Infants and Primary
Infants
Infants’ students all enjoyed taking part in our ‘Wellbeing Day’ for Term 2. This was an opportunity for all students to further explore the theme of ‘anti-bullying’ through watching a stage performance of ‘Bully Bull Ring’ by Meerkat Productions as well as participating in class activities and discussion. Thank you to all the staff who organised this valuable day for our students.
We are pleased to again welcome some more students into our Infants and Primary classes. It is wonderful to get to know these new people and seeing them enjoying the time at their new school so quickly.
There have been lots of illnesses impacting students and staff over the recent weeks. Please remember to keep your child/ren at home if they have any symptoms of infectious illnesses, including coughing, sneezing and nose discharge – this is to help them rest and recover quickly as well as to help stop the spread to other children and staff. We appreciate your support with this.
As mentioned before, reports for Semester One will be distributed to families at the end of this term. We will be holding Parent-Teacher Interviews early in Term 3 and we encourage all families to be a part of this. Watch this space for further information about dates and booking times. Please contact your child’s teacher through the school office if you have any questions or concerns prior to then.
Ms Mem Brougham
Assistant Principal Infants (relieving)
Kindergarten
Kindergarten students have continued to build on their phonemic awareness skills and are now able to read and write so many short words and are impressing themselves, their teachers and their families. So clever!
Kindergarten students always enjoy playing lots of counting and dice games in mathematics. These help us become really fast at recognising dice dot patterns, finding smaller numbers within big numbers, such as 10 can be made up of 3 and 7, 2 and 8, 5 and 5, 6, 3 and 1, etc. etc. All of these skills help build efficient young mathematicians and any practise with counting at home is always helpful too.
On Tuesday, Kindergarten enjoyed an extra few minutes of playtime after proudly receiving the Assembly Trophy – they had lots of fun together in the playground in the Winter sun.
Ms Mem Brougham
Kindergarten Teacher
Assistant Principal Infants (relieving)
1/2 Class
Over the last two weeks, 1/ 2 has been busy as usual. We have engaged in a mathematics unit that has involved halving and quartering and the children are getting very clever at solving problems that involve creating a fair share. In English, students have taken their fantastic writing to the computer lab, extending their computer skills to include publishing their work through this format. We have been watching our lettuce seeds grow after planting them a couple of weeks ago in our PDHPE unit. The seeds are finding it a tad chilly- but we are seeing little seedlings nonetheless!
Our creative and performing arts this term includes the choreography of a performance for Smart Drama night. Thank you to the fantastic SLSO Haylee for supporting us in getting the right beats and moves. It looks great, and we are getting excited to share it with you next term.
On Wednesday of Week 8, we participated in this term’s Wellbeing Day which was all about building positive relationships. We watched a fantastic show put on by Meercat Productions called ‘Bully- Bull Ring’ and had so many discussions about what bullying looks like and what it can do to people. We also created a number of artworks that have been displayed to remind us each day to be a bucket filler- not dipper!
Emily Friend - Class Teacher
Primary
The Primary classrooms have had a great few weeks. We enjoyed a sensational student wellbeing day on Wednesday 14 June, where we explored bullying, the impacts of negative comments and poor choices have on other people. Unfortunately, at times some students choose to use language that doesn’t help others, and this can have a significant impact long-term. We explored ways we can support our friends if they believe they are being bullied both inside and outside the school. We had a fantastic day and look forward to next term’s wellbeing day.
We are building towards the end of term and finalising our Term 2 assessments and classroom tests. All students have made progress in a wide range of ways this term, be it academically or socially. I am very proud to read each student’s half-yearly report and I’ve noticed a trend of improved effort and application both inside and outside the classroom – long may this trend continue!
We still have a focus as a whole school on using appropriate words and actions both inside and outside the classroom. Parents are reminded that when teachers contact parents about issues occurring at school, it comes from a place of support. It’s our school policy to contact parents and let them know about both positive and negative things happening at school, with the idea to build the home/school connection for the benefit of all students. Please remember this when discussing incidents or areas of development that are evident.
If you require any additional information or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email: Jason.stuart3@det.nsw.edu.au
Jason Stuart
Assistant Principal Primary (Relieving)
4/5 Class
What a whirlwind these past few weeks have been in the 4/5 classroom! There have been some adjustments and a lot of learning. While we've had to delay our much-anticipated Genius Hour presentations, please know that they're well on their way and your children have been working diligently to polish their projects. Look out for the upcoming note with all the details on this exciting showcase at the end of the term.
Our English classes have been packed with creativity as we've delved deep into the art of narratives. Our focus has been on understanding narrative structure and learning to use literary devices to enhance storytelling. In reading, we've been working tirelessly on developing our comprehension skills, with a particular focus on comparing and contrasting, making inferences, understanding the author's purpose and audience, and making predictions.
We have been on quite the mathematical journey, exploring the concepts of inverse operations, grid references and maps. These are fundamental skills that will serve students well in everyday life, from interpreting data to planning a route. The class has shown great enthusiasm in tackling these challenging topics.
We have just concluded our fascinating exploration into matter and the purposeful use of materials. This provided a great opportunity for students to understand the practical applications of scientific knowledge. In our next step, we are starting an exciting unit on living and non-living things, which will allow the students to better understand the interconnectedness of our planet's ecosystems.
Our recent Wellbeing Day was an overwhelming success. We used this time to define and discuss bullying: what it looks like, how it happens, and, most importantly, what can be done to help stop it. This discussion has contributed significantly to our ongoing efforts to ensure that our classroom is a safe, inclusive and respectful environment.
As always, thank you for your continued support and involvement. In you have any concerns or have any questions please send me an email matthew.rowley12@det.nsw.edu.au
or call the school to arrange and appointment.
Matthew Rowley - Class Teacher
5/6 Class
The Year 5/6 class has been heavily focused on mathematics over the past two weeks. We have begun and completed a unit of work on angles and 2-D space. This is one of the most enjoyable units we study, as we can very easily relate it to real life and how we can use our new skills in the future. We continue to practise our times tables and number facts every day, and students are encouraged to continue to build upon this knowledge at home. In science, we have been exploring micro-organisms and how they impact our life. We have been talking a lot about bacteria and how our bodies change as we get older. It is noticeable in our classroom that the students are growing and changing over the weeks. It’s important for all students to know about proper personal hygiene and ways to manage this. We sent out a letter to my class last week regarding this, and please get in touch if you need any assistance or clarification.
In PDHPE we have finished our unit on indoor soccer and have begun a ‘multi-sports’ unit. Here we will focus on teamwork, adapting to rules and working together. It is clear that some of the boys in the classroom are taking the active PDHPE very seriously, and this can have an impact on others. We are working on the best way to support team-mates and ensure that all are not only enjoying our time in class but building our skills also.
As always, please get in touch if you require any further information.
Jason Stuart - 5/6 Class Teacher
Assistant Principal Primary (Relieving)