  encouragement from our staff and Melisse Lee, our P&F President, asking how can we make sure the concert can go ahead. In truth, there was no way I was ever going to let our beautiful Year 5 and 6s miss out on their last concert... and so the brainstorming began!

The aim was to diarise this crazy year so that we will all remember it forever. I wondered how could I ensure that we don’t forget all the small things that made this year unique?! The funny moments, home learning, zoom calls, toilet paper hoarding… I quizzed the kids about what was unique for them this year and this inspired me with the storyline for our virtual extravaganza!

The Arts are the perfect avenue to explore difficult themes in our lives. This year there has been fun and laughter, but also loss, sacrifice and uncertainty. I handpicked each musical item to represent moments that we have lived and experienced this year. Working with Dale Pope from RedEd is always such an amazing experience and together we crafted a dance concept for each grade. Seeing the vision come to life each week made the first few weeks of this term very exciting.  Some of our students took part in making sure their creative input and story also appeared throughout their grade dance.

Revisiting and exploring these themes through dance is all part of telling the story and healing through movement. Music, dance and drama provide a safe outlet for us to explore real life dilemmas and struggles. How important is it to do it this year more than ever? 

As you watch each item, I hope you take the opportunity to discuss as a family what the performance means, as it will be different for all of us. It is a time to reflect, smile and look back with awe at what we have achieved this year. We are remarkable. We have overcome many challenges and have grown as individuals. There may even be a few tears as you watch this. I know I will be welling up with pride at seeing our little cherubs on the big screen.

I have never worked to such an intense deadline before, but I thank the amazing people that have helped in big ways or small to make this happen. Our staff team are talented, courageous, creative and unstoppable. This year, our team worked harder than ever before to deliver off campus learning and reinvent the wheel and when some may have slowed down, our team picked up the pace. My colleagues are inspiring, innovative and always put the kids first. This is the story of our kids, our staff, our families - our community.

I acknowledge our industry professionals, Troy Sheather our videographer, Wes Chew our audio engineer, and Emma Laurence our graphic designer, for adding their magic touch to our production. 

This would not have happened without the hard work of our costume team - Rachel Shiels, Deborah Tan, Melisse Lee, Lisa Jericevic and Sylvia Tziortzis. You ensured our kids looked fantastic!

Thank you for our beautiful props Anna Robinson and Nicole Nunn. 

Our beautiful program was designed by the talented Deborah Tan and Karen Wiggins. 

Our string ensemble was led by the wonderful Margaret Lindsay Machamer. 

Our staff item was led by the creative Adelaide Marquet and Stephanie Affleck. 

I must thank the talented Tiffany Knoll who has assisted me in bringing the vision to life, editing, filming, writing, singing and always with a smile. I must also mention the wonderful Mr Geering, my partner in crime who helped to coordinate the dance program and filming in the first few weeks. I also thank the hard working Executive and Senior Leadership team who encouraged, supported and ensured nothing stopped this from taking place! And who could forget Mr Doug Thomas… the dream Principal that any music teacher could ask for, always supporting our staff, the Arts, creativity and allowing opportunities for kids to perform, shine and be the best version of themselves.

This has shown our kids that no pandemic can stop us, there is always a way, there is always a solution, there is always a reason to sing, dance, make music, act, love and connect. Restrictions or not, you are all born to perform and to shine and this movie proves it!

Our kids deserve this.
Our community needs this.
Here it is.

Mrs Tara Barr

This week your child has participated in a session on Holiday Safety. At Claremont we believe it is important to explicitly address areas of potential risks, such as road safety, stranger danger, cyber and e-safety, beach safety and sun safety.

These lessons, led by Miss McKersie and myself, combine explicit teaching, in an age appropriate way, allow children to process and discuss how to keep themselves safe in a range of potentially unsafe situations. Increasing awareness of self and others is a crucial part of these lessons as we focus on how the body's early warning systems often kick in to try and warn us of potential dangers and how important it is to be aware and listen to these warnings.

At Claremont College we teach these lessons every term. We encourage you to discuss with your child the content of the lessons as you begin the holiday break and revisit the topic from time to time. Thank you for your support with this, as we endeavour to empower our Claremont children to feel safe in our community. 

