Teaching & Learning
Online Learning
It is probably a good time to take a look back over what online learning opportunities we have available to students at Buninyong PS. Given that we may be facing times of isolation away from crowds in the near future, these resources may be a useful reminder for all our families. These resources are accessible at school and at home.
What online subscriptions do students have access to?
Reading Eggs/ Reading Eggspress
Reading Eggs is explicitly created to support foundational literacy skills of students in years Prep – 2. The engaging layout allows students to learn letter sounds, blends and grammar while having access to a broad range of texts. Reading Eggspress is the extension of Reading Eggs focussing on years 3 -6. The activities focus on spelling, writing, grammar and comprehension skills with the added engagement of live literacy based games.
Mathletics
Mathletics is used as part of our mathematics program at school. Mathletics is a targeted, rewarding and captivating online learning resource, which is aligned to curriculum standards.
Your child has take-home access to Mathletics — they simply sign in with their Mathletics username and password using any compatible computer or mobile device.
Teachers have access to a powerful reporting and administration suite which allows them to allocate and target specific activities to match learning skills and content being taught in class.
Literacy Pro
Literacy Pro is a program that has been running at Buninyong PS for quite a number of years. Our library has managed to accumulate around 2500 books that are closely linked to this program. The program is designed to assist students who are independent readers to find ‘Good Fit Books’ and help build comprehension skills and strategies. For the vast majority of the Lit Pro books in the library there is an online quiz for the students to take. This helps the teachers gather valuable data on how frequently students are reading and the level of understanding they have gained.
Next week we will share some different learning platforms that may come in handy over the coming months.
Harmony Day
This Saturday 21st March we celebrate Harmony Day. It is a time to stop and think about all of the wonderful people and cultures that make up our wonderful country and the contributions they have made and continue to make to the community.
Our cultural diversity
Australia is a vibrant and multicultural country — from the oldest continuous culture of our first Australians to the cultures of our newest arrivals from around the world.
Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are. It makes Australia a great place to live.
An integrated multicultural Australia is an integral part of our national identity. All people who migrate to Australia bring with them some of their own cultural and religious traditions, as well as taking on many new traditions. Collectively, these traditions have enriched our nation.
Facts and figures
There are some fascinating statistics about Australia's diversity that can be good conversation-starters:
- nearly half (49 per cent) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was
- we identify with over 300 ancestries
- since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia
- 85 per cent of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia
- apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi
- more than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia.
What is Harmony Week?
It is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism, and the successful integration of migrants into our community.
Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world and we should celebrate this and work to maintain it.
Harmony Week is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.