Cranbrook Junior School Start of Year Message

Dear Parents,

We write to thank our Junior School families for their wonderful support throughout last year and to welcome to the Junior School community those joining us this year. This letter includes details of staffing arrangements and a review of important information relating to the commencement of the 2024 academic year. We look forward to an exciting year ahead.

IMPORTANT NEWS
JUNIOR SCHOOL END OF DAY CARLINE COLLECTION TIMES
Start of day times remain the same as last year.

In 2024, student after school pick up times are as follows. There is ONE key change to K-Y2 collection times on a Wednesday. We have moved Assembly/Chapel to the last part of the school day rather than straight after lunch, so attending parents can take their sons home at the conclusion of the Assembly/Chapel.

If you need to collect your child in the carline, please arrive at the indicated time for his year group and not before:

For Kindergarten, please arrive at 2.50pm, except on Wednesdays when you should arrive at 3.10pm.
For Y1 and Y2, please arrive after 3.00pm, as students are still in class until 3pm, except on Wednesdays when you should arrive at 3.10pm.
For Y3 and Y4, please arrive after 3.20pm.
For Y5 and Y6, please arrive at 3.30pm.

We appreciate your cooperation and support in this.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS
K-6 SUNHATS

We would like to strongly encourage K-6 parents to avail themselves of the embroidery service when purchasing a new JS sunhat, so each child’s initials is embroidered on them. This can assist our students to more easily make sure they have their own hat and, therefore, hopefully reduce the number of hats which are lost. It removes the issue of missing or indecipherable labels.

Noone, our uniform supplier, coordinates the supply and embroidery of the hat. The initials will be embroidered in small red capital letters on the back of the hat and will be clearly visible. The embroidery service is undertaken by E-Z Embroidery (92 Bronte Rd, Bondi Junction NSW 2022 Tel: 9386 1401). Previously purchased hats can still be embroidered by taking the hat directly to the shop.

SMART WATCHES & MOBILE PHONES
The School asks that students in K-Y4 to NOT bring mobile phones or wear smart watches to school. We understand that for students in Years 5 and 6, there are times when possession of a mobile phone or smart watch can provide a sense of safety and security. We appreciate that parents of these older students who walk to or from school, or travel by public transport, may want their son to carry a mobile phone or wear smart watch. It is important parents remember that, as a primary school, mobile phones and smart watches are unnecessary during school hours as a method of communicating with students. It is our intention to ensure that mobile phone and smart watch usage does not disrupt the learning environment or cause issues during break times.

Mobile phones should be either turned off or set to ‘aeroplane mode’ during school hours when on the school site and should be left inside school bags at all times. If your son wears a smart watch, the cellular features must also be switched off during the day, as this works in the same way as a mobile phone. It has always been the School’s practice to pass on important messages to students throughout the day. This can be done by phoning the School Office and requesting that a message be given to the child. The phone/watch must not be used in toilets or change rooms. At no time should the phone/watch be used to bully, threaten, menace, harass or offend another person. Use of the phone/watch by a student contrary to these guidelines will result in this student receiving appropriate consequences in line with the School’s Behaviour Management Policy and may result in the student not being permitted to bring a mobile phone or wear a smart watch to School. The School bears no responsibility if the phone or watch is lost.

We thank our P-6 parents for their support of the School policy and we ask them to ensure their sons understand and follow this policy.

STAFFING FOR 2024
Click here to read a list of Junior School staff for 2024 with new staff profiles for your information.

GENERAL INFORMATION
Start of Term 1, 2024
During term time, useful dates and notices are regularly included in the Thursday newsletter and on Cranbrook Connect (the Parent Portal). You may find the following information helpful, to assist with planning for Term 1.

The School Office will re-open from Monday, 22 January 2024.

Our phone number is: 9327 9100 (Main Reception)

First few days of Term 1:
Years 1 - 6 students return Tuesday, 30 January Drop off from 7:45am

NB Kindergarten students attend for a short period on one of the following days: Tuesday, 30 January or Wednesday, 31 January, as per the separate letter sent previously to all Kindergarten families.

