Our school is committed to providing a child friendly and safe environment. It is our highest priority that our students are safe. We regard our child safeguarding responsibilities with utmost importance. We are committed to providing the resources required to ensure compliance with all relevant child protection laws and regulations. 

We believe that each member of our school community has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role that they play individually and collectively. This is to ensure the wellbeing and safety of students is at the forefront of all that we do and in every decision that we make.

Key responsibilities include:

• Meeting Child Safe Standards;
• Recognising and reporting where students may be at Risk of Significant Harm;
• Recognising and reporting where workers engage in reportable conduct or other inappropriate behaviour;
• Recognising and reporting where students engage in concerning or harmful sexual behaviour;
• Maintaining an up to date Working with Children Check clearance;
• Participating in training as required by the Principal;
• Educating and involving our students;
• Involving and informing families and the community;
• Understanding and managing risks to child safety; and
• Compliance, Monitoring and Continuous Improvement 

Claremont's Child Safe Policy and the broader program has been developed, as articulated by the Office of Children’s Guardian (OCG). We hold ourselves to account against these standards:

1. Child Safety is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.
2. Children participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
3. Families and communities are informed and involved.
4. Equity is upheld and diverse needs are taken into account.
5. People working with children are suitable and supported.
6. Processes to respond to complaints of child abuse are child focused.
7. Employees are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children safe through continual education and training.
8. Physical and online environments minimise the opportunity for abuse to occur.
9. Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is continuously reviewed and improved.
10. Policies and procedures document how the organisation is child safe.

Recently we had a visit from the Office of the Children's Guardian, who interviewed Mr Thomas, Miss McKersie and myself about the Child Safe practices at our school. We were very pleased to receive the following positive feedback in the report:

"Your school is doing very well with plenty of strengths to highlight. In fact, during de-briefing here at work, we’ve identified your school as one that we can feature in our next video, ‘The Child Safe Standards in Practice’ which will aim to showcase the good practice of selected child-related organisations. I hope that your school will participate." 

If you are interested in reading more about Child Safe practices at Claremont College, you can find our updated Child Safe Policy on our school website.

"Children are God’s love-gift; they are heaven’s generous reward."
Psalm 127:3 (TPT) 

Please keep safe, and let's all work together to keep all our children safe. 

Larissa Cameron
Co-Principal 

Follow us

Website: www.claremont.nsw.edu.au
Instagram: @claremontcollege
Twitter: @claremont2031

Today, the Premier announced updates regarding students returning to school. This information is a ‘road map’ for students returning, however as we have learnt, things can change rapidly based on the NSW Health advice and we need to stay agile. At this stage, the following plan has been outlined by the NSW Government: 

• Students will continue Off Campus Learning for the first 3 weeks of Term 4
• Kindergarten and Year 1 to return to school on 25 October
• Year 2 and Year 6 to return on 1 November
• Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 to return on 8 November
• It is mandatory for teachers to be vaccinated by 8 November 

Whilst it is pleasing to have a plan in place for students returning to school, we anticipate there will be ongoing commentary over the coming weeks about the specifics of this plan and how the various educational authorities will direct the logistics and implementation. Therefore, we will provide you with specific details about students returning to school once we are confident that we have the measures in place to ensure a safe transition for our students, in our context. Once we have the clarity needed, we will provide further details as soon as possible. In the meantime thank you for your patience and ongoing trust.

As we are all aware, the Delta strain of Coronavirus is affecting children and young people. We know that your children are desperate to play and see each other, however now is not the time to be organising playdates. Please continue to follow the NSW Public Health Orders to ensure the safety of your children and our community.

Important Reminders

• If you live in the Bayside LGA or any LGAs of concern and require your child to be onsite, please contact a member of the Senior Leadership Team to discuss your circumstance (if you haven’t already done so). 
• Please stay within 5km of your home, unless you are an authorised worker. 
• If your family has registered your child/ren to attend school, but they are unwell or exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms (even mild cold/flu-like symptoms), they must stay home and follow current health orders to get tested and isolate until a negative result is received. Even when a negative result is received, your child/ren must be fully recovered before coming to school.
• If you or a member of your household is currently self-isolating for any reason, your child/ren must stay home. Please follow the directives from relevant government authorities and restrict any non-essential movement unless cleared to do so.

It is during times like these that we truly see our core values of compassion, collaboration and innovation in action. Thank you to all of you for being compassionate and understanding, for collaborating with our teachers and staff to support your children, and for challenging yourselves to better understand your child’s various technology platforms. We really are all in this together, and we appreciate your support and kindness during this lockdown period.

