Class News

Pre-Primary Class News

The students have had a very productive term building on a number of skills and concepts through many play-based learning experiences. The children have been interested in many of the different types of animals they have seen throughout our books, so therefore we have integrated this theme into our learning.

In Religious Education, the Pre-Primary students participated in tasks and activities to help them understand that not only do they belong to a loving and caring family, but so does Jesus. They discussed times when they didn’t show their love towards their families and when they have needed to say sorry. Students have come to realise how clever God must be to have given them bodies that can do so many extraordinary things and how they too can use their bodies to show love as Jesus did, for example, helping someone up if they have fallen over.

The children have continued to be immersed in literacy tasks that have helped them to become motivated readers and writers. They have enjoyed reading various informative and imaginative big books about animals and then including some learnt facts into their writing. This term has seen the introduction of reading books to take home, and it has been fantastic to see the students excited about choosing a book and having the opportunity to share the reading of this book with their family.  The children have continued participating in the Sound Waves phonics program, where they are consolidating their understanding of letters and sounds as well as being introduced to digraphs and common high frequency words. This has assisted them with their reading and writing.

In Mathematics, the students have continued to astound us with their ability to formulate and read some very complex patterns. They have been working hard to form numbers correctly and recognize the number words from one to ten. The students have also been exposed to the concept of addition and have discussed and used different strategies to assist them in getting the correct answer. This week we will be exploring subtraction, using a number of concrete materials and some interesting number stories.

The students have been thoroughly engaged in learning about the Past and the Present in Humanities and Social Sciences. They have been intrigued to see the way people lived in the past and how there have been many changes in what we wear, the toys we play with, the way we communicate, the houses we live in and the transport that was used. The students were particularly fascinated with the historic objects that their peers brought to class that had significant value to their families. They were very enthusiastic about sharing the information and we learnt so much about their families’ past.

In Health we focused on Protective Behaviours and have explored our many different feelings and how we have the right to always feel safe. We discussed how our bodies give us clues when we are feeling scared or unsafe and we represented these ‘Early Warning Signs’, on an outline of a student; for example, shaking, sweaty palms or our heart racing. We also looked at the difference between being scared in a fun way (going on a fast ride at the fair) or being scared in an unpleasant way (being lost at a shopping centre) and the strategies we can use to help us feel safe again. This led us to a very important conversation about the difference between a safe secret and an unsafe secret and that we don’t ever keep unsafe secrets, we always tell someone.

This term in Science, the students have been learning about movement in the world and the universe. Movement and change are concepts that we need to understand to make sense of the world around us. Movement is dependent on a variety of factors, for example, the size and shapes of objects enable them to move faster or slower or not at all. The students have been involved in a number of hands on activities to explore this concept using their observational skills and then reflecting on their learning.

In Sport with Miss Witkowski, the Pre-Primary students have been preparing for the Athletics Carnival. They have been practising their sprints and team games including Hopper Race, Sack Race, and Bean Bag Relay. They have also been continuing to develop fundamental movement skills such as skipping and kicking through mini station activities.

In Music, Miss Condipodero has been teaching the students a wide repertoire of songs and music games in order to develop pitch and intonation and gain confidence in using their singing voices. They are learning about beat and known rhythms through movement, songs, body percussion, improvisation and play, and listening and responding activities.  Ostinato through body percussion and movement, has been a focus and the students are building on their knowledge of the elements of music – particularly tempo and dynamics, and how these are used in music to tell a story, create meaning and expression.

In Technology, Miss Phoebe has continued our in-class investigations and research about different types of animals and their characteristics. Students have learnt about the animals physical features and what they needed to survive in their natural habitats. They followed the design process to research, design and create an animal and the habitat they come from. The students produced a diorama of a habitat to present their findings.

On 20 August the Pre-Primary children trooped off to Pre-Kindy to see the wildlife animals that the presenters from Animal Ark had brought along. David and Keely were very informative and the children learnt many interesting facts about snakes, lizards and frogs. The children were put into three groups and each group had different animals to hold and touch. Most of the children were comfortable having a small python put around their neck, where they observed its physical features and movements. A friendly blue-tongue lizard was kind enough to let us touch it and the shiny green frog had a great time nestled in our hands. We were a little worried the ten-year-old frog was going to jump away but to our amazement, he decided to hang around. The snails enjoyed sliding along on their juicy lettuce leaves and we were very relieved that the red back spider was tucked away in his glass case, to be admired from afar.

The children were very careful when handling the animals and it was a fantastic incursion with lots of learning taken away by each of us.

Health News (Years 5 and 6)

Next Wednesday, 5 September, Years 5 and 6 children will be attending a First Aid Focus Program Incursion during their normal Health lessons.  This incursion is intended to engage the students in an enjoyable learning experience to learn the importance of first aid skills, appropriate to their age, with links to the curriculum.

There will be several topics covered during the sessions which include:

• Introduction and principles of first aid
• How to call for an ambulance
• Dealing with an unconscious casualty
• Management of external bleeding
• How to treat a burn

Please note that it will be a requirement for the girls to ensure that they bring along a pair of trackpants to wear during their session as they may be involved in experiences that will require them to lay on the floor.

Thank you for your support.
Kerry King (Health Specialist)

Pastoral Care Ministry News

Welcome, we are the new Pastoral Care ministry and we have been discussing ideas for our ministry. Some ideas we have are, a Telethon Fundraiser, Brother Ollie’s Ring Pulls and St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. These ideas will be put forward to Mr Hille.  More information to follow soon.

Thank you.
Pastoral Care Ministry

Guess the Weight Competition

Congratulations to the winners of the Year 4 competition ‘Guess the Weight’. These children showcased their awesome estimating skills when they compared items to a 25g weight and guessed their weight in grams. Our winners were: Giacomo 3B, Jobe PP, Tiana 1B, Maria 1W, Thy 1B and Amber 4B.