From The Principal and the Leadership Team
From the Acting Principal’s Desk
There are some exciting events and important reminders happening around the school that I’d like to share with you.
Year 5 and 6 Bible Study Breakfast
Our ‘Year 5 and 6 Student Bible Study and Breakfast’ is an event that holds great value in our Clubs and Christian Ministry Program. The first gathering for the year took place this morning at 7:45am. We are grateful to Miss Alexander and Mrs Gonzalez, who will be leading the study group along with Chaplain Rev Andrew Goddard, Assistant Minister – Youth and Evangelism from St Luke’s Anglican Church, Clovelly. We look forward to many more mornings of learning and fellowship this year. If you have a child in Year 5 or 6, please encourage them to join us at our next gathering, which will be held each fortnight. Please ensure that your child/ren are dropped off at the Coogee Bay Rd gate no earlier than 7:45am.
Good Luck IPSHA Swim Team
Our school’s IPSHA Swim Team will be participating in the Annual IPSHA Swimming Carnival on Tuesday. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our swimmers the very best of luck as they represent our school. We are so proud of their hard work and dedication and I look forward to supporting our competitors on the day.
Reminder – Pupil Free Day – Monday 10 March
Please remember that our Annual Pupil Free Day is just under two weeks away. This day allows our staff to participate in mandatory training and other professional learning opportunities, ensuring we continue to grow as a team. TeamKids will operate a program on the day if you wish to make arrangements for your child.
School Tours – Spread the Word
We are excited to invite families who are interested in enrolling their child at Claremont to our upcoming School Tours. These tours will provide a wonderful opportunity for families to see what makes our school such a special place for learning and growth. We encourage all current parents to share this invitation with their friends and family who may be interested.
Date: Thursday 6 March 2025
Times: 9:00am – 10:30am & 4:00pm – 5:30pm
For more details, CLICK HERE.
New Website Launch on Tuesday
Our new website will be launched next Tuesday, and our new newsletter format will begin next Friday. We hope that you find these versions much more user-friendly, and we encourage you to share your thoughts, both positive and constructive, with us so that we can continue to fine-tune these two important methods of communication with you and the wider community.
Thank you to the Kindy Team
Thank you to the Kindy Team, who this week, helped to prepare Kindy parents for the extremely important task of helping their child to read. Miss Carter, Mrs Gonzalez and Mrs Breakspear, your dedication to the students is exceptional.
Year 5 Games and Pizza Afternoon
Thank you also to the team of staff who contributed to the Year 5 Games and Pizza afternoon last week. The afternoon was a great success and a celebration of the beginning of Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6) for the students. For further details, see the Year 5 section below.
Chapel 2025 Theme Overview
We are excited to share with you the themes for Chapel this year.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Term 1: Love
Term 2: Hope
Term 3: Faith
Term 4: Stories Jesus Told & Christmas
May these words guide us in all that we do and help us build a community where faith, hope and love are lived out each day. We look forward to seeing all the wonderful things that will unfold in Chapel 2025 and beyond.
May you all have a wonderful weekend, and thank you for your continued support of our school.
Mrs Larissa Cameron
Acting Principal
Follow Us
Website: www.claremont.nsw.edu.au
Instagram: @claremontcollege
Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/school/cla…
Goal Setting Meetings, Years 1-6
Year 1 to 6 parents can book their meetings and complete each year group’s questionnaire through the access links below.
Parents will have a choice of joining their meeting in person, via Zoom or by phone. If your meeting is in class time, your child will be in the meeting alongside the teacher. If your meeting is outside of school time, we ask that your child be sitting alongside you during the meeting.
All Year 1 to 6 parents are required to complete a questionnaire alongside their child/ren, at least 24 hours before the day of your meeting, as the contents of this questionnaire will guide the discussion during the meeting.
If you have a child on an IP (Individual Program), you will already have had your first IP meeting for 2025, so attending a Goal Setting meeting is optional. However, we would still like you to complete the survey with your child.
Year 1
Questionnaire
Meeting Times
Year 2
Questionnaire
Meeting Times
Year 3
Questionnaire
Meeting Times
Year 4
Questionnaire
Meeting Times
Year 5
Questionnaire
Meeting Times
Year 6
Questionnaire
Meeting Times
The meeting dates for each Go-To teacher are as follows.
