Junior School News
6 Red Students who read the prayer at Monday's Assembly
- From the Head of the Junior School
- Junior School Sport
- From the Junior Resource Centre
- Junior Chess
From the Head of the Junior School
This year is the 200th year of Catholic Education in Australia. To celebrate, every school in Australia will be celebrating Mass next Monday on the Feast Day of Australia’s first Patron Saint, Mary, Help of Christians. Our other Patron Saint, Saint Mary of the Cross, MacKillop is mentioned in the prayer.
The boys will be celebrating Mass in our classrooms next Monday at 10.30 am as a live stream from Our Lady of Dolours Church. Year 12 will be in the Church with the Year 12 students from Mercy College and the Year 5 & 6 students from Our Lady of Dolours Primary School. In honour of 200 years of Catholic Education we have this prayer.
Last Saturday, we had a lovely day for all our sport to proceed. On Sunday, Year 6 had an organised play in the park. On Monday Year 5 finished NAPLAN by completing the Numeracy test.
Morning Study Class Years 5-11
A reminder about this great opportunity for Junior students to attend the Morning Study Class.
Three mornings per week any student is welcome to the Morning Study Class in C5 from 7:30 am. This is available on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings and is conducted by Mrs Gunns. Please take advantage of this opportunity to have help with any coursework or homework.
NAPLAN Online 2021
NAPLAN online has been successfully completed. The boys were very pragmatic and adjusted seamlessly to the online testing protocols. I'm sure they did their best.
THE UPCOMING WEEK
Thursday 20/5 - Oxford Falls – Winter Training
Friday 21/5- Yr 5 -Last Peer Support - Period 4 and lunch at Beauchamp.
Monday 24/5 – Mass to celebrate 200 Years of Catholic Education
Thursday 27/5 - Oxford Falls – Dance Session 1
Save the Date
Thursday 17/6 - The dance finale.
During Term 2 we employ expert dance teachers to teach each Colour House a dance routine. Think group/tribal style of dancing. After the four weeks we have a ‘dance off’ for house points. The boys love it. Admittedly some start out negatively but by the end they really enjoy it. As long as COVID restrictions allow, we will invite parents to the finale. It will be in the CBC Centre (new gym at Oxford Falls) and will commence at approximately 12.45 pm till 1.20 pm. After the finale we will be awarding blue certificates for effort.
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A THOUGHT TO PONDER
Only pray on days that end in Y.
Thanking you for your support.
Mr Tim Long - Head of the Junior School
Year 6 - Save the Dates
Year 6 Class Parents
Junior School Sport
Junior School Sport News: Please ensure you arrive at your venue 30 min prior to kick off Saturday to ensure that your coach can prepare the team to start on time.
Thursday Sport: Training for AFL, Football, Rugby and Mixed sport.
AFL
It was a fresh morning out at Ryde, with our lads taking on Newington College. After a solid hit out at training earlier in the week led by Alexander Arena, I was confident that our team would turn up ready to play – and they didn’t let the fans down.
SPX led from the first bounce, employing a fast-flowing brand of play that denied Newington any attacking opportunities. SPX mounted a solid lead on the scoreboard and by half time were leading 50 – 6. After a third quarter surge from Newington, SPX regrouped and finished the game ahead and were excited to achieve our first win for the season. Hudson Savage was outstanding, kicking a "bag of goals". Charlie Sproule and Lucas Chong were solid in defence, while Nathaniel Ho displayed an amazing vertical leap to deny Newington a sure 6-pointer.
Special mention goes to Lucas Tubman, who had the challenge of ‘taking it to the opposition’ at every opportunity. Lucas really showed a newfound zest and I am looking forward to seeing his teammates follow his lead in the coming weeks.
Rugby
Mr Benn McBrearty - Junior School Sports Master
Junior Football
The boys are starting to play well together, and our Preps were very successful with 1 draw and 5 wins. Our 11s are continuing to learn and we look forward to more improvement over the coming rounds.
There are some changes to the times this week as all the teams who have a game will be at Oxford Falls. Thanks to those who have sent in some photos. Some teams are better represented than others, so I encourage all teams to send in some action photos from the games or a team shot post game.
Mr Paul Cummins - Junior Football Convenor
From the Junior Resource Centre
This Week's Highlights are:
It’s Library and Information Week 2021! A week to showcase Libraries and all they have to offer! This year’s theme is Adventures in Time and Space – So come in and be taken on a journey in Other Worlds, get help connecting with high quality information and resources to help launch you into your future!!
The best way to celebrate Library and Information Week was by attending the AIS Teacher Librarian Conference 'Turning a New Page’ at the State Library of NSW. We discussed Diversity in Children’s Literature, parent book clubs, a school library working with RSPCA with Children reading to animals ready for adoption. We also discussed the great resources available to teachers and students at the State Library. The day finished with Rawah Arja discussing her novel The F Team. Rawah wrote a book about Punchbowl so reluctant readers in her class can have a book about them. Making her boys seen, making them read. She also talked about her strategy when writing her book, getting boys to read was pivotal! Thanks to the organisers for an inspiring day.
Literature Promotion in the JRC
This week Year 6 researched the Awesome Author – Jackie French. They enjoyed listening to the story The Beach They Called Gallipoli. This book is about Gallipoli, the place, and what happened on Gallipoli Beach, from the ANZAC's first landing in April to their retreat in December 1915. Images, memorabilia, illustrations and photographs enrich the recount of the months that followed the landing. A challenging read – PRC ID: 3019
Year 5 enjoyed reading and discussing the book Dreaming Soldiers by Catherine Bauer and illustrated by Shane McGrath. "With impressive well-chosen prose that references the Indigenous theme, Catherine Bauer brings into focus the Indigenous soldiers that served in the Wars. Shane McGrath has done a magnificent job translating the text and giving it another dimension by magnifying the most important scenes."
Mrs Martin’s Book Trail: Heroes Of The Secret Undergroundby Susanne Gervay.
Heroes of the Secret Underground is a timely and powerful time-slip story inspired by the author’s family in Budapest during the Holocaust. Louie lives with her brothers, Bert and Teddy, in a hotel run by their grandparents. It is one of Sydney’s grand old buildings, rich in history … and in secrets. When a rose-gold locket, once thought lost, is uncovered, it sends Louie and her brothers spinning back in time. Back to a world at war: Budapest in the winter of 1944, where their grandparents are hiding secrets of their own …
From best-selling author Susanne Gervay comes a heart-racing time-slip story inspired by her own family’s escape from Budapest during the Holocaust.
#mrsmartinsbooktrail2021
Mrs Elena Martin – Teacher Librarian
JUNIOR SCHOOL CHESS CLUB
Junior School Chess Competition continues this week, Friday 21 2021. All teams will be at HOME this week. Please check the updated draw for more details.
Mrs Elena Martin - Junior School Chess Convenor