This afternoon at the end of a busy day, a busy week and a wonderful year I took this photo from my office window because I thought it captured a lovely moment. Even as the day comes to an end there is a great book with just a few pages to go. I hope mum or dad were just a little late in picking up this avid bookworm whoever he is. Who can believe that we have come to the end of the 2019 school year, with this our last Newsletter for the year. For me, I write this with both sadness and satisfaction for all that has been achieved. I am sad because I really do not want the year to end. Time flies way too quickly, and the staff and children bring so much joy and happiness to me, that I really would be happy for the year to continue. But alas, this is not how it is, so we must wrap up 2019, acknowledge and celebrate successes and achievements, and say ‘farewell’ to the staff and students who are leaving us.

Thank you also to the many children and families for your Christmas gifts, cards, good wishes, prayers and words of encouragement. Your support has been truly appreciated. Have a wonderful school break. May the fullness of life, hope for all that is to come, along with the joy and peace that comes from knowing Jesus, this Christmas. It is also time for a much needed break for all of us, and I wish you prayers, health and safety for a refreshing summer holiday and a happy new year.

Thank you

Thank you to the students of Claremont College who put a smile on my face each and every day. You should be so very proud of your hard work, determination, effort and enthusiasm for learning.

The children who attend Claremont have excelled in so many ways. Their academic results, other learning accomplishments, behaviour, conduct, attitude, care, kindness and school spirit has been exemplary. Claremont College has an outstanding reputation in our community, and we have people coming from far and wide to visit us, and it is our students who impress each and every time. So often our visitors (many experienced educators) comment that Claremont students display with their confidence, happiness and engagement to their learning. This really is the best feedback we could hope to receive.

Thank you to the staff who make learning possible. Your dedication and commitment to the children and to their education, is nothing short of brilliant. On top of this, our amazing teachers do all they can to ensure that Claremont is a safe, secure, fun and happy place for life and learning. You are inspiring. Thank you to the incredible support of the Office and Administrative Staff, our Teaching and Learning Assistants, Specialist subjects staff, Music Tutors, and especially Mr Pike for making our school such a marvellous place to be every day.

With just a few days to go, we are all full of mixed emotions. Sadness because we will be saying farewell to many much loved children, especially our Year 6 students, whom we have cared for and nurtured over so many years. For Year 6, I am excited and proud of the fact that that you are impressive young people who are prepared for the transition into high school and ready for a new and exciting chapter in your lives. I am very much looking forward to seeing you tonight at our Valedictory Dinner where we will have the opportunity to reflect some more about your Claremont journey.  My prayers are with you all as you move to your new schools and settle into your learning and make new friends. This year we say farewell to the following Year 6 students who are heading off to various schools:

With this, I also thank the many Year 6 mums and dads who this year will be ending your association with Claremont College. You will always be regarded as part of our school community, and I thank you for the support you have shown over the years. 

Congratulations Mrs Affleck

Congratulations to Mrs Affleck, her husband and daughter on the birth of Theodore (‘Teddy’) on 12 November. How cute is this little chap!

Farewell and Thank You

Traditionally at this time of the year it is always with sadness that I inform the school community of staff changes. This year is no different to any other because some members of staff will be leaving us at the end of this year. 

Mrs Ward will be leaving after 4 years of dedicated teaching, and she will be taking up a position at the Ascham Preschool. Julie, thank you for the expertise you have brought to Claremont. Your genuine love for your students, your teaching, and for supporting parents is something that we are all going to miss.

Three members of staff who have been on temporary 12 month contracts will also be finishing at the end of this year. Thank you Mrs Ryder (Year 2 Teacher), Miss Lim (Year 3 Intern Teacher) and Mrs Spry (Year 6 Teaching and Learning Assistant) for your commitment to student learning, and contribution to the life of Claremont. 

