St James Learning and Teaching 

MATHS

Reporting in Mathematics

As you know, this year at St James we began using the Victorian Curriculum Version 2.0 in Mathematics. This new curriculum continues to focus on providing students with the fundamental skills that they will need in their personal and future work lives and aims to make greater connections between topics so that students can apply their understanding to a range of contexts. More information on the new version of the Mathematics curriculum can be found on the VCAA website.

As we are using this new curriculum to teach Mathematics, we will therefore be assessing against this curriculum on your child’s report. On the report you will still see a dot showing the level that your child is currently working at in Mathematics, however a previous achievement level will not be visible as we have not marked against the new curriculum previously.

You will also notice on your child’s report that instead of the 3 scores that you previously saw for the different strands in Mathematics, your child will now only receive one aggregate score for Mathematics. This score shows your child’s overall score across all areas of the Mathematics curriculum. In order to gain further insight into your child’s current strengths and areas of development, please read the comments written by your child’s teacher. You will also be able to gain further insight into your child’s Mathematical ability at the Parent Teacher meetings next week. 

Miss Bridie Slater

Maths & STEM Leader

SPORT

Hello Everyone, 

It has been a great few weeks of sport, Friday Sport, Netball LP, AFL LP, Soccer training sessions….. AND the installation of our new full sized soccer goals! A huge thank-you to all of you in our community and our PA for allowing us to purchase the goals. I know they will be very well utilised. Our students at St James are soccer mad and they are very lucky!

Our Friday Sport finished a couple of weeks ago now, but that was great preparation for our Netball and AFL teams. On Thursday 13th June on a very wet, cold drizzly day St James sent 3 teams to the Holt AFL LP competition. The students were incredible in the way that they just got on with what they had to do. A huge thank-you to Anika W, Angie P, Alisha Q and Emma Herbert for coaching each of our teams. All teams came away with wins and losses and a lot learnt from the day. Unfortunately we were unable to play finals due to the poor weather. The A team finished in 3rd place for their division. 

Our AFL team had a much better day weather wise and were in very good spirits heading off to play. They won their first two games and made it through to the semi finals. The team finished in 4th place which was an awesome effort. The team came a long way from kicking very few goals throughout the Friday sport preparation weeks to kicking a number of goals and playing really well together as a team at the lightning prem. A huge thank you once again to Dave P for umpiring all day, Aidan N for coaching and Jo A for your support of the team. And not forgetting our awesome students who played 4 games of football! 

During Term 3, we will be looking forward to Hoop Time on Friday 9th August for our Year 5 and 6 students, then our Year 3 and 4 students will have the opportunity to play on Tuesday 17th September. An Operoo will be sent at the start of Term 3 for our Seniors. We do take all students, as there is the chance for all students to play no matter what their experience is with basketball. 

Mrs Georgia McNamara

Deputy Principal - Sport Co-Ordinator/ Senior Physical Education Teacher

LIBRARY

No longer an underground movement appealing to a small following of enthusiasts, graphic novels have emerged as a growing segment of book publishing, and have become accepted by librarians and educators as mainstream literature for children and young adults—literature that powerfully motivates kids to read. Are graphic novels for you? Should you be taking a more serious look at this format? How might graphic novels fit into your library collection, your curriculum, and your classroom? Want to know more? If so, this guide is for you.

How do graphic novels promote literacy? 

Motivation Graphic novels powerfully attract and motivate kids to read. Many librarians have built up graphic novel collections and have seen circulation figures soar. School librarians and educators have reported outstanding success getting kids to read graphic novels, citing particularly their popularity with discerning readers. At the same time, graphic novels with rich, complex plots and narrative structures can also be satisfying to advanced readers. Providing young people of all abilities with diverse reading materials, including graphic novels, can help them become lifelong readers. 

