It’s hard to believe that first term has nearly come to an end.
Our Annual Report for 2022 has been presented to council. It shows the growth the school has continued to make. Most data sources presented show that Carwatha College is performing above the state. These achievements are due to the hard work of staff, students, and parents and as a community we should be very proud to be members of such an outstanding school. A copy of the Annual report will accompany our newsletter.
It has been an extremely busy term one.
There have been several successful events held this year.
These include:
A very busy term indeed!
Thank you to all staff who have organised these events for our students.
Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on Wednesday April 5th. We will have a late start on that day with classes beginning at 10.00 am. I would like to encourage all parents to attend so that they can receive feedback on how their students are performing and ways they can improve. Discussions between parents, staff and students reinforce our positive relationships and partnerships within our school community.
I encourage students to take steps this term break to act on the advice and recommendations provided by our professional teaching staff at the Parent Teacher Interviews and to read their reports closely—this will make a tremendous difference to your growth and learning.
Term 1 finishes on Thursday April 6th. Students will be dismissed at 2.30 pm on this day.
Term 2 will commence on Monday April 24th. I hope all students have a great break and return to school ready to do their best.
Pat Mulcahy
Principal
It has been a fantastic term and fast-paced start to 2023. We have had camps, excursions, NAPLAN, our whole school Swimming Carnival and, before the end of the term, Cross Country. In the midst of staff shortages across Victorian Public Schools, we are in the privileged position of being fully staffed, able to offer a comprehensive extra-curricular program for our students.
Our students should be congratulated for their dedicated start to the term. Student surveys continue to indicate that Carwatha students are happy, supported and challenged at our school. Likewise, our teachers should be recognised for their dedication to their students. I see the hard work of our teaching staff every day and I can assure our families that students are in great hands at Carwatha P-12.
The NAPLAN testing period has concluded and our students performed to the best of their ability during these tests. Although many students do not look forward to NAPLAN, the testing data is important. We eventually receive and review individual, class and cohort data. We can dig deeper into this data to determine specific skills that individuals or groups are excelling in and specific skills we may need to work on.
This data is instrumental in ensuring that each student improves and also allows us to review our teaching and learning programs in response to what this data is telling us. As NAPLAN has transitioned to online testing and is now earlier in the year, we are hopeful that results will become available in term 2.
There is little more important than attendance at school. Although our attendance data is still better than many similar schools, we still want to significantly reduce the amount of days our students are absent. Following COVID, some families had trouble re-engaging with school and many families went on prolonged trips overseas to visit relatives.
While all of this was understandable, the 2023 school year should have far less interruptions. We remind families that attendance at school is compulsory unless the absence is unavoidable (such as through illness). We are ramping up our contact home, particularly if the reason for the absence has not been explained to the school.
Students who attend school every day except when sick achieve better results, feel more connected to school and develop better social connections. If attendance is becoming a concern for your child, I encourage you to speak with their House Leader.
A reminder also that all students are expected to adhere to the school’s uniform policy, set by the school council. Short term exceptions can be made if unforeseen issues arise. Our students are expected to take responsibility by arranging a note signed by a parent/carer and providing that to their House Leader if a short-term exception is needed.
The vast majority of our students wear our uniform with pride, but a small minority need reminders both from school and from home to ensure they meet the school’s policy requirements.
There is so much to look forward to in what is a short term 2 (just 9 weeks). We look forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead.
What a fantastic start to the year for our Blackburn Learning House students! After a challenging 2022, where we were unable to show our true talent, in 2023 we have found our feet. All students have started the year strong in their homegroups and are truly embracing the house spirit.
As part of the Blackburn House Ambassador process, students were required to apply and interview for the position. We would like to congratulate and acknowledge our Learning House Ambassadors for being chosen to represent Blackburn as leaders in 2023. Our House Ambassadors have already made a positive impact and contribution to Blackburn House.
Blackburn Senior House Ambassadors:
Blackburn Junior House Ambassadors:
Blackburn Primary House Ambassadors:
We look forward to working with these students throughout this year to build our house culture and to assist them with developing their leadership skills.
Our first major house event was the College Swimming Carnival. It was great to see lots of red coloured clothing, face and body paint. We were proud of the number of Blackburn students who got into the pool and represented our house in style. Congratulations to Filippos Symeonidis-Syvridis, Declan Rudd and Jayden Vong who were all Age Group Champions.
We’ve also had a number of students achieve great results on their V3 Progress Reports in February who were celebrated at a House Assembly. The following students were awarded GPA stars for a GPA of 3.2 for three consecutive reporting cycles:
As we look forward to Term 2, we are excited about The Athletics Carnival. We have no doubt Blackburn Students will bring their house spirit and enthusiasm to once again create a positive and successful day. We also look forward to a range of smaller, but just as important, home group activities for Term 2.
We can’t wait to see what Blackburn can achieve together for the rest of 2023.
Miss Farrington-Williams – Head of Blackburn House
Mrs Rentzis – Assistant Head of Blackburn House
Mrs Coleman-Hrissinis – Primary Blackburn Leader
We are excited to enter into 2023 as the inaugural LEARNING HOUSE CHAMPIONS! Well done to all of our students in 2022 who worked hard, contributed at events and demonstrated the school values to a high standard every day. All of these things help the Chang House be a successful team!
We have a new leadership team with Ambassadors chosen from across different year levels.
Our Senior Ambassadors for 2023 are:
Our Junior Ambassadors for 2023 are:
Our Primary Ambassadors for 2023 are:
We were delighted to formally announce them at our whole school leadership assembly and are excited to have them lead our House this year.
We’ve launched our Secondary Home Groups this year and there has been a buzz in the rooms as they get to know each other, but also some important conversations about the goals they have for the year ahead and how they are going to reach them.
The Swimming Carnival has been the major House event this term with plenty of blue on the hill thanks to our student’s team spirit. Many students got in the pool to compete in swimming races and Grade 3 – 12 novelty races and most importantly we were able to have a fun time together outside of the classroom!
There is much more to come this year for Chang, with Chang Week coming up in Term 2, as well as many more House events. Most importantly we are confident our students will have a successful year in and out of the classroom!
Paul Roberts, Zannen Brown and Olivia Edwards
Chang House Leaders
Welcome to 2023! We would like to welcome back all our Cowan students as well as say a big welcome to all our new Cowan students and community members. 2023 is a special year, it is the year we commence our new Home Group Model. Cowan Learning House has 4 Home Groups embedded within its community.
These Home Groups could not run, nor be as successful as they are now without the support of their 4 amazing Home Group teachers; Monique Hoffman for Cowan 1, Courtney Witt for Cowan 2, Selnour Toul for Cowan 3 and Cordelia Meng for Cowan 4.
These Home Groups have already seen students from different year levels develop special bonds, in which continues to flourish through the implementation of different activities and learning criteria.
Cowan Learning House is fortunate to have many outstanding leaders and we are pleased to announce the Learning House Ambassadors for 2023:
Senior Learning House Ambassadors:
Junior Learning House Ambassadors:
Primary Learning House Ambassadors:
These students have already made many positive contributions to the Cowan Community, for example they helped organise and run the first Cowan event of the year, “Carwatha Sand Building Competition”. Primary students from Prep-6 were asked to construct a sculpture of their choice within a given timeframe. The ambassadors helped support the students as well as inspected their designs. The primary students produced some amazing works of art and cannot wait until the next Cowan event organised by our wonderful ambassadors.
Cowan students have continued to embrace the house spirit, which was evident at the annual school swimming sports. Over 40 Cowan students participated throughout the day in the organised events, and all Cowan student came together and sung as one to win the house chant off. Swimming sports was a successful day with Cowan coming third overall in the House tally.
Term 1 is always a busy term and throughout this Cowan students have strived to achieve their best and uphold the 4 school values of excellence, teamwork, commitment and respect. Already this term we have received over 1000 positive Behaviour Learning House Points and as the term comes to a close, we reflect on our accomplishments and strive for success for the terms ahead.
Go Cowan!
What a busy start to the year we are having! We have had the new introduction of homegroup, Swimming Carnival and Homegroup challenges to name a few of the activities we have seen.
Congratulations and welcome to Mabo Learning Ambassadors, Eliza Chew, Lily Perceval, Irisa Kahriman, Jayde Bury, Hassan Hassan, Keira Chew, Angelia Lee and Chloe Malkocer.
It has been very reassuring to read and see how well our students are engaging with their homegroup teachers, and to see the relationships that are being built.
The Swimming Carnival was a massive day of fun in the sun! It was great to see so many students getting involved in races, novelty activities and cheering on their team! It was also a very successful day with Mabo learning house finishing second overall on the day.
Our first Homegroup challenge of the year was won by Mr Skadins Mabo 3 group after they took out the table pong tournament which was a big success, we are looking forward to having many more challenges over the course of the year.
Next up we have Harmony Day, Chang Week and Cross Country all in which we hope to see Mabo continue to strive! Go Crocodiles!!
