It is great to be back at school again following the three week break. Term 3, despite the obvious uncertainties, will be fabulous! I am excited for the many opportunities for learning and connecting that I know the children will experience. The teachers and wider staff team have all been working very hard to plan and prepare for the term ahead. I am very grateful for their passion, dedication and commitment to the children’s learning and wellbeing.

Welcome back Mrs Affleck from your maternity leave. It is great to have you back in the Library.

Thank you Leo A for your amazing painting of the cheeky monkey from the Balinese dance performance incursion earlier this year.

I thought that it might be a nice change to have a COVID-19 free newsletter. We are all COVID-19 fatigued, that’s for sure! Our Pre-Term Newsletter last week highlighted a number of issues for you to be aware of. Please check this document for the important information pertinent for Term 3, that was communicated to our school community. I will certainly keep you informed if the situation changes or if there are changes to the guidelines, or any further updates.

I would like to provide the opportunity for parents to raise anything that is on your mind relating to the COVID-19 crisis. I need to know what is on your mind, and what questions you might have for the future. A block of time will be given to the P&F meeting next week specifically related to COVID-19 questions, reflections, ideas or concerns. I feel that with the uncertainty of the days ahead, it’s important for us to understand what people are worried about. Perhaps you have an idea for an initiative or would like to make a suggestion for how we can improve or respond better, to existing or emerging issues.

Please email any questions to Karen Wiggins at k.wiggins@claremont.nsw.edu.au by 3pm on Wednesday.  At the P&F meeting (which will be held as a Zoom meeting), Mrs Cameron, Mrs Ford and I will do our best to respond to what has been raised. We cannot guarantee that we will have the answers straight away but it will inform and help us to make decisions and to also communicate back with you over the days and weeks ahead. 

Please do not miss this important opportunity for consultation and engagement - as we work together to support and care for each other.

If you’d like to have a laugh, agreeing to see the humour in this, and not think that I am trivialising any of the seriousness of this current situation, please CLICK HERE for further COVID-19 announcements. It will give you a glimpse into what I have been trying to make sense of over the past six months.

I am very excited to announce that our school app now provides some long awaited new features which will make life easier for us all with regards to student permission notes and absentees. This has been an enormous job behind the scenes, and I acknowledge and thank Mrs Maree Lee (Reception) and Mr Drew Nield (IT Manager) for all of their hard work in making this happen.  

We would like to remind all parents about the traffic procedures we have implemented which help to make our school as safe as possible for the children, parents, staff and community. Children should be dropped off and collected in the SCHOOL ZONES on either Judge Street or Coogee Bay Road where teachers will be on duty from 8:15am to 8:45am and from 3:10pm until 3:30pm.

You are also reminded of the 40kph school zone speed limit. The streets surrounding the school are quite narrow, so please slow down to ensure the safety of residents and of children. In order for us to get children safely into cars, it is imperative that all drivers comply with the following:

• Please delay your arrival until after 3:15pm as queuing before 3:10pm causes major congestion. We often experience our worst problems with traffic because parents arrive early. Please allow us to get the children to the gates first to enable the traffic to flow more smoothly and to avoid us from having to ask you to move on. If your child is not at the gate upon your arrival be prepared to be directed by staff to go around the block.
• Please consider arriving closer to 3:30pm.
• Do not choose to park directly in front of the school gates. Follow staff instructions by moving forward to the front of the zone to the furthest available numbered cone, to enable as many cars as possible to pull up behind you. Please do this even if you are the only car in the zone upon your arrival.
• Do not jump the queue of traffic. We consider this to be very bad manners!
• If your child is not at the gate when you pull up, you will be asked to drive around the block again to keep the traffic moving and to comply with our traffic management plan.
• Please do not get out of your car as teachers will assist children if this is necessary.
• Despite the fact that we wish to move things quickly, please ensure that your child’s seat belt is securely fastened before pulling away from the curb.
• Please display a clear sign with the family name. This request is not only for new families. You can always request a laminated family name sign (or signs) at the office.
• Do not do U-turns anywhere within the vicinity of the school.
• Do not double park across the road on Coogee Bay Road and escort your child across the road.
• If you are in a queue do not move into the school zone until you know for certain that space is available. If you end up stopping in the ‘No Stopping’ zone, by law you are liable to be booked AND lose demerit points.
• Only drive along Judge St if you are collecting your child at the Judge St gate, not at Coogee Bay Rd gate.
• Do not park across the school or neighbours’ driveways if you are visiting the school or attending events or functions.
• Please be patient with each other.

