Term 1, Week 4
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Welcome to the First Online Edition of CedarNews
While it’s true that our newsletter has been available online for many years, this edition is different! For the past few years we have produced a printed version each fortnight, as well as a PDF version for our website, with a selection of “top stories” online. This version, however, marks the first online edition that has been designed specifically to be read on mobile devices. According to last year’s survey, that’s how most of us do our reading. So it makes sense to cut down on paper usage, as well as deliver important school news directly to your device.
Quarterly print edition
We’ll still be producing a special print edition once a term. These quarterly newsletters will feature some of the best photos and news from the term, to continue to celebrate the many exciting things that our students do here at Cedar College.
Mr Peter Thomson, Principal
Calendar
The Front Page
FROM THE HEAD OF HIGH SCHOOL
A Positive Start
The beginning of Term 1 is traditionally an intense time for both staff and students. On top of the usual preparations for the academic year and the start-of-year events, much hard work has gone into implementing some exciting changes; and by all reports, people’s experiences have been very positive.
Our classroom teachers have thoroughly enjoyed meeting our parent community in recent weeks at our new Information Nights. There was a lot of enthusiasm from our families during the evenings, and we have had much positive feedback. Both staff and parents appreciated the opportunity to meet each other in the same learning environment that our students experience daily. Thankyou to all who attended, and I trust that this opportunity was helpful in giving you further insight into the expectations of each course.
Community Time
Our students and staff are well and truly settled into the routines of Community Time and meeting each morning in their Community Groups. During this week, each Community Group selected their Community Leaders and from that group of students, House Leaders were also chosen. These leaders will be announced in the coming days, and their first real test will be in the form of managing their House in the lead up to Sports Day, held on Friday, March 8 (Week 6). These leadership opportunities are invaluable to the development of those students, and their leadership abilities crucial for House success.
House Shield
Now that the new Community Group and House Leadership system has been rolled out, one of our goals this year is to review our High School House Shield system. Our aim is to consider how it might best represent the College values, incorporate more areas of school life, and recognise student contribution to the College and the wider community. We look forward to establishing a new system once this review is complete, which will also promote a greater sense of House pride.
It has been an encouraging start to the year so far. We look forward to witnessing the growth of our students in 2019!
Mr Andrew Lock, Head of High School
News & Notices
News and Notices
Primary Science/Art & CLIC Building
Site preparation will continue on the new Primary School Science, Art and CLIC building during Term 1, with the new foundation expected to be poured during the April school holidays. With the facility due to be completed by the end of the year, Primary School Science and CLIC have been temporarily relocated. The Junior Primary Nature Play area will be re-opening soon, now that the building site boundaries have been established and closed off.
Navigator Drive Entrance
The Navigator Drive entrance, carpark and Kiss&Drop zone are always extremely busy, particularly at the end of the day. It is important to remember that vehicles must not stop on the roundabout, to prevent from gridlock. The Port Adelaide Enfield Council provides a brochure outlining the rules when parking in and around schools, which is available for download here.
Please also be aware of the Port Adelaide Enfield City Council signage on Navigator Drive, – which specifies no standing between the roundabout and bus stop during school pickup and drop-off times (8-9am and 3-4pm). As Navigator drive is part of a bus route, please obey these signs to allow for an unobstructed flow of traffic along this street and also observe the “25KM/H WHEN CHILDREN PRESENT” signage and School Zone zig-zags.
Kiss & Drop
Please be aware that the visitor car park, adjacent to the Admin building, may not be used as a Kiss&Drop area. These areas do not have teachers on duty, and for the safety of all students are not available as a drop-off/pick-up area at the beginning or end of the school day. These limited parks are in place for the many visitors that arrive throughout the school day.
High School Sports Day
All High School students are required to wear a coloured polo shirt for their Sports Day, on Friday March 8. Orders have been placed for those who purchased through Qkr!, and these will be sent home with students in the coming week. Please be aware that the Front Office only holds very limited stock of these items.
Upper Primary Sports Day
The Upper Primary Sports Day will be held on Friday March 22. As always, parents/caregivers and friends are welcome to attend the day and fly their team colours! Please note that, this year, we will not be having special hotdog lunch orders, however, the Canteen will be open for orders on the day. All Upper Primary students are to wear their colour Sports Day T-shirts on the day.
Fosters Road Crossing
The flashing 25kmph lights operate between 8am – 8:50am and 3:10pm – 3:45pm, Monday to Friday. Outside of these times, pedestrians do not have priority and should only cross if it is safe to do so.
At all times, pedestrians should only cross when it is safe to do so, and NEVER ASSUME that a driver has seen them or will stop for them.
School Tours Parking Week 5
Please be aware that School Tours will be held in Week 5 for prospective parents, which will impact morning drop-off and parking on Tuesday February 26 and Wednesday February 27. Parking in the Sports Centre carpark will be closed off on these days from 8:45am, to provide spaces for visiting families.
Student Achievement
We have had some wonderful individual student achievement recognised recently, and offer our congratulations to the following two students.
Zoe F was recently awarded the Theatre Association of South Australia’s Best Female Youth Performer for 2018. This is an amazing effort, and anyone who has seen Zoe perform will agree that the award is well deserved.
Coby F was featured on Page 3 of The Advertiser this week, for his role in the 2019 Fringe in a Gospo Music Show called Jackson Vs Jackson. Coby is part of a gospel singing group called Jones Juniors which belong to a larger gospel singing company called Gospo, and will be performing in the coming weeks.
