Message from Michele Marquet, Acting Head of School

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we rapidly move past the middle of Term 3, it is apparent how busy and engaged so many of our Cranbrook students are across the year groups. Pre-school and Junior School are participating in a wide range of experiences and special activities linked to Book Week; Music students from Y3-Y12 are busy preparing their Spring Festival performance items; Year 5 are madly rehearsing for their annual Drama production Stuart Little, whilst some of our Senior School students are working hard on their upcoming musical, The Little Shop of Horrors, with girls from surrounding schools showcasing their talent alongside our boys. Summer sports training is about to get underway in a few weeks’ time and the usual demands of managing class workload for our students continues unabated.

Post their recent trials, Y12 are focusing on ensuring their HSC and IB Major Works and Exhibitions are completed and performances across the Arts are being honed in readiness for their exams; some students from across the whole school are away this week at the snow, skiing at the Australian Interschools Championships, others are engaging in Debating opportunities; and the list goes on …

We see many of our students thriving in the busyness of school life but it is also vital that we work to support our students to learn how to balance the competing demands of a busy schedule and the feelings of stress that may come as a result. Through our wellbeing programmes across Pre-school to Y12, we strive to develop and foster the skillset in our Cranbrook students that they need to help them develop into well-balanced and resilient humans. In 2024, work on refining the programme we offer continues through the AIS Wellbeing Initiative which aims to establish and strengthen our whole-school practices and processes for monitoring and developing student mental health and wellbeing. We know the importance of addressing a student’s wellbeing, but we also appreciate the complexity involved. This is why working collaboratively with families is so important in trying to get things right. Thank you for the wonderful support shown by so many of our families as the staff work with them to try and gain the best outcome for our students across our curricular and extensive co-curricular programmes, no matter what their age and stage.

On a separate note, the School Council has endorsed the Cranbrook Strategic Plan 2024-2029. The two largest areas of focus are the transition to coeducation in the Senior School and embedding the philosophy and pedagogy of the International Baccalaureate in our teaching and learning.  Other important initiatives identified in the plan include renewing our approach to experiential education, engaging authentically with an Indigenous reconciliation process, and working towards becoming a more sustainable School.  You can view a summary of the Strategic Plan 2024-2029 on our website.

Kind wishes,

Michele Marquet
Acting Head of School

Message from Genét Erickson Adam, Acting Head of Junior School

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week, we have celebrated Book Week, both in and out of the classroom. This evening, we welcome our Kindy and Year 1 students for our special ‘Books at Bedtime’ event starting at 5:30pm. Tomorrow, students are invited to dress up in a costume of their choice, inspired by this year’s theme ‘Reading is Magic’. Thank you to Megan Light, our Digital Literacy Leader & Teacher-Librarian and Liz de Wit, our Library Technician, for organising a wonderful week of literary celebration. Please view the photo gallery here.

On Friday, 30 August, from 7:30am, we are looking forward to welcoming important males in our students’ lives to our Fathers’ Day Morning. Please join us for coffee, a light breakfast and a variety of fun activities.

In Week 8, our long-awaited JS Production of ‘Stuart Little’ will be held in the Packer Theatre, with performances on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, 9 – 11 September. Tickets can be purchased by following this link.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind our families about our JS Parent Handbook because it is an excellent source of information about our School. Families might like to re-familiarise themselves with its contents, as it has been designed to provide all the information you require about the School. The contents of the handbook also serve to emphasise the necessity for a strong, trusting relationship between home and school environments. If you have any concerns about the pastoral care or academic progress of your child, please, in the first instance, contact your child’s Classroom Teacher, Specialist Teacher, Case Manager and/or Year Level Coordinator. Positive solutions are often quickly obtained by communicating directly with your son’s teaching team.

Term 3 is a particularly busy time of year, with wonderful events and deep learning across the year levels. We wish all of our families calm and restful times in between the excitement of school life.

Kind regards,

Genét Erickson Adam
Acting Head of Junior School

From the Deputies

Dear Families,

All parents of students in Kindergarten to Year 5 would have received a notification on Operoo regarding the upcoming Student-led Conferences, being held in the last week of term, Tuesday, 17 September – Thursday, 19 September. We are so excited to welcome parents and carers into the classrooms for this significant event.

Student-led Conferences are one component of our formal reporting of student progress to parents, in addition to progress and semester reports, parent-teacher interviews and check-ins, plus the sharing of student workbooks. The responses from previous Student-led Conferences have been overwhelmingly positive, with parents noting how valuable this experience is to share with their child. It has been flagged in past years as one of the most important days in the year, with almost 100% attendance.

