Cunderdin District High School

What a fantastic Term 1 we've experienced! A heartfelt thank you to all our dedicated staff, supportive parents, and hardworking students for contributing to the successful completion of the first half of the semester. Your commitment and efforts have made this term truly remarkable. Let's continue to work together to make the rest of the academic year just as rewarding.

FACTION AND INTERSCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVALS

Our faction swimming carnival, held on 14 February, was a resounding success with a new format and event structure. Congratulations to the Red Barons for emerging as the champions of the day. We extend our gratitude to everyone involved in organising the event, especially Mrs. Jenzen, Mrs. Lee, and Ms. Linton. Looking ahead, we're excited to announce that next year, we'll be inviting Meckering and Tammin to join our carnival, further strengthening our partnerships with both communities.

 Similarly, the Interschool Swimming Carnival was a tremendous success, with our team bringing home individual medals and setting records. Although we didn't secure the shield this year, our swimmers displayed exemplary sportsmanship and strived to be their best.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN has continued to be conducted in Term 1. With the exception of Year 3 Writing, all other NAPLAN sessions were undertaken by students via the internet. These standardised tests are administered by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and are delivered every year in all Australian schools. It is anticipated that the results of this assessment will be made available to schools, Parents/Caregivers, and students in Term 2.

INTERM SWIMMING LESSONS

Swimming lessons took place during the first two weeks of Term 1 amidst excellent weather conditions, providing ample opportunity for students to engage in vital aquatic learning activities. We commend all students for their efforts in the water.

However, we encountered challenges in staffing swimming lessons at the Cunderdin Memorial Pool this year. We recognise the importance of ensuring access to swimming instruction for our students and the broader community. Therefore, we encourage individuals with the required Swimming Instructor qualifications to register on WAIVS. Alternatively, if anyone is interested in becoming a Swimming Instructor, they are encouraged to reach out to the Swimming and Water Safety department of the Department of Education. Your support in this matter would be greatly appreciated by both the Cunderdin Community and Cunderdin DHS.

ASSEMBLIES

In Week 4, the Year 9/10 class delighted us with their Drama performance, showcasing their hard work and talent. A special thank you to Ms. Hills and Ms. Linton for their dedication to the Year 9/10 students. This Thursday, we eagerly anticipate the assembly by the Year 2/3 class, led by Mrs. Packham. We're excited to see what they have prepared for us.

ATTENDANCE

Attendance so far has been positive, though I remind families that one of the key indicators of student success at school is having regular attendance (90% or higher). Parents/carers please note that even if your child/ren has 90% school attendance by the time they have completed their schooling (Years 1-10), they still will have missed one year of schooling. It is imperative that you inform us where your child is also. 

 You may have received a letter recently asking for the “U” (unexplained) absences to be explained. To ensure clarity and accuracy in attendance records, we kindly request that you inform the school of your child's absence or planned absence via Audiri, text, email, or note. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.

THIRD PARTY APPLICATIONS

Regarding third-party applications, you've received an email requesting your approval for your child to use these applications. Please note that all applications we recommend have been thoroughly reviewed by the school and are intended to support classroom instruction. Although an app may be installed on all iPads and computers, your child may not necessarily use it in their class. However, we still require permission from all parents for as the app would be pushed out to all iPads. If you choose not to grant permission, please contact the school so we can understand your concerns and provide appropriate support for your child.

SCHOOL BUSINESS PLANNING

During term 1 the staff here have been planning what is to be the focus for CDHS for the next three years. Our 2024-2026 Business Plan is the result of a collaborative and consultative effort from students, parents, staff, and the School Board. Data from various sources, including the 2023 National Schools Opinion Survey, informed the creation of this plan. Our teachers have actively engaged in school self-assessment, contributing to collective judgments about student achievement and school processes, and have collaborated on planning and implementing improvement strategies. We look forward to presenting this to the school community very shortly.

TERM 2

As we approach the end of this term, our focus shifts to the next, and we would like to express our gratitude to Ms. Peta Hills for her dedicated service as an English, HASS, and Arts teacher. While her departure to a permanent position in Carnamah next term leaves a significant gap, we wish her all the best in her new role. We are pleased to announce that Ms. Rachael Subhaya will be returning as our English and HASS teacher, bringing with her valuable leadership experience from Newman Primary School, where she served as Deputy. Her expertise in literacy will be of great benefit to our high school students and the wider school community.

