Crafers Primary School

Dear parents and caregivers,

As the term comes to an end so too does my first full year as Principal of this amazing school. I would like to once again take the opportunity to thank you all for making me feel so welcome and to celebrate all of the wonderful things we were able to achieve together as a community of learners:

Seeing first-hand how our students interact with one another, make new people feel included and welcome through their genuine sense of warmth, compassion and care towards one another.

Our students demonstrating their commitment and courage towards ‘having a go’ and ‘giving their best effort’ on a daily basis, as well as engaging in student led learning alongside their teachers.

Continued staff professionalism, work ethic, support and collaboration in delivering our students a highly engaging and ‘hands on’ curriculum.

Our vision captures the heart of our school community, and is informed by feedback from staff, parents and students around why Crafers is such a great place to live, grow and learn.

At Crafers Primary School, our vision is to establish an environment of personal growth, achievement and social awareness, where every child is encouraged and supported to make continuous improvement, whilst developing their wellbeing, mindsets and dispositions for learning in a safe and supportive learning community.

Acquaintance Night and Parent Teacher Interviews: Thank you to our staff for their commitment in running very successful information sessions. The feedback from our parent community has been overwhelming positive in regards to the information provided, the programs offered, and the general overall feel of how well each teacher knows their students and how well they have settled and are ready to tackle the year ahead.

NAPLAN and Year 1 Numeracy Check: Congratulations to all students in Year 1, 3 and 5 for successfully completing the testing schedule. Our students did a wonderful job and we look forward to using the information to assist with ‘next steps’ teaching points for each child.

Successful Teacher Exchange: Matthew Summerton’s efforts in teaching a week at the Indulkana Anangu School in the APY lands (creating a ‘Sister School’ opportunity).

Community Value Focus: A fantastic process to bring our values to life. We are in the final stages of personalising our value points with Crafers examples before creating our next Visual poster, with a draft of our next Social Story under way.

Welcome Video: Many thanks to Cass Preece for producing our welcome video to our families in 2026. We are in the process of making adjustments to allow it to become a promotional video that will be uploaded to our website.

Student led School Tours: High praise from perspective families for their confidence, knowledge and passion for the school when he visited.

Student Led Ice Block Fridays: Raising over $150 so far for SA backpack for Kids charity.

Assemblies: A terrific showcase of public speaking, instrumental music, and quality learning opportunities.

Excursion and Incursion highlights: Year 5/6 Fringe Show, Year 6 Student Leaders Forum, Rugby Clinics, Courier Cup Swimming, District Athletics Carnival, R-2 Science morning, Harmony Day whole-school performance, and Dublas Cup football.

Lunchtime Clubs: Are a great anchor for engaging our students and supporting friendships through common interests and extending students’ skills. Each club has given choice and agency as well as brought opportunities for our community to come together. Many thanks to Kate Staniford and John Nielsen for running Tuesday Maths Club after school, to Tania McGregor and Cynthia Meredith for running our intergenerational knitting opportunity.

Clean Up Australia Day: A spectacular reminder that we are doing a wonderful job in minimising our waste and are using our recycling processes effectively with thanks to our regular clean-up crew and year 3-4 community service leaders.

Nairne Band Tour: Thanks to Mark Hudson for providing our students with opportunity to showcase their amazing musical talents in front of an unfamiliar audience.

Volunteers: Thank you for generously donating their time and expertise in providing wonderful experiences for our school community to enjoy, including listening to our students read.

Election BBQ: Thank you to our hardworking parent volunteers from Parents and Friends Committee, Pedal Prix, and to Instrumental music teacher Mark Hudson for bringing the Band together to play at the recent Election BBQ. We received a large number of positive reviews from the wider community

Uniform Shop: For keeping our stock up to date and keeping our students looking sharp.

Facilities: Working hard to create a vision of ongoing improvement across the school.

OSHC Upper Sturt Connection and Vacation Care: A wonderful opportunity to support our neighbouring school with access for students to attend our service from term 2 and join in our engaging program in the holidays.

Happy Holidays: Please take the time to enjoy the upcoming break; try something new, read a book, play outside, and most of all enjoy each other's company.

See you all in Term 2!

Kind regards

Shaun Barber

Our OSHC team have been working extremely hard making some fantastic progress towards improving our service, since our pre-standards review visit held in late Term 4 by members of the Education Standards Board.

