Infants and Primary
Infants
What a great fortnight we’ve had at school to round off the term. The Smart Drama Performances were a huge success and we hope everyone who came loved watching the shows. The students sure got a kick out of being on stage and performing for you! A huge thank you to all staff involved for making this such a successful event for our school.
We wish everyone a happy and safe Spring holidays and hope you are able to make the most of the time to relax and recharge.
Kindy
Kindergarten have had a wonderful few weeks of school with Mrs Scott, and what great learning they have been doing. It has been great to see the growth in the students and how proud they are of their achievements.
This week we have had fun revisiting the story, ‘The Potato People’ by Pamela Allen and then making our very own potato people. There were lots of creative and fun potatoes!
Kindergarten students have all been working very hard and as a result, are all attending the Term 3 Merit Event – a Disco on Thursday afternoon. We are looking forward to getting our dancing shoes on and celebrating together.
Year 1
What a whirlwind the last few weeks of this term have been!
Year 1 loved sharing their Smart/ Drama Night performance with their families and friends in the community. So much of their hard work and time was put into designing props, practicing timing, sharing ideas, and navigating problems during the development of their performance- well done Year 1.
We enjoyed our Feather Celebration on Monday this week, with students being invited to wear mufti, and celebrate with VIP access to the hall space for over an hour. We played musical statues and musical chairs, before getting all the dodgeballs out, followed by playing with multiple balloons in a game of ‘Keepy- Uppy’. It was a little too much fun I think- but so well deserved.
On Thursday is the Merit Event Celebration. Congratulations to Year 1 students who have been invited to participate. A reminder of the importance of attendance at school to assist in achieving ‘Merit’ awards. Students are given a ‘merit’ when they demonstrate academic achievement and are often given out when work is finished to a high standard, or the student has put in great effort in achieving the best they can. When students are absent, the opportunity to succeed academically is reduced.
Over the last fortnight, Year 1 have been working on an English unit that explores perspective and opinion through texts that highlight pollution and its impact on the environment. Students have conducted research, asked questions, and considered how they personally feel about the problem. Students have been challenged this week to create a multimodal text of their choice that displays their opinion and ideas to reduce the impact of pollution.
This week, students have been assessed in their knowledge in all learning areas to better support their teachers in making decisions ready for next term. Students are tired and are looking forward to a well-deserved break. Have a safe and happy holiday all.
Miss Friend
Year 3/4
Wow! What a busy term we have had in the ¾ class! This term has been filled with engaging activities and valuable lessons across various subjects, creating a rich learning environment for our students.
Focussing on the Olympics and Paralympics, our primary focus in literacy has been on exploring perspective and context through the inspiring autobiography Cathy Freeman: Born to Run. Students have been learning about how an individuals perspective is shaped by key moments and experiences, as well as important character traits. Cathy's story certainly is inspiring, and students have loved exploring her life and achievements.
Our Reading Fluency, Daily Edit and Sentence a Day routines have continued this term, and students are constantly improving and broadening their skillset. Thanks to these activities, our students are now confidently including adjectival phrases, adverbs, and more complex sentence types in their writing. When reading aloud, students have become much more comfortable reading at a steady pace and using expression more, to make their reading more interesting to listen to.
Numeracy activities have been a big focus in Term 3, and we will continue to build on students knowledge of times tables in Term 4. Students have loved learning new games like Times-Table Face Off, Elimination, and playing old favourites like Maths Tag to build their times table fluency. Students love being tested on their times table knowledge, and are improving each day.
SMArt and Drama Night last week was also a huge success, and students loved practicing and perfecting their performance. It was wonderful to see the students express themselves through the creative arts and share their talents with the community. Students did a magnificent job performing in both the matinee and evening performances, and are to be applauded on their hard work and determination to do their best. A massive thanks must go to Mr Stuart and the rest of the team involved behind-the scenes to put on a fabulous show.
In sport, there has been plenty of excitement as we prepare for the Boorowa Touch Football and Netball Carnival early next term. The students have been practising hard in both touch football and netball, learning the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship while honing their skills.
As we conclude this busy term, we are so proud of our students' progress and enthusiasm for learning, and can't wait to see what Term 4 brings! As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Charlotte Groves
3/4 Classroom Teacher
Primary
Well, we have reached the end of another term. In some ways, time has flown and we can’t believe it’s here already – and in others it has been a difficult term at times. We had a fantastic Smart & Drama Night last week and all of the students performed brilliantly. I would like to thank all parents, staff and community members for supporting our night – through the raffle and door entry, we raised just under $1200 – which will go towards purchasing vital equipment that we can use for years to come. Top of the wishlist this year is a videocamera, accessories and editing software so we can upskill our secondary students to create content for our school for events like this. I will be spending some time over the holidays and early next term trying to edit the video from this year’s show. If it ends up usable, I will find a way to give access to parents for a small donation to our Smart & Drama Fund.
Unfortunately, there seems to be a small number of children that are consistently choosing negative behaviours while at school. This is regularly seen in the form of disrupting the learning of others, disrespectful language towards adults and being deliberately mean. I strongly encourage all parents to sit down with their children and discuss these things. It may be an eye-opener and provide good opportunities for parents to understand the complex issues that are happening at school. I also encourage parents to email me with any issues that may need following up.
Good news on the excursion front – years 3 to 6 will be heading to Wagga on December 3rd this year for a day-trip excursion. It has been a difficult planning process due to the large number of students and staff attending. Full details will be provided as soon as possible – and every effort has been made to make it as cost-effective as possible. We expect the final cost to be approximately $100 per child, depending on the number of students that attend. More info to come.
I wish all families a safe, happy and healthy holiday break. We look forward to seeing you in term 4.
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)
5/6 Classroom
The year 5/6 class have almost finished out unit on Pip Harry’s August & Me. We are thoroughly enjoying it, and it’s the first time I have taught it, so it’s just as exciting for me. In Maths we are exploring decimal numbers and place value up to billions. This is a little repetitive – but we’ve been using timing and measurement to try and make it as hands on as possible. In Science we are finishing our unit on electricity – specifically researching power stations and how we use power in our everyday lives.
Unfortunately, a small number of our classmates have made some poor choices of late – choosing to be mean towards other students, and at times, towards adults in the school. We are leaders of the school in 5/6 – and all of us contribute to the overall school environment. I strongly support parents having serious conversations with their children about choices made at school – and I encourage parents to contact me if they have concerns or would like to discuss any issues. This is something that can be supported both at home and school.
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)