Last week’s theme at TheirCare was Book Week! We had loads of activities, including our favourite books and characters. Some highlights were making our own comic books, Where’s Wally? (in real life) and creating our own wordsearches.
This week’s Theme is Out of Space! We are celebrating all things ‘space’.
We have designated areas for children who want to read and complete homework, arts & crafts, building toys and lots of boardgames to choose. Outdoor play consists of equipment play, soccer, cricket, handball, footy and AFL.
We look forward to welcoming many new faces in the weeks ahead.
Warm regards,
Sam Blanchard
TheirCare Cranbrook Program Coordinator
Fluffy Toy Day for National Threatened Species Day
Little League Winter Sport Report
State Snowsports Interschools Report 2023
In an exhilarating competition last week, Cranbrook Junior School’s Snowsports legends achieved outstanding results! 19 students from Kindergarten to Year 6 were invited to compete at the State Interschool competition at Perisher, 18 of whom were able to attend. This is an incredible feat, especially to have 6 students represent the School from K-2! Our Junior divisions threw themselves into every race, qualifying for Nationals in almost every single race! We are so proud of our Junior competitors: Rhys A, Steven H, Oliver K, Charlie R, Julian R, Sam S, James C, Hugo C, Xavier F, Imanol P, Cohen S, Sebastian S, Wynn A, Oscar C, Sam C, Orlando F, Ryan S and William Z.
Special congratulations go out to Charlie R who earned an individual BRONZE in Cross Country Classic. Our Junior teams also achieved podium finishes in:
Division 4 Alpine – Team BRONZE (Charlie R, Oli K, Rhys A, Steven H)
Division 5 Moguls – Team SILVER (Hugo C, James C, Sebastian S)
Division 4 Cross Country Classic – Individual BRONZE – Charlie R
Division 5 Cross Country Classic – Team SILVER (Hugo C, Xavier F, Sebastian S)
In a spectacular result across the lower divisions, the Junior School team nabbed 2nd place overall in Primary point scores out of all of the Schools that attended. This is a fantastic achievement for our youngest athletes! The future looks bright, as our Junior School students achieved an impressive 9 Team qualifications and 13 Individual invitations to the National Australian Championship event.
Unfortunately, the season has concluded earlier than anticipated, and they have had to cancel Nationals due to lack of snow at Mt Buller. But the focus remains on our collective achievements and growth. Please join us in congratulating all of our youngest Snowsports athletes on a spectacular season.
Snowsports Captains: William Roberts, Joel Droga
Snowsports Staff: Genet Erickson Adam, Tara Schmidtke, David Scardino and Cristie Whitten
IPSHA Athletics Carnival
A group of 31 students were selected to represent Cranbrook at the IPSHA Athletics Carnival on Wednesday, 31 August. It was an a very successful day at the carnival with 9 boys qualifying for the CIS Carnival based on their performances. The boys’ exceptional teamwork and commitment at training translated into numerous personal bests and Cranbrook’s best ever finish at the IPSHA Carnival. This achievement is a testament to the collective dedication of the students, coaches, and parents, all of whom played important roles in this season’s accomplishments. We congratulate all the boys who competed and wish all the best to those who made it through to the CIS Carnival.
IPSHA Team
Thomas A, Kaspar B, Harvey C, Jake C, Jimmy C, Eddie C, Oliver F, Patrick G, Van G, Oliver H, Oliver K, Joseph L, Paulie L, Wren L, Alfie L-B, Jasper M, James M, Jamie P, Aidan P, Charlie R (Y5), Charlie R (Y6), Oscar R, Tully S, William S, Hadley S, Jamie S, Will W
CIS Qualifiers
Name
IPSHA Result
William S, Tully S, Jasper M, Hadley S.
