K-2 Athletics Carnival Photos

Years 3–6 Athletics Carnival at Sydney Olympic Park

What a fantastic day it was at the Sydney Olympic Park Warm-Up Arena for our Years 3–6 Athletics Carnival on Tuesday, June 11. Under brilliant sunshine, students showcased their athletic talents, striving for personal bests while representing their Houses with great pride and sportsmanship. It was a joy to witness the determination, encouragement, and enthusiasm displayed across all events from our students. A sincere thank you to the staff and parents whose support and involvement helped make the day such a success.

House Results

Age Champions & Top 3 by Age Group

New Records

Photo credit: Peter Wade/Peter Wade Photography

Junior School Music Showcase Videos

Cranbrook Junior School K – Year 2 Music Showcase 2025

Cranbrook Junior School Year 3 – Year 6 Music Showcase 2025

Become a Foster Carer Today

Term 3, 2025

The Term 3 Optional Co-Curricular Activity Selection will be opening through the Cranbrook App next week.

We will be sending out an email to confirm the date and time of this shortly.

Y5 Camp Photo Gallery

Message from Michele Marquet, Head of Junior School

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are looking forward to seeing many of our families at the whole school Gala Concert, Fundamental, being held at Sydney Town Hall next Monday, 16 June at 7pm. The programme looks like it will be a wonderful night of musical celebration.

The term is rushing by amidst a plethora of wonderful learning opportunities and experiences. After Y3 and Y5 enjoyed camp last week, alongside the Y6 trip to Canberra, our Y4 and Y1 students also have planned incursions or excursions coming up in the next week.

Y3-Y6 Athletics Carnival
An enormous thank you to Mr Roughan, Mr Cohen, Mr Taylor, Mr Fryer and all the staff who organised and conducted the Y3-Y6 Athletics Carnival last Tuesday. We were treated to a glorious day and the boys showed fantastic spirit and enthusiasm.

End of Term
We remind parents that this term ends on Friday, 27 June at the normal time. Term 3 commences for all Pre-school and Junior School students on Wednesday, 23 July. All K-6 boys should return in full winter School uniform. Over the holidays, please check your son’s uniform items to ensure he has not accidentally acquired something that belongs to another student. The holidays are also a good time for the students to have a haircut. Hair length should be above the collar of the boys’ shirts.

School Reports
During the holidays, parents will receive their son’s Semester 1 report via email.

Friendship & Belonging
Learning how to make new friends and keep them involves a number of skills every young person needs to understand and develop. For some, these skills will come very naturally, allowing them to move easily between different friendship groups, sharing their experiences and opening up to new people. For others, this can be much harder to navigate. Belonging to a group that is like-minded with similar interests is highly beneficial to a young person’s wellbeing. It gives them a sense of security, helping them feel valued, which in turn builds their confidence.

Positive friendships are an important part of the journey to adulthood. Adult carers can support their child or teenager by providing guidance in the many social and emotional skills required for a healthy relationship. This will help them to obtain, retain and maintain friendships. However, not all friendships are regarded as positive. Sometimes young people develop negative or toxic friendships. Therefore, it is also important for them to learn how to identify, avoid or deal with such a friendship.

In one of the online articles on SchoolTV, adult carers can learn how to support their young person’s friendship, so that they experience a sense of belonging. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition, and we always welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the School for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the special edition https://cranbrook.nsw.schooltv.me/newsletter/friendship-belonging

We wish everyone a restful weekend.

Kind wishes,

Michele Marquet
Head of Junior School

From the Deputies

This week, Y3-Y6 students attended an incursion with “Ctrl+Shft” (formerly Safe on Social) Being Safe, Smart and Strong Online, presented by Will Anstee. Below you will find a few of the key takeaways and guidelines from this enlightening session. It would be wonderful if you could continue the conversation with your son/s at home.

Years 3-4:

• Use their real-world sensibilities online.  Follow their gut if something doesn’t feel right and always escalate to their parents. 
• Think like a spy – don’t give away your life story to a stranger, never share pics (unless privacy settings in full force by app), don’t accept requests from strangers, even if they think they know it’s a friend. Set-up code words amongst friends and if they sense someone isn’t being true to their word, ask them for the code word. i.e. French Fries.
• Escalate any issue to a parent/carer. No issue is too small. Do not take on responsibility to solve any online issue.

