Leadership Report
While the weather has been cold, wet and windy this week, it has been lovely to see the warm and welcoming spirit of the Magill community in action. After being on leave for the first half of the term, it has been great to return and hear about the amazing learning that has been happening across the school.
A big thank you to Maria Colarusso for all the work she did while I was on leave. When I spoke with Mrs Colarusso, she shared some of the many highlights of her time in the office:
Visiting all the classes, meeting and working with students from different year levels
The fantastic achievement in the Times Tables Rock Stars competition, and seeing the enthusiasm and hard work our students put into it
Collaborating with all the teachers, and appreciating their amazing skills and dedication to teaching and learning
Challenging her mathematical thinking while working with the Maths Olympiad students.
It was nice having a break, and it’s also great to be back, learning and working with the Magill families, students and staff.
Term 2 means our Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 students have attended the annual Swimming Program. As I was away, I spoke with Year 1 students Evie and Henry from N1 to find out how it went. The focus of the swimming program is being safe around water, and learning in the water also involves LOTS of fun. Evie and Henry spoke enthusiastically about doggy paddling and learning new swimming strokes like ‘pizza arms’. There was also underwater bubble blowing, including making bubble volcanoes. There were pool noodle trains and jumping up to build enough speed to pick up ‘sinkies’ from the bottom of the pool, and even dancing at the end, all while developing important skills about being safe in and around water. Here is some amazing artwork created by N1 from Swimming Week.
Calendar Reminder
A reminder that there is no school for the next two Mondays. Monday of Week 7 is the King’s Birthday Public Holiday, and the following Monday (Week 8) is a Pupil Free Day. While teachers are looking forward to an extra day this weekend to either finish writing reports or recover from writing them, they will be at school on Monday of Week 8 for a full day of learning. We will be welcoming back Brendan Lee, who is travelling here from NSW to continue our learning about the Instructional Hierarchy.
Mid-Year Reception Transition
During the second half of this term, we will welcome over 50 new Reception students to the Magill community for their transition visits. Transition is an important part of starting school and allows families and young children to become familiar with classrooms, teachers, routines and play spaces. It also helps children begin building connections with other students, making the start of full-time school next term a smoother and more positive experience.
Maths Challenge
Finally, let’s finish off with some maths. At Maths Lunch Club this week, we worked on a nine dots problem. Not only did it cause considerable brain strain for all involved, it also generated LOTS of creative mathematical thinking, conversation, persistence, collaboration and ideas that, at times, challenged the rules. Give it a go at home and see if your family can work out a solution.
Sonia Magon
Assistant Principal