PREP

Lots of new and exciting things have been happening in the Prep room. After spending the first few weeks learning the routines of the classroom, we are now ready to learn!

This week we were all so eager to take home our Reading Folders. It was fabulous to hear how keen the children were to read their reader at home. Gemma posted some videos on Class Dojo for parents to watch, so that you are able to assist your child with their reading at home. Just a reminder that the reading folders only need to be returned each Monday.

In Numeracy, we have started to learn about patterns. We are recognising, copying and describing different repeating patterns using materials, shapes, and movements. ‘Banana, banana, meatball,’ is one of our favourite songs to learn about movement patterns.

On Monday, the day finally arrived to borrow books from our library. The children were very keen for this and enjoyed the opportunity to select their own books for you to read to them at home. Library books can also be returned each Monday.

Hear what some of our Prep students have been loving about school.

Hallie- “I have enjoyed playing with my buddies, Immy and Charlotte.”

Leah - “Playing with my friends in the playground”

Emmy - “I like playing Sport with Andre and I love Art.”

Ava - “Having lunch with my buddies and playing in the playground.”

Here are some important dates for your calendar. We will post more information about each of these closer to each one.

27th of February, Beginning of the year family BBQ @ 6pm
28th of February, Beginning of the year mass (Buddy Blessing) @ 10am
6th of March, Prep Picnic (all welcome) @ 2:15-3:15pm
10th of March, Pupil Free Day (public holiday)
11th of March, Pupil Free Fay (professional development day for staff)
12th of March, First Wednesday for Preps at school
14th of March, Whole School Sports Day (house colours)
1st of April, School Photos (full school uniform, NO PE uniform on this day please)
4th of April, Last day of term 1 with a 2:15pm finish
28th of April, Term 2 Begins (this is due to public holidays and school collaboration days in the week prior. Please see the newsletter for further information).

Thank you to all those who attended the ‘Meet and Greet’ meetings. It was wonderful to chat together about how we can work together to make your child’s schooling a positive experience.

Gemma Blake gblake@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Elissa Rodger erodger@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 1

The past two weeks in Grade 1 have been filled with exciting learning and growth. The children have been engaging with readers sent home, building their reading skills and enjoying new stories.

In maths, they’ve been exploring tallying and data collection, learning how to organise and count information in fun, hands-on ways. The focus in class has also been on kindness and resilience, with students working together to build positive relationships and bounce back from challenges.

One of the highlights this week was Skittle Maths, a fun and colorful activity where the students loved using Skittles to practice counting and basic math concepts such as tallying, displaying data and using pictographs. It was a memorable moment that brought plenty of joy and excitement to the classroom!

Leah Martin lmartin@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Rebecca Murray rmurray@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Judy Carr jcarr@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Paula Parish pparish@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 2

Settling In and Soaring High!

Wow – can you believe we’ve already cruised through the first four weeks of Year 2? We are well and truly settled in, and the classroom is buzzing with excitement and hard work across all areas of the curriculum.

Meet and Greet Success!

A huge thank you to all the parents who came along to our ‘Meet and Greet’ sessions! It was fantastic to connect with you. Remember, our lines of communication are always open – feel free to reach out on Dojo anytime you need.

Counting Goals: All Year to Master!

Your child’s counting goals are glued in the front of their home book – these are designed to be worked on throughout the entire year. They’re perfect for a quick and easy way to get involved in your child’s learning at home. Try them out in the car, over dinner, or even before bed! We’ll check in on their progress each Monday and tick off goals as they’re achieved. No rush – these goals progress from easier to harder, and there’s no deadline!

Home Readers and Library Fun

Home readers are swapped every Monday morning, giving your child a fresh new book to enjoy each week. They can also borrow a fun fiction story from the library on Mondays – keep an eye out for it in their blue reader folder.

Maths Magic: Place Value Power!

We’ve kicked off an exciting new unit in Maths, diving into the place value of 3-digit numbers and even exploring 4-digit numbers! Want to practice at home? Try this fun challenge: Give your child a number and ask them what’s 1, 10, or 100 more or less than that number. It’s a great way to keep their maths minds sharp!

PE Fun with Coach Andre

Monday PE sessions with Andre have been a smash hit! The kids are working hard on their tennis skills and having a ball (literally!).

Inquiry Project

Please send 4 photos of your child: newborn, toddler, kinder, and school. Send copies (not originals) or share them via Class Dojo for their Term 1 inquiry project.

Stay in the Loop!

There are lots of exciting events coming up – from the Start of Year BBQ and Mass to student-free days and Sports Day. To keep track of all the dates, log into PAM, click on the three lines at the top right corner, and select ‘calendar.’ We’ll also pop an upcoming events post on Dojo soon.

Share Those Special Moments!

Keep those photos coming! We love seeing your child’s special achievements and proud moments, whether they’re from last week or last year. It’s a great way for us to get to know them even better!

Here’s to another fantastic month of learning, laughing, and growing together!

Emma Roberts eroberts@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Matt O'Dowd modowd@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Amanda Delorenzo mdelorenzo@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 3

As we approach the halfway mark of Term 1, our Grade 3 students have truly hit the ground running! There’s a wonderful buzz in the classroom as we dive into our learning and take on new challenges.

We are currently working hard to prepare our Grade 3s for NAPLAN, which will take place in Weeks 7 and 8. Our focus is on building confidence and ensuring our students feel ready to do their best.

