Wedderburn College Newsletter

Classroom Reports

F/1A - Foundation and Year 1

Quack, quack, quack! This is the sound we are all waiting to hear in the last week of Term One! We are currently hatching duck eggs and keeping track of their development. Each day, we are fascinated to hear about their development in the egg. Did you know that during day 6 of the developing stage they have started to move their wings and legs,  and in day 8 the top of the duckling’s beak can be seen. Counting down to hatch day has been great practise for us and compliments our focus on counting in maths. 

On Wednesdays, the Grade Ones continue to work on the topic of time. We have been learning to tell analogue time to the half hour and looked at activities that take a long time and those that take a short time. We have discovered you need to compare the activities to make a judgement. Although waiting for the ducklings to hatch seems to be taking a long time!

We also can’t wait until the fete. We will be running a combined toy trash and treasure stall with Mrs Torney’s grade. We are asking each child to bring in their ‘grown-out-of-toys’ for this. We are happy to accept these treasures now and add to the pile that we are accumulating.  We did think about selling our ducks but we thought families would be happier with another toy! Maybe they can go to Mr Forrest’s swimming pool? What do you think? 

 

Mrs Tanya, Classroom Teacher

F/1B - Foundation and Year 1

Mrs Torney, Classroom Teacher

 

Year 2 

In our grade 2 classroom we are continuing to build a culture of using kind words and working effectively as a team. Last week, in Inquiry, students practised these skills during our cup stacking challenges. They worked in teams of 3 or 4 to stack their cups in various designs without touching the cups with their hands! This required good communication, collaboration and respectful negotiation. Check out the photos to see how well the teams did! 

In Reading, we have just begun looking at the structure and features of persuasive texts. Students are beginning to differentiate facts and opinions and to provide reasons for their own opinions. On Monday, students logged into the Epic reading website for the first time and enjoyed discovering a diverse range of online books. 

In Maths, we are practising identifying number patterns, telling the time, improving our estimation skills and locating numbers on number lines. 

It has been wonderful to see so much regular home reading going on. Thank you for supporting this at home.

 

Mrs McKenzie & Ms Young, Classroom Teachers

Year 3

It’s been a busy time in Year 3. 

We have continued exploring numbers and turn taking with our F/1 buddies. Learning and playing games like Buzz!, Snap, Uno and Get out of my House with them. It has been amazing to see how well the two classes have worked together. Year 3 have shown what wonderful leaders they are. Year 3 students are looking forward to continuing our exploration into numbers and patterns with them in the weeks ahead. 

 

Year 3 have continued their exploration into Earth and Space Science with the Year 4’s in Inquiry.  Students have been learning about the eight phases of the moon.  Enjoying our Oreo phases of the moon activity. Students have also developed an understanding of planets, orbit, day and night, stars, constellations, and the way that our First Nations People use stars to care for Country.  Our day and night sunglasses were another fun hands on activity that all Year 3 and 4 students enjoyed!

 

On February 29th – Leap Day – we learnt about things that happen every four years; things such as leap years, and the Olympics.  Year 3 students participated in a ’29 challenge’ where they had to estimate how many times they could do certain tasks in 29 seconds – keeping with the theme of 29 on leap day! We rounded out leap day 2024 with creating headbands to take home as a way of saying ‘Hoppy Leap Day 2024!’ 

 

Year 3 students are reminded to complete homework tasks (Reading, SMART Spelling and Mathematics) each night to help continue to grow their learning and understanding of topics covered in the classroom. 

 

Miss A, Classroom Teacher.

Year 5/6 

The students are loving reading 'Runt' and 'Fuzzy Mud.' Most students have been remembering their diary everyday. This is the best and easiest way for us to communicate. 

 

In class, we have been very busy learning about animal adaptations and finding different ways to share our learning. It is great to see the students embrace their creative vibes. We are displaying our work at the library and in the classroom. 

 

Mrs Turnbull, Classroom Teacher

Year 7 & 8

Year 7 & 8 Camp - Inglewood pick-up and drop-off

Please see below some details that were accidentally omitted from the letters that went home regarding Year 7 & 8 Camp. 

There will be a pick-up and drop-off for students who travel on the Inglewood bus. 

Pick-up (Monday March 18) will be at approximately 9:15am, opposite the IGA supermarket.

Drop-off (Friday March 22) will be at approximately 2:45pm, near the Town Hall.

Please be prompt in dropping off and picking up your child, the bus cannot wait as it will delay our arrival times. Please ensure you contact the College, to inform us you would like to be picked up and/or dropped off in Inglewood. Any other questions, please feel free to contact me either via calling the College, or email.

Ph: 5494 3011email: kirsten.graham@education.vic.gov.au

 

Miss Graham, Year 7 Homeroom Teacher

Year 9 

The students in Year 9 have been very busy in the School Vegetable and Succulent Garden preparing for the Wedderburn School Fete.

Thank you to everyone who has donated plants, pots, potting mix and more. Please make sure you come and visit our stall on Fete Day and grab a bargain.

 

We are also pleased to announce that the 2023 MY9 Duke of Edinburgh students will be awarded their Bronze Pin and Bronze Certificate on Tuesday 26th March at the Whole School Assembly. You are invited to come along and watch.

 

 

 

 

Ms Herrington, Year 9 Homeroom Teacher

Year 9 Don Valley Leadership Camp 

Our Don Valley students are continuing to develop their leadership skills, challenge themselves and grow as leaders. In the last fortnight, they had their first EXPO and on the weekend just gone, they had their visiting weekend. This meant they got to spend the weekend with family or carers. After reading several SWAY entries, it is lovely to read that the students are continuing to push themselves outside their comfort zone, whilst also acknowledging when they need time to themselves. There were a number of excellent entries about food the food for thought task. Students did not have morning tea one day and lunch slightly later, with different groups getting different food. This was teaching them about empathy and differences between socio economic classes. It gave students a greater appreciation for what they have.

Some of the highlights from the past fortnight were:

  • Expo – which proved to be a challenge and some students improvising on meals.
  • Caving
  • Continuing to lead groups
  • Team building exercises 
  • Respectful Relationships – Empathy, Emotional management
  • Mountain Bike Riding
  • Developing strong friendships with peers
  • Karaoke night – this was fun to watch
  • Learning about them
  • Dylan assisting his parents on a hike 
  • Resilience displayed by each student!

Year 10

This fortnights focus is ‘Attendance’. A day or two may not seem like must but when your child misses 1 day a fortnight, that is 4 weeks of school for the year. Help us help your child to succeed.

Tips to help improve your child’s attendance:

  • Talk to your child about school and how important it is. You can ask them how they feel about school, what they liked and if there are any problems.
  • If there are any problems we can help with or need to know about, do not hesitate to reach out to Alexander or Emma 
  • Set a good example. Show them how you keep to your own commitments.
  • Encourage your child to take on hobbies that they enjoy such as sports and clubs. This will help them develop positive relationships outside of the classroom.
  • Have a set time to do homework and go to bed.
  • Leave all technology out of their bedroom.
  • Pack their school bag the night before with everything they need.
  • Have a set time for breakfast.
  • Organise for them to meet up with a friend so they can travel to school together.

https://www.vic.gov.au/attendance-and-missing-school

Reminders:

  • Homework club is running Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays at lunchtime in Room 11. If you are finding it challenging to complete Homework at home, please utilise this time.
  • If you are absent from school, please send an email to your teachers to ensure you catch up on any work that is missed. In addition to this, if you are absent on a day where homework is due, please email this through or see your teacher the day before (if known) or first thing on your return.

Mr Iser &  Miss Milne, Year 10 Homeroom Teachers 

VCE

What a fantastic start to the year it has been for our VCE students!  Classes have settled into a good routine, and nay changes that needed to happen, have happened.

We had a fantastic turnout for the Swimming Carnival and our 100% attendance and dress up means that we get a free lunch.  Thanks Mr Lockhart.

It’s great to walk into the school Library some mornings and see our senior English class being given some reading pointers from our F/1 students.  The message here is that reading is fun and everyone can do it!

                

In our extended homeroom, we have been looking at the Berry Street Model and discussing the importance of coming to school ‘ready to learn’.  We have discussed what this looks like and what it looks like when we aren’t ready. There are a few things that our significant adults can check with their students to make sure they come each day ready to learn:

  • Is your student getting plenty of sleep?
  • What does your student have for breakfast?
  • Is there a timetable up on the fridge so you know what classes your student has each day? This will help you make sure they have their right materials, ready to learn.
  • Is your student able to check their school email from home?  They should be in the routine of checking it at least once a day.

