Music Class Update: Term 4, 2024

Preparations for Our First School Musical!

This term, music classes from Prep to Year 6 are filled with excitement and anticipation as we prepare for our very first school musical, *Glory to God in the Lowest*! The students are diving deep into a beautiful story that begins in Bethlehem, where the most important message ever delivered wasn’t announced to kings or rulers, but to humble night shepherds.

In this musical, we explore the profound moment when angels proclaimed the birth of Jesus to the lowest and most overlooked — simple shepherds in the fields. Our young performers will bring this heartwarming story to life, showing how the glory of God reached not just the highest places, but the lowest, as the Son of God arrived in the world as a tiny baby in a manger.

From Prep to Year 2, students are learning the angelic songs and practicing joyful dances that will accompany the announcement of Christ’s birth. The Year 3 and 4 students are mastering rhythm and harmony as they prepare to play shepherds and angels, helping to convey the humble yet profound nature of this event. Our talented Year 5 and 6 students are stepping into lead roles, acting and singing as the night shepherds who are entrusted with the good news.

The music lessons this term are more than just about learning songs. Through this musical, students are discovering the themes of humility, joy, and hope — values we aim to instill in every aspect of their learning. It’s an inspiring time to be part of the music program at OLPS, and we can’t wait to share this beautiful story with you all at our end-of-term performance!

Make sure to mark your calendars – *Glory to God in the Lowest* will be a celebration you won’t want to miss!

When: Wednesday 11th December

Where: Kolbe College Auditorium

Time: TBC (It will be an evening performance)

Term 4 PE Learning Overview

Welcome to Term 4! Our students are kicking off the term by completing their Gymnastics units, focusing on balancing, jumping, twisting, and tumbling skills.

Preps to Year 4

Following Gymnastics, Preps to Year 4 will begin an exciting tennis unit with the expertise of qualified coaches from Hume Tennis. Students will work on developing their racket control, as well as practicing forehand and backhand shots. This unit aims to build fundamental tennis skills and confidence on the court.

Year 5 and 6

Our Year 5 and 6 students will be the first to participate in our brand-new Bike Ed unit. This program will cover road safety, including understanding the road rules specific to bike riders. Students will learn how to properly fit their helmets, conduct bike checks, and understand the importance of these safety measures. They will also have opportunities to improve their bike riding skills and confidence through independent practice.

We are excited for an active and skill-building Term 4 ahead!

Anthony Whitty & Jade Herd

Physical Education Teachers

Art Term 4 Learning Overview

In Term 4, the Prep students will use markers and collaging to create their own spooky cats. They will also explore various paper designs & craft materials to create their own Christmas tree collage. Preps create various Christmas inspired crafts to capture the important messages from Advent.

In Term 4, the Year 1 students will be encouraged to explore the different features of native Australian birds such as colours, patterns and shapes through discussion and by creating artworks of their favourite native birds.

Later on, the students will start getting ready for Christmas by creating beautiful nativity scenes. The Year 1 students will learn about different brush strokes to create different effects in their nativity artworks.

In Term 4, the Year 2 students will use a ruler for accuracy and different drawing techniques to create various cartoon-like artworks such as “Cute Line Cats”. They will also create Christmas inspired crafts such as water colour-painted Christmas trees and other related Advent symbols.

In Term 4, the Year 3 students are continuing to work on the skill of observing and drawing detailed artwork from real-life subjects. They will practise combining different colouring techniques such using scribbling to create a drawing of a chicken. To celebrate the upcoming season of Advent students will create individual Gingerbread houses using recycled brown paper bags, markers, tissue paper and cotton wool to give the effect of snow fallen on the houses.

The Year 4 students are super excited to start creating their Christmas clay gnome. The students will be given time to explore clay by creating their own four legged creatures. They will learn about different clay techniques that will help them shape a cute little Christmas gnome. The Year 4 artists will use their creativity to paint their gnomes with vibrant colours.

In Term 4, the Year 5 students will draw various signs and icons from Chritsmas including old Volkswagen beetles and then redesign their own icon using cars of their choice such as supercars. Students will also use collaging techniques to create their own paper gingerbread houses.

In Term 4, the Year 6 students will design and create their own individual flag to celebrate who they are and their time at Our Lady’s this year. This flag will be a part of their upcoming graduation celebrations. Students will design their own coat of arms and include emblems that represent their values and traits. These designs will then be transferred to their real calico flags. Year 6 students will also create a Christmas inspired decoration.

STEM Learning Overview Term 4

Foundation

In Term 4, the Prep students will have the opportunity to experiment with very simple, step-by-step programmable devices called Blue Bots. Students will learn to code the Blue Bots so they move in an intended manner.