And finally, the front office is never going to be quite the same with Mrs Lulu Mitchell leaving Claremont. Lulu has brought love, laughter, dedicated service to staff and parents, faith and passionate commitment to her role in school WHS, student health, safety, compliance, policy and record keeping. We wish Lulu all the very best as she heads into new opportunities.

Before the celebrations begin and as this year draws to an end, it serves us well to reflect on the many wonderful opportunities for learning that all of the children have received in 2019. This year we have been Inspired For Life. The staff have worked hard to ensure excellence in teaching across all areas of the curriculum. We have had brilliant opportunities for learning each and every day, an incredible Dads’ and Kids’ Camp, International Day, Learning Festivals, Book Week festivities, co-curricular opportunities, inspiring Chapel services, along with fabulous opportunities in sport, excursions, environmental field-trips and camps.

2019 has provided many opportunities for parents to be involved in the life of the school and we have continued our commitment of supporting parents through parent workshops, conducted by Dr Judith Locke and our staff. As a school, we have continued our involvement in local community projects such as hospital performances, the Year 5 Dorothy Boyt Nursing Home Program. Furthermore, our support of local and international charities, such as supporting the Prince of Wales Hospital Foundation, provide children and our school community with meaningful and purposeful opportunities to serve others and, in doing so, make the world a better place. Each of these initiatives have added to the quality of education and spirit within the Claremont school community. We can indeed thank God for all that he has blessed us with.

2020 is going to be another big year as Claremont College celebrates 138 years of education. Next year, we will work to further develop our academic programs especially as we continue to target the ongoing development of our programs in Literacy, Numeracy, and PDHPE and policies and programs to support high potential learners (traditionally referred to as Gifted and Talented) and much more. 2020 is also a concert year which is always a highlight. 

Over the holiday break, we have committed almost $500,000 to upgrade our playground, and refurbish our out of school hours (Team Kids) Centre. With this, please note that Vacation Care will be located in the Year 2 classrooms over the break.

I thank so many parents for your generous donations to the School Building Fund and for your support of our P&F which this year raised over $58,000. What a brilliant effort! Thank you to this year’s P&F Executive, Lisa Stamatelatos (Cooper - K), Roxanne Fielding (Savanna - 4 & Sienna - 2), Melisse Lee (Naomi - 6, Caitlyn - 4, and Ava -  1) and Juliana Tan (Isabelle Lee - 1) for such an inspirational effort.

Thankfully, the new year has not yet quite arrived. We have a couple of days left for some very special events. It is a joy to share these last days with the children and staff as we anticipate and get excited about Christmas and the summer holidays. I encourage you to not miss Speech Day as this is a compulsory school event and will be a wonderful conclusion to what has been a brilliant year.

A nice surprise

Just yesterday I was up at the Prince of Wales Hospital paying a bill and I picked up one of their publications whilst waiting to be served. What did I see? A picture of myself and a photo of the Claremont College Choir! You might be interested and surprised to read that I am going to be a television star (I won’t be giving up my day job). Claremont’s fundraising efforts, along with others in our community who supported the same initiative will be aired as part of a Channel 7two television series called ‘Charity TV’, on 4 January at 2:00pm. Well done also to our Choir who performed for the Spinal Awareness Month. Go Claremont!

Doug Thomas     
Principal

  Follow me @DougJThomas

One of the teachers in Kindy was listening to a student read their spelling words. As they read each word they got faster and faster and got all of them correct. The teacher said "Wow! Well done. Give me a high-five!" And the student replied with "I prefer to fist bump because they are more hygienic".

For the last week of the school year, the positive behaviour focus is:

'Clean up your school - take your lost property, your work, your art, help one another to tidy up.'

Larissa Cameron
Deputy Principal

Speech day rehearsal awards

At our Speech Day Rehearsal last Monday, a number of children were presented with special awards. We would of course like to present all these awards on Speech Day but time restrictions prevent this from happening. We congratulate them all on their fine efforts.