So far year 12 has gotten off to a flyer! The four College Captains were announced in Sam Norton, Wyanet Bonne, Angelina Baika and Nikila Weerasinghe as the recent whole school assembly after a rigorous application process.
The year 12’s have been busy they went on an evening to Luna Park, leaving school in there best Thursday night attire they caught the bus into St Kilda where they enjoyed a night of fun on rollercoasters and giant drops!
They have been given their year 12 jackets which they all look very smart in and very senior. They also undertook in their last ever swimming sports carnival and dressed to impress the junior students who stood back and cheered for the best dressed during their final parade.
The new D-Block is now open and many students are using it to study during school hours and after hours. If any student would like to use the space afterschool it is open Monday to Thursday from 3:15-4:30, staff have also been running extra session for those who would like to participate.
There is lots more coming up over the course of the year so keep your eyes peeled for the class of 2023.
Mr Hammond
A highlight of the year already, our Year 7 Camp was full of fun, adventure, new friendships, and plenty of laughs. Our Year 7s were up for any challenge including the Giant Swing and rock climbing, strategic battles playing Capture the Flag, and entertaining the camp in our lip-sync battle or talent show!
Our hosts at Doxa Camp Malmsbury taught us about the local environment, as well as new skills in our different activities. We had activities that focused on working together as well as some that pushed our students out of their comfort zone.
We are proud of our Year 7s for their courage and positive attitude which is what made the camp such a success. A few year 7s have shared their thoughts about the camp below:
“Something I’ll never forget is going on the giant swing. It was a shock! But afterwards I was glad I did it and felt like I achieved something” Ruby K
“Memorable moment is when the girls went to each other’s rooms, didn’t go to sleep and told scary stories” Dorothy S
“Group 2 was the best. We had the best teamwork and cheered for people” John Conrad
“My favourite activity on camp was the trampolines. It was lots of fun” Stella K
The 2023 Year 8 SEE class were fortunate enough to take part in the Victorian Challenge Enrichment Series. Quantum Victoria is offering year 7-9 high ability students the chance to engage in a Cyber Security-focused education escape room.
This experience is at the cutting edge of engaging, team-oriented, game-based learning, with students working collaboratively to solve Cyber Security scenario-based challenges as they rotate through three workshops throughout the day.
Cretaceous Cove, the home of prehistoric flora and fauna, located at the Quantum Victoria Wildlife Reserve, has experienced breaches in security, communication and access control. Gates are stuck open, allowing the residents of this park to move beyond their confined enclosures creating an atmosphere of chaos! All communication to the mainland has been cut off!
The year 8 SEE class worked collaboratively, taking part in the escape room experiences. They took on the role of Cyber Security Experts as they worked to complete challenges involving passwords, ciphers and phishing, and find solutions to restore the compromised systems and ensure the safety of staff, visitors and residents of the Park!
Georgia Rentzis
(Year 8 SEE Maths Teacher)
It’s been a huge term of sport and whole school events!
We have had our whole school Swimming Carnival held at the Doveton Pool and was very well attended across all year levels. It’s always a special event for our Year 12 students, some of who have been at Carwatha for 13 years!!!
There were so many highlights on the day with many individual efforts, with Blackburn finishing on top after a disappointing 2022 in the major House Events. The age group champions are listed below, however, the highlight for me was the involvement across all the age groups for the novelty events!!! Well done to everyone involved on the day and leading up to the day.
Students were amazing and many teachers went above and beyond ensuring it was a great success and most importantly that we had fun as a whole school community.
A special thanks must go to Mr Antony for all his preparation prior to the event and supporting me in my new role at Carwatha. Thanks mate!
Swimming age group champions
Primary Boys champion Chan Yoon
| Primary Girls champion Belma Mujaric |
12-13 boys champion Chris Nguyen
| 12-13 girls champion Katy Batdorf & Louisa Cui |
14 boys champion Filippos Symeonidis-Syvridis
| 14 girls champion Eleni Kustura |
15 boys champion Declan Rudd
| 15 girls champion Layla Widan & Georgia Deed |
16 boys champion Frank Gu & Jayden Vong | 16 girls champion Kiera Chew
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17 boys champion Brenden Luc
| 17 girls champion Heather Ferguson |
Open boys champion
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Many of these swimmers went on to compete in the Greater Dandenong Division Swimming and three swimmers competed in the Southern Metropolitan Region Swimming Carnival. They represented our college brilliantly and we thank them for the determination and school spirit!
Congratulations to the SMR representatives: Katy Batdorf, Filippos Symeonidis-Syvridis & Kiera Chew.
