Learning & Teaching 

LEARNING AND TEACHING NEWS- Vira Pirrotta

Reporting

At St Fidelis Catholic Primary School, our reporting focuses on clearly communicating student learning and progress so that teachers, parents, and students can work together to support and enhance learning outcomes.

The Semester Two Report will outline your child’s progress in the eight Learning Areas and Capabilities of the Victorian Curriculum. It will show how your child is progressing against the relevant achievement standards.

This semester, reports will include the following Learning Areas:

• English
• Mathematics
• Science (Physical Sciences or Earth and Space Sciences)
• Health and Physical Education
• Humanities (Geography)
• The Arts (Visual Arts)
• Technologies (Design and Digital Technologies)

• Languages (Italian)

   

The Capabilities addressed this semester are:

• Critical and Creative Thinking

• Personal and Social Capability

   

Teachers use accurate and objective assessments, supported by evidence gathered throughout the semester, to make judgments about each child’s progress against the curriculum achievement standards.

Your child’s achievement will be shown using a five-point scale, with a dot indicating the year-level standard they have achieved.

Reports will be available online from Wednesday, 10th December.

Have a wonderful week!

LITERACY NEWS - Bernadette Parnis

Home Reading and Spelling

Reading at home is an important part of our homework routine and helps build on all the great learning happening at school. Each night, students are encouraged to read their take-home readers.

These books are meant to be easy and enjoyable, it’s perfectly fine and encouraged, to read them more than once. Some readers will be decodable, helping children practise particular sounds and spelling patterns, while others will be regular readers to build understanding and fluency.

If your child forgets to borrow a book, please let their teacher or myself know so we can help them choose one to take home.

We also have a whole-school spelling approach Years 1 to 6. Each week, students bring home their spelling words on a sheet to write out and practise. These words are linked to the weekly spelling pattern they have been learning in class. Regular short practice at home helps students strengthen their spelling knowledge and confidence.

Thank you for supporting your child’s reading and spelling at home. These small, consistent routines make a big difference in their learning.

Building a Love of Reading – Author: Dr. Seuss

Last week, I included a recommendation for a great picture book to share and read at home. Continuing with the theme of building a love for reading, I thought I’d suggest choosing an author and reading several of their books together.

When children read more than one story by the same author, they begin to notice familiar patterns, characters, and styles. This helps them build confidence and makes reading feel comfortable and fun!

The first author, much loved, Dr. Seuss!

About Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) wrote and illustrated dozens of imaginative, rhyming stories that have inspired young readers for generations. His books are full of playful language, silly fun, and gentle messages about kindness, courage, and thinking for yourself.

Great Dr. Seuss books to enjoy together:

• The Cat in the Hat
• Green Eggs and Ham
• Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
• One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
• The Lorax

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

   

Why not choose a few to share at home? 

Dr. Seuss stories are perfect for reading aloud as they make you laugh as well as build a lifelong love of books.

Don’t have these books at home? Don't worry? Why not consider visiting the local library.

Happy reading! 

Writing

This week’s optional writing activity invites students to imagine what it would be like to be in charge for a day.

Prompt:

 If you were in charge of your school, or the whole country, for one day, what rules would you make? What changes would you introduce? How would the day go?

Students can write this as a speech, a letter, a story, or even a news article. Encourage them to be creative and have fun imagining their perfect day as a leader!

Tips for parents - helping with ideas and planning.

If your child wants to try this writing prompt, here are some easy ways to support them:

• Start with a chat: Ask questions like, “What would you change first?” or “What would a day look like under your leadership?”
• Make a list together: Help your child jot down 3–5 things they would do if they were in charge. This can spark ideas for their writing.
• Think about structure: Encourage your child to think about the beginning (how they became the leader), middle (what they did), and end (how the day finished).

• Let their imagination lead: There are no right or wrong answers – the goal is to get their ideas flowing!

   

This task is completely optional and designed to be a fun way for students to explore their imagination and writing skills at home.

Scholastic Book Club

Book Club – Issue 7 Last day! 

Orders are due  Monday, 27 October.

Special offers from Scholastic:

• Families who spend over $25 on this issue will receive up to three bonus titles from the Free Book List.

• Many families have also earned a $5 promotional code to use on this issue. Please remember to apply your discount before it expires.

   

Have a great week.  

Bernadette Parnis

bparnis@sfmoreland.catholic.edu.au 

Speech Box

Please refer to the attached flyer on how to use Lego to build communication skills. 

