Classroom News
PREP
Thank you to all the parents for the effort they put into our Preps Book Week costumes. Every single dress up was amazing and we loved celebrating this special week with our annual Book Week parade.
Next week, we have our very special Prayer Gathering. Our theme is centered around Father’s Day. After our Prayer Gathering, we are inviting all those who attended to come over to our classrooms to see all the amazing work we have been doing and play some games with us. We will conclude this at 10am, as we will then have our fruit break and get into some learning. You don’t have to stay the whole time, you are free to come and go during that time should you wish to.
We've started exploring Stage 4+ in our literacy program, focusing on the 'floss' rule — when a word ends in /l/, /s/, or /f/ after a short vowel, we usually double the final letter (like in bell, miss, or fluff). We’ve also been learning heart words like ‘little’, ‘chocolate’, and ‘some’, practising both reading and writing them. Over the coming weeks and next term, we'll be diving into long vowel sounds and understanding how s and es are used in plurals and verbs as part of our morphology focus.
In numeracy, we've been exploring the fundamental concepts of multiplication and division through sharing. We're learning how to share items fairly by placing them one by one into groups, making sure each group has the same amount. This helps us understand what a fair share looks like and lays the foundation for future math skills. We have had a big focus on understanding the difference between the terminology ‘how many groups’ and ‘how many in each group’.
Here is what our Preps had to say about swimming:
Penny - I like doing the swimming with my teacher and friends.
Fletcher - I like going on the bus and swimming with my friends.
Ryder - I like the water and the teacher teaching me.
Gemma Blake gblake@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
Elissa Rodger erodger@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
GRADE 1
The weeks seem to be flying by this term. In Mathematics, the children have been exploring multiplication and division, practising strategies to help them identify how many groups and how many in each group. Our class novel, The Enchanted Woods, has also captured their imagination, and the students had a wonderful time creating their own little houses as part of the story.
Book Week was another highlight, filled with exciting activities and plenty of fun. The children thoroughly enjoyed celebrating their love of reading, and it was wonderful to see so many creative costumes on display. A very big thank you to our families for the effort and support you gave in helping to make the day so special.
Wheels on Wednesday has also brought a lot of joy this term, with students eagerly bringing along their scooters. Just a gentle reminder to please check that your child’s helmet is fitted securely and tightened properly before coming to school, so that everyone can enjoy the activity safely.
Leah Martin lmartin@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
Rebecca Murray rmurray@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
Judy Carr jcarr@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
Paula Parish pparish@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
GRADE 2
We’ve had a wonderful couple of weeks in Grade 2 with lots of exciting learning and special events.
Literacy
In Literacy, our students have been impressing us with their hard work and enthusiasm. Over the past two weeks, we have been focusing on the tricky suffix -ous as in delicious and curious. We have been so impressed with how quickly our students have been picking this up. We have also been continuing our learning of the suffix -ion, exploring the different sounds it can make in words, such as — /chun/, /shun/, and /zhun/. Be sure to ask your child to share some examples with you at home! Our Idiom of the Week has been “There’s no place like home.” Test your child to see if they can explain what this means.
Numeracy
In Numeracy, we are halfway through our unit on Multiplication and Division. Students have been learning about arrays and how they can be used to represent multiplication equations. Arrays have also helped us to understand how groups of objects can be organised to quickly find the total. The students are enjoying this challenge and building strong foundations for multiplication and division.
Inquiry
In Inquiry, our learners have been lapping up the sunshine as they travel around the world! We are exploring the 7 Continents and 5 Oceans and discovering important ports along the way. Students have been sharing their knowledge with enthusiasm and developing a deeper understanding of how people and places are connected across the globe.
Reminders & Updates
- Prayer Gathering: This Friday at 9am in the Church. The students have been busy preparing and are excited to share with you. We look forward to seeing as many parents as possible there to support your child.
- Swimming: It’s been wonderful to see so many smiles each Thursday during our swimming program. This is such an important skill and we are proud of the students’ efforts.
- Wheels on Wednesday: Our Grade 2s are now scooting during the second break when the course is quieter and safer. This has been a great success!
- Hats: From next Monday, all students are expected to wear their school hat during break times. Please remember to pack your child’s hat each day.
Thank you for your ongoing support. We are so proud of our Grade 2s and all that they have achieved this term!
Emma Roberts eroberts@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
Matt O'Dowd modowd@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
Amanda Delorenzo mdelorenzo@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
GRADE 3
What a success Book Week was! The Grade 3 children enjoyed afternoon rotations visiting different classrooms with different teachers to complete book week activities, as well as to listen to the short-listed books from the CBCA (Children’s Book Council of Australia). We were blown away by some of the effort put into their costumes, and it was lovely feeling the buzz as they talked about the books their costumes were from.
On Friday we completed the reading of our class novel Charlotte’s Web, and watched the 2006 film version to celebrate.
This week we begin our new class novel, Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl, which reimagines classic fairy tales in a grizzly way. As we make our way through these tales, the children will be asked to compare and contrast the classic version of each story to the Roald Dahl version. We will also use these stories as a jumping off point to write some of our own versions of fairy tales.