The following resources may assist you when discussing this topic with your child:

Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept by Jayneen Sanders
A children’s picture book to keep kids safe from sexual abuse

Michael’s Bubbles by Justine O’Malley
Protective Behaviours story book about personal space

My Body Belongs to Me by Jill Starishevsky
The rhyming story and simple, friendly illustrations provide a way to sensitively share and discuss the topic, guiding young children to understand that their private parts belong to them alone

Smart Parenting for Safer Kids by Professor Freda Briggs AO
Her latest books covers Bullying, Cyberspace and Internet Safety and Sexual Abuse

A Secret Safe to Tell by Naomi Hunter
This book encourages and empowers children to speak up if someone is touching them in a way that makes them uncomfortable

Larissa Cameron and Catherine McKersie
Deputy Principal and School Counsellor

Due to the financial challenges of COVID-19 a small number of parents who had initially enrolled for Kindergarten in 2021 have had to withdraw their application. This, coupled with some deferments to 2022, and a smaller number of siblings than usual, means that we now have some vacancies. Many people in our community often do not submit applications to Claremont because they often think they don’t have a chance for their child getting a place. We seek your help in getting the word out that vacancies do exist. If you have a child at preschool, please tell others. Application forms are available on our website, or contact Kathy-Clare Rochester, kc.rochester@claremont.nsw.edu.au for further information.

Whilst we give priority for enrolments to siblings, placement can not be guaranteed. If you have a pre-schooler who is due to begin school in 2022, please ensure that your application form is lodged or your child might miss out on a place. Additional references are not required for sibling application.

Should you have any questions or require confirmation that an application has been submitted, please contact Mrs Rochester.

We would like to remind parents that a full term’s notice should have been received in writing by Friday 25 September, to the Principal is required before terminating a student's enrolment. If you have not yet done this, the deadline will be extended to 9:00am Monday 28th September.  In the event of failure to provide the required notice of withdrawal, a charge equal to 100% of the applicable term’s school fees will become payable, including all outstanding fees and charges, in addition to fees and charges payable in respect to the entire current term.

The high standard of presentation of the school uniform is an important value of our school, and this is something that Claremont has had a longstanding reputation for in our community. Your support is appreciated as we maintain this fine tradition of our school.

With the handover to Ranier, our new uniform supplier, here are a couple of answers to questions that parents have been asking:

Question: When will the new uniform shop open?
Answer : On Wednesday 14 October, the beginning of Term 4

Question: Will they immediately commence selling redesigned items?
Answer: No. Most new items will be available to purchase at the beginning of Term 1 2021. The updated school blazer, sports tracksuit will be available for the commencement of the winter uniform handover in May 2021.

Question: What about girls’ summer tunics?
Answer: These will not be available until the beginning of Term 1 2021.

Question: What if I need a new tunic or item?
Answer: During this transition time you may still buy things at Wileys or let us know and we may be able to secure some second hand items for you through the school community.

Question: What is happening about Kindy Orientation Day?
Answer: Due to COVID restrictions, we will not be able to sell items in the hall however Ranier will be opening for individual appointments across Term 4 so that our new Kindy students will have all the necessary items, and will be available to be collected before school starts in 2021.

Question: How long will the school allow for transition from existing to updated styles?
Answer: We want to put in a process that supports parents during this challenging season, particularly not wanting to add additional financial impact. The transition period will be implemented for a minimum of 18 months.

A reminder that children are to return to school next term in their Summer Uniform. Please check the length of your daughter’s tunic, as it must not be above the knee. Boys must also have shirts that are long enough to be adequately tucked in or be wearing one of the newer shirts that do not need to be tucked in at all. During Summer the blazer is not compulsory but can still be worn for warmth. The jumper however, cannot be worn to school or home from school without the blazer but can be worn whilst at school. The boys’ vest can be worn as part of the summer uniform, with or without the blazer. Once your child no longer needs his/her blazer, please ensure that it is dry cleaned and ready for ‘Speech Day’ in December, as children are to wear their blazer on this day (more details about ‘Speech Day’ to come next term). Many blazers need new buttons and these can be purchased from Wileys.

Girls’ headbands and ribbons must be bottle green whether they are in summer, winter or sports uniform. The uniform shop stocks a range of headbands, ribbons and scrunchies that meet the school standards. 

School resumes on Tuesday 13 October.

