Dear families,

It has been wonderful to welcome our students and families back to school after the holiday period.  A special welcome to all our new families, we are very excited to get to know you and work with you and your child on their educational journey.

The opportunity to connect with our families is critical to our success and we are continuously thinking of creative ways to provide information to you that we would normally do through parent information evenings, school displays and at morning drop off and afternoon pick up times.  Tomorrow you will receive your year level specific Google Slides presentation, regarding the learning opportunities taking place in the classroom, daily routines, and processes.  These slides will cover all the information we would usually present during our parent open evening. 

Additionally, later in this newsletter there is information about our parent/teacher meetings (getting to know you yarns), including their purpose and how to book in your face-to-face meeting.  Due to Covid-19 Guidelines, these need to be spread over several evenings to reduce the amount of people onsite. We understand that this can be challenging for our families with multiple children across different year groups.  We do apologise for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your understanding as we make continuous adjustments to our changing circumstances.

Communication between home and School

Communication takes many forms at Campbell Primary School, to try and reach our wider audience and to respond to our community’s preferred methods.  Our main modes of communication include:

1. The school website https://www.campbellps.act.edu.au has a wealth of general information and easy access links to our newsletter, drop box and remote learning hub.
2. Email: Many of our letters and permission forms do get sent via email, if hard copies are required, please contact the front office and a set will be provided to your child(ren).  Permission notes are then uploaded to our drop box in the event you need to refer back to it.
3. Our School Newsletter: This is distributed every fortnight (Thursday). Parents should receive an email link to alert you to the publication.  Alternatively, there is a link to the most recent edition on our school website  https://www.campbellps.act.edu.au
4. Facebook: Did you know we have a Facebook page?  This is a fun way to share little snippets of what is happening across the school and in Public Education.  There is a link at the bottom of our website that also shares the posts if you prefer not to use Facebook.
5. Seesaw: This year every classroom will have a Seesaw page to provide parents with a digital insight into what is happening in the classroom.  Permission notes are being sent out and I encourage all families to return them as soon as possible so that the teachers can start sharing the learning.  Our Early Childhood teams have been using this platform for a couple of years and we are aiming to roll it out across all years later this term. Keep an eye out for more information on this. 
6. Do you need to contact us? We have many avenues for you to connect with us.  These include: 

• Telephone 61423580
• Email: campbellps@ed.act.edu.au (general emails and any outside of working hours emails)
• Leadership and Classroom Teacher email: firstname.lastname@ed.act.edu.au  (during working hours only)
• Face to face Appointment

We hope this information gives you confidence that there are several opportunities to stay informed and connected with our school.  Whether your query is for administration, classroom teachers or the leadership team we encourage you reach out and talk with us.

Our staff

RATs Distribution Update

RATs will be available for all teachers, school-based staff and students, to help everyone safely attend school.  This will help to ensure that positive COVID-19 cases can be identified as early as possible.

RATs are recommended for students and staff, and early childhood education and care staff or use twice weekly at home before school or preschool or for use when they are symptomatic. Testing is voluntary. ACT public schools may now commence distribution of RATs directly to students in years P-10, with parents able to ‘opt-out’ if they do not wish their students to be provided with RATs.

Building Modernisation:    Message from the Education Directorate:

Over the last two years the construction challenges at Campbell Primary School have been both complex and difficult for everyone. Since the construction commenced to modernise the school, it has been reported close to 100 days were lost due to the unseasonal weather and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Education Directorate acknowledges your patience, and endurance in supporting your children and school community throughout this process.

Lendlease will be providing an updated schedule for the remaining weeks of the build including the landscape works. This will be made available www.campbellps.act.edu.au under the School Modernisation Program tab shortly.

We thank you for your ongoing support for the Principal, Ms Paula Kinsman and teachers at Campbell Primary School and look forward to delivering to you innovative and modern learning spaces that will accommodate your school now and in the future.

Infrastructure and Capital Works – Education Directorate

Building Modernisation:    How the school is preparing for our new learning communities

As we get closer and closer to accessing our new learning communities, the staff and students are getting prepared and ready to operate as learning communities.

Students are already engaging in opportunities as cohorts and shifting between working in small groups, explicit individual class lessons and collaborative whole cohort instruction on a daily basis.

Teachers have been engaging in intensive professional learning through a series of professional readings and Masterclasses.  In our teams, we have been thinking deeply and applying new knowledge to our existing pedagogy and tool kit of teaching strategies. Here is a snapshot of some of the topics we will be revisiting and learning about.