PRIMARY NEWS
from the Assistant Principals

Mrs Cathy Koch
ckoch@arm.catholic.edu.au
Mrs Jacqueline Wait
jwait@arm.catholic.edu.au

Assembly Award Recipients

Congratulations to the following students who have received awards at assemblies.

Week 8

Ronny Brooker, Minhaya Sargent, Austin Vickery, Adeline Devlin, George Guilfoyle, Toby Schiller, Olivia Zapata, Archer Jones-Devlin, Clarence Marere, Havana Smith, Shivani Biju, Remy Norman, Zoe Hobday, Rain Francisco, Katalaya Dye, Jackson Warrener, Evelyn Ryan, Korbyn Krauss, Sarah Stanborough, Cayden Collins, Hunter Brown, Charlie Pollock, Hollie Hoskins, Lottie O'Connor, Ollie Sayer, Annabelle Apthorpe, Aiden Santhosh, Darcy Celler, Ben De Stefani, Cali O'Connor, Henry Mill, Maddi Waddell, Camey Brown, Millie Maddigan, Peyton Childs, Luka Reynolds, Claude Hall, Lucy Taylor, Maggie Sweeney, Cooper Pottie, Charlotte Moore, Rocco Pettiford, Harper Swadling, Charlie Mason, Callum Steptoe, Ayda Murphy, Luca Johnson, Fletcher Stevens, Rebecca Bryant, Freya Brooker, Kassidy Smith, Caleb Hoskins, Layten Tonkin, Esther Bosco.

Sport Success & Fun!

We thank our students and staff for the many hours put into running trials and training across a wide range of individual and team sports.

It was great to see many HTS students in the team wearing the new Armidale Catholic School colours for NSWCPS Cross Country! Thank you to our parents for their willingness to support teams through travel, coaching and managing across many sports at various levels! It has been a huge Semester of sport with Holy Trinity students being highlighted by other visiting schools for their outstanding sportsmanship at the NSW Netball Cup last Friday, we have the Toni Palmer Shield just around the corner and our school Athletics Carnival is being held tomorrow. We are excited about trialling our track and field events through a combined carnival this year at the Inverell Sporting Complex and hope you can join us for some of the day and cheer our students along!

In a world increasingly dominated by screens, it's easy to overlook one of the most powerful tools at our disposal: sport. Beyond the thrill of competition and the joy of a win, participating in sport offers a wealth of benefits that extend far beyond the playing field, shaping our young people for a lifetime of success and well-being.

Being part of a team teaches the importance of cooperation and teamwork. Children learn to communicate effectively, support their peers, and work together towards a common goal.

Sport provides a safe space to learn about fair play, respect, and sportsmanship. Adhering to rules, respecting officials, and showing grace in both victory and defeat are invaluable lessons that help shape character and build empathy.

So, whether your child is kicking a soccer ball, shooting hoops, throwing the footy, swimming laps or running the track, remember that they are gaining so much. They are building a foundation of physical health, making like minded friendships, developing mental fortitude, and developing essential life skills.

Semester Reports

As we near the halfway point of the year, it's wonderful to reflect on a semester filled with incredible learning and growth for our students. We have seen so much progress, not just in academic achievements, but also in developing resilience, critical and creative thinking, and collaboration.

Our teachers have been collating student data from Semester One across a range of forms including: formal tests, Reading Benchmarks, online tests, teacher observations, student observations, work samples, assignments, notes and so much more...

During Week 10 you will have the opportunity to view your child's Semester 1 report. This will highlight their achievements and celebrate the significant strides they have made as well as future goals and next steps in their learning. Semester Reports will be sent home as a hard copy and will also be accessible in digital form via the Compass Parent Portal. We encourage you to take this opportunity to discuss their learning journey with them, acknowledging their efforts and looking forward to even more success in the second half of the year.

We celebrate the great teaching and learning in the classroom. Our MaST Program has had a significant impact on Maths in our K-6 classrooms guided by our Maths Specialist Teacher - Mrs Gaias as she supports teachers in their teaching and students in their learning!

We’re excited to share with you how we are building strong foundations in mathematics at Holy Trinity School and nurturing confident, curious learners through our MaST Program..

Tips For Families

In Kindergarten, we are learning to use concrete materials or our fingers to solve addition questions by counting forwards by ones.