In order to streamline payments and to avoid carrying over charges to next year, we will be processing all sundry expenses (ie camps, school bus, excursions etc) on your next account. We realise that for some families this will mean an increase in their account for the end of the year, and apologise for the inconvenience. You will also note a modified charge for the ‘Three Fun Days’ in lieu of the Year 3, 4, 5, and 6 camps.

The following events are scheduled for Terms 3 and 4 and will proceed depending on advice from the Australian Government, NSW Health and the Department of Education in accordance with the current COVID 19 situation.

Term 4

Term 1 2021

The P&F will be holding a secondhand uniform sale along with clearance items on THURSDAY 15 OCTOBER from 8:00am – 10:00am. All secondhand items will be $5, except blazers ($20). Clearance items will range from $2-$10. Please see the flyer attached. 

Due to restricted capacity, please book a timeslot via the following link:

https://www.trybooking.com/BLTXZ

The P&F are asking the school community for donations of any good quality second hand uniform items, preferably summer uniform items for this sale. Items should be in good order and have:

• no broken zips
• no tears or holes
• no excessive marks from paint, markers etc
• minimal stains

Please send items into the office on Tuesday 13 or Wednesday 14 October. We appreciate your generosity in helping the school community.

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS WILL BE TAKEN ON:

Monday 19 October 2020 and Tuesday 20 October 2020

ORDER NOW go to www.advancedlife.com.au and enter the code 537 6V3 2EM

School photographs are scheduled to be taken by advancedlife. An envelope and flyer were sent home last week. If possible it is our preference that ordering be completed online to reduce administration and potential security issues related to the return of cash and envelopes on photo day.

Orders for packages and sibling photographs can be placed securely online at www.advancedlife.com.au using our school’s unique 9 digit advancedorder code. Portrait and group package orders are due by photography day. 

If you wish to purchase a sibling photograph, a separate envelope and flyer is available from the school office. Sibling photographs are available to purchase online, but the order must be placed no later than the day before photography day. Sibling photographs will only be taken if an order has been placed.

Should you have any queries concerning school photographs or online ordering, please contact us at www.advancedlife.com.au/contac... 

School Photos - Individual Package Flyer

School Photos - Sibling Package Flyer

Year 3 - Science Incursion - Parent Portal

Kindy explores the effects that drought has on our Aussie farms...

In Science, Kindergarten students have been learning about the weather. We have been learning about how the weather can influence our decisions regarding what to wear and the things we do. In the last few weeks, we have been exploring drought and how it affects our farmers, livestock and crops.

This week Kindy interviewed “Farmer Dave” who is a farmer in Condobolin. Students were able to use empathy when listening to Dave speak about his experiences on his farm when in drought last year.

Kindy had many questions for Dave and they quickly learned that drought is not pleasant for Australia, and particularly our farmers. From this discussion, students came up with some solutions for how they could help at home.

Some solutions they came up with were:

• Take shorter showers
• Don’t fill up the bath too high
• Only turn the dishwasher on when it is full of dirty dishes
• Use a bucket of water rather than a hose to wash the car
• Turn the tap off while brushing their teeth
• Press the half flush button on the toilet wherever possible
• Place a bucket on the shower floor and use the water to water your garden

We then decided that we wanted other people in the school to be aware of how they could save water in their home so we made some posters to put up around the school.

Here are a few reflections from some of the Kindergarten students:

“When I saw the dead fish because of the drought it was very sad.”  Camille C 

“Droughts can be very bad so to help save water you can put a bucket in the shower when you wash yourself. Then put the water on the garden.”  Joshua P  

“We should not waste water when we are in a drought.”  Ella F  

“Drought is when there is not much rain and it’s all dried up. The crops don’t grow and animals might die.”  Aidan P

The Kindergarten Team

Year 1 Geography Incursion

On Tuesday, Grant and Laytoa from Kadoo came to visit Year 1 to teach us about Aboriginal culture. We learnt about how ochre paint was made and we even got to use the paint on our faces! We tried a few different types of bush tucker like wattle seeds and kangaroo jerky.

We had the opportunity to take a quick walk to the front of the school where Laytoa talked to us about the artwork that her father (Tim Ella) made of ‘Guriwal the Whale’. The students had so many interesting questions about Aboriginal culture and history. We were inspired by the artwork at the front of the school and Laytoa explained that it was like a map. She taught us about how Aboriginal people draw maps using symbols. We were very excited about this and started to draw our own maps using Aboriginal symbols that Laytoa showed us.

