Learning and Teaching
I Sea I Care
Last Thursday, the I Sea I Care marine ambassadors embarked on their first workshop aboard the Moonraker boat on Port Phillip Bay. The weather was far from ideal, forcing them to brave biting winds, heavy rain, and at times rolling swell. However, their spirits remained high as they geared up in wetsuits, masks, snorkels and fins to begin the adventure.
The first stop was an old shipwreck, now a popular sanctuary for local seals. It was a joy to watch them lounging sleepily on the structure and swimming gracefully through the water. Not long after we set off again, the call went out: dolphins! There was great excitement when the ambassadors were told to prepare for a swim. To protect the dolphins, the swimmers were instructed to leave their fins behind and simply float, holding onto a rope behind the boat. The magic happened almost instantly; the pod swam directly beneath them, a breathtaking and unforgettable moment. They even had a curious seal join them for the encounter!
It was then back on the boat and time to warm up. To shake off the cold, the ambassadors were given a hot chocolate and a delicious piece of Mrs Coggin’s homemade caramel slice. It was the perfect fuel for our next stop.
We motored toward Portsea Pier for a second swim. In the sheltered bay, the ambassadors were able to wear their fins and explore independently. The underwater world was teeming with life, from vibrant schools of fish to the elusive, camouflaged leafy sea dragons.
By the time we returned to Sorrento Pier, the ambassadors were tired but inspired. This trip was more than just a boat ride; it was a powerful reminder of why we are so passionate about protecting our marine environment and the need to educate our peers and families about ways they can help.
Green Team
On Saturday, 7th March, the annual Red Hill Agricultural Show was held. Now in its 98th year, it is a highly regarded country event that celebrates local produce, crafts and community spirit.
The Green Team was excited to enter some of their superb vegetables in the highly competitive produce competition. Their main entry was a basket of produce grown in the school garden, which needed to include at least 15 different varieties of herbs, vegetables and fruit. As we won this category last year, we were hopeful of doing well again — and we did! Not only did we win this category, but we were also awarded Best Junior Exhibit Entry Overall.
Along with this exciting first place, we also won Best Cobs of Corn, and our Green Marrow received second place.
We were also very proud of Ezra (Year 3), who entered his giant pumpkin and won second place, and Maureen Giles (Nanna of Rhett and Max Sullivan), who entered her beautiful cross stitch and also received second place.
It was wonderful to see so many ribbons won by members of the St Brendan’s community.
Explicit Writing Instruction: Helping Students Become Confident Writers
This year, we are continuing to strengthen writing through explicit instruction at the sentence and paragraph level. This approach helps students understand how writing works by teaching skills step-by-step. This approach aligns with the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) Vision for Instruction, which emphasises clear teaching, modelling and supporting students as they develop new skills. Explicit instruction breaks writing into manageable steps so students can practise each skill before combining them into longer pieces.
Using Single Paragraph Outlines (SPOs)
To help students organise their thinking before writing, our Grade 3/4 students have been using Single Paragraph Outlines (SPOs). These are simple planning tools that break a paragraph into key parts. Students plan their paragraph by writing:
A topic sentence
Supporting points
A concluding sentence
This structure helps students focus on one clear idea and develop it with supporting details. It also helps students feel more confident because they have a clear plan for what to write next.
Our students recently used this structure to write an introduction and supporting paragraphs to persuade about why we should protect forests, in response to their novel study of Kensuke’s Kingdom.
MACS CARE