Please inform Grandparents or carers of these expectations should they collect your children. The cooperation and patience of all parents and carers, (Grandparents, babysitters and others) is essential if we are to make both our school pick up and drop off zones and the surrounding streets, as safe and efficient as possible for everyone.

Please remember that strict penalties apply in all school zones. In addition to a fine, demerit points also apply. 

Thank you for your support and assistance with all of these matters.

Stay safe, stay well, stay positive.

Doug Thomas     
Principal

  Follow me @DougJThomas

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 Kath-Clare Rochester, kc.rochester@claremont.nsw.edu.au for further information.

Our local member, Dr Marjorie O’Neill, Member for Coogee, would like our school community to participate in The School Safety Survey – a way of engaging all of the school communities in the electorate in the campaign and highlighting the need to improve the safety of our local school commutes.

If you would like to participate in in the Survey, please click the link below: 

https://forms.gle/fG9FLwcF98hwoTFBA

Dr Marjorie O’Neill
Member for Coogee

Congratulations to the following students who participated in one or more of the Kids Giving Back programs (including Cook4Good, Cook4Dignity, School Holiday Programs, Connect4Good & Care2Give (COVID-19 Program)) during Term 4 2019, December School holidays 2019/2020 and Term 1 2020. 

Dante F, Maya M, Akanksha M, Isla B and Lilly M

Kids Giving Back is a charity whose mission is to create the next Generation of Generosity.

Our programs are delivered for children 6-18 years old and their families and offer opportunities to assist vulnerable people in the community.

Help Others

Perform random acts of kindness to someone at school and members of your family. Say something encouraging, help clean or tidy around the house, speak kindly, do as your parents ask the first time they ask you to do something.

Larissa Cameron
Deputy Principal

We would like to invite parents to participate in an Individual Parent-Teacher Conference with your child’s teacher via Zoom on Thursday 13 August. These meetings are a valuable chance to discuss how your child has settled in since the start of year and to review their progress.

In order to provide parents with the most convenient time possible we use an appointment system throughout the school. This allows parents who may have more than one child at the school to make consecutive appointments rather than having to wait for long periods of time in between meetings. Each appointment is 10 minutes long and we would ask all parents to keep strictly to these timings.

We are using Edval Interviews, an online booking system for scheduling meetings.  Simply select your chosen time from the available times. The online booking system will close on Wednesday 12 August.

Since the meetings will be held via Zoom, we would ask parents to assist us by:

• Logging into the Zoom meeting room at least 10 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time.
• If you haven’t used Zoom before, please download the program and have a practice run prior to the conference date.
• It is recommended that you position yourself with a wall behind you so it is less distracting.
• Please make sure that there are no children in the room during the meeting.
• The appointment will be strictly 10 minutes only.

What to do:

On Monday you will receive an email from Claremont College (noreply@edval.education) which will include your unique web code to access the online booking system together with detailed instructions on how to book your interview times.

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 3

Term 4

This meeting will be taking place via ZOOM.  If you are interested in participating in the meeting, please contact your Class Representative for more details.

Year 4 - Alternative School Camp Activities Days - Parent Portal

Welcome to Term 3!

It’s so good to be back. I’m looking forward to seeing all the lovely, familiar faces and hearing about all that’s been happening with the students. 2020 so far for me has been spent watching  a lot of “Bluey”, and I’ve probably read “The Gruffalo” 4,972 times, so it’s safe to say that I’m keen to hear about other books and activities students have been engaged in. Please feel free to pop into the library at any time to say hello.

Three for free

Speaking of being at home, I thought that for the rest of the year I would include three fun (and safe) activities each week that can be found online if you or your child are looking for something quick and easy to do. If  you  have any suggestions for things that could be included, please let me know by emailing me through the front office.

