Classroom News

Foundation-Grade 1 Miss Bennett

Well it's been a wonderful and jam-packed two weeks in the Foundation/1 beehive. The students have had lots of fun in the classroom and even more excitement as they competed in the very first St Patrick's Athletics day. The Aths day was an amazing opportunity for the F/1 students to try something new, Miss Bennett was so PROUD of how everyone had a 'Red Hot Go' in the events and supported each other. It was a wonderful day- thank you to all of the parents that came and watched. 

In maths the students celebrated their learning about friends of 10, partitioning and addition by creating 'friends of 10' rainbows for our Maths Magicians Wall. Miss Bennett was so impressed by everyone having a 'red hot go' and reciting the friends of 10 off by heart. 

In literacy the busy bees have finished their text-based unit on 'Joe and the Stars' with a book review and writing what their favourite part of the book was. The Grade 1 students have finished their learning on R-controlled vowels and have worked hard to create their own poster of their learning. 

In other news the F/1  students created a craft teapot with a tea bag to support our winter appeal in the foyer. We also got very excited when we received an email from our classmate Lacey from her journey to the top end, we have written a class response back to her and hope she is having an amazing time!

 Grade 1-2 Miss Hart

Can you believe that there are only two weeks left of Term 2!? How fast has this term flown by. As the term comes to a close, we are beginning to wrap up our learning in all areas of the curriculum. Finalising assessment pieces and preparing some for display at our Inquiry Celebration. We have absolutely loved every opportunity we have had this term and cannot wait for another learning filled, exciting term ahead. Here is a little update on what we have been doing in Grade 1-2, before reports are released next week. 

In Phonics, we have been learning a couple of new digraph sounds. We have been learning and developing our skills with the sounds /ow/ as in cow, and /ou/ as in shout. In Grade 1-2, we agreed that these two sounds are best friends, they sound the same- but look different. To develop our knowledge and consolidate our understanding we completed a few rotational activities and an /ow/ as in cow craft, where we assembled a crafty cow and included /ow/ words.

In Numeracy, we have continued our learning about addition and subtraction. Students have explored adding and subtracting physical quantities using strategies such as ten frames, number lines, regrouping, bar lines and more. These new or enhanced strategies are used to assist students when problem solving. In Grade 1-2 we absolutely LOVE our Maths Daily Review. It is an opportunity for students to recap their learning and show their understanding by answering questions in a short, sharp manner. 

In Writing, we have been learning about simple sentences. We first started with making sure we had a ‘who’ and a ‘do’ in our sentences. For example; I play. We then began expanding our sentences with ‘where’ and ‘when.’ For example; The athletes run around the race track on Sunday morning. I absolutely love seeing their ideas come to life. Over the coming week we will also be learning about how to include adjectives in our writing to give the reader more information, as well as ‘contractions.’

Bike Week: Students had a blast during Bike Week, enjoying daily rides and fun activities. They learned about bike safety and participated in group rides. The daily event promoted fitness, environmental awareness, and teamwork, leaving everyone eager for more biking adventures in the future. 

Athletics Carnival: Excitement and energy filled the air last Friday at our very first Athletics Carnival. The students eagerly participated in a variety of events. From sprints to jumping events and throwing events, the children demonstrated remarkable enthusiasm and sportsmanship. The vibrant atmosphere was filled with cheers from classmates and encouragement from teachers and parents. Although we all walked away very tired, the day was an absolute success!

Grade 3 Mrs Stock

In Grade 3, we have been very lucky to have Miss Lee work with us while she completes her first placement. 

Last week was very exciting with the Winter Sports on Thursday in Kyabram, followed by St Patrick's Athletics Day on Friday. The students had lots of fun and many spoke about the new friends they made. 

For the past few weeks, the students have been busy writing their speeches for the Lions Club Public Speaking Competition. They all did such an amazing job and should be super proud of their efforts. They definitely made the judging a challenge. Congratulations to Stevie, Jaxon, Sophie and Charli making it through to the first stage where they had to compete with 4 students from Mrs Gee's class. Congratulations to Jaxon and Stevie for going through to the next level. 

For Mathematics, the students have been learning about Multiplication. It is important that they continue to practice their times tables at home and something they could work on over the break. Two games that they have enjoyed playing are 'Hit the Button' and 'Daily 10'. Please see the links for these below: 

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/daily10

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

For Religion, students were asked to make their own memory box at home and bring it in to share with the class, showing real items that remind them of someone they love. It was lovely to hear about these special people and animals in the children's lives. The students are welcome to bring them in before the end of term if they haven't done so already.

Grade 4 Mrs Loughran

As we are nearing the end of Term 2, the students in Grade 4 have shown a fantastic level of commitment to their learning.  They should be very proud of every effort they have made to 'own' their learning and get the very best out of themselves.

Recently the students all took part in the Lions Public Speaking Competition.  All students wrote a speech about their favourite book or fairytale character and presented this to their class.  This resulted in 4 students being shortlisted from our class: Jim, Charlotte, Lil and Ella.  They were resilient and prepared when moving through to the next stage with Mrs Stockdale.  Jim and Lil were successful and will now move to the final judging stage on Monday with the Lion's Club members. 

For our health Inquiry topic, the final assessment requires students to research a topic to show our understanding of how we can be healthy, safe and active.  Students will write a script with a partner and record themselves being a news reporter.  They have been learning to use the Green Screens in class to make their reports look and sound more interesting.  The students are very creative and it didn't take long for them to master the Green Screen app on their ipads.

It has been an absolute blast in the Grade 4 class this semester, I can't wait for the next half of the year where the students will show even more growth in their learning.

Grade 5-6 Miss Rasmussen

It has been another busy week in the Grade 5/6 class as we near the holidays.

Students presented their Lions Club Public Speaking speeches to the class. The topic students spoke about was "Someone who has influenced you." Although some students found it daunting, everyone presented and felt very proud of their achievement.

Our football team has been busy training with Mitch. It has been great to see them develop teamwork and skills.We loved participating in St Patrick's first athletic sports. Everyone had a great time, loved the hot dogs for lunch, and are very proud of their efforts and participation. There are certainly some very talented athletes amongst us. Bev from the Echuca District Netball Association came and presented the mixed netball team with their medals, which was super exciting for us—especially because it was the first time some of us have received a medal.

We are looking forward to participating in the Grade 5/6 Winter Sports, where we will join forces with students from schools in our area and compete in round-robin style soccer matches.

We were sad to say goodbye to Isla as she left with her family for a six-month holiday to Western Australia. We look forward to welcoming her back in time for graduation.

We continue to complete assessments to finish our units for the end of term. We had our Life Relationship information night, and it was great to see such a big turnout of parents with their children. The night focused on the changes that occur during puberty, as well as the reproductive systems and reproduction.