Discerning readers 

Graphic novels can be a way in for students who are difficult to reach through traditional texts. Even those deemed poor readers willingly and enthusiastically gravitate toward these books. Readers who are not interested in reading or who, despite being capable of reading, prefer gaming or watching media, can be pulled into a story by the visual elements of graphic novels. 

Benefits to struggling readers 

Graphic novels can dramatically help improve reading development for students struggling with language acquisition for various reasons. For example, special-needs students may find that the illustrations provide contextual clues to the meaning of the written narrative. Graphic novels can also provide autistic students with clues to the emotional context they might miss when reading traditional text. English-language learners may be more motivated by graphic novels, which can help them acquire new vocabulary and increase English proficiency.

But are graphic novels “real books”? Are they “literature”? Do they count as “reading”? 

Overcoming prejudices Some parents and educators may feel that graphic novels are not the type of reading material that will help young people grow as readers. They may cling to the belief that graphic novels are somehow a bad influence that undermines “real reading”—or they may dismiss graphic novels as inferior literature, or as “not real books.” At best, they may regard them as something to be tolerated as a means of motivating the most reluctant readers, who, they hope, will eventually move on to “more quality literature.”

We have a number of great Graphic novels in the St James Library, however over the holidays if you are looking for some more rich texts, have a look at the list below. 

All St James children are now registered and have received a login and password from the class teacher. Children in the  junior school are encouraged to listen to their parents read books from the reading list and have conversations about the text. As the competition progresses parents are encouraged to help their children read together. 

The Victorian Government has carefully curated a long list of rich texts for young readers. Please see the booklist attached for books. 

Progress of the challenge will be celebrated in fortnightly assemblies and newsletters. 

The challenge runs all the way to September and is very attainable for all children. 

Children need to read:

Prep to Year 2

• Number of books: 30
• Number of books from the Challenge book list: 20 or more

Year 3 to Year 6

• Number of books: 15
• Number of books from the Challenge book list: 10 or more

Most of the books you read should be from the Challenge book lists. The rest can be any book you choose.

You can read books on the book list for your year level or a level above and they'll count towards your Challenge total. You should check with your teachers or parents if you're not in years 9 or 10 and want to read a book from that list. This list includes titles for mature readers.

You can read a book from a level below your year level if your teacher agrees. You still need to read the number of books for your year level to meet the Challenge.

Your teacher will give you a Challenge username and passcode. You should find this in your child’s diary or magic words book where other passwords are located. 

If you lose or forget your Challenge passcode,please  ask or email  Mrs joplin  at ajoplin@stjamesbrighton.catholic.edu.au to generate a new one for you.

1. Go to the Challenge application.
2. Select the School/Student button.
3. Select the VPRC login option.
4. Enter your username and password.
5. Select Login.

The dashboard is your main workspace as you progress through the Challenge.

At the top of the dashboard are gemstone badges. These are grey when you start your Challenge. They change to green as you progress through the Challenge.

Below the badges is a green bar. This shows you how many days are left until the end of the Challenge.

There are also two progress wheels that show:

• what your Challenge target is
• how many Challenge or Choice books you have finished or had verified.

Your reading list shows the books you have added and finished reading.

As you add more books to your reading list, the application will learn the kinds of books you like to read. It will recommend other books by:

• genre
• author
• series
• subject

Books other students at your school and across Victoria are reading appear on the Trending books list.

The side menu lets you:

• see your Profile Details and add an avatar
• see all the book reviews you have written
• search for books you would like to add to your reading list.

Let’s get reading!!

Mrs Mandi Joplin

Teacher Librarian

Wellbeing

In this week's newsletter, we want to talk about something very important that affects us all—something we call "spiralling." Spiralling is when you make a mistake and start thinking too much about it. You might ask yourself, "What did I do wrong?" and then start believing things like, "I'm a failure," or "I'm no good."

When we spiral, we tend to make ourselves feel worse and worse. It can lead to what we call a "melt down," which is when our emotions become too much to handle. All kids have had melt downs, and it's perfectly normal! But, just like food on the stove, we need to learn how to take ourselves off the heat before we boil over.