Please do not hesitate to contact either myself or Kathy-Clare Rochester if you need support or wish to discuss your circumstances.     

Mrs Alanna James
Acting Deputy Principal

Dear Parents, we are planning to have two parent/teacher catch-up Zoom meetings in Week 9, on Tuesday 7 September and Thursday 9 September. The purpose of these catch-ups is primarily to connect with you the parents, to reflect on Term 3… to talk about the things that have been challenging and the things that have worked well, and of course to hear your thoughts in the event that lockdown continues into Term 4. 

By having two meeting times parents have the choice of dates and parents with children in both Infants and Primary can attend both to connect with parents and teachers from both groups. 

If you are able to join us, please complete the link attached and include any questions you have and/or the topics you would like to discuss, to help us to plan an agenda for these catch-ups.

The format for both catch-ups will be the same:

4:00pm  Welcome
4:10pm  Break into Infants and Primary breakout groups
4:40pm  Regroup to join ‘surprise’ breakout groups
4:55pm  Wrap-up

Differentiation is a key high impact teaching strategy used by teachers to craft lessons that provide the right amount of support and/or challenge for every student. Differentiated teaching occurs when a teacher plans a lesson that adjusts either the content being discussed, the process used to learn or the product expected from students to ensure that learners at different starting points can receive the instruction they need to grow and succeed. That is: 

1. By adjusting content, teachers can deliver different parts of the curriculum to different students depending on their starting level and what you expect them to learn in that lesson.
2. When teachers adjust the process of a lesson, they are changing the methods they use to teach and how you expect students to learn. For example, teachers use multiple processes such as independent and collaborative tasks, explicit tasks, modelled teaching and/or tasks using multimedia. Adjusting the process allows teachers to construct lessons that support individual learners to meet their learning outcomes in a way that suits their specific needs.
3. Teachers adjust the product of a lesson, by changing the specific success criteria for students to demonstrate what they have learned.

oooOOOooo 

As Off Campus Learning has progressed and our Claremont students are getting better, more resilient, and more adaptive to online learning, our teachers have added another layer to the differentiated tasks, particularly in English and Mathematics. 

To explain further: 

• The white task is typically set at grade level.
• The blue task is scaffolded to assist new understandings, and can be used for students of all levels of ability, particularly if the concept is new and challenging for the students.
• The pink task is designed to take the students to a deeper level of understanding of the concepts.
• The purple task is an even more challenging task than the pink task, where students are encouraged to dive deeper by applying their understanding to new concepts. This task may be a stage above where we would typically expect the students to be learning.
• The teachers will advise the students which level they should start on to ensure understanding, however if your child is unsure, encourage them to ask their teachers via Zoom. More independent students are given the opportunity to choose the level on which they start a task; these choices are monitored by the teachers.
• If a child completes their assigned task and time allows, they can choose to try a more challenging task, or they certainly can try a more challenging task in their own time.
• Students may be encouraged to try a less challenging task if they are finding a task too hard to do, especially online, without their teacher sitting next to them to assist.
• We are aware that some parents are encouraging their child/ren to attempt tasks that may be too hard for their child. This is absolutely fine because when we are challenged, we are learning; however, please make sure your child/ren has done the task assigned to them first and please help your child to be resilient if they come up against a task that is too hard and becomes distressing for them.
• We ask parents to keep encouraging their child/ren to go onto Zoom, for all questions, large or small, so their teachers can help them. This helps not only the child/ren and their parents, but also helps the teachers to know if they are pitching the tasks at the right level for the grade.
• Key Learning Areas other than English and Mathematics may not have blue, pink or purple tasks, or may have optional colour tasks. In these instances, the students are to do the white task first, with the option of doing something less challenging or more challenging.

We are already seeing articles about the 2021 NAPLAN results in newspapers and social media; however, schools do not have access to these results yet. If you are a parent of a Year 3 or 5 student please be assured that you will be sent the results when we receive them. The Association of Independent Schools NSW have told us this should be in Week 9 (the week beginning 6 September).

In the meantime, here are the articles you might like to read about the 2021 overall results.

From ACARA on Twitter, https://twitter.com/ACARAeduau/status/1430302015314305028

NAPLAN 2021 summary data shows the global COVID-19 pandemic has overall had no significant impact on students’ literacy and numeracy achievement at a national level. The data released today is a testament to the resilience of students, teachers, parents and carers.

From Education Review online, https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/naplan/FMfcgzGkbDSXLCTzFPGpFCJzvFggvdNz

The release of the 2021 National Assessment Plan for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) summary information has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has not significantly affected students’ literacy and numeracy achievement on average at the national level.