Junior 4 * 100 relay – 2nd place
William S
10 years 100m – 2nd place
Jasper M
10 years 100m – 3rd place 10 years 200m – 1st place
James C
10 years High Jump – 4th place 10 years Shot Put – 4th place
Will W
10 Years Discus – 3rd place
Thomas A
12-13 years 1500 m – 2nd place
House Sports – Football and Rugby
At the conclusion of the winter sports season in week 4 and 5 students competed in house football and rugby competitions. Students competed with excellent spirit demonstrating house passion and pride, and health competitiveness and participation. The results were as follows:
Football:
1st – Potter
2nd – Moyes
3rd – Warry
4th – Dangar, Hordern, Ingram
Rugby
1st – Potter
2nd – Moyes, Ingram, Hordern
5th – Dangar, Warry
Message from Michele Marquet
Dear Parents,
We excitedly await next week’s performances of our JS Production of ‘Alex in Wonderland’ and look forward to seeing many of our Junior School families in attendance at the Packer Theatre at the Senior School on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening (6pm – 7pm). Tickets are available to purchase here.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming important males in the lives of our students to our Father’s Day Activities from 7.30am tomorrow, 1 September. Please see the invitation here and remember that there is NO carline and there are NO optional co-curricular activities being held on Friday morning.
Kind wishes
Michele Marquet Head of Junior School
From the Deputies
This month on SchoolTV – Respectful Relationships
Fostering a nurturing environment of respectful relationships within your family holds the key to not only harmonious living, but also improved academic outcomes for your children. As parents and caregivers, embracing the art of teaching children about respect at a young age sets the stage for a lifetime of healthy interactions and empathetic understanding. It will help cultivate a positive environment where communication flourishes, conflicts are resolved constructively, and bonds are fortified.
Teaching children to respect themselves and others will open up avenues for both personal growth and academic achievement. Fostering an environment where respect is not just a word, but a practised behaviour, will empower young people with essential life skills. Effective communication, active listening and the art of compromise, will provide your child with a solid foundation that will transcend family interactions and help them collaborate effectively with peers, teachers and the broader community.
Equipping children with an understanding of healthy versus unhealthy relationships is an important aspect of their development. It will guide them to make informed choices, foster positive connections, and set boundaries that contribute to their emotional wellbeing. Understanding the nuances between healthy and unhealthy relationships provides children with the essential tools to navigate their social world, build self-esteem, and cultivate meaningful relationships.
In this edition of SchoolTV, learn how to empower young people in healthy interactions to embrace differences and forge connections that honour their self-worth. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s 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.
Last week, all parents 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 12 September – Thursday 14 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:
Tuesday, 12 September
Kindergarten 8:30 – 10:30am
Year 3 11:00 – 1:00
Wednesday, 13 September
Year 1 8:30 – 10:30am
Year 4 11:00 – 1:00
Thursday, 14 September
Year 2 8:30 – 10:30am
Year 5 11:00 – 1:00
Prayer Morning
Due to this week’s Father’s Day activities, our monthly prayer morning for parents and carers has been postponed to Friday, 8 September. It will be held at 8am in Music Room 2 on the Junior School campus. It is an opportunity for any parents or carers in our JS community to spend time in prayer for each other and the school.
Christmas Lunch Hat Competition
We invite all students in Y3-Y6 to make a special Christmas hat to wear to the Y3-Y6 Annual Christmas Lunch next term and we award a prize for one hat that demonstrates wonderful creativity and cleverness, as well as celebrating a group of honourable mentions. Students might like to start thinking about the hat they will make and use the upcoming holidays to start their creation. Seeing everyone’s hat is always a highlight of the day!
Learn to Swim – Transport After School Lessons
Starting from next term, Junior School families whose children have a Learn to Swim lesson after school (i.e. lessons that commence before 4:15pm) will be able to book a seat for their child to travel on the Inner West bus that goes directly from inside the Junior School to the Senior School, at the end of the school day, each day of the week. Students will be dropped off near the AFC and then walked from the bus to the pool by AFC staff and supervised while they get ready for their lesson. Parents can meet their sons at the pool. For ease when changing, it would be best if students with lessons wear their swimmers under their school uniform. Please email bus@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au if you are interested in booking a bus spot for your child and we will send a booking link once it is available. The cost is $100 per term.
