Having spent my whole adult life (more years than I am prepared to acknowledge) working in education, I have seen many changes in what happens in schools and the expectations that society places on our teachers. It is a much tougher job now than what it was when I graduated from university and took up my first teaching appointment. I say this not as a classroom teacher, but as an administrator tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the day to day routines and expectations of teachers. I see it all - compliance, ever-changing syllabus requirements and the challenge of 21st Century expectations, a crowded curriculum, student wellbeing and mental health issues, cyber safety - the list goes on.

Here at CCAS we are blessed to have an amazing group of teachers who, although they are not immune to the challenges that all teachers face, embrace their roles with care and compassion, seeking the best outcomes and learning opportunities for your children. In addition to our teachers, we have an equally amazing group of support staff, who share the same passion for your children and provide vital support to what happens each day in this school. None of us are perfect, but we really do care and want the best for every child here at CCAS. So, today, on World Teachers Day, I want salute our teachers and support staff for who they are and what they do each day. If you feel the same way, why not take the time to express your gratitude to your child’s teacher or someone else on staff – it will make their day!

I can’t finish today without mentioning of our Music Showcase Evening that was held here at school last night. I was so proud of our students and the talent they displayed as they entertained us. It was fantastic to see our K-12 Music program on show and it really was an incredible night. Thank you to everyone who attended – the hall was full and I know the vibe that this created only added to the success of the night – well done to all! Thank you to our Music teachers for their work, not only in making this night a success, but investing in each student to develop their talents in this important area.

The evening was a great success and a big thank you needs to be given to all of our talented students from Year 1 right through to Year 11 who participated in the evening and showcased their talents through a diverse range of items. We also had, for the first time, 3 choirs featured during the evening under the leadership of Mrs Ali Heise.

Thank you to all our music staff for your time and preparation in making these ensembles happen every week. A final thank you to all those who attended the evening.

Look out for more music events like this in 2019!

Both teams played extremely well and finished with some fantastic results. Our girl's team finished 3rd overall while the boys finished 4th.

Well done students!

The students represented both themselves and the school with great enthusiasm. Final results were:

• Mia Tonga - 1st (Year 5 girls)
• Hugh Williman - 3rd (Year 6 boys)
• Jack Bryer - 5th (Year 6 boys)
• Thomas Pasco - 11th (Year 5 boys)
• James Hiron - 15th (Year 5 boys)

Congratulations students!

Lisa and her team facilitate a range of fun activities for children in the program which is open to CCAS students from Pre Kindergarten through to Year 6. Their day kicks of as early as 6:30am, with the centre open until 6:00pm. Students in Vacation Care also had the option of short day option running from 9:00am until 3:00pm.

One of the fantastic features of this service is that the food provided to the children by Lisa is all made from scratch! You won't find any frozen meals or snacks being provided - just plenty of delicious and nutritious snacks and meals.

To find out more please get in touch with the team - oosh@ccas.nsw.edu.au

Students were divided into teams and had to participate in challenges that demonstrated their understanding of a range of scientific principles. They were encouraged to develop creative solutions to respond to the challenges they were set.

Thank you to Mr Andy Bateman, Mrs Maree Clarke, Mr Nathan Luchow, Mr Zac Rappell and Mr Daniel Sheedy for the work they put into facilitating this great day.

Mr Robartson facilitated a gozleme making workshop! Students’ enthusiasm and the delicious smells emanating from the kitchen proved that gozleme were indeed made and consumed with great gusto!

Molly joined the Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors in March this year and has been full steam ahead ever since. Since joining Wildlife Warriors, her passion has only increased and this is evident in what she has achieved. She has also taken the initiative to organise various fundraising opportunities such as making and selling wildlife key rings, having a raffle for Easter and creating tiger T-shirts. In addition to this, Molly has also sacrificed receiving birthday presents, instead requesting that friends and family make donations to the fund.

"Molly has always been passionate about animals and wildlife," says Molly's mum, Melinda. "From a very young age she has rescued animals that need help including a Tawny Frogmouth, cockatoo and many brush turkeys. We call her the bird whisperer as she can get any wild bird to sit happily on her arm and will spend hours with them. As the years went on we started seeing the passion develop even more and now that she is old enough to make a difference she has embraced it and will do whatever she can."

Molly participates in many conservation projects also and has been involved in planting native trees in the local area to help the yellow-bellied gliders and swift parrots. Her dedication to taking care of the environment and being a champion for the plight of wildlife is something that she takes seriously and she regularly encourages her friends to do the same. Molly's commitment to what she believes in has significantly changed the way her family live as they refuse to use single-use plastic products and now have eco-friendly options like stainless steel straws, Keep Cups and beeswax wraps. Each year Molly makes pouches in her own time for the baby animals at the Australian Reptile Park and has donated over 50 of them so far. Molly even collects old mobile phones off friends and family and sends them to be recycled to help save the gorillas, by stopping the mining for the minerals used in the manufacturing process that destroys their habitats.

Molly has aspirations to visit primary schools and educate children on the importance of the environment and conservation, as she believes we need to get to them while they are young and care about these issues.

Molly and her family will be travelling to Brisbane to attend the Steve Irwin Gala Dinner, on November 10, where she honoured with the award by Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin. The team at Australia Zoo told Melinda that Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin personally picked Molly for this award and that she has been a stand out individual amongst the Wildlife Warrior group. Molly has managed to raise an incredible $2904.34 (and counting!) placing her as the second highest fundraiser for Wildlife Warriors in the world. www.2018.everydayhero.com/au/molly

"We are both incredibly proud of her achievements and the beautiful young lady she is growing into," says Melinda.

What an exciting time for Molly and her proud family!

The presentation was extremely engaging, helping consolidate the study we have already done. The presenter Shane, from WWI Living History, created an exciting hands-on approach which included discussion of artifacts, personal stories of soldiers' experiences and even dress-up! Students were given the opportunity to handle equipment such as training rifles, grenades, shrapnel and other tools (all safe, of course). What a great way to learn about frontline trench life!

Student comments included "Wow, that was so great to be able to touch things from the war", "The presenter was so good", "really interesting", "great fun".

There is no need to book, parents can just attend with their child who is due for a catch-up vaccination.

Dates and Venues:

9th November 2018 - 3:00pm to 5.00pm at Erina Community Health Centre,

169 The Entrance Road, ERINA, NSW, 2250

15th November 2018 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm at Erina Community Health Centre,

169 The Entrance Road, ERINA, NSW, 2250

21st November 2018 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm at Long Jetty Community Health Centre,

64 Wyong Road, KILLARNEY VALE, NSW, 2261

22nd November 2018 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm at Lake Haven Community Health Centre,

3 Stratford Avenue, LAKEHAVEN, NSW, 2263

We appreciate your assistance and ask for the opportunity to promote parental awareness of these additional opportunities for catch-up Immunisations by adding this information in your school newsletter or sending a message home to parents.

Any queries from parents regarding catch-up of missed vaccinations can be directed to the Public Health Unit on 4320 9730.