Classroom News

Foundation: Miss Hart

Can you believe we’re already in Week 4? The Foundation students have settled in beautifully, building their confidence and routines each day. It’s been wonderful to see their enthusiasm for learning, especially in literacy and numeracy, as they explore new concepts with curiosity. Socially, they are forming friendships and growing in independence, making each day in the classroom a joy. The term is flying by, and we’re excited for all the learning and fun still to come!

In Foundation we LOVE talking about our day and things we are grateful for. Check out what we have been enjoying in our first few weeks of school!!

We have LOTS of fun things happening in the coming weeks that we are so excited to share with you all. Stay tuned for our first lessons on letter sounds.

Foundation: Grade 1 Miss Emmett

Handwriting Fun with Maggie Mouse and Sammy Seal

Our Foundation and Grade 1 students have been busy refining their handwriting skills, focusing on the letters 'm' and 's'. To make learning fun and engaging, students followed humorous sayings from two friendly characters: Maggie Mouse and Sammy Seal. 

Alongside practising letter formation, students worked on developing their correct pencil grip, ensuring they hold their writing tools with confidence and control. They also focused on directionality, carefully following the correct starting points and strokes for each letter. Through these activities, students are building strong foundational handwriting habits that will support them as they continue to develop their writing skills.

Exploring Patterns in Mathematics

In addition to their handwriting practice, students have completes their unit on in mathematics. They have learned how to create and continue two-part and three-part patterns using colours, shapes, and objects. A key focus has been identifying the unit of repeat—the smallest part of the pattern that repeats to form a sequence. By engaging in hands-on activities, students have strengthened their ability to recognise and extend patterns, an essential skill in mathematical thinking. It has been wonderful to see their excitement as they discover patterns in the world around them. We look forward to starting out unit on time which focused on ordering events and when they take place during the day.

Celebrating What We Love About School

Our students have also taken time to reflect on what they love most about school:

• Vanessa: Playing on the playground with my friends.
• Jack: Playing with my friends outside and colouring patterns.
• Joe: Playing with my friends and doing Sport.
• Lily: Playing with Blake and Sport.
• Harriet: Art, drawing and GaGa Ball.
• William: The chickens and Sport.
• GD: Sport and playing with my friends.
• Billy: Going on the bus to school and home from school.
• Huxi: Doing Sport and craft in the classroom.
• Lara: PE and hanging out with Miss Emmett.
• Isabelle: Hearing the story books that Miss Emmett reads and playing on the playground.

It's wonderful to see the joy and enthusiasm our students have for their school experiences!

 Grade 2: Miss Wooden

Kindness

We started this week celebrating Random Act of Kindness day. Some of the students noticed how kind we are to each other. Here are the thoughts they wanted to share!

• Samuel has noticed people playing kindly on the playground together. 
• Madi and Harlow have been kind to Lottie when she fell over and helped her find a teacher. 
• Indy is kind and helps hand out the hats. 
• Tom is kind and shows respect by pushing in the chairs 

Ollie Online

We also had a visit from the Year 1 class to participate in the ‘Ollie Online’ session. We learnt some new songs and discussed how we can be aware, clever, brave and kind online. 

Literacy

We have been working on how our vowel sounds change from a short sound to a long sound with a bossy ‘e’ at the end of the word. We have explored informative text and how they give us information. Students have been reading about Kookaburras and learning to find the facts in the writing. We have finished reading ‘Willy the Wimp’ in class this week and will begin reading ‘The Snail and the Whale' next week. Here is what the students thought about Willy:

• Angus: I Think that Willy needs to believe in himself.
• Heidi: I liked when Willy saved Millie.
• Alex: I like how Willy gets strong.
• Linc: I liked how all of the characters were monkeys.
• Buddy: I like it when Willy gets strong.
• Kynan: I liked that Willy said ‘Sorry’ to the pole when he bumped into it. 
• Harlow: I liked that Willy ‘won’t hurt and fly’ and the illustration of Willy dressed as a ballerina.
• Lottie: Willy is so nice and he gets strong! I liked that Willy said ‘Sorry’ to the pole when he bumped into it. 
• Madi: I think he is a little bit too kind.