Congratulations in advance to the Cross Country and Lapathon participants that will be competing in the last week of Term 1. I can’t wait to share the results of that great event in term 2 as well as the hotly contested Athletics Sports scheduled for the 15th of May at the Knox Aths Track.
Term 1 Interschool Sport
It has been another busy term in Interschool Sport where many teams have represented our college across all year levels.
The seniors (Year 11 and 12) were first to compete earlier in the term and made us very proud. The boys were gallant in defeat but tested the best teams (I was a very proud coach and loved my first sporting experience at Carwatha- thanks boys! And the girls were absolutely brilliant and brought home the GDD pennant and will compete at the SMR round in May! Well done to Mr Hammond and good luck girls!
The Intermediate (year 9 and 10) teams were next in line for Interschool Sport duties and we had 2 volleyball teams and a tennis team that competed on this day. The tennis team were very competitive and had a great day with Mr Luci! The volleyball teams were awesome! Miss O and myself were very proud and hope they gained a lot of confidence from the day as we truly believe that both of these teams are capable of winning this event next year.
Mr Pieta is running after school trainings on a Tuesday for any students wanting to improve their volleyball which is a great service…thanks Mr Pieta! We are also looking at some school tournament later in the year as our students can’t get enough volleyball it seems!
They Year 8s were also successful, with the Tennis team winning the GDD and the volleyball teams had a great day without making finals. Like the Intermediate teams though, they should gain a lot of confidence with the way they played and the teamwork and improvement that was evident and plain to see by both their coaches.
Thanks to all of the coaches thus far this year, with out them we can’t go on these days and we know how much time they give up to ensure our Carwatha students get these opportunities!
A massive thank you to Miss Farrington-Williams, Mr Antony, Miss Opperman, Mr Luci, Miss Hofman and Mr Hammond for this term. Good luck to our Year 7 Volleyball teams heading off to Dandenong Stadium to compete for Carwatha in Secondary Interschool Sport for the first time! I’m sure they’ll do us proud!
Go Carwatha! Mr Collings (Sport Coordinator)
We have had an awesome start to 2023!
We have all started the year making new friends and learning many new things together.
We have been learning to get along with new friends and showing respect towards each other and the environment.
Here are a few comments from the students…
Ethan – I like playing sports with my friends
Peyton – I Love making new friends
Oliver – I love all of my kind friends
Roman – I love playing with my new friend, Ethan, he helps me.
Masha – I like Halley because she is nice to me and helps me!
Halley – I like to play with Masha, she is nice.
We have been busy learning to read and improve our reading levels. We are enjoying reading books together and making connections to the story. We have also been making predictions about what might happen next or what will happen at the end of the story.
My favourite book is…
Answaar- Do Not Open this Book!
Jasmine – I love listening to stories that Mrs.McPhie reads to me.
Harlow – I love Fairy books
Dominique – Where the Forest meets the Sea is my favourite.
Every student has tried their best to write about our experiences, both at school and on the weekend. We have been writing about some of our favourite things and describing characters. We have been learning to use a capital letter and a full stop. Everyone has tried to write some sounds we know and many students are writing a sentence.
These students love writing about…
Candice – I love writing about what I did on the weekend.
Ryan – I love writing about the weekend.
Chelsea – I love drawing pictures.
Macie – I like writing about what I do at school.
In Maths we have been working on Place Value, Time, counting to 100 and Addition. It has been amazing to find out what we already know about numbers. We have a big focus on writing numbers to 10 correctly, then we can begin to write 2 and 3 digit numbers correctly.
What do you love about Maths…
Lebron – I like working on the i Pads
Eric – Counting the Unifix blocks
Ruby – Making clocks and learning about time.
Lexi – I like writing my numbers
Everyone has enjoyed the specialist classes. Art has been a particular favourite, drawing and painting. Students have enjoyed learning about how things grow and planting in the garden. In P.E, everyone has had fun moving, learning to catch a ball and learning to be a good sport.
Elise – I love P.E and PMP classes
Alanna – I like to go to Art
Carlos – I like going to the Art room
Brooklyn – I love art and painting pictures
The first term in our new class is almost over! We have enjoyed many special events, including; World Maths Day, Twilight Sports, Harmony Day, Multicultural Assembly and lunch. It has been busy and loads of fun! I can’t wait to see how we all challenge ourselves and succeed in Term 2!
Thanks for your support,
Sonia McPhie and Prep M
Prep/1H have made a wonderful start to the school year! Prep/1H have settled nicely into the classroom and our routines. They have shown great interests and engagement in their learning and have already begun to grow as learner and as members of Carwatha P-12.
