This week has been declared CPS Appreciation Week with a range of activities, events and collaborations to bring focus to all the things we have as a school community to be thankful for. To quote a very special member of staff “we have the attitude of gratitude” and that has really shone this week.

The week commenced on Monday with a special incursion from the team at Birrigai to lead our year 5 and 6 school seniors through a range of fun team building and problem-solving activities. There was a focus on appreciating being back at school together and being able to welcome the Birrigai team here as a way to adapt to the restrictions on excursions.

Tuesday was jam packed with our year 6 school Captains beginning their day by leading year 1 students in the creation of a book entitled “Book of Appreciation” including all the things our students are grateful for as well as some amazing illustrations.

This was followed with a wonderful “favourites” themed special lunch from our amazing canteen staff, and the much anticipated hotly contested teachers’ vs year 6 netball game. Congratulations goes to Mr Scherer’s team of staff all-stars who, despite fierce competition, came away with the win. Special mention to Ms Nguyen who played in her first ever game and Brenda Sebastian our umpire/year 6 coach for volunteering her time. It was great to see the whole school come out to support their team and get into the spirit of the fun and friendly competition.

Not done yet!  Several classes came together in the afternoon session to create pom poms that will be hung from our trees to celebrate being back together here at school after our learn at home period. A big thankyou to all the families and the P&C who donated wool for the project and to the ladies of Christian Education who made hundreds of cardboard donuts for us to use.

Our Preschool class have been busy too with the Whales and Sea Turtles creating some “Circles of Belonging” to display in their classrooms. On Tuesday the group hosted their PJ Day and Teddy Bears Picnic which was lots of fun!

Still not done! As this issue goes to print there is a disco raging in the lunchtime quad led by none other than DJ Carney herself.

Tomorrow our Japanese teachers are doing some special hiragana karate obi and there will be more pom poms being created. Then Friday, the day we are all most looking forward to, our whole school PJ Day and junior school teddy bears picnic.

Monday 29^th May 2020

Today the Preschool Dolphins took a walk down to our local shops to post a letter to our friend Mia who recently moved to Queensland. We took a lot of time and care in coming up with our ideas about what we wanted to say in our letter and what questions we had.  Miss Emma typed the letter for us and we made an extra, special page where we each drew a little something for our friend.

This morning Miss Emma paired us up with a buddy and got us ready for our walk. We started with a talk about keeping safe on our way and looking after our buddies. We had such a lovely time walking along the path down to the shops, noticing things around us that told us it is Winter, like the bare trees and the cloudy grey sky. When we arrived, we took a moment to notice and discuss the shops and people who work in our community. There is the café where Miss Emma and Sami get their coffees, the dentist, doctors, hairdressers, dry cleaners, chemist and of course the post office. The Dolphins watched on as Miss Emma paid for a stamp at the desk, we talked about where to put the stamp on our envelope and then Heidi placed it in the red post box. It is now on its way to Queensland.

Our friends were so well behaved on our walk, they said “hello” to people we passed and thanked some lovely people who showed us how they use their post office boxes. 

From the Defence Desk

It has been great to finally start to get back into a semblance of a normal school rhythm and to see students working so hard to finish off this very unusual semester on a high note despite some fatigue setting in. During this week dedicated to appreciation, I wanted to express my gratitude to our wonderful families who have adapted to all the changes with positivity and a supportive attitude. I also wanted to express my gratitude to the CPS leadership, teaching and admin team whose positivity and creative problem solving has created a positive and encouraging mindset for all in our school community. We can’t forget the students. Even those from ADF families who are reasonably resilient to change could have been forgiven for being overwhelmed by the challenges this year has thrown up. But they weren’t. They learned at home, attended hub schools, adapted to technology, found new ways to connect with their teachers and friends, returned to school in age groups, and did it all with big smiles and great attitudes. For all in our CPS community, I am thankful.

With the return to full time schooling we have also returned to Defence Club. We have made a few changes this term to the days and age groupings to give our senior students a chance to mentor some of our youngest. Please see the attached flyer for allocated days. We have had a wonderful time this term making loom bands, pom poms, participating in friendship activities, and playing with our puzzles, toys and Lego. Defence club will return on the same timetable for term 3.

Our postponed posting season seems to be finally here, with families starting to receive their posting orders for 2021. During term 4 in preparation for relocation students will participate in small group sessions with the DSM. In the interim it is helpful for planning and preliminary transition support if families can notify Campbell Primary as early as practical. We are always sad to see families go but enjoy supporting them into the adventures to come. We especially wish the 5 families departing this term on mid cycle postings the very best with their travels to warmer climates.

