Message from Grant Andrews, Acting Head of Junior School

Dear Parents and Carers,

Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week is a time for us to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, as well as contribute to the work of reconciliation across our nation. There have been numerous experiences and class discussions throughout this week across the School. For example, 6R aimed to learn something new about Indigenous culture each day, to build their understanding, appreciation and respect for First Nations cultures. Mr Okunbor brought in some Yolngu artworks and students explored the different processes, techniques and meanings behind each piece. Students also investigated the unique cultures, customs, languages and laws of the many distinct groups that make up Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Getting ready for Camps
Next Monday, 3 June, sees our Year 3 cohort travel to the Blue Mountains for their camp and Year 5 to the Royal National Park, south of Sydney. Year 3 and Year 5 students will need to be at School at the normal time in preparation for a prompt 9am departure.

Year 6 will be heading to Canberra on Wednesday, 5 June, for their annual excursion. All Year 6 students must be at school by 5:40am.

We hope that our students embrace every activity with enthusiasm and stay open to making new friends and trying new experiences. We trust that they will engage fully, participate actively and take advantage of the unique opportunities for personal growth and adventure.

Da Vinci Decathlon
We are delighted to share the success of the recent annual Da Vinci Decathlon held at Knox, an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate students across Australia. 77 Year 6 and 72 Year 5 teams competed in groups of eight across ten disciplines: Engineering, Mathematics, Code-breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and Legacy.

16 Year 5 and Year 6 students proudly represented Cranbrook Junior School:
Year 6: Kaspar Buck, Leonardo Buchanan, James Chau, Curtis Carlsson, Jack Eagle, George Fyfe, William Holt and Alexander Pontifix.
Year 5: Jayden Bao, Christian Kollias, Jonathan Kuchel, Charlie Dusseldorp, Alexander Rainbow, Tully Sharpe, Minato Yamada and Mason Pun.

We are very proud of our students’ presentation and their well-deserved results. Our achievements included several teams placing in the top 16 positions.

Year 6: 11th overall, 3rd in Engineering, 6th in Creative Producers & Legacy, and 14th in Ideation.

Year 5: 4th in Creative Producers and 16th in Cartography.

We thank Mrs Koika-Cellini, Miss Boniface, Mr Botto, and Mrs Brodie for supporting our teams.

Kind regards,

Grant Andrews
Acting Head of Junior School