Class News

Kindergarten News

Term Four has been such an exciting term for the Kindergarten children. The theme of God’s Creation was continued by exploring oceans and sea creatures. We believe that the environment is the third teacher that facilitates our learning, therefore we transformed our classrooms into an underwater ocean environment. In the area of Science, the children researched and created sea creatures to add to the environment to bring meaning and purpose to our learning. The children’s interest led them to investigate rocks, sticks, sand and water, and explore how their properties affect objects that are found in the ocean.

Some of the wonder questions we focused on are:

• I wonder which of God’s creatures live in the ocean?
• I wonder what things can float/sink in water?
• I wonder what God wants us to do to look after His world?
• I wonder why God made rocks, sand and sticks?

In the area of Religion, we focused on two Bible stories, ‘Jonah and the Whale’ and ‘The Five Loaves and Two Fish’. The children learnt valuable lessons about how we share with each other and more importantly how Jesus showed his love for all people when he fed the thousands. Bible stories allow us to learn through the actions of Jesus. They teach us how to live by his example.

In the area of Literacy, we have continued to explore sounds and link them to words we are familiar with. We focused on a letter each day which has inspired our eager and ready learners to write independently about their pictures and experiences. The writing table has become a busy place buzzing with enthusiastic writers.

The children’s creative expression was a large focus this term. They were expected to create their own story, which were scribed by adults, using the element of magic and surprise. These amazing stories have been published and included in their portfolios.

To enhance oral language skills, the children were given the opportunity to bring home a cuddly puppet to share some special time with them.  The children thoroughly enjoyed spending the time with our special cuddly friends. They reported back to their peers in the form of news time and a journal entry, outlining the amazing things they did together.

In Mathematics this term we focused on numbers in our world, which included counting and number recognition to ten and beyond. The children had to explore the environment around them to find out what role numbers play in everyday life. They found numbers on letterboxes, clocks, phones, alarm codes, number plates, buses, trains and more. This allowed them to understand how numbers impact everything we do in life. The children also developed an awareness of two and three-dimensional shapes through play in the construction area and explored position, location and orientation. 

As we are come to the end of the term, our focus is on the birth of Jesus and the miraculous events that unfolded that special Christmas night. The children have enjoyed re-enacting the nativity in our role play area and representing the story through different mediums such plasticine, drawing, collage and construction. On Wednesday we celebrated our Kindergarten Christmas concert, in which the children performed a melody of modern and traditional Christmas songs which was enjoyed by all. Their dance moves were amazing! The concert was followed by a shared lunch with the parents which enhanced the partnership we nurture here at Infant Jesus School. Thank you to all our supportive parents who have taken the time to share in their child’s learning in Kindergarten this year.

Lastly, we have talked a lot about growing up and changing. The children have explored what they want to be when they grow up, they have also realised how much they have grown up in the last year. We discussed the things they can do now that they were not able to do when they started Kindergarten in February. The children had their orientation into to Pre-Primary this week and the teachers were impressed with their enthusiastic ideas. We are so proud of the Kindergarten children, their love of learning and their inspiring minds that never cease to amaze us. We will miss them dearly next year, but realise they are only next door.

China News

There was some exciting mail delivered to Infant Jesus School this week as we received a package of letters from the Year Three students of ChangJiang Experimental School, Hangzhou. In Term Three the Infant Jesus Year Three students wrote to the children of our Sister School explaining what life was like in Australia as well as asking about schooling in China. Our sister school sent replies in Mandarin as well as English. Our Year Threes were ecstatic to read all about the Chinese children’s likes and dislikes as well as about their family life. The children were amazed at the similarities between their lives and marveled at the different foods that some of the children in China like!

iHour

On Monday morning, November 26th, all students who had participated in iHour for Term Four were given the chance to present their innovative solutions for various problems in the world in front of their peers and parents. Well done to all Term Four iHour students for working together so well to produce your wonderful ideas!

Year Four
Sam, Amber, Ava, Estelle and Jayden
Lock Out: An easy to use, improved home security range.

Minh Thu, Gabby, Meghan, Trian and Jai
iTutor: An app to help students with homework in the comfort of their home.

Year Five
Don, Lydia S, Lia, Leo, Julian and Maddison M
EnviroBin: A range of fun and interactive bins to entice people to recycle.

Justin, Eva, Chloe, Jenna, Marie and Alissa
Smart Car: A new device to attach to your car to make it safer – perfect for beginner drivers!

Year Six
Xanthia, Maria, Daniella, Tenielle, Natalia and Gabby
TeamTogether: Keep your friends close after graduation with this helpful app.

Noah, Taig, Kevin, Bella, Declan McNamee and Emily
Ocean Clean: A vacuum style bin that keeps our oceans clean and sea life safe.

Choir News

Last Friday, the Infant Jesus School Choir visited the RoseMount Retirement Village in Dianella to sing a selection of Christmas carols for the residents. We entered the village to an eagerly awaiting audience and were given a very warm welcome by the residents and carers. The Choir sang beautifully and joyously and our audience even joined us in song for some of the well-known carols.

This performance excursion was a wonderful way for the students to give back to the wider community and share the joy of music and the Christmas spirit with the elderly community. There was an opportunity for the students to interact with the residents after the performance, and the students really showed their generosity of spirit by chatting with all the RoseMount residents. A special mention goes to Erin D’Silva who demonstrated her servant’s heart and Christian leadership, by taking the time to speak to every single member of the audience after the concert. Erin you are a gem!

This was an enriching experience for the children, who had a lot of fun and embraced the opportunity to share their gifts, the love of music and Christmas cheer with the residents. The children were kindly treated with a juice box and Freddo frog after the concert, and both the residents and students eagerly asked me at the end of the excursion if “we could please come back again next year!”

Miss Claire Condipodero
Music Teacher

Congratulations

Emma Pham (6B) has been awarded a full Music Scholarship to study Piano at Chisholm College for Years 7-12.  Well done Emma.