Crafers Primary School

Dear Parents and Caregivers

Last week, we celebrated an important week for all Australians, that being Reconciliation Week. In addition to the learning and experiences provided by classroom teachers, I was pleased to be able to share Literature with our Junior Primary students written and illustrated by First Nations authors and artists. More pleasing, however, were the conversations, observations and questions that followed with and from the children. For me, it is heartening to know that some of our youngest citizens are already so informed, aware and empathetic. 

Recently, I attended a day of learning hosted by Uncle Mickey, Aboriginal Elder. I was surprised to learn the limits of knowledge and experience (of well-educated adults) relating to Australia's history and particularly the plight and future directions of our First Nations people. I am reminded on these occasions of how lucky I am to work in education, to contribute to the possibility of a different conversation for future generations. Much healing, learning and compassionate purpose is still needed in this space. 

Uncle Mickey spoke with us about the importance of personalising and not paying lip service to acts such as the Acknowledgement of Country. I felt such pride in our students and school when the children read the Acknowledgement they had written themselves focusing on respect and connection. If our youngest learners are any indicator there is a better, more reconciled road ahead for us - what great hope!

Kind regards

Chan

On the 20th of May 2023, the Crafers Primary School Pedal Prix team went to the Tailem Bend Motorsport Park to compete against other primary schools. To begin with, everyone was directed to do a track walk. Those who participated last year were no longer familiar with the track because a massive chunk had been cut off.

Everyone was eagerly watching the track when the countdown began for the start of the race. Mia was racing first in the Edge, and in the other two cars were Ava in the Snappin' Pappin' and Liam in the Comet (our current successful car!) The Crafers team and everyone else went wild when they saw the cars whizzing past on their first lap. The Comet was in first place at the very start, but after a changeover, the position gradually bumped down to third. Meanwhile, the Edge and the Snappin' Pappin' roughly stayed in the same position.

After a few quicker racers, the team found out some terrific news: the Comet had risen to first place by a whopping four laps! The majority of the team were so pumped up and ready to race for the rest of the day, with the pride that the team carried from being in first. But it wasn't over yet.

Finally, the end of the race was right ahead. The children in the team organized themselves in the tunnel position and started chanting "Crafers" as a big, happy, united team. The first car out of the three to appear in the pit lane was Ascha, riding in the Comet for the second time around. She whizzed over to our pits and slowly pedaled through our human-made tunnel. Everyone was laughing and ecstatic as they did the winners' welcome! People were patting the cars, cheering, and enjoying themselves as the other two cars entered the Crafers tunnel. Louie was in the Edge, and Zachary was in the Snappin' Pappin'.

The presentations came soon after the race, and they prepared for their victory to be acknowledged. The man who was presenting the race came over to the "sea of red," as he stated. He first announced that Hayden John had gotten the fastest lap overall in the primary school division. His lap time was 4:17.075 on a 2.8 km track. William Tibbott, also from Crafers Primary School, was close behind with a time of 4:18.685.

The man returned and asked the team who was in the Crafers Comet. Hayden, Rupert, Liam, Emily, Will, Oliver, Gabby, Calvin, Ascha, and Juliet proudly raised their hands. The Comet people were asked to stand up at the front, and they were awarded medals.

Amazing job to everybody who put in all the effort to race in the cars. Thank you to all the adults for setting up this event. Overall, the Comet came 1st, the Snappin' Pappin' came 7th, and the Edge came 9th.

Written by Hayden and Juliet in Room 8.

Hello and welcome to Room 3. This term the class have been busy writing ‘extraordinary ‘ stories, visiting a range of topics in Health, as well as celebrating and acknowledging Reconciliation Week.

In English, the class have been learning about the writing and illustrations of Rod Clements, you may recognise some of his books in the photos. One story they focused on is ‘ Just an Ordinary Day’ about a character whose life is rather extraordinary. The children then turned their every day lives into extraordinary ones – eating a giant pancake for breakfast, riding a jetpack to school etc. The next task is to publish and turn the story into a short, illustrated picture book to share with a junior primary class. Please see a few examples below. As an added bonus, Rod Clement has agreed to do a zoom question time with the class next week.

In Health, the class have focused on rights and their own responsibilities. They discussed relationships - peer to peer, student to teacher and in the community. The Child Protection Curriculum has resources about the United Nations Rights of the Child and there were many interesting discussions about why children might need these rights. Each pair chose one of the Rights or Articles to review, to present in their own words and what it might mean to them. Some of the posters are below.

The health topic relates well to the conversations and ideas discussed in Reconciliation Week. The class brainstormed a list of ways that Aboriginal culture could be included more in our everyday lives. There were some great ideas, such as using Indigenous food ingredients in canteen orders (quandong pies or kangaroo and yam pies) having more Aboriginal art around the school and in the classroom, having Aboriginal specialist subjects taught (design, inventions, art, music) as well as incorporating Aboriginal games into PE and fitness. Posters were made with these ideas and they are now hanging in the classroom. We are incorporating the art and the fitness games to begin with.

We hope you enjoy our work,
Kim, Lyndal  and the Year 4/5 class.

Students from Room 13 have unleashed their creativity, drawing inspiration from the legendary artist Keith Haring. Known for his iconic figures and powerful messages, Haring's work has captivated the imaginations of these young artists.  They have breathed life into their own unique interpretations of Haring's style. From radiant hearts to dancing figures, their artwork radiates joy and positivity, just like Haring's originals, reminding us of all of the transformative power of art daily. 

 

In Room 7 we celebrated Reconciliation Week. This year the theme is 'Be a Voice for Generations'. We discussed building positive, respectful relationships between Australians and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' culture. We created posters representing how we can explore and best contribute to the reconciliation process.

For geography lessons students in Room 7 have created maps of Australia. Students had to include the states, territories and capital cities. Next students added in geographical details such as lakes, rivers, and mountain ranges.

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