Years 5-6:

• Everything you do online stays forever and could impact your future self. Therefore, think before you type or speak (warrior keyboard analogy), even if angry, to future proof their digital footprint.
• Protect their personal data at all costs. Do not consent to Terms and Conditions of any digital/social platform. Always get consent from a parent. Otherwise, their data (data farming) could be sold on the black market for advertising purposes, re-targeting, etc, all of which is illegal for U16 .
• Synthetic Friendships (character.ai) and deep fakes are exploding. Will used examples of Billee The Chatbot (Kendell Jenner). In short, trust no-one and use common sense i.e. why would Kendell Jenner be doing this?  They never know who they are talking to online and the last thing anyone wants is for them to be sextorted, shamed, embarrassed amongst peers/friends, etc. And if that did ever happen, they must immediately tell their parents (it is not their fault and there is no shame) for their own mental health and happiness.

Other areas we covered:

• Take control of your online life

• The Australian Social Media Ban

• Responsible online behaviour

• Group Chats

• Online Gaming / Play Smart

• Same rules apply in the on-line world as off-line world. i.e. Shopping Centre

• Boundaries and Screen Times

• Sleep is your superpower

• Online Grooming

• Cyberbullying and what to do next (Report to ACCCE and Online Safety Commissioner)

Kind regards
Grant Andrews, Richard Baker and Genet Erickson Adam

The True Value of the da Vinci Decathlon Competition

There is an African proverb that reminds us “it takes a village to raise a child,” and nowhere is this truer than in the journey of young learners transitioning from individual effort to the challenges, and rewards of teamwork. The Da Vinci Decathlon is more than a competition; it is a lesson in humility, shared success and the understanding that true achievement comes from collective effort.

For our Year 5 and Year 6 students, this experience was about far more than results; it was about growth. The training, the late-night reading, the collaborative problem-solving at home, all of it led to that single day of competition. While the challenges were real, with mental exhaustion testing their resilience, what stood out was their ability to work as one. They learned that no single person carries the victory; instead, success is woven from the contributions of every team member.

Our Year 6 team secured 2nd in Code Breaking, 7th in Engineering, and 13th in Mathematics, while our Year 5 team achieved 1st in Engineering, 5th in Legacy, and 13th in Cartography. Moving beyond the numbers, what truly mattered was their ability to reflect afterwards – identifying strengths, acknowledging areas for improvement and, most importantly, celebrating as a team. There was no focus on who solved which problem; instead, they embraced the shared joy of learning and the pride of having given their best together.

This is the essence of humility: recognising that success is not about individual glory but about lifting each other up. We are immensely proud of our students, not just for their placements, but for the way they supported one another, persevered through challenges, and celebrated as a united team. That, more than any trophy, is the real victory.

Mrs Christina Koika-Cellini – Da Vinci Coordinator

JS Music Update – Week 7

Dear Families

A reminder about the upcoming Gala Concert at Town Hall: Fundamental (our JS Chamber Choir, Cranbrook Voices, JS Concert Band, JSSO, Mezzo Strings, JS Guitar Ensemble and all Year 6 will participate)

• Monday, 16 June: 7pm – 9pm at Sydney Town Hall
• Rehearsals at Town Hall during the day (a letter with further details and permission slip has been sent via Operoo. It details who is required for a rehearsal on Sunday, 15 June, at the Senior School campus)
• 6:15pm students meet teachers outside in St Andrew’s Square
• Students wear school uniform (shirt, short, tie, socks and black shoes – no blazer, jumper or cap)
• At the conclusion of the concert, teachers will release JS students to their parents from the Main Foyer. Instrumentalists will make their way to the foyer via the Marconi Room to collect their instrument, under staff supervision

Any questions please contact our Music Administrator, Ms Sandra Trew:  strew@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au

Best wishes,

Peter Fox
Head of Music, Junior School