Here are some of the comments from what we learnt and enjoyed about during the incursion.

‘They eat different foods from us. We tried kangaroo and wattle seed’  Georgia O 

‘The Aboriginal people paint their faces because it shows respect to Mother Earth’ Charlotte C  

‘The Aboriginal people find ochre, they crush it into powdery bits and put water into it. They can dip their fingers into it to paint faces. I learnt about how a person was speared, because he didn't follow the rules of the land and they turned him into a whale.’ Finlay P  

‘I enjoyed that we got to do body painting and eat bush tucker.’  Alexis L  

‘I liked tasting the food and having the dots painted on my face.’ - Isabel C  

‘I enjoyed eating bush tucker and learning about the whale. He got speared in the back because he did naughty things and that’s why he has a spout.’  Marcus R  

‘I liked doing the Aboriginal mapping drawings. In normal Art lessons, we draw what things should look like, but when we drew Aboriginal Art we used symbols to represent the object. We used a symbol to show the campfire.’  Jacob A

The Year 1 Team

Geography 

This term Year 2 students have thoroughly enjoyed learning more about places in Australia and around the world.

Our Geography unit focussed on a few broader key inquiry questions: 

• How are people connected to places?
• Why do you feel connected to places?
• How and why do Indigenous peoples feel connected to places?

We spent some time using a variety of different tools to support our understanding:

• Maps
• Google Maps
• Globes
• Tables
• Graphs

Year 2 students loved:

• Reflecting on our special places
• Labelling our houses
• Using Google Earth
• Creating and addressing a postcard for ourselves
• Creating a Family Heritage Tree
• Naming places in Australia
• Data collecting about places we have been 

Year 2 students are looking forward to next term when Geography links with Project Based Learning.

Here are a few snippets from around the classroom:

“I am looking forward to collecting data”  Chloe M 

“I am looking forward to naming more places of Australia”  Olivia M  

“I am looking forward to doing more on Google Earth and finding more places” - Peter L  

“I am looking forward to using Google Earth to learn more about NSW”  Max F  

“I am looking forward to learning more about different places”  Georgia G

Year 2 Team

Visual Arts

In Visual Arts this term, the Year 3 students have been exploring Aborignal inspired fibre sculptures. They started the unit by focusing on an appreciation task where they investigated a group of artists called the ‘Tjanpi Central Desert Weavers’. The Tjanpi Desert Weavers are a social enterprise, enabling Anangu women to earn their own income from fibre art. Tjanpi represents over 400 Aboriginal artists from 26 remote communities in the Northern Territory. 

The Year 3 students enjoyed exploring animal inspired fibre sculptures these women have created. We investigated the materials they used, the process for making their sculptures and we analysed the meaning behind the sculptures. We then chose an Australian animal to sketch and began the ‘making’ process using only newspaper and tape. Once students had finished their animals, they used wool to wrap around their sculptures. They then completed a task on Seesaw where they reflected on their design and appreciated someone else’s sculptures. 

Here are some Year 3 reflections on what they have enjoyed about sculpture making:

‘I really liked being creative with sculpture making. You could choose different coloured wool to make your sculpture look real.’  Georgina K 

‘I enjoyed that you could use so many colours. You could use your imagination. It was fun being a twin with Sofia. My sculpture was a Koala.’  Leni O  

‘I liked wrapping the newspaper in different bunches and using tape to stick it together. We got to choose a native Australian animal. I chose to make a snake.’ Yvan J 

‘I liked wrapping my sculpture in newspaper. It was fun to use different coloured wool to make a Kangaroo with a Joey in the pouch.’  Stella L 

‘It was challenging to make the newspaper part as the tape wouldn’t stick. My sculpture looked very different to my plan.’  Oliver R  

'My dingo ended up turning into a snake because the dingo didn’t work. It was too hard to make, so it tripped over a rock in the outback and turned into a snake’  Julian S

We wish our Year 3 Students and Parents a safe and fun-filled holiday!

The Year 3 Team

Year 4 - Sport

For the last 5 weeks, in Year 4 we have been practising fundamental movement skills through gymnastics. There's a lot to be said about traditional sports' impact on children, and the development of their skills. Soccer, netball, rugby and basketball, just to name a few, are all significantly important for both social and athletic skills, but what about gymnastics? Tri-Skills offers just that. An opportunity for students to work all parts of their body as well as their strength and balance on a variety of gymnastics equipment and other related activities.