Monday Night Equipping Courses
CityReach Oakden is currently running a range of Monday night equipping courses, including The Art of Marriage and Gospel Centred Parenting. The courses are open to anyone to attend. Click the links for further information, or visit the CityReach website.
In Term 2, CityReach will also be running a weekly program called Alpha, which is a series of sessions exploring the Christian faith. Each talk looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation. Alpha is run all around the globe, and everyone’s welcome. No two Alphas look the same, but generally they have three key things in common: food, a talk and good conversation.
Dates this Term
TERM DATES 2019
Term 1 – Tue 29 Jan – Fri 12 April
Term 2 – Tue 30 April – Fri 28 June
We will continue to have a three week break between terms 2 & 3
Term 3 – Wed 24 July – Fri 27 Sept
Term 4 – Tue 15 Oct – Wed 11 Dec
UNIFORM SHOP 2019
Regular opening hours during Term:
Monday 8:30am – 4:30pm
Wednesday 3pm – 5:30pm
Thursday Extended Opening Hours:
TERM 1 – Weeks 1-6, 3pm – 5.30pm
TERM 2 – Weeks 1-3, 3pm – 5.30pm
TERM 4 – Weeks 1-3, 3pm – 5.30pm
PRIMARY SCHOOL ASSEMBLY
The Primary School Assemblies and Chapels are held on Fridays at 8:55am. Parents/caregivers are welcome to attend, and tea and coffee is available beforehand in The Terrace. Odd weeks are Chapel.
Week 4 – Year 1
Week 6 – Year 6
Week 8 – Sports Day (no Assembly)
Week 10 – Year 2
Primary School News
Piecing Together the Past
The Year 3s have enjoyed making a little piece of history together this week, as they considered the changing face of Cedar College and the surrounding area.
This term in History, the Year 3s have been looking at how things have changed and stayed the same over time. On Tuesday, students had 18 photos of Cedar College that they had to place in chronological order with the help of a few of the founding members of our school. The students really enjoyed the exercise and found out some very interesting information about the history of our school.
History Makers
Along with a range of photos that spanned the 22 years of Cedar’s existence, the students also heard from a number of people who have been here for all of those years. Primary school teachers, Mrs Elizabeth Crawford, Mrs Jenny Marshall, and Mr Lou George (current Board Chair) were each able to lend their first hand knowledge of the school’s history as the students studied the pictures.
Although 22 years is a relatively short period of time, the students were amazed at the changes that have taken place, with the original Cedar College buildings initially surrounded by empty land. It was equally amazing that some of the things that have stayed the same over the 22 years were some special members of the Cedar College community, who were helping the students with their project!
Middle School News
From the Middle School
The jump from Primary School to Middle School can be a tricky one, with different classes, expectations and so much to learn!
There’s new procedures to understand, new lockers to navigate and a range of new subjects. With classes such as Drama, Design Technology, Home Economics, plus new teachers for Science, Mathematics, English and Humanities, Middle School can feel a little overwhelming at first. Some of the changes made this year have helped to make the transition to Middle School a little smoother.
Welcoming new families
We welcomed our new Year 7 families with a sausage sizzle in Week 3, to help build new connections. This was followed by the Year 7-10 Information Night, which was restructured to allow parents and caregivers to spend the majority of the evening with their student in the classroom, connecting with their child’s teacher in an informal way.
Canvas
Our learning management system, Canvas, allows parents to keep in touch with their child’s progress, and contact teachers through the online messaging feature. Parents/Caregivers are able to configure the notifications they receive from Canvas to suit their needs, to help support their child through the Middle School years. If you require any help with Canvas, or other changes in the Middle School, please contact the High School Office.
Senior School News
Sky's the Limit for Year 12s
The Year 12s headed to the West Beach Resort – a new location for this year’s camp, as they came together as a cohort and prepared for the year ahead.
Within these three days, we got to take part in many amazing experiences, including the high ropes obstacle course and the Big Wedgie, as well as learning from guest speakers about how we can best apply ourselves in Year 12, to get the most out of our last year at school.
Throughout the camp we, as a cohort, had many opportunities to enjoy each other’s company and learn more about each other. Overall, the Year 12 retreat allowed many of us to learn more about each other and come back into Week 3, ready for year ahead with the tools that we had learnt during the three days. – Kiara
Leap of Faith
On the first day of our Year 12 retreat, we took to the skies (quite literally) and tested our limits on the high ropes obstacle course. With four levels to conquer, the course proved to be no easy feat, especially for those of us not particularly fond of walking on tight ropes 80 feet off of the ground.
Each level of the course consisted of several obstacles that we had to complete in order to reach the next level, and with each coming level, the obstacles became more and more challenging.
Few dared to venture to the very top of the course into the Eagle’s nest, but those of us who did were greeted with a spectacular panoramic view of West Beach. We could see the white roofs of our dorms off in the distance.
Each student was required to show a final leap of faith, as they jumped off the platform, gracefully plummeting to the safety of the ground. – Ishan
Thriving Together
As well as being able to escape for a few days, the messages brought to us by multiple pastors and life coaches gave us a head start, boost in our faith, and ideas about how we can best support each other in our final year of school. We learnt that in order to thrive, we need to set goals and stick to them by following Pastor Dons D.O.O. method (Discipline, Observation and Opportunity).
Aside from these workshops, we had plenty of free time to take advantage of the resort, with activities such as swimming, sports, a jumping pillow and just enjoying the good weather and bonding with friends.
Overall, this retreat was a great last camp to have as a cohort, as well as being the perfect way to kick-start our final year together. – Elyse