This Term we have achieved a great number of things as a class, we have been building positive relationships, working hard every day on our reading and writing. We have learnt all the letters and their sounds and our numbers up to 20!
In addition to all this hard work in the classroom Prep/1H have been very lucky to have participated in some exciting events this term! We went to the swimming carnival, twilight sports and joined world maths day and clean up Australia day!
Our class also did a great job embracing and celebrating the different cultures in the classroom and school, sharing some delicious cultural foods and wearing orange and their cultural outfits to celebrate Harmony day and Multicultural week.
What an eventful term we have had! We are looking forward to the many exceptional things we will do next term!
Mrs Zoe Coleman-Hrissinis and Prep/1H
What an incredible start to the school year for 1/2A! Our students look so smart in school uniform in our ‘Ocean Where Learning Is Always In Motion’. We have dived into learning and hope to move in all areas of learning this year.
We had many exciting learning experiences in our classroom this Term. We started with a huge focus on our school values and rules, and I am so proud of our students who are doing their best to follow our classroom and school expectations.
I’m so impressed with how our students have been using the reading strategies they are learning, and the excellent Home Reading routine they have developed. They love writing stories and recounts, and are so proud of their remarkable efforts. Our students have amazed me with their Mathematics abilities in Number and Place Value, Data, Time, Addition and Subtraction.
We came dressed in house colours for our Twilight Sports and had lots of fun with our families and friends, and of course, eating yummy sausages. We slapped on lots of sunscreen at our Swimming Carnival, as it was a blistering hot day. Splashing and playing in the cool water was very refreshing.
We were so excited to welcome our parents into our classrooms on Maths Day. Harmony Week was such a success for us in 1/2A! We looked amazing in our cultural outfits, and wearing orange to represent harmony.
We learnt so much about cultural diversity and belonging. Of course, the food we ate for our multicultural lunch was scrumptious! It was so good to see our students trying out food from different cultures.
Thank you parents and carers for your ongoing support in our learning programs and activities. We’re really looking forward to many exciting activities and learning next term.
Enjoy the term break!
Mrs Elaine Abraham
We have had a very exciting term 1 in grade 2F.
At the beginning of this term, our students had the opportunity to participate in Twilight Sports as well as the P- 12 Swimming Carnival. During these events students were able to take part in various events and compete against students from the same age group.
On Wednesday 8th of March, primary students at Carwatha celebrated World Maths Day. Parents were invited to school for a fun morning of Maths where they had the opportunity to participate in games and activities with their children.
On Friday 10th of March, students participated in activities to celebrate Clean Up Australia Day and took the time to ensure their playground and classrooms were clean. By participating in these activities, students were able to learn the importance of keeping their environment clean and safe.
During this term, students were able to celebrate the power, influence, and stories of Victoria's rich multicultural communities by engaging in various activities throughout Cultural Diversity Week.
On the 21st of March, students celebrated Harmony Day by dressing up in Orange. During this week students focused on respect, fostering inclusiveness, and the idea that people of all different cultures can make a valuable contribution to society. To end the week, on the 24th of March, Primary students dressed in cultural clothing and brought a plate of food from their culture to share with their classmates.
In Numeracy this term, students have been focusing on number and place value, addition, subtraction, interpreting and representing data as well as time. Students have also been encouraged to practice their times tables at home.
For Reading this term, students have been learning about different strategies they can use to deepen their understanding of the books they read. Some of these strategies include solving words, adjusting, monitoring and correcting, searching for and using information, maintaining fluency, and close reading. For Writing this term, students began to focus on Narrative, Persuasive and Procedural writing.
We have focused on Health and Physical Education for Integrated Studies this term. During this term students spent time focusing on personal health and safety, importance of a healthy diet and exercise, mindfulness, risks to personal safety and ways to stay safe in different situations.
During the last week of term students will take part in activities to celebrate and learn about Easter prior to school closing for the term 1 holidays.
All in all, Grade 2F have made a great start to the year!
3/4P has had an awesome start to the year! We have built great relationships within our classroom and students are very happy and excited coming in every morning.
In mathematics this term we have covered many concepts, these being time, data, place value and addition and subtraction. Students have become more confident in reading clocks and calendars, as well as different types of graphs. Students have also impressed us with all the different strategies they know to add and subtract numbers.
This term in reading we have had a focus on learning different strategies to help improve our reading and comprehension ability. Some of these strategies include solving words, maintaining fluency and monitoring and correcting.
In writing this term we have had a focus on three different text types: narrative, persuasive and procedural. Students have developed their vocabulary for these different types of writing and have impressed us with their ability to use their creativity in writing.
