Week 6 Term 1 Newsletter 2022

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

Where has the term gone! We are halfway through the Term 1 and it’s been a busy start to the year. Last week we set a hectic pace with lots of excursions taking place. The snake man was a great success and I have to say I have a new appreciation for snakes and the part they play in our ecosystem. Did you know that red belly black snakes eat brown snakes? So never kill a red belly! Our ALF players had a wonderful day in Parkes. Our boys team came third and our girls team came second. Stage 3 had a great trip to Bathurst Gold Fields and immersed themselves in colonial life.

We have 3 Way Interviews coming up before the end of this term as well as PSSA Swimming, Cricket and Rugby League. Please make sure you can access the Sentral portal, as this is where you will be able to make 3 Way Interview bookings. Kindergarten and all new families will be given an access code in the coming weeks to enable access.

A friendly reminder about pick up at the end of the day at Belmore St gate. Please avoid parking in the church yard and along Lola St. All parking needs to be on Belmore St. This will ensure the safety of all our students.

Next Monday and Tuesday our school leaders are off on their annual trip to Sydney for the Young Leaders Conference. This is always a wonderful experience and this year the group will also be meeting Her Excellency the Governor General and having a tour of Government house. This was arranged last year when the Governor visited our school. Thanks to Mrs Townsend and Mrs Duguid for taking this group to Sydney.

I'd also like to inform our school community that Cowra PCYC is running a school holiday program at our school during the holidays, please see flyer in community news.

Have a great week!

Kind regards

Sharon Hawker 

Latest COVID-19 Advice

The Premier and Minister for Education have announced changes to school settings for the remainder of Term 1. These were developed in close consultation with NSW Health and key stakeholders to ensure we continue to keep our schools open and operational for learning, while keeping in sync with changing community settings.

The following changes are due to come into effect:

• We will continue the use of rapid antigen tests (RATs) for twice-weekly testing of students and staff until Friday 25 February.

• From Monday 28 February, we will move to symptomatic testing. Tests are to be used at your discretion such as if you are symptomatic or there are cases in your class. The department will provide each student and staff member with 7 tests per student and staff in schools.

• Beyond that, students and staff can access PCR tests or buy their own rapid antigen tests.
  

• FOR SECONDARY – Masks will continue to be required indoors for all school staff, volunteers and visitors including parents and carers, and students in secondary schools until Friday 25 February. This means that from Monday 28 February, masks will no longer be mandatory for students and all staff. However, those who wish to continue to use them will be supported to do so.

• FOR PRIMARY – Masks will continue to be required indoors for all school staff, volunteers and visitors including parents and carers in primary schools until Friday 4 March. This means that from Monday 7 March, masks will no longer be mandatory for all staff. However, those who wish to continue to use them will be supported to do so.

• FOR WORKERS SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY – In line with community settings, workers who support our students with disability in SSPs, support units and some mainstream classrooms will be required to wear masks while working with students.

• From Monday 28 February, visitors can be allowed back on school sites. All visitors are asked to follow our usual sign-in and sign-out process and make appointments when necessary.

• Our school will continue to ensure our core COVID-smart measures are in place, including vaccinations, maximising natural ventilation in learning spaces, continued good hand hygiene practices and enhanced cleaning.

Cohorting no longer required

As of 28 February, students and staff will no longer be required to be kept in year groups or other cohorts. We will continue to use the core layered COVID-smart measures to minimise risk when planning activities and events. We strongly encourage our students and their families to consider vaccination when eligible. Find a vaccination clinicExternal link to book an appointment near you.

If you test positive with a rapid antigen test

Report through the Service NSW websiteExternal link and Service SNW app.External link  so you can be linked to important health care support and advice based on your COVID-19 risk. If you or someone in your family can’t register online, please call Service NSW on 13 77 88

If you test positive with a PCR or rapid antigen test, you must:

1. Isolate immediately for 7 days. Your household must also isolate for 7 days. If you have a sore throat, runny nose, cough or shortness of breath after 7 days, please remain in isolation until 24 hours after your symptoms have resolved.
2. Tell people who you spent time with from the 2 days before you started having symptoms or 2 days before you tested positive (whichever came first) that you have COVID-19. This includes your social contacts, workplace and/or school.
3. Monitor your symptoms. If you are concerned you should call your GP, the NSW Health COVID-19 Care at Home Support Line on 1800 960 933 or the National Coronavirus Helpline on 1800 020 080. If symptoms become severe call 000.

All positive COVID-19 cases should be reported to the school if they have attended school recently.

Returning to school after COVID-19

It is recommended that staff and students that return to school after recovering from COVID-19 do not participate in rapid antigen test surveillance for 28 days (four weeks after recovery) following release from self-isolation. This is due to NSW Health advice that people who have recovered from COVID-19 have a low risk of contracting it again in the following 28 days. After 28 days (from week five after recovery) staff and students may resume participation in RAT surveillance. Negative results do not need to be reported to Service NSW or to the school.