Understanding the Spiral

1. Recognize the Spiral: The first step is to notice when we're spiralling. If we start thinking negatively about ourselves after a mistake, it's time to take action.
2. Pause and Reflect: Take a deep breath and pause. Reflect on what happened without judging yourself. Become curious about what you are missing? What could I change.
3. Learn and Move On: Ask yourself, "What can I learn from this?" and then move forward. Remember, everyone makes mistakes!

Earth Metaphor

Imagine that our minds are like the Earth. When we start to spiral down, it's like digging deeper and deeper into the ground. If we keep going, we eventually hit the really hot stuff—the molten lava at the Earth's core and lots of pressure. This is where we have the melt down, just like when the pressure builds up and we can't handle it anymore.

Our negative thoughts and feelings can trap us in a place where it's hard to find peace and happiness. But we don't want that for anyone. We want our children to thrive in the light, not be overwhelmed by the heat and pressure by spiralling down.

Why Mistakes Are Important

Mistakes are a part of life. In fact, some of the most successful people in the world have made the most mistakes. Michael Jordan missed more than 9,000 shots in his career, but he's considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Elon Musk has had many failures, he blew up over 300 million dollars worth in rockets, but he learned from each one and kept moving forward.

The Power of Resilience

Teaching our kids resilience—the ability to bounce back from setbacks—is crucial. Resilient kids are those who can:

• Accept their mistakes: They don't dwell on them but see them as opportunities to learn.
• Stay positive: They keep a positive outlook even when things go wrong.
• Keep trying: They never give up, even when it's challenging.

Activities to Help Kids Stop Spiralling

1. Mindfulness Exercises: Teach kids to take deep breaths and focus on the present moment. This can help calm their minds.
2. Journaling: Encourage kids to write about their feelings and what they learned from their mistakes.
3. Positive Affirmations: Help kids create positive statements about themselves that they can repeat when they feel down.

A Message to Parents

It's important for parents to model resilience. When you make a mistake, talk about it openly with your child and show them how you learn from it. Encourage them when they make mistakes and praise their efforts to try again.

Remember: Giving up to stay safe isn't an option. If we stay hidden all our lives, we miss out on the most important lessons—to do our best and to keep growing.

Scripture says not to bury what has been given to you. Use it for the good of us all.

Let's teach our kids that mistakes are just stepping stones to success. Together, we can help them build the resilience they need to thrive.

Spiritual Understanding.

We know from Scripture that it is very important to forgive others. In fact we are commanded to forgive others if we are to expect forgiveness from God. So, if we don’t forgive, we block our relationship with God. This also includes ourselves, if we don’t forgive ourselves then we block that forgiveness that God wants to give us. It is important to check with your child if there is anything they don’t forgive themselves for. Remind them that they are still learning and that there is no mistake that shouldn’t be forgiven if they know it was wrong and desire to be better and to make things right. We don't condemn ourselves because we know better after the incident, we forgive ourselves because we didn't know better at the time of the incident.

Activity Corner

Draw Your Spiral: Have your child draw a spiral and write down a mistake they've made in the center. Around the spiral, have them write or draw steps they can take to learn from it and move on.

Ask them questions like:

What do you say to yourself when you make a mistake?

What is going too far with being critical with self? Would you say that to a best friend?

Success Stories: Share stories of famous people who failed before they succeeded. Discuss what they can learn from these stories.

Family Discussion: Set aside time each week for family members to share a mistake they made and what they learned from it. Celebrate the learning, not the mistake.

There is a new resource I came across from Mrs Busch class that is around having a Brain Bully. She is doing some great work with year 3. You can find more information from iHeartCBT https://weheartcbt.com/thought-challenging

Quote of the Month:

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." - Thomas Edison

Thank you for being a part of our school community. Let's make this a month of learning and growing together!

Warm regards,

Corey Payton

School Chaplain