Learning and Teaching
PARENT HELPERS IN THE LEARNING SPACE – JUNIORS
This term parent helpers in the learning space will commence in Week 4. If you are a Junior parent/carer and would like to offer your time as a parent helper in the morning - anytime between 9:00- 10:45 am - we would love to have you come and join us.
As a parent helper you can offer a half an hour of your time, an hour or stay for the whole morning – it is totally up to you. Unfortunately, younger siblings can not join you if you volunteer your time to help in the learning space.
Parents support in the Juniors by listening to children read, helping run an activity or listening to them share their written stories.
If this is something you would be interested in doing please email Joanna -jforbes@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au with your name, child’s name, learning space and availability (day and time) by Friday 2nd May.
All parents/carers volunteering to help must have a current working with children’s check.
Thank you
Joanna (Learning and Teaching Leader)
MENTAL AND WRITTEN MATHS STRATEGIES
With the release of the Victorian Curriculum Mathematics V2, Mental Strategies continue to play an important role in students becoming proficient in their ability to apply the skills and content taught in Mathematics.
What is a strategy?
- A strategy is the thought process that a student uses to solve a problem.
What is the difference between a written and mental strategy?
-Written strategy:
Computation that involves notating the steps being undertaken to solve the task.
(Wright, R., & Ellemor, C., (2018)
-Mental strategy:
Mental computation is the way of working out the exact answer to a calculation in the head, without resorting to using materials or writing.
(McIntosh, A., De Nardi, E., Swan, P. (2007)
At SFS we explicitly teach and practice our Mental Strategies 10 minutes a day (5 times a week in the Juniors and 3 times a week in the Seniors), focusing on one key strategy over a two-week period. The strategy is taught, practiced and student progress assessed before students move on to the next strategy. Students are introduced to each strategy following a developmental sequence from F-Year 6 in the areas of Addition & Subtraction, Multiplication & Division and Number Word Sequence. The teaching and practice of each strategy is short and sharp and utilises basic everyday maths equipment, such as dice, cards, counters and other concrete materials/templates which support the development of student’s mental fluency and accuracy.
The strategies children have been focusing on this week and for next week are listed below. You can support students in their learning at home. Five -10 minutes practising these strategies at home is all that is needed. Many can be practiced in the car, around the dinner table, before bed or between siblings.
Joanna Forbes
(Learning and Teaching Leader)
jforbes@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au
| YEAR LEVEL | STRATEGY and SUGGESTIONS FOR PRACTICING AT HOME |
| Foundation | Forward and Backward number word sequence by ones 0-30 -Start at 0 and count backwards from 20 to 0 – don’t forget ‘0’ as it is a number too!! -Start at 0 and count forwards to 30 -Can you start at any number between 0-20 and count forwards or backwards by 1’s
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| Year 1 | Forward and Backward number word sequence by ones within the range 0-130. Ask your child to start at 0 and count forwards by 1’s or start at 130 and count backwards by 1’s.
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| Year 2 | Forward and Backward counting by 100’s from 0 to 1000 starting from any number -This is a bit trickier – start by revising counting forwards by 100’s from 0 to 1 000 and then backwards from 1 000 to 0. Now…. Can you try and start at any number and count forwards or backwards by 100’s
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| Year 3 | Forward Number Word Sequence by 100’s and 10’s, 1’s to 10,000 and beyond from any number Practice you counting skills – starting with 1’s and then moving to 10’s and 100’s. Can you start at any number and count forwards and backwards?
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| Year 4 & 5 | Addition and subtraction with regrouping Practice mentally adding and subtracting whole numbers that involve regrouping (that is trading across place value units). When doing this mentally children break down the numbers into their place values (hundreds, tens, ones) and add or subtract them separately. This allows them to regroup in a more manageable way.
-Children break down the numbers by separating each number into its place values. -Children then add or subtract the hundreds, ones and tens and regroup if needed. -They then combine the sums added, subtracted together. E.g. 47 + 25 40 + 7 20 + 5 Add the 10’s then add the 1’s 40 +20 and 7+5 Regroup 7+5=12 so it is 10 +2 Combine the sums and find the total - so 60 + 10 + 2
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| Year 6 | Count by fractions from any number forwards and backwards (including with mixed numerals and improper fractions) This strategy can be practiced anywhere, anytime and only takes 1 minute of your time each day. Give children a fraction e.g. 1 /2 and ask them to count forwards by halves – 1 /2, 1, 1 ½ etc and then do the same by starting at 4 and count backwards by halves. |
Counting in the week
We are straight back into our learning in LS1. This week we have been focusing on counting and place value in Maths.