Recently we did some work with data; gathering data from our peers and using it to create graphs on our computers. We have now commenced our multiplication and division unit, concentrating on times tables, creating arrays and matching number sentences, as well as worded multiplication and division problems. The counting goals that the children have been working on throughout the year are really helpful in learning times tables, so please ensure you make time to practise with your child.
As part of our integrated Literacy/HASS program we have been studying different climates. To consolidate this learning, the children chose between the four main climate zones: Polar, Temperate, Tropical and Arid to create a tourism poster encouraging people to visit their climate zone.
As of Monday September 1st children are expected to wear their hats at school when they are outside. There is generally a short grace period of a week or so before we bring in ‘no hat-no play’, but we encourage you to start sending your children’s hats in with them from now.
Jade LoRicco jloricco@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
Deb Holland dholland@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
GRADE 4
Wow – we’re already more than halfway through Term 3! Well done, Year 4!
It was wonderful to see so many creative costumes in our Book Week Parade. Thank you to everyone who dressed up and joined in – it was a fantastic celebration. Throughout the week, students enjoyed a range of Book Week activities, sparking lots of fun and creativity.
In Literacy, we have completed our Arrival unit, where students explored how to tell a story through images. Inspired by Shaun Tan, each class has been busy creating their own graphic novels – and the results are looking amazing! This week, we have also begun our new unit on Poetry. Students will be analysing two classic poems: ‘The Eagle’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and ‘Who Has Seen the Wind?’ by Christina Rossetti. We’re looking forward to exploring this beautiful new form of writing.
In Numeracy, we are continuing our work on Multiplication and Division. Students have been learning about distributive properties and practising solving worded problems.
In Religion, we are focusing on Respect and the Golden Rule, exploring how different faiths share more similarities than differences.
Our Inquiry unit in Civics and Citizenship has seen students learning about the three levels of Government, as well as the difference between rules and laws. This week, we’re beginning an exciting project: creating our own town! Each student will design and build a model of a building to be part of our town. We kindly ask families to send in any recyclable materials from home that could be used for construction (no larger than a shoebox, please).
Matt Absalom mabsalom@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
Maegen Potter mpotter@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
Susie Scott sscott@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
GRADE 5
The last two weeks have been full of energy, creativity, and learning. Book Week was a particular highlight, especially the dress-up day on Friday. It was wonderful to see such imaginative and thoughtful costumes, what a great celebration of our love for books. Throughout the week, we explored a range of engaging texts including Afloat by Kirli Saunders, A Leaf Called Greaf by Kelly Canby, The Garden of Broken Things by Freya Blackwood, and We Live in a Caravan by Dave Petzold. These stories inspired some rich discussions in class, and we had fun diving into literary features like onomatopoeia and creating artworks relating to each book, which will be displayed in our art show next term.
In Numeracy, we have successfully wrapped up our unit on multiplication and division. Students have worked incredibly hard and shown great determination in applying different strategies to solve a range of problems. We are now turning our focus towards measurement, with an emphasis on calculating the perimeter and area of rectangles. This next unit will include hands-on activities to help students make real-world connections to their learning.
In Religion, we have been learning about the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Students are exploring the shared origins, core beliefs, and practices of each faith. Over the coming weeks, we will begin working on an assessment task that invites students to reflect on the similarities and differences between these religions.
In Inquiry and Literacy, we have started a new unit focusing on European countries. Students are beginning to research a specific country of interest and will use their findings to create an informative and visually engaging brochure. This task will help students build their research, writing, and design skills while deepening their understanding of geography, culture, and global perspectives.
Last week we were also fortunate to host students from St Brendan’s and Colac West Primary School for our Winter Sports event. The day was a great success, with mixed teams allowing students to build new friendships, show positive sportsmanship, and enjoy some healthy competition. It was a great way to bring our local school communities together.
Rachel Downard rdownard@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
Rachael Cahill rcahill@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
GRADE 6
It’s been another exciting couple of weeks for our Year 6 students! Book Week brought plenty of fun and creativity, with activities inspired by the shortlisted books and a highlight of the week being our dress-up day and parade. Year 6 also hosted Colac West/St Brendan's for Winter Sport, showing teamwork and sportsmanship both on and off the field.
In the classroom, our Inquiry studies have continued to take us across the Asian continent. Students have now begun their own research projects, each focusing on a specific country of interest. In Maths, we’ve been working hard to wrap up our unit on multiplication and division, with everyone showing persistence and progress in mastering these skills.
Important Dates:
Friday 12th Sep - Year 6 JD Prayer Gathering
Friday 19th Sep - Year 6 KM/JH Prayer Gathering & Last day of Term
Wed 15th Oct - Fri 17th Oct - Melbourne Camp
Jess Downard jdownard@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
Jodie Hassett jhassett@smcolac.catholic.edu.au
Katie Monaghan kmonaghan@smcolac.catholic.edu.au