Learning and Teaching
LAMONT BOOK FAIR
A REALLY HUGE THANK YOU
TO THE SFS COMMUNITY!
YOU ARE AMAZING!
Thank you so very much to our families and community for your support of this week’s Lamont Book Fair. It was such a huge success and the amount raised was beyond Jasna’s and my expectations. Our total sales came to $3,282.50 – such a fantastic effort!
This resulted in our school receiving just under $1000 in commission back from Lamont which will be spent on new books for students to read. The Lamont Book Fair will be back later in the year with some more new and exciting books on offer.
We hope you enjoy the books/activity packs purchased and thank you once again, as without your support this would not be possible.
Jasna and Joanna
READING RESOURCES
Explore some of these resources over the holidays!!
While as adults we are becoming more and more accustomed to reading online, whether it be through a digital copy of the newspaper, e-books or accessing research hubs to gain information, the internet really is no substitute for that feeling you get when you hold a ‘real’ book in your hands or visit the library. This is still something precious that I hope children can continue to value and hold onto as our world becomes more and more digitilised.
However, in saying this there is no doubt that there are some wonderful reading resources that we can now access online and are available right at our fingertips –whenever and wherever- and this is something that we are fortunate to have. As a parent or carer, I think it is important that we try to strike a balance between both options and help our children see the purpose and value in them.
So, read on to find out what reading resources we provide for students at SFS – in terms of hard copies of books and digital resources – and as we begin our holidays you might like to explore some of these options and enter the wonderful world of books and all that they have to offer!!
Happy reading!!
Joanna
Learning & Teaching Leader (Literacy/Numeracy)
SFS Learning Space Library Hubs
At SFS, our students have access to a wide range of print and digital reading material, both for enjoyment and for the teaching of key reading skills and strategies. Each space is equipped with it’s own mini library which includes picture story books, chapter books, novels and non-fiction books. Junior and Senior children can borrow 2 to 3 books per week as well as Juniors taking home their nightly reader each day. So please make sure your child is borrowing each week, as sharing a library book together is a lovely experience for parents, carers and their children. Please see your child’s home group teacher next term if you have any questions about borrowing library books.
Local Library
If you haven't visited a library before with your child or it has been a while since you visited then I strongly encourage you to go down and visit your local library these holidays and become a member. Casey Cardinia libraries are situated throughout Hampton Park, Narre Warren and Cranbourne. They have so much to offer, not just in terms of books, but also the programs and experiences they provide for children throughout the term and school holidays.
Digital Resources
YEAR LEVELS: F –Year 3
Wushka can be accessed online by students from Foundation to Year 3. Student’s login details have been provided by teachers and can be found in your child’s diary. Wushka is an excellent online reading platform as the texts provided are specifically designed to enable children to practice their decoding strategies as well as their comprehension skills through the online quizes.
YEAR LEVELS: F –Year 6
We are delighted to let you know that our school subscription allows SFS students and their family access to Story Box Library online. Story Box Library is one of my personal favourites and I highly recommend it as it really celebrates a love for reading and storytelling.
Children can watch favorite stories, read aloud by fabulous storytellers, at home. Reading aloud to children, in particular by diverse and engaging storytellers, greatly improves language and literacy skills. There are also fabulous Home Activities which children can complete related to the books read. These are great and fun to do during the holidays.
To access Story Box Library at home:
1) Visit www.storyboxlibrary.com.au
2) Choose Log In from the top right corner of the screen
3) Log in using the username and password provided below:
Username: St Francis
Password: St Francis
4) Enjoy the library of stories on any device with internet connection
YEAR LEVELS: Years 3- 6
Epic is a digital reading platform that provides children with fun ways to engage with texts online to support their reading. Children have access to an amazing collection of texts across a range of genres.
Students can access all Epic books at school for FREE during school hours. At home, students can also access ONE BOOK FOR FREE PER DAY through Epic Basic.
Parents can do this by going to https://www.getepic.com/plans . Parents will be prompted with two options to select from – EPIC BASIC OR EPIC UNLIMITED. EPIC BASIC is the FREE OPTION and children have access to only ONE book after school hours.
EPIC UNLIMITED comes at a cost to parents and is a yearly subscription so we recommend Epic Basic. When you select Epic Basic you will need to enter an email address to create the home account.
Once this has been done, students can link their home account to their home group account and access epic using their class code. See below.
