School of Foundations
Reading for Meaning: Using Feedback to Become Better Readers
Last term, I shared with our community the importance of feedback and how it plays such a powerful role in learning. Through Austin's story, we explored how growth comes when we are willing to reflect, respond to feedback and continually improve. This important message remains a key focus throughout Term 3. As a reminder, the story of Austin’s Butterfly is below for your reference.
I encourage you to take a few moments to watch Austin’s story with your child:Austin's Butterfly: Models, Critique, and Descriptive Feedback
One of the most powerful places students can apply this mindset is during reading.
Throughout Term 2, our students focused on Decoding; developing their understanding of letter-sound relationships (phonemes) and using this knowledge to accurately read unfamiliar words. Decoding is an essential foundation for successful reading.
This term, while students will continue to strengthen these decoding skills, our reading focus shifts to Comprehension → understanding and making meaning from what we read.
Just as Austin learnt to stop, reflect and improve his work, good readers learn to pause and give themselves feedback. They ask themselves:
- Does this make sense?
- What is happening in the story?
- Can I picture what I have read?
- What clues has the author given me?
- Should I reread this part?
These simple questions help students monitor their own understanding and make adjustments when meaning is lost. In many ways, they become their own reading coach.
After all, the purpose of reading is not simply to say the words correctly; it is to understand, think, question and learn.
As parents, you can continue this learning at home by encouraging conversations about books. Rather than asking only, "Can you read this to me?", try asking:
- What happened in the story?
- Why do you think the character did that?
- Did that part make sense?
- What do you think will happen next?
These discussions encourage children to reflect on their thinking and strengthen their comprehension skills.
Just as we have encouraged our students to "Think Like Austin," we are now encouraging them to "Think Like a Reader" → to stop, reflect, ask questions and use feedback from their own thinking to deepen their understanding.
Growing Leaders in the School of Foundations
Leadership opportunities continue to flourish across the School of Foundations, and it has been wonderful to see so many of our students stepping forward to serve our community with confidence, initiative and heart.
This term, during the Year 12 Trial Examination period, our Year 4 Student Leaders are proudly taking on the responsibility of leading the College in our daily Midday Prayer. In preparation, our students have been practising alongside our Year 12 leaders, learning from their example and developing the confidence to lead our community in prayer and reflection. We are excited to see them embrace this meaningful opportunity to grow in both faith and leadership.
Our student leaders have also continued to play an active role in our School of Foundations Assemblies, confidently presenting to our students, staff and families. It has been wonderful to watch their confidence grow as they speak before our community and embrace opportunities to lead with enthusiasm and pride.
Beyond these formal responsibilities, we have been delighted to see many of our SOF students demonstrating leadership through their own initiatives. From presenting ideas for lunchtime clubs to organising and hosting these activities for their peers, our students are discovering that leadership is about serving others, creating opportunities and making a positive difference within our school community.
We are incredibly proud of our young leaders and look forward to seeing them continue to grow in confidence as they lead with faith, courage and compassion. Their willingness to step forward and serve others reflects the values we strive to nurture at St Luke's each day.
Nicole Emerton
SOF Head of School (Acting)
Kindergarten
Term 3 Week 3
English -
This term, Kindergarten students have been learning how to write their own stories. We have been exploring the key features of a narrative, including identifying the characters, setting, problem, events, and solution. Through shared reading and class discussions students have been developing their understanding of how stories are structured and using these features to plan and create their own imaginative narratives. We are so proud of the creativity and enthusiasm they have shown as they grow in confidence as young writers!
Maths
In Mathematics, Kindergarten students have been learning about position. Students have been using positional language such as next to, in front of, behind, left, and right to describe where objects and people are located. They have also been practising giving and following simple directions to move to the correct place and using pictures, and classroom objects to help explain position. These hands-on activities have helped students build their spatial awareness, communication skills, and confidence in using mathematical language.
Under
On Top
Between
Religion
In Religion, Kindergarten has been learning about what it means to be the Church with our neighbours. Students have explored that the Church is not just a building, but a community of people who follow Jesus and care for one another. We have discussed how we can be the Church by showing kindness, helping others, sharing, including everyone, and treating our neighbours with love and respect. Through stories, discussions, and practical acts of kindness, students are developing an understanding that we are all called to live like Jesus and make a positive difference in our community.
