5-8 Community News

Dear Families/Caregivers,

What a busy, busy few weeks for our 5-8 Community. Students in our Community have undertaken some the following events during the last fortnight:

• Year 7 immunisations
• An excursion to the Shrine of Remembrance
• Canberra War memorial online Zoom
• Years 7/8 Tennis 
• Swimming Sports
• Ash Wednesday: Whole School Liturgy
• Whole School Assembly
• Shrove Tuesday

A very big well done to all of our students who continue to show a level of commitment and respect to themselves as they always demonstrate and conform to each SOLE pillar and expectation out in various communities.

As we move into learning across our wonderful community, reading and writing continues to dominate our learning experiences.  Each morning for English, all students in Years 5-8 are reading their termly text in a variety of open and closed reading sessions to support their oral reading, oral fluency and accuracy skills. Each reading session incorporates an element of writing response to each text. 

This fortnight in TA, the students have revisited their Goal from Week 2. There are always three parts to setting goals:

1. Review current and previous academic and behavioural progression
2. Develop a short term or long term SMART Goal
3. Self reflection on goal progression both mid and end term

We continue to use the 2023 Student Diary as an opportunity for our students to practise Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness. There are some really good tools in the diary which encourages the students to each day record:

• Healthy food intake
• Exercise minutes
• Hours of sleep

Each day the journal presents the students with a question and encourages them to think deeply about how they showcase gratitude, empathy and mindfulness on a daily basis. This week the students have been asked in their journal:

• To give three people a complement 
• How they have shown empathy?
• What mindfulness activity will they use today?

Lunchtime activities have continued to be a real hit with nine teams participating in the 5-8 indoor soccer sports competition.  A big shout out to two of our teams, The Slays and Golden Girls for taking on some of the Year 8 boy teams. Go Get 'em girls! 

A big thank you to Antony DePasquale and Will Harrison, two of our Year 8 Leaders, for taking the time to referee each game - a sign of great leadership and respect to themselves and their peers.

Again, as staff in the 5- 8 Community, we strongly encourage you to have conversations with your children about attending a lunchtime activity, particularly if they are finding themselves bored and uninterested in the schoolyard.  We offer the following lunchtime activities:

• Monday - Tech Club
• Tuesday - Indoor soccer
• Wednesday - Indoor soccer
• Thursday - Tech Club
• Friday - Tech Club

Our poster can be found in our community spaces. There are a number of activities that provide exceptional opportunities, further developing positive relationships/friendships but also creating a very safe space for our children.

What we are working towards as a 5-8 Community? 

• Continuing to be organised: books, learning equipment, device, school journal etc.
• Getting to each lesson on time, especially after each break.
• Utilising brain breaks for their purpose. So much research supports student breaks for self-regulation.
• Continuing to stay within the designated 5-8 play areas. 
• Following the teacher's direction. 

We again wanted to take the time to praise our Year 8 Leaders for 2023 who have already shown a level of commitment as they continue to lead within our community and from within the school. Antony DePasquale, Wil Harrison, Shylee Donaldson, Penny Mason, Jayde Simpson, Olivia McMeeken, Archer Backway, Paddy Westerveld, Tayte Newman and  Ella Cope, continue to inspire their peers and teachers by leading in the space of TA and in lunchtime activities. 

The Shrine of Remembrance: 7 - 9 Partnerships for the Future

On Thursday 2nd of March, the 7-9 Partnerships for the Future students headed to Melbourne as they undertook a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the Shrine of Remembrance, called 'Keepsakes from World War 1'.  Our students heard from volunteers who had family connections to World Wars 1 and 2. Such a heartfelt experience, linked to their English humanities and English writing curriculum this term.

The teaching of SOLE (Self, Others, Learning and Environment) in the 5-8 Community continues to provide students with ongoing opportunities to practice respect in various areas within the school. 

Our new SOLE matrix has some really good material that continues to be unpacked with the students.

Corey Carver and Anthony Poppa

5-8 Community Leaders