Infants and Primary

INFANTS

All classes have been busily getting on with the business of learning, making the most of the last few weeks of the school year. Teachers are working extra hard to complete assessments and reporting while still making learning fun and school a great place to be.

Over the last fortnight, our students have all had a great time practising and refining their gymnastics skills with Mrs Harpley and her team on Friday this week and last. The set-up in the hall looked so great as the students entered and they all enjoyed climbing the ladder walls, swinging on ropes, attempting casting and pullovers on the bars, balancing while doing tricks on the beams, somersaulting forwards, backwards and inside out on the floor and vaulting on the mini trap. A huge thank you to Mrs Harpley, Greg and Clair for making this opportunity available to our students.

This week wraps up our Kindy-Start Transition for the year and we look forward to welcoming our newest students to full-time big school next year. They are such a great bunch who are excited about being here. Our Year 5 buddies have been awesome in assisting with the transition program, with each of them spending part of the day guiding activities and supporting our Kindy-start students. Our Year 5 students now know who their ‘buddy’ will be and have begun building strong and supportive friendships with them. Thank you to staff from across our school who have been a part and helped make this such a successful program.

Please continue to bring a BCS bucket hat to school each day – these are required each break time and for outside learning activities and are very much needed to protect from the hot sunny days we’ve been experiencing lately.

Kindy

‘It all began with that shoe on the wall…’, writes Dr Seuss, and that is how ‘Wacky Wednesday’ began for Kindergarten students on Wednesday this week. We all had a great time discovering all the wacky things around the classroom – more than 20 in total, with lots of laughs at the tables wearing socks, the upside down sounds, words and clock, and the odd shoes on feet too. Students came on board during the day, coming up with their own wacky ideas so it was lots of fun for all.

To add to the wackiness, we made a secret healthy recipe on Wednesday using spinach from the school garden. All students were happily surprised at how tasty the green pancakes were and were keen to make them again at home.

We have visited the garden a few times over the last couple of weeks to check on how the chillies and capsicums we planted are growing, as well as our sunflower seeds. Given the hot weather, we have given our plants, seeds and students all a quick water spray and they are all growing brilliantly!

Yesterday we had a wonderful time for our class Feather Celebration. We have all been working super hard so we had a walk to the park for a play and a picnic. Everyone raced around, climbing, swinging, sliding and spinning and making the most of the equipment. This made us all even more excited for our new playground to be finished!

Year 1

This fortnight, students in year 1 have been busy completing assessments as their teachers prepare reports. We have been heavily engaging with the Positive Behaviour for Learning PBL focus of keeping hands, feet and objects to self this fortnight, and I am pleased to see most of year 1 achieving this school expectation well.

In Mathematics, students have become efficient in working with a range of mathematical symbols to solve word problems and conduct measurement tasks. We have just begun a new unit that explores data collection and representation. To begin the unit, students were tasked to spend 10 minutes watching traffic drive past the school and tally the different colours we saw. We were excited to be able to include a truck and a lawn mower in the mix as well. Students have then been learning how to display their information into a graph for others to easily view.

In English, students have begun a new unit that explores a range of cultures. We are considering cultural artefacts and traditions over the next fortnight and are looking forward to conducting research in preparation for creating an information text.

In Week 5, Year 1 enjoyed a gymnastics session, kindly put on by Mrs. Harpley and Greg. Students swung, climbed, bounced, rolled and balanced for the whole session. It was great to see all students demonstrating resilience and persistence for each of the activities.

As always, please feel free to contact me through the school with any inquiries.

- Miss Friend

 Year 4/5 

It’s been another busy fortnight in the 4/5 class, filled with creativity, hard work, and plenty of fun. Here’s a detailed look at what we’ve been up to:

- Creative Covers: This fortnight, our class explored both digital and traditional art by designing spelling book covers in Canva and hand-drawing maths mentals covers. Using Canva allowed us to experiment with layout, colours, and design elements, while the hand-drawn covers gave us an opportunity to showcase our artistic flair. The students put in a lot of effort, and the results are stunning!

- Science Spotlight: As part of our science unit on adaptations, we watched a fascinating documentary about Steve the Penguin. The documentary sparked engaging discussions about how animals adapt to their environments and survive under challenging conditions. Students asked thoughtful questions, reflecting their growing understanding of the topic.

- Art in Action: With guidance from Miss Wood, we created Andy Warhol-inspired artworks, focusing on bold colours, repetition, and pop art techniques. The classroom was filled with creativity as students learned how to blend traditional techniques with their own artistic interpretations. The final pieces are vibrant and a joy to look at!

- Playground Progress: One of the highlights for the class has been watching the progress of the new playground being built right outside our window. Each day, we’ve noticed new additions, and it’s exciting to see it so close to completion. The students can’t wait to try it out once it’s open.

- Comprehension: Our class has been using new comprehension reading box cards, designed to challenge their reading skills and encourage deeper thinking. Students have worked hard on these activities, and the improvement in their ability to understand and interpret texts has been remarkable. It’s great to see their confidence grow.

