Primary School
A productive week has been had in the Primary School which concluded last week with a wonderful chapel service led by Year Four K. I hope students took the message of spreading kindness into their weekend with their families and sporting activities.
This week students have been learning about Reconciliation in preparation for Sorry Day, Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week. I look forward to seeing the outcome of their House Activities this week and next. Students are encouraged to wear their House shirt and a purple accessory tomorrow in respect of National Sorry Day.
Culture, Engagement and Excellence
Ring Road Opening
Two GSG students were invited to attend the opening of Albany’s biggest road infrastructure project – Menang Drive. Eleven kilometres of road and bridges and $215 million was officially open on Saturday with Year Six Leaders Daniel Cruse and Ruth Toomey there to cut the ribbon on behalf of GSG.
Daniel and Ruth were the first to ride the eleven-kilometre journey alongside local and state dignitaries. You can see them on the front cover of Tuesday’s Albany Advertiser. Thank you to you both for representing our school.
Curriculum Update – Home Reading Pre-Primary to Year Six
The overhaul of the old, levelled home readers has concluded and students will begin to bring home a mix of decodable and vocabulary readers. The old, levelled readers have been grouped into our literacy phonics code from Promoting Literacy Development and then into genres with the purpose of encouraging readers to develop their reading skills in a controlled and uncontrolled text and develop a love of reading.
I encourage you to give feedback to class teachers about your home reading experience so we can continue to develop our resources. A summary of the research behind GSG’s home reading programme rational is given below, alongside some infographics to explain the labels on the readers. The newly labelled vocabulary readers may require some parent support whereas the decodable texts can all be decoded by sounding out the unknown words.
The Science of Reading supports explicit, systematic instruction of code and the application of the code using controlled texts. Levelled readers are not backed by science. However, the use of decodable texts is not meant to be a lifelong instructional technique. The reality is, that students are going to encounter non-controlled texts at every skill level, so it is important to teach students how to navigate these types of texts.
Briefing News
We have been overwhelmed by the generosity shown across the school with donations for both the Women's Refuge and the Homeless Foundation. It is wonderful to see our community rallying so strongly.
Values Award
Year Three - Harriet Stan-Bishop
Year Four K – Laily Wrobel
Year Four L – Amity Wegner
Year Five – Roxanne Harvey
Year Six G – Joele Tralli
Year Six N – Pippa King
ECC Briefing
It is a reasonably quiet week in ECC after a very busy time. Thank you to everyone who came and participated in our Walk to School Day. It was a foggy morning, but it ended with a hot Milo and muffin.
We welcome two new students in Pre-Primary!
This Friday students are invited to wear a purple accessory for National Sorry Day.
ECC students are reminded to please label their jackets so that lost property can be returned.
Our fabulous Year Six Leaders reminded students that we are collecting hygiene products for the homeless.
Award winners-
Star Awards
Kindergarten - Rosie Paton
Pre-Primary - River Melia
Year One - Jaxon Theodorou
Year Two - Finn Mears
Integrity Awards
Kindergarten - Sophie Doorey
Pre-Primary - Freya Standish
Year One - Lucie McCutcheon
Year Two - Harry Vesey
Upcoming Events
Week Six
Thursday 23 May–P&F Sundowner with Guest Speaker Claire Eaton 6.30pm to 8.30pm, in the Hall
Friday 24 May –Guest Speaker Claire Eaton for Year Five and Six students
Friday 24 May – Reconciliation House Activities: Students encouraged to wear House shirts and a purple item
Week Seven
Reconciliation Week
Wednesday 29 May to Friday 31 May – Year Four Camp to Quaranup
Thursday 30 May 1.30pm at Spencer Park PS – Eagles Cup GSG vs Spencer Park – parents welcome
Friday 31 May – Reconciliation House Activities: Students encouraged to wear House Shirts
Week Eight
Monday 3 June – WA Day Public Holiday
Friday 7 June – Year Four L Assembly – 2.20pm start in the Hall, all welcome to attend
Friday 7 June to Sunday 9 June – Primary School AFL Tour to Perth, selected Years Five and Six students
An unexpected visit by a Year Two student this week brightened my day but reminded me that it is a bittersweet final sign-off this week as I officially hand over the reins to Mrs Hayley Ranger and Miss Carys Nichols for the remainder of the year. I am comfortable and confident that the Primary School is in safe hands, and I look forward to experiencing GSG as a parent until the end of the school year.
Have a lovely weekend,
Ms Leah Field | Head of Primary
Year One Playgrounds Excursion
On Friday, the Year One students got to go on their first excursion! The weather was amazing and although the students were full of excitement, they displayed impeccable behaviour which all made for a wonderful day!
The excursion was part of the HASS and Design Technologies inquiry unit on ‘the features of parks’, where the Year One students reinforced their understanding of natural, managed and constructed features of parks through their visits to the Albany Peace Park, Eyre Park and the Emu Point playground. They also got to test out their scientific knowledge of materials and their properties on this trip.
Students classified different features, drew labelled diagrams, explored a variety of playground equipment and then got to test out the equipment! The excursion ended with a picnic lunch at Emu Point where many mums were also able to join us.
On return to school, students have used this data (alongside photographs taken) to learn more about the design process of playground equipment. They will then design and construct their own 3D models of playgrounds over the next few weeks.
Thank you to Mrs Ranger, Mrs Wegner, and Miss Paige for joining us on this fun-filled day!
Mrs Fiona Gouldthorp | Year One Teacher