The Year 4 students have thoroughly enjoyed this activity. It has not been easy, but with persistence and determination, the students have achieved this! Great job Year 4.

“Sometimes gymnastics is hard, but it has been fun and I really love it. You can become faster and fitter. My favourite one is probably a jump”. Ryan E  

“I liked how we could do different things each week like cartwheels, handstands and using different equipment for balancing.”
Charisma V  

“I think it is a great sport to get involved because once you are good at gymnastics it is easy to get involved in other unique sports.” Nicholas P  

“I have enjoyed acrobatics and the flexibility that we have been working on, and learning different stretches. The teacher is very kind and knowledgeable and makes it fun.” Gia G  

“I like gymnastics in general when we do fun things like the bars and the trampoline.” 
April M  

“I liked how we got to explore different topics and find out what we were good at.” Sarah O  

“I liked the trampoline because when you jump you can do whatever you want.” Dion Z  

“I think gymnastics is important because it makes us flexible and we learn balance. Different sports teach us to kick, like in soccer or pass in netball, but gymnastics is great to learn.” Tabitha A  

“I liked swinging on the bars and jumping on the trampoline. It was fun because I hadn’t done it in a while and it helped boost my confidence.” Poppy QR 

The Year 4 Team

Geography - Indigenous Seasons

As the weather warms and the Waratah buds swell, we are reminded of the beautiful changes that happen to our country’s magnificent flora and fauna at this time of year.  We often speak of these changes in relation to our four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.  This week in Year 5, however, students have been exploring Indigenous seasonal calendars as a way of understanding the ecological changes that occur month to month in Australia’s vast landscape. 

The detailed content, images and traditional language of these seasonal calendars provided our students with a wealth of insight into how Indigenous people track the “seasons” each year.  They are like a guide map to understanding when certain flowers are in bloom, when certain nectar can be collected for ceremonies and when to stop eating certain shellfish until the Boo’kerrikin are blooming, for example.

Drawing on inspiration from the seasonal calendars created by the CSIRO, Year 5 students researched and designed their own seasonal calendar to reflect the changes seen in the D’harawal region of NSW.  Students explored factors relating to climate, plants and animals based in this region, which of course includes Coogee.

It was wonderful to see the students engage collaboratively, demonstrating their creativity and expanding their knowledge of Australia’s rich Indigenous culture and history. 

Student comments: 

What did you enjoy most about creating your seasonal calendar? 

‘I could use sketches as a resource for making my seasonal calendar because sketches are fun and it has lots of drawing resources you can use.’ Henry B 

‘I enjoyed the effort I put into it and how cool 😎 it looks.’  Oliver K  

‘I thought it was amazing how Aboriginal people, with not even a sliver of modern technology, could manage their lifestyle according to climate, and even predict it. They had names, had tracked what was happening to the land, where water and food could be and when it would be hot or cold. Not only have they done that, but they found out about aerodynamics (boomerang). They could predict animal behaviour, and most of all, prepare for these things.’  Tommy L  

‘I enjoyed drawing different symbols and learning when to see different animals.  For example, in hot times kangaroos get quite aggressive and angry because they are breeding.  In the rain time, it is bad and it can be very very dangerous because crocodiles lay their eggs so you have to be careful.’ 
Henry M  

‘I enjoyed finding out what animals were born in the different seasons.’  Xanthe S  ‘

I learnt when is the best time to go hunting for kangaroos and the best time to go fishing.’ – Jasper VG  

‘I liked the freedom of being able to draw and then create our own calendar, I liked it because it is a change to just using a template and writing in it.’  Ollie W 

What was one challenge you overcame while creating your seasonal calendar?

‘Figuring out where everything goes in my calendar and when things happen.’  Elijah C  

‘Sometimes it was hard to find information for some of the months and I got annoyed. I just had to be more specific in my research and then I found some of the information I was looking for. There were times when I couldn’t find any information and I just had to replace it with something else. This made me have to really think hard about what to do instead.’ 

Caitlyn L 

What is the most interesting thing you learnt while creating your Indigenous climate calendar?

