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Dear Parents and Carers
National Reconciliation Week
The Stolen Generations is a harrowing time in Australia’s recent past and we all have a role to play in understanding its enduring impacts and contributing productively in the journey towards healing. Knowledge builds greater understanding and empathy. An educated society holds governments to account in ensuring such atrocities never be allowed to happen to children and families again.
Monday 26th May National Sorry Day
In 2008, the then Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, made an important speech where he apologised on behalf of the Australian Government and said sorry for the pain that had been caused by removing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families for nearly 100 years. National Sorry Day is a time to remember the Stolen Generations and recognise the healing power of the word sorry. Students will be participating in a lesson about National Sorry Day and the power of an apology.
Tuesday 27th May Illustrator Visit
The acclaimed Charmaine Ledden-Lewis, illustrator of Bruce Pascoe’s 2020 picture book, Found, will be joining us for a very special illustrator talk at no cost to families. Charmaine is renowned for working with pastels to create vibrant and striking illustrations that tell their own story.
Wednesday 28th May Community Events
Families are warmly welcome to join us for two special events. We hope you can join us:
2:35-3:10pm National Reconciliation Week assembly in the hall
3:30-5:00pm National Reconciliation Week afternoon tea and activities
Throughout the week, students will also:
- develop a 2025 class Acknowledgement of Country
- engage in a lesson about National Reconciliation Week
- understand and respond to literature by Aboriginal authors and illustrators during library lessons
- view a video composed by our Deadly Kids explaining what National Reconciliation Week means to them
Congratulations
At last week’s P&C meeting, Hannah was unanimously elected to the role of Secretary for 2025. I want to thank Hannah, along with the rest of the P&C executive committee, for their admirable and deeply appreciated commitment to serving the whole school community in a voluntary capacity.
School Attendance
I recently met with the Department’s Home-School Liaison Officer who monitors the attendance rates of students across the network. Canterbury has been praised for exemplary practices and programs to maximise student attendance. This is the result of strong partnerships between home and school. What a team!
Vinnies
Canterbury is fortunate to receive the support of St Vincent de Paul Society this year which has allowed us to top up learning materials including stationery and art supplies. The school will also trial a Breakfast Club to ensure every child has a full belly and is ready to learn each day thanks to Vinnies. Keep an eye out for an email with details. A very special thank you to Joanne, the Vinnies Van Services Coordinator for the Sydney Metropolitan Region for making this happen.
Is your SZapp up to date?
If you are experiencing any problems with SZapp we recommend checking for a recent update that may resolve your issue.
How do I check my SZapp version?
- Open SZapp
- Press the ‘Burger Menu’ in the Left Hand Corner
- Your SZapp version will be listed at the bottom of this page
- If it does not say 6.0.12, you will need to update your version of SZapp and may also need to update your phone’s OS (operating system). For a guide on updating an IOS device please click here. For a guide on updating an Android device please click here.
Cross-country Regional Representatives
We have quite the collection of talented athletes heading to Regionals next month. Congratulations, Viv, Meg, Frankie, Olivia R, Emilia, Judah, Reuben and Mikele.
Tracy Considine
Principal
Last week classes revised the emotions that are common to the different Zones of Regulation. This summary may support conversations at home:
- When you are in the Blue Zone, your body is running slowly. You may feel hurt, sick, shy, sad or tired.
- Like a green light, the Green Zone means you are ‘good to go’. If you are in the Green Zone, you may feel calm, happy, ready to learn or proud.
- When you are in the Yellow Zone, it’s time to proceed with caution and slow down. If you are in the Yellow Zone you may feel silly, anxious/worried, upset, excited, scared, annoyed, jealous, uncomfortable, embarrassed, nervous or frustrated.
- When you are in the Red Zone you may feel out of control and have trouble making good decisions. You need to stop and regulate. If you are in the Red Zone you may feel angry, terrified, out of control or elated.
Spend time discussing with your child what they remember of each zone and regularly check in with them as they are exhibiting different emotions at home. All feelings and emotions are valid and normal…it is how we react and what we do when we are in these zones that matters, and being able to recognise what zone we are in at any given time.
This week mainstream students are looking at ‘triggers’ that send them into the yellow or blue zone. Examples are are:
- Change in plans that make us anxious (yellow)
- Before a sports game we may feel worried or excited (yellow)
- Smelling something disgusting that makes us feel nauseous (blue)
- Missing out on something can make us sad (blue)
Take time to discuss your children’s triggers and perhaps share some of your own.
Early Stage 1 students are learning about expected behaviours and what our body is doing including our eyes, legs and hands. Students are also developing an understanding of how to recognise when others are following the expected behaviours. Support classes have been rehearsing expected behaviours when attending assemblies including entering and exiting in an orderly manner, sitting still and quiet when others are talking, and applauding award recipients.