Janelle Ford
Deputy Principal, Academic Excellence, Innovation & Pedagogy
Positive Behaviours @ Claremont
“Leave No Trace”
This Sunday marks Clean Up Australia Day, a perfect reminder to practice our school rule: “Leave No Trace.” By cleaning up after ourselves and taking care of our environment, we show respect for the world around us. Whether in the classroom or on the playground, let’s continue to keep our school clean, safe, and beautiful for everyone. Together, we can make a big difference!
Larissa Cameron
Acting Principal
Open Parachute
Teaching Empathy and Accountability
Empathy is a key ingredient for successful relationships at any age and we know that positive relationships are essential for our overall wellbeing. Understanding that behaviour and actions come from our own experiences and emotions means we are more likely to own actions whilst showing greater empathy and compassion to others. In this lesson, parents learn how to teach children about the relationship between thoughts, feelings and actions to increase the child’s understanding of the motivation behind their own actions and the actions of others. The lesson helps us to understand the importance of separating the person from their behaviour. There are self-reflection exercises for both parents and their children. Consideration is also given to the impact of the fight/flight survival response on behaviour and offers suggestions on helpful ways parents can respond to their child’s behaviour.
Click here for the lesson: Teaching Empathy and Accountability
Catherine McKersie
School Counsellor
Sibling Interviews Kindergarten 2026
Whilst we give priority to enrolments of siblings, placement can not be guaranteed. If you have a child due to begin school in 2026, please ensure that your application form is lodged. The online enrolment application can be found under the enrolment tab on our website and linked here. Additional references are not required for sibling applications.
Should you have any questions or require confirmation that an application has been submitted, please contact Mrs Rochester on 9399 3217 ext 2.
MindQuest 2025 – Enrichment Program for Gifted Students
📍 St George Girls High School, Kogarah
📅 Saturday 5 & Sunday 6 April 2025
St George Girls High School is offering its highly regarded MindQuest program for gifted and talented students in Years 1 to 6 on Saturday, 5, and Sunday, 6 April.
This exciting program provides stimulating courses designed to challenge and inspire young learners. The course fee is $250; a complete list of available classes can be found on the MindQuest website. If you are interested in registering your child or want more information, brochures are available from the Claremont office.
⏳ Registration closes on Friday 14 March 2025.
Renee De Rossi
Head of Inclusive Learning
Upcoming Events
The following events require your attention
Year 6 – Canberra 3 Day Excursion
Year 6 – Young Leaders Day Excursion
Important Dates for Term 1 and Key Dates for 2025
Key Dates Calendar as of 28 February 2025
* New Dates Added for Term 2
Around the School
Merit Assembly
Congratulations to the following students who received a Gold Certificate or Pennant at Monday’s Merit Assembly.
Gold Certificate
Year 2 – Adrian C
Year 3 – Claire L
Year 4 – Evelyn H, Jett I, Kei M
Year 6 – Charlotte L
Pennant
Year 3 – Niki P
Year 4 – Ethan S
Year 6 – Wilson W
Swimming Age Champions
Also, congratulations to the students who were presented with their Swimming Age Champion medals on Monday
Home Learning and Spelling Mastery
HOME LEARNING POLICY AT CLAREMONT
This week, we are sharing our Home Learning Policy with you. This includes:
- Why Home Learning?
- The Case for Home Learning
- The Case Against Home Learning
- Time Spent on Home Learning
- Parental Involvement in Home Learning
- The focus of Home Learning at Claremont College, where you will find a brief overview of what to expect each week, and
- Resources.
Spelling Mastery (Years 3-6)
Mrs Eu and the Primary Teachers have also created a document to explain the Home Learning for Spelling Mastery (Years 3-6), along with some activities that will help parents to support their child at home.
Claremont College Home Learning Policy is attached here.
Spelling Mastery (Years 3-6) is attached here.
Janelle Ford
Deputy Principal
Academic Excellence, Innovation & Pedagogy
Kindergarten
Click HERE for Kindergarten News Term 1 Week 5.
Click below to view a recording of the Parent Information session.
Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2
The children in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 are very excited to welcome their grandparents and/or special friends to the school on Tuesday, 25 March. This is a truly special occasion where our students can share the joy of their school life with the people who mean so much to them.
CLICK HERE for more information.
CLICK HERE for the Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day Invitation.
Year 6
CLICK HERE for the Year 6 – 3 Day Excursion to Canberra Event Note
Excel Magazine: Empowering Young Minds Through Creativity and Collaboration
Dear Parents,
We are the students of Excelsior II, a vibrant enrichment class of twenty Year 5 and 6 students. This term, we are embarking on an exciting project—creating Excel, a magazine designed by students for students in Years 3 to 6 at Claremont College. Our goal is to inspire, inform, and connect our school community through engaging and creative content.