An electronic copy of the complete Speech Day Prize List will be available after Speech Day next Thursday

GIFTS FOR FRIENDS AND TEACHERS

Often at the end of the school year, children like to bring gifts and cards for their friends and for staff. We are happy for this to happen on Monday or Tuesday but gifts and cards for other children cannot be brought on Thursday. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter, and thank you for your gifts.

VACATION CARE

TeamKids will be running a vacation care program commencing Friday 6 December and concluding Friday 20 December. It will then recommence on Monday 13 January 2020 and continue through to the day before school commences for 2020 (last day being Wednesday 29 January).

For more information and to register for these programs, please see the TeamKids section below. 

BEFORE SCHOOL CARE AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE

Please make sure you have registered with TeamKids for the 2020 School Year as soon as possible. This is to assist TeamKids staffing levels. Follow the link from the school website for more details.

SCHOOL BUS

If you are continuing to use the school bus service in 2020 or are wanting to start using the school bus in 2020, please complete the online form by clicking the following link:

https://forms.gle/rbHt8LyqWHjgBq2K8

Please do so by Friday 13 December so that all the arrangements are in place for the beginning of the school year. Bus drivers will ring each family on the Monday before school begins to advise the pick up time.

PRIVATE TUITION

If your child would like to be included in an extra subject, please ensure that the form is completed online by Friday 13 December. So do not delay as you might miss out altogether. The form can be found here: https://www.claremont.nsw.edu.au/teaching-learning/extra-curricular

Please remember that if your child is not continuing with an Extra Curricular activity in 2020, you should have informed the teacher in writing. You will be contacted directly by the tutor before school commences in 2020.

2020 SCHOOL YEAR

School will resume for all children in Years 1 to 6 at 8:45am on Thursday 30 January 2020. Our new Kindergarten students will commence on Monday 3 February 2020 at 9:00am and finish at 2:30pm. Kindergarten students will have earlier visits as part of the ‘Set for School’ Program. Please contact the office if you do not know your appointment time.

TERM 4 

A reminder that our School Picnic is for children and staff only (not parents). Our venue for the picnic day is Carss Park. Children will catch buses to Carss Park and return to school by 3:00pm.

Plan A – Good Weather

Our venue for the picnic day is Carss Park. Buses will leave the school at 9:00am, so please ensure that your child is not late. Children who miss the bus will not be able to attend and parents will need to take them home.

Plan B – In Case of Wet Weather

Should the picnic need to be cancelled due to wet weather, our venue WILL NOT BE Carss Park. Instead we will spend the day at school and perhaps another venue. It will be a great day nonetheless, filled with fun games and activities for the children. Given that we had buses booked (which thankfully can be cancelled without cost), the children’s transportation fees will instead be used towards another activity, such as a G-rated movie. These activities will be confirmed on Monday morning if it is raining. 

What to Wear

Regardless of the venue (rain or shine), children should wear sports uniform. They will need to bring morning tea, lunch and drinks. Please ensure that your child is wearing a sunhat and

has sunscreen applied prior to school. Additional blockout must be brought to school in your child’s bag. Children should not bring spending money as the school canteen will be closed. Children will need to bring their raincoats.

The final half-day of our school year is Speech Day, which is on THURSDAY 5 December. This will be held at the Jo Karaolis Sports Centre at St Catherine’s School in Waverley this year. It is a compulsory occasion for every child from Kindergarten to Year 6. Every child must wear his/her full school uniform INCLUDING BLAZER, and FORMAL CAP/HAT. Boys must wear formal summer shirt and tie. School bags and other bags should not be brought to this occasion.

STUDENTS DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL IN THE MORNING. PLEASE TAKE YOUR CHILD DIRECTLY TO ST CATHERINE’S JO KARAOLIS SPORTS CENTRE AND TAKE YOUR CHILD HOME AFTERWARDS – THERE IS NO ‘OTHER’ SCHOOL ON THURSDAY.

If your child is in the Concert Band or in a Music Ensemble performing at Speech Day, please drop him/her at St Catherines no later than 9:00am.

