Foundation

Jumpers

You know when I put an announcement at the top of the page, it's important.

We have an extraordinary cache of lost/un-named jumpers in the lost property basket, plus an extraordinary number of students coming in each day saying "I've lost my jumper".

I think there is a definite link between the two...

Please, please, please make sure your child's clothing is clearly labelled with their name, not the person who you may have received the jumper from (siblings are fine, we can work those ones out). But it is difficult to track down owners when they have been gone from the school for years. We have also introduced a penalty system for lost jumpers- if we find it, it will cost 10 bits of rubbish when we hand it back. This has a two-fold effect. Our school yard has never looked tidier, plus students are being encouraged to be more responsible for their own belongings. There is a certain lack of care from many of the students when their jumpers go missing- a common belief that someone else will find it for them. "Your jumper, your responsibility" is my favourite mantra at the moment, and I am encouraging students to independently check the lost property basket and retrace their steps to search for their own belongings. 

Literacy 

Handwriting is a daily lesson in the Foundation room, with the benefits starting to become very apparent. Writing needs to be the correct size (tricky) and sit on the straight blue line (even trickier). Pleasingly, all students are trying very hard to achieve these goals, with their handwriting styles starting to reflect this effort. 

The next step will be to make sure this beautiful handwriting style is evident in all their books, not just the Handwriting one, but we will take it one expectation at a time. Of course like learning any new skill, some students are mastering this quicker than other students. As long as everyone continues to try their best, and have a correct pencil grip, I am happy.

We are looking at Imaginative writing for the rest of the Term, with Fairy Tales a focus. The students in Foundation are becoming aware that there are many different genres of writing. So far we have looked at recounts, narratives and information texts, and have a developing understanding of the structure and characteristics of each. On Friday we now have a "Free Choice Friday" writing session where students can write whatever they like. It is evident from these sessions just how much the students have understood about the different writing genres as they are now choosing to write in many different forms.

Numeracy 

It has been a wonderful unit on Additive thinking, and we have had some really fun Maths lessons centred around this concept. Additive thinking is built upon counting strategies but is different in that it considers what students know about numbers and the relationships between the numbers, not just the counting sequence. There has been a lot of problem solving, with the realisation from students that there are many different ways to successfully solve a problem. All ways are valid, and a big part of the learning has been getting the students to explain their strategies. 

"I literally just know" was the reply from one Foundation student when asked how he knew the Queen was missing 13 diamonds. With further questioning he was able to explain how this 'literal' train of thought occurred, and in the process shared his problem solving strategy with his peers.

We are going to revisit numbers to 20 before the end of Term, a concept that can not be over explored in the first year of school as it is crucial for building a strong foundation for future Maths learning. 

We have also learned a new maths game "Addition Golf", from the www.lovemaths.com website. The aim of the game is to get the lowest score, and we get to use calculators to check the final tally! What more could you ask from a game???

Religion

"I care for God's World" is the new topic for Religious Education, and like so many units in the Foundation curriculum, focuses heavily on our choices and how the way we live our lives can impact others. We have read "Lester and Clyde", a cautionary tale about a frog who discovers the perils of pollution, and we have identified places that are important to us and discussed why they are so special. Next we will be investigating the role we have in caring for God's world. This is a really lovely unit of work, and one students seem to relate to very well every year.

WELLBEING DAY

Friday 13th September is the date for the Wellbeing Day, a day when students can wear their pyjamas to school. There will be a number of activities throughout the day designed to highlight wellbeing, and then the afternoon will be our termly "Celebration of Learning" which the Yr 6 students are going to organise and run. Everyone is most welcome to join us after lunch to see what wellbeing looks like at St John's.

Athletics

Congratulations to the Gold House on being crowned the 2024 Champion House of St. John's. In a closely fought tussle, Gold came out on top- ever so slightly ahead of the mighty Red team, and celebrated accordingly.

A huge thank you to Melinda Watson who had this day running like Swiss clockwork, and to all the parents who came to cheer on sporting endeavours. The smiles on students' faces throughout the day were testament to how much they were enjoying themselves, which is really all that matters.

Well that, and Red winning next year...

2025 Enrolments

We are now taking enrolments for 2025. Actually, we have a heap of students enrolled already, so if you know anyone who is still thinking of St. John's for their child next year, it would be a sensible idea for them to make up their minds quickly, and get their child's name onto the rapidly expanding list.

Therese has started Enrolment interviews, but I am sure there is room left for any families who still wish to join the St. John's school commuity.

Timetable 

Monday

Tuesday         Art 

                         School newsletter online(odd weeks) 

Wednesday  Lunch Orders

Thursday       Specialist subjects (students to wear sports uniform and runners)

Friday             Library, Bluearth- wear sports uniform (even weeks)  Assembly (odd weeks)

Don't forget, any questions, problems or queries, please contact me. If it is during school hours, just leave a message and I will return it as soon as possible, or send me an email.

sredfern@sjeuroa.catholic.edu.au

Thank you,

Sally and Damien