2024 Student Residential Address Collection
Please view the 2024 Student Residential Address Collection from the Department of Education here.
Message from Michele Marquet
Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been busy in the Junior School this week! We welcomed many current Kindergarten families to a workshop conducted by our wonderful Kindergarten Team on how parents can assist children to learn to read. It was a great session. Enormous thanks to the teachers who presented an engaging and helpful session. Last Tuesday, our Year 3 families enjoyed the opportunity to see their children involved in the compulsory instrumentalist programme and it is Year 2’s turn tomorrow. These programmes are overseen by our superb Head of Strings, Martyn Hentschel, and our inspiring Head of Woodwind, Brass & Percussion, Chris Hayles.
Yesterday and today, there was much excitement as we welcomed K’25 students for an observation morning. The sessions were well attended and the Year 6 students were thrilled to welcome these young people to our campus.
Tomorrow, we will celebrate International Women’s Day with our staff, highlighting the significant contribution women bring to the educational sphere, here and across the world. We thank all our staff for their unstinting care and work with our Cranbrook students, but tomorrow, we particularly focus on the women and want to express our gratitude. We are in awe of their expertise, creativity and passion. Our students benefit enormously from all they do!
Our annual Easter Service is coming up shortly and we warmly invite all our parents to join us, particularly parents of students in Voices and the Chamber Choir, who will be performing as part of the service. Our Easter Service will be held on Wednesday, 27 March commencing at 2:15pm in the Junior School Gym.
CETOP & CSPA Family Fun Day – Sunday, 17 March 10am – 2pm
We look forward to welcoming many Junior School families to this wonderful family event on Sunday, 17 March at Dangar.
There will be lots of games (wacky hoops; mini golf; human whack a mole; duck pond dip); competitions and races (pet judging; art comp; soccer skills tester; egg & spoon races; potato sack races), as well as stalls for art & craft and food & drink. I have sneaking suspicion the most popular stall will be ‘Dunk the Teacher’! Please follow this link to see the poster and access the QR code to book a family ticket which gives access to most of the games and races. All proceeds are going toward CETOP and the work we do in Nepal and Ladakh. Many of our Year 6 students will be heading over to Nepal with one parent in the upcoming holidays. They will participate in dental clinics, school visits and other service work, as well as enjoy trekking in the beautiful countryside. Please follow the links to view the schedule for the day and a map.
If you haven’t already booked your tickets, now is the time!
Grandparents’ Day – Wednesday, 3 April
Shortly, our families will receive an Operoo form with information about our Grandparents’ Day planned for Wednesday, 3 April. Please save the date now. We are looking forward to welcoming these very special people in the lives of our students!
We are aware that our families might like some more detail about the school’s responses provided to the Four Corners programme. Please follow this link to see the responses. If families would like to speak with me about these matters, my door is always open and I am happy to talk with you. You can email me at jsheadea@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au or ring Reception on 9327 9100 and I will get in touch.
Kind wishes,
Michele Marquet
NAPLAN 2024 Y3 and Y5 Parent and Carer Information
Each year, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is undertaken by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Students will participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.
At Cranbrook Junior School, NAPLAN 2024 will take place from Wednesday, 13 March to Friday, 15 March.
NAPLAN is just one part of our school learning assessment program. The tests assess literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning at school.
In preparation for NAPLAN, our school will undertake activities to help students become familiar with the format and functionality of the online tests. These activities are not an assessment of student ability and will not be marked. Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not required nor recommended.
The public demonstration site is available to see the types of questions, tools and functions used in the NAPLAN tests.
Further information about NAPLAN is available on the NESA website.
If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher.
Join Us for Walk to Cranbrook Thursdays!
Our first day’s trial today was very successful! Please join us next week as we continue with this new initiative which aims to promote physical activity, increase independence, reduce traffic congestion around the school, and encourage alternative modes of transportation.
Here are some suggested ways for your son to get to school on Thursday:
- Walk: Lace up those school shoes and enjoy a refreshing walk to school! (Maybe as a family or with a friend)
- Take a bus: Use public transportation for a convenient and eco-friendly commute.
