What a busy start to Term 3.

I hope everyone is staying warm and dry in this sudden burst of Winter weather.

Last Friday we were able to farewell Mr Langford in style. A great reflection from students, the school council and staff on his time at Carrum. It was great for our students to say goodbye and well done to Kai and Meila on their wonderful speech on behalf of the students.

    
            

Our Junior School Council also organised Pyjama Day and chose this year to donate to Guide Dogs Australia. This dress up day is a particular favourite of Carrum staff, and I know many students told me they just came straight to school after getting out of bed. I wonder if it made the morning hustle a bit easier for some families? It was great to see our teachers in their stylish and matching PJs too.

The school has been a bit quieter at the start of the week as our P-2 and Yr 5/6 students have spent the last three days participating in their first week of the swimming program. This program is a government initiative so all students can receive quality swimming and water safety education so primary school students can have the opportunity to learn how to swim and develop lifelong skills in water safety to reduce their risk of drowning and injury. This is an essential skill particularly for Carrum students to have living in a Bayside suburb close to water.

Congratulations to our Prep students as tomorrow they will celebrate 100 days of school. What an achievement and how fast this year has flown for our young students. I know the teachers have been busy planning for this day and have some great activities planned. As parents you must also be feeling very proud!

This week we have had some of our staff participate in Professional Learning to upskill in our whole school programs. We aim to have all staff educated in the Orton-Gillingham (OG) training which is an explicit synthetic phonics program that underpins our literacy programme and the Berry Street Educational Model. Both these courses are quite intensive, and our teachers are trained over four days. Like our students our teachers are continually learning to improve their practise which impacts student outcomes.

We have had our save the date flyer in the newsletter recently for the school performance, as a reminder this is September 8^th and 9^th stay tuned for costume requirements and more communication about official times.

Finally, a huge shout out to our Teamkids educators. Yesterday was Out of School Hours Educators Day and we are so grateful for the wonderful programmes Teamkids provide and the amazing support Renee and Declan give to our school.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend

Cassie Kennedy

The Stand Up Project (SUP) is an award-winning programthat reduces discrimination, harassment and bullying through student-designed and delivered training.

The program prioritises student voice, agency, and leadership.

Students learn about the bystander effect and the drivers and impacts of poor behaviour. They identify the most age-appropriate ways to support targets and address poor behaviours. Students then teach what they know to younger students, their teachers and families.

             

                           
           
                       

Mr Vansittart

As spring approaches, thousands of migratory shorebirds and seabirds return to Victoria from the Northern Hemisphere between August and October. These birds are an important part of our environment, but they also increase the risk of diseases such as H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu) entering Australia.

While the risk to people remains very low, bird flu can have serious consequences for poultry, including our much-loved school chickens. We all have an important role in helping keep them safe.

Over the past few weeks, we have noticed seagulls visiting our school every day to feed on food scraps left on the ground after recess and lunch. The more food that is left outside, the more wild birds are attracted to our school. Reducing the number of wild birds on our grounds is one simple way we can help protect our chickens.

How can we help?

Protect our chickens

• Please do not feed or encourage wild birds near the chicken enclosure.
• If you notice wild birds inside or around the chicken area, let a staff member know.

Support Nude Food

• Bring lunches with as little packaging as possible.
• Eat all your food where possible.
• Make sure no food is left on the ground after recess or lunch.

Keep our school clean

• Place all food scraps and rubbish in the correct bins.
• Help pick up any litter if you see it.

Respect wildlife

• Do not touch sick, injured or dead birds.
• Tell a staff member immediately if you find a sick or dead bird at school.

Practise good hygiene

• Wash your hands after being near animals and always before eating.

By keeping our school grounds clean and free of food scraps, we can discourage seagulls and other wild birds from visiting our school and reduce the chance of contact with our chickens.

Thank you for helping protect our animals, care for our environment and keep our school community safe.

During Reconciliation week our classes shared stories and had valuable conversations during morning circles. Some classes even had morning circle in the yarning circle space outside.

We read books and participated in some meaningful and rich lessons.

Some classes read ‘Respect’ by Aunty Fay Muir and discussed where she, the author is from, Boon Wurrung, close by on the Mornington Peninsula. We used our AIATSIS maps which we have in every classroom to locate Boon Wurrung.

Aboriginal cultures are 60, 000 + years. Did you know that Aboriginal people are the oldest continuous living culture in the world? We also looked at timelines and important events in History.

Some classes made paper chains, one big chain represented the 236 years since Captain Cook and the British invaded this land. To represent how long Aboriginal people have been on this land, students worked together to make another 254 paper chains. Part of our learning was that Aboriginal people were the First peoples in Australia and that they have been here for a very long time.

The theme for NRW 2025 is "Bridging Now to Next," which emphasizes the ongoing connection between the past, present, and future in the reconciliation journey. This theme encourages all Australians to look ahead, learn from the past, and continue pushing forward together and at Carrum Primary we continue to learn and grow together.

  

TeamKids has an exciting challenge for Term 2

Book NOW   www.teamkids.com.au/venues

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Local Community Events, things to try and Sports Clubs