Learning & Teaching

Each newsletter we showcase the different ways we learn and teach at St John’s. This week we are putting the spotlight on some of the ways we partner with families in the learning experiences of the students.

AUSTRALIAN MATHEMATICS COMPETITION

The Australian Mathematics Competition or AMC is one of Australia's largest school-based mathematics competitions. It features unique problems designed by Australia's leading educators and academics. This year one of our Year 5 students, Paul entered the competition, having demonstrated a history of outstanding maths results here at school.  Across Australia 152 students sat for the 75 minute exam in the three levels: Junior; Intermediate and Senior. Paul was one of 18 students nationwide who were awarded a Distinction. 

YEAR 1 EXCURSION TO MUSEUM 

Yesterday our Year 1 students spent the day at the Melbourne Museum.  A big thank you to all the parents who accompanied us on this excursion.  Your support in supervising the students made this day possible. The excursion was linked to the Year 1 Inquiry unit on Insects.  While at the Museum the students explored the ‘Bugs Alive’ Exhibition where they learnt about the diet and lifestyle of insects and how they contribute to ecosystems by pollinating flowers and decomposing waste.  As you can see from the pictures below the students had a great day.  For more pictures from the excursion check out @stjatarneit on instagram.

YEAR 2 PERSUASIVE WRITING

At the end of Term 3 the Year 2s were investigating the elements involved in persuasive texts.  They explored the language used in this writing genre and how we develop a set of arguments about a topic.   The students were very shocked when they arrived at school on the last day of term, to find their chairs had gone on strike!  As you can see from the images below, the chairs wrote to the Year 2s outlining their arguments.  The students then wrote back to their chair, giving reasons why the chair should return to the table.  This very creative lesson prompted some excellent pieces of writing from the Year 2s.

BIZZARE BIZZARE

The Year 6s held their Bizzare Bizzare fundraising event on the last Wednesday of Term 3.  Scroll through the images below to see the fantastic range of items the students produced for the market.  Many of the stalls sold out of their goods and had to take orders.  The Year 6 students are to be commended on the way they approached this task, ensuring that the products were both creative and  cost effective.  The stall raised over $700 dollars, meaning that once production costs were covered they were able to donate $500 to our local Vinnies Conference.