Learning & Teaching 

LEARNING AND TEACHING - Vira Pirrotta

YEAR 1 and 2 PERSUASIVE WRITING 

The students in Years 1 and 2 have continued their learning about persuasive writing and now have been exploring the idea of for and against arguments. Students have written arguments to support their opinions about different topics. They have even looked at both sides of the argument when responding to topics presented in picture storybooks. I was blown away by how much thought the students had put into their arguments. Here are just a few pieces from the Year 1 and 2 classrooms. 

Gus and Tess both had differing opinions when it came to which was better: books or TV.

Raphael wrote for and against arguments for squishing the ant after reading Hey, Little Ant.

Ella listed all the reasons why Daisy should or should not eat her peas after reading Daisy Eat Your Peas. 

Hunter and Florence had reasons why we should and should not step on ants after reading Hey Little Ant. 

INQUIRY FOCUS FOR TERM 4

Earlier in this term, I mentioned that the students would engage in learning opportunities to deepen their understanding of how we change physically, emotionally and socially, as we grow and develop and how we keep ourselves safe and healthy.  Through picture storybooks and the BodySafe incursion the Foundation to Year 4 students are exploring the following questions:

• How can we understand and manage our feelings?
• What can we do if they are feeling worried or unsafe in a situation? 
• What safe adults can help me if they are feeling unsafe? 
• What is public and what is private?
• What public and private information do I share online? 
• Who is safe to talk to online? 

Parents, please be assured that each of the topics was discussed at an age-appropriate level. 

Here are some other resources that you may want to use at home to continue the conversation about safe adults and cyber safety. 

Attached are some resources that parents can use to help continue the conversation with their children. 

Thank you 

Vira Pirrotta 

NUMERACY - Colleen Monaghan

Last week children received their awards for the work they did in the Australasian Primary School Mathematics Olympiad (APSMO) this year.  The Olympiad includes 5 Olympiad tests containing 5 problems each test. The children have been working all year on practice tests and strategies to assist them in solving these problems. We had a three-way tie with the top score for our school. A huge congratulation to these three for their persistence, effort and great problem-solving skills. Xavier Carr, Anthony Falsetta Spina & Maya Woodhouse.

Congratulations to these students who didn’t receive the top score but did work extremely hard through the year showing great improvement, persistence and commitment to the Olympiad. Catherine Francione, Sonya Mazzarella, Ava Piotti, Pete Ramondetta, Amber Smith.

In week 4 this term, our seniors enjoyed a Maths Games Day. They spent the day working in teams of 4 on various mathematical activities. In session one they were involved in Physical games with their teams, Human Bingo, Capacity Estimates, Number Relay, Length and Time Estimates and a Shape Task.

In session two, they worked on strategy games and played 4 different board games against different players.

Session three saw them in their teams working on solving various problems together.

The winning team with the most points was awarded for winning rounds, collaborating and cooperating as a team all day.  Congratulations to Senior Games Day Winners 2022 Eva Arounsavat, Xavier Carr, Hunter Fitzgerald & Thomas Vernal.

SPORT & PE - Michael Jennings

Inner North/Moreland Division Softball Championship

On Tuesday 18 October, the St Fidelis Girls Softball Team represented the Coburg District at the Inner North/Moreland Softball Championships held at Rosanna Links PS. The girls played two games against St Thomas More’s PS, representing the Glenroy District, and Richmond PS, representing the Richmond District.

Results:

St Fidelis 14 runs defeated Richmond 10 runs

St Fidelis 11 runs were defeated by St Thomas More’s 12 runs.

What an amazing effort by our St Fidelis girls! They completed the year as Coburg District Division 2 Premiers, Coburg District Overall Premiers and Inner North/Moreland Division Runner-Up. Very impressive performances indeed. They should feel very proud of their efforts.

STEM - Joe Frazzetto

STEM Scienceworks- Design Sprint Excursion

20 students from Years 3 to 5 participated in the Scienceworks Design Sprint excursion on Tuesday 8th of November 2022. It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to prepare for the future, showing them how they can make a difference in the world.

Scienceworks hosted a Design Sprint for students and teachers with a focus on emerging technologies. This was an opportunity to practice integrated STEM in a hands-on hack-a-thon style environment. On the day, the students and teachers  explored the Scienceworks sports exhibits and met experts in science, design, health, and technology. They were supported to understand the problem being tackled, and the approaches and technologies that might help “design a better world”. 

Students and teachers got hands-on experience with the technology materials to begin making, tinkering and prototyping physical solutions to real-world problems. Immersed in a day-long and fast-paced STEM design challenge that was human-centred and optimistic, students and teachers had to design a better world.

Design sprints offer students a meaningful and enduring STEM learning experience with a social justice and wellbeing dimension. Our Students in their teams collaborated, explored, engaged, designed, created a prototype and shared their learning about how we can better our health and minds using technology.

Joe Frazzetto,

STEM Specialist

Here is the students’ reflections from the day …

I found out that about 60-70 years ago, we didn't have any technology so we had to walk everywhere and had to hunt and grow our food. We normally had to farm our fruits and vegetables in backyards. To make a difference my group made a device that when you exercise you get points. With these points, you can receive discounts on healthy stuff from the supermarket and shops. My favourite part of the day was when we got to go and play games in the Sports museum. My favourite game was where you had to pull a mechanism to test your strength, you had to pull it as hard as you could and it would tell you how many kilograms you could pull. Christian Liberti 3/4BP

I found out that 100 years ago people had to walk to go any place they wanted and if you needed food you had to go hunt it or go to a farm. My team and I created a robot and an app. The app controls the robot and the more