Teaching and Learning

Rosina Gemmill, Deputy Principal Learning and Teaching

Buongiorno a tutti!

What a busy few weeks we have had. As part of Magnify Sandhurst, our staff and students are developing routines through the Classroom Mastery Program, designed to assist our teachers as they continue to foster positive learning environments for all students. You would have heard your students mention entry and exit routines etc. and we also spoke about them at our assemblies. It was pleasing to see our staff and students demonstrating well established routines which only enhances the learning happening in our classrooms.

We were also visited by some of the Learning and Teaching team from CESL who caught up with our F-2 teachers and the InitiaLit program. Once again part of the Magnify suite of programs which is already showing solid results in the classroom.

And…...we started NAPLAN!

Our students worked really well on these assessments – even with the slight technical glitch on Wednesday! Thankfully, despite the ‘news’ our students were not negatively impacted at all.

Looking forward to the next couple of weeks!

Ciao for now!

Rosina Gemmill

Foundation

What an interesting few weeks for the Foundation class. We have been learning about where we can see writing around our world. We became writing detectives this week searching the SAKG garden for writing. We used a magnifying glass to search for words we discovered writing on garden beds, plant names, and on the chicken coop. We also learnt out first two sounds - Maggie Mouse and Sammy Seal. We enjoyed learning other words that started with these sounds and cut pictures up and matched them to our characters. We had a lot of fun working with the Grade 1's making new friends and learning to share our toys.

Year 1/2

The students have been very excited to have their own classroom set of sports gear. All of the students say a very big THANK YOU to Mr. O for organising this for the classrooms. The students are already making excellent use of the new equipment.

Hendrix Year 2 - Thanks Mr O for the sports tub. My favourite is the soccer ball.

Sam K Year 2 - My favourite is the soccer ball and a footy. Thanks Mr O for the sports tub.

Lily Year 2 - Thank you Mr O for our sports equipment. It works really well and the tubs are a good size for the equipment. My favourite is the football or the skipping rope.

Billie Year 2 - Thanks for the sports equipment. My favourite is the basketball.

Audrey Year 2 - Thank you, Mr O, for the sports tub. My favourites are the basketball and the skipping rope.

Margot Year 2 - Mr O gave us sports tubs last week. Thank you. My favourite is the skipping rope.

The Year 1s have been busy during their InitiaLit 1 sessions studying a story book each fortnight. They have just completed reading Josephine Wants To Dance by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley. They were asked what they wanted to be when they grow up. Here are a few of their answers.

Taylor - When I grow up, I want to be a scientist.

Darby - When I grow up, I want to be a digger.

Edwin - When I grow up, I want to be a farmer.

Evie - When I grow up, I want to be a ballerina.

Jacey - When I grow up, I want to be a teacher.

Rykah - When I grow up, I want to play for Melbourne Storm.

Cody - When I grow up, I want to be a baker

Year 3/4

Students reflected and shared on how they can be a Jesus person. Through scripture, parables share messages to us on how we can be like Jesus in our world

Year 5/6

In Literacy, students have been writing persuasive texts on the topic, “Understanding your family history is important.” They’ve been working hard to support their ideas with strong reasons and examples. Below is the second body paragraph written by one of our students:

Bodhi Bourke:

Without a doubt, knowing your family history is absolutely important because it strengthens family connections. You should interview relatives about their childhood like asking them about their favourite toy, how they met their spouse or their hometown, and you should keep it as a keepsake. You can make a family tree with stories about each relative, like funny and adventurous stories from their past. Discovering these family stories will connect you with your family more deeply and better understand your identity and once you're curious about your family history, you will definitely find yourself eager to explore the history of the world. Unquestionably, understanding your family history will certainly strengthen family connections.

In Religion, students have been busy adding to our Jesus Word Wall. They’ve been exploring the Bible to learn how the Gospel writers describe Jesus, and they’ve also been sharing their own thoughts about who they believe Jesus is.

Upcoming School Events

St Patricks Day