Infants and Primary
Infants
Welcome back to Term 4 to all our students and their families, and an especially warm welcome to the new students and families that have made the move to Boorowa and our school this term – we are excited to have you as part of our community.
This term is always crazily busy, but a very fun one in the lead up to the end of the year, holidays and of course, Christmas. Please keep an eye out for all the activities and events taking place around our school in the Newsletter and on Compass so that nothing is missed.
We kicked off our term with our Wellbeing Day last Tuesday where we all learnt about many ways that we can look after ourselves and help our bodies ‘sing’- everything from healthy snack choices, physical activity, brushing our teeth and being safe when out and about in the community. A big thank you to all the staff organisers as well as to our visitors on the day who we learnt so much from.
Our Kindergarten Orientation program has kicked off already with students and their families joining us last Friday for the first time. We are very excited to be welcoming them back for their first real ‘taste’ of ‘big school’ over the next few Fridays. Our Year 5 students are looking forward to finding out who their ‘Buddy’ will be, and our Kindergarten students are excited to be not the youngest at school anymore. The first Kindy-start morning is Friday 27 October.
Term 4 is when our ‘No Hat, Play in the Shade’ mantra comes back into play. Please remember to send a named school bucket hat to school each day. Thank you.
Kindy
It is has been full steam ahead in our Kindergarten classroom this past fortnight. We have been building on our learning across all the key learning areas and are working hard to increase our attention and concentration spans in preparation for Year One. There is still so much to learn while in Kindergarten, so being focused and ready to learn is a key skill.
In writing, we are trying really hard to push ourselves to write more than 1 or 2 sentences and to use different strategies to try and spell words ourselves. This will be another key focus for term 4.
In Mathematics we have been finding halves, making equal shares and learning to estimate and check how close we were when solving problems. Our focus area over the next fortnight is on combining and separating quantities which helps develop our addition and subtraction skills.
Year 1/2
Welcome back for term 4! I think students in 1/ 2 came back a little taller for this term, and they brought with them some wonderful stories from their break. In week 1, we participated in the final Wellbeing Day for the year which was all about taking care of one’s body by making safe and healthy choices. Students were invited to watch older students have a go at playing wheelchair basketball in the morning. After that, we headed to the food tech room to make delicious frozen yoghurt/ fruit bars. The wonderful Ms. Golden also made various other healthy food items for us to try. Students in 1/2 talked about these foods all day and I believe some were excited to try some at home. We were delighted to have local police and a paramedic come and discuss safe choices with us. Some ladies from the Dentist showed us how to correctly brush our teeth, and what foods to eat- and what to avoid. Finally, we discussed sun safety, as we are coming into the warmer months of the year. A reminder, ‘no hat- play in the shade’ for Term 1 and 4. Weeks 1 and have been busy in other ways as well, with the Boorowa Touch Netball carnival preparations.
In English, students have explored fiction and non- fiction texts. We have pulled apart the text features of ‘Giraffe’s Can’t Dance’ by Giles Andreae, noticing the rhyme and rhythm developed to illicit emotions in the reader. In our Golden Time at the end of week 1, a small group of students chose to play with connecting toys. These students collaborated for the entire session to build a ‘Gerald the Giraffe’. It was wonderful to observe students making connections between their learning through texts and their play. Next week, 1/ 2 will be developing an informative text that stems from the learning so far this term.
In Mathematics, students have explored fractions, adding new vocabulary such as quarters, eighths and partitioning to their brains! Next week, we will engage with understanding numbers, delving into more complex thinking of multiplication and division.
We began a creative arts unit this term where we will be exploring various artists and experimenting with different mediums to produce artworks. In week 2, we designed a stencil of a vase that we used to print the image onto paper. Students enjoyed designing the shape of their vases, positioning the image onto the paper just right, and blending paint with sponges. Next week we will add flowers to complete the pieces of work.
We have been learning how to keep ourselves safe through a Physical Development and Health child protection unit that we began last term. Students are demonstrating their strength and knowledge in ensuring they are in comfortable and safe situations, and in knowing what to do when this is not the case. We are wrapping this unit up in the early weeks of this term.
Primary
Welcome back to an action-packed term four here in the Primary department. Notes went out last week to all Year 3-Year 6 students about the Primary excursion to Canberra on Thursday November 23 2023. This is the first year in a four-year rotation of excursions, and as such, it is only a one day excursion. Next year will be a two day excursion, 2025 will be three days and 2026 four days – the cycle will then restart. This ensures (barring global pandemics!) that all Primary students will have access to all excursions over their time in Primary school. We are excited to visit Questacon, the National Arboretum and Cockington Green for a very affordable price this year. Please return the ‘commitment to participate’ notes ASAP in order for us to get final costings together.
Unfortunately, we have seen many instances of behaviour review cards being handed out over the past two weeks. It is a significant concern that these cards are being handed out to our more senior students in years 4, 5 and 6. We at BCS value ‘Leadership’ and it’s timely that we re-focus on what makes good leaders and the influence we can have on others. It’s incredible to witness the effect that our older students have on our Infants friends, and it is an expectation that our leaders are modelling positive, inclusive and fair behaviours to all. This is the single most effective way of ensuring that all of our students enjoy school to the fullest and find success here at BCS every day.
A further reminder that school bucket hats must be worn in term 4 during lunch, recess and bus playtimes. This is to help avoid sun exposure and keep your children safe. Any students without the correct hats must play in the shade.
If you require any additional information or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email: Jason.stuart3@det.nsw.edu.au
Year 3/4
Welcome to Term 4! We've jumped right into a productive and engaging start, setting the pace for a remarkable term ahead.
Just as we began, our students enjoyed a refreshing Wellbeing Day. This day not only served to rejuvenate but also provided a wonderful platform to emphasize the importance wellbeing and strategies to help promote it. A standout moment from Wellbeing Day was our sun safety talk, which culminated in the inventive creation of wellbeing hats – a fun and practical reminder of staying sun-smart.
In addition, we have successfully completed our check-in assessments, which help us gauge where each student is and how best we can support their learning journey this term.
Exciting news! We’ve expanded our tech resources with the purchase of an additional 30 laptops. Our Grade 3/4 students have seamlessly integrated these into their daily routines, enhancing their learning experiences.
3/4 students have been engaging with a wonderful program called Read Theory, designed to bolster their text comprehension skills. They've also been diving deep into the art of writing legends, allowing them to explore various conventions of writing. Furthermore, the emphasis on independent reading continues with a dedicated 20-minute slot each day. Additionally, our guided reading groups, assisted by Sara, Chris, Jill, and Greg, have been a source of great support and progress.
In Mathematics, we’ve been on a journey of discovery, delving into different content areas. Our everyday Math Mentals segment ensures our students continue to sharpen their basic skills. We’re also excited about the integration of technology in this domain, as our students utilize programs like Math Seeds and Math Prime to fortify their mathematical understanding.
If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out at matthew.rowley12@det.nsw.edu.au or contact the school to arrange a meeting.
Here’s to a fruitful and engaging Term 4!
Year 5/6
The year 5/6 students have had a very busy few weeks in the classroom. We thoroughly enjoyed our Student Wellbeing Day last Tuesday, where the students got to play wheelchair AFL and basketball, learn about the importance of sun safety by designing and creating our own hats, explore the importance of water, hydration and managing our own intake. These days are great fun and we can’t wait for more in the future.
In English we have been completing a writing moderation task on a stimulus called ‘The Lantern’. Each student in K-6 will do a piece of writing about this video and then all of the staff will ‘moderate’ our assessment judgements at a staff meeting. This builds the professional capacity of our staff and also allows us to track the writing of our students year-on-year. We began doing this process in 2021 so there will be lots of data to analyse over the coming years. We are also continuing our novel study on RJ Palacio’s ‘Wonder’, but with everything that we’ve had on at the end of last term, we are a little behind in finishing it! In Mathematics, we are currently working on probability and mean, median, mode & range. We analyse sets of data, make predictions about events and get to use our knowledge of the four operations to help us master these concepts. In Science, we have paused our unit on ‘Matter Matters’ and we will pick this up again when Mrs Corcoran returns in week 6.
As always, please get in touch if you require any further information: Jason.stuart3@det.nsw.edu.au
Jason Stuart
5/6 Class Teacher
Assistant Principal Primary (Relieving)