Our integrated topic this term was health. Students looked at different types of advertisements and how they were or were not promoting health. Students worked in small groups to then develop a healthy game for the preps to play and an advertisement to go with it.
Students also needed to write instructions for this game which allowed them to use their skills they learnt from procedural writing. Students are looking forward to playing these games with the younger students!
We also celebrated World Math Day this term. Students participated in a morning full of mathematics covering all the strands. It was fantastic to see them engaged for the whole morning and having fun doing maths.
3/4B have had a fantastic start to the year. They all settled into our grade and are showing just how awesome they are. We’ve had a fun filled term packed with exciting events and lots of learning.
We started the year learning about personal writing and then moved on to narrative and persuasive writing. Students have developed their creative writing skills and now have the ability to be very convincing with their arguments.
In Integrated Studies, students have been learning about healthy and unhealthy advertising. They are working in groups to adverts about games they have created that are fun and healthy to play.
Twilight Sports was a lot of fun for everyone. It was great to see so many families come along and join in with the different activities.
In Reading, we’ve looked at reading fluently and students being able to monitor and correct their own reading. We have also placed a strong emphasis on students’ being able to explain their understanding by using evidence from the text.
Our College Swimming Carnival was a great start to the year. Students participated enthusiastically in the different events earning points for their learning houses.
We have focused on place value and addition and subtraction this term, in Numeracy. Students have developed their understanding of different time concepts, such as, reading analogue time and find the time elapsed between two events. They are currently learning about reading and representing data in different graphs.
Our World Maths Day celebration was a fun opportunity for students to show off their problem solving skills. Students had lots of fun working together, playing games and solving problems.
Have a fantastic break over the holidays and we look forward to the many upcoming events next term.
Grade 5/6E have had a busy start to the year. The students have participated in a netball clinic, Cultural Diversity Week, Harmony Day, Math’s Day and many other celebrations. Students were also involved in the school swimming carnival.
In Reading this term, students have been learning about different strategies they can use to gain a more developed understanding of the book. Some of these strategies include solving words, monitoring and correcting, close reading and maintaining fluency.
In Writing, we have been learning about narratives, persuasives and procedural texts. Students have written a variety of procedural texts including scientific experiments, craft, and recipes.
In Numeracy this term, students have been working closely with place value, addition and subtraction and problem solving. Students also focused on learning about telling the time and solving problems that relate to the duration of time.
Near the end of Term 1, there has been a focus on interpreting and representing data. Students have been creating different types of graphs and charts (tallies, column graph, pie chart) to represent the data that they have collected.
In Integrated Studies there has been a focus on student’s health and well-being. Students have been learning about the health, safety and well-being of themselves and where they can go for help.
It has been a great start to the year in 5/6E.
From 5/6E and Miss Edwards.
We have had a busy and exciting Term 1 in 5/6K! The students have participated in International Maths Day, where everyone was very enthusiastic to explore and play different maths games with their peers. We also went on a fantastic excursion to the State Netball Centre where the students trained with the Melbourne Vixens Coaches, learning new skills to train ‘Like a Vixen’
During Literacy this term, students have learnt how to write detailed procedures, focusing on scientific procedures when students completed and wrote about an experiment creating ‘bouncy eggs’ with vinegar. In our reading lessons, students have learnt to search for evidence to help answer questions, and they have made inferences when looking at various texts.
In Maths, students have worked with the topics of number, data and statistics, and measuring time. They learned about reading numbers up to hundreds of thousands, including numbers with decimals and developed strategies for adding and subtracting large and small numbers. The students looked at elapsed time and enhanced their ability to read analogue clocks as well as creating frequency tables, dot plots and other graphs.
5/6K have had a great first term and the students, Miss Kavanagh and Mrs Elias can’t wait for Term 2!
Welcome to the Primary Language Centre (PLC).
This term we have 9 students from 5 different countries!
We started the year looking at the people and places in our school, who’s in our family, getting to know each other and practising some formal (Good morning, How are you?) and not so formal (Hey! How’s it going?) greetings.
Through games (snakes and ladders, bingo, role playing, matching activities and many more) we have explored classroom objects and learning materials, colours, emotions, rooms and objects in our house.
We loved the Primary Maths Morning and enjoy going to Primary Assemblies.
Prep/1 students have been learning how to draw and paint lines, shapes and colours with greater accuracy. They have also been focussing on cutting carefully around shapes and pasting together to form animals.
Grade 1/2 students looked closely at portraits to see how artists draw facial features. They then created a self portrait collage.