To bring this vision to life, we are seeking support from businesses within our school community. Your contribution will help fund the professional publishing of Excel, ensuring it reaches and enriches as many students as possible. In return, we offer an opportunity to advertise in our magazine, with a minimum contribution of $100. We kindly ask for a clear advertisement in PDF format.
If you or someone you know would like to be part of this collaborative initiative, please contact Ms De Rossi at [email protected], who will be our communication representative.
Thank you for being part of this journey. With your support, we can foster creativity, celebrate innovation, and strengthen the spirit of our school community.
Warm regards,
Dylan Adonis and Lennox Ryan
Co-publishers of Excel
Inter-School Chess Competition
This term, we have an opportunity to take a team of up to 15 Primary students to an inter-school chess competition at Rose Bay Secondary College in Dover Heights.
As the competition is in school time, on 1 April 25, we will organise a school bus to take us to and from the event. Therefore, the cost of the day will be the $20/student entry fee plus the cost of the bus. I will be able to confirm these details once I have the numbers.
At this stage, we are asking for nominations from students who are reasonably confident chess players. If more than 15 people express their interest, we will have a knockout competition at school to decide on the final 15.
Please nominate your child here before Friday, 7 March 2025.
Further details are attached here.
Janelle Ford
Deputy Principal
Academic Excellence, Innovation and Pedagogy
Chapel @ Claremont
Today in Chapel, we continued to learn more about our Term 1 theme, ‘Love’. Here is our message to the students this week.
It’s much easier to love people who are in our family or our grade or who we already know. But when someone (a lawyer) asked Jesus what is God’s standard of love to inherit eternal life, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). People don’t normally notice that the robbers in the story took the man’s clothes, but this detail meant that none of the people who walked past the beaten man could tell which group or culture he belonged to.
“Was he a fellow countryman? Does he live on my street? Is he a member of my ‘tribe’? I have no idea who this person is! Best to keep walking…” they thought.
The Samaritan was the only one who stopped because the man was simply a fellow human, and that alone was enough to care for him. And he really invested his money too – he gave two full days wages to the innkeeper to look after him, and promised to pay any other expense incurred. How much money is two full days in your situation? It can be difficult to give money away to people we know, but how much harder is it to give to people in need who we don’t know?
Jesus sums up at the end:
10:36 “Which of these was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
10:37 The lawyer replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
John Bartik
Chapel Coordinator
Library @ Claremont
Premier’s Reading Challenge 2025
The Premier’s Reading Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge for each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. The Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) is open to all NSW students in Kindergarten to Year 10, in government, independent, Catholic and home schools. It is not compulsory but many students at Claremont do enjoy completing the challenge every year. Please encourage your child to enter the competition this year. I have already handed out reading log sheets to those students who are keen to complete the challenge. I have advised them to keep the log sheets in their library bags and, once they have finished the Challenge to simply log on at home. On completion of the Challenge, students are awarded Challenge completion certificates at our school assembly.
All students at the school will be provided with their login details in the next week. It would be helpful to keep these details in a safe place at home, as they will keep the same PRC login details from Kindergarten to Year 6.
In the school library I have developed a designated area for PRC books and each book has the appropriate PRC label. Participating students are encouraged to borrow books from this section and to also visit public libraries.
Tips
- A personal reading log can be printed for students to record books read.
- Booklists can be accessed from the PRC site.
- Helpful tips for parents can be accessed from the tips and teaching notes section.
Rules
Students can now include up to 10 choice books on their reading record, and can count 5 books from an approved series as PRC books. Please refer to the rules page for more information about the 2025 PRC rules.
The following is a guide to the number of books that must be read to complete the challenge.
2025 Challenge Dates
Challenge opened: Monday, 24 February 2025
Challenge closes for student entries: Friday, 22 August 2025
Please note that if you complete your online Student Reading Record by 22 August 2025, and it is validated by the school by 5 September, you will be eligible for a PRC certificate in Term 4.
For further information, please visit the PRC website below:
https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html
Mrs Susan Kesur
Librarian
Sport @ Claremont
Key Dates
Important Dates for Term 1, 2025
K-6 Sport
Wednesday 29 January – 9 April
IPSHA Swimming Carnival
Tuesday 4 March
AFL 5-6 Gala Day
Thursday 27 March
IPSHA Cross Country Carnival
Wednesday 2 April
P&F Colour Fun Run
Wednesday 9 April
AFL Paul Kelly Cup Gala Day – New Date
The Paul Kelly Cup 5 /6 Gala Day that was advertised will be held on Wednesday 5 March at Queens Park has been postponed. Unfortunately the new date clashes with our pupil-free day.
