SCHOOL OF WONDER

Wow, what a term! Can you believe Term 2 is over? It’s been an exciting term with lots of exciting learning taking place in the School of Wonder. Read our updates below to delve into what’s been happening in our final two weeks of term. 

RETURNING IN TERM 3

Just a gentle reminder to families that when we return for Term 3 it will be during the coldest months of the school year which means the mud is still upon us. It’s been fantastic to see students make use of their gumboots; wearing them outside at recess and lunch then leaving them at the door as they return into their learning spaces. Well done to all year levels as this has been a successful strategy as the cold weather continues. Please continue to encourage your child to bring gumboots in early Term 3 while the wet weather is still upon us. 

ASSEMBLIES IN TERM 3 

SOW will hold assemblies in Term 3 during:  

Week 3: ran by 1/2 SS

Week 6:  ran by FGS

Week 9: ran by 1/2 LBB

Kara and I wish you a very safe and happy school holiday and we look forward to seeing all the smiley faces return on Tuesday 16 July, 2024. Please note, Monday 15 July is a STUDENT FREE DAY. 

SOW Leaders 

Emma O’Keeffe & Kara McCann

The Year 3 /4 students hosted the School of Wonder Assembly last week, kicking off Week 10. 

A special congratulations to students Emily Little and Freya Thompson who received an award from the Community Action Team (CAT) which was presented by Year 9 student Owen Terry and Year 12 student Megan Okely who are members of the CAT. The students received the award for picking up 140 pieces of rubbish before school – which took them less than 20 minutes.

Congratulations to Emily and Freya for doing their BEST, LEADING by example and RESPECTING our environment and school community.

Wonder, think, share, reflect - students in SOW have been applying new skills that they’ve been learning including finger knitting, water painting, cooking and origami. Students have done an incredible job with these new hands-on activities. 

This week, 3/4 AW explored NAIDOC Week, which is taking place during the school holidays on 7-14 July, and why it is celebrated. Students completed a collaborative colouring activity, where all students coloured in a section of the word NAIDOC Week and they used their understanding of what NAIDOC Week means to write cinquain poems which contained action verbs, feelings and adjectives. A cinquain poem is a type of poem classified by the number of syllables each line in the poem has. 

SOW students were surprised with a class of Karaoke and dancing for their Performing Arts class with Learning Mentor Mel this week. Microphones, speakers and lights added to the fun and laughter as the students belted out tunes from some much-loved, classic movies.

Term 2 Inquiry Expo: Farm to Plate

Nikea’s Foundation class spent Term 2 focused on Farm to Plate for their inquiry topic. The students delved into the stages food goes through to reach your home before consumption; from the planting and harvesting of fruits and vegetables to their arrival on your plate. Many processes have been explored and the resulting dioramas and booklets are both colourful and informative. Families were welcomed to share in the final presentation as the students proudly showed off their work. 

Creating Dioramas

The Foundation students joined forces with their buddies to complete some dioramas recently. It's so fantastic to see the relationship and bonds between the Foundation students and their buddies continue to blossom and flourish throughout the school year.

The buddies have taken on the role with gusto and have been a huge support to the Foundation students as they navigate their way through their first year of schooling. 

GV Water Visit

Goulburn Valley Water Education Officer, Kristy Elrington, visited the Foundation students to share her knowledge on all things water. 

Kristy read the attentive year level a book about our water cycle, where our students learnt how raindrops move through evaporation, transpiration, condensation and precipitation before the cycle starts again. Kristy then spoke of the water treatment process, where students learnt how water is pumped from the river through a pipe and a grate, alum is added and dirt is filtered through charcoal, sand and gravel to become crystal clear before adding chlorine gas and delivering to their houses for them to use.

"How is the chlorine added? Are there more chemicals added? How does the water get sent to your house?" the students inquired.

They then went on to identify the many ways we use water in and around our house and joined in with demonstrations Kristy had set out.

Kristy finished with clear messaging of saving water, so the process is sustainable for future generations.

Physical Education

As a Foundation to Year 12 College, our students are fortunate to be able to interact with students of all ages. This week, the Year 1/2 students joined in with the older students from the Personal Development Skills (PDS) class during PE.

The Year 1/2s practiced running 200m and a game of Yoshi Tag. It's great to see the PDS students being such positive role models for the SOW students and encouraging them to be their best.

Mindful Jars

Laurel's 1/2 class have been making mindful jars this week. A mindful jar is a powerful tool that helps cultivate mindfulness by providing a visual way to centre thoughts and emotions. Being mindful means paying full attention to the present moment. As part of The Resilience Project, the children created a mindfulness jar. This involved filling a jar with water, glue and glitter. The jar was then shaken, placed on a table for children to watch, be present and mindful. After using the jar, children reflected on their experience, discussing their feelings through writing or drawing, which further reinforced their understanding and practice of mindfulness. 

IT WAS TIME TO TAKE ACTION

Last week Kara was greeted by three students who had taken it upon themselves to clean up the yard. 

Freya, Willow and Eva started to notice that our beautiful yard was starting to look a little messy for their liking so they spent some of recess and lunch cleaning up the yard. 

What great initiative shown by our Year 1/2 students. Well done!

𝗜𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀

𝘐𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘺-𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴.

When 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠 rolls into 𝗔𝗥𝗧 and then rolls into 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 the results are a fully engaged and busy class and some extremely functional structures.

Year 3/4's thought, researched, self-managed, communicated and collaborated, through subjects today when they designed a playground, made a playground and then made a stop-motion video of their playground in action. Watching the power of inquiry learning is truly a wonderful thing. This fantastic activity incorporates all five of our learner assets.

𝕁𝕦𝕞𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕁𝕠𝕪 

Our Year 3/4 Students have been practicing their triple jump skills for the college's upcoming athletics day. Nothing better than jumping for 𝗝𝗢𝗬 in the sunshine!

Learning Expo

It was all about communication when the Year 3/4 students presented their work at a Learning Expo this week. The children have been learning about the various methods of communication during their inquiry unit this term. Each display featured the children’s work showcasing their designed and developed method of communication.

It is always so fantastic to see the parents/carers and family members seeing the students’ work. We hope you enjoyed the expo!

Please support our staff, and remember that drop off for children is from 8:30am. This is when staff are on duty. Prior to this any staff onsite are preparing for the day ahead, duty of care requirements mean children onsite require supervision and doing this takes staff away from their important preparation time.

Kara McCann & Emma O’Keeffe - School of Wonder Leaders

kmccann@sackialla.catholic.edu.au

eokeeffe@sackialla.catholic.edu.au

We are committed & dedicated educators

Teaching and Learning:

Our aim as Educators is always to improve student learning outcomes for all our learners. We continue to strive to improve our professional practice to ensure that our learners get the very best learning opportunities and outcomes. Our SOW team works collaboratively to provide thought provoking learning experiences to our learners. Our learner assets (collaboration, communication, self-management, thinking and researching) are life long skills that set our young people up to life long learners and to continually question, explore and challenge their thinking. Please direct any teaching and learning inquiries to Kara McCann kmccann@sackialla.catholic.edu.au

Wellbeing:

Wellbeing is a holistic term that encompasses all aspects of a student's life, including their physical, social, mental and emotional state. It is often defined as a sustainable state of positive mood and attitude, resilience, and satisfaction with self, relationships and experiences at school.

Wellbeing at St Anne’s is driven by the themes of doing our best, allowing everyone to succeed. Please direct any wellbeing inquiries to Emma O'Keeffe eokeeffe@sackialla.catholic.edu.au