NUMERACY NEWS - Colleen Monaghan

Maths Award of the Week

Congratulations to Ruby 3/4 this week for her great work with converting fractions to decimals. Well done Ruby.

Year 1/2 Maths Games Day

Last week, our year 1 & 2 students enjoyed a Fun Maths Games Day filled with excitement, teamwork and plenty of problem-solving! The day was designed to show that maths isn’t just about numbers on a page — it’s about thinking, strategy, and having fun.

Students rotated through a variety of activities, including physical maths games, strategy games and a problem-solving booklet that encouraged creative thinking and collaboration. From outdoor activities to relay races and measurement, to indoor logic games and team challenges, every activity got students thinking mathematically while having a great time.

It was fantastic to see so much enthusiasm, persistence and teamwork across the day. A huge thank you to the parents who came along and supported us, the teachers and senior student leaders who helped run the activities and to everyone who joined in with such great energy and spirit!

Congratulations to the winning team on the day. Bailey, Violet and Giselle and to all winners throughout the day.

Foundation Maths Day – Wednesday 29th October 

PE & SPORTS NEWS - Michael Jennings

ST FIDELIS ATHLETICS/SPORTS DAY

The St Fidelis Annual Athletics/Sports Carnival for students from Foundation-Year 6 will be held on Friday 31 October 2025. The venue will be Coburg Athletics Track.

PARENTS & FAMILIES ARE MOST WELCOME TO ATTEND TO SUPPORT THE STUDENTS AND THEIR TEAMS

If possible, the students can wear coloured items to represent their team such as socks, t-shirts, ribbon, bands etc. 

Please note that in the event of extreme weather conditions, the Sports Carnival will be postponed. Back-up Day will be Friday 7 November 2025.

STEM NEWS - Joe Frazzetto

Foundation 

MERGING WITH TECHNOLOGY

In Foundation, students are discovering the power of augmented reality through the Merge Cube! This innovative tool allows students to hold and explore digital 3D objects in the palm of their hands, creating an engaging and interactive way to connect with the digital world. With the Merge Cube, students can journey through a galaxy, hold fossils and ancient artifacts, examine a DNA molecule, explore the Earth’s core, dissect a virtual frog, and even view their own 3D creations — all right before their eyes!

Last week, our Foundation students enjoyed an incursion about honey bees and how they make honey. In STEM, they extended this learning by researching and studying what a bee looks like up close using the Merge Cube. It was incredible to watch their faces light up with awe and curiosity as they interacted with a digital bee and examined its features in detail.

We look forward to the coming weeks as students continue to explore the life cycle of the bee and investigate the fascinating differences between bees and wasps. It’s inspiring to see our young learners merge technology and science to deepen their understanding of the natural world!

YEAR 1/2 

 NATIVITY LEGO SCENE

In Religious Education, our Foundation students have been learning about the Nativity story and its importance in the Christian faith. They discovered how the story of Jesus’ birth is told in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke and explored the origins of the very first Nativity scene.

This rich learning experience was integrated with Visual Arts and STEM, allowing students to express their understanding creatively and through technology. They began by drawing their own interpretations of the Nativity before bringing the story to life using LEGO to build detailed Nativity scenes — complete with a stable and characters. Using the green screen, students captured photos of their LEGO creations in a unique and imaginative setting.

To extend their learning in STEM, students connected a Micro:Bit to their device and programmed it to display a flashing star, representing the Star of Bethlehem that guided the Wise Men. It was wonderful to see the excitement, collaboration, and creativity as students combined faith, art, and technology to celebrate this special story.

WE’RE GOING TO NATIONALS! 

We are incredibly proud to announce that our Year 6 students Zara A, Estelle K, Zac A, and Alexander H have been selected to represent St Fidelis at the STEM MAD National Showcase in Adelaide on Tuesday, 18th November 2025!

Their innovative design and prototype creation, the “SENSO CANE”, impressed the judges and earned them a place at the national level. The SENSO CANE is a remarkable invention designed to support individuals with vision impairment — a true example of creativity, empathy, and STEM thinking in action.

This is a tremendous honour, as St Fidelis is the only MACS Catholic school representing the Melbourne Archdiocese at the national event! The students will travel to Adelaide to present and showcase their project to the public, sponsors, and curators.

Please join us in congratulating our amazing young innovators and wishing them the very best of luck as they proudly represent our school and community on the national stage!

Watch their SENSO CANE video pitch here: https://youtu.be/VyNheH_9z88