If you are a Year 5 usher or a Year 6 Captains, Prefects or House Captain, please also arrive at 9.00am.

All other students must arrive between 9:20am and 9:30am, when doors will be open for students only. Inside the Sports Centre students will meet their teachers and have their names marked on the class roll and be directed to where to sit. See map below.

You may enter at Gates 1 and 6 and proceed to the Sports Centre. There will be ushers and staff on hand to guide you, when the main doors open at 9:40am for parents. 

At 9:40am all adults and visitors can begin to take their seats. Our formal proceedings will commence at 10:00am sharp and will conclude at 12:00noon.

All instruments may be picked up from the stage at the end of the ceremony.

Parking

Parking will be in the surrounding streets of St Catherine’s, please make sure to stick to the parking signs. Following the proceedings (which will conclude at approximately 12:00pm), all children will be dismissed from the Auditorium/Sports Centre. They do not return to school but will go home with their parents.

Please note that Mr Condous and Mr Doyle will NOT pick up the children on Thursday morning. Before care, afternoon bus service and Aftercare will not operate on this Day.

SPEECH DAY PERFORMERS

If you are performing with band, string ensemble, rock band, choir or any other musical group, please refer to notes that have been sent home this week about arrival times and where to meet. All instrumentalists will meet at the main stage. All choir children will go straight to their seats. It is going to be a spectacular showcase of this year’s talents and achievements.

Student Details and Permissions Form 2020

2020 Term 1 Morning Skills Registrations

We are getting organised for the beginning of the 2020 School Year. If your child will be at Claremont College in 2020, please pour yourself a big cup of tea and complete a separate form for each child. We’d like these completed before 29 November please. 

Student Details and Permissions Form 2020

As a wonderful year draws to an end, we are preparing for students to take home all their work. On Tuesday 3 December, students are asked to bring a shopping bag (paper or plastic). The bags will return home filled with their work books and folders. 

Year 1 Team

“Business in a Box”

On Thursday, Year 4 entrepreneurs sold their “Business in a Box” products to Claremont students. With any business, there was success and achievements. Year 4 teachers commend all the groups on their excellent products and their persuasive selling skills. The collaborative skills blew us all away!

“It was a fun and memorable experience and I enjoyed working together with my team.” Cailtyn Lee

“It went really well, we made a moderate profit and lots of people bought our stuff.” Oliver Koch

“I liked working together to make a final product.” Emma Li

“Our business went really well and in the end we didn’t have enough stock!” Henry Fitzpatrick

“It was exciting making and selling our products.” Isla Verges

“It was fun, full of joy and we got to buy each others stuff. We got to raise money for charity.” Archie Martin 

“Business in a box was fun to work together as a team and cool to make our products. We even sold out!” Georgia Breakspear

“It was a good experience to learn about money, working together collaboratively in a team and learning how to sell our product.” Bryce McCarthy 

“I think it was really fun to make the stuff and start our own business. It was nice to work with other people, not just our friends.” Sienna Godresse

“It was amazing and I liked selling our products. I liked how our team worked together and using what we had to make our friendship bracelets.” Tommy Lord

A Message From One of Our Year 6 Teachers, Mr Ryan

Firstly, I must extend a massive thank you to all the families who have donated to my Movember cause so far. Your generous donations will go a long way towards changing stereotypes and encouraging boys to talk about their own emotions, but also check in on their mates.

The month of November is almost over, however it’s important the messages and meaning behind “Movember” are promoted year round. As I mentioned in my earlier newsletter article, the area of mental health and encouraging ‘blokes’ to talk about their feelings is something I’m extremely passionate about. I think especially in a school setting, we have the opportunity to change stereotypes and pre-dispositions about what it means to be a man, specifically in the upper primary years.

Without our help and encouragement, boys will continue to bottle things up and struggle internally, believing that to be a truly ‘tough’ man, you must hide any emotion and put on a brave face. Our role is to erase these stereotypes, encourage young boys to check in on their friends and establish the confidence to talk about their feelings from an early age. If nothing else comes of this month, let it be a reminder to us all to make time to check in on each other, make sure people are ok and make sure our young boys in particular can talk about their emotions.

Mental health matters. #Movember is working to help men stay mentally healthy, but they can’t do it alone. If you are at all in a position to donate to my Movember efforts and support men's health, I would be extremely appreciative. It’s not too late to donate, with any donation large or small welcome, with everything making a difference!

If you would like to donate, please follow the link below that will direct you to my fundraising page.

https://mobro.co/angusryan

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Christmas break!

Mr Ryan
Year 6 Teacher

Inter House Debating Finals

On Tuesday, Claremont held the Inter House Debating Competition. Austin and Hyland debated the topic ‘Parents should give their children money for getting good grades’, and Storey and Wearne argued that ‘Electronic devices (laptops, mobile phones and iPads) should be banned from primary school classes’.

Although both debates were very close, Hyland and Wearne won the competition because of their detailed points and strong rebuttals. Guest adjudicator Sarah Jackson, from Masters Academy, shared her expert knowledge with debaters by providing detailed feedback on the debates. It was a fantastic event and all the students had fun while developing new skills. 

We look forward to growing our debating opportunities in 2020.

Mrs Fiona Vula
Debating Coordinator

This week we said farewell to our Eco Warrior representatives from Semester 2. We celebrated all of their hard work and achievements with a pizza party after school on Wednesday. We even used the herbs that we have grown in the garden to garnish the pizzas! The students reflected on their efforts, which included caring for the school garden and rabbit, composting and leading the ‘Nude Food’ campaign which the whole school took part in. This semester was extra special as we went on our first ever Eco Warrior excursion to Randwick Sustainability Hub and learnt about the amount of ‘invisible’ water present in food. On behalf of the Eco Warrior Staff Team, we would like to congratulate and thank the following students for everything that they have accomplished this semester: 

Anya Keshavarz and Clara Khoury (Year 2)
Cristina Soumilas and Chloe Melikyan (Year 3)
Bryce McCarthy and Jasmine Stanton (Year 4)
Eme Woodward and Ruby Rose (Year 5)
Zoe Laurence and Savannah Wechgelaer-Eyssens (Year 6)

Miss Sinead Kelly
Eco Warriors Coordinator

String Student Soiree

On Monday evening, Margaret Machamer and Dominique Guerbois, our two string tutors, held a recital for their students and parents. Congratulations to all students who participated.

Term 1 Morning Skills Sports Programs 2020

Term 1 Sport information and registration form have been made available on your Parent Portal. Please remember to register online for all morning activities as soon as possible to avoid disappointment as some sports have limited positions. For billing purposes, registrations will close on Monday 9 December 2019.

Programs commence from Week 3, 2020. 

Monday: Year 3-6 Tennis (Eastern Suburbs Tennis Centre)
Tuesday: Year 1-2 Tennis and Year 3-6 AFL (Grant Reserve)
Wednesday: Year 3-6 Netball
Thursday: Year 1-2 Dance (hip hop)
Friday: Year 1-2 Football (soccer)

Jogging club will commence in Week 5. More details about students selected and days/time/venue of training will be published towards the start of Term 1, 2020.

Mr Joel Geering
Sport and PDHPE

What an amazing day of chess! All players competed fairly, with great courage, skill and gamesmanship. Throughout the day we had plenty of chewed fingernails and countless laughs and hi-5’s.

So who won? Congratulations to: 

Primary winner - Isaac Ha - Year 3 (Austin)
Infants winner - Hosea Wibowo - Year 2 (Hyland) 
Champion House - Austin

If your child has an interest in playing chess, we have specialist chess coaching available through the Sydney Academy of Chess. These classes are designed to challenge your child’s knowledge of chess, explore offensive and defensive strategies and enhance your child’s chess ability beyond the basics. For information about enrolment Term 1, 2020, please contact the office.  

