Primary News

SRC Initiative - Operation Christmas Child

This year, the Primary Student Representative Council are organising a collection of gifts for Operation Christmas Child, a Samaritan’s Purse initiative.  

Your child should have brought home a flyer. If you would like to take part in this initiative, all you need to do is: 

• Find a shoe box, no larger than A4 and cover with Christmas wrapping paper.
• Decide who to pack for – girl / boy? Age 2 – 4, 5 – 9, or 10 – 14. 
• Fill the shoe box with appropriate items – click on the QR code on the flyer for ideas.
• You can order a label for $12.50, which covers the cost of processing and shipping (scan the second QR code on the flyer), or simply make your own, detailing the gender and age of child you have bought for. Attach your label to the box.
•  Deliver your gift to Primary Admin by Wednesday 1 November. 

Visit Home - Operation Christmas Child (samaritanspurse.org.au)  to find out more! 

Packing a Healthy Lunchbox

Good food is essential for healthy growth and brain development in children. As parents, we often start a Term with the best of intentions, but as the weeks go by it is hard to keep the menu fresh. We are noticing that many children are not bringing enough food to school to maintain their energy levels and brain power throughout the day.

Young children have small tummies, which is why it is important to eat little and often. We provide opportunities for students to eat crunch and sip, morning tea, lunch and at the end of the day if they are staying for an after-school activity. Sometimes students get to lunch with little or no food left in their lunchbox, and consequently do not have the energy to keep learning through Lessons 5 and 6, let alone for after-school sport, homework or code camp club.

Kids' dietitian, Sarah Whalan, suggests the following for students in Primary School:

• Some apple, for crunch and sip
• A wholemeal chicken sandwich (wrapped in two halves, so half can be eaten at morning tea, half at lunch time)
• Carrot and cucumber sticks
• A small tub of low-fat yoghurt
• Wholegrain crackers
• Sushi rolls
• Cherry tomatoes
• Dried fruit bites
• Cheese cubes

The appetites of students can vary depending on their activity levels (especially if they are swimming,) the temperature, and even whether they are experiencing a growth spurt. We understand that it can be frustrating when food comes home and do our best to ensure that what is packed gets eaten during the day.

Focus On: Primary Music

Following a query from a parent about our Primary Music Program, I thought it would be worth sharing the response of our Music Specialist, Ann Slade, with the wider community:

A sequential, aural based approach to music, colloquially called the 'Kodaly Method,' has been the preferred and encouraged method of teaching music in Queensland since the 1970s. There is much research to support this approach to music education, with its success in developing aural skills and engagement in younger students particularly noted. Clayfield College has a proud, 50-year history of offering this opportunity to its students via highly trained music teachers and in a high frequency program.

 

Starting young students with the solfege ‘soh’ – ‘mi’ and then adding ‘lah’ has a research basis. This starting point for melodic concepts in the early years arose when ethnomusicologists observed that playground chants and spontaneous singing in young children often began with, or revolved around, the descending minor third (the interval between soh and mi). As a result of this, the conscious reading, writing and aural work in this melodic space begins with these two notes. Learning in this way keeps the sequence developmentally appropriate for the age group and within the experience of most children. It also increases the chance that students will achieve an understanding of correct intonation earlier and enables accurate aural recognition of pitch from an early age. Alongside material dedicated to the teaching of these three notes, the program also uses many songs with wider a range and variety of notes for singing, game play and listening purposes.

 

The College has long held the belief that it is better to move slowly through the Kodaly Method and use our wonderful extra time to teach more broadly, allowing for concepts to be better internalised by the students and for them to operate with increased skill and confidence in the subject. A self-belief in one’s own musical competency is a strong predictor of musical engagement and success in later life.

The additional lesson times allow teachers to diversify and include other facets of a musical education. These include opportunities for part work, composition, improvisation, audiation and valuable time to focus on writing skills. In Year 1, for example, we have included rhythmic elements, the musical staff, the concept of metre and how to conduct, how to add a time signature, bars and barlines. At present, the class are producing amazing writing far beyond what is generally expected of this age group. As the year concludes we will spend time discovering music as a story-telling medium through a unit on Prokofiev’s 'Peter and the Wolf.'

Term 4 Gallery Walks

Parents and caregivers are invited to attend your child’s/ren’s Primary Term 4 Gallery Walks on the following dates:

Important Dates for Term 4

2024 Primary Orientation Day (Pre-Prep to Year 5) – Friday 3 November 

As previously communicated in the Term 4 Welcome Back letter, we are very excited to welcome our new and transitioning students into their 2024 year levels on Friday 3 November. For current students to the College, this will be a regular school day, where they will spend the morning immersed in a different classroom and environment, meet some of the new friends who will be joining the cohort and complete some learning for the year level above. Please be aware, the teachers that the students will be placed with on Orientation Day, will not necessarily be the teachers they will have for the 2024 school year. Our teachers may move around from year to year in the Primary Years. Classes and teachers will be shared with our community ahead of the new school year. 

Speech Night (Year 6) – Tuesday 14 November 

All Year 6 students who are continuing onto Secondary School at Clayfield College will take part in a special presentation at this year's Speech Night! Information has been emailed to our continuing Year 6 families. 

Year 6 Celebration & Chapel Service – Friday 24 November 

Detailed information will be provided soon.

Primary Presentation Day (Pre-Prep to Year 6) – Friday 1 December 

Detailed information and booking requirements will be provided soon.

Primary Assemblies

Please note the additional Assemblies this term. Assemblies start at 12:20pm, unless otherwise advertised.

Key Dates