Year Three - Spotlight on Learning

Dear Families,

What a busy week it has been for the Ephesus community! 

Firstly what an amazing and exciting day it was last Monday at the Year 3-6 Athletics Day! Students had a great time participating in all the activities and demonstrated so much enthusiasm and good sportsmanship for their team mates, cheering them on to do their best in all of the events. The cool weather did not dampen their spirits, and they all revelled in the day! A big thank you to Mrs Reitwyk for all the organisation and preparation that went into the day, as well as the whole Specialist Team, parent volunteers and staff - this annual event couldn’t have happened without all these wonderful people. And thank you to the parents, families and friends that were able to come to support their children throughout the day. Below are a few photos which captured some of the highlights of the day.

Secondly, our combined Mass for Ephesus and Bethany communities, which was held last Wednesday at St Thomas the Apostle Church. Again thank you  to the parents who were able to come to the Mass and celebrated this with the children. The students are to be congratulated for showing great reverence and participation in hymns and readings to make this Mass a prayerful and special event for all.

Next week is another big week for the Ephesus community. As mentioned a few weeks ago, we and the Jerusalem community (Year 1 students) are holding a special Mission event to raise money for a group in need - the St Gianna Orphanage in Nigeria. Some information about the St Gianna Orphanage was provided in the newsletter from Week 5 and why the Sisters of the Nativity are raising money for the building of this orphanage. The details of the event are as follows: on Friday 29th November between 2:15pm (ready for a 2:20 start) and 3:00pm, students will be participating in a student and family walkathon on the Basketball Court. 

The event will involve students and families walking laps around the Basketball Court. There will be a bubble station, a simple obstacle course section and a dance break. We will add up the laps that are completed and report back for year levels’ families and a grand total. We are hoping to collect cash donations that can be given to the classroom teacher any time from now up until Friday 6th December.

 Any small amount you can contribute will go a long way towards the efforts of the Sisters of the Nativity. Students can wear green, white or blue or a combination of these colours, as they are the colours of the Sisters of the Nativity. Students from the Ephesus and Jerusalem communities will get together before the event to have some lessons about the St Gianna Orphanage, to create an understanding of the reasons for this fundraiser. 

Thank you in advance for your generous donations!

Our Learning Focus for this week, Week 7  . . .

Mathematics: In Maths, students continued to learn about probability, focusing on conducting chance experiments with more than two outcomes, and identifying that there could be variations in results of chance experiments with more than two outcomes. Students were also able to discuss the likelihood of certain results, participating in experiments such as 'A Dice Problem' and 'The Lolly Lottery'. 

English:  In Writing students were able to finally proof read, edit and publish their persuasive letters about ‘Wild Animals Should be Banned from Circuses’.  These published copies that students have written will be sent to the Hon Julie Collins MP, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, making this a purposeful writing experience for students in something they are passionate about.  

Religious Education:  For the unit about the Bible, students learnt about the prophets and some of their prophecies. They were also asked to do a scripture match up using the Bible to help them match a particular scripture with the part of the Bible it came from. Students also learnt about parts of the Mass and celebrated Mass with Bethany Community on Wednesday 20th November.

Integrated Studies / Music:  In Lesson 6 in the Amplify Music Program, students learnt about the many different parts of a song’s structure by firstly identifying the key parts and then naming and identifying the other main parts of a pop song structure.

Auslan:  In Auslan in Unit 8C, students worked towards understanding that changes in eye gaze are used to signal changes in views or events. If they understood this, students were then able to summarise an event in a signed story.

Reminders

Friday 29th November: St Gianna Orphanage Mission Fundraiser Walkathon - 2:15pm

Tuesday 3rd December - Carols Afternoon Session: 12-1pm / Carols Evening Session and Family Picnic: 5:30-8pm

Friday 13th December - Last Day of Formal Classes

Monday 16th December - No Formal Classes - Clean Up Day