Staff led by or Director Rosie Jarvis are to be congratulated on their dedication, work ethic, and collaborative ability to work through each task set by the visit. Not only have we meet expectations to date, our service and staff have benefited immensely from the opportunity to meet weekly and keep in-line with current practice by taking the opportunity to work alongside Ben Goudie, Senior Program Officer - OSHC Operations (Education Department) and members of the ESB. So far, our staff have updated the Quality Improvement Plan and a number of policies and risk assessments in line with current practice, improved supervision areas, and have added a new senior team member, Louise-Claire Galligan (see profile below) to strengthen the team with added experience and expertise.

In Term 2, we will welcome students and their families from Upper Sturt Primary School to join our After School service. As many as up top 10 students will be bused to our school due to Upper Sturt Primary not having an active OSHC for the remainder of the year. We are excited to welcome and support Upper Sturt and it’s community to our program.

Join us as we celebrate the wonderful mums, grandmothers and special people in our community on Friday 8 May 2026, from 8:00am to 9:00am at Crafers Primary School. 

Enjoy a relaxed morning with warm beverages and delicious pancakes, lovingly served by our Year 6 students.

RSVP by Friday 1 May via Humanitix:

https://events.humanitix.com/cps-mothers-day-breakfast-2026

Volunteers needed (dads & significant others):

https://volunteersignup.org/87TFP

If cost is a barrier, please contact the front office.

We look forward to celebrating with you! 

Crafers Primary School P&F Committee

During Week 9 of this term, I had the privilege of travelling to Indulkana Anangu School, located in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands just south of the Northern Territory border. I spent the week working alongside staff and students, with the aim of strengthening my understanding of Indigenous perspectives so I can better embed Aboriginal cultures and histories within my teaching.

While at the school, I worked across a range of year levels from primary through to senior students, teaching subjects including HASS, Mathematics and Science. The staff at Indulkana are notably younger than those typically found in metropolitan schools, yet they demonstrate remarkable dedication and resilience. Teaching in such a remote community presents unique challenges, including unreliable internet and occasional interruptions to power, but the commitment of the staff to their students is clear and impressive.

Each day followed a structured and welcoming routine. The morning began with breakfast at school, followed by reading time in the library. This was an especially valuable part of the day, allowing students to settle into their learning. After this, the entire school gathered for circle time in a shared open space within the school, where staff and students shared plans for the day and participated in relaxation activities. Students who had completed their reading were then able to take part in morning fitness.

Like Crafers Primary School, Indulkana also has a “rage cage”, which quickly became a hub of activity. Morning games of Red Rover were a highlight, bringing together students of different ages in a fun and energetic way. After this, students moved into their classrooms and began their lessons. The school day itself was similar to ours, with recess and lunch breaks, although students are provided with a cooked lunch each day by the school cook, which was greatly appreciated by both students and staff alike.

Due to the significant rainfall the region had recently received, the landscape was strikingly different from what many would expect of the desert. Large areas that are typically red earth were covered in bright, vibrant green vegetation, and there was a noticeable increase in insect life, with many interesting species visible throughout the week. Along the highway, the effects of the rain were also evident, with sections of flood damage and sand washed across the road, highlighting both the power of the weather and the challenges of maintaining access in such remote areas.

A particularly memorable experience took place on the Friday, when we travelled out onto Country to hunt for jala (honey ants). The day began with a convoy of four-wheel drives and a school bus travelling approximately 50 kilometres to the Stuart Highway before turning onto a dirt track into the desert. Once we arrived, the groundsman, Loma, prepared a campfire while the rest of us followed the senior women, or minymaku (women elders), who led the search.

The women demonstrated how to locate ant nests by identifying subtle signs in the soil near trees. After clearing the surface, they searched for the entrance to the nest and began carefully digging along the underground tunnels. With patience and skill, they uncovered the honey ants. I had the opportunity to try two, and the experience was unforgettable. The abdomen of the ant contains a sweet, honey-like liquid with a rich, aromatic flavour. In my opinion, it tasted even better than honey, although it would take quite a few to make a decent topping for toast.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience, exploring the surrounding area, observing wildlife, and identifying tracks from animals such as camels and kangaroos. After collecting the honey ants, we returned to the campfire for lunch. While kangaroo tail was not on the menu due to time constraints, we shared sausages in bread together in the desert, which was a special experience in itself.

At the end of the day, we packed up and returned, and I began the 12-hour drive back to Adelaide along the Stuart Highway. The week at Indulkana was an incredibly valuable experience that broadened my understanding of education in remote Indigenous communities. I return with a deeper appreciation of the culture, language and traditions of the APY Lands, and I look forward to sharing these insights with our students and staff at Crafers Primary School.

By Matthew