Colac Primary School Newsletter June 11th, 2020

Phone: 5231-2560 (BH) Website: www.colacps.vic.edu.au

Term 2 finish is Friday June 26th – staggered pick up times will remain

Welcome back: It was great to welcome back everybody this week and the school has been a hive of activity. Students have settled in well and are enjoying being back with friends and reconnecting with their teachers in person. Our support staff have been very busy helping out and ensuring the staggered recess and lunch breaks have worked to allow for students to enjoy some time outside. It was a surprise to have a visit from Coles this week to say welcome all students back to on-site learning. Coles donated fresh bananas and mandarins for our students to enjoy on Tuesday. Thanks Coles Colac.

Staggered times: A reminder that parents can check the house their child is in through Compass or by phoning the school. The staggered start and finish times

will remain in place until further notice. Bus travellers will continue to arrive and depart according to bus timetables. For all students who are being dropped off to school, walking, riding or scooting the staggered times are to be adhered to. Please stick as close to the time as possible and avoid spending time at the school fence or gate as adult physical distancing still very much

applies. Students must not arrive earlier than their designated time to play on the playground.

Student Reporting: Semester one student reports will be made available for families through Compass on Wednesday June 18th. Families will then be able to request a phone interview with teachers during the week on June 22nd-26th. Due to COVID-19 restrictions we will be unable to conduct parent teacher interviews and ask that phone appointments be

requested by emailing the school: colac.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

Shelby Papadopoulos – Principal

Staggered start and finish times:

Morning arrival Afternoon dismissal

8.55am Dingoes 2.55pm Dingoes

9.05am Kangaroos 3.05am Kangaroos

9.15am Koalas 3.15pm Koalas

Taneisha demonstrates the use of

hand sanitiser and the spreading of

kindness

Ingrid showing the additional supplies

in our classrooms to keep us clean

and safe

Office News

Small Chairs: These small chairs are free to good homes, a maximum of 6 per family on

a first in basis. Please call the office on 52312560 to register your name and pick up can

be arranged.

Social Distancing: Just a reminder that if you need to come to the school office, you

must phone the school before you walk onsite as there may be staff or other visitors

already being attended to at the front desk. You will be advised when to present. Thank

you for your co-operation in this matter.

Uniform

Girls leisure pants $24: Bottle green stretch low pill yarn with narrow fit leg, elastic waistband and right hand side zip pocket. Sizes 4 – 14 & S

Track pants $17.50: With double knee padding, sizes 4-14. Larger sizes $26

Rugby Tops $33.50: Sizes 4-14, larger sizes $35

New Kilts: Box pleat tunics are available in sizes 4G to 10G ($42) and the bib is detachable to become a

kilt if preferred. Kilts are available in sizes 12G to 16G ($45).

Second-hand Kilts: 1 x size 8 - $35, 2 x size 8 - $40 each,

School Coats $33: Coats are bottle green, waterproof and fully lined with warm polar fleece and a

concealed hood. Sizes 4-16

Polar fleece vests $15: Sizes 8-16

If you are wishing to purchase uniform please call Carolyn at the office first or alternatively you can email

the school at colac.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au with your order and you will be advised of the cost which

can be deposited into the school’s bank account and your order can be sent home.

Compass: Please be reminded that all school communication occurs via Compass including:

A notification if your child required first aid throughout the day.

Student absence notifications sent via SMS at 9.30am if there is an unexplained absence.

Ensure you notify the school of any absences via Compass by 9.10am to avoid an unnecessary

message.

Early pick up for appointments etc must be placed by the parent via Compass as well as late

arrivals in the morning

If you have any questions or access issues, please call Julie at the office.

All students in rooms 1, 2 3 and 4 have settled back into learning quite well. The staggered starts and

finishes, having water bottles, snack, fruit snack and lunches organised is part of our ‘new normal’ and

the kids are doing better than some of their teachers. All students have been very diligent on the hand

washing and sanitising, without teacher reminders!

Rooms 1 and 2 have been doing some great learning with the new musical instruments. They have

been concentrating on ‘dynamics’ and have used words like crescendo and decrescendo. (To you, me

and anyone else not in room 1 or 2, this means soft sounds going to loud sounds and back again)

Rooms 3 and 4 have been working on addition, especially using our friends of 10 and 20. Using our

bead kebabs to support us in the ‘turnaround’ equations. They have also been creative this week,

working on money boxes and covers for our Writers Notebooks!

.

It has been so nice to have our Grade 5/6 students back this week. They have transitioned back to the

classroom well. The highlight this week was the Grade 6 students receiving their jumpers and the

arrival of our new laptops.

ART @ Home and School

The remote learning task for Art - Week 8 – was to design your own dream home. We have all been

spending LOTS of time at home lately and it was interesting to see what the students would include in

their dream homes – lots of great ideas! Thank you to all students and families for sharing your

creativity with me during remote learning you have all done a fabulous job and should be very proud

of your efforts. I am very happy to have a full and buzzing art room again with all students back in the

art room this week

Mila – Room 4

Art Student

of the Week

Stella – Room 9 Arlie – Room 8

Bodhi – Room 10

Angus – Room 5

Ricy – Room 5

This week Dakota has shared a recipe that her family likes to make (and eat!) at home. Thank you for

sharing your recipe with us Dakota – I am looking forward to making these with my boys – they look

delicious! Do you have an easy family favourite that you like to make at home? Maybe you might like

to share your recipe too

Chocolate Haystacks

Ingredients

I block of chocolate

2 tablespoons peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)

1 packet of original fried noodles

Method

Melt chocolate for 1 minute in the microwave

When melted mix in the peanut butter

Then the noodles

Put table spoons of the mix onto a tray lined with baking paper

Put in the fridge to set

Olivia – Cake Shop setting

Rupert – Room 4 Settings Task

Mila – dinosaur world setting

Dear students & families,

Welcome back grade 3- 6 students – it is great to see you! Well done for navigating your way through

remote learning and for making the best of the opportunities during flexible learning. Library classes

are happening in classrooms at present but classroom teachers will ensure each class can return &

borrow library books. Students please bring library bags – even supermarket bags will do! Thank you

to Mrs Jean Newcombe for setting this up & covering new books!

Prep to Grade 2 students have enjoyed the picture storybook ‘The Girl, The Bear and the Magic Shoes’

by Julia Donaldson. The focus has been on the change of settings throughout this delightful book.

Grade 2 especially took note of the extra details illustrated in these settings and set about to create

an amazing place (whilst remembering to add extra details in their own setting). There were so many

wonderful illustrations but here are a few from Room 4!

Alec – Bike Repair Shop

LIBRARY STUDENT OF THE WEEK

Congratulations Alec for doing your personal best! Your Bike Repair Shop setting was so detailed – you even drew a bike -chain attached to the wall! Well done Alec!

Remember you can continue to watch Story Box Library online – using the same login details!

Mrs Briffa

STORY BOX LIBRARY - MY DREAMS Room 8 Milly dreams of living in a Candy Land where

you eat a piece of candy and it grows back

within 5 seconds.

Arlie dreams of working on the International

Space Station!

How good was it to see so many smiling faces here at school this week! All of the Grade 3-6 students looked eager to return and get stuck into some classwork. On the PE front, they were very keen to get active, with a few saying they haven’t done a lot of physical activity whilst at home. This week everyone across the school has been learning aspects of health and identifying what they do know so we can move forward and start learning some new content. Grade 3-6 students have also been enjoying partaking in a few different sports that we don’t get a lot of opportunity to play. These sports are badminton, table tennis and tennis. The new ‘Totem Tennis’ poles have been a real hit with the students, and they will continue to practise these skills in the coming weeks.

Above: Bella and Liam were competing against Maya and Taneisha. Arthur and Zayden loved our Totem Tennis. Tristan and Zav had a great hit of badminton with Hemi and Risith.

Sporting FUN FACT

There are 18 minutes of total action in a baseball game even though it takes on average about 3 hours to complete.

Jamie and Taniesha

Awarded For:

Helping Mr T move all the Table Tennis tables from the

shipping container into the stadium. It was a massive job

and they did a wonderful job!

PHOTO TIME

Under the Grill with Mr Till Miss Fraser hasn’t been teaching at CPS very long, but deep down she knew she

wanted to come back after spending her primary schooling here as a junior. No

doubt she would have seen a few changes and hopefully she can fill us in. I’m also

not sure who has been at the school longer out of Mrs Rodger or Miss Fraser but

fair to say it has been great having her back! This week we put her Under the Grill

Name: Miss Fraser What is your Position/Role at Colac Primary School?

I am a Year 3/4 teacher in Room 7!

You have been in your role for a number of years, can you please explain?

This is my second year at Colac Primary School and my second year as a teacher!

What do you love about your role?

I love the relationships I get to build with the students and working with them to help reach their learning goals.

I also love the jokes and laughter we have in the classroom!

What is the best thing about CPS?

The students and staff! Everyone is so kind, caring and supportive of each other. Our garden is amazing too!

Any funny stories you would like to share from your time at CPS?

I have a few.. mostly at my expense though! Miss Vernon is quite the prankster and has got me a few times. Last year she

put a picture of a spider under one of my books and I think the people at I.G.A would have heard me scream!

Where did you grow up and go to school? Tell us about your younger years.

I actually went to Colac Primary School myself. Mrs Newcombe was my prep teacher! I loved sport when I was younger and

participated in every school sporting event I could. I have always lived in Colac, but was between Colac and Ballarat when I

went to university.

Can you give the CPS students some advice that you can share from your days as a student?

Be kind and always have a growth mindset. Remember that mistakes are all something we can learn from.

What is your favourite holiday destination and why?

I love going to Western Australia as my sister and her family live there. I also don’t mind a weekend away to Princetown!

What is your favourite food and drink?

I loooooove HOT CHIPS! My favourite drink changes quite often, at the moment it is apple juice.

What are some of your favourite things to do outside of school? (Hobbies or Interests)

I love playing netball, I have played for the Western Eagles since I was 13 years old.

I also love catching up with family and friends, as well as a little bit of online shopping here and there!

What was the first thing you did once the restrictions were lifted somewhat?

I went and caught up with family and friends.

Tell us something we don’t already know about you …

I can’t deal with the sound of crunching food! Especially really crunchy things like apple and carrots.

Now you were a past student at Colac Primary and no doubt would have had Mrs Newcombe and Mrs Rodger in your

class at some stage, how has it gone being a student to now being all grown up and working with them both?

I have loved it! I think it is amazing that I now get to work alongside people who helped me so much when I was younger.

Mind you it was difficult calling them by their first names, when I first started working here!

What are some notable changes that you have seen around the school from when you were a student to now as a

teacher?

The stadium is the biggest one (literally) I think. When I was here we had the Activity Centre, which I think was about a

third of the size of the stadium!

Now we have heard it in the staffroom, you and group of Grade 6 girls from CPS made the state finals many, many years

ago. Looking back in the PE archives I believe you girls were the last CPS team to do so, can you fill us in on that day and I

hear you called yourself Michelle Warne just for cricket, this correct?

Ahhh Mr T… what a day that was. While everyone was getting their awards (we came 4th in the state that year), our team

was too busy picking out patches of the M.C.G grass and putting it in our hats, to keep as a momento!

I personally prefer Michelle Lee (after Brett Lee), I was more of a bowler!

Now I hear you love dogs, how many do you have and are they good dogs or do they get up to mischief? Surely a pet

rock would be more cost effective and cause less trouble?

I have two dogs, a labradoodle called Beau and a labrador called Frankie. They CAN be good dogs, however at the moment

they are trying to dig a hole the size of a small swimming pool!

Thankyou for your time and being a part of our wonderful school community!