- Active in Gym: This fortnight, we had an energetic gym lesson with Miss Harpley. The students embraced the challenge, participating in fun physical activities that helped improve their coordination, fitness, and teamwork. It was a fantastic way to break up the week and get moving.

- Maths Focus: In Maths, we’ve covered two key areas. Last week, we worked on fractions, learning how to simplify, compare, and use them in problem-solving scenarios. This week, we moved on to data collection. The students created their own surveys, learned how to collect and organise data, and explored the concept of data bias. These activities helped them see the practical applications of maths in real life.

- Everyday Learning: Alongside all the exciting activities, we continued with our regular learning routines, including spelling, writing, and independent reading. These consistent practices have helped reinforce the skills students have been building throughout the year.

- Mr Rowley’s Reports: With report writing underway, Mr Rowley’s brain has been working overtime! Despite this, the class showed patience and understanding, stepping up by asking thoughtful questions to ensure they fully understood their work. It was wonderful to see their empathy and collaborative spirit.

- Support Superstars: A special shout-out to Sara, Kelly, and Sascha for their outstanding efforts in running intervention programs. These programs have provided tailored support for students, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Their dedication makes a real difference in the classroom.

- Sport Highlights: After a class vote, “Kick It Cricket” was chosen as our focus sport. The students have been practising their cricket skills during lessons, focusing on teamwork, strategy, and technique. We’re aiming for a friendly game against another class before the term ends, and the excitement is building!

Looking Ahead

The next few weeks promise to be just as exciting:

- Writing Projects: We’ll be diving deeper into writing activities, working towards publishing our own narratives. This will allow students to demonstrate the skills they’ve developed throughout the year and create something they can be proud of.

- Excursion Excitement: The class is buzzing about our upcoming excursion. It’s sure to be a highlight of the term, and we’re looking forward to exploring and learning outside the classroom.

- Final Class Text: We’ll also start reading our final class text for the term, which promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking story that will spark plenty of discussion and learning.

A Note on Behaviour

While we’ve had a few tired moments, the class has done an excellent job of maintaining their respectful and responsible behaviour. We’ve had gentle reminders about keeping hands, feet, and objects to ourselves, as well as speaking respectfully to one another and staff. These small reminders ensure we continue to create a positive and supportive classroom environment.

Here’s to finishing the term strong and making the most of the weeks ahead! 😊 As always if you have any questions or concerns, please contact me matthew.rowley12@det.nsw.edu.au

Kind regards,

Mr Rowley

Primary

It continues to be warm temperatures here at school and it’s essential that all kids are wearing BCS School Hats. They are on sale at the Canteen for $20. We don’t want kids to miss out on learning time outside or their breaks. Thanks for your support with this.

The K-6 staff are busily writing reports for our students at the moment. Each report takes about an hour to write for each student, so there is a lot of work/editing/proofing that goes into it from the teachers, myself and Mr Jones/Ms Mahoney. These are very important documents that should be read fully by parents. They outline what your son or daughter can do independently, and what they need to focus on to improve in 2025. They will be sent out in the last week of school for the year.

A few reminders:

-Term 4 is ‘No Hat, Play in the Shade’ rule for BCS K-6. Students must be wearing school bucket hats, or they will spend their playtimes in the shade.

-The Y3-6 Primary Excursion is set for Tuesday 3rd December. The students will be in Wagga for the day (7:30am-6:00pm Approx.). Y3/4 will visit FLIPOUT and Year 5/6 will visit VORTEX. We will then check out a few museums and galleries, and then a quick stop at the Junee Chocolate Factory on the way home. We have focused specifically on cost-effective excursions this year in order to help the highest number of kids attend. The total cost for the day is $100 per student and details were sent out to families a few weeks ago via COMPASS.

-We wish our Year 5 students who are wishing to be 2025 School Captains the best of luck for their interviews and speeches over the next couple of weeks.

If you require any additional information or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email: jason.stuart3@det.nsw.edu.au

Jason Stuart

Assistant Principal Primary (Relieving)

 Year 5/6 

The Year 5/6 class has finished their unit in English on REPLAY – which is a short film set in a post-apocalyptic world. Some fantastic pieces of writing with dialogue were completed and this has been a success for our class. In Maths, we have been analysing data sets, charts and graphs – and even creating our own column and line graphs throughout the unit. In Science we are focusing on Forces, specifically looking at wind resistance, air drag and vacuums. We even created our own mini parachutes and tested them from a second storey height (some were more successful than others!). Don’t worry, no kids were wearing parachutes – we attached them to  Chess pieces.

Unfortunately, some of the Y5/6 kids are choosing not to be the best role models for their peers either in the classroom or the playground. This is particularly challenging, as kids are choosing to be quite rude to adults and their peers. We, as a faculty, will be focusing on eliminating this from our classrooms and playground areas – school is not the place for this type of behaviour.

As always, please get in touch if you require any further information: Jason.stuart3@det.nsw.edu.au

Jason Stuart

5/6 Class Teacher

Assistant Principal Primary (Relieving)