Numeracy

We have continued to practice our place value understanding this week and have started to use this skill to expand numbers. The students are developing their ability to represent numbers in different ways and create a number sentence. It has been great to see the students use their partitioning skills from last year with bigger numbers!

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Samuel this week !!!

Grade 3: Mrs Stock

Our Grade 3 students have been thoroughly enjoying their class novel, Matilda by Roald Dahl. They have been engaged in lively discussions and written responses, exploring the world of Matilda and her remarkable adventures. It’s been wonderful to see their excitement and creativity come to life through this story.

We’ve also settled into our reading fluency pairs, with each student working alongside a partner to build their fluency and comprehension skills. This activity is helping the students support each other as they continue to develop as readers.

In Maths, we are working hard on our Addition and Subtraction unit. The class has been practicing different strategies to solve problems, and it’s great to see their confidence growing as they tackle more challenging tasks.

This week, we loved our first visit to Tongala Aged Care. The residents were so happy to see the children, and it was heartwarming to watch them getting to know each other. This will be a regular activity, and we are looking forward to many more visits in the future. It’s a wonderful experience for everyone involved!

A big congratulations to Charlie and Tom, who have been voted as our 2025 Student Advisory Class representatives. We know they will do a great job of sharing ideas and being the voice for Grade 3!

Grade 4: Miss Dove & Mrs McKiernan

Grade 4 students have had such a positive start to the year. Inquiry, which we have each Monday and Tuesday afternoon, has been a real favourite for our class. We began our Inquiry unit by learning about Biomes. Students were to choose a biome, many chose the desert, savanna or the rainforest. They needed to research all about their biome for example, climate, animals, vegetation and threats and then draw a picture accurately displaying what their biome looks like. I will say, I think we have some talented artists in our class! They have gone on to explore the importance of environments, including natural vegetation, to animals and people. We looked closely at the role vegetation plays in providing oxygen, shelter and protection from erosion. Our most recent lesson explored the differences between climate and weather, with students learning about the world climatic zones: polar, temperate and tropical. It has been a great opportunity for students to work with their peers to complete their research.

In Maths, we have finished up with addition and subtraction and are now learning about fractions. The students have been really enjoying this and are all demonstrating a great understanding. The Daily Reviews are always fun, providing students with short, focused sessions to consolidate previously learned key skills and concepts.

In English, students are building up their confidence in reading the text, Kensuke’s Kingdom, aloud to the class and learning new vocabulary every lesson. It’s wonderful to see how the students are really thinking about the story and are able to explain their thoughts on how the characters may be feeling and what might happen next. 

We have been so impressed with the way every student is having a go and trying their best in each subject!

Grade 5-6: Miss Rasmussen

It has been a fantastic fortnight for our Grade 5/6 students as they continue to dive into new learning experiences, develop leadership skills, and strengthen connections with their peers.

In maths, students explored multiples and factors in a hands-on way, using counters to create arrays and identify number patterns. This interactive approach made learning fun and helped build confidence in their mathematical thinking.

Leadership has also been a focus over the past two weeks. Our Grade 5/6 students led a beautiful class prayer, reflecting on how we can all be leaders in our own way, inspired by Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:14-16: “You are the light of the world.” They also explored the different leadership groups within our school and the opportunities they provide. Students have now been assigned to their leadership groups, and we look forward to seeing them lead in the key areas of Sport & Health, Catholic Identity & Sustainability, Media, and PBIS.

Our Grade 6 students also led their first whole-school assembly for the year, doing an amazing job and highlighting their leadership skills.

Our buddies had lunch together, and it was wonderful to see the excitement and connections forming between the students. These moments help foster strong relationships and create a sense of belonging within our school community.

In English, students have been expanding their vocabulary and working on their writing skills. Using War Horse as inspiration, they are crafting narratives featuring animal characters, incorporating key storytelling techniques such as onomatopoeia, adjective pairs, and character speech. Their stories are shaping up to be impressive, and we’re excited to see the final results!

We’re looking forward to another exciting fortnight ahead, filled with more learning, leadership, and fun!