Clinic One have been busy working on addition, subtraction and counting. The children have been challenging themselves to separate whole numbers into parts, using concrete materials. They have enjoyed learning about number bonds and how these number bonds represent two numbers that when joined together make a whole number.
Clinic Two have been enjoying looking at place value when counting and creating bundles of ten to make lots of different two digit numbers. We have been focusing on tens and ones and have been creating lots of numbers using icy pole sticks. The children say the number, make the number and explain the number in their own words. Clinic two have also been using the tens bundles they created to count to and from 120 by tens.
Clinic Three have been working with MAB blocks and using different concrete materials to make larger and more challenging numbers. The children have been learning that collections up to 1000 can be re-grouped in different ways to help when counting.
It has been a very hands- on experience in Maths this week and the children have really enjoyed using all the different materials to represent numbers and values in different ways. We look forward to continuing this Maths focus in next week's lessons.
Imasha, Mavis, Aoife, Tamara
Learning Space 1 Junior Teachers
💻 DT Update 💻
The Juniors have started this term with DT! In class this week they have been able to show off their knowledge of hardware and software and successfully sort different items into these categories.
As a class, the students were each given an item which they had to sort based on its purpose; to either entertain, help or bring comfort. The items they were given were a mixture of things from the past and technology we use today. We had a lot of fun exploring what different items like a rotary phone, typewriter and an old washing system were and how they worked. Taryn even told us what technology was like when she was in primary school and played us the old internet dial up sound! We all thought that noise was very annoying!
After, we then matched the cards up to show what the past item was like and what the technology looked like now.
To finish our lesson, the students created a snapshot of different hardware and software that they use!
Taryn Bartlett
Digital Technology Teacher
tbartlett@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au
SENIOR SPORT
Interschool Sport
The schools we are playing, dates and locations for these events are as follow
- Friday May 2nd, Lyndhurst Primary School - Home Game.
- Friday May 16th, Rivergum Primary School - Home Game.
- Friday May 23rd, St Kevins Primary School - Home Game.
Friday June 6th, Coral Park Primary School - Away Game.
- Tuesday June 17th, Winter Lightning Premiership
Venues for each sport are as follows for Lightning Premiership:
- Soccer - Livingston Reserve
- AFL 9’s - Livingston Reserve
- Netball - Casey Stadium
- Volleystars - Casey Stadium
- Teeball - Casey Fields- Oval 3 (behind the Athletics Track)
For away matches and the Lightning Premiership students will travel to and from the venue via chartered bus with staff members attending.
Lulli Barbakos
Physical Education Teacher
lbarbakos@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au
EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
SENIOR SPORTS
DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY
Senior students in the 9/10, 11 and 12/13 year old age groups who came 1st – 7th in our Cross Country last term now have the opportunity to represent SFS at District Cross Country on Wednesday May 7th.
Further information has been provided via Operoo for qualifying students. Parents please ensure you approve the Operoo so that we can finalise our team as soon as possible.
WHOLE SCHOOL SPORTING EVENTS
LEAGUE STARS
This is a fantastic opportunity for all SFS students in Term 2. Tag rugby after school clinics will be run here at SFS straight after school on Wednesdays starting on the 28th May from 3.15 – 4.00pm. Students can go straight to the clinic, which will be held on the oval and then parents can pick up students at 4.00pm entering through the school and heading out to the oval. Students that attend after school care will be taken back to care after the clinic.
The program includes 6 after school sessions and a League Stars Pack for the students. The cost is $79. Your must register your child through the link
https://www.playrugbyleague.com/league-stars/ .
Enter the Lynbrook postcode, 3975and search. Our school will be the first program that appears, Term 2. 2025 League Stars After School Program – Lynbrook. If you then click on the arrow, it will give details of our program. To register you will need to create an NRL account but once you press register it will prompt you through this.
Please refer to the flyer below and the QR code Ali has provide to make registration easier. I hope to see many students there!!
Any queries please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Giuliana
Extra-Curricular Coordinator