Students in the Junior School are empowered to share their work, talk about their achievements, explain their learning, answer questions and receive feedback on their efforts. This ‘one-on-one’ time between parents and children in the classroom is an extremely powerful opportunity. Parents and guardians are encouraged to provide support for their child, to be active listeners, to ask questions, to help students share their learning and to facilitate self-reflection and goal setting throughout the conference.

Over the next few weeks, we will continue to share with you what to expect and how you can get the most out of the Student-led Conferences.

Please pencil in these important dates in your calendar:

Pre-schools’ News – Week 5

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week in Pre-school, we celebrated Book Week with great enthusiasm!

Reading in the early childhood years is crucial for several reasons: it supports language development, cognitive growth, emotional understanding, academic readiness, attention and concentration, and encourages curiosity, among other benefits. Regular reading helps children develop a positive attitude toward books and learning, and enjoyable experiences with reading can foster a lifelong love of books.

We were delighted to welcome several special guests throughout the week, including Mrs Marquet and all members of the Junior School Leadership Team, who read a story to each class. Our Kindy teachers also joined us to share their favourite books and costumes. It was a fantastic opportunity for the children to showcase their favourite stories and dress up as their beloved characters.

Father’s Day Celebrations:

• St Michael’s 5 Day Group: Monday, 26 August, 8:45am-9:30am
• St Michael’s 3 Day Group: Tuesday, 27 August, 8:45am-9:30am
• St Mark’s: Wednesday, 28 August, 8:45am-9:30am
• St Michael’s 2 Day Group: Thursday, 29 August, 8:45am-9:30am

Kind regards,

Abigail McFarlane
Pre-schools’ Coordinator

Jersey Day and Boots for the Bush

End of winter sports has arrived! Has your son outgrown his football boots, but they are still in good condition?

We are collecting used, but in good condition, football or rugby boots for our Boots in the Bush campaign to help provide sporting wear for remote Indigenous students. Please ensure boots are cleaned thoroughly and tie the laces together.

Additionally, on Wednesday, 4 September 2024, students are invited to wear a favourite sporting jersey or non-sporting shirt to school. We are asking students to bring in a small donation of $3+ on the day. Donations will support remote Indigenous children.

Please hand in your money and boot donations to your class Community Service Representative.  

Book Week Gallery

Spelling Bee Challenge Gallery

Year 5 Riverside Theatre Excursion

Year 5 Students attended the classical ballet, ‘Gold’, performed at Riverside Theatre in Parramatta. ‘Gold’ is a ballet about friendship and love, set in the Australian bush during the historic gold rush.

Year 4 & Year 10 Science Incursion Photo Gallery

Key Events for Term 3 include:

Friday, 30 August: Father’s Day Activities
Monday, 9 September – Wednesday, 11 September: JS Play, Stuart Little

The full Term 3 Events Overview can be found here.

Y3-Y6 Sport News

General details about each sport can be found in your son’s Year Level tab on Cranbrook Connect.

Music News – Week 5

The following information outlines our upcoming Music events.

Performance opportunities:

K- 6 Music Morning Concerts
Music Morning Concerts are held on certain Fridays from 8:00am to 8:30am in Music Room 1. These concerts are open to students in K to 6 who have a piece at performance standard, regardless of level, to perform. It is always wonderful to hear their great work and witness our students’ progress in an encouraging environment. Instrumental teachers sign up their students, as appropriate, and you will receive an email from me with an invitation to attend should you like to hear your son perform.

• Friday, 6 September (Week 7)

Click here for further information.

Spring Festival: Year 3 to 6 Junior School Music Eisteddfod – Thursday, 29 August, from 1:00pm (Week 6)

As part of the Spring Festival, the Cranbrook Junior School Eisteddfod has been designed for students in Year 3 to 6 to showcase their performance on piano, strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, guitar and voice.

This year’s Eisteddfod will be judged by external adjudicators who will write an encouraging report on each students’ performance, give feedback and award grades of achievement.

Entry forms (yellow) can be found in the Music Studio hallway or via the information link below.

Click here for further information and entry form.

Best wishes,

Peter Fox
Head of Music, Junior School

Optional Co-Curricular Activities

Term 3’s optional Co-Curricular activities are well underway, please contact Annabel Boyd (jscocurricular@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au) if you have any queries.