- Take a ferry: If you live near the waterfront, consider taking advantage of the ferry services.
- Ride a bike or scooter: We have bike racks available for secure storage outside the K-Y2 gate.
- Drop off at nearby locations and then walk: For those driving, consider dropping off your student at one of the following locations:
- Rose Bay Ferry (easy access with traffic lights for you and them)
- Lyne Park Carpark
- Manion Rd Carpark (walk across the field)
A reminder if you are driving, please try to carpool with other families where possible.
Safety is our top priority, so please remind your son of the following tips:
- Always use designated crosswalks and follow traffic signals.
- Stay alert and aware of your surroundings, especially when walking or biking near roads.
- Helmets are a must for cyclists and scooter riders.
- Walk in groups or with a friend whenever possible.
- If walking alone, agree with your son their walking route and planned arrival time.
We encourage you to participate in this initiative and make Walk to Cranbrook Thursday a fun and healthy routine for our Cranbrook families. Together, we can create a safer and more active community.
Thank you for your support!
Family Fun Day for CETOP
FAMILY FUN DAY ART COMPETITION
We invite aspiring artists to channel their imagination and create an artwork to illustrate the differences or similarities between Nepal and Australia.
We encourage you to explore these two diverse nations. Whether it’s the intricacies of architecture, the vibrancy of wildlife, or the rich tapestry of cultural traditions.
You will need to conduct some research on CETOP and the School’s connection to Nepal. This may be through conversations with family members who may have personal experiences to share, information you may find online; try here or for more personal inspiration, reach out to Mr. Bonett, Miss Boniface, Mrs Cellini, Ms. Light or Miss Hewett who have lived experiences of Nepal and are ready to share their insights.
Unleash your creativity, embrace the challenge and let your artistic expression tell a visual story that transcends boundaries. Join us in celebrating the kaleidoscope of Nepal through the lens of your unique artistic vision.
Free to enter with purchase of a ticket for the CETOP/CSPA family fun day. Competition is open to all mediums. Age (Year level) categories: K-2 / 3-4 / 5-6
Winners announced at the event – Great prizes to be won!
Entries to be submitted by 16 March – please take entries (with your name and class on the back) to the JS Drama Room by this date.
Pre-Schools’ News – Week 6
Dear Families,
We would like to thank all the families who joined us for our first Pre-school Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday, 3 March. Your enthusiastic participation made it a huge success, and we are immensely grateful for your support from both St Mark’s and St Michael’s. Thank you to the staff who organised and ran a brilliant morning.
We appreciate Woollahra Council for their generous support in providing gloves and rubbish bags for the event.
The event provided a valuable learning experience for everyone involved, allowing us to be hands-on in caring for our environment while fostering connections within our wonderful community. It was heartwarming to see families come together to make a positive impact and share stories from Pre-school.
The children who participated have been eagerly sharing their experiences, pictures and stories from the day with their classmates, enriching our learning environment with their enthusiasm and dedication.
Once again, thank you for your participation, support, and commitment to making a difference. We look forward to more opportunities to collaborate and contribute to our community in the future.
In Week 7, we invite children who attended Pre-school the previous year to return for a play and snack. We look forward to seeing our returning families and hearing how their Kindy journey is going. If any families wish to attend and have not yet RSVP, please email, amcfarlane@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au
St Mark’s – Tuesday, 12 March 3:15pm-4:00pm
St Michael’s – Thursday, 14 March 3:15pm-4:30pm
Kind regards,
Abigail McFarlane
Y3-Y6 2024 ICAS
Some Y3-Y6 families may be interested in their sons sitting ICAS assessments. These assessments are suitable for students wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in an international assessment. ICAS papers are competitions, not standardised assessments. Please take the time to consider seriously your son’s suitability to participate in such challenging competitions. If you would like to learn more about ICAS, please follow this link.
Families can enrol their sons to sit for these competitions which will be held at an external venue. The closest venue for most families is Janison Exam Management Testing Centre which is located in Ultimo. This centre usually runs the assessments on Saturdays during mid to late August. Bookings should open shortly. To book into the external venue, please click on this link.
