19 October 2018

Newsletter Articles

Important Dates

31st October – Clontarf Overnight Camp for Yr 7/8
7.00pm Wednesday 7th November or 8.30am Thursday 8th November – School tour and information session for prospective families
8th November – Alice Beat
8th November – Girls Academy End of Year Awards Night
5.30pm 13th November – Community Consultation session – come and tell us what you think/hope/dream
14th November – Clontarf Presentation Night
18th November – Clontarf Camp to Adelaide and Kangaroo Island
23rd November – CMS Swimming Carnival
6th December – CMS Presentation Night
13th December – Last Day of Term

From the Principal

Dear families

Welcome back to Term 4. It seems that every year goes quicker than the last! Students and staff certainly seem to have appreciated the two week break this year, the first time we have had this in October. Everyone seems more prepared to do the heavy lifting of learning that is required to top off their achievements for the year and prepare for next year.

As a school, we are working to set ourselves up for 2019. We have reviewed our achievements from this year and are developing our strategic improvement plan for next year. We are bringing together the elements of our teaching and learning model that we have been working on over the year. We are recruiting staff and starting to look at teams for next year. To support the work that we are doing, we would like to invite family members to join us to provide input into the big picture of the school that you want in your community and the detail of the strategic plan and instructional model. We would love it if you could join us at 5.30pm on Tuesday 13th November and let us know what you think.

We are also currently chasing down enrolments for 2019. If you or someone you know has a student that you are intending on bringing to CMS next year, please get in contact with us now so that we can ensure they are enrolled and we can include them in our thinking when setting up classes for next year. We also have school tours and information sessions coming up, which are aimed at prospective families. We have a tour and information session at 7.00pm on Wednesday 7th November or 8.30am on Thursday 8th November. Please pass on details to anyone that you know who may be interested.

We have another busy term and I encourage you to keep an eye on the calendar which is at the top of each newsletter. Two events stand out: our Swimming Carnival and Presentation Night.

The Swimming Carnival is the culmination of the swimming program that students undertake in PE classes starting next week. It’s always a tremendously fun day and we invite family members to join us for the day. The Swimming Carnival is on Friday 23rd November.

Our Presentation Night is the premiere celebration of our students’ learning for the whole year. We hold the night at the Convention Centre and this year will be on Thursday 6th December. We love to see all of our families attend this night.

Finally, I would like to congratulate all of our students who performed in Alice Can Dance on the last night of Term 3. We had a very large contingency participating and they pushed themselves hard to learn the dances in a very short timeframe. They had 6 hours of rehearsal to perfect their routines which I find amazing; it would certainly take me a whole lot longer!

Warm regards,
Paul van Holsteyn
Principal

CMS Events and Announcements

School Tour and Information Session

Prospective families are invited to join us for a tour and information session at 7.00pm on Wednesday 7th November or 8.30am on Thursday 8th November.

It’s time to enrol!

It’s time to enrol at CMS if you have a young person who is joining the school in 2019. Forms are available from the Front Office.

Class 7.5 – Feature Articles

This past term student’s from 7.5 completed feature articles on the novel ‘Blueback’ by Tim Winton. Below we have two of the feature articles completed by Isabelle Ross and Jordan Johnson.

THE KID WHO LIVES FOR THE SEA
by Isabelle Ross

Dora’s painting of Blueback

Imagine being ten years old and thinking you’re about to be eaten by a tiger shark! That’s what happened to a young boy named Abel Jackson.

When Abel was 10 years old, he and his mum went diving at their favourite spot at Robbers Head in Western Australia. Little did Abel know, he was about to become mates with a massive groper called Blueback. He didn’t know it at the time but this moment encouraged him to become a marine biologist later in his life.

Dora and Abel were diving at their favourite spot for Abalone just like every other day but this time was different. Abel was picking the Abalone and all of a sudden he felt this huge WHOOSH of water speed past him! Immediately he thought the worst, he was sure it was a hungry Tiger shark! Abel told his mum to go to the surface and get in the boat, Dora reassured Abel that he can swim back down safely to see what pushed past him. Dora pulled some Abalone out of her bag and started feeding this creature so Abel could swim up for a closer look, after all that adrenalin… it was a harmless, rare Blue Groper! Abel named him Blueback and they became life-long friends.

“So why do you lie awake every night wishing you were here”?

“Because it’s what I want, it’s what I always wanted”

Abel was born in Long boat bay Western Australia, he was raised by both his mother and father until his dad was killed by a Tiger shark when he was only 3. He grew up with Dora, his mum, in an old cottage with no electricity by the beach. Their relationship with each other and the ocean grew massively. When it was time, Abel was sent inland for schooling, he was homesick and longed for the day he could swim with blueback.

Abel and Dora on the dingy to Robbers head

Abel was once a kid who couldn’t imagine leaving his mother and Longboat Bay, he overcame hardship and pushed his limits. Going to school inland and missing home was difficult for him but Abel’s passion for the sea grew, he found himself living in a city studying marine biology and travelling the world to understand the ocean and its creatures. After losing his dad and experiencing Blueback, Abel came home to continue to protect the sea and his Groper friend.

JACKSONS HAVE A HUGE ENCOUNTER
by Jordan Johnson

The huge famous grouper, Blueback.

Abel and his mother went diving one peaceful day and Abel encountered Blueback.

In a bay by the name of Longboat Bay, Abel and Dora lived. Abel was born and raised on the bay. When Abel was in adolescence, he came across a big blue groper one day while diving. This was the beginning of his love for the fish, but more than that it was the beginning of his admiration for the environment.

When Abel grew into a young man he went to university and decided to become a marine biologist. This decision came from being so attached to the ocean and his ongoing love for his best friend, the enormous blue groper “Blueback”.

He also ended up meeting a girl called Stella, she was a marine biologist too! She loved Abel and the ocean and they fell for each other because they were both committed to caring for the environment.

Today they share a daughter named Dora, named after his mother, Dora Jackson. After his mother passed away, Abel felt he wanted to honour her name because of how grateful he is for her.

“Growing up on the bay is awesome with my mother and my best friend, Blueback.”

The Jacksons faced a rough, difficult time when Costello tried to wreck the bay. Eventually he got banned and fined for a fake fisherman licence. Abel didn’t really change from when he was younger, he still has a very strong connection with the sea.

Abel and his daughter Dora, 3, on Longboat Bay.

Dora Jackson’s spirit lives on through her family because she loved diving in the ocean and Abel and his family are still nearby. Whenever they are in the boat or snorkelling they are thinking of Dora and Blueback and the lessons they learned.

Today, Abel is still a successful marine biologist, however, unlike the past where he was travelling the world he is now living at long boat bay with his loving family.

Day of STEM

Our Year 9s had another great opportunity to visit Centralian Senior College this week, as they participated in the ‘Day of STEM’. They were able to work with industry leaders from Australia and beyond as another exposure to the future jobs and opportunities in our rapidly changing world.

Polly Famer – Follow the Dream

Follow the Dream starts again on Monday the 22nd of October (week 2) – hope to see you all there!

Community Announcements

Squash – Get Physical

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