Primary

From the Primary Office

We would like to welcome everyone back to Term 4 and we hope that everyone enjoyed the holiday break after what can only be described as a term with many disruptions. In speaking with many of our students it is evident that the majority of our families opted to remain either at home or close to home during the break which ultimately supports our local businesses and is greatly appreciated.

We would like to extend a special welcome to all the new students and their families who started with us either throughout Term 3; Eli, Tommy, Jye, Bridie, Hunter and Savannah or at the start of this term; Aria, Levi, Parker, Ryder, Haylo, Zara, Eden, Oscar, Indi, April, Eden and Billy. 

We continue to receive enrolment enquiries and applications on a daily basis and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all our families for their ongoing support. A recent survey conducted by the School highlights the impact positive feedback from our current families has on enrolment decisions of new families. We are currently experiencing waiting lists at multiple year levels in the Primary School for 2022. As always, our priority remains with serving the needs of our current families and staff. Therefore, we strongly encourage families who have younger siblings, and have not already applied for enrolment, to act quickly. Please apply online or contact the School as soon as possible. 

I thank all our families for their understanding as we continue to navigate the advice and restrictions imposed on us from various bodies. Currently we cannot gather in large groups and therefore, whole Primary School assemblies and chapels have not been scheduled for this term. Instead, students will participate in Stage assemblies.  

As parents were informed last term, the Year 3, Year 4 and Year 6 camps all had to be cancelled due to these restrictions. I am pleased to announce that we have been able to make alternative arrangements for our students in these respective year levels. These students will attend the Murray Life Adventures in Torrumbarry for a Day Camp scheduled on:

Year 3 - Tuesday 23 November

Year 4 - Monday 22 November

Year 6 - Friday 19 November

Murray Life Adventures is an adventure camp and fun park on the banks of the Murray River. Students will engage in age appropriate activities throughout their Day Camp like; canoeing, climbing wall, abseiling, giant swing, flying fox, volleyball and teambuilding activities. More information about these Day Camps will be shared with families in the near future.

Meerkats Performance

Last week, our students watched an online Meerkats performance based on the books listed below. Your Birthday Was The BEST! by Maggie Hutchings and Felicita Sala was viewed by students in Kindergarten to Year 2. Aster's Good, Right Things by Kate Gordon was viewed by students in Year 3 to Year 6. 

Year 4 Student Reflections:

“It taught me to be mindful of how others are feeling and not to bully them”.

Jack Hawkins

“I liked how the actors played a bunch of different characters. They showed lots of personality”.

Jasmine Conway

“The songs and dancing were very funny. They got stuck in my head”.

Cabe Ludlow

“The show taught me how to make new friends and not judge them before you know more about them”.

Luana Kincaid

ICAS

This week, students who signed up participated in the UNSW Global Competitions, ICAS. ICAS is a powerful diagnostic tool that has operated in the field of measurement and assessment for over 30 years. It gives parents and teachers deep insight into the true capabilities of children; assessing the higher order thinking and problem-solving skills needed for success. These competitions are by nature designed to test and challenge students whose academic ability lies in the top 10% of their school cohort. 

Our students competed in English on Monday, Science on Wednesday and Maths on Friday. Parents will be able to access their child’s test results through the portal when they become available later this term. ICAS reports enable parents and the school to:

• Pinpoint your child’s strengths
• Identify skill areas to be worked on either for remediation or skill development
• See the answers your child gave, as well as the correct answer
• Track Educational performance
• See your child’s comparative performance nationally.

T1D Fundraiser

Evie, one of our Year 6 School Leaders is currently raising money and awareness for Type 1 diabetes through the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Evie and her team have raised $1379 by walking 89km of her 100km target. Feel free to check out Evie’s page at http://walk.jdrf.org.au/fundraisers/eviebassett

Evie was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on 24 October 2014. Evie put a proposal together in which she asked to have the Primary School involved in raising awareness about type one diabetes.

Considering this cause is obviously close to Evie’s heart, the school will support Evie as she works with the Year 6 leaders to put together a great fundraising day on Friday 22 October.

On this day, all Primary students are invited to attend school in a blue casual outfit. Blue is the colour associated with any fundraising or research for T1D. Students are asked to bring a gold coin donation on this day. The Year 6 leaders are looking at organising fun activities for our students at lunchtime on this day.

We look forward to supporting Evie with this great initiative.