1. Lemony Snicket Lemony shares some helpful tips on how to write a nice thank-you note. If someone has done something kind during isolation, or just in general, a thank you card could be  a lovely thing to do
2. Marbles and Magnets A marble run video that is perfectly synchronised to Tchaikovsky's waltz of the flowers. This is a video you didn’t know you needed to see.
3. The funnest deep sea simulator  Take a dive into the depths of the ocean-past the midnight zone, past the abyssal zone, and into the challenger deep. My personal favourite is the headless chicken fish (real. very real). 

Book Week 2020

Everyone loves Term 3 for a number of reasons, one of which is BOOK WEEK! Before you get too excited, so that we can (hopefully) celebrate as a whole school community, Book Week  this  year has been postponed until Term 4. This term, however, we will in all year groups be delving into this year’s shortlisted books, giving students the  opportunity to really celebrate quality literature and to recapture the joy of reading in a positive and lively way.

The theme for Book Week 2020 is “Curious Creatures, Wild Minds!” So perhaps you could start thinking about a costume along this theme.

Mrs Stephanie Affleck
Teacher/Librarian

Library News

New Box Set Fiction Titles

Book one in this series introduces the reader to a very special unicorn called Pearl and her close friends Tweet and Olive. Pear has magical powers but doesn’t quite know how to use her magic. Pearl and her friends have plenty of fun adventures in this series often involving three naughty, stinky gobble-uns!

Recommended for ages 6-10 years old.

It is lovely to add the Mary Poppins series to the library collection. The classic adventures of the magical nanny were written by author P.L. Travers more than eighty years ago. Travers was born in 1899 in Maryborough, Queensland. She received an OBE in 1977, and died in London in 1996.

In each book Mary takes the children, Jane and Michael on a magical and fun adventure.

Recommended for ages 9 years and older.

Mrs Susan Kesur
Library Assistant

Claremont Virtual Concert

Covid doesn’t mean no vid for our students! We are not letting these unusual circumstances hinder our kids having a performance opportunity. Our 2020 performance may have been cancelled in Martin Place, but we have a plan in place. Our teaching team have been working hard with some of our P&F members to work toward a virtual music concert, think of it as our own Claremont Music Video. There are plenty of surprises to come...

PE/Music

Each grade will be learning a dance routine in Weeks 2-5 during Music and PE time, to align with the curriculum dance outcomes for both Music and PE. We will record this virtual performance and unveil it later on in the year. Watch this space! 

Please understand that we are doing our best to provide performance opportunities for our students in these crazy times.  We will do what we can in the time frame. Thank you  for your encouragement.

If you are someone that works in the entertainment industry and would like to volunteer time and expertise to help us with these HUGE projects e.g. recording virtual choir videos, recording students singing, making videos… we would LOVE to hear from you and get your help.

Singing Auditions

Before the term break, I also asked for students to send a ‘singing audition’ by email or Seesaw. I ran a workshop and I was so excited by the energy in the room. There was also an alert reminder sent out this week.  The auditions for this are now closed. Thank you to all the students that worked hard to submit and audition. I was very impressed with the submissions I have watched so far. The talent is AMAZING! The skill of auditioning is something very daunting and you really do get better with practise (but perhaps the nerves are always a reality). Well done on being daring and taking the risk. To say I am proud is an understatement. Whenever we audition, we must be prepared for disappointment. I have had my share. But that doesn’t mean we give up, try and try again. Thank you for your understanding.

Mrs Tara Barr
Head of Music

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 2, 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.

Registrations close on Monday 27 July.

Welcome back to Term 3. While there have been many changes to Sport over the year due to Covid, it is exciting that Term 3 will offer more Sport opportunities as we recommence Morning Skills and look to expand our Wednesday Sport program. As mentioned earlier in the Virtual Concert section of the newsletter, Sport in Weeks 2-5 will be spent learning and filming dance performances for Claremont’s virtual concert. Later in the term each Grade can look forward to the following:

Kindy & Year 1: Cricket (run by Cricket NSW)
Year 2, 3, 4: Gymnastics (run by Got Game)
Year 5, 6: Flag Gridiron (run by Bring it on Sports)

K-6 Term 3 Morning Skills Sports Programs

Morning Skills Programs will commence in Week 3 for those students who registered last term. Parents who have registered should have already received a confirmation email. Please contact the office if you have any enquiries.