Encourage your child to help you when out shopping by counting and collecting objects to put into the basket, e.g. ‘Can you get 2 apples? (add more) How many do we have altogether?’
When playing with building blocks or small toys, encourage your child to count how many of each colour or size.
Play simple board games and encourage your child to count the dots shown on the dice and the number of spaces to move.
Sing number-themed songs and counting rhymes. Use your fingers or small props to help count the items

Watch Number Blocks with your child and discuss the concepts. Each episode has been carefully crafted with the help of the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics) and it helps children to see how numbers really work − and master a new key math skill with every adventure.

In Year 1, we are learning how to use count-by-one strategies to solve subtraction problems

In Year 2, we are learning to use number bonds and the relationship between addition and subtraction to solve problems involving partitioning

Practicing quick recall of double numbers to 10. Double 2 is 4, Double 3 is 6
Use double domino tiles to extend thinking to doubling numbers to 20
Finding and discussing numbers in everyday life that are not meant to be used with place value, such as phone numbers, pin numbers, bus numbers and postcodes
Using number bonds, or ‘friends of 10’, to assist with simple addition and subtraction problems. For example, 4 + 6 = 10, 6 + 4 = 10, 10 - 4 = 6, 10 - 6 = 4

How To Teach Number Bonds? | Maths – No Problem!

Using number bonds to solve addition problems by making groups of 10. For example, the problem of 26 + 8 can be solved by taking 4 from the 8 and adding it to the 26. The new problem of 30 + 4 is much easier to solve
Solving problems using their knowledge of doubles. For example, the problem 8 + 9 can been seen as double 8 (8 + 8) which is 16. Add one more to make 17

Building number bond knowledge to understand ‘friends of 20’. These number pairs are 11 and 9, 12 and 8, 13 and 7, 14 and 6, 15 and 5.

In Year 3 we are learning to use the structure of multiplication to 10 × 10 to solve problems as well as completing number sentences involving multiplication by finding missing values

In Year 4 we are learning to use strategies we know to solve multiplication problems

Times tables are a brilliant brain-training exercise for students. Good times-tables knowledge is vital for quick mental maths calculations and problem-solving, e.g. if a child knows that 6 x 3 = 18 they will be able to work out that 6 x 30 = 180 or 60 x 3 = 180 almost instantly.

A stack of coins – at least a dozen of each type of coin, and preferably two dozen $2.00, will let you make up a full set of tables to 12x12 for the occasions when your child might need to go back and check by counting. No cost, beyond the time it takes to collect up the change.
A pack of cards – take out the aces and Kings, count Jack as 11 and Queen as 12, and you can practice the full range of tables by dealing your child two cards and asking them to multiply them.
A pack of blank cards (make them out of cardboard or paper, or buy premade versions) These are infinitely versatile. (Write the questions and answers on different cards. Shuffle and turn the cards face down. The child has to turn over a card and then turn over the matching card. You can start with a small number of sets and build up.) How many card questions can your child answer correctly against the clock? Boys very much enjoy this, but so do most girls.
Number Facts by Heart- Sign up for this free resource that helps children to learn their number facts.

What are ‘multiplication facts’? Why are they essential to your child’s success in maths?

In Year 5 we are learning to use metres and kilometres for length and distances as well as measure lengths to find the perimeter of a space.

Real-life examples: Walk or drive to show distances in metres and kilometres, discussing common benchmarks (e.g., 1 kilometre = 1000 metres).

Measuring activities: Use a tape measure to find the perimeter of rooms or objects at home, making it fun and practical.

Visualisation tools: Use maps, rulers and string to visually compare lengths and distances, enhancing understanding through hands-on learning.

In Year 6 we are learning to select and use the appropriate unit and device to measure lengths and distances including perimeters

Decimal practice: Relate decimals to the metric system by showing how 1.5 meters equals 150 centimeters, reinforcing decimal places with metric conversions.

Problem-solving with context: Use real-life scenarios, like comparing the height of family members or distances between places, to solve problems and decide which units (mm, cm, m, km) are most appropriate.

If you have any questions when working with your child on these maths concepts, please don’t hesitate to contact:

Mrs Aimee Gaisis agaias1@arm.catholic.edu.au

ICAS Assessments

ICAS English, Mathematics and Science Assessments will once again run at Holy Trinity during August and nominations are currently open. Students in Year 4 and above are eligible to enter. Information was emailed to families through Compass at the end of Term 1.

K-6 Teaching Staff

Robyn Ditchfield KD

Erin Muggleton KM

Laurelle Wales 1W

Tania Moore 1M

Carmel McCosker 2M

Cath Doyle 2D

Terri-Lea Selig 3S

Elissa Murphy 3M

Casey Lea 4L

Amanda White 4WL

Cath Lane 4WL