Grandparents Day

One day in our School calendar that we always look forward to celebrating is Grandparents Day. This day was planned for Friday 29 October. Considering our current restrictions and the fact that we are still not able to welcome visitors onsite, we have made the decision to cancel this special day. However, just because this celebration is cancelled at school this year, it does not mean that we do not acknowledge all the wonderful support our grandparents and significant older people extend to our students. Thank you for everything you do and enjoy your day!

Stage Assemblies

Under the current restrictions, we are unable to gather for whole school assemblies. Instead, our students and teachers have been celebrating students’ achievements through stage assemblies. 

Core Value Award are awarded to students who consistently display one or more of the school’s core values and motto. Congratulations to the students listed below who received their Core Value Awards at their Stage Assembly on Wednesday 13 October. 

Nici Deller                                           Mel Scott

Head of Primary                                Head of Teaching and Learning Primary

Choir Performance

Our Junior Choir students were working hard in Lockdown at the end of last term.

Originally rehearsing their songs for the Ballarat Eisteddfod, unfortunately the event was cancelled so we decided to create this fun choir video of "When I Grow Up" by Tim Minchin from Matilda the Musical.

Well done everyone, we hope you enjoy the video!

Literacy Corner 

Mrs Brooke Barber Primary Literacy Coordinator

Activities for grades 3–6: encouraging the young reader

Activity 1: Good books make reading fun

Stories for young children should be of all kinds – folktales, funny tales, exciting tales, tales of the wondrous and stories that tell of everyday things.

What you'll need:

A variety of interesting books

What to do:

• An essential step in learning to read is good books read aloud. Parents who read aloud to their children are teaching literacy concepts simply by sharing books. Encourage your children to listen, ponder, make comments, and ask questions.
• Be flexible enough to quickly abandon a book that does not appeal after a reasonable try at reading it. No one is meant to enjoy every book. And no one, especially a child, should be forced to read or listen to books that bore.
• Even after children have outgrown picture books they still enjoy hearing a story read aloud. Hearing a good story read well, especially if it is just a little beyond a child's own capabilities, is an excellent way to encourage independent reading. Not all books are best read aloud; some are better enjoyed silently.
• There are plenty of children's books that are twice as satisfying when they are shared a chapter at a time before bed or during long car rides. There are some books that children should not miss, books that they will want to hear many times and ultimately read for themselves.
• Young children want to read what makes them laugh or cry, shiver and gasp. They must have stories and poems that reflect what they themselves have felt. They need the thrill of imagining, of being for a time in some character's shoes for a spine-tingling adventure. They want to experience the delight and amazement that comes with hearing playful language. For children, reading must be equated with enjoying, imagining, wondering, and reacting with feeling. If not, we should not be surprised if they refuse to read. So let your child sometime choose the story or book that they want you to read to them.

Give your child many opportunities to read and write stories, lists, messages, letters, notes, and postcards to relatives and friends. Since the skills for reading and writing reinforce one another, your child's skills and proficiency in reading and writing will be strengthened if you help your child connect reading to writing and writing to reading.

Activity 2: Artful artists

Children love to be creative when it comes to drawing, and illustrations add visual imagery to stories.

What you'll need:

• Drawing paper
• Pens and pencils
• Magic markers or crayons

What to do:

Find a fable, fairy tale, or other short story for your child to read. Then ask your child to illustrate a part of the story he or she likes best or describe a favorite character. Have the child dictate or write a few sentences that tell about this picture.

Activity 3: Shopping your way with words

Use your weekly shopping trip as an opportunity to help your child develop reading and writing skills.

What you'll need:

• Paper and pencils
• Newspaper ads
• Supermarket coupons

What to do:

As you make out your grocery shopping list, give your child a sheet of paper and read the items to him or her. If the child asks for spelling help, write the words correctly for him or her to copy or spell the words aloud as your child writes them.

Ask your child to look through the newspaper ads to find the prices of as many items as possible. Your child can write these prices on the list. Take your child to the supermarket and ask him or her to read each item to you as you shop.

Activity 4: Cookbooking

Cooking is always a delight for children, especially when they can eat the results!

What you'll need:

• Easy-to-read recipes
• Cooking utensils
• Paper and pencils

What to do:

Show your child a recipe and go over it together. Ask your child to read the recipe to you as you work, and tell the child that each step must be done in a special order. Let your child help mix the ingredients. Allow your child to write down other recipes from the cookbook that he or she would like to help make.

Adapted from: https://www.readingrockets.org/article/25-activities-reading-and-writing-fun