Class News

Kindy News

There is a real buzz of excitement in the room at the moment, as the Kindy children have returned with a real sense of wonder about the garden in the indoor and outdoor areas. We are looking forward to sharing some memorable learning experiences with the children this term.

Our theme this term is ‘How God created the world we live in’. The Creation story in the Bible outlines all the aspects we will explore; for example, plants, animals of the land and sea, and how we all interact and live together in harmony. We will also try to develop wonder to show how amazing God is, to create such interesting and beautiful creatures.

Within the theme of Creation, we will expose the children to natural and constructed elements in our outdoor area. We will collect items and use the iPad to take photos of our observations and then sort them accordingly. We will also investigate ways of caring for and sustaining our environment.

Extending from the Creation Story the children will explore the following themes more deeply. Firstly, ‘Farm Animals’ will involve a visit from the Swan Valley Cuddly Farm so that the children can interact with the animals and discover the needs of animals. Secondly, the growing of plants and the investigation of the relationship between bugs, insects and plants and what is needed for all to survive. We have developed the following wonder questions to enhance these themes.

– I wonder why God made these creatures with different bodies?
– I wonder what plants and animals need to grow?
– I wonder what these animals eat?
– I wonder where these animals live?

In the area of English, the children will be encouraged to write for different purposes. For example, children are expected to write their names on all pieces of work. They will also be given opportunities to recount stories and life events and are encouraged to write letters to their friends. All attempts to write are praised and cherished so that children feel relaxed and confident in their attempts to write. Children are always encouraged to “have-a-go” at writing every day.

The children will also continue to practise rhyming in play-based activities. They will focus on identifying initial sounds in familiar words, such as their names and other words for example; days of the week, names of animals. Oral language skills are important at this age and increase the children’s confidence when speaking to the class and recounting events. To enhance speaking skills, every Monday and Wednesday afternoon, two children will be take home ‘The Surprise Bag’. Children choose an item from home and think of three clues to share with the class the next day. The children in the class will then need to ask questions and predict what the item is. The children will be helped and guided as needed as this experience supports them to develop their oral language and processing skills.

In Maths this term, we will continue to explore and extend number knowledge by recalling the missing number from a 1 – 10 (and beyond) number line and by identifing and comparing collections of objects and describing if there are ‘more’, ‘less’, ‘the same’ or ‘not the same’. To develop our spacial awareness, we will explore positional language using the book ‘Rosie’s Walk’.

In our Science program, we will integrate measurement by comparing the heights of the plants grown in class. We will continue to use our iPads to enhance our learning by using a variety of apps and the camera to take photos to record observations.

We are excited about the term ahead with all that it will bring to the children’s learning.

Student Ministry News

Public Relations News

On Friday 20 July the Opening Mass for the Performing Arts Festival for Catholic Schools was celebrated at the Infant Jesus Church. Two Year Six Leaders represented Infant Jesus School at the Mass. There were about 70 other Catholic schools represented at the Mass.

At the beginning of the Mass, to acknowledge all Catholic schools, students processed into the Church carrying their school flags.

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe was the main celebrant and during the Mass he talked about the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, how we use these gifts and why we should be thankful to God for these gifts. He also highlighted how some of these gifts are also shared throughout the Performing Arts Festival which is held during the next five weeks.
At the end of the Mass a special morning tea was provided for everyone.

Interschool Cross Country

This week our Interschool Cross Country Squad travelled to compete against fifteen other schools in our region. Each child represented the school with pride and they should all be commended for their efforts. Students will be given their race time in the coming few days and can see whether they achieved a personal best time! It was a great overall effort and the results will be available for the next newsletter.

A special thank you must go to Mrs Tan and Mrs Notte who volunteered their time to be the finish line judges for the whole day. Well done to all of the runners.

Miss Witkowski

Book Week

Each year, across Australia, The CBCA (Children’s Book Council of Australia) brings children and books together celebrating Children’s Book Week, the 2018 theme is “Find Your Treasure”.  Books are judged in four categories which are Early Childhood, Younger Readers, Older Readers and Picture Books, some of these books are on display in our Library.

To help celebrate Book Week all children are invited to dress up as their favourite character from a Book for the Assembly.  A “Dress Up Pass” needs to be filled in and placed in the correct box in the Library.  A “Dress Up Pass” will be sent home, these passes are to be returned to the Library and will be placed into a raffle draw.

Book Week Celebrations:

Book Week Assembly            Wednesday 8th August

Book Fair                                14  August – 16 August

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8.00am to 8.30am &  3.00pm to 3.30pm

EFTPOS  Available excluding American Express and Diners Club

Book Week Competitions:

Guess the Teacher?

How many books in Mrs Houwen’s treasure chest?

Dress -Up Pass Raffle Draw