Kindergarten’s First Day of School - Thursday, 1 February
All Kindergarten students will commence on Thursday, 2 February. To ease traffic congestion, we ask students to be dropped off at the following times:

9am All those with brothers already attending the Junior School

9:15am Those with surnames starting A-F

9:30am Those with surnames starting G-N

9:45am Those with surnames starting O-Z

Pick up is at 1:15pm - The students will be seated outside the Kindergarten Piazza for collection.

Kindergarten’s Second Day of School - Friday, 2 February
Kindergarten students to arrive 8.45 - 9am and be picked up at 2.20pm. The students will be seated outside the Kindergarten Piazza for collection.

K-Y6 - all families please remember:

A Sun Smart policy operates in the Junior School and it is compulsory for students to wear their
School full-brimmed or legionnaire style sunhat for all play and outdoor activities;
Students should come in full summer uniform;
Students’ hair should be cut so it sits above their shirt collar;
Children will be with their Class Teacher for all of the first day. It will not be a normal timetable.

K- Y6 Day One, 2024 – What to bring

Brimmed school hat (clearly named);
A drink bottle (clearly named and filled with water only);
Fruit for recess break (morning tea) in a small separate named container;
Packed healthy lunchbox (clearly named)
Please ensure that your son’s hair has been trimmed to above the collar in accordance with our School
Uniform Policy.

Their Care – Before and After School Care
To assist our families with work commitments or other needs and to allow staff to prepare adequately for the teaching day, TheirCare operate before and after-school care onsite for any K-Y6 Cranbrook student.

We ask all Junior School families to enrol prior to return to school, so that they can attend TheirCare for any early drop-offs required or in the case of an emergency after school. Enrolment takes 10-15 minutes online and costs nothing. Any student who arrives before 7:45am (and who is not enrolled in a co-curricular activity) will be taken to before-school care, so they can be safely supervised.

Please follow this link to complete the enrolment process: www.theircare.com.au (go to ‘Book Now’ tab and complete the form).

Stationery Items and Textbooks for K-6
All essential stationery, exercise books and textbooks have been pre-ordered by the School and have already been delivered to Cranbrook. There will be an annual charge to cover the cost of these items and this will be charged to the students’ accounts during Term 1. Students will have items distributed as needed throughout the year.

Carlines and Timetables
A reminder that parents should always have their son’s carline name on display once they have entered the school gates on Kent Road.

All children should have their seatbelts secured when a car is moving, including at all times in the school carline.

To ensure the safety of all our students and other pedestrians inside the school property, the speed limit once inside the school gate is 10 km/h. Some cars have been observed travelling too quickly in carline. Please consider the safety of all and reduce speed.

Students must not be dropped off or collected in Elanora or Iluka Streets. We continue to receive complaints from our neighbours and Woollahra Council regarding families who ignore this rule. Please help maintain Cranbrook’s good neighbourly relations by complying with this request.

Important Dates for 2024
A document outlining some planned key events and important dates for the year, useful for your planning, has been placed on Cranbrook Connect. Changes to these dates and the inclusion of other important events will be provided each term on the Event Term Overview document loaded into your son’s Year Level tab on the School Portal.

K- 6 Parent Information Evening Thursday, 1 February 2024 from 5pm – 6:30pm
The K-6 Parent Information Evening is the first opportunity for K-6 parents to hear about planned events and key information for 2024. Along with an opportunity to hear from your son’s teaching team, we will hear from our Junior School Educational Development Coordinator, Heather Brodie, who will help us all to understand how at Cranbrook Junior School we cater for differing needs of each student, no matter what innate abilities. We ask one parent from each family to attend.

K-6 Parent/Teacher Meetings Week commencing Monday, 12 February 2024
The first Parent/Teacher meeting will be held in Term 1, Week 3 to provide an early opportunity for parents to share important information about their child with the teacher. Teachers will also give an idea of how each child has settled into his new class. During the first week of term, families will receive an online booking form to set a time.