From the Ministers’ Media Centre, Department of Education, Skills and Employment

https://ministers.dese.gov.au/tudge/naplan-2021-preliminary-outcomes-released

Minister for Education and Youth Alan Tudge said the headline results were pleasing but further analysis of the detailed data was needed, as part of a broader look at the impacts of COVID-19 on Australian students.

“It is certainly a relief that we have not yet seen the significant declines that we may have expected due to school closures, particularly in Victoria,” Minister Tudge said.

“The results also show a resilience among young Australians and they are testament to the hard work of teachers and parents who are supporting learning at home.”

Janelle Ford
Co-Principal

Our Social Media Team is working to increase connections, especially during lockdown, as it is important for us to all stay connected. We know everyone has been doing wonderful things during this time and we would love to be able to share these with the Claremont community.

If your child would like to be considered to be featured on Claremont College's social media platforms and in the whole school assembly, please send your photos and videos to [email protected] with:

• Child's Name
• Grade
• Quote or Caption

OR, feel free to tag @claremontcollege on Instagram. 

In the coming week we are focusing on Non-Screen Time Activities. Please feel free to submit any photos and most importantly, have fun!

The Social Media Committee

Chapel@Claremont

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring

The change of season could not come sooner and I am looking forward to the longer, warmer days ahead. This fabulous weather, coupled with the good soaking of recent rain provides me with an opportunity to get stuck into my gardens. Not only is it good for the plants, but it gives me a ‘project’ to work on, and being out in the sun is good for my mental health, body and soul. 

With this in mind, at Chapel this week I encouraged the kids to get outside and do some gardening. If they ask you to buy some seedlings or seeds from Bunnings click and collect, or if they can cut some succulents ...this is where they got the idea. When it comes to growing succulent cuttings, I showed the children that all that they need is a jar of water, and some patience, as they wait for the roots to grow before transferring to a pot or the garden bed. It’s the roots that connect the plant to the nutrients that it needs for it to flourish. It’s no different for us. When we are rooted to God’s love, and have a revelation and understanding of how much each one of us is loved by God we really can flourish and be connected to the resources that only He can provide. Ephesians 3:14-17 puts it like this;

When I (Paul) think of all this ...I pray to the Father, that from His glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

I pray that as you continue to navigate the lockdown and uncertainty of the days ahead, that you will have a deep sense of God’s love for you and your family. May Jesus make his home in your heart, and his love strengthen your body, mind and soul.

And, may Spring remind you that the simple pleasures in life provide the biggest and most precious of blessings.

Weekly Dads' Connect Zoom Meeting - Tuesday 31 August, 4:30pm- 5:15pm

I have really enjoyed chatting with dads over the past few weeks on Zoom. I think it’s incredibly important that we connect which is why every week I have been opening my Zoom room for dads to catch up. I thought I’d try a late afternoon slot next week, Tuesday 31 August, 4:30pm -5:15pm.

I am trying to change the day and time every week, to accommodate various schedules. Please let me know if you’d like to suggest a time that might suit you for future chats.

There is no specific agenda or topic of conversation, although I’ll give a few updates on school life, my high school expansion work and to hear your perspective on how you are navigating work and family life during this lockdown. It’d be great to hear about the things that you are doing with your kids - to connect, distract and keep them positive and busy.  If you’d like to drop in to say hello (even for just a few minutes), ask some questions, and connect with some other fathers, you are most welcome. I’m here to support you! Please RSVP HERE

Doug Thomas
Principal

Look after your devices! Please do not walk around with them or take them outside. A number of our iPads have been damaged. Make sure when you are using it, you are sitting still, showing respectful learning behaviours. 

Larissa Cameron
Co-Principal

Congratulations to the following students in Year 1 who received their Gold Certificates on Monday.

Hartford A, Lennox C, Jackson F, Isabella G, Amelie G, Oliver H, Tom H, Chloe H, Rose McC, Joshua PJ (2), Tahlia P, Aidan P (2), Imara R, Lola S, Patrick S, Nicholas S, Jayden T, Aston T, Mae W (2) , Evie Y and Scarlett Y.

We would like to remind parents that a full term’s notice in writing to the Principal is required before terminating a student's enrolment. 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.

We have been advised of a power outage on Wednesday 8 September in the area of Albion and Leichhardt Streets, Waverley from 8:00am-5:00pm.  Although the outage will not impact the running of Claremont College, it may impact some families in our community. We understand that there will be no power for the day which may also affect internet connections. 