‘That at times it is more common for native animals to have food poisoning!  I didn’t know that.’  Micah C  

‘From January to March eating male kangaroo meat is forbidden and the same goes for shellfish in June and July. I found it interesting because I never knew there were forbidden foods in different seasons/months.’  Sienna L 

‘That the indigenous people are very smart when it comes to survival and knowing the land.’  Ruby M  

‘I really liked how we got to learn all different things and names Aboriginal people call their months, plants, animals and climate!’  Mila T

The Year 5 Team

Year 6 Kindergarten Buddy Books

An important part of being in Year 6 at Claremont is having a Kindergarten Buddy. 

Year 6 have been working hard this term to create a picture book for their Kindergarten Buddy. The “Buddy Book” is an important tradition at Claremont and one that all Year 6 students look forward to and enjoy. To help students create their Buddy Book, picture book analysis was included in their Guided Reading lessons. Each lesson, students identified and analysed the features, techniques and themes of various picture books in order to understand how to make their books engaging, interesting and special. Students then applied this understanding to their own books. Each Year 6 student should be extremely proud of the book they have created, and we are sure their Kindy Buddies will love them!

Year 6 Photography Exhibition

Another significant part of learning in Year 6 at Claremont, is the Photography Project. Year 6 students had to take a total of 26 photos representing various categories, and then choose their favourite photo to be shown in a Photography Exhibition. Each year group, and staff member, visited the exhibition and voted for their favourite photo. It was a special celebration for our Year 6 students, and a wonderful way to acknowledge and appreciate the hard work and effort they put into their Photography Project. Well done Year 6! 

The Year 6 Team

Expression of Interest - Years 5 & 6 Debating Coaching

If your child would like to register their interest in participating in the Debating Coaching sessions, organised by Masters Academy, please CLICK HERE. 

PLEASE NOTE: If your child participated in the debating coaching and competition during Term 3, could you please complete the expression of interest also. 

This is an expression of interest only so we know how many students might be interested.

Hannah Mackay
Debating Coordinator

Book Week 2020

Theme: Curious Creatures, Wild Minds

Dates: Term 4: 17-23 October

Book Week celebrations each year are a highlight for so many, and 2020 will be no different, pandemic or not. There will however be obvious changes this year, but we will be doing all we can to ensure that the students and staff still have a memorable and fun-filled week.

The parade must go on… 

Thursday 22 October, put it in your diaries. Children on the day can dress up as either a literature character of their choice OR as something connected to the theme, Curious Creatures, Wild Minds. Please note that these costumes do NOT need to be purchased. In lessons, we have been encouraging students to think outside the box and challenge their creativity with their costumes. The parade will take place in the morning session and then after Morning Tea, students will be participating in a variety of different activities all surrounding literature.

There will be no book stall this year but if you are thinking of purchasing books for your children can we encourage you to look up the current CBCA shortlist, https://www.cbca.org.au/shortlist-2020 

Unfortunately due to current restrictions, we are unable to extend the invitation to family members and friends to come and watch and be a part of this year’s festivities. What we are planning though is for a visual presentation to be made available to all families in the newsletter on the following day.

STORY BOX LIBRARY

This is just a reminder that the Library has purchased a subscription to Story Box Library. This allows the students to hear and watch their favourite stories at home online. We often use this resource during library borrowing sessions as it provides access to a wide range of stories and a diverse range of storytellers. The added feature is that it allows us to view on the large television screens in the Library. Story Box Library includes stories specifically associated with national literary associations and events such as National Simultaneous Storytime, Book Week, The Children’s Book Council of Australia and the Premier’s Reading Challenge. Library Borrowing sessions off campus consisted of students being directed to a specific story via Story Box and then a suggested post reading fun activity. Last week we created a web link on all of the students iPads and during Library Borrowing classes students logged in to this resource. 

All students should now be able to access Story Box Library via their iPads. However, if there are any issues please access at home as follows: 

Visit www.storyboxlibrary.com.au 

Username: claremont

Password: cbrstory

Please use the filter option to select by theme, storyteller, age ie lower or middle primary and length of story.

SORA

If you haven’t already done so, can we encourage you to download the app SORA. Sora is a shared digital library collection of  over 1,500 quality titles that the students use at school. The collection titles are chosen by educational content experts guided by the most popular reads among school students. Login is simple... search for “Claremont College” and then your child’s login is their first name, dot, last name. So if their name were John Smith, their log in would be: john.smith

We hope you enjoy both these holiday options.

