Learning and Teaching

ITALIAN

Buongiorno a tutti!

This week, our focus was Christmas traditions. The senior students have watched a short video ‘Christmas in Italy.’ They shared activities and traditions that they enjoy and then reported back to the whole group what they had learned from another classmate.

The common thread was prioritising time with family, attending midnight Mass, the sharing of delicious food and gift giving.

In Italy, in addition to a Christmas tree, a Nativity scene is a focus in the home.

Il Presepio, as it is called in Italian, can also be found in the piazzas of towns and cities throughout Italy. The piazza is the beating heart of each village and city in Italy.

Italian children get to put their stockings up a second time, on the 5th of January and when they wake on the morning of the 6th, which is The Epiphany (Twelfth Day of Christmas) they will find sweets if they have been good or a lump of coal if they haven’t.

La Befana, a kind old witch, is responsible for this. Children can have photos taken with Babbo Natale (Santa) and La Befana in the days leading up to Christmas.

Buon Natale to you all.

Filomena Erdely

Italian Teacher

ferdely@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

Visual Art

Firstly, a huge thank you to everyone who came to the Student Art Exhibition and made it such a successful evening. It was wonderful to see so many people with family and friends enjoying the wonderful artwork of our talented students.

At this time of year we also select art work to enter the CEO MACS Catholic Week Exhibition for 2025 and the following artworks were chosen for entry.

Congratulations to Kayla, Janice, Odin and Layla.

The Art classes have been creating artworks in the Christmas spirit with woven paper and ink drop backgrounds for negative space designs of Christmas trees, snow men, presents and stars.

Paper clay has also been used to give the students the opportunity to do some modelling making little Christmas Santa Gnomes that are adorable.

Katherine Slater

Visual Arts Teacher

kslater@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

MUSIC AND DANCE

In Music and Dance the Junior and Senior students have enjoyed playing the Djembe drums from West Africa. It has been a fun (and loud!) experience. We have explored playing the drums in a variety of ways to make different sounds. Playing drums together requires a great deal of team-work, as we created the sound of a rainstorm and also copied various rhythms.

Senior Choir

On Tuesday the 10th of December the Senior Choir, along with Nicole, Rachel, Andriana and our wonderful parent helper Courtney, walked up to the Lynbrook Village Shopping Centre and sang a collection of Christmas Carols for our community.

We then enjoyed some delicious hot chips, while relaxing at the Lynbrook Community Centre, before walking to Mercy Place Retirement Village. We sang our songs for the residents there, and they absolutely loved hearing and seeing our students singing. We certainly spread some Christmas cheer. The Choir sounded magnificent and we are so proud of their continued dedication and commitment. Well done to all involved.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire school community for welcoming me to SFS this year. I am sad to leave this wonderful school, but I’m sure I’ll continue to see you around the local area. I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas and a safe, healthy and happy new year.

Nicole Parnell

Music and Dance Teacher

Digital Technology

What a term it has been for our students in DT! Both the junior and senior students have had a focus on coding and programing and should be so proud of their efforts.

Juniors:

This term the juniors have been learning that coding or creating an algorithm is essentially just a set of instructions. In learning about this, we read a story about Ruby and used symbols to direct her to visit her friends on a map. We then created our own instructions using symbols and numbers to direct a friend from one point in the room to another. Using all of this knowledge, we ended our coding focus by using the BeeBots.

All the juniors' hard work paid off as they used the BeeBots and the iPad app and were able to use the arrows to code the BeeBots. We all decided that the app was definitely a little bit more difficult to code, but the persistence was clear to see and all the students were able to finish different levels of the game!

To end the term, the students used Paint to draw a Christmas image which some students managed to take a screenshot to add into a virtual card. They also got to access Santa Tracker which has lots of fun Christmas games and coding activities!

Seniors:

This term, the seniors have been learning about coding and programming, but with a focus on A.I.