Celebrating Community Service: Clean Up Australia Day 2024
We are proud to share with you the great efforts of our Cranbrook Junior School Year 6 students and Senior School Prefects on Clean Up Australia Day, Sunday 3 March 2024. Led by the Year 6 Environmental Leaders and supported by Deputy Head of Staffing & Operations, Richard Baker, with four Senior School Prefects – Theo Walsh, Angus Malcolm, Jack Stone and James Greenhill – our students came together for a morning of community service, leaving a positive impact on our local environment.
Our Year 6 Environmental Leaders took the lead in reigniting Cranbrook Junior School’s participation in this vital event. Teaming up with more than 300 Senior School students, they embarked on a mission to make a tangible difference in our community. Together, they ventured to the Rose Bay Foreshore and Lyne Park, where the Year 6 students worked tirelessly to collect over 30 bags of rubbish from Sydney Harbour, contributing to the preservation of our precious natural spaces.
The significance of community service cannot be overstated. Beyond the immediate impact of cleaning up our environment, events like Clean Up Australia Day instil in our students a sense of responsibility, empathy and stewardship towards their community and the planet. Through their participation, our students not only demonstrate their dedication to environmental sustainability, but also cultivate essential life skills and values that will serve them well into the future.
We are proud to share that our students had the opportunity to meet with the Mayor of Woollahra Council during the event, further highlighting the importance of their contributions and the recognition of their efforts by local authorities.
Clean Up Australia Day 2024 was truly a great day for all involved. It served as a reminder of the positive change that can be achieved when individuals come together with a shared purpose and determination. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the students, staff and volunteers who participated, as well as to the families who supported and encouraged our students in their endeavours to make a difference.
Together, let us continue to nurture a culture of service, environmental stewardship and community engagement within our School and beyond.
Little League Summer Sport Reports Round 4
It was another eventful week in Junior School Sport with the IPSHA Cross Country Team hitting the ground running this week, commencing their training sessions in preparation for the IPSHA Carnival at the end of the term. Meanwhile, our speed and agility sessions are in full swing, ensuring our athletes are primed and ready to excel in their respective endeavours.
I’m delighted to share that our IPSHA swimmers proudly represented the school on Tuesday at the IPSHA Swimming Carnival, showcasing their talent and steady improvement in the pool. In other sports news, round 4 of the summer season posed some formidable challenges for our teams. Our cricket teams demonstrated exceptional skill and determination, securing impressive victories, and reaffirming the depth of talent within our Junior School cricket program. However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for everyone, quite literally. Our sailors faced unpredictable wind conditions, ranging from light breezes to heavy gusts, presenting a test for even our most experienced sailors. Similarly, our basketball teams experienced mixed results, highlighting the competitive nature of the sport. While some matches ended in victory, others provided valuable learning opportunities for our players to grow and improve. As we approach the last two weekends of the first half of the summer season, I want to encourage our students to stay focused and persevere both in training and on the field, as we aim to finish the first part of the summer season in style.
Yours in Sport,
James Roughan
Head of Sport & PDHPE
IPSHA Swimming Carnival
We are thrilled to share the news of our Junior School Swimmers’ outstanding performance at the IPSHA Swimming Championship held on Tuesday, March 5th, at Sydney Olympic Park. This competition brought together over 50 private schools from across the state, providing a platform for our young athletes to exhibit their talent.
Despite the tough competition, the Junior Cranbrookians’ secured 11th place overall on the Males’ point score, 8 places higher than 2023 and only narrowly missing the top 10 by a mere 4 points. This is a statement that Cranbrook means business in the pool! Our team pushed themselves to achieve over 50% personal best times, marking significant improvements in their own performances and the school team as a whole.
Our relay teams started off the great day, demonstrating their skill and teamwork, with the Boys 11-13 years 4 x 50m Freestyle relay clinching 7th place in a tightly fought contest and the Boys 8-10 years 4 x 50m Freestyle relay performing admirably to secure 9th place. These teams were 12th and 15th respectively in 2023 showcasing the ever-improving depth of our Cranbrook Swim Team.
