Foundation
Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Like Jesus
Pancakes
There was great excitement from students in all classes last Tuesday as the Yr 6 leaders showcased their culinary skills and made pancakes for everyone. It was a great morning, and helped raise valuable funds for Caritas- a Catholic organisation dedicated to helping the less fortunate people in our world.
As we embrace the season of Lent, a time of reflection, sacrifice and giving, we invite you to join us in this special initiative that aligns with the spirit of the season. This year, we are reaching out to you, our St John’s families, to get actively involved with Project Compassion! Your children will be actively participating in Project Compassion at school to make a significant impact on the lives of those less fortunate, and this year, we would like to invite parents to jump on board too! We believe that together, as students, teachers and parents, we can help to encourage our kids and amplify their efforts. As Easter approaches, we encourage you to get involved by taking part in Give it up forLent – whether you forgo your daily coffee, or indulge in a little less screen time, or give up your car during Lent and in doing so raise money for Caritas Australia. We are sending home a family Project Compassion Box and encourage your family to talk about different things you could do for ‘Give it up for Lent.’
Thank you for your involvement.
Introduction to The Resilience Project
This year we have introduced The Resilience Project lessons.
We are committed to teaching positive mental health strategies to build the children's capacity to deal with the everyday ups and downs.
Teachers and students will engage in weekly lessons and activities around the key principles of Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness (GEM) and Emotional Literacy to build resilience.
Click on the link to find out more about The Resilience Project.
In Foundation we have been exploring the concept of gratitude- being thankful for what we already have, rather than wanting things we don't have. It has been a challenging discussion for some students, with opinions being shared loudly and vocally about things we would LIKE, rather than things we already have. The students have identified one aspect of their life they feel gratitude for, and have made a beautiful class display. Please feel free to come into the classroom and have a look whenever you get a chance.
Literacy
We have started a new program in the Junior school, Heggerty, which is based around explicit phonics instruction. So far in Foundation we have been looking at rhyming words (thumbs up if it rhymes, thumbs down if it doesn't), initial sounds and blending words. The program uses quite a few hand gestures and signals to aid learning, which the students are picking up quickly- (possibly far quicker than their teacher who is frequently referring to her notes). We have a session first thing every morning, straight after attendance and a short prayer. The session only goes for around 10 minutes, and then we move into reading the shared big book. It is important that students are here before the morning bell each day, and thankfully that has been mostly the case so far in Foundation this year. With the phonics session only taking 10-12 minutes to complete, latecomers could easily miss this valuable learning time. The Literacy block is the first 2 hours of every day, and is jam packed with learning. There has been a continual emphasis on correct pencil grip, which most students have mastered, although some may require reminders to achieve this. We have been investigating the way books work, and have been introduced to simple punctuation. We are also constantly reinforcing alphabet knowledge with games of Bingo, Memory and "I Spy".
Numeracy
We have been looking at our next unit "Maths about Me", which has been lots of fun and has covered lots of different maths concepts. Activities such as playdoh, tower blocks and creating a class graph of height with streamers have all kept the students enthused and engaged during Maths times. With Wednesdays off, and Thursdays a Specialist subject day, Maths lessons are currently a little 'light on'. This will be rectified once the students are here for full weeks and our weekly program becomes more settled.
My Future Academy.
What a hot day the Foundation students had for their first introduction to Jimmy Ivill! But that did not stop anyone! Jimmy visits St John's on a fortnightly basis, with the emphasis on team building, self umpiring and participation. The students learned how to stand in "Mountain" pose when checking in for instructions- because mountains are strong, silent and still. Foundation mountains are currently still working on silent and still...
It is really important that students bring a water bottle every day to school, and especially on the days Jimmy is here.
Jimmy is also running a My Future Academy (this name will be used instead of Bluearth from now on Family Night at school on Thursday 7th March, which should be great fun. The evening will begin at 6pm, and run until 7:15pm. BYO drink bottle and a 'can do' attitude.
WATER
Just a reminder that water, and only water, is the drink for school. There have been a number of students with juice boxes, milk cartons and primas at Recess and Lunch times. Students have been shown where the long neck taps are for refilling drink bottles, and are encouraged to drink water in the classroom throughout the day, so no one will go thirsty. Primas and juice boxes will be sent home (if unopened) or put in the bin (opened) if students have them.
Thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
Timetable
Monday
Tuesday Art
School newsletter online(odd weeks) Classroom updates (even weeks)
Wednesday Rest Day
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.