HOW TO LONG ON:
From a laptop/desktop computer:
Go to www.getepic.com/students
Enter class code: Teachers will provide this to students
Select student name
Start exploring and reading.
From a tablet:
Download the Epic Reading App
Tap on class code: Teachers will provide this to students
Select student name
Start exploring and reading.
LEARNING SPACE NEWS
During Term 1, the juniors in Learning Space 3 have been learning about the zones of regulation. They have learnt how each zone of regulation has different emotions and how they can get back to the Green Zone, which is where they are calm and work best. The students created a Green Zone Tool box, where they had to identify the strategies which helped them go back to the Green Zone.
SPORTS NEWS
SENIOR SPORTS
GRADE 3/4 GOLF CLINICS
We are very excited to announce that next term we have received funding from the Sporting Schools Program to run golf clinics for Grade 3/4. Linda and Kate will be back to run these clinics. Further information will be provided on Operoo. If you would like your child to get a head start, Linda has organised holiday golf clinics for students at Keysborough Golf Club. The flyer can be found in the newsletter.
GRADE 5/6 INTERSCHOOL SPORTS
Finally our Interschool Sports will begin Friday April 29th in Week 1 of Term 2. Grade 5/6 will play an away game at Rangebank Primary School. Further details can be found on Operoo.
GRADE 6 BIKE EDUCATION
We have sent another Operoo note home to extend Grade 6 Bike Education into the first Friday next term. This is to make up for the session that Grade 6s did not have earlier this term. A reminder to parents to please give permission via Operoo and ensure profiles are up to date.
JUNIOR SPORTS
JUNIOR CRICKET CLINICS
We are excited to announce that we have received funding from the Positive Start Program which is a Government initiative. As a result we will be running Junior Cricket Clinics from Week 2 – Week 5 next term. The clinic days will be the same as this term:
- Mondays LS3
- Tuesdays LS2
- Fridays LS1
Further details will be provided via Operoo shortly.
STAFF GOLF CLINIC
Thank you Linda, Kate and Keysborough Golf Club for a fantastic time last Friday. SFS Staff met at the golf course after school. We practised putting and driving and had a great time!!! A few have decided we might take up golf!!!
We then enjoyed time together over nibbles and drinks provided by Keysborough Golf Club. Thanks Linda and Kate and we hope to see them back for Gr 3/4 golf clinics.
We wish everybody a great and safe holiday and look forward to seeing you all next term with some more great sports activities organised!
SFS CROSS COUNTRY
What an amazing morning we had at school today! Staff, students and parents excitedly cheered for their Houses, as students ran by them on the Cross Country course. It was so exciting to see our parents back again!! Well done to all the students for taking part!
12/13 Year Olds completed 3 laps of the course.
11 Year Olds also completed 3 laps.
9/10 Year Olds completed 2 laps
8 Year Olds completed 2 laps
Foundation, Grade 1 and Grade 2 all completed 1 lap
Congratulations to all students!
A big congratulations to our winning House Teresa! A fantastic effort and they were presented with the shield at our awards assembly in the afternoon. Well done also to all the students who came in 1st to 10th in their age or level group. Each received a ribbon and points for their House. Those who came in 1st were also presented with the perpetual trophy that will have their name engraved as the 2022 winner and remain at the school as a record of their excellence:
12/13 Year Old Boy: Kayce
12/13 Year Old Girl: Maia
11 Year Old Boy: Harrison
11 Year Old Girl: Mikayla
9/10 Year Old Boy: Jax
9/10 Year Old Girl: Andison
8 Year Old Mixed: Shiv
Grade 2 Boy: Viraj
Grade 2 Girl: Lorelai
Grade 1 Boy: Kristian
Grade 1 Girl: Acacia
Foundation Boy: Sam
Foundation Girl: Gisele
Students who came in the top 5 places for 9/10, 11 and 12/13 year olds will now have the opportunity to train and represent SFS at District Level next term. We congratulate all these students and wish them all the best. Permission notes and information about training have been sent out to parents via Operoo. We ask that you give permission for District Cross Country and training that will take place in the first two weeks of next term.
A big thank you to our staff. They give up so much of their time assisting and supporting events for the benefit of our students. And also a big thank you to Parents & Friends that added a splash of colour to our Cross Country. The students had a great time!!! Well done everybody and thank you!!
Lulli & Giuliana
PE Team
Giuliana & Lulli
PE Department