Myrniong and ELC

Week Ahead

Monday 3 February- Intensive Swimming (No Monday Assembly)

Tuesday 4 February  - Intensive Swimming

Wednesday 5 February - Intensive Swimming

Thursday 6 February - Intensive Swimming

Friday 7 February - Intensive Swimming, Welcome drinks at MYPEC (Senior Campus) at 6.00 pm

2020 New Students and Staff

Welcome back to in our Junior School learning community.  I trust the holidays treated you well and there were many days of nothing to do and all day to do it!  Happy New Year and wishing you all a fabulous trip around the sun in 2020.

We welcome 16 new students to Myrniong:

Prep - Euan Baulch, Hugh Cain and George McDonald

Year Two - Fred Nagorcka and Mi-ha Kim

Year Three - Samuel McDonald, Jessica Templeton and Hannah Young

Year Four - Harry McDonald

Year Five - Tom Nagorcka, Edward Mahar, Will Templeton and Archie Young

Year Six- William Balkin, Taylor Haley and Angus Heazlewood

We start the year with two Year Five classes and across the Junior school, our average class size is 16 students; a wonderful student/teacher ratio.

We also welcome the following new staff to the Junior School;

Ms Callena Vaughan to Chinese

Mrs Lisa McDonald to Music

Mrs Peta Alexander to Year One

Ms Angel Weisbach to Piccino Chinese

Student Diaries and Curriculum Delivery Changes

This year we have moved to new student diaries at the Junior School. Working with the company ‘The Learning Curve’, we have designed a ‘Prep to Year Two’ and ‘Year Three to Year Six’ diary for 2020. The diaries have a positive education focus. They delve into aspects of mindfulness, goal setting and character strengths. Classroom teachers will still use the diaries as a communication tool. The first ten pages of the diaries have information relating specifically to Junior School routines and expectations. I thank Mrs Bernadette Milich, Mrs Sharon Kelly and Mrs Natalie Povey for their work in putting the content of the diaries together. The front cover features a piece of artwork from Year One student Matilda Mercer.

This year we introduce three new teaching and learning platforms to the Junior School.

1. All students in Prep to Year Six classes will be using ‘Mathletics’ in their classroom Mathematics programs. This platform will also be a feature of Year Three to Six home learning.
2. Students in Year Three and Year Five will be trialing ‘Littlescribes’, a writing program allowing students to work with guest authors to produce digital and handwritten books to share with audiences.  
3. Across the Junior School, we have moved to ‘SMART Spelling’ as our preferred Spelling program. In a SMART Spelling classroom, students are explicitly taught spelling patterns, one at a time.  Teachers choose a range of words (from simple to complex) from a suggested list.  Students are then guided to choose from that list, to meet different needs.  Personal words are also a focus in SMART Spelling.  Teachers use their strong professional knowledge they gain in the SMART Spelling professional learning course to give meaningful feedback to students about their spelling in writing, teaching at the point of need.

Intensive Swimming Program

During Weeks Two and Three, all students in Prep to Year Six will participate in an ‘Intensive Swimming’ program.  From Monday 3rd to Thursday 6th February, we will venture to the Hamilton Outdoor Pool for 30 minute swim sessions. These will run from 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm.  From Friday 7th to Thursday 13th February, all students will travel to the Hamilton Indoor Pool from 12.00 pm to 2.00 pm for 30 minute swim sessions. On Friday, 14th February, our House Swimming will be held at the Hamilton Outdoor Pool.  Students are requested to wear their College navy blue bathers under their P.E. uniform for the two weeks. They are to bring towels, goggles (optional), underwear and a plastic bag for wet clothes. Thongs and slides are not part of the school uniform and cannot be worn to and from the pool.   Lunch orders will not be available during these two weeks.

Mr Stephen Nelson

Head of Junior School