We will now be entering the North Shore Gala Day on Thursday 27 March instead. The format of the day is still identical and consists of a number of games of AFL against teams from other schools played on small fields with modified rules to make it more accessible to all participants. It is a fun-filled day and a great opportunity to develop some more skills and interest in AFL. Students do not need to have prior experience playing AFL to participate.
Students in Year 5/6 were given the opportunity to sign up with Mr Geering last week and those students and parents will be provided with further information.
Claremont Champions
Congratulations to Finlay P (Year 6) who continues to develop as an all-round athlete and has now qualified for the State Athletics Championships next month in 5 individual events, including throwing, jumping and pole vault.
Even more impressive is he has prequalified for the National Athletic Championships in Perth in April.
Wishing Finn all the best as he takes on the top kids in Australia.
Mr Joel Geering
Head of Sport and PDHPE
P&F News
Colour Fun Run 2025
The P&F are excited to announce that we will be holding a Colour Fun Run on Wednesday, 9th April. The event will take place during school hours at Grant Reserve, Coogee, and parents are encouraged to come along and cheer on the children.
The Fun Run will be our major fundraising event for the year, so mark your diaries and keep an eye out for more details in the coming weeks!
Morgan Ryan
P&F President
General Information
Canteen
Ordering
Orders can be placed for both recess and lunch through an online ordering system called Flexischools (www.flexischools.com.au). You can also download the app and order from any smartphone or tablet device. Orders are required to be placed by 8:30am on the day the order is required, however, you can place orders up to four weeks in advance.
If you have any concerns with your orders or would like to discuss anything with the canteen staff, please feel free to email us at [email protected]
TeamKids
Click HERE to read the TeamKids Term 1 Week 5 Newsletter
Bookings
A reminder for ALL families to book and verify their bookings for Term 1. Also, if your child is away or will not be attending a pre-booked session, please assist by contacting Customer Service to cancel your booking on the day. Please note that this impacts the service’s staffing for each session.
Please visit www.teamkids.com.au to secure your spot! or call Customer Service on 1300 035 000.
Uniform Shop
The Uniform Shop is run by Ranier on the school premises during school terms on the following days:
Monday: 2:30pm – 5:30pm
Wednesday: 8:00am – 11:00am
Methods of Payment: Cash, EFTPOS, MasterCard and Visa
For new students, fittings are by appointment. Simply book online at ww.shop.ranier.com.au
The Uniform Shop is located within the main body of the School. Please access the Uniform Shop via Coogee Bay Road lower side gate.
Contact
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 9213 0720
Responses will be provided during opening hours.
Note: The website can answer most of your questions at www.shop.ranier.com.au
For more immediate assistance, head office details are:
Online: ranier.com.au/contact
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 02 8337 7290
Community Announcements
Running for Premmies – City2Surf 2025
Claremont College has received an invitation from Sophie Smith, the founder of the charity Running for Premature Babies, to put together a team to run in this year’s City2Surf on 10 August.
Sophie founded the charity after losing all three of her prematurely born triplets in 2006, directly benefiting over 9000 sick and premature babies. The vehicle for fundraising is running. The charity inspires people to take on running challenges, either in mass participation running events around Australia or by joining our virtual ‘Premmie Marathon Challenge’ each November.
Last year hundreds of students, teachers and parents from 8 Sydney schools took part, including Waverley College (Junior school and high school), Ascham (Junior and high school) and Emanuel, raising $150,000 towards a specialised neonatal ambulance that will be used to transfer critically ill and premature babies from regional and remote hospitals to Sydney for Neonatal Intensive Care. This ambulance will make such a massive difference to so many families, giving sick and premature babies a better chance of survival!
You can find out more on her website here. Each school taking part has its own team page in their school’s name, and participants from your school community then join this team when registering for the City2Surf. Everyone receives a free tee shirt, and while fundraising is optional, anyone who raises $300 can have their race entry fee refunded!
As part of Running for Premature Babies it’s an extra special and fun day out, with the charity hosting all participants at their hospitality tent at the finish line where everyone can meet up and celebrate their achievements, while knowing their efforts will be saving the lives of sick and premature babies.
You can find out more about Sophie’s story here, or watch this short video.