Year 1

In Term 4, the Year 1 students will have the opportunity to program a device such as a Blue Bot following a sequence of steps to solve simple problems. Students will develop understanding of their functionalities and will enhance students’ skills to troubleshoot and innovate.

Year 2

In Term 4, the Year 2 students will have the opportunity to learn coding, problem-solving, and critical thinking through hands-on experience. Students will be creating simple programs to control the actions of the Dash robotic devices.

Year 3

In Term 4, the Year 3 students will have the opportunity to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts through hands-on building and programming LEGO Education WeDO 2.0.

Year 4

In Term 4, the Year 4 students will have the opportunity to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts through hands-on building and programming LEGO Education Spike Essential.

Year 5

In Term 4, the Year 5 students will have the opportunity to create and design games from concepts to publish using a program called BLOXELS. Students will design their own characters, art and backgrounds, fostering creativity and original thinking.

Year 6

In Term 4, the Year 6 students will have the opportunity to create and design games from concepts to publish using a program called BLOXELS. Students will design their own characters, more complex levels and stories, fostering creativity and original thinking.

JAPANESE LEARNING OVERVIEW: TERM 4

Prep & Year 1

In Term 4, Prep and Year 1 students will revise Japanese vocabulary for colours, animals and numbers through a daily review. They will build on their knowledge of Japanese numbers 1 - 10 in spoken and written form. Students will be introduced to new vocabulary, including the Japanese words for body parts. They will consolidate this knowledge through participating in songs and games. Students will conclude the year by learning about some unique Christmas and New Year’s Eve traditions in Japan.

Year 2

In Term 4, Year 2 students will revise Japanese vocabulary for colours, animals and numbers through a daily review. Students will continue to explore information and interesting facts about Japan, including topics like geography, religion and culture. They will finish creating an information poster about Japan. Students will be introduced to new vocabulary, including the Japanese words for body parts. They will consolidate this knowledge through participating in songs and games. Students will conclude the year by learning about some unique Christmas and New Year’s Eve traditions in Japan.

Years 3 & 4

In Term 4, Year 3 and 4 students will choose one aspect of Japanese culture to research and add this to their information poster. They will continue to learn about the sound systems of the Japanese language and practise writing Hiragana characters. Students will learn how to count to 10 in Japanese and will begin to write the corresponding Kanji number symbols. Students will conclude the year by learning about some unique Christmas and New Year’s Eve traditions in Japan.

Years 5 & 6

In Term 4, Year 5 and 6 students will revise Hiragana characters and Kanji numbers through a daily review. They will continue to practise using common Japanese greetings and phrases. Students will learn how to pronounce the days of the week and months of the year in Japanese. They will practise writing the Kanji symbols for this new vocabulary. Students will conclude the year by learning about some unique Christmas and New Year’s Eve traditions in Japan.

Library Learning Overview Term 4

Our learning focus in the library during Term 4 will be to foster a passion for reading and exploring fiction and nonfiction books.

When exposing the students to fiction stories, they will be encouraged to delve into imaginative worlds, increase their understanding of feelings and emotions, and develop vocabulary and comprehension.

Equally important is our commitment to nonfiction, which provides opportunities for students to explore the ‘real world’ through informative texts. This will also aim to improve their research abilities and knowledge of the world around them.

We invite you to discuss your child’s reading choices with them and be involved in their reading journey. Together, let’s inspire a lifelong love for reading!!

Each year level will have a particular focus on the following:

Prep: identifying the author’s role in constructing a story

One: locating picture story and nonfiction books in the Junior library and explaining the differences

Two: categorising given books into fiction and nonfiction

Three: sorting and describing similarities and differences between fiction and nonfiction books

Four: exploring how to use the information from the library search program to identify where books are located

Five & Six: learning to locate books using the library search program

All students can access our library search program from home to view books available in our school library. The link can also be found on the OLPS website homepage.

It has been great seeing our regular visitors to our library

before and after school, borrowing and reading!!

We look forward to seeing more faces in Term 4!!

Ordering Link

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Birthdays

Congratulations and best wishes to those celebrating their birthday this week!

Harnidh 3A

Reon 4A

Olivia 6D

Abellamary 3A

Georgis 5A

Marsela 6B

Ryder 4D

Elijah 3B

Celeste 4A

Xavier 5B

Hannah 2D

Leonardo Prep D

Ava 2A

Alexi 4A

Yasmien 4B

Mrs Karen Murfett

Miss Sarah Asta

Ms Rushani Rupasinghe