Junior School

Young House Service 

Congratulations to Young House students and staff on a wonderful House Service.  Their theme of ‘Kindness’ was both thoughtful and relevant.  The retelling of The Good Samaritan and the parable The Lion and the Mouse supported the theme of the Service.  Reverend Doctor Fiona Hill’s message of love and kindness was a strong one.  

In Term Two, Berry House will present their House Service. 

NAPLAN testing- Year 3 and 5 

Next week sees our Year 3 and Year 5 students start the 2024 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing.  The Writing, Reading, Language Conventions and Numeracy tests will be staggered over mornings in Week 7 and Week 8.  Results will be available to schools and parents around midyear.  I thank Mrs Covill, Mrs Keiller, Ms Winstanley and Mr Lewis for their efforts in preparing the students.  

NAPLAN is an annual national assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, and is the only nationwide assessment that all Australian children undertake.  It’s a measure to see whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning, and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community.  All government and non-government education authorities have contributed to the development of NAPLAN materials. 

Year 3 and 4 Spelling Program

In line with our move to explicit instruction, evidence-based programs, the Junior School is delivering SpellEx to our Year 3 and Year 4 students.  SpellEx is a whole class spelling program. It provides explicit instruction in spelling concepts, terminology, rules and conventions.  By following SpellEx’s carefully scripted lessons, supported by a range of additional resources, Year 3 and Year 4 teachers can be confident they are covering all the skills and knowledge required to master English orthography.  

Recent research suggests that learning to spell involves drawing on phonological, orthographic and morphological knowledge simultaneously. Instruction is needed in these three key areas of language from the start.  This theory is known as Triple Word Form Theory (Daffern, 2017) and has been used to guide the development of SpellEx. This means that students will work with words beyond the level of phoneme-grapheme correspondences, leading to a much deeper understanding of the English spelling system. 

Continuous Reporting 

Parents were advised in late Term Four, 2023, via the College Newsletter, that the Junior School would be transitioning to Continuous Reporting this year.  A parent letter was sent out this week detailing the change and supplying instructions for accessing PAM (Parental Access Module). This morning, we held an in-person parent information session to talk through this transition and answer any questions.  Next Thursday, 14 March at 11.30 am, I will conduct an online session covering the same content.  A link will be sent out for parents wishing to attend. Please let Nat know if you would like to received the link to participate online.

Frozen Jnr Auditions 

A reminder that auditions for major parts in our Junior School musical ‘Frozen Jnr’ will take place on Monday 18 March and Tuesday 19 March.  The auditions will be held in the Prep and Year 1 classrooms.  Students are requested to arrive 10 minutes prior to their audition time.  We will use the Library as a ‘waiting room’ for those waiting for the next audition.  Limited places are available in the After School Care.  Parents must collect students from the After School Care and walk them to the Library. 

Hockey Season / Country Week Trials

Division 4 and Division 5 teams are now full.  Information on playing fees, team lists, uniforms, training times etc will be sent out next week.  

A reminder for competent players in Years 4, 5 and 6 - Country Week trials are being held each Tuesday afternoon at Pedrina Park.  Under 14 Boys’ and Girls’ trials commence at 4.30 pm.  Country Week will be held in Melbourne on the weekend of 18 and 19 May.