Educational Achievement 

Reading

Building a strong vocabulary is a key part of developing reading, writing, and communication skills. A rich vocabulary helps children express themselves clearly, understand what they read, and engage in more meaningful conversations. Learning new vocabulary is a lifelong task. There are some fun activities you can be doing at home to increase your child's vocabulary, which will help improve reading comprehension, among other benefits. 

• Read together and discuss new and interesting vocabulary that comes up. Talk about some synonyms, and give some examples of what it means. 
• Play word association games. Play games where you start with a word, and children have to come up with words that are related.
• Play scrabble or word games, like crosswords or find-a-words
• Oral storytelling- teach your child a new word and see if they can come up with a story or sentence using the new vocabulary correctly. 

Learning new vocabulary doesn't have to be an extra chore or homework, but has great benefits for reading, comprehension and communication. 

Happy reading! 📚

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent teacher interviews will be taking place in week 9 of this term. Parent teacher interviews are an essential part of a child's education. They provide a unique opportunity for parents to connect with teachers, gain insight into their child’s progress, and address any concerns early on. By attending these interviews, you stay informed about your child’s academic performance and social development. It also shows your child that their education is a priority for you, fostering a supportive partnership between home and school. There will be a link sent out in the next couple of weeks to book in a 15 minute time slot to meet with your child's teacher. 

NAPLAN testing- Year 3 and 5 students

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake.

As students progress through their school years, it is important to check how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and numeracy.

NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national proficiency standards.

NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress.

NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

Students will participate in 4 tests- Writing (on paper for year 3 students, online for year 5 students), Reading (online for both year 3 and 5 students), Conventions of Language (online for both year 3 and 5) and Numeracy (online for both year 3 and 5). 

Writing testing will occur on Wednesday 12th March, Reading on Thursday 13th March, Conventions of Language on Monday 17th March and Numeracy on Tuesday 18th March. If students are absent, they are able to complete missed tests afterwards. 

Music

Instrumental Music

Instrumental Music lessons and rehearsals are well underway with attendance at our weekly rehearsals improving.  All students who are in their second or more year of learning their instruments are required to attend either Concert Band or String Orchestra.  Beginning students are not required to attend.

Concert Band Rehearsal Mondays 8am- 8:50am in the Hall

- Instruments include flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone, bass guitar and percussion.

String Orchestra Rehearsal Thursdays 8am- 8:50am in the Hall 

- Instruments include violin, viola, cello and double bass.

Our beginning students are starting to create some wonderful sounds, both loud and soft! Please help them in finding a place at home to practice and consolidate on what they have learnt during lessons.  

Classroom Music

Prep and Year 1 classroom music is all about exploring the basic elements of music. Beat, rhythm, high, low, slow, fast, loud and soft.

In year 1 we explore more musical terms for these elements. The important thing is that the students can engage with a variety of activities to experience different types of music and explore their own voices and their own ways of making music. 

Did you know that music has the incredible ability to wire our brains for optimal learning? It's true! Scientific research has shown the remarkable impact of music on our brains. When we engage with music, it activates multiple areas of our brain, igniting neural connections and boosting cognitive function. Like a symphony, our brains come alive, fostering creativity, improving memory, and sharpening focus.

News from the Library

BOOK FAIR 

We are all set up and ready to go, the books are calling. Come by the School Library this week from 8:30am - 9am Monday to Friday or call in after school with your child from 3pm - 3:30pm Monday to Thursday to buy your favourites!