This is something that is fast becoming a part of our world, so it is important that we understand how it works so we can think critically about the positive and negative implications of this technology as well as how we can best utilise it.

With this in mind, the students completed the Hour of Code activity: AI for Oceans where they trained the A.I to recognise rubbish and fish so that it could sort these items. The students then identified something that they felt A.I could help with in their life or the community around them. Using Google’s Teachable Machines, students trained their A.I to recognise two different variables. It was great to see their creativity and critical thinking skills come through in what they chose to code for and what they felt the implications of this would be. For example some students created their own face recognition technology with the A.I with the aim to help increase the security of their devices or to identify two different colours to help those in the community who are colour blind.

The students then learned how to create a website about the solar system using Google Sites. In doing so, they were able to choose a theme for their site, add banners, text boxes, different types of media and how to arrange it in a way that was interesting and easy to navigate for their audience. They then learned how to add in additional pages and links.

It has been such a busy term for our seniors, but it has been great to see their enthusiasm in trying new things and learning about the advancements in technology!

Taryn Bartlett

Digital Technology Teacher

tbartlett@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

SPORT

GRADE 5/6’s

The students in Grades 5/6 competed against each other in House Sports Netball. They demonstrated commendable skill and remarkable performance, despite their ongoing adaptation to the game's rules. Congratulations to all participants for their efforts today!

Congratulations to Mackillop.

GRADE 3/4

The students in Grades 3 and 4 competed against each other in House Sports Netball. While the execution of skills was occasionally uneven, they demonstrated remarkable tenacity and perseverance throughout the matches. Congratulations to all participants for their efforts today!

Congratulations to Bosco.

BIKE EDUCATION - WEEK 10 – SESSION 5

The fifth graders are becoming familiar with the following aspects:

Reviewing the safety protocols from all sessions and to ensure that the students are well-acquainted with them.
Being able to ride with a partner safely and then returning to ride singular.
Continually communicating to each other and making sure every student understands the command.

The students will do the above activities in an enjoyable manner, simulating the experience of riding their bicycles on the road while prioritising safety. It is essential for the students to communicate effectively with one another, ensuring that everyone appreciates the experience of cycling. Additionally, this approach will help the students build confidence in their understanding of what to anticipate while riding their bikes.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR, SEE YOU IN 2025!!

Lulli Barbakos

Physical Education Teacher

lbarbakos@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

SPORTS/EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

SENIOR SPORTS

GRADE 5 BIKE EDUCATION – CYCLING SKILLS AND SIMULATIONS

Grade 5 Bike Education has now finished. If your child’s bicycle is still at school please organise for it to be picked up.

Next year in Term 1 your child will complete the Level 2 Bike Education Unit: Bike Ed Pathway Cycling. More information will be provided early next year.

DIVISIONAL SWIMMING 2025

Paperwork has now been sent home for parents to organise their child to be timed in their nominated strokes over the holidays. I have also put it up on Operoo for those parents that would prefer to enter the information there.

I am happy for students to be timed in all strokes and then we can work out who we put forward to the District document based on their times. A reminder we can only enter one student from each age group, for each stroke so the fastest will be put forward.

Operoo or the paperwork will need to be completed and returned to me in the office area on Friday January 31st, 2025. Please ensure they have been timed swimming 50 metres as this is the required distance for Divisional Swimming. I encourage you to let your child practice during the holidays before timing them later in January.

WHOLE SCHOOL EVENTS

AFL 2025

We have some exciting opportunities in Term 1 next year thanks to Tyler, who is the Participation Coordinator AFL.

We have organised AFL clinics for the students in Term 1 during school time and girls will get the opportunity to attend an after school Come & Play Session. It will be a girls only session for all ages, free and will be held on Wednesday March 12th rom 3.20pm – 4.20pm.

The flyer with the QR code to register can be found here and also in the community section of the newsletter.

Any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Giuliana

Sports/Incursion Coordinator

gfaiola@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au