As restrictions continue to ease, ADF community groups are recommencing some of their social and support activities. Please find below links to some of these groups for your information:

Soldier On June Newsletter

DFA Winter Newsletter

Kookaburra Kids

DCO Events (via eventbrite)

Wishing everyone a safe and restful Winter break. Special shout out to any ADF personnel assisting with Covid-19 community safety support around Australia; be safe.

Karyn Penney

Defence School Mentor

Onigiri (Rice Ball) Making in Japanese Classes 

おにぎり　を　つくりましょう！

In Week 10, the students from years 3 to 6 decided to show our appreciation for all of our newfound Japanese food knowledge, and make onigiri, or Japanese rice balls. 

These little delicious balls of cooked rice are much like sandwiches in the West. Onigiri is readily available in convenience stores across Japan and is great for a quick and easy savory snack.  Onigiri are very common in lunchboxes (bento). They are usually shaped into rounds or triangles by hand and they're fun to make and eat. 

There are lots of possibilities for filling the onigiri - with tuna, salted plums, pickled vegetables, chicken etc, but in class this week we focused on the traditional method of making them - shaping them by hand, wrapped in nori (seaweed sheets), with a little salt. The rice can also be mixed with flavourful sprinkles like furikake. Furikake is like the salt and pepper of Japan and consists of toasted sesame seeds and salt. 

Here are some photos of the students from the Wednesday Japanese classes, enjoying the making AND the eating process!

2020 Voluntary Contributions

A big thank you is extended to families who have made their Voluntary Contribution payments this year. To date we have received $6,770. This represents 13.39% of families that have paid their voluntary contribution so far. A number of families have also made very generous contributions over the amount requested and on behalf of students and staff we thank you for this.

Making a voluntary contribution to school goes a long way in assisting us add value to our following programs:

• Student enrichment;
• Intervention processes/activities;
• Stem resources;
• Literacy and Numeracy programs/resources;
• Including, community events & the school musical.

The money is well spent on resources for students that we would be unable to purchase without parental support in this way.

The contribution requested is $150 for one student or $280 for a family with two or more children at school.

Payments can be made in full or by instalment at any time to the Front Office.  Payments can be made by using the EFTPOS machine at the Front Office or direct deposit to the school’s bank account, details as follows:

BSB:                    032-777

ACCOUNT NO:       00-1092

Or alternatively, ‘Make a Payment’ link on the website http://www.campbellps.act.edu.au/payment

Or via School’s Smartphone App (online credit/debit card facility)

Semester 1, 2020 reports were emailed to families today, Wednesday, 1st July.

Please check your junk folder before contacting the school if you have not yet received your child's report.

Whales will receive their reports on Friday, 3^rd July.

Please be reminded that Intention forms for 2020 are due back this Friday, 3rd July.

Are you planning on travelling out of the ACT these school holidays? ACT Health has advised all ACT residents not to travel to suburbs in Melbourne that have been identified as COVID-19 “hotspots” (areas with increased risk of community transmission). In addition, ACT Health has advised ACT residents to reconsider any travel to the greater Melbourne metropolitan area. This advice has been issued to avoid the risk of bringing COVID-19 into the ACT.

Ten hotspot postcodes in Melbourne, where community transmission is occurring, have been identified by the Victorian Government. Suburbs in these postcodes are under stay at home public health orders until 29 July 2020.

The hotspots suburbs are:

3012 – Brooklyn, Kingsville, Maidstone, Tottenham, West Footscray

3021 – Ablanvale, Kealba, Kings Park, St Albans

3032 - Ascot Vale, Highpoint City, Maribyrnong, Travancore

3038 - Keilor Downs, Keilor Lodge, Taylors Lakes, Watergardens

3042 - Airport West, Keilor Park, Niddrie

3046 - Glenroy, Hadfield, Oak Park

3047 - Broadmeadows, Dallas, Jacana

3055 - Brunswick South, Brunswick West, Moonee Vale, Moreland West

3060 – Fawkner

3064 - Craigieburn, Donnybrook, Mickleham, Roxburgh Park, Kalkallo

Are you feeling the chill of Winter yet? Get cosy and ring in the cold months with our Winter Wonderland Community Activity Packs, sponsored by Carers ACT.

Included are many fun, winter-y activities as well as educational content on the critical role of carers in our community, such as:

- Make your own snowflake

- Know your neighbour

- Carers ACT Information Sheet

Every person can make a contribution to our community, so share your Winter Wonderland creations with us at @communityservicesACT.

You can find the link to the pack here: Winter Wonderland Resource packs.