Now that the first week of optional co-curricular activities is almost over, we remind parents that from the close of business tomorrow, Friday 10 February, NO further changes can be made to your son’s Term 1 co-curricular enrolment without attracting a financial charge to cover the term for the relevant activity. Thank you for your assistance.
Dear Junior School and Pre-school Parents,
It was a very busy first week back! Our Year 6 students earnestly embraced their leadership roles in a lovely service last Wednesday, promising to serve their school, their peers and their community with integrity. We were delighted to welcome those of you able to join us for the Parent Information Evening last Thursday and those who came along to one of the two sessions held this week with Dr Judith Locke. We highly recommend Judith’s books, The Bonsai Child and The Bonsai Student, which both provide practical, hands-on ideas about how we can best support our boys on their journey to becoming independent, resilient people who can, indeed, positively contribute to society and our world.
The term has started excitingly with our first ever Junior School Water Polo Team training at the AFC. Enthusiastic water polo player and Y3 Class Teacher, Miss Elinor Hewett, is their manager and she has shared some photos of their first sessions of training.
Last Friday, we welcomed back Mr Lloyd Hardes to the teaching staff. Lloyd will be teaching Y3-Y6 Multi Sports each week. We were delighted also to see Mr Ian Pollock back with us. He will be coaching some of our sailing boys each Saturday. This weekend brings our first round of the Summer season sport. Please see the Sport section for your son’s relevant fixture.
Starting today and continuing until the end of next week, our parents will be meeting their son’s teacher during parent-teacher interviews. These meetings are an excellent opportunity for parents to give teachers background information about their son and for teachers to indicate how each boy has started the year. Through these meetings, teachers and parents will start to build vital relationships that can so positively support our boys to be successful learners.
We look forward to a happy and productive Week 3!
Kind wishes,
Michele Marquet
School Photos – Thursday, 16 February (Week 3)
Shortly, K-6 parents will receive their child’s student online order form for class and individual School photos. These photos will be taken next Thursday, 16 February. The form will have your son’s name and shoot key on it. Please note: you have until Sunday, 26 February 2023 to pay online for the photos.
All boys should wear their summer school uniform to School on Thursday. Boys in K-2 classes should NOT wear their coloured House T-shirts on this day.
Parents who would like sibling photos should find an order sheet attached to their eldest child’s online order form. It will have their family name and shoot key on it. These photos will be taken at 7:30am on the day.
We ask that our boys’ uniforms are clean and pressed, shoes polished and hair is neat and trim.
Please follow this link to see an overview of some of the planned events for this term. We are looking forward to catching up with many of you over the next few weeks.
We are delighted to welcome Ms Abigail McFarlane as Cranbrook’s Pre-school Coordinator.
Ms McFarlane is originally from the United Kingdom where she studied Early Childhood Studies at the University of Roehampton and worked in early childhood centres in Kent. Since arriving in Australia 5 years ago, she has worked in early years education building, managing and leading multiple early childhood centres. This has provided Abigail opportunities to embed her own educational philosophy in line with Australia’s Early Years Learning Framework.
Her personal educational philosophy is to offer and support engaging, stimulating environments, both indoors and outdoors, for children to become their own active, unique learners. Abigail believes children being at the centre of a creative and innovative curriculum will enable them to explore the best opportunities to become active and independent learners.
Creating strong bonds and relationships with our Cranbrook families is pivotal to creating a warm, loving learning journey for every child. Abigail is very excited about her role at Cranbrook as Pre-school Coordinator, and she is very much looking forward to meeting and getting to know our Pre-school children and their families.
Our K-Y2 students, along with their teachers, are currently participating in Emmy and Friends, a protective behaviours program. Over 5 weeks, the sessions provide opportunities to learn about basic protective behaviours concepts with our children. These are the basic building blocks in teaching children about body autonomy, consent and safety, vital for all our children as they grow up.
Parents should have received a parent handbook to help them understand what the programme is about and so they can continue conversations with their child in the home environment.
In Week 4 (starting Monday, 20 February) our annual camp for boys in Y6 takes place at Somerset on the Colo River. Please check the Parent Camp Information Letter found in your son’s tab for additional information. If your son requires medicine to be administered whilst on camp, please complete the relevant form as soon as possible, returning it to your son’s teacher. The medicine should be brought to School on the first day of camp by a parent and then be given to your son’s teacher.
Miss Clementine Mockett joined Cranbrook Junior School in Semester 2 last year after moving from the United Kingdom, where she was teaching at Thomas’s Kensington, a prominent preparatory school in central London. At Thomas’s, Clementine gained experience in teaching both Year 4 and Year 5, developing a teaching approach that incorporates inquiry learning.
She actively uses a combination of digital learning and Thinking Routines in her lessons to allow children to delve deeply into a topic and to encourage creativity. Clementine also has experience working with children with a variety of learning needs and she has a caring teaching style which prioritises children’s wellbeing and happiness.
In her personal life, Miss Mockett has a great passion for Music and Sport. Having played the flute and the piano, as well as having been involved in choirs from an early age, Clementine is passionate about the influence that co-curricular activities can have on the development of children within a school environment. She is also an avid tennis player, skier and sailor, holding her RYA Dinghy Instructor Qualifications, as well as racing in UK and Sydney yacht races.
Having spent her childhood weekends by the British seaside, Clementine is delighted to be in Sydney where the temperature of the ocean is slightly warmer! Prior to teaching, she completed a BA in Spanish from the University of Bristol. Clementine spent a year working in Spain and has experience teaching Spanish to both novice and fluent children at Thomas’s.
This weekend sees the first round of fixtures for Years 3-6. You should have received a message from your son’s team manager.
Please click here for the Basketball fixtures, here for Cricket/Tennis fixtures and here for Water Polo fixtures. Sailing is always held at our Boatshed at Rose Bay and Multisports is always at Dangar.
We are holding the Y3-Y6 Cross Country Carnival on Friday next week, 17 February. A letter from Head of Sport, JS, James Roughan, will be sent out to families shortly. It outlines how this event will be organised.
Mrs Ann Arora and Mr Christian Bonett invited expressions of interest from students wishing to participate in the inaugural Junior School Bundanon Art Camp taking place in Term 2.
Bundanon’s Learning experience will provide a three-day program for selected students from Year 5 and Year 6, to participate in a range of art making activities delivered in and around the Bundanon site on 3 – 5 May 2023.
The learning team at Bundanon include experienced primary, secondary and tertiary educators, as well as practising artists, who will tailor an en-plein air focused program for the students. Through a range of activities, all participants will be encouraged to explore, consider, develop and share works produced.
To be considered, students will be asked to provide a portfolio of 5 – 6 en-plein air artworks. Please ask your son to think about his home environment, interior or exterior. He could sketch the garden or your living room, a local park or a place he visits.
They also should provide a written expression of interest letter of approximately 300 words explaining why he believes he would be a good candidate for the art camp.
The application letter and portfolio are due to Mr Bonett on or before Monday 13 February (extended deadline) 2023.
Welcome back for Term 1! We hope you were able to have some time to rest and recharge and we look forward to another dynamic year in Music.
This term is quite busy, so we thought we would give you a summary of rehearsals and key events taking place.
Co-curricular Ensembles
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Musical Events Term 1
Lunchtime Concerts, Music Room 1
Soirees, Music Room 1
piano part must be attached to the application form and a rehearsal will be organised
Jane Holmes à Court and Peter Fox