Claremont Chess Committee 

St Andrew’s Cathedral School will offer one full or part scholarship to a Claremont student (boy or girl) for entry into Year 7, 2021. This scholarship is in recognition of the excellent relationship between the two schools, and acknowledgement of the high standard of Claremont graduates. The scholarship, and amount of the scholarship will be based on the following criteria:

• Results in the ACER Scholarship Selection Test which will be run at Claremont.
• Demonstrated commitment to school life at Claremont through Music, Drama, Sport, Leadership or other school programs
• School reports and NAPLAN.

Application forms can be downloaded by clicking the link below:

2021-Claremont-Scholarship-Application

Application closing date: Monday 10 February 2020. Test date: TBA

If you have any further questions regarding scholarships, please contact the Registrar’s Office via telephone or email.

T: 9286 9500
E: [email protected]

If your child wishes to participate in any music tuition or after school extra curricular activities please check the school website on Monday to find out more information (https://www.claremont.nsw.edu.au/teaching-learning/extra-curricular).

The Canteen will be open next Tuesday (3 December) and Wednesday (4 December) for the last week of term.  Please place your orders via Flexischools. 

The Canteen will reopen on Thursday 30 January 2020.

All members of the extended Claremont family are warmly invited to come along and pray for our school community. Toddlers are also more than welcome.

The prayer group meets fortnightly on Thursdays at 8:45am. Please sign in at the school office.

For those parents who would like to pray for the school but are unable to attend the Prayer Group, you are now able to receive fortnightly prayer points. If you are interested in receiving the fortnightly prayer points or have any questions, please contact the school office.

The Uniform Shop will open on Wednesday 15 January and Wednesday 22 January 2020 from 9:00am-10:00am prior to the commencement of the 2020 school year. 

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 apart from Claremont school uniforms. It is very inconvenient if you leave other items. Thank you.

Please note that all communication should be through the email address: [email protected]

Please refrain from calling or texting Roxanne Fielding directly. 

Cooper was 10 days old when his parents brought him to hospital with a viral illness. Transferred to Sydney Children’s Hospital (SCH) Randwick, it was unknown that his heart was suffering from myocarditis. Soon after arrival, he went into cardiac arrest needing CPR for 26 minutes. Without the presence of the cardiac surgical team at SCH, Cooper would not have survived waiting for a team to mobilise and travel 40 km from Westmead.

As you may have seen in the media, the Liberal National Government of NSW are stripping the SCH of its ability to provide cardiac care to seriously ill kids.

Cardiac Surgical services at SCH are essential for the safety of all children being cared for at Randwick. SCH has provided safe cardiac surgery for decades.

SCH is a tertiary referral hospital. From throughout NSW, 75% of critically ill children that need to be retrieved to a Paediatric ICU come to Randwick. Down-grading the services at Randwick will put children’s lives at risk, and will threaten the future of both Sydney Children’s Hospital and the co-located Royal Hospital for Women.

Loss of cardiac surgery has already negatively impacted services at the Royal Hospital for Women. Many pregnant women with children with heart conditions are being transferred to Westmead for their deliveries.

Complex surgeries and treatments, including comprehensive cancer care, require on-site cardiac surgery for support.

A fully funded cardiac service would only cost $6 million a year.

The NSW population needs 2 comprehensive children’s hospitals.

Please sign our petition to instruct the NSW State Government to maintain an appropriately funded cardiac surgical program at SCH Randwick.

Petitions can be collected from the school office.

Tram testing is underway across the CBD and South East Light Rail route. 

With cyclists, pedestrians, drivers and trams interacting together, it’s important we all play our part to stay safe around light rail.

Whether you’re walking or riding your bike, avoid distractions and cross the tram tracks safely. Drivers should be aware that road conditions have changed and to follow traffic signals.

Transport for NSW have some safety tips.

See the interactive map for road closures, interchanges, pedestrian zones and more. See Sydney light rail for more information.