Classroom News
Foundation: Mrs Fleming
We've had a busy fortnight in Foundation, with lots of exciting things happening! We have had a fantastic Swimming Week and enjoyed celebrating Book Week with lots of fun activities and amazing costumes. There is also plenty more to look forward to over the coming weeks!
What a fantastic Swimming Week we had! Each day, we travelled to Echuca for our swimming lessons, and every student did an amazing job, especially for their very first swimming week! We were so proud to see everyone becoming more independent by organising their own belongings, listening carefully to their swimming teachers and having a go at new activities, even when something was unfamiliar or a little challenging. We certainly had lots of tired but happy students by the end of each session! After swimming each day, we enjoyed heading to the park for lunch and a play. These were wonderful opportunities for the students to relax, enjoy some time together and have fun with their friends.
Last Friday, we had a wonderful time celebrating Book Week with our dress-up day and rotational storybook activities. It was fantastic to see the students moving around the school in mixed-age groups and having the opportunity to work and learn alongside students from other year levels. The Foundation students loved these experiences and showed just how capable they are when working with others. We saw so many amazing costumes throughout the school! A huge thank you to all of our families at home who put so much time, thought and effort into organising the children's wonderful costumes. It certainly made the day extra special!
As we come to the end of the Term, we encourage families to keep reading each night and continue practising our Tricky Words. Our Tricky Word list is building up, so regular practice is important to help students be familiar with these words and recognise them quickly. A little practice each day makes a big difference!
Grade 1/2: Mrs McKiernan & Mrs Tyler
How great was Swimming Week! We had a fantastic time at swimming lessons, building our confidence, learning new skills and, most importantly, having lots of fun in the water! We also enjoyed some wonderful outdoor time playing at the park, making the most of the sunshine and sharing plenty of laughs and active play with our friends.
Back at school, we were lucky enough to enjoy a live performance, Something Special, as part of our Book Week celebrations. This was another highlight of the fortnight!
In Maths, we have started an exciting new unit all about time! We will be learning to read clocks, understand hours and minutes, and explore how we use time in our everyday lives. It has been a great start, with plenty of hands-on activities and opportunities for learning along the way!
Grade 1/2: Miss Wooden
What a bustling and exciting time we have had in Grade 1/2 with both Book Week and Swimming Week! These past two weeks have been filled with wonderful experiences that have truly highlighted the fantastic spirit of our students.
During Swimming Week, the students truly shone! We are so proud of how each child approached their swimming lessons with enthusiasm and determination. It was heartwarming to see them trying new techniques, overcoming fears, and growing their confidence in the water. Their respect for their instructors and their commitment to learning were commendable, and they represented St. Pat’s beautifully in our community.
Book Week was equally extraordinary! The students embraced the theme wholeheartedly and participated in some amazing rotations that sparked their love for reading and storytelling. The creativity displayed through everyone’s costumes was simply fantastic! It was wonderful to see so many imaginative characters brought to life.
The highlight of Book Week was undoubtedly the visit from the show "Something Special," which celebrated some of the shortlisted books. The students were engaged and thrilled by the performance, which further ignited their passion for reading. It was a joy to witness their excitement for literature, and we hope it inspires them to continue exploring new stories and authors.
Grade 3: Miss Taylor
We've had a fun-filled fortnight over here in Grade 3!
We had a fantastic Book Week, filled with amazing dress-ups, fun activities and, of course, lots of books! Our Book Week incursion was another highlight, with plenty of laughs, music and dancing. It was wonderful to see the students getting so involved and celebrating reading in such a fun way.
Last week was also Swimming Week, and we were so impressed with our Grade 3s! It was fantastic to see everyone having so much fun while developing new skills and building confidence in the pool. The students were also incredibly organised and well behaved, which helped the whole week run so smoothly. Although, we're sure there were a few very sleepy Grade 3s by Friday afternoon!
Somehow, amongst all of this excitement, we've still managed to squeeze in plenty of learning! In Maths, we've been really enjoying our unit on time. We've been learning to read both analogue and digital clocks, draw different times and solve problems involving time. In English, we've also started our new class novel, 'The Wild Robot' by Peter Brown. We'll be exploring the novel together and using it as inspiration for our upcoming writing unit on persuasive letters!
We are officially on the home stretch of Term 3... can you believe it?! A friendly reminder to keep our Grade 3 Liturgy in your diaries for Week 10. We have already begun preparing and are very excited to share it with you all. We hope to see lots of our families there!
As always, thank you for your continued support. It has been a wonderful term so far, and we're looking forward to making the most of these final few weeks of Term 3 together!
Grade 4/5: Mrs Stock
Last week was a big week for our Grade 4/5 students with Swimming Week! The students had a fantastic time, and it was wonderful to see everyone getting involved, having fun and developing their swimming skills and confidence in the water. After their time in the pool, students also enjoyed spending some time together at the park. The weather certainly turned it on for us, making it a great week of learning, fun and time spent together outside the classroom.
In Religion, we have begun our new unit, Living Our Mission. Students have been exploring what it means to have a mission and how a mission involves taking action to help others and make a difference. We have also begun learning about Jesus’ mission, looking at who Jesus came to help and how he showed particular care for those who were poor, treated unfairly or in need.
We also enjoyed another visit to Tongala Aged Care this week. The students and residents had plenty of fun playing ‘Keepy Uppy’ before sharing some of their best jokes with each other for a bit of a comedy afternoon! There were lots of laughs all around, and it was lovely to see the students and residents enjoying each other’s company and continuing to build these special connections.
Grade 5/6: Miss Rasmussen
We absolutely loved Swimming Week! So many of our Grade 5/6 students demonstrated strong swimming skills and were confidently swimming laps by the end of the week, which was wonderful to see. We also enjoyed spending time at the park, with tiggy on the climbing frame proving to be a big hit!
In our class text, Can You See Me?, we are beginning to learn more about the main character, Tally, and her needs as she navigates some tricky social situations with her friends and family.
In Writing, we have started gathering evidence for a persuasive letter to Mrs Stockdale, aiming to convince her that our school should have a therapy dog.
In Maths, we have been exploring different forms of measurement, including length and capacity, and learning how to measure accurately. We loved heading outside for some hands-on learning using measuring tapes and measuring jugs.
Our class liturgy was also a great success. Focusing on our school motto, Strength and Kindliness, students reflected on how we can show strength through our choices and kindliness in the way we treat others. They did a wonderful job leading this special celebration for our school community.
We are now beginning to turn our attention to camp, which we will depart for on the first day of Term 4. The excitement is already starting to build!