Under the Grill with Mr Till Unlike Miss Fraser who grew up in Colac, Miss Vernon grew up and travels from

Geelong every day which is a huge effort. She too, is a wonderful part of our school

community. As most of the older students here at CPS would acknowledge, she loves

Pepsi Max and is a hard task master. No use complaining because you’ll more than

likely hear the old ‘too bad, so sad’ adage. She is a very bubbly person who we are yet

to know a lot about, so we put her Under the Grill.

Name: Miss Vernon What is your Position/Role at Colac Primary School?

I am a grade 3/4 teacher and work with the Student Representative Council.

You have been in your role for a number of years, can you please explain?

This is my third year at Colac Primary School. In fact, this is my third year of being a teacher!

What do you love about your role?

I love putting a smile on the student’s faces by making school a fun and exciting place to be.

What is the best thing about CPS?

As everyone else has said – THE PEOPLE! Everyone at CPS is amazing.

Any funny stories you would like to share from your time at CPS?

Miss Fraser and I played a prank on Mr McInnes one day after school. We put sticky tape on his doorway & then hid in his

classroom and waited for him to walk into it–it stuck to his face and we gave him a bit of a fright!

Where did you grow up and go to school? Tell us about your younger years.

I grew up in Geeslong and went to Moolap Primary School then Newcomb Secondary College. I worked as an integration

aide and loved what I did so I ended up going to Deakin University to study teaching.

Can you give the CPS students some advice that you can share from your days as a student?

Make the most of it because school is over before you know it! I look back now and think about what my teachers did for

me and how I miss seeing my friends every day. Do your best and ask for support when you need it!

What is your favourite holiday destination and why?

Las Vegas! The atmosphere is amazing. It’s a crazy place to be because there is always something happening, there was

even a roller coaster at the hotel I stayed at. I think I saw Elvis walking down the street about 100 times!

What is your favourite food and drink?

My favourite food is pizza, closely followed by satay chicken and rice. Everyone knows my favourite drink is pepsi max!

What are some of your favourite things to do outside of school? (Hobbies or Interests)

I play and coach netball at Newcomb Power. I also like to play games on my PS4, play The Sims and World of Warcraft on

my computer, do puzzles and hang out with my family and friends. I also like to sew and make costumes.

What was the first thing you did once the restrictions were lifted somewhat?

I went to my friend’s house for a bbq which was great. I also went to the hairdressers to fix my isolation haircut. I am

known to give myself a chop every now and then but this time I needed help fixing it!!

Now we often hear about Ralph who is your pet cat and it sounds like he rules the house, can you tell us about Ralph

and why do you love cats so much?

Ralph is an absolute menace. He does naughty things on purpose like knocking things off the bench and running around like

mad at 2am. Ralph only likes to drink water out of a tap so he sits in the bath and I turn the tap on a little bit. He’s very

spoilt! Ralph is the first cat I have had in over 20 years – I got him as a present…now I love cats!

As I mentioned there above you ABSOLUTELY love a Pepsi Max, but recently you have purchased a new coffee machine.

What tends to be the drink of choice at the moment and do you need to pop into one of our ‘health’ sessions for PE so

we can convince you to drink water instead?

Mr T…let’s be honest. Pepsi Max will always be the drink of choice. I’m actually drinking one right now. I treated myself to a

coffee machine and I make myself a coffee every morning. I still drink about 2L of water a day to keep hydrated!

COD as I often hear coming from your mouth had me convinced that you were buying some things off eBay as it can be

known as “cash on delivery” or “collect on delivery” but no, it means Call of Duty (game for those unaware like me). You

are a big fan, you must enjoy playing games when not marking schoolwork or planning after work?

Absolutely! I miss having Mr. Messinger around to talk to about my games. It’s a time for me to unwind and talk to my

friends. I have a few consoles at home including PlayStation 1,2,3 and 4 (soon to be 5), Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64.

Tell us something we don’t already know about you…

I have a sensory issue where I HATE touching certain things like chalk, clay, un-glazed ceramics and things fresh out of the

dishwasher! I get a funny feeling in my teeth and gums when I touch these things. I get a nerve pain down my back, too!

Thank you for your time and being a part of our wonderful school community!