SPOTLIGHT

Year 1

What a busy and exciting term of learning we have had so far in Year 1! The teachers are so incredibly impressed with all the clever thinking and hard work taking place in our classrooms every single day.

Here is a look at what we have been up to:

Our Visit to St Nicholas Church:

This week, our Year 1 students took a special trip to St Nicholas Church! We went to learn all about the different parts of the Mass and the special symbols we see inside the church. Father Chris made a wonderful slideshow for us, and he did a fantastic job helping us understand what everything means. A big thank you to Father Chris for helping us learn so much!

Super Subtraction in Mathematics:

In Maths, we have been working in our flexible learning groups to tackle the topic of subtraction (taking away). The children are becoming absolute experts at finding the correct answers using four brilliant strategies:

• Part, Part, Whole: Breaking a big number down into its smaller pieces.
• A Bar Model: Drawing blocks to visually compare numbers and find what is missing.
• A Numberline: Hopping backward to count down to the right answer.

Keep up the amazing work, Year 1! You are all shining stars. Please have a look at our happy snaps…

Year 3

Throughout the term, Year 3 has been preparing for the upcoming Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Eucharist, which will take place this weekend. Students have participated in a range of learning experiences to deepen their understanding of the significance of these special occasions. We were fortunate to welcome Fr Chris, who spoke with the children about the sacraments, and students also attended a rehearsal at the church. While not all Year 3 students will be receiving these sacraments, it has been a valuable and meaningful learning experience for everyone as we explored this important part of our faith journey.

On Tuesday, Year 3 attended the Auditorium to view the travelling exhibition on St Carlo Acutis. The exhibition is part of a wonderful initiative by Bishop Peter Murphy to bring the inspiring story of the first millennial saint directly to the young people of our diocese. Students found the experience both engaging and educational as they learned about Carlo’s life, faith and use of technology to share the Gospel.

In Mathematics, students continue to explore multiplication concepts through our fluid Maths groups. Working collaboratively in small groups across the grade has allowed students to develop their mathematical understanding, apply new strategies and build confidence in their learning.

During Sport, students have enjoyed working with the talented Jay Stone, who has been teaching a variety of athletics-based skills in preparation for our upcoming school Athletics Carnival. Students have shown great enthusiasm and are developing their skills, fitness and teamwork through these engaging sessions.

DEBATING

This year we had some students enter the Stage 3 debating competition for the Tamworth Eisteddfod. These are impromptu debates where the students are given the topic 1 hour beforehand. They then need to prepare their speech within the hour before delivering their speeches. 

We had our first round of debating yesterday against Calrossy. 

Team A (Emilia B, Rex S, Emmett B and Louellen D) debated the topic "That school uniforms should be abolished" as the negative team. They put forward some convincing arguments and were awarded the winners. 

Team B (Harper H, Olivia S, Lara E, and Charlie D) debated the topic "That homework should be abolished" as the affirmative team. Whilst they put forward a very strong case, the negative team was awarded the win. 

Both teams represented our school well and should be very proud of their efforts. They will debate again on Monday and we look forward to seeing how they go.