Highlights of the Term

Another busy term at Fitzroy North Primary has been full of plenty of learning and lots of special events, including our trip to Camp Jungai with the Grade 5s and 6s, our Little Long Walk during National Reconciliation Week, several excursions and our Special Person’s Day celebration. I spoke to students from across the school to find out what stuck with them as some of the highlights of the term:

Ali (Prep): My favourite thing this term was the learning; mostly inquiry. We’ve been doing community play, like making the police, the hairdresser and the bakery.

Pepper (Prep): My favourite things this term are Tristen, play, recess and lunch!

An (Prep): I also like home time, because I miss my mum!

Halliday (in Grade 2): I liked doing tie dye. It was about creating something, not just listening or writing. We got to make our own.

Darcy (in Grade 2): Yeah, I loved tie dye too. It took days and days, and it was really fun. The whole 1/2 cohort did it. I also loved sport this term because I like active stuff. I like running around. We played soccer, basketball and football.

Charli (in Grade 3): One thing I liked doing was going on the excursion to the museum and doing Writers’ Workshop every Friday. I liked the excursion because we got to learn about the past; one thing most people learned about was Phar Lap. I like Writers’ Workshop because we get to choose what kind of writing to do. Last term I did a cookbook and this term I’m writing an information report on Adventure World, which is a water park in Perth.

Olia (in Grade 3): I liked writing this term because we got to write about historical fiction. It’s when you get to write about history but in a story. My story was set in Ancient Rome. The main character was Androdicis. He wanted to be a charioteer, but the emperor was really evil so all the citizens got rid of the Emperor and let him become emperor! I’m publishing the story now but I’m not done. It will be ready to read next week (at Wednesday’ open morning).

Sol (in Grade 4): I liked going on the excursion to Melbourne Museum because it was really fun seeing everything inside. The rainforest was really cool, there were real-life birds there. We also went upstairs to the other sections - there was an olden days cinema and it was really fun to see the black and white pictures and projector.

Cade (in Grade 4): I liked when I read My Place. We just finished the last page. It went all the way from 1888 to 1978. The first character was Barangaroo and the final character was Lily. I liked it because it was interesting. It was about different people in different times in Australian history. One part was sad, but overall it was good.

Hazel (in Grade 5): I really liked doing the inquiry and presenting to other students about Aboriginal history. We were given an Aboriginal organisation and two Aboriginal people to tell different students about; we presented to the Preps. We did an activity at the end, which was my favourite part. We cut out hand shapes so the Preps could stick leaves and bark and draw Aboriginal related things on their hands. They listened really well!

Izzy (in Grade 5): My highlight was doing interschool sports because you got to work as a team and try out lots of different sports. I chose soccer for Gala Day; we all went to Princess Park to play the matches and it was so much fun playing against the other schools. My team was division two, we won all of our matches.

Jazelle (in Grade 5): My highlight was camp! I liked the canoeing. I’m not sure why, but I was trying to capsize the boat - I didn’t succeed! I still got wet - and I got Martina wet! I also liked the cabins because the mattresses were very soft!

Bessie (in Grade 6): My favourite thing this term was definitely philosophy and inter-school sports. Philosophy is when you think about deep questions and I enjoy it because there’s no right or wrong answer, it’s just an opinion. We talked about lots of things, like ‘would you rather be right or kind’. It’s cool to think about these things. We did it when Toby visited the class. I liked interschool sports because I got to skip class and play sport with my friends and improve my netball skills. Our team was the second best mixed team on Gala Day.

Alice B (in Grade 6): I liked writing historical fiction. It was really fun because it was cool to learn about how people’s lives were back then. My story was about a girl in the 1900s who goes on the Titanic and her dad dies. Then she moves to America and then back to England. And then they moved to Australia as a ‘Ten Pound Pom’. It’s very complicated! I’ve already published it. When I tried to publish it in class I was using tea bags (to stain the paper) and we broke a lot of tea bags - and Brad got annoyed!

Exploring Maths at Home

I’ve recently had some parents ask me about ways they can support their children with their maths learning at home. As I’ve written about before, I always encourage parents and carers to focus on connecting maths with children’s day-to-day lives and, through games and discussions, and trying to make maths as playful as possible.

