Learning Centre News... 

Learning Centre One

How is it that we are already in week 8? The preps have been busy bees throughout the last couple of weeks as they have been eager to learn new and exciting things.

The students in Literacy have been looking at exploring the sounds that U, R and H make during phonics time and have begun using their prior sound knowledge to begin reading some simple words in sentences. The preps have been engaged in a range of language experiences in response to the texts they’re reading. This has been focusing on how they can  integrate their reading, speaking and listening, and written text based on a first hand experience. 

The language experiences on rotation are:

• Making pancakes connecting to the text - Pancakes by Val Marshall
• Making a Pavlova connecting to the text - Possum Magic by Mem Fox
• Making a Stew with a range of materials connecting to - Wombat Stew by Pamela Lofts

During Maths, the preps have been investigating how they can subitize, which is being able to identify a number in a set, simply and quickly by looking at them and not counting them one by one. It has been great to see their development of ordering numbers, identifying numbers and their quantities grow. 

In Religion, the preps have been learning what makes a good friend and about creation. They have been looking at God as creator and all the things that God made throughout his 7 days of creation. The students reflected on creation by planting a seed and being able to reflect as they watch God’s creations grow.

We welcome back Tina D’Monte as she returns from her travels next week!

Some friendly reminders:

• Palm Sunday Liturgy - all are welcome! Friday 29th March at 9am in the Sports Hall. 
• Stations of the Cross - all are welcome! This will be on the 4th of April from 9am on the Sportsfield. 
• End of Term - 6th April at 1pm - We will also be having a whole school assembly in the Sports Hall at 12pm.
• Readers - Please ensure that book bags are bought in on a Monday and they will be returned on a Tuesday with a new book.

Lunchboxes - During a school day children need to be provided with a variety of food to sustain them, throughout their busy day of learning. Some examples of this include - A sandwich, fruit, vegetable sticks and a muesli bar.

Prep Team - Amanda, Donna, Imogen, Kiah, Mary, Sam & Tina. 

Learning Centre Two

LITERACY

The 5/6 students have begun reading a variety of class novels during the mornings. The books are generally read by the teacher to the students after which the class discusses the characters and storylines, investigates the vocabulary used by the author and shares their opinions around predictions and connections they have made. Lisa's group is reading Blueback by Tim Winton, Scott's group is enjoying Storm Boy by Colin Thiele, Alexandra's students are reading Pennies for Hitler by Jackie French, and Chelsea and Ann's groups are sharing Red by Libby Gleeson.

In writing, the students have been watching short informative videos and have written short factual recounts about the topics using the specific vocabulary and phrases from these. Some of Chelsea's students have learnt about bobcats and worked together to reconstruct their original paragraph.

In Lisa's class, students were given an original sentence taken from a piece of poetry. They were then given a series of instructions by the teacher: change a verb, add a phrase, and add an adjective. Working together in their groups, they needed to enhance the sentence. Each group then recorded their sentences on a Google doc. As a class, they worked on these sentences at the beginning of writing each day, making sure each sentence read well and was punctuated correctly. The original sentence from the text was: The count rose from his coffin and moved towards the castle stealthily.

Here are the enhanced sentences as written by our talented students:

• When the count rose from his coffin, he moved towards the castle stealthily seeking his next victim.
• As the count rose from his wooden coffin, he crept towards the large castle, following Jonathan’s every step.
• As the vicious count rose from his velvet-lined coffin, he crept towards the castle stealthily.
• Tempted by the scent of fresh blood, the count rose from his marble coffin and crept towards the castle stealthily.
• Emerging from his crypt, the count donned his magnificent cloak and marched towards the Gothic castle.

MATHS

These last few weeks have seen the students focused on money, money, money! To complete this unit, the children have been working in groups to come up with a budget for planning a party for a certain number of guests. They were required to plan this together, shop online and find the best value items and then create their party plan showing their calculations.

INQUIRY

For the latter part of Term 1, the 5/6 students have been rotating through different activities all of which focus on the area of health. At the end of each session, they have time to reflect on what they have learnt and write about this in their health journal.  The teachers have been working with the students on healthy nutritional choices, being physically active, mental health, body image and being a successful member of a team.

Finally, we are very proud of all of our Year 5 students for a successful start to their 2023 NAPLAN experience. These assessments will continue into next week.

Year 5/6 Team: Alexandra, Ann, Anna, Chelsea, Cheryl, Danielle, Gillian, Isaac, Kristina, Lisa, Salena, & Scott.

Learning Centre Three

A couple of short weeks but they have been jammed packed!

Everyone enjoyed a great footy dress-up and hot dog day.

In literacy, we read poems and found rhyming words. We also looked at books about a farm, made predictions about a text and looked at all the things we would find on a farm. 

In math, we have been learning about location. We read lots of texts and participated in a variety of activities.

We also celebrated World Maths Day, we had to estimate how many jelly babies were in the jar. Here are our winners…

For religion, students have been becoming familiar with the Stations of the Cross in preparation for the end of Lent. 

Healthy body, healthy mind… this week we have been focusing on how to keep our minds healthy and participated in some mindful activities and discussing our feelings and things that make us happy.

Some friendly reminders:

• Palm Sunday Liturgy - all are welcome! Friday 29th March at 9am in the Sports Hall. 
• Stations of the Cross - all are welcome! This will be on the 4th of April from 9am on the Sportsfield. 
• End of Term - 6th April at 1pm - We will also be having a whole school assembly in the Sports Hall at 12pm.

Year 1/2 Team - Alison, Bianca, Janeen, Jannine, Jess, Jordan, Marilyn, Shalome, Tasmin,  Sue and Sarena.

Learning Centre Four

It’s been a busy week in LC2, with our Year 3 students taking part in NAPLAN in addition to many students preparing for their First Reconciliation.

During Mathematics, students have been learning about different methods of collecting data and displaying its results.

After coming up with a closed question with limited variable responses, students surveyed their peers in topics ranging from, ‘Which of the following flavours of ice-cream do you prefer?’, to ‘Which breed of dogs do you like the most?’.

In line with our preparations for students taking part in their First Reconciliation, our focus In Religion has been on sharing different perspectives about the Way of Mercy in light of personal experiences. Through role-playing, students were able to display what it felt like to show sorrow and empathy. Students have also demonstrated their insights about possible choices for a range of personal problems.

Year 3/4 Team: Adam, Ben, Beth, Elizabeth, Emma, Gabby, Hayley, Helen, Isaac, John, Karen, Milla and Zach.