Foundation

It is hard to believe that we are in Week 4 already! Time certainly flies when you are having fun! 

Grandparents' Morning

Don't forget that we have Grandparents' Morning this Thursday 31st October. Beginning at 9am with a Liturgy in the Mercy Centre, Grandparents and special friends will then be invited back to visit in the classrooms. We will have some little activities and games to share, time to chat, and then the visitors, not the students,  will leave around 10am. 

Literacy 

Informative writing is the main focus for the first part of this Term, with students learning the structure and format that this genre presents. We have spent a lot of time researching different animals, and then writing reports about them. The emphasis has been on using a strong vocabulary to help in the sharing of information, and making sure that what we write is factually correct, not just something we think to be true.

We have also started a list of non-negotiable high frequency words that are expected to be spelt correctly all the time. These words are displayed in the classroom, but failure to spell them correctly incurs a "10 paper pick-up".  Our room is currently spotless, and our writing is really showing signs of improvement, and the students are becoming very quick to identify these mistakes in their work.

Numeracy 

Numbers to 20 and multiplicative thinking will keep us busy this throughout the Term, as well as the constant revision of concepts learned during the year.  We have learned a lot of new games to consolidate knowledge, with the overall level of sportsmanship in the room lifting considerably. 

Problem solving remains an on-going activity, and is an excellent way to develop different strategies to work out answers in different ways. Students have been practising their ability to explain how they got their answers, which is a very important part of the learning process.

New Games

"Order, Order" *

"Tug o War"

"13"

"3 Guesses" *

The games with the stars above can be found on the lovemaths  website- possibly my favourite place on the world wide web to trawl. It has heaps of simple, yet very effective games that help reinforce mathematical knowledge. The bonus is that this website was initially developed during Covid times, so all the games use things that most people have in their homes already.

Religion

We have spent 3 weeks looking at the unit  "Our Special Book"  and investigating the Bible. Students have been exposed to scripture from both the Old and New Testaments, and are quite adept at deciding which part of the Bible a new story might be from. The simple rule of thumb is if Jesus is in the story, told the story or is part of the story, it is probably the New Testament.

SCIENCE EXCURSION

We had a fantastic Science excursion last Tuesday in the Mercy Centre.  The young and enthusiastic team from SMART Science entertained the students for 45 minutes with different experiments that demonstrated "Force and Motion". The F/1/2 session was very noisy, but everyone was completely engaged.

So much fun, and educational as well! 

Hats

There are still a few (3) students without hats. I know it is getting close to the end of the year, but the good news is the current Foundation students still have years left at St John's, so if you have to purchase a new hat, it is not really a wasted expense. 

No hat means break times are only on the deck, under the shade. There are still 7 weeks left of school, so if you can not locate the new hat, perhaps you could consider buying a new one?

2025 Enrolments

We are now taking enrolments for 2025. Actually, we have a heap of students enrolled already, so if you know anyone who is still thinking of St. John's for their child next year, it would be a sensible idea for them to make up their minds quickly, and get their child's name onto the rapidly expanding list.

Therese has basically finished Enrolment interviews, but I am sure there is room left for any families who still wish to join the St. John's school community.

Timetable 

Monday

Tuesday         Art 

                         School newsletter online(odd weeks) 

Wednesday  Lunch Orders

Thursday       Specialist subjects (students to wear sports uniform and runners)

Friday             Library, Bluearth- wear sports uniform (even weeks)  Assembly (odd weeks)

Don't forget, any questions, problems or queries, please contact me. If it is during school hours, just leave a message and I will return it as soon as possible, or send me an email.

sredfern@sjeuroa.catholic.edu.au

Thank you,

Sally and Damien