Unwell at school

Any student or staff member who is unwell and/or displays symptoms of COVID-19 will be asked to go home and stay until they can complete a RAT or PCR test.

• If symptoms continue, they should stay at home and take another RAT in 24 hours or have a PCR test.
• If the second RAT or initial PCR test result is negative and they are displaying no symptoms OR they are diagnosed as another condition such as hayfever, the student or staff member can return to school.
• In NSW, positive COVID-19 cases are provided a Medical Clearance Notice after 7 days and allowed to leave self-isolation as long as they do not have COVID-19 symptoms.

 Students who are isolating at home

If a student tests positive or is a close contact they must isolate for 7 days. School work can be accessed via the class' online platform and through the Digital Learnig Resource Hub. This involves learning at home without a teacher.

CPS Excurions are back!

Young Leaders Conference - 7th & 8th March 2022

Our 2022 School Leaders will be converging on Sydney next week. They will visit the War Memorial, Hyde Park, NSW Art Gallery, Government House and seeing the sights of Sydney before attending the Young Leaders Conference on Tuesday. 

SNAKE TALES PERFORMANCE

The students enjoyed learning about snakes and reptiles almost as much as the teachers!

Snake Tales

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District Swimming Carnival

District Swimming Results

Records – Ava Thornberry broke 3 records, Girls 11 Years 50m Freestyle, Girls 11 Years 50m Backstroke & Girls 11 Years 50m Butterfly. Congratulations, Ava.

Good luck to the 19 students named in last week’s newsletter who will be competing in Dubbo at the Western Swimming Trials next Friday, 11^th March.

Year 5/6 Gold Fields Excursion

Year 5/6 Gold Fields Excursion

At the Gold Fields, a very nice man named Garry was our tour guide. First, he showed us their museum. He taught us about the history of the gold rush. The different ways people mine gold are panning, cradling and sluicing, the only hard part is that they all need some source of water. We learnt that candles used to be made out of animal fat, and saw many different displays of gold as well as a model of the biggest alluvial gold nugget ever found named ‘Welcome Stranger’.

Next, we left the museum and were shown a model of one of the first ways people dug into the ground and brought gold out. They used a horse or person to pull the bucket up and down, bringing gold up. There was also a tunnel leading to the edge of a hill to let any water out.

Afterwards, we saw something that sort of sounded and looked like a steam train engine. It would carry a cart to a place where the rock with the gold could get smashed up.

We also learnt that sometimes the gold miners would put the rocks with the gold in them as well as the Mercury in a potato. They would then cook the potato and get the gold out. After, they ate the potato. The problem with this is that eating the potato with the Mercury in it makes people crazy because of the poison inside the Mercury.

Next, we went to the Blacksmiths area. During the Gold Rush, being a blacksmith was a very good job because everyone needed tools. They would pull a stick up and down to pump air into the fire and put a metal stick in it. He then made a basic tool so we could see how it was done. During the Gold Rush, everyone wanted their child to be a Black Smith apprentice.

In a Chinese building there are three doors, you go in the left one, out the right one and the middle door is only for good spirits and Gods. There are also two roaring lion statues guarding the door, a female with her paw over a lion cub and a male with his paw over a ball.

In the panning area that Garry took us to, there were about five pools of water with sand on the bottom. He told us that's where all the gold is, because the gold sinks to the ground since gold is denser than water. To pan, we pushed our pans down to the sand, and picked it up with the metal bowl. Then, we had to shake the gravel and sand around. The heavy rocks fell off the edge of the bowl, leaving the small pieces of gravel, and the gold. After the demonstration, the year fives and sixes spread out all around the pools of water and began to pan. EUREKA! People started finding flakes of gold. Although they were tiny, they were enough to make everyone excited. So we kept going. Some people didn't have much luck, but most people found more than one flake of gold.

Charlotte Pearce & Grace Payne

Goldfields Excursion

Save the date- School Photo Day

Class in Focus

Kindergarten love Creative Arts lessons. We are making sunflowers because S is for sunflowers. We are safe when we use scissors and glue in our classroom. 

VAES1.1 Makes simple pictures and other kinds of artworks about things and experiences.

PBL News - C.P.S. Wellbeing Program

Term 1 - The Hub Menu

The Hub - Order Online

The High School canteen preferred ordering method is via QuickCliq. In 2022 this will be the ONLY payment method accepted........please register now.

Healthy Snippets

Healthy "Snippets" from NSW Health covering a range of topics including; healthy eating, lunchbox ideas, drinking water and food budgeting. 

P & C News

AGM postponed until April.

Never fear P&C are still here!!

We would like to invite you

to a meet and greet informal meeting

to get to know the P&C.

Tuesday 8th March

7pm Canowindra Hotel.

This is a chance for parents and carers

to come and meet the committee and teachers

whilst enjoying the evening.

RSVP 6th March

Kobie Rogers 0490133563

Emma Grey 0400016203

Community News

Please find the following events happening in our community: