Class Updates and Reminders

Prep

Dates to Remember:

• Wednesday 18th August- Prep 100 Days of School Celebrations
• W/B Monday 23rd August- Book Week
• Thursday 26th August- Book Week in Schools Performance
• Friday 27th August- World Book Week Dress up Day

Reminders:

High Frequency Words

By the end of Term 3, Prep students are expected to read and write at least 30 high frequency words independently. 

To support students to reach this benchmark, they will receive a fortnightly list of ten words to take home. They should practise reading their high frequency words at home at least four times a week alongside their weekly reading. Students are tested on their individual word list on a fortnightly basis and provided with a new list depending on their results. 

If your child is particularly confident with their high frequency words, they are encouraged to:

-Spell the words independently.

-Use the words in sentences.

-Identify and explore the meaning of challenging words in the books they read.

Home Reading

A reminder the Home Reading Bags should be brought to school every Monday and Thursday for book changes. Diaries are also checked at this time so that reading at home can be tracked and celebrated. 

Show and Share

Regrettably, our plans for 'Show and Share' will be delayed due to the unforeseen lockdown. We feel it is better for the students to present their ideas in person and will send out a revised timetable once we return to site. In the meantime, they can begin thinking about our first topic of 'Family' and what they might like to share when the time comes.

100 Days of Prep Celebration

We are excited to announce that our 100 Days of Prep Celebrations will take place on Wednesday 18th August 2021. The celebrations will occur at school with various 100-themed activities planned throughout a normal school day.

As part of the celebrations, we invite students to get creative at home and design their own 100-themed t-shirt to wear on the day. We have had some great success with this theme in the past and have attached a few photos for some inspiration. The t-shirt can be any colour and may be worn with casual clothes. Please ensure that any clothing worn is weather and school appropriate (e.g. long pants, tights, closed-toe shoes). We understand that life is busy so if students are unable to design their own shirt, then they will be making a 100-day crown at school that they may wear to mark the occasion.

At this stage, we are unable to invite parents to join the celebrations due to current COVID-19 restrictions. We will keep you posted if anything changes. Otherwise, we will do our best to share photographs of the day through Seesaw and our School Facebook page.

Grade 1

Dates to Remember:

• Monday 23rd August- Book Week
• Thursday 26th August- Book Week in Schools Performance
• Friday 27th August- World Book Week Dress up Day

Reminders:

Some of our upcoming incursions have needed to be moved. Itsy Bitsy will now be on August 26th, if we are able to have incursions on site then. Our Bollywood Dance Incursion is still scheduled for Week 7, subject to change.

Mathseeds: Next week during remote learning Mathseeds will be a task assigned to students during the week so students do not need to complete this before then.

Grade 2

Dates to Remember:

• Monday 23rd August- Book Week
• Thursday 26th August- Book Week in Schools Performance
• Friday 27th August- World Book Week Dress up Day

Reminders:

In-visits and excursions

Due to the current lockdown and situation with COVID-19, we are unable to go ahead with the following events as planned:

-Afrobeat drumming

We are in the process of rescheduling these events so that the children do not miss out on these exciting opportunities. We have unfortunately had to cancel Itsy Bitsy Chef. The Water in-visit has been rebooked for Term 4.

Homework

Please support your child to complete one Mathseeds lesson per week for homework and continue with 4 nights of reading.

Grade 3/4

Dates to Remember:

• Week 6: Guide Dogs Australia Incursion
• Week 7: Book Week; Soccer Gala Day

Please note: Events and Incursions are subject to change. 

Reminders:

Accelerated Reader: Each child has a "points target" that they're aiming to reach by the end of Term 3. How is your child tracking toward their target? 

Mathletics: Each child is expected to earn 200 points on Mathletics as per homework expectations. Mathletics is a great way for students to consolidate their Maths learning at home, as well as explore new concepts. We encourage parents to explore Mathletics with their child, and take a look at all the great features! 

Grade 5 and 6

Dates to Remember:

• Week 7  (Monday 23rd August) Grade 5 excursion to Emerald Hill Library
• Week 7 (Tuesday 24th August) Grade 6 excursion to Emerald Hill Library
• Week 7 (Friday 27th August) - Whole school Book Week dress up day
• Week 9  (Thursday September 9th) - Ultimate Frisbee Gala Day at Fawkner Park
• Week 10 - (Thursday September 16th) - Grade 5 and 6 Summer Playoffs at Port Melbourne Primary School (TBC)
• Week 10 - Friday - Footy Colours Day

Reminders:

Accelerated Reader: Each child has a "points target" that they're aiming to reach by the end of Term 3. Your child should have achieved around 45% of their target to be tracking comfortably towards it. Accelerated Reader enhances reading skills when it is used consistently across the term. How is your child tracking toward their target? 

Mathletics: Each child is expected to earn 200 points on Mathletics as per homework expectations. Mathletics is a great way for students to consolidate their Maths learning at home, as well as explore new concepts. We encourage parents to explore Mathletics with their child, and take a look at all the great features! 

Junior School Council (JSC)

The JSC were very busy over the Remote Learning period. We have formed 3 sub-committees to work specifically on some of our focus areas. They are:

• Books Sub-Committee (to try to get more books at SMPS)
• Fundraising Sub-Committee (to organise fun activities and raise money for charitiess)
• Sports Sub-Committee (to co-ordinate extra sports equipment in the yard at playtimes)

The class representatives have been busy collecting suggestions from their classmates such as: 

• ideas to improve the school
• suggestions for books to purchase
• ideas for fundraising

Our next meeting is Thursday 12th August.