If your family will be impacted by this outage, could you please advise the school by emailing [email protected].

Calling all Claremont College students, mums, dads, teachers and staff to send in your favourite lockdown recipes. The P&F will be putting together a 2021 Claremont College Lockdown Cookbook to be available for purchase in Term 4. Please send in recipes that can fit into the following categories:

1. Family meal recipe
2. Baking recipe

It would be wonderful to have recipes from your families’ cultural backgrounds. Please download the 'Recipe Template' attached and email your recipe to [email protected] by the end Term 3, Friday 17 September. If you are able to include a short paragraph on what this recipe means to you, your family through lockdown and a photo of the finished product to spice up the cookbook, this would be most welcome! 

Claremont College P&F

Term 3 2021

Term 4 2021

With the ongoing changes and challenges because of Covid and lockdowns, we are currently reviewing the safety concerns and likelihood of Dads' & Kids' Camp going ahead early in Term 4. Next week we will endeavour to confirm the outcome of this decision.

With the ongoing changes and challenges because of Covid and lockdowns, we are currently reviewing the safety concerns and likelihood of School Camps going ahead during Term 4. Next week we will endeavour to confirm the outcome of this decision.

Year 4 - Online Geography Excursion

Year 5 - Online Symbio Wildlife Park

This week the Year 3 and 4 students were asked to tell us about their OCL experiences, partly so we can check in with them, but also so that we can be aware of adjustments that need to be made moving forward, and of how we can help the students during this learning from home experience. The students are all missing their friends and it is obvious how much the face to face connections mean to them. 

Here is a sample of their answers across four questions. 

NB The students were given an option of not being quoted in the newsletter or in social media, so we have respected their wishes, therefore not every child’s comment/s have been represented in these documents.

Yr 4 Event Note Geography Online Excursion

Year 5 Online Symbio Wildlife Park event note

Book Week

The show must go on…

With a slightly different air of anticipation as years before, cats and their hats, witches and their brooms, and even a young lad with his great glass elevator started dripping their way into our Zoom feeds. While it was never going to be the same not being altogether in person, it was so delightful to see the buzz and excitement of the children as they proudly showed off their costumes and obvious love of literature. Here are a few photos of the day. A big thank you to all of our families who sent in their Book Week photos to our Social Media team. It was a great way to connect and see our Claremont community celebrating such a special day!

Stephanie Affleck
Teacher Librarian

Indigenous Literacy Day and Author Visit

This year, Indigenous Literacy Day will be held next Wednesday September 1st. The Library registered earlier this year to once again support The Great Book Swap. This is an initiative that the Indigenous Literacy Foundation started several years ago. By raising funds this organisation has gifted over 260,000 new books to over 400 remote communities. Due to lockdown restrictions we hope to be able to hold this event in some capacity during term 4.

The Indigenous author Gregg Dreise was booked to visit us in person next Friday but due to Covid restrictions his visit will now take place from his studio in Queensland via Zoom. Gregg is a talented author, illustrator and musician. He is very proud of his Kamilaroi and Euahlayi heritage. Gregg holds regular writing and illustrating workshops, Sorry Day, NAIDOC and Reconciliation Week performances. He also travels the world sharing his books and artwork at international book fairs. We are really looking forward to his visit and anticipate it will include storytelling, music and laughter. Class teachers will remind all students of attending the sessions next week. All sessions should last for the full hour.

Kindy, Years 1 and 2 will join Gregg first at 09:30am.
Followed later by
Years 3 and 4 at 11:30am-12:30pm
Years 5 and 6 at 1:30pm-2:30pm 

Mrs Susan Kesur
Librarian Assistant

The planning for Term 4 Sport will depend upon the Government’s announcements. Please look out for next week’s newsletter for these Sport updates.

Under the current NSW Department of Health Orders and the NSW Department of Education, the canteen will be closed until further notice.

Keep safe.

James Anthony and the Claremont Canteen Team

CLICK HERE for the latest TeamKids Newsletter.

A reminder for ALL families to RE-BOOK & VERIFY the dates for the remainder of the TERM. If there are no confirmed bookings the service will be closed. Space is limited exclusively to authorised workers. If you have any questions, email or please call customer service on 1300 035 000.

Due to the extended lockdown, the Uniform Shop will remain closed until the end of September.

Regular trading hours will resume in Term 4 (subject to any further lockdown). 

Thank you and keep safe. 

The updated Uniform Price Lists for Boys and Girls are linked below and can also be found on the school website. 

Regards

Jennifer Niduaza | Client Services Manager

Uniform Price List for Girls

Uniform Price List for Boys