Y6 & Y4 Camps Week commencing Monday, 19 February 2024
Students in Years 6 & 4 will attend Camps during Term 1 Week 4 and Week 6, respectively. Families should have received information about the camp already. Students in Years 3 & 5 will attend camps during Term 2.

Grandparents’ Day 2024 Wednesday, 3 April 2024
Grandparents’ Day is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the year. Please mark the date in all Grandmas, Grandpas, Nonnas and Grandads diaries now, so they have an opportunity to share this very special day with their grandson. More details will be available early in Term 1.

Music News
The compulsory instrumental programme is offered to students in Years 2 & 3. More information detailing this programme will be shared soon.

Music tuition is available from Term 1. The official notice for discontinuation of lessons for 2024 has now passed. This means lessons will automatically roll-over for next year. Continuing music instrumentalist pupils do not need to complete a new form.

New Students wanting Private Instrumental Lessons:

Parents of any student wishing to commence instrumentalist lessons for the first time should complete a music tuition form as soon as possible. The enrolment forms for music tuition can be found on Cranbrook Connect:

http://cranbrookconnect.cranbrook.nsw.edu.au/ Go to Junior School/Starting in 2024

Please be aware that payment for lessons is an annual charge.

Co-curricular Activities (Years 1 - 6)
Commencing Monday, 5 February 2024 (Week 2) and finishing on Friday, 12 April 2024 (final day Term 1)
Please contact Annabel Boyd if you have any questions about the optional co-curricular programme you have enrolled in via the Cranbrook App.

Assemblies and Chapel
Assemblies and Chapels are held each Wednesday afternoon at 2:30pm in the JS Gym. Please note the time change for 2024. Excellence Awards are presented at both Assembly and Chapel. Parents of students receiving an award are notified the previous Thursday.

Recess and Lunch
Recess - Fruit 10.00am-10.30am
Please note that all K-6 students are encouraged to bring FRUIT only for Recess. The younger children find it much easier to eat fruit that has been cut up (eg apple quarters, orange segments) or that is already in bite size pieces (eg grapes, berries). Little tubs of fruit in syrup are also acceptable.

NB Students in K & Y1 are asked to bring a small ‘brain food’ snack to be eaten between Periods 1 and 2, preferably of crunchy fruit or vegetables to build jaw strength which assists with speech articulation development.

Lunch 1.00pm-1.40pm
Students eat lunch from 1.00pm-1.15pm. On all days, the students play outside (weather permitting) from 1.15pm-1.40pm. Healthy packed lunches are encouraged. Parents are welcome to order lunches from the School Canteen online, via the My Student Account system. Instructions on how to set up an account can be found on the Parent Portal Cranbrook Connect: http://cranbrookconnect.cranbrook.nsw.edu.au/ Go to Junior School/Starting in 2024.

Food allergies
We ask parents not to send in foods containing nuts or sesame seeds (all year levels) for their sons to consume. We have a number of new and existing students and staff at School who are allergic to nuts of all types, nut products, fish, shellfish and some dairy. Please consider these staff and students’ health concerns as you pack your own son’s food. Younger children find it hard not to spill food! Information regarding food choices is included in the Parent Handbook.

In line with our Healthy Eating Policy, please remember that we do not allow cakes or other treats for your son’s birthday celebrations at School. Please save these special treats for home.

K-6 Parent Contact Lists
These will be distributed to each grade through the CSPA section of Cranbrook Connect (Parent Portal) at the start of 2024.

Further information pertaining to the 2024 School year can be obtained through the Junior School Parent Handbook, which is available to current parents via the Parent Portal, Cranbrook Connect: http://cranbrookconnect.cranbrook.nsw.edu.au/ Go to Junior School/Starting in 2024.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful and safe New Year and holiday. We very much look forward to the commencement of the 2024 academic year and to welcoming our students and families back on campus.

Kind wishes,

Michele Marquet
Head of Junior School