These may seem like points the students should already know, but we can’t make those assumptions.  They need to be reminded at both home and at school and encouraged to become ‘ready to learn’ for every class. 

 

Mr Gretgrix and Mrs Woodman, Year 11 & 12 Homeroom Teachers

PE News - Mr P and Miss Milne 

Last Saturday, I travelled to the Elmore Equestrian Park to compete in the Girton Grammar School Horseland Bendigo Dressage Interschool Championships with my pony Kolbeach Explorer. It was my first time competing in inter-schools, and riding EA (Equestrian Australia) tests, which are different from Pony Club tests that I usually ride, so I was largely happy with the sixth and seventh in the senior preliminary class. It was an enjoyable day, thanks largely to the organisation of the team from Girton Grammar School, who hosted the event. Thank you also to Horseland Bendigo and Kentucky Equine Research for their generous sponsorship and the show bags handed out to all competitors. Finally thank you to my mother and sister for being massive assistances on the day and in the lead up to the event.

Lillian Stephenson - Year 11

 

Mr P’s Secondary PE Student of the Week is: Shelby Giorlando. Shelby is demonstrating terrific active learning during our unit 3 PE classes. She completed a practice SAC today in preparation for her upcoming SAC this Friday and achieved a great result. Shelby always completes classwork and homework, and her revision has been excellent. Keep it going Shelby! See Mr P for your prize. 

Miss M’s Primary PE Student of the month is: Annalise Tate. Since her return, Annalise has been a fantastic role model within class. She always follows the expected behaviours in all settings, eager to improve and is very self-reflective on how she can continue to grow! Well done, Annalise! Please see Miss Milne for your prize.

 

Miss Milne and Mr Pettifer, Sports Coordinators

NAPLAN

Students in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 will be sitting the NAPLAN assessments commencing Wednesday 13th March. The college has a 9-day window to complete all assessments. 

Please note that Year 9 students will still attend NCTTC on Wednesday 13th March. NAPLAN testing will commence on Thursday 14th March for Year 9s.

Students will only need to sit one assessment per day, with the exception of Year 7 students. As Year 7 students are attending camp from Monday 18th March, they will need to complete two tests on one day. This is to ensure they finish all testing by Friday 15th March.

Detailed information on NAPLAN and what your child will expect has been sent out to parents/guardians via their child. 

English and Maths teachers in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are currently preparing students for the assessments.

NAPLAN assess the literacy and numeracy skills which are the foundation for all subjects in all year levels. It is important to note that it is one assessment on one particular day and does not replace the ongoing assessments in the classroom.

Parents will receive a report on their child’s performance in the assessments. The information is also important to teachers in assessing their own teaching programs.

Students will sit assessments in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

With the exception of Year 3 Writing, which is a pen and paper assessment, all other assessments are completed online. Students may use their own devices (Year 7 and 9) or a laptop from the College.

Students in Year 7 and 9 will require a set of headphones for the assessments. They can be purchased for a few dollars at any supermarket. They do not need to be expensive headphones. The college will provide headphones for students in Year 3 and 5 to borrow for the assessment.

If your child is absent for any assessment, they will be able to sit the assessment when they return to school with the exception of Year 3 Writing. Year 3 Writing must be completed on Wednesday 13th March.

If you have any questions regarding NAPLAN, please contact your child’s homegroup teacher or the front office.

Mr Fowles, NAPLAN Coordinator

OSHC Program

To Parent/Carers, 

 

Please be aware, if your child/children has a booking to attend Wedderburn OSHC Program ensure that you inform the College of any changes which may arise. This needs to done only by the Parent/Carer and not by the student. This will avoid any confusion. 

 

Thank you for your understanding.

 

Trina Vaughan, Melinda Springthorpe and Annette Hunt. 

OSHC Coordinators.

Compass

Don't wait for the end of semester to view your child's progress. Log in to Compass and view teacher feedback and feed forward at any time by checking out your child's Learning Tasks. Children also receive regular (every 5 weeks) progress reports on their Organisation, Behaviour, Attitude to Learning and Work Completion. Learning Tasks and Reports can be found on you child's profile page.