We would like to say a big thank you for coming to our Acquaintance Evening last Tuesday. Your participation and support in the evening was greatly appreciated. We were pleased to see so many students eagerly involved and sharing their early year learning experiences with families. Thank you also for taking the time to visit the library and meet/chat with other school staff about the different offerings here at CVPS.

Thanks once more for being there, we’re looking forward to more opportunities throughout the year where we can all come together as a school community. 

Annual General Meeting

Thank you to all that attended our Governing Council Annual General Meeting last week. The Governing Council, together with the Principal, is responsible for the shared governance of the school and takes an active role in developing and monitoring the school's strategic directions, and development and improvement of school grounds and facilities.

The Governing Council is made up of representatives of all the major stakeholders in the school. It comprises of the Principal, two staff reps and up to 16 parent representatives. Congratulations to the following parent representatives who are either continuing or who were elected this year.

Sam Neville (Chairperson)

Andrew Redham-Wenham (Deputy Chairperson)

Ben Sanderson (Treasurer)

Anthony Wright (Secretary)

Emma Collingwood

Candice Doman

Chelsea Mount

Chris Schneider

Anne Carter

Kelly Smith

Joanna Hellier

Toni Crosbie

Amy Homister

Entry to the Kiss & Drop Area

Did you know that the best time to avoid congestion, when picking up students, is around 3:20 pm?

Did you also know that teachers are on duty at the Kiss & Drop area until approximately 3:30 pm, and school staff monitor all students until they are collected?

Please take a moment to look over the diagram below.

It is important for everyone’s safety that we safely access the school grounds while not impeding the traffic flow on Main Road. At times you may need to keep circulating until the driveway is clear enough to enter. Under no circumstances should you wait in the bus stop, on Main Road, or queue up over the crossing. These actions impede the ability of pedestrians to cross safely and contravene road rules.

It is a tricky time of day, and driver courtesy goes a long way!

The Department for Education is rolling out the Education Management System (EMS) to schools across the state. The EMS is a digital, cloud-based platform that will replace EDSAS and EYS, transforming the way our school will operate.

Using EMS at our school will:

• replace old technology for our site (EDSAS, EYS and unsupported third-party application technology) with a central support model and modern solutions such as cloud storage space and digital workflow capabilities
• provide a centralised, single student record that will exist throughout each student’s public education
• save our staff time with digital alternatives to labour-intensive, paper-based processes by using digital solutions such as EdSmart (where we can manage digital forms and consent from parents)
• allow flexible access for staff, whether it’s working from a classroom, the front desk, on the move (in the school yard) or remotely
• improve accuracy of information for student record management and enable our site and the department to meet compliance obligations and State Record requirements.

CVPS is scheduled to transition to the EMS in early June with core functions of student administration and financial management. EMS also provides the flexibility to add optional modules or implement a custom design that integrates third-party applications. Our site is currently considering which EMS design best meets the needs of our school community. We’ll report back to governing council on our process, final decision and any foreseeable impacts for students, families and carers over the coming weeks.

Congratulations to the 16 students who were voted by their teams to lead them on Sports Day. No doubt they will do a great job of leading their team.

During week 2, the year 6 students visited Port Noarlunga for Aquatics.

While we were there, students participated in Aquatics activities including surfing, snorkelling, bodyboarding, fishing, kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding.

Students enjoyed developing teamwork, problem solving and risk-taking opportunities with a focus on water safety and skills development. The program was excellently delivered by the facilitators and all students actively engaged in all learning experiences and activities while representing our school exceptionally well.

My favourite activity was surfing but it was most fun having fun with my friends, Ethan.

I enjoyed surfing because I love getting wiped out when I don’t expect it, Elise.

Facing my fear was my favourite thing because I am no longer afraid of the ocean, Sebastian.

My favourite thing about aquatics was snorkelling because we saw so many fish, Brock.

My favourite thing in aquatics was surfing because it was easy when the instructor told us what to do and it was fun to stand up on the board, except I fell off a few times, Eva.

My favourite thing about aquatics was my instructor and doing surfing, it was so much fun, Amber.

My favourite thing about aquatics was surfing because our instructor helped us ride on the waves, Lily.

My favourite thing we did at aquatics was surfing and seeing a seal, Sienna.

My favourite thing about aquatics was definitely surfing because the waves were so fun to ride on and also because I love getting dunked, Phoenix.

My favourite thing about aquatics was snorkelling because we went so deep and it was so cool seeing all the fish and the other snorkelers, it was scary at the start, then it was so fun, Arya.

Dear Children’s University Parents/Caregivers

Welcome to 2025!

My name is Wendy Thompson, and I am a Year 2 Teacher and the Children’s University Coordinator for our school.

Children’s University is not just for academic children it is for all different types of learners. If your child finds school hard to show their learning style, then this program is for them to find success and enjoy learning.

Our students can be involved in an exciting program: ‘Children’s University’. Children’s University (CU) aims to encourage high quality out of school activities for children aged between 5 and 14 years, engaging the wider community as learning partners in this process. The most important principles of CU are that participation is voluntary and activities must take place outside the normal school day during lunch, after school, weekends and holidays. All CU learning is designed to inspire children to think about their futures with a greater knowledge of the careers and professions that they could aspire to.

Led by the University of Adelaide, CU aims to nurture aspirations and develop a love of learning. Children and young people enrolled in CU are issued with a Passport to Learning which records their individual learning journey. After the first 30 hours of learning, children are rewarded for their participation at a graduation ceremony held at the University of Adelaide or a prestigious venue in regional areas. Children can graduate multiple times depending on the hours they accrue. Information on the hours, and award levels, can be found in the Passport to Learning. GRADUATION will be during the day this year in Term 4.

Participating students have access to activities at school, online and in the wider community (Learning Destinations). These activities have been validated by CU trained staff as good learning experiences. Once your child becomes a member, a full list of Learning Destinations and online activities can be found by logging on to the CU Portal* here www.cuaportal.com.

Students are enrolled in CU when they receive their Passport to Learning and have paid the annual fee. The annual fee for 2025 is $38.50 (inc. GST) per student, which includes a passport in the first year only. All replacement passports will incur a fee of $7.70 (inc GST).  Please note that membership fees for School Card Holders are only $16.50 (inc GST) per student with one passport in the first year only.

However, please do not sign up if you are not committed at trying your best to graduate.

There will be parent information session for all CU Members at 3:30pm on the 17th of March in the library. A CU coordinator will be present to answer questions, and the children will receive their passports at this time.

If you would like to participate, please sign your child up by using the QR code by NO LATER than the due date 7^th March 2025, which is week 6, term 1.

Payments need to be paid by this date too on the schools Qkr! App.

No late entries will be accepted.

Thanks in advance.

Kind Regards,

Mrs Wendy Thompson

Year 2, Classroom Teacher

Children’s University Coordinator

wendy.thompson923@schools.sa.edu.au