Creative & Practical Arts
Another area of focus for our Kindergarten students this term has been Dance through our Creative Arts program. Through a variety of movement experiences, students have been exploring how their bodies can communicate ideas, feelings and stories. They have been learning to move safely in shared spaces, work collaboratively with peers, and follow simple dance sequences using actions such as travelling, jumping, balancing and turning. It has been wonderful to see students grow in confidence as they express themselves creatively while also developing coordination, rhythm and body awareness.
Stage 1
Term 3 Week 3
English
This term in English, Year 2 students are learning how to write persuasive texts. We are practising giving convincing reasons and using persuasive language to encourage others to agree with our opinions.
Mathematics
Over the past two weeks, our maths learning in year 2 has focused on the learning intention:
We are learning to represent and partition 2- and 3-digit numbers using place value to help us read, write and order them.
Students have been building their understanding of hundreds, tens and ones through a range of hands-on activities and games. One of their favourites was our Place Value Number Line Game (pictured below). Students created 3-digit numbers using playing cards and then identified the correct hundreds section on a 0–1000 number line. This fun, interactive game encouraged students to read, compare and order numbers while reinforcing their understanding of place value.
It has been wonderful to see students using mathematical language with confidence and explaining their thinking as they worked together.
Photos
Religion
This term in Religion, Stage 1 students are exploring the Sacraments and discovering how they are visible signs of God's grace, celebrating His loving presence in our lives. Through Scripture, prayer, storytelling and engaging learning experiences, students are developing an understanding of the seven Sacraments and their importance in the life of the Church. As they deepen their faith, students are encouraged to recognise how the Sacraments strengthen our relationship with God and inspire us to live with compassion, kindness and service to others, reflecting the Catholic Social Teaching principle of the Common Good.
Year 1 Excursion: The Australiana Pioneer Village
On Tuesday 28 July, Year 1 students stepped back in time during their exciting excursion to the Australiana Pioneer Village. Students enjoyed a full day of learning and discovery as they explored what life was like in the past through hands-on activities, demonstrations and engaging conversations with the village volunteers.
Throughout the day, students visited a range of interactive stations where they discovered how people lived, worked and learned in earlier times. They explored the Water Pump and historic buildings, learned about laundry before modern technology, visited Cartwright Cottage to discover the lives of families in the late 19th century, and learned about the important role of the blacksmith.
Students also enjoyed making butter by hand, riding the tractor around the lagoon to meet the village animals, learning about wool production in the shearing shed, and experiencing a lesson inside the original Marsden Park Public School schoolhouse.
The excursion was a wonderful opportunity for students to connect their classroom learning to real-life experiences. It was a day filled with curiosity, excitement and wonder as students explored Australia’s past and gained a deeper appreciation for how people lived in earlier times.
Stage 2
Term 3 Week 3
English
This term, we are learning how to write exciting narrative stories that entertain our readers.
We have been learning how to organise our stories with a clear beginning, middle and end. We have also been creating interesting characters, detailed settings and exciting problems to keep our readers engaged.
We have been using descriptive language and powerful vocabulary to help our readers imagine our stories and build suspense.
We have also learned how to plan, edit and improve our writing by using feedback.
We are proud of the creative stories we are publishing and are becoming more confident and independent authors.
Mathematics
During the first two weeks of Term 3, Year 3 and Year 4 students have been learning about Place Value and developing their understanding of Whole Numbers and Decimals. Year 3 students have been working with numbers up to 4 digits by reading, writing, representing, partitioning and regrouping numbers, while counting forwards and backwards by tens and hundreds. Year 4 students have been exploring decimals to hundredths by representing, comparing and ordering decimals, making connections between fractions, decimals and measurement, and applying their understanding to solve problems. Across both year groups, students have been building confidence in explaining their mathematical thinking using appropriate mathematical vocabulary.
Religion
This term in Stage 2 Religion, we are exploring the question, “How does prayer work?” Students are learning about the purpose of prayer, what Jesus taught us about praying, and how prayer can inspire us to show kindness, serve others and make a positive difference in our school, community and world. We have also created a beautiful prayer corner in our classrooms. Throughout the term, students will write and add their own prayers to this special space. We look forward to using our prayer corner throughout the year as a peaceful place for prayer and reflection.
Science
In Science this term, students are investigating matter in the world around them and exploring how solids, liquids, and gases can change state. During the first few weeks, students have learnt about the properties of matter and how heat is transferred through solids and liquids. They enjoyed the challenge of navigating a maze to distinguish the difference between convection and conduction. We are looking forward to continuing our investigation through some hands-on learning experiences throughout the term.
