Foundation: Mrs Fleming

It has been another busy fortnight in Foundation!

In Literacy, we have begun learning about 'digraphs'. This is when two letters make one sound like 'sh' in the word shell. Students have been practising to read and write words with these digraphs and have become very good at finding them everywhere!

We have also been learning about the beginning, middle and end of a story. Students have drawn pictures to help remember what happened in each part before retelling the story to a partner. It has been wonderful to see their confidence growing as they share the events in their own words.

In Maths, we have been exploring measurement, with a focus on length, mass and capacity. Our learning has been very hands-on! We have compared the length of objects around our classroom, used hefting and balance scales to compare the mass of different objects, and filled a variety of containers to investigate and compare their capacity.

The Foundation students are very excited for their very first Book Week dress-up day on Friday, followed by our incursion on Monday. We are also looking forward to our swimming program next week. With so many exciting activities packed into one week, I’m sure we will have some very tired little learners by the end of it!

Grade 1/2: Mrs McKiernan & Mrs Tyler

This fortnight in Enwe have been working on writing a story. We have focused on planning a story then writing the different parts. This involves the beginning which includes when, who and where, the middle which includes the take-off, feelings and a plan, and ending which includes the actions, solution and consequence of a story. We have written a story titled 'The Cubby House'. Have a read of some of our fantastic stories we have been working hard on!

In Religion we have finished our topic - Daily Life in Jesus' Time. We compared our clothes, food, games, travel and housing to Jesus' time including what was similar and different. We have reflected on Jesus' having a family who cared for him, just like our families care for us. Our next topic will explore the wonders of creation and wonders of our Creator God. Where we will identify how we can care for aspects of creation.

Grade 1/2: Miss Wooden

What an incredible few weeks we have had in Grade 1/2! One of the standout moments was our much-anticipated Grade 2 Sleepover. The students were absolutely amazing and embraced the experience with excitement. They had a fantastic time eating delicious snacks, playing games, and bonding with their classmates. It was truly a memorable night filled with laughter!

In our classrooms, we’ve been diving into some exciting math concepts. This term, we’ve been focusing on multiplication and division. The students have been working hard to understand these concepts by creating equal groups and using various strategies to solve problems. Their enthusiasm for numbers has been inspiring, and it’s wonderful to see their confidence grow as they tackle these new challenges!

Additionally, our science unit on decomposition has been a hit! The students are learning about the importance of taking care of our Earth, exploring how organic matter breaks down and contributes to soil health. They’ve engaged in thoughtful discussions about sustainability and how they can help protect our planet, which has sparked their curiosity and sense of responsibility.

Overall, the past few weeks have been both educational and entertaining, filled with plenty of learning and new adventures. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the term has in store!

Grade 3: Miss Taylor

What a busy couple of weeks we have had (again!) in Grade 3!

We had a fantastic 3–6 Waranga Interschool Athletics Day, with students mingling with other schools, giving every event a go and, most importantly, having fun! A real highlight was seeing every St Pats student have a go at EVERY event... AND with a smile on their face! We are incredibly proud of all our Grade 3s who came home with ribbons, but even more proud of the enthusiasm and sportsmanship they showed throughout the day.

Our Term 3 Inform and Empower session was another big hit! This term, we focused on what it means to be an 'upstander' and the importance of using our voice to stand up for others and help someone through a tricky situation. We discussed the importance of using our voices to stand up for others when something isn't right and explored different ways we can help someone who may find themselves in a tricky situation. A really important message about the difference between 'dobbing' and being an 'upstander'. The interactive Kahoot was, of course, a favourite!

We also welcomed the Campaspe council for a Waste Incursion, which was a great opportunity to remind ourselves (and for some of us, learn!) about which items belong in each bin and, importantly, why sorting our waste correctly makes such a difference. It was a great reminder of the small things we can all do to care for our environment.

This week has also been Science Week, and we know our students love nothing more than getting their hands stuck into an experiment, and this week has been the perfect opportunity to do just that! With different activities on every day at lunchtime, we've been learning about all different parts of science with lots of fun experiments. We have also begun our new classroom topic all about gases, which has tied in perfectly with our Science Week learning. We have been exploring the properties of gases and investigating what makes them different from solids and liquids. We even investigated chemical reactions that produce gas through our very exciting "magic inflating balloon" experiment! There were certainly some impressed faces as we watched our balloons inflate without blowing them up ourselves...

This week is also National Bullying No Way Week, and we have been having some very important conversations in our classroom. Through daily videos and discussions, we have been exploring the idea of "Small Acts, Big Impact" and thinking about how even the smallest actions can have a big effect on those around us. We've been focusing particularly on how small acts of kindness can create a ripple effect, spreading positivity and kindness from one person to the next. These are such important conversations for our students, and we encourage you to continue chatting about kindness, inclusion and standing up for others at home too.

And finally, next week is Swimming Week! We know it will be a busy (and tiring!) week, but our Grade 3s are looking forward to it!

Grade 4/5: Mrs Stock

It has been another busy and enjoyable fortnight in Grade 4/5!

In Literacy, our Grade 5 students have finished reading Once and have now begun their new novel, Can You See Me? Students enjoyed completing their final assessment for Once outside in the sunshine. It was a lovely change of scenery to finish off our work on the novel!

In Religion, we have begun our new unit, Living a Mission. Students worked collaboratively in groups to choose a person, group or organisation that helps others. They investigated what their mission is, who they help, and the actions they take to make a difference. Each group then shared their findings with the class. This was a great way for students to begin thinking about what it means to live out a mission through our everyday actions.

In Maths, our focus has been on decimals. Students have been developing their understanding of place value and rounding decimals to the nearest whole number, tenth and hundredth. A highlight was our Roll and Round game, where students put their rounding skills into practice in a fun and interactive way.

Students also participated in our Term 3 Inform & Empower session. Through the Theo & Evie episode, students explored how online interactions can influence our emotions, relationships and choices. We discussed how someone's online behaviour may not always show how they are really feeling, the impact of unkind behaviour online, and the difference between snitching and help-seeking. Students also explored ways they can be an upstander and why consent and permission are important when sharing another person's photos, information or content online.

It has been wonderful to see students engaging so enthusiastically across all areas of their learning! We are also very excited for Swimming Week, next week!!

Grade 5/6: Miss Rasmussen

The Grade 5/6 students have been working hard to develop their understanding of rounding decimals. This can be a tricky concept, but we are beginning to understand how numbers can be rounded and renamed to hundredths and thousandths. We are now moving on to measurement.

We recently finished reading Once and absolutely loved it! The class fell in love with Felix and Zelda and became deeply invested in their story. Alongside the novel, we enjoyed learning about Poland and writing information texts explaining its landmarks, flora and fauna, and relationship with Australia. Exploring the setting in such depth helped us better understand where Felix was and what his surroundings may have been like during the story.

Our next class novel is Can You See Me? We have met the main character, Tally, who is autistic, and are learning about how she approaches the beginning of Year 7 at a new school while navigating change, friendships and the pressure to fit in.

We also loved being part of the Waranga Athletics Carnival. It was wonderful to see our students interacting with students from other schools and beginning to build friendships that may continue as they move on to secondary school.

A massive congratulations to Amelia, who placed second in the recent Lions Club Public Speaking Competition! Amelia spoke confidently and represented St Patrick’s beautifully. We are incredibly proud of her fantastic achievement!

We are looking forward to leading our class liturgy this week, beginning our swimming program next week and, of course, celebrating Book Week! It will be our Grade 6 students’ final opportunity to dress up for the St Patrick’s Book Week Parade, so we hope they make the most of it!

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