We are also pleased to let parents know that if they prefer to pick up their child in carline or if their child has swimming lessons a little later in the afternoon, they can now make use of the school carpark next to the pool after 3:30pm to park during the LTS lesson.
We hope these new opportunities assist with the busyness of the traffic near the AFC in the afternoons.
Reminders for Term 3
Some Key Events for Term 3 include:
Fri, 1 September: Father’s Day Activities
Tues, 5 – Thurs, 7 September: JS Play: Alex in Wonderland
The Cranbrook School Parents Association (CSPA) is a not-for-profit association of all Cranbrook parents run by an elected committee of Year Representatives, General Committee Members and the Executive. The primary role of the CSPA is to support Cranbrook School, particularly the parent community, fostering goodwill and creating a community that is inclusive and welcoming to all. We are seeking nominations from parents across the whole school community for volunteer roles on the CSPA Committee.
It was wonderful to see summer sport training starting last Friday. Please note that boys will be training and trialling throughout the remainder of Term 3. On the Cranbrook Parent App, you will see that your son’s name appears in the team he was in for the first half of the season, back in Term 1.
Please note: It is possible for your son to move teams before fixtures start in Term 4, based on his performance, attitude and commitment at training.
Yours in sport,
James Roughan
Head of Sport and PDHPE, Junior School
IPSHA Parent Code of Conduct
IPSHA, the Independent Schools association which organises all our sporting fixtures, has asked all member schools to remind families about the Code of Conduct for Parents whose children are engaged in our Interschool Saturday Sports competition. Sadly, there has been unfortunate parental behaviour reported at different venues and IPSHA are keen to remind everyone that the purpose of school sport is student enjoyment of the game and that there are clear expectations of how we engage with staff and coaches, as well as how spectators should behave on the sidelines during games. Please see the IPSHA Code of Conduct here.
We ask our families to fully support this protocol, so our children enjoy their sport and staff are treated with respect.
K-Y6 Music News
Opera Australia comes to perform El Kid at Cranbrook Junior School for K to 6 on Monday, 11 September (Week 9)
Opera Australia’s Schools Tour aims to capture some of the passion and feeling of largescale theatrical operas in a more informal and accessible way for children. All of the songs and instrumental music used in El Kid come from the well-known opera, Carmen, composed by Georges Bizet and first performed in 1875, while the story of El Kid is based on the Norwegian folktale, Three Billy Goats Gruff. Students will study the combined creative and dramatic elements of opera and engage with many musical excerpts, through singing, moving and playing, leading up to this performance.
Mr Peter Fox
Head of Music Performance JS (P-6)
Drama News: Alex in Wonderland
This year we are holding three evening performances in the new Packer Theatre at the Senior School. Please note there is no matinee being held for the Junior School this year.
If you would like to join us in Wonderland (at the Packer Theatre) you can do so by purchasing tickets here. The play opens on 5 September (with performances on the evenings of 6 & 7 September too).
Currently, tickets are still available on each night, with Wednesday evening the easiest option.
Plot
At Cranbrook Junior School, Alex and his classmates are warned by Head Boy, James Pelly, during his Prize Giving address, about the dangers of following the White Rabbit. James’s speech and the Prize Giving ceremony are unexpectedly interrupted by Oscar Green, (who had played Alec in the 2016 production of Alec in Wonderland), along with several other curious characters. This turns a very formal occasion into a completely bonkers spectacle!
After the event, Alex finds himself sitting on the McKay lawn, engrossed in a book. Suddenly, he spots the very White Rabbit that he had been cautioned about. Fuelled by a sense of adventure and a willingness to take risks, Alex makes a daring decision to follow the rabbit down a hidden lift. Little does he know that this choice will lead him on a journey filled with bizarre and wondrous adventures, populated by illogical and strange creatures, as he navigates his way through the puzzling realm of Wonderland.
iCentre News
It is not too late to place your orders for books written by the authors who visited us during Book Week. Book orders can be placed online by clicking on the author’s name below. Please note that all of these authors write across a range of age groups, so you are very welcome to peruse them all.