Among the standout individual performers was Marcus C, whose stellar performance earned him a Bronze medal in both the 50m Freestyle MC and 50m Backstroke MC events. Charlie R showed his speed, pushing his competitors right to the wall each time pushing his way into 7th place in the 50m Freestyle, 9th in the 50m Backstroke, and 8th in the 50m Butterfly, notably shaving off 2 seconds from his time in the final race of the day.
Ziggy D impressed with an 8th place finish in the 50m Backstroke, while Joshua L showed how much can be accomplished in 12 months, dropping a huge 19 seconds from his 50m Butterfly time compared to this event last year. On average; individuals in our 11-13yrs team improved by more than 7 places in each event across the day. On behalf of the Swim coaches, I would like to congratulate all our swimmers for their exceptional achievements at the IPSHA Swimming Championship, it is no mean feat to race against some of the best junior swimmers in the state. Your hard work and self belief have made us incredibly proud. Special thanks to our parents and supporters for their encouragement and all those early Wednesday morning trips to the Murray Rose Aquatic Centre. Let’s continue to set the bar high! Well done, Cranbrook Junior School Swimmers!
Sincerely,
Tom Sunter
IPSHA Swim Team Head Coach
Basketball
Basketball Year 5/6 Gs
Basketball Year 5/6 Hs
Basketball Year 3/4 As
Basketball Year 3/4 Bs
Basketball Year 3/4 Cs
Basketball Year 3/4 Ds
Basketball Year 3/4 Blue 1 and 2
Cricket
Cricket Year 5
Cricket Year 4
Cricket Year 3
Water Polo
Year 5/6 Water Polo
Sport Reminder
A reminder that the last round of fixtures for this part of the summer season will be held on Saturday, 16 March (the end of NEXT week). There is NO before or after school sports training for Y3-Y6 teams during Week 8 (March 18 – 22). Winter sports training commences in Week 9, Monday 25 March 2024.
Junior School Music News
Music events in the Junior School are in full swing! We have twelve music events scheduled between now and the end of Term 1 where every boy in the Junior School will be involved in one or more performances. What a dynamic programme we offer!
JS Music events – Term 1
Please click here to see the comprehensive list of JS music events for Term 1. More information will be provided regarding these specific events as the term progresses.
Our Music Morning Concerts are now full, and we look forward to hearing our solo instrumentalists and vocalists over the next few weeks.
Junior School Music Soireé
On Thursday, 21 March there will be a Junior School Music Soireé held in Music Room 1 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm. This event is for more accomplished instrumentalists and vocalists in Years 3-6 who are well prepared and can perform with polish and regard to the musical style. Your son’s instrumental teacher (or Mr Fox) will send home a Soireé form should they feel this event is suitable for your son. Please note: this event is also open to students who have private instrumental lessons outside of the School. Please click here for more information.
AMEB Instrumental Music Examinations 2024
Cranbrook School will host examiners for in-person AMEB examinations at the Senior School Music Department in September this year. As preparation for these examinations takes multiple terms of work, those wishing to enrol must advise their Instrumental Music Tutor of their interest in the next fortnight. The Music Department will follow up expressions of interests with a confirmation of enrolment via Operoo later in Term 1. Candidates for AMEB are expected to use Morning Concerts, Soirées and the Spring Festival (JS Eisteddfod) as performance practice.
We look forward to seeing you soon at one of our many music events!
Warmest wishes,
Peter Fox
Head of Music, Junior School
2024 NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge
The 2024 NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge opened on Monday, 26 February.
The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely.
Students are supported in their weekly Library sessions to access a range of picture books and novels across all challenge levels. Parents are also welcome to borrow additional books after school with their sons.
All students will have received their login details via a sticker in their diary. Please note that usernames and passwords are the same as previous years.
Further instructions for logging in, entering student records at home and challenge rules may be found here. For further information please contact Mrs de Wit in the iCentre: edewit@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au
Happy reading!
Ms Light and Mrs de Wit
Optional Co-curricular
Optional co-curricular groups are now underway for Term 1. Students may bring a small healthy afternoon snack to eat at the start of their co-curricular activity, if needed.