What's happening in our learning spaces? 

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

FOUNDATION 

Today marks Day 69 of counting towards 100 Days of School. Term 2 is certainly going by very quickly! It has been another busy week in Foundation, with lots of amazing learning happening across the spaces. 

As writers, we have been continuing to write about different experiences that we have engaged in, such as our weekends, incursions and Discovery Time. We have been focusing on using neat handwriting and writing with appropriate letter cases, sizing and formation. We have also been focusing on extending our sentences using the Colourful Semantics prompts, when, where, who and what doing. We have begun exploring the use of adjectives to describe different things. 

As thinkers, we used adjectives to describe the different reptiles we learned about at our Reptile Encounters incursion. We will continue to describe different animals and Living Things over the coming weeks. We are making sure to use words that describe their size, shape, colours, and features. Check out some of our amazing writing below!

The Resilience Project, this week introduced the concept of friendship. We engaged in conversations about what it means to be a good friend. To be successful we identified, described and explained what a good friend is and how to be a good friend. As communicators, we brainstormed and shared our ideas of what a good friend is after watching “Elmo and Rosita” from Sesame Street, being good friends to each other. Some of us thought that being kind, helpful, caring, listening and making people laugh were qualities a good friend should have. Here are some other examples of being a good friend, the students in Foundation came up with!

As people of faith, we began finding out about Aboriginal People this week as a way of tuning in to Reconciliation Week. We looked closely at different images and artefacts and explored the symbolism behind the colours of the flag. As researchers, we engaged with different fiction and non-fictions texts to help us understand more about their culture. We have so many wonderings and are eager to find out more.  

This week Foundation AP will be attending Mass with 5/6BZ on Tuesday 4th June at 9:15 am. If possible, you are invited to attend with us, we would love to see you there.

Please remember to encourage your child to return their library books and bags by Thursday each week so that new books can be borrowed each Friday. We also ask the students and families to bring in non-perishable items for the Vinnies Winter Appeal. A basket is placed in each of the Foundation learning spaces, ready to receive your donations. I'm looking forward to another fabulous week of learning in the Foundation!

Kind regards, 

Leanne Wenckowski, Alex Phillips and Alycia Marsico 

Foundation Team 

YEAR 1/2

It has been a wonderful week of learning in the Year 1/2 learning spaces!

As learners, we have had time and opportunity to learn about Reconciliation Week. We acknowledged the importance of learning about Australian history. As people of faith, we have identified the values of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and made connections to the values of our school, which are empathy, relationships, respect, kindness and welcoming. 

We also identified keywords that we have used to create beautiful displays in our learning spaces. We hope these will encourage everyone to continue to learn and acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Some of these keywords are Privilege, waterways, land, animals, take only what you need, Australia, traditional custodians, nature, and plants. 

On Tuesday morning, the St. Fidelis learning community gathered for an engaging incursion performance. Through stories, song, and dance, we immersed ourselves in the rich culture of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. We also learned how Aboriginal people use nature to craft instruments and tools, such as boomerangs, jewelry, and other traditional items. It was an insightful, enriching, and enjoyable experience.

As writers, we have continued to find out about the language devices used in narratives. We have been learning to use figurative language devices to engage a reader. We have had the opportunity to identify examples in a variety of picture storybooks and apply these in writing about various images. The teachers have noticed that students have been persistent as they have applied figurative language devices in their writing. 

We are looking forward to inviting you into our learning spaces to showcase what we have been learning during Discovery Time. A friendly reminder that the learning spaces will be open during the following day and times: 

• Thursday, 6th of June 3:30 pm - 4:15 pm (The station will be set up to display what they have been doing and with their journals)
• Friday 7th of June - 9:30 am -10:30 am (A hands-on Discovery lesson, where children will be actively engaging in Discovery)

Vania Sparano, Vicky Karalis and Vivian Boggis

1/2 Team

YEAR 3/4

As researchers and authors, we have been busy writing biographies on famous explorers and innovators throughout Australia’s history. To help us build these skills, part of our home learning this week was to interview and write a biographical recount on someone we know who is important to us. We’ve loved getting to find out more details about the special people in our lives. 

As mathematicians, we have been expanding our understanding of 2D and 3D shapes this week. We have been learning to describe and categorise properties of these shapes, utilising different resources to help us build, draw, make and imagine them. We have also been extending our measurement skills from last week to measure and calculate the perimeter and area of some of these 2D and 3D shapes.

As future leaders, we have been learning about National Reconciliation Week and the complicated history and relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. Thinking about the reasons why reconciliation is important now, more than ever, we considered how we can mend and rebuild together. We loved the whole school incursion led by Dion Drummond on Tuesday. It was a fantastic chance for us to understand their perspective and celebrate Indigenous culture, traditions, instruments, weapons, dress and way of life. Some of us even got to dance in front of the school! 

Congratulations to 3/4BP for organising the assembly on Friday. The whole class did a wonderful job. Well done!

Have a lovely week!

Year 3/4 Teachers,

Belinda Panzarino & Sarah Hogan

YEAR 5/6

We have had a busy week filled with lots of special learning opportunities!

This week as part of our Resilience Project Learning, we engaged in a Kids Helpline Session, this is where we spoke about positive friendships and things that are ok to do in friendship and things that are not ok.

Students reflected on these learning opportunities and wanted to share some of these with you!

• Something I found interesting was that flamingo packs are called flamboyance. (Pierre)
• Something I found interesting was that a tree can relate to friendships, like the roots of the tree are your best friends and the leaves are friends (Eliana)
• I found out that you can call a kids helpline anytime for any reason. (Ben)
• I found out that they will help you when you need support with any of your problems you have, depending on the problem. (Makayla)
• On the 29th of May the 5/6s incursion with Kids helpline. During the kid's helpline incursion mostly about friendships and how to keep friendships and what a good friend looks like. Examples of a good friend are respecting boundaries and being kind  to one another. We should also let our friends hang out with other people. (Zita)
• During the kids help line session, I learnt that you can tell jokes and tell them about your day and like what sport you like and what colours you like. (Dannte)
• That if you have a unhealthy friendship you can talk to your friend and use the I feel strategy to tell them how you feel. (Dianna)
• Today, we learnt about healthy and unhealthy relationships with friends. We spoke about what makes a good friend being supportive, kind and honest. We talked about how we deal with disagreements with your friends. Some strategies you can use during disagreements are negotiating or compromising a win-win solution, which means everyone is happy about the the way you solved your problem. My favourite part of the session was the brain breaks. The counsellor would give us a question and we would guess the answer. (Gemma)

Congratulations to our wonderful year 6 students who made their Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday, thank you to all of our wonderful readers and your participation in the liturgy. 

We also invite you to join us for our celebration of learning. Refer to the invite for more information.

We hope you have a lovely week!

The Year 5/6 Team, 

Olivia Sargent, Maddie Comrie & Bianka Zorzut