News from around the school 

Prep News:

Learning to Read and Write in Foundation (Prep)

During Literacy, the children are participating in two programs: InitiaLit and Initial Write. One program focuses on reading and spelling, while the other supports the development of writing skills. Through these programs, students have already learned a handful of sounds and are beginning to blend these sounds together to read and write simple words.

A strong focus of our Literacy learning is oral language. This involves lots of talking, listening, and sharing ideas. Saying full sentences verbally is a key element of Initial Write, as it helps children organise their thoughts before writing. Over the past couple of weeks, students have been learning to describe what they look like and talk about pets, using stories to support their ideas. Developing strong oral language skills is essential, as it supports children in learning to read and write and forms the foundation for all English learning. Daily, we also practice letter formation (handwriting), and each child has their own Initial Write writing book to record their progress and build confidence in writing.

At home, you can support this by encouraging your child to speak in full sentences. For example, instead of a one-word answer like “play,” you might ask, “What did you do at school today?” and encourage them to respond with a full sentence: “Today I played with my friends at the sandpit.” Small changes like this help children build confidence, vocabulary, and sentence structure.

If you have any questions about your child’s learning, please don’t hesitate to ask us. Please note, if you are speaking a home language that is not English, encouraging your child to speak in full sentences in your home language will also help them learn to use full sentences in English.

Early Years ~ 1/2 News:

Instructions ~ Procedure Writing to make cheese toasties! 

Our Grade 2 students have been busy learning how to write clear and detailed instructions through procedure writing. What better way to bring this to life than by making delicious cheese toasties!

Students carefully planned and wrote their own step-by-step procedures, thinking about the ingredients and equipment needed, as well as using sequencing words to guide the reader. To celebrate their learning, they then followed their instructions to make their very own cheese toasties and of course, enjoyed eating them at the end!

It was a fun and hands-on way to build writing skills, with lots of smiles (and full tummies!) along the way.

Middle Years ~ 3/4 News:

Upper Years~ 5/6 News:

St Mel's Breaky Club:

Come for breaky… second breakfast… or even third breakfast — all are welcome!

This week, our new Foundation students enjoyed trying out Breakfast Club for the first time and it’s safe to say they absolutely loved it! There were smiles, full tummies and a wonderful sense of community to start the day.

Breakfast Club is a beautiful way to gather, connect and ensure everyone begins the morning feeling nourished and ready to learn.

We look forward to welcoming more students as we continue to grow this special initiative.

Thank you to Bakers Delight City & Plaza who sponsors our St. Mel's Breakfast Club!

OSHC ~ 

LUNCH ORDERS ~

CANTEEN ~

Piano/Keyboard lessons:

Mrs Sandra Davidson has been teaching piano for over forty years.

She has a Bachelor & Diploma of music from the Victorian College of Arts. Sandra has completed all levels in the AMEB exams, achieving an A+ for her 8th grade when she was 12, and Associate & Licentiate Diplomas in the following two years.

Sandra teaches all styles and enters some students in exams.

Lessons are held every Monday at school.

Parents can contact Sandra on 0412 767 205 to make arrangements.

Did you know? ~