The Learning Zone

"Coming together is the beginning, staying together is progress,

and working together is success." - Henry Ford

Student Learning Team (SLT)

St Joseph's has formed our very own Student Learning Team (SLT) which is made up of a representatives from each grade as well as our school leaders. The purpose of the SLT is for students to contribute to the learning agenda at our school. We hosted our first meeting a fortnight ago where we developed our Team's norms and went on a Learning Walk. The students asked their peers the first learning question, 'What are you learning?' and we gathered feedback to deliver to staff. The aim of the SLT is to give students a voice and to continue to build agency within our student community.

Congratulations to: 

Kindergarten - Levi Steadman 

Year 1 - Finlay Newberry

Year 2 - Sophia Stevens

Year 3 - Sophie Beveridge

Year 4 - Sarah Crittenden

Year 5 - Ilah Collyer

Year 6 - Thomas Creighton

Leaders - Jarvis Dobson, Lilah Newell, Darcy Wood & Grace Beveridge

Brain Olympia 2024

The first round of this year's Armidale Diocesan Brain Olympia competition was held at St Edward's Primary School on Wednesday 28th August.  St Joseph's entered two teams, with eight students from Years 4, 5 and 6 in each team. Teams across diocesan schools competed in a variety of challenges such as general knowledge questions, mathematical problems, public speaking and a dramatic presentation based on a selected topic. Both of our teams can be congratulated for their enthusiasm, outstanding teamwork and for representing St Joseph's proudly. Many thanks to Mrs Crittenden who prepared our teams and supervised them on the day. 

Brain Olympia Recount

Written by Asher Parker and Lilah Newell

Brain Olympia is a school competition where selected students represent their schools, chosen by their teachers. This year, it was held at St Edward’s Primary School, and we arrived at approximately 9:00am to begin the event. The activities took place in the St Ed's hall and was hosted by Mr Flynn. The teams were divided into two categories based on the number of total students: large schools and small schools.  Our school was in the large school category, and we had two teams representing St Joseph's. The teams were as follows:

• The Alphas: Vickie, Leilah, Asher, Sarah, Hamish, Jake, Sean and Salomi.
• The Quokkas: Lilah, Darcy, Jorja, Connor, Ilah, Levi, Noah and Grady.

The quizzes started with general knowledge questions covering current affairs and a mix of subjects we study at school. Then, we moved on to the speeches segment, where participants were judged on pace, enthusiasm, and the use of "WOW" words (interesting adjectives and adverbs).  After preparing our speeches we had a Math challenge, consisting of three pages of problems to solve. Two team members were also allowed to use this time to finish working on the speeches.

After the Math round, we enjoyed a much-needed recess break, which gave us time to stretch our legs and play. Once we were back, it was time for the speech presentations. Both St Joey’s teams did an amazing job!  The speakers were Sarah from the Alphas and Lilah from the Quokkas. It was nerve-racking to speak in front of so many people, especially with most of the audience being strangers.

Once the speeches were over, Mr Flynn left us in suspense about the scores until the end of the day. Next, we selected our drama topics, all of which revolved around the theme "I should have listened." The Quokkas chose a basketball scenario, while the Alphas picked a situation about kids crossing the road that went horribly wrong. Each team had one member as the narrator to be the voice over and guide the audience through the drama presentations.

At the end of the day, Mr Flynn finally revealed the results. The Alphas placed fifth and the Quokkas came in third out of 11 teams! Teams from St Xavier's in Gunnedah were awarded both first and second place in the large schools category and St Patrick's Walcha won first place in the small schools category, with St Joseph's Quirindi coming in second.

Thank you to St Edward's for hosting the day and Mrs Crittenden for looking after us. We all had a great day and enjoyed the opportunity to participate in the Brian Olympia.

Armidale Diocesan Mathematics Initiative (MaST)

What is happening in the world of mathematics at St Joseph's? Let's take a look! 

Please see the information below to assist your child at home.

Maths At Home:

Kindergarten - Subtraction

Kindergarten are using objects to assist when subtracting items. Below the student has used a hoop and bean bags. You may like to try the word problems below the diagram with your child.

Problems of the Week:

Hana made twelve muffins for her friends when they came to play. Her friends ate four  muffins. How many muffins are there now?

Sebastian has eleven pencils and Sonny has five. How many more pencils does Sebastian have than Sonny?

Draw your answers and show Miss George or Mrs Crittenden, it would be great to see your thoughts.

Stage 1 - Division 

In Stage 1, your child has been showing their understanding of division as sharing and grouping. There are many easy ways you can support this at home. Ask your child to practice division by sharing objects equally. 

For example, share 8 objects into 2 equal groups. Using objects such as your child’s toys, items of food, or buttons helps them visualise what the calculation means and keeps them interested.

If you do not have the same number, ask your child if the objects have been shared equally. For example, “We started with 11 objects and shared them into two groups. I have 6 objects and you have 5 objects. Are they equal? If they are not equal then 11 cannot be shared equally into two groups so 11 cannot be divided by 2 equally using whole numbers or objects.”

Problems of the Week:

I have 30 lollies to share equally with 5  people.    

How many lollies will each person receive?

Is there another way to share the 30 lollies equally 

with more or less people? 

Thanks Evie for sharing your thoughts and answers with us. 

Well done! 

Stage 2 - Fractions 

This week Stage 2 have commenced their next unit on Mass. Please use the information below to assist your child with this topic. 

Compare Objects Using a Kilogram: Engage your child in a fun, hands-on activity by gathering various household items such as a bag of flour, a litre of milk, and a book. Use a kitchen scale to weigh each item and compare its mass to a 1 kg reference weight. Encourage your child to predict whether each item is heavier, lighter, or about the same as a kilogram before measuring.

Recognise the Need for a Formal Unit to Measure Mass: Discuss with your child why it's important to have standard units of measurement, such as kilograms, to avoid confusion. You can demonstrate this by asking them to imagine if everyone used different objects to describe the mass of things, like comparing an apple to a cat's weight, which could lead to misunderstandings.

 Which objects being measured are more than, less than or about the same as 1 kilogram.

Stage 3 - Angles

Stage 3 are working on Multiplicative Relations this week prior to moving onto to having fun with Angles.

Use Everyday Examples: Incorporate angles into everyday situations. For example, discuss the angles formed by the hands of a clock, the corners of a book, or the intersection of roads.

Body Movements: Encourage children to use their bodies to create angles. For instance, they can form acute angles with their arms or demonstrate a right angle with their legs. This hands-on approach can enhance understanding.

Angle: Formed by 2 straight lines meeting at a common endpoint, called the vertex. An angle can describe the amount of turn between its 2 arms (lines).

Arm: One of the rays or lines which form an angle. 

Vertex: Where 2 straight sides of a two-dimensional shape meet.

Protractor:  An instrument used to measure and construct angles.

Degrees: A unit for measuring an angle. Angles are measured as a proportion of a full turn which is equivalent to 360 degrees, so that one degree is equal to of a full turn. Written as α°.

Angle size: is the measure of turn from one arm to another. Angles are usually measured in degrees (°), minutes (‘) and seconds (“) and in an anticlockwise format.

Have a wonderful week of learning!