Classroom News
2025
Foundation: Mrs Mclay
This term is set to be a busy one in Foundation! With lots of excursions and our Production on the way. We also get to celebrate our 100 Days of Foundation!
Here is what we’ve been loving about being back at school.
Finn - “I have loved learning about our new digraph letters.”
Freyah - “I have loved playing doctors with Ella at snack and lunch break.”
Everest - “I have loved seeing all of my friends.”
Pippa - “I have loved trying new brain breaks to help my brain get ready for learning.”
Morgan - “I have loved learning to count numbers and add them together.”
Oscar - “I have loved playing soccer with my friends and celebrating birthdays in Foundation.”
Seb - “I have loved learning new digraphs and writing out words in Literacy.”
Grace - “I have loved learning new colours in Italian.”
Eadie - “I have loved adding numbers together and taking them away.”
Lucy - “I have loved getting better at my colouring, making sure I stay in the lines.”
Taj - “I have loved just being back at school. This place is so fun!”
Foundation- Grade 1: Miss Emmett
We are excited to be back for Term 3 and already diving into some wonderful learning in our Foundation/Year 1 classroom!
In Literacy, we’ve begun learning about digraphs as part of our InitiaLit program. The students are discovering that two letters can work together to make one sound—like "sh", "ck”, “ll”, “ff” and “s”—and are becoming confident at spotting these in their reading and using them in their writing.
In Numeracy, we’ve been exploring place value and building our understanding of numbers all the way up to 120. Through hands-on activities and games, students are learning to group numbers into tens and ones and are developing strong number sense.
During 4R’s (Resilience, Rights, and Respectful Relationships) the class discussed all the acts of kindness and help we do each day. So many in fact, that we decided to reward each other with tokens.
To help us reconnect with our school values, students went on a scavenger hunt around the school to find and talk about our school-wide expectations. We found a total of 18! This was a fun and engaging way to remind ourselves of how we can be safe, respectful, and responsible at St Pat’s.
It’s been a great start to the term, and we’re looking forward to all the learning and growth to come!
Grade 2: Miss Wooden
Welcome back to school! I am thrilled to see so many bright smiles and positive attitudes. It's wonderful to have everyone back together, ready for a new and exciting term.
This term, we will be diving into a new mathematics topic: multiplication! Each student will have the opportunity to explore multiplication concepts through engaging activities and group work. We're focusing on making learning fun and interactive, which will help build a solid foundation for their future math skills.
Our inquiry topic this term focuses on being responsible members of the community. Students engage in various activities that foster a sense of belonging and respect. They will learn the importance of empathy and respect for diverse perspectives. Through discussions and hands-on experiences, they gain valuable insights into the impact of teamwork, leadership, and volunteerism. By working together, these students not only enhance their skills and knowledge but also cultivate a strong commitment to making a positive difference in the world around them.
Grade 3: Mrs Stock
This week in our Resilience Project lesson, the students explored how to understand and recognise different emotions using the acronym FACE:
- Facial Expressions
- Attitude and Body Language
- Clarity of Tone of Voice
- Emotional Behaviour
The students had a great time acting out various emotions and guessing what their classmates were expressing — lots of laughs and great discussions!
In Literacy, we have been diving into the world of poetry. After reading The Ant Explorer by C. J. Dennis, students had a go at writing their own rhyming couplets. Their creativity and enthusiasm have been fantastic to see, and they’ve really enjoyed this new style of writing.
In Math's, students have been learning about multiplication and division. They’ve been using the CUBE strategy to help them solve worded problems:
- Circle the important numbers
- Underline the question
- Box the key words
- Evaluate what steps are needed to solve
- Solve and check
Pajama Day was a big hit! Everyone looked super comfy in their PJs and had fun being cozy for the day.
A huge congratulations to Ollie for being runner-up in the Lions Club Public Speaking competition. What an amazing effort — we’re all very proud!
It’s been a busy and productive fortnight, and we’re so proud of the effort all students are putting into their learning!
Grade 4: Miss Dove & Mrs McKiernan
Welcome back to school! I am thrilled to see so many bright smiles and positive attitudes. It's wonderful to have everyone back together, ready for a new and exciting term.
This term, we will be diving into a new mathematics topic: multiplication! Each student will have the opportunity to explore multiplication concepts through engaging activities and group work. We're focusing on making learning fun and interactive, which will help build a solid foundation for their future math skills.
Our inquiry topic this term focuses on being responsible members of the community. Students engage in various activities that foster a sense of belonging and respect. They will learn the importance of empathy and respect for diverse perspectives. Through discussions and hands-on experiences, they gain valuable insights into the impact of teamwork, leadership, and volunteerism. By working together, these students not only enhance their skills and knowledge but also cultivate a strong commitment to making a positive difference in the world around them.
Grade 5-6: Miss Rasmussen
The Grade 5/6 students have hit the ground running this term with plenty of exciting learning already underway!
In English, we’ve begun our poetry unit by diving into William Wordsworth’s classic, I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud. The students have been unpacking the poet’s deep connection to nature—especially daffodils—and how it helped him navigate his grief following the loss of his brother. We've explored the poetic language and literary techniques used in the poem, with a particular focus on personification. Alongside our poetry study, we’ve also been working on expanding our sentence writing, with a deep dive into subordinating conjunctions to help add complexity and meaning to our writing. We are almost ready to start our new text, Tom Appleby: Convict Boy, which we are very excited about—but not before we construct some beautiful poems about nature!
In Maths, we’ve been revisiting fractions. Students are growing confident in converting between mixed numbers and improper fractions, and are now applying this knowledge to add and subtract fractions with the same denominator.
We're also preparing for our upcoming class liturgy, which will honour Australia's first saint, Mary MacKillop. Students are learning about her incredible life and the values she modelled.
Excitement is building as we count down to our City Camp later this term! To make sure everyone is ready for this wonderful experience, we have a Parent Information Session on Tuesday 11th August at 2:40pm in the Cill Dara. We encourage all parents to attend so you're across everything that’s happening and what’s needed in the lead-up to camp.