There is extensive research to show that students’ attitudes towards mathematics, including their enjoyment of maths and whether or not they value it, is strongly correlated with achievement. The most recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) shows that 26% of Grade 4 Australian students report that they do not like maths - and this number is 50% for year 8 students (you can read more about the study here). These numbers are higher than the international average (20% and 41% respectively). The achievement levels in the TIMSS assessment for these students are significantly lower than for those who report to enjoy maths. The same study shows that student self-confidence in maths is an even stronger indicator of mathematical achievement than enjoyment, and there is a stark gender difference when it comes to low confidence (30% for Grade 4 girls report that they are ‘not confident’ with maths, and 20% of boys; the difference increases to 16% for Grade 8 students).

Research by Peixoto et al (2023) further explores the relationship between parent/carer values towards maths and student motivation and achievement. This study found that ‘parental practices promoting mathematics’ intrinsic value were associated with their children’s mathematics motivation. Here, intrinsic value-promoting practices are those in which parents look to promote a view of math as interesting, fun and enjoyable.’

This research highlights our shared responsibility at school and home to be playful with maths and encourage deep thinking, while making authentic connections to the real world. Some of the wonderful problem-solving and experiential mathematical learning at our school reinforces these ideas, and is supported by more targeted explicit teaching.

I’ve previously shared examples of using shopping as a way to engage children purposefully with maths. Weighing items, comparing the value of different food or even giving your child a small budget (with some parameters!) are all methods I’ve used with my own children.

Games are another fantastic way to playfully engage with your child around mathematical learning. You may like to play a ‘maths game’ (a reminder about the fantastic Love Maths website https://www.lovemaths.me/games where consultant Michael Minas has video demonstrates lots of games with his own children), a simple dice or card game (for example, ‘snap’ or Tenzi), or choose a board game with mathematical connections.

At my house we play a lot of Catan (probability), Rummikub (probability, ordering/comparing numbers), Monopoly (financial maths) and the card game Cabo (memory, addition). There are also plenty of online games to get your children thinking deeply about maths, including Nerdle and the Numbers Game. Finally, for those parents of younger children, I’m a huge advocate for the tv show Number Blocks, which teaches children about numbers in a playful way, with a focus on connections and patterns.

Happy playing!

Build Update

For those who have been at school over the last couple of weeks, you will have noticed some exciting progress around the new ‘front’ part of the school. Asphalt was laid over the last couple of days and the landscaping has progressed - we’re not far away from having a new front entrance in this area which will create an important physical connection between the junior and senior schools. Also, the Fergie Street gate is open again today - thank you for your patience while this entrance has been closed.

School Policies: Dress Code Policy

The school has recently updated our Dress Code policy, as part of our policy review cycle, with feedback provided by School Council and the Policy and Curriculum subcommittee. There are no major changes from our existing policy, and the focus continues to be on promoting family choice, allowing children to express their individuality, and promoting personal safety. A reminder that students are encouraged to wear appropriate footwear and clothing for outdoor activities, particularly on days they have Physical Education and sport. Classroom teachers will communicate the Term 3 timetable to families early next term, including the days students have these activities.

Don’t forget an optional school polo shirt is available to be purchased at the school office.

The updated version of this policy can be found on the school website at https://www.fitzroynthps.vic.edu.au/policies.

Thank You

As this is my final newsletter before I head off on a new professional adventure next term, I wanted to say a huge thank you to all members of the Fitzroy North Primary community.

It’s been wonderful getting to know the students at our school and I will miss their energy, kindness and wonder.

I’ve also been so lucky to work alongside such a brilliant group of professional and passionate teachers and education support staff who care deeply about supporting the students as they learn and grow. I’ve learnt so much working with Tania and thank her for her support over the last 2+years. Thanks also to our dedicated members of our School Council and the subcommittees who I’ve worked closely with. And finally, to our amazing office staff, Emily and Nicole - thank you for all you do to make everything happen behind the scenes.

I can’t wait to visit in the future and see the completed building works!

Best wishes

Toby

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