Leadership Report
Welcome back to Term 4! 11 weeks to finish off the year which promises to have lots of opportunities for families to be involved not only in community events but also in your child’s learning. This term has lots of incredible experiences for our students to engage in our camp program, the swimming program and our transition program. The school’s major event for the term (could there be anything else besides the Working Bee), well Yes! Our Fete de la Primavera is taking place on Saturday the 9th of November. Please make sure you have the date booked out to enjoy in the festivities. I also want to send a big shout out to all the students who dressed up for Pajama day as we raise money for our Grade 6 graduation.
Safe Travel to School!
We would like to remind everyone about the importance of staying safe while traveling to and from school! Please remember to cross at traffic lights and use school crossings. We encourage families and students to walk home together to make the journey even more enjoyable and safe. If a child ever feels uncertain about walking home, we invite them to stop by the office, where there will always be someone available until 4:30 to help. Let’s work together to ensure everyone gets home safely!
How to help with your child’s learning at home!
Literacy
I have had a few families ask about how they can help their child at home. We cannot recommend enough the value of Nessy which is an online program focused on developing Reading and Spelling skills. A student spending 5 minutes a day completing an activity will have such a positive impact on your child’s literacy growth. Asking your child to read aloud to you while you are preparing dinner or before they go to bed will have a positive impact, and more importantly, it shows to your child that you value the importance of reading and the conversations they create.
Numeracy
Essential Assessment is also an online program that allows students to practice their fluency, understanding, problem solving and reasoning skills in areas that have been identified as the next steps in their learning. We encourage families to work with their child which allows you the opportunity to see your child’s successes in maths and more importantly their thinking. We also suggest supporting your child with their Facts on Fire focus. Each student should be able to tell you their focus and have access to uncompleted work booklets that you can support.
What’s been going on in the classrooms!?
Foundation
I walked through the Foundation classes during the soft start yesterday and was amazed by how settled all the students were after the holiday break. I spoke to Katherine and she further iterated how amazing the students have been and how settled they have been during every session this week, even with all the changes to the timetable.
1/2
I sat down with Tallie, Indigo, Layal and Tess who are really excited about writing narratives this term. All the students have been planning their stories, really focusing on their character. Tess told me about her superhero character named Maddie who can shoot out ice from her spiky arms, Indigo’s character’s name is Anne, who is a nine year old girl who is really smart and brave which will help her to overcome a big challenge in her story. Tallie’s main character is a gold puppy that is strong, protective and kind to people, and will mutate at some point in her story. They are really enjoying the planning process and can’t wait to get started.
3/4
Jose and 3/4CD are already deep into Inquiry this term. They are building their knowledge and understanding of Costa Rica – learning about the geography of the nation. The students were really engaged and excited to learn about the cities, natural landscapes, flora and fauna. They discussed all the countries they know in Central America – like Cuba, Dominican Republic and Mexico and are looking forward to learning the similarities and differences. One of the great questions in the session was ‘Is Costa Rica’s flag the same as Thailand?’
5/6
I sat down with Mia who was telling me that while the holidays were great, it was awesome to see her friends and teachers again. She was telling me how excited she is for camp this term, helping with the 2025 Foundation transition sessions and to start preparing for the leadership roles for next year. In English literacy, the class have been reading about the Mayans civilisation learning about the history, the culture and how the Mayan culture still exists today! In Spanish, the students are preparing to write narratives with a Costa Rican setting which aligns with our Cultural Week celebrations at the end of the term!
It has been a fantastic first week at Newlands, we hope you have a great weekend. Don’t forget to add to your calendar that it is Grandparent’s Day at Newlands on October the 25th.
Thanks,
Luke