Grade 3/4 students learnt about crystals and gems from around the world. They then learnt how to use a ruler to carefully rule geometric shapes to form gemstones, before painting with different shades of a chosen colour.
Grade 5/6 students have learnt how to draw a self portrait with a focus on contour lines and shading a range of grey tones.
Next term, students are eagerly awaiting for the Primary Art room to be turned into a ceramics room! Students have time to explore modelling using clay. Shaping, rolling, pinching and attaching pieces to create ceramic masterpieces. Each student will select a piece to be fired in the kiln and glazed.
Biological Science
This term Primary students were transformed into Biologists, and learned about living things and the amazing differences and adaptations that exist in the natural world.
PM and P/1H learned about the needs of living things and how plants and animals need different things to survive. Students planted their own seeds and were challenged to think about what the growing plants needed.
Grades 1/2A and 2F learned about how animals and plants grow and change. They compared themselves now to how they were as babies and even thought about what their adult selves might be like. Students learned that mammals have offspring that resemble the adults, where amphibians and insects’ offspring grow through different stages.
Grade 3/4P and 3/4B learned how to distinguish living, once-living, non-living and product of living things. They practiced classifying plants based on features of their leaves and learned about the different classifications of animals. Students learned about amphibians, reptiles, mammals, insects, birds and fish all being vertebrates.
Grade 5/6E and 5/6K studied how living things have adapted to live in different Australian environments. Student made model mangrove roots to test how their unique form allows them to access air and nutrients in a water-logged environment. They tested a variety of tools to replicate bird beaks and how the beak shape influences the food type the birds can eat; for example, long thin beaks are not good at breaking seeds. Students also researched Frilled Neck Lizards and their unique adaptations.
Forty-five students from all over the globe have chosen Carwatha College P-12 as their educational provider. Students have travelled from Zimbabwe, Egypt, Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam and China to study at our school. Some students have travelled to Australia with one parent, and some are living with host families in homestays. All of our students face new challenges and much change.
Our international students have a huge learning curve. They have to adapt to a new school system, a new way of learning, a different culture, and make new friends. These are difficult tasks which most students face with enthusiasm and courage.
Some students arrive at the college with little or no English. They are absolute beginners. These students spend a minimum of six months with Mrs. Shannon Clarke in the Primary Language Centre (PLC) or Mr. Matthew Stephens in the English Language Centre (ELC) learning English.
Mrs Clarke and Mr. Stephens do an incredible job preparing these students for mainstream classes. International students who are more proficient in English attend regular classes.
We are extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful group of international students at Carwatha. Their diverse backgrounds and experiences add to the rich multicultural makeup that makes our college unique and so exceptional.
International Team.
Student Wellbeing
The Wellbeing and Inclusion Team are available to provide access to information and services that meet the needs of students and promote their learning and wellbeing. For assistance, contact Miss Hallett – caitlin.hallett@eduation.vic.gov.au
Term 1 Programs
Elephant Ed – Week 10 and 11, Year 8 & 9 students
Students will be participating in sex education classes facilitated by youthful, relatable, and highly trained facilitators from the Elephant Ed team. These workshops will be interactive, informative, and engaging and are highly recommended by our students from previous years. Sessions are on Compass, including where the class has been allocated and which teacher and ES staff member will be supporting the class.
Mind Matters Incursion – Week 9, March 23rd 2023, Year 7 students
The Mind Matters program involved a livestream event from the National Theatre for Children that aimed to build student mental health, wellbeing & resilience. Topics included: Topic 1: Mindset - Why Your Mind Matters The difference between a fixed and growth mindset, and why it matters. Topic 2: Stress. What is Stress? A toolkit of practical ideas to understand and help cope with stress Topic 3: Resilience. How to Build Resilience. The importance of challenges, how language changes outlook, and the power of YET. Our Year 7 students participated in this interactive incursion and were able to give their feedback.
Rite Man Program – Selected Year 9 & 10 Boys
The Rite Man Program aims to provide positive role models to students needing extra support through a transitional stage of their life. It aims to create a supportive peer group mentoring program that identifies and supports the challenges students may be facing. It provides an outdoor camp experience as a rite of passage helping students to take healthy steps to becoming mature adults. Year 9 and 10 boys attended a Surfing Trip to Phillip Island to build their teamwork skills and resilience. Students are looking forward to camp in Term 2.
Changes to the Wellbeing/Inclusion Team
We welcome the following staff to the Carwatha community and team:
We say goodbye to Stuart Johnstone (Psychologist) and thank him for his contribution to the school.