Stephanie Affleck
Teacher Librarian

New Books in Our Library

New Non Fiction Titles

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing our nations today. The concept of climate change and all its implications is discussed as part of the What's the Issue series. This book sets out to help young people understand this difficult subject and provide them with the tools to inform their own opinions on the issue. Everyone has an opinion on climate change and this book helps the reader make their own informed opinion on how we should combat climate change.

The author Tom Jackson is a science writer who has over twenty years experience writing books, magazines, and newspaper articles as well as pieces for online and for television. Cristina Guitian is an award-winning illustrator based in London. Her eye-catching illustrations really add something special to the text. 

This book presents 50 ways to help our planet every day. It is a book that promotes the message of having hope and together we can make a change. It is full of case studies from kids, practical tips and easy activities that can involve your school, family and community, and this book provides a simple guide to making a difference. 

Author Andrew Daddo Visit

Earlier this year due to COVID-19, we had to postpone Andrew’s visit to the school but he is coming in on Friday of Week 1, Term 4. Andrew will be presenting a talk about his work over three sessions on that day.

If you would like to order a signed book please complete the attached order form. The books will be delivered directly to the school.

Library Returns

Please can you encourage your children during the holiday break, to search for overdue library books. There are a number of children that have many overdue library books. At the start of offsite learning we allowed students to loan extra books and many have failed to return these books.

Happy holiday reading

Mrs Susan Kesur
Library Assistant

This term in Chapel we have been looking at stories from the bible. This week we focused on one of Mrs Irwin’s favourite stories ‘The Parable of the Great Banquet.’ In this story we looked at how the host has an open invitation for everyone to join his party. The host is like God, he wants all of us to be a part of His Kingdom. He has an open invitation and wants us all to be a part of His family. Which is pretty awesome! Each week we have been looking at God’s love and how no matter what it is always there. God's love for us is REMARKABLE! 

This week the students will be learning the memory verse:

‘Blessed are those who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.’ Luke 14:15

Even though this is the last Chapel till next term, remember you can watch all the Chapel series on repeat over the holidays by going onto our school website.

You can also watch this week's Chapel by CLICKING HERE.

Tiffany Knoll
Chapel Coordinator

Cross Country Update

Starting in 2021, Claremont will be moving the annual Cross Country carnival from Term 3/4 to Term 1. From this carnival, students will be selected to compete in the IPSHA Cross Country Carnival which is also held in Term 1. Despite the proposed change, we were still planning to hold a carnival this year (that would not have any selection pathway to the 2021 IPSHA carnival). Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, the way we would normally run our carnival cannot go ahead. We still want the students to have some fun running and competing against their peers, so instead we will be running cross country races in Week 1 as part of Wednesday Sport. Students will be competing against their Year groups (rather than age groups). 

Kindy/Year 1 Swimming Intensive

Another casualty of COVID restrictions this year is the Kindy/ Year 1 Swimming Intensive program that normally takes place in Term 4. Unfortunately, it will not be able to go ahead in 2020.

Joel Geering
Sports Coordinator

If your child uses the school bus, or you would like to register to use the school bus, in Term 4, please complete the registration form by CLICKING HERE. The buses are only able to carry 24 passengers each, and also service certain areas. If you have any questions in relation to the school bus service, please email bus@claremont.nsw.edu.au 

Term 4 Bus costs will be invoiced on your Term 4 invoice (in advance).

Coding classes continue in Term 4! Join us for 1 hour every Monday, starting from the 2nd week next term.

Dates: Monday, 19th October to 30th November (7 classes)
Time:  3:30-4:30pm
Where: School Library
What: Tired of removing blocks one by one in Minecraft? Join us as we use programming to learn how to automate actions using functions, loops and engineering to create a Minecraft Robot. Impress your friends by making 1,000 chickens spawn from the sky or spawning zombies every 10 seconds.

To enrol, please use the following link: http://bit.ly/ccps20t4

For more information, visit our website, codecreate.com.au, or email us via info@codecreate.com.au.

Welcomeasy are delivering recess and lunch orders to school.

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  

School Holiday Bookings now open

These school holidays, TeamKids will be delivering a wonderful mix of incursions and in-house days that promise to keep the kids happy, engaged and having FUN.  

See attached Spring Holiday Timetable to see the days you would like to attend.  

TeamKids provide industry-leading educator to child ratios of 1:10 and all the TeamKids programs have been fully approved under the National Child Care Subsidy (CCS). 

TeamKids look forward to welcoming you and your children these Holidays!