Learning Across the
Junior School

From the Head of Junior School and Early Learning

As we settle into the school year, it is delightful to see how happy and engaged our girls are. They have transitioned seamlessly back to school and are enjoying every opportunity to participate in classroom learning experiences and our broad offering of cocurricular activities. The girls are reconnecting and building a strong sense of belonging that is important for their wellbeing and motivation to engage fully in school life.

To facilitate this connection our staff are nurturing every student’s learning, wellbeing, and holistic needs. Last week, we held our Student Review Meetings to discuss every student in the Junior School. Our College Psychologists and Learning Intervention team joined these meeting with our class teachers to review the social, emotional, and cognitive development of each girl and to design personalised programs that build on their strengths and areas for growth. Every girl is known to us, and we are dedicated to creating an environment where all students are flourishing and feel embraced into the Loreto family by both her peers and teachers.

It has also been wonderful to welcome families back on campus. Our Shrove Tuesday pancake morning, run by our Year 6 classes, was a lovely community event and fundraiser for project Compassion; we warmly thank the many families who joined us for breakfast on this day. Observing the ancient Christian tradition of Ash Wednesday, the following day we held a beautiful liturgy in our Patch garden to mark the beginning of the season of Lent. As we enter this period of reflection and a traditional time for fasting or giving something up, we ask our girls to contemplate how they can make changes to better their lives and that of others; we focus on kindness, acting justly and caring for each other and the earth.

We look forward to seeing many families at our Athletics Carnival on Tuesday 28 February. Please also save the date for our much-loved Junior School Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ to be held on Thursday 25 May in Term 2.

Ms Marika Snell

Head of Junior School and Early Learning

Inquiry Learning in Year 1

We have certainly been keeping busy in Year 1 Gold! The girls have done exceptionally well settling into the school routine once again, and have entered each day with excitement and curiosity to learn.

In our inquiry learning we are exploring the big idea that people work together in communities. We made an important start by discussing our responsibilities in our class, school and family communities. This week we also began exploring the local community and learning about the important role essential services play. Together we brainstormed all of the services we have encountered and created a word cloud to capture our prior knowledge. Next, the girls were invited to work collaboratively to create their ideal local community, including essential services they thought were significant. This experience also served as a valuable provocation to begin exploring maps; as we discussed what they are used for, where we have encountered or used them before, and their features as well. There was a buzz of excitement in the air as the girls illustrated their communities, particularly as they thoughtfully considered the symbols they needed to included to represent essential services, such as as cross for a hospital.

Miss Georgia Eliades

Year 1 Teacher

Instrumental Music Lessons

Dear Parents and Students,

It is not too late to enrol in instrumental music lessons at Loreto College for this term. In fact, you are welcome to apply for tuition at any time throughout the year.

Learning a musical instrument has been proven to help improve cognitive skills such as memory, concentration and creativity, as well as emotional well-being. It reduces stress and promotes a sense of accomplishment. Furthermore, playing an instrument is a valuable social skill, allowing students to collaborate with others and perform together. It provides an outlet for self-expression and helps to develop discipline, patience and perseverance. These skills and benefits can carry over into other areas of study at school, helping students to become well-rounded and successful individuals. Research suggests that every student should consider learning a musical instrument as a way to enhance their entire education and personal growth.

If you are interested in instrumental music lessons, you can find all the information and application forms on Loreto connect : https://loretoconnect.loreto.sa.edu.au/homepage/7085

*please note - there is a waitlist on some instruments.

Tim de Jong

Leader of Music

Swimming for Mental Health

Sofia Spagnoletti (Year 6B) os participating in Laps for Life this March to help raise funds to provide services for the prevention of suicide. All funds raised will support ReachOut, an online mental health service for young people and their parents in Australia.

Sofia has committed to swim 31km over the month of March and has already raised over $1000!

If you would like to support Sofia, click the link below to donate:

https://www.lapsforlife.com.au/fundraisers/sofiaspagnoletti

After-School Code Camp

After-School Code Camp allows kids to hone their coding skills and keep practising through weekly sessions over the term!

Students will produce multiple games and apps using our exciting online platform Code Camp World!

We have made Code Camp World as accessible as possible so students can truly focus on the fun aspects of coding and carry on their journey at home.

Each week students will choose the features they want to build, and advance their problem-solving skills to build these features using code. They will take ownership over their projects and collaborate with their peers to make awesome apps!

Visit: https://my.codecamp.com.au/course/1809 for more information and to book.