Meghan Ryan
PBL Committee Member
Our artists have hit the ground running this term with the addition of sculpture to the art room. Kindy started with paper sculptures, exploring how to manipulate a coloured paper strip into a three dimensional form, and then tried mini mixed-media sculptures. Stage 1 used aluminium foil to create a figure and, inspired by the interesting titles that some artists give their works, created their own titles after posing their figures in a range of fun ways. Stage 2 participated in the ‘Attachment Challenge’ where they were tasked with making a strong and stable sculpture without glue or tape, instead using techniques such as wrapping, slotting, inserting and twisting to join pieces together- not as easy as you think! And finally, Stage 3 used recycled packaging boxes to create their own 3D nets and transform them into 3D forms, then discovered the joy (and mess!) of paper mache to add a ‘skin’ to their form. Armed with these new skills, I can’t wait to see what our artists will dream up in the coming weeks.
…AND THANKS FROM THE ART ROOM!
A huge thank you to all Stage 3 families who sent in packaging boxes for our sculpture unit at the start of term. Some items we are running low on if you have any lying around:
- Paper towel tubes (no toilet rolls please)
- Plastic lids (clean)
- Corks
- Wool
- Small screws/nails
Donations can be dropped off at the office or sent with your child on their art day. Thank you!
Felicity Williams
Visual Arts Teacher
Congratulations to the 39 students who represented CPS at the Wiley Park Zone Cross Country Carnival. Our students achieved great results due largely to their mature approach to the race and strategically conserving energy during key sections of the course. The students should be commended for their outstanding behaviour and effort on the day with an exceptional result of 2nd place overall! A big thank you to Ms Phillips who supported the students on the course throughout the day.
A special congratulations to the following students who were successful in achieving a spot in the regional team: Vivienne, Meg, Frankie, Olivia R, Emilia, Judah, Reuben and Mikele.
These students will represent Canterbury and the Wiley Park Zone at the regional carnival on Wednesday 11th June at Miranda Park. They were all very excited to be able to buy a regional jumper.
Mark Healey
Sport Coordinator
Thank you to everyone who made the Mother’s Day event at CPS so wonderful. Thanks to the team for the scrumptious food, the fun craft activities, and to Chris for his coffee.
Reconciliation Week
We look forward to seeing you for Reconciliation Week next Wednesday 28th May at the assembly and community time afterwards. There will be afternoon tea snacks provided by the P&C and activities after the assembly. We will be fundraising for the school’s indigenous garden and workshops. If you would like to help set up some of the snacks on the day for a half hour, please get in touch.
Fundraising update
At the last meeting, the P&C members agreed to purchase communication signage for the playground and music stands. Money has been allocated from previous events for the mural and the AV for the hall. We hope to have grant money to supplement what the school and P&C can provide for the AV, and grant money for some sports equipment, playground game markings and playground seating/shade. All these suggestions came from the teachers and students themselves.
Canteen
If you have any feedback on the school canteen, please send us an email. We would like to represent your views as one of our members will be on the upcoming tender panel.
Uniforms
If you are interested in helping out once a term around second hand uniforms or if you (or your child) are interested in the school getting a sports shirt please get in touch. We have a role from someone to be involved in setting up just this aspect of the uniforms.
P&C membership
To become a member renew your membership, please fill in a membership form online here. It costs just $2 for this calendar year.
For any questions or comments, email us on canterburypublicschool.pandc@gmail.com.
Mission to Mars: STEM in Action Through a Proud Partnership
As part of our highly successful Enrichment Program, Year 7 students from Canterbury Boys teamed up with their peers from Canterbury Girls to take part in a Mars exploration challenge that put their coding, robotics, and teamwork skills to the test. Together, they programmed robots to navigate a simulated Martian environment, completing complex tasks that mirrored the challenges faced by real space engineers.
This project is part of a proud and continuing tradition of shared learning experiences between the two schools. Over the years, Canterbury Boys and Canterbury Girls High Schools have partnered on a number of academic and co-curricular initiatives, particularly in the areas of STEM, leadership, and wellbeing. These joint programs are designed to give students a broader, richer educational experience by encouraging collaboration, communication, and creativity across campuses.
The Mission to Mars was a perfect example of these values in action. Students showed outstanding initiative as they solved real-world problems, built on each other’s strengths, and worked as cohesive cross-school teams to reach their shared goals. It was a joy to watch students from both schools connect, challenge one another, and celebrate their successes together.
The benefits of this continued partnership are wide-ranging:
- Enhanced STEM engagement, as students are exposed to practical, hands-on learning in coding, robotics, and critical thinking
- Opportunities to develop social confidence, teamwork, and communication across diverse peer groups
- A united educational community, with both schools committed to preparing students for the challenges of tomorrow through innovation, collaboration, and excellence
We’re proud of the strong and growing relationship between our two schools. With many more joint projects planned for the future, the Mission to Mars is just the latest milestone in a shared journey of learning, discovery, and success.
| Akira | 4 | 10 years |
| Jun Ran | Kindergarten | 6 years |
| Nandin-Erdene | 1 | 7 years |
| Nomin-Erdene | 1 | 7 years |
| Enoch | 2 | 8 years |
| Tuvshoo | 2 | 8 years |
| Oliver | 4 | 10 years |
| Stella | 5 | 10 years |
| Irmuun | 5 | 11 years |
| Mikayla | 5 | 10 years |
| Bea | 2 | 8 years |
| Edie | Kindergarten | 6 years |
| Nela | 5 | 11 years |
| Dante | 1 | 7 years |