In Inquiry, we’ve launched into our new unit on First Contacts, where students are exploring the stories of early interactions between Indigenous Australians and European explorers. We’re looking forward to inviting parents into the classroom later in the term to see the incredible projects students have been working on—stay tuned for more details!

In Religion, our focus is on Growth, and it has been wonderful to see students so engaged in our reflections and discussions. They are showing great maturity and thoughtfulness as they explore this theme together.

We’re so proud of our Grade 3s and can’t wait to share more of their learning with you as the term continues!

Jade LoRicco jloricco@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Deb Holland dholland@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 4

We have been busy in the Grade 4 classroom as we sink our teeth into the full learning cycle.

In the Literacy space students have been studying ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ and learning exciting new vocabulary while using key concepts throughout the text to help us with our persuasive writing. In Math, we have a big focus on our times tables and skip counting. Students each have a goal/s to work away at for their homework and in the classroom. In Religion we are reflecting on growth and have an exciting project in the garden to show how we need to care for each other and ourselves to be able to grow. In Inquiry, students are undertaking the ‘First Contacts’ unit of work where recently they looked at the term ‘Terra Nullius’.

As we are starting back it is really important that we have all of the things we need back at school. Please make sure that your child has brought their hat back to school as the weather has been warm and the UV index high, students will have to remain in the shade if they do not have their hats. Students are also required to bring in an art smock and these are going to be left at school until the end of the year. Also, any medical needs need to be brought in ie asthma.

Here are some things that Grade 4s have had to say about our start to the year;

Ollie B ‘I enjoyed the athletics trials because I got to have a go at everything’

Sydney ‘I have loved playing team building games, especially ‘Jedi’’

Axton ‘ I loved the athletics trials because I really enjoyed the throwing events’

Important dates

March 10th - Labour Day Public Holiday

March 11th - Student free day

March 14th - School sports

March 27th & 28th - Year 4 Camp to Warrnambool

April 1st - School Photos

April 4th - End of Term 1

Matt Absalom mabsalom@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Meg Knight mknight@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 5

We are excited to share several updates this week!

Headphones for Chromebooks: A gentle reminder for all students to bring their headphones to school for use with Chromebooks. This ensures they can fully engage with educational videos and audio content during lessons without distractions.

Creative Writing & Reading: Our students have been thoroughly enjoying reading our novel War Horse by Michael Morpurgo, which has inspired them to develop their own creative narratives. They are practicing the use of onomatopoeia (sound words like "boom" and "crash") and appositives (descriptive phrases that add detail to a noun, such as "the horse, a mighty creature"). It’s been wonderful to watch their creativity flourish!

Maths Homework & Green Folder: This week, we’ve introduced maths homework alongside our diaries. Students will practice their counting goals, which may align with their multiplication and division targets. For those who have already mastered these skills, they will receive a Maths Mate to enhance their fluency and problem-solving abilities.

All homework will be sent home in a green folder, which will contain all the necessary details and goals for practice. While completing the homework is highly recommended, it is not mandatory. However, students who engage with it will be rewarded for their effort and dedication. We encourage students to take full advantage of this extra practice to reinforce their learning.

Congratulations to Our Athletes: A huge congratulations to all the students who participated in the athletics trials! We are so proud of your effort and sportsmanship and we look forward to seeing more of your athletic achievements in the future.

Let's Hear from Our Year 5 Students:

Isabelle - I enjoyed athletics day. I prefer throwing activities, using all muscles to push, I really like shot put. I tried highjump and I qualified for it but chose to do the events that I love the most.

Hamish - At athletics I preferred throwing - you get to use all of your arm muscles. I tried discus and it went alright. I’d probably try it again.

Addi - I was excited to start the new school year in Grade 5. I really like our class reward system of Monopoly money.

Thank you for your continued support in helping our students thrive in their learning journey! We would like to extend our thanks to those parents who attended to our parent meet and greets, it was lovely to see you. Remember to keep on checking our Class Dojo as important information always crops up.

Rachel Downard rdownard@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Rachael Cahill rcahill@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 6

The first four weeks of Term 1 have absolutely flown by! The Grade 6’s have been working hard in Literacy, this term we are studying the book ‘Rivet Boy’ and will be delving into persuasive writing. In Numeracy, we have been working on Place Value, with a particular focus on integers and problem solving skills. We are also exploring our Core Values around our Grade 6 theme “We Grow Together” and are wrapping up our Survivor Island Challenge. Congratulations to all students who participated in our athletics trials last week, they did so with a great attitude and all braved the heat in a positive manner. Students have also participated in tennis trials, with selected students competing against other schools in the district tomorrow. We wish them the best of luck. A big congratulations also goes to all students who presented SRC speeches last week, we were blown away with their public speaking skills. We certainly have exceptional leaders within Grade 6!

Reminders and Upcoming Events:

Beginning of Year Mass

Our Beginning of Year Mass is next Friday the 28th of February at 10am. The Grade 6 students will be doing their very special "Buddy Blessing", welcoming their new Prep buddies into the St Mary's Community and parents/families are most welcome to attend.

Divisional Athletics

Selected students will take part in Divisional Athletics on Thursday, 7th March at Central Reserve. Details around the day will be provided closer to the event.

Prayer Gathering

Our first Year 6 Prayer Gathering on ‘Leadership’ will be on Friday the 7th March. We are currently in the process of finalising our Year 6 leaders who will be presented with their badges at our prayer gathering, along with the SRC representatives from Grade 3, 4 & 5.

Jess Downard jdownard@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Jodie Hassett jhassett@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Katie Monaghan kmonaghan@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Birthday Wishes