Additionally, we would like to extend our best wishes to Miss Jessica Moore as she prepares for maternity leave. We wish her all the best during this special time. During her absence, Mrs. Jaimee Tindal and Ms. Sandrine Pasfield will be covering her responsibilities, and we warmly welcome them to our CDHS staff. Furthermore, Mrs. Carol Taylor will be taking a well-deserved long service leave from the Library. During her absence, Mrs. Melissa Arnott will be stepping in for six months, and we extend a warm welcome to her as well.

Additionally, we are currently seeking to fill the role of Secondary Generalist to support our large Year 7/8 cohort and provide tailored assistance to the entire high school. Despite previous challenges in finding suitable candidates for this position, we remain optimistic and encourage interested individuals to reach out directly to the school for further information. Your assistance in spreading the word would be greatly appreciated. We are grateful for the contributions of all our parents and staff members and look forward to a successful term ahead with your continued support.

Room 6 has been buzzing with excitement this term. It has been a fun-filled term with so many new learning experiences for our Year 1 and 2 students.

 Our Class focus:

This term we have been focusing on being kind and caring to all students. We have also looked at ways that we can be our best by being both responsible and respectful in all classes and during playtime. Our Play Is the Way games that we participate in during daily fitness have helped us to have a growth mindset and be resilient during tough situations. It has been great to watch all students develop a growth mindset and work hard towards being their best.

 Literacy:

In writing this term we have focused on a narrative text called “Take a Walk Little Bear”. This text is part of the Talk for Writing program which has helped us to produce narrative stories based on this same storyline. We have really enjoyed learning about the little bear in the story and he even bought in some honey joys for us to enjoy.

The class have also started the reading groups program which takes place every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. In these lessons we are engaged in small groups of three activities: Decodable readers, Decodable readers board games, and morphology and phonemic awareness. We have been working on our reading fluency and expression when reading aloud.

 Mathematics:

Throughout this term we have explored strategies of addition, subtraction, and place value. We have been learning these concepts through hands on mathematics games such as place value pebbles, dice addition, get out of my house and maths board games. We have really been enjoying our maths rotations each week. The maths rotations involve groups with varying activities such as maths games, puzzles, and Mathletics.

 Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS):

This term in HASS we have been learning about the past, present, and future. We have explored our past through “activities across the ages”. We have learnt that the present means that it is happening now and the future is anything that hasn’t happened yet.

 Indonesian:

We have just started learning about Indonesian numbers. We know our numbers in Indonesian from 1 to 10: satu, dua, tiga, empat, lima, enam, tujuh, delapan, sembilan, sepuluh.

The Year 2/3 class has had a brilliant start to the year! They have been crafting captivating narrative and persuasive texts in writing. In Mathematics, students have learned about place value, addition, subtraction and multiplication. 

History was the focus of Humanities and Social Sciences. Students explored the past and present, looking at places and technology, as well as how people contribute to their communities, and how symbols, events, individuals and places in their community make it unique. 

 We were able to showcase what we have been learning in Indonesia at our assembly today! We have learned how to greet people, and respond and ask questions in Indonesian.

Here are the students favourite moments from Term 1: 

In class, the 5/6’s learned ‘the Midnight Visitor’, a story that provided the foundational structure for them to innovate stories of their own. Decimals, multiple digit column sums and unpacking questions are all concepts we have covered in Maths, while Federation and Colonisation are hot topics from Humanties and Social Sciences (HASS).

What a busy term it has been in Primary sport! Once swimming lessons were finished, all primary school students started their physical education program. In Kindy/Pre-Primary students have been playing lots of fun games to improve their listening skills and balance. In lower primary students have been working on their underarm and overarm throwing skills as well as catching various objects. In upper primary students have enjoyed developing their basketball skills and playing modified basketball games. It is great to see all students striving to be their best in Physical Education! We have lots of exciting things next term to look forward to including the Primary Winter carnival!

High school students are off to a flying start this term! In the year 7/8 class students have covered topics including mental mathematics strategies, probability and angles. In the Year 9/10 class students have been learning about financial mathematics, linear equations and measurement of objects. Well done to all students for their fantastic start to 2024!