Dear parents and carers,

Term 4 is now moving along smoothly. This week has seen a class based focus, and already some classes are beginning the process of publishing work that they have written this term.

Last week, I was in Canberra for this term’s principal’s meeting and the Director’s Day.
Whilst in Canberra, I received word that we are to receive drought assistance money to assist with various aspects of our school operations. This is terrific news of constructive support for our school community during the challenging times of drought. I would like to acknowledge and thank the staff at CE for their background work to provide this assistance, this support is appreciated.

Yesterday we hosted Mrs McGrath from the Schools Services team in Canberra. She worked with staff in the area of child protection.
We have also hosted Ms Yeo from the Schools Services team this week. She has worked with both staff and class groups.
Discussion around the review of our behaviour management has continued with a particular focus on being safe and being respectful. A respectful approach to resolving points of difference makes that process easier for everyone.
For some, the challenge lies in recognising that responding in a respectful way can mean that a problem is sorted out very quickly, and does not need to be a huge issue.
I encourage the children to listen actively to questions and respond respectfully – this may well take a lot of the angst out of most challenging situations.

At present the cool mornings, windy days and dusty afternoons are causing some problems with hay fever etc. Thank you to those families who are being proactive in reducing the side effects of hay fever and other ailments that present at this time of the year.
Kinder Transition - Orientation mornings for our 2020, Kinder students commenced yesterday. The children had a terrific morning working on a variety of activities in their classroom.

If you are aware of any parents who would like their child to participate in our transition program, please them to make contact with us at school. Everyone is welcome to attend our Transition program.

Grandparents Day – is coming up next week, invitations are coming home this week.

Small schools relay team – good luck to our small schools relay team – William, Hugh, Cooper and Hamish. The team will compete at the NSW PSSA Athletics Carnival in Sydney today. The carnival is being live streamed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No5jD16ySTQ
Heats of the small school relay are scheduled for 9:50am with semi-finals scheduled for 2:00pm.

Armistice Day – Remembrance service will be held on Monday November 11 commencing at 10:45am. Everyone is welcome to join us at the service at the Cenotaph.

Arriving to school early – please be aware that we have had a number of instances in recent times where children have been arriving to school very early (in some instances before 8am). Please note that children are not supervised until 8:45am. If arriving to school between 8:30 - 8:45am, all students should be seated outside the Yr. 5/6 classroom. This is not a time for playing or running around the school grounds.

Triple P parenting course - The Online Course shown below could be an effective way of gaining some tips to help shape positive behaviours. This course can be completed in the privacy of your own home.
Triple P Parenting Online Course
https://www.triplep-parenting.net.au/au-uken/find-help/triple-p-online/
Year 5 School Captain Speeches – All Year 5 students are advised to begin preparing for the School Captain speeches. The School Captain Role Description and Essential Criteria was sent home with your child earlier in the term. This should assist your child in preparing for their speech. Speeches are to be a maximum of two minutes.

Year 6 Graduation Mass Presentation Photos – We would like to kindly remind parents that school related photos of your child, depicting a range of activities throughout their schooling, for the end of year school Graduation Mass presentation, are to be submitted to us as soon as is possible. Doing so will allow ample time to compile the presentation.

Sincerely