News Feed Items
Check out the News Feed Items on Compass for further information about:
Headspace In Schools Program
Brief intervention counselling is available to students 12 years and above through Headspace on-site at Carwatha College P-12. Students are referred by Miss Hallett and can then complete an intake/assessment to determine if sessions would be best on-site or at the Headspace centre. Shalia visits fortnightly and information is treated in a private and confidential manner. Services are free of charge.
For more information see Miss Hallett.
Welcome to 2023 - Term 1
After many years in the Careers office at Carwatha College, I have moved into the library space to take care of our library 😊
Jenni F and I share the space and we have had a great start.
9 Library Monitors have been selected and have got busy. They are working in pairs one day of the week.The Library Monitors are:
Monday-Eli Diffey and Neloofa Fedaie
Tuesday, Mia Sanderson and Pear Homkroon
Wednesday-Sophie Doleman, Evelyn Sullivan and Belma Mujaric
Thursday-Annie Hrant and Kristen Anthony-McLean
We have a biscuit in hand – a briefing session and set to our duties – tidying the library, straightening the bean bags, dusting up a storm, crayon cases and paper on tables, sharpening pencils, straightening books etc, etc…
Jenni and I often hear singing while the dusting is being done.
Senior students have also been actively helping within the library - a big shout out to Ana Cabo, Milicia Gasic, Jasleen Cheema, Nikolina Gasic, Leana Harrsion-Swan, Amelia Grace and Aysan Mansoori-covering books and sorting books
We have our activity Tuesday, where Jenni F, Jenny B and Julie M assist the students to be creative. Often students are cutting out, pasting, and creating things. In term 2 we are looking forward to having ‘Drawing Wednesday’ and ‘Origami Thursday’.
Primary students have library sessions where I am often reading a picture book or a chapter book to the students.
Lately the junior students have sat down and drawn their best pictures and some have written a blurb of their favourite part of the story they have just listened too. Hairy Maclary’s ‘rumpus at the vet’. Slinky Malinki and Sticky Beak Syd ‘open the door’
I am encouraging all students to borrow any books. Be it fiction, non-fiction, different genres eg. Horror, dystopia, the classics
The library has many new books coming through, here is a small snapshot:
Picture Books – Charles Dickens, Solitary Animals, Kid Scientists in the rain forest
Junior Fiction – Sea Glass, Wish Sisters
Nonfiction, Be a Change Maker, Choose Justice, Goddess, Journey and Migrations
Fiction – Stranger things – Rebel Robin
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact I’ll be in the library or out driving the school bus 😊
Cheers for now
Pam Naylor
Library Manager
Office Hours: 8.15am - 4.00pm
Parents should always make contact with the Main office when visiting the college.
Office Staff:
Buisness Manager: Theresa Jarvis
Accounts: Roseann Bivens
Pauline Horbaczow
Reception: Eftalya Coskun
First Aid: Donna Azzopardi
MABO - Mr Hammond/Ms Go
COWAN - Ms Witt/Mr Antony
CHANG - Mr Roberts/Mr Brown
BLACKBURN - Mrs Rentzis/Ms Farrington-Williams
Secondary Junior Leader (Year 7-9) Mr Roberts
Secondary Senior Leader (Year 10-12) Mr Hammond
Assistant Principal (Year 7-12) Mr Oke
To Speak to or book an appointment with a coordinator, College Leader or Assistant Principal please contact the main office.
MABO - Ms Bishop
COWAN - Mrs McPhie
CHANG - Ms Edwards
BLACKBURN - Ms Hrissinis
Assistant Principal: Mrs Beauchamp-Wylie
Primary Leading Teacher: Mrs Elias
To speak to or book an appointment with a class teacher, leading teacher or Assistant Principal please contact the main office.
Prep M Mrs McPhie
Prep/1H Ms Hrissinis
1/2A Mrs Abraham
2F Ms Fernando
3/4P Ms Pritchett
3/4B Ms Bishop
5/6E Ms Edwards
5/6K Mrs Elias & Ms Kavanagh
PLC Mrs Clarke
All students are expected to be punctual and regular in attendance. After each absence, a note of explanation, dated and signed by the parent/guardian must be brought to the school or absences can be monitored and/or approved online via compass.
Lost Property is located in Sickbay. If your child has lost an item please call or see Nurse Donna in Sickbay.
The College is conscious of the need to provide an efficient process for families to be able to buy and sell second hand uniform.
We are happy to announce the sustainable school shop website that Carwatha College P-12 has previously directed parents to use for second hand books now offers buying and selling of second hand uniforms.
Please go to
www.sustainableschoolshop.com.au
For the best results: