Learning Centre News... 

Learning Centre One

We’ve blinked and the Term has ended! What an eventful Term of learning for the Preps. It has been great seeing the preps grow and come out of their shells throughout this Term.

Yesterday the Preps ventured out on their first excursion to the Zoo! It was a fun day exploring the enclosures of animals, learning about the Giant Turtle and exploring ways to be sustainable for the animals in our environment. We would like to sincerely thank all of our parent helpers, we hope that you had a good rest! 

Today we had our Inquiry Expo for the preps to showcase the work that they have been doing across the Term in Inquiry. The preps have been learning about the Biological world and how we hold an important part in keeping it safe. The preps shared the animals that they had chosen, information about them and created a diorama of their animal and its habitat. We would like to thank everyone that was able to attend this morning, it was a great turn out and the students were so excited to share their achievements. 

During Literacy, the students have been learning about how noun groups are formed and used to provide detail within our writing. They have continued to explore how nouns and verbs are used and have been pulling them out of shared texts to explore their understanding. In writing they have looked into how commas are used for listing and how it helps us list items we might be writing about. The preps have then applied their knowledge to write their own sentences and attempt writing their own story about a Cat and then explored how they can use the conjunction ‘and’ to create a more detailed sentence. 

In Maths, the students have learned about the concept of ‘sharing’. They’ve explored how to share equally amongst groups and how sometimes when we share we may encounter a ‘remainder’ when a collection can’t be shared equally. They looked at how ‘equal’ means that we have the same amount shared. Using concrete materials the preps used a range of objects and shared them equally amongst groups being explored. 

Throughout Religion, as we approached and celebrated our Feast Day the Preps looked at Mary and how they can represent her in different ways. The Preps then looked at different images of Mary and how they were similar and different from one another. They then created a painting of Mary and explored the different colour, symbols and images they could add. After looking at Mary the preps created their own prayer and looked at the different things that they could pray for.

Thank You all for a great term and we look forward to seeing you all in Term 4!

Some friendly reminders:

• Students require their iPads for learning. Please ensure that they’re charged and brought to school each day.
• Book bags to return after the holidays for a new book to be given.
• Please ensure that the excursion note for the movies are returned ASAP. 
• Reading - Please ensure that you read on bug club and Sunshine Online over the holidays.
• Summer uniform to commence after the holidays. Please ensure you have a labeled hat as we will be needing them for outside play.
• Term 4 commences: October 2nd, 2023

Prep Team - Amanda, Donna, Imogen, Kiah, Mary, Sam & Tina. 

Learning Centre Two

5/6 CAMP EDITION!

This time last week, the 5/6 students and their accompanying teachers had returned from their 3-day camp in Mt Evelyn, exhausted, a little soggy and truly happy with the entire experience. 

On the Wednesday before, everyone excitedly boarded the buses, ready for the nearly 2-hour trip towards the eastern suburbs.

Upon arriving, we took in the beauty of our surroundings and our excitement started to build as we noticed the many activities around the campgrounds. We sat for lunch and fuelled our bodies for the action-packed time ahead.

After unpacking and meeting some of the YMCA staff, we gathered into our groups and began the challenging but exhilarating group activities.

The giant swing took us to new heights and offered the students an opportunity to push their limits and experience a true adrenalin rush.

Bush cooking - each day, the fire pit was alight ready for us to cook our damper over the glowing coals. Once cooked, students were able to enjoy their bread with jam or honey.

The initiatives group required the students to collaborate and complete challenges using teamwork and clear communication. Some found this easier than others.

Despite being closer to the ground, the low ropes course proved to be quite a challenge.

Each group had the opportunity to meet some creatures (both alive and taxidermied) during the wildlife experience. They learnt about the difference between native animals and introduced species. 

The archery lessons were a perfect opportunity to show off our steady hands and eagle eyes.

Another chance to hone our teamwork skills was the crate stacking activity. Well done to Adrian for climbing the most crates - 13 high!!

The eighth rotation was the high ropes course. This gave students another experience with heights and new challenges. 

Throughout each day we had plenty of free time where we could enjoy the many games made available to us.

Our evenings were spent enjoying an OLSC Talent Show, a disco and watching the footy together while playing games, chatting and colouring. The camp was a fantastic experience for all - our students should be very proud of the way they pushed their boundaries, remained respectful towards their teachers, peers and YMCA leaders, and they showed a positive outlook at all times.

Below is a wonderful piece of writing shared by Elson, one of our Year 5 students, where he describes the experiences and emotions he felt while on camp.

Some friendly reminders...

• First day of Term 4 - Monday 2nd October
• 5/6 excursion to IMAX and Melbourne Museum - Friday 6th October
• Multicultural Day - Friday 13th October

Year 5/6 Team: Alexandra, Ann, Anna, Chelsea, Cheryl, Danielle, Gillian, Isaac, Kristina, Lisa, Selena, & Scott.

Learning Centre Three

We finally made it to the end of Term 3!!! Can you believe it??!?! The Grade 1/2s have had a BUSY term with lots of learning, fun experiences and special days, including our Melbourne Zoo excursion, Feast Day, Faith evening, exploring plants and animals and much much more. As we approach the end of Term, we hope that everyone has a well-deserved break and we look forward to seeing everyone in Term 4!

In Literacy this week, we have been looking at the ‘Oi!’ Series by Kes Gray and Jim Field. Students havebeen exploring the use of rhyming words and using this knowledge to write sentences about different animals. We have also looked at reviewing books that we have read in class. Have a look at some of our awesome book reviews….

For Writing, we have book building our writing stamina with BIG WRITES using a picture prompt. Students have been practising editing their work for capital letters, full stops, adjectives, verbs and finger spaces.Check out some of our awesome work….

For Maths this week, we have been learning how to collect data and represent the information. Students have been asked to collect data about their chosen topic and collect information from their peers. We focused on the text ‘Tally O’Mally’ and had students collect REAL data outside. We then use this information to create graphs with concrete materials and in their books.

In Inquiry, we have continued to work on and finish out information reports about our chosen animal. Students have worked hard over the last 2 weeks to research, write and edit their work, in preparation for our Learning Expo.

Religion

Over the last few weeks, we have been learning about Mary and Mother of God. We have been learning about her beautiful journey as Jesus’ mother and how she looks after all of us. We spent some time looking at different symbols that represent her, including a heart, rosary beads and flowers. Together we created a beautiful shrine to her using handmade flowers.

On Friday the 1st of September the 1/2s, along with the rest of the school, celebrated FEAST DAY. We had an amazing time celebrating Mary, through craft activities, Mass and Kaboom Kids.

Year 1/2 Team - Alison, Bianca, Janeen, Jannine, Jess, Jordan, Marilyn, Shalome, Tasmin,  Sue and Sarena.

Learning Centre Four

Literacy / Inquiry: 

Over the last two weeks in Literacy, the 3/4 students have been reading, researching, planning and writing their information texts and posters on their chosen native Australian animal. Each 3/4 student presented their hard work at today's whole school expo, showcasing their knowledge of their chosen animal’s features, habitats, life cycles and fun facts. A big well done to all our 3/4‘s on their hard work for this term's Inquiry project.

Maths: 

In this past fortnight we have finished up our unit on time and have moved on to learning more about data collection. We finished our time unit with learning about converting time, where students were asked to create their weekly timetables and solve open-ended worded problems. Moving into data, students looked at the different ways we can display data and how to read and answer questions based on these displays. 

Religion:

In Religion, LC4 has been continuing to learn about Mary and her relationship with Jesus. This time exploring the scripture around the crucifixion, and how Mary is present in the life of Jesus and his disciples. The 3/4 students have continued to participate in some reflective thinking activities and once again explored the scripture through godly play.

Thank you everyone for another great term. We hope you all enjoy your break and we look forward to seeing you all in term 4.

Some friendly reminders…

• 2nd October - First day of Term 4
• 11th October - 3/4 Camp Info Meeting at 6.30pm (online)
• 13th October - Multicultural Day with Assembly at 9am
• 16th October - Crazy Hair Day for Children's Cancer Foundation

Year 3/4 Team: Adam, Ben, Beth, Elizabeth, Emma, Gabby, Hayley, Helen, Isaac, John, Milla and Zach.