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

Joel Geering
Sports & PDHPE Coordinator

Welcome back to Online Chapel Term 3. This is always an enjoyable and special time each week. It's a time where students, staff and families are able to come together to celebrate the goodness of God and what's happening in the life of Claremont.

This term in Chapel we will be looking at stories from the bible. This week we focused on one of Mrs Stewart’s favourite stories in the bible, ‘The Parable of The Unforgiving Servant.’ She shared with us how God forgives us everyday for the things we got wrong and she challenges us to show the same forgiveness to others.

This week the students will be learning the memory verse, 

‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’ Ephesians 4:32 

We love seeing the students getting involved in the Chapel videos each week. Remember if you would like to watch this week's online Chapel video you can find it on our school website.   

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

Tiffany Knoll
Chapel Coordinator

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  

The Uniform Shop is closed however, if you need to purchase any items, please place your order online via Flexischools. If you need to purchase any second hand items, please email clothingpool@claremont.nsw.edu.au to arrange an appointment to visit the shop.

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

All parents are asked to confirm their TeamKids bookings for the term so that TeamKids can arrange to be adequately staffed each day.

If you haven’t booked yet and require a booking or would like to just confirm your arrangements, please contact TeamKids Customer Service on 1300 035 000.

School Banking is back from the first week of Term 3 and check out the new rewards!

Claremont College is excited to offer the Commonwealth Bank School Banking program to all students and after a temporary pause in Term 2, it’s now back from the first week of Term 3.

School Banking is a fun, interactive and engaging way for young Australians to learn about money and develop good savings habits. Children who deposit money into their Youthsaver account through School Banking will earn an exciting reward every time they reach 10 deposits. 

Due to the pause, we now have both Term 2 and Term 3 Treetop Savers rewards items available - some of the best yet!

School Banking is also a great fundraiser for our school. Our school receives a Regular Savers Contribution of $5 for every 10 deposits processed per student as well as an Annual Contribution which is based on the number of students who made at least one School Banking deposit in the prior year.

Getting involved in School Banking is easy!

All you need to get involved in the School Banking program is a Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account. You can open an account for your child in one of two ways:

1. Online

Visit commbank.com.au/schoolbanking and click on the link to open a Youthsaver account.

2. In branch

Visit a Commonwealth Bank branch with identification for yourself and your child, like a driver’s licence and birth certificate.

If your child has an existing Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account they can start banking straight away. They just need to bring their deposit in every week on School Banking day using their Dollarmites deposit wallet. Deposit books and wallets are available from the school banking drawer in the office.

School Banking day is Tuesday. Each week you need to put your completed deposit in the school banking drawer in the office. 

If you would like to know more about School Banking, please ask for a 2020 School Banking program information pack from the school office or visit commbank.com.au/schoolbanking

Jeff Morton and Betty Preshaw School Banking Coordinators

A warm Welcome Back! Some great news, we have added to our team and welcome Dani Hillier who has a heart of Arts and Craft. She will be taking our Monday Classes for this term, once a Claremont parent herself, she also works at another school. Another mandala lover in our team, she makes some exquisite painted rocks in her chill out time.

Our Art Classes start back up next week in Week 2! All our spots are full for Monday’s Class, but we have opened up the Wednesday’s Art Class to include Years 4 to our Years 5 & 6 only class.  We have seen how friends come together to be creative and enjoy the different pace.  To give you an idea of what we will explore, we will make a mosaic trivet, delve into colour theory and some drawing basics.

We also have a few spots available for our Thursday Drawing Skills Classes with Shallal who has some exciting drawing projects planned.

To secure your spot book online https://artisanathome.com.au/collections/afterschool and any questions please contact Phi Morton on 0403377420.

We wish you a great start to the term!

From the Artisan at Home Workshops Team
Phi Morton, Shallal Bader & Dani Hillier.

Calling ALL students from Kindergarten to Year 6 for one free trial drum lesson in term 3! Have a go, build esteem, confidence, new neural pathways in the brain and most importantly, have a whole lot of fun!

Email at p.reddy@claremont.nsw.edu.au today to book a spot for your child. Upon request please include students' full name and class year group. Trials commence in week 2 and 3 of Term 3, spaces are limited. I am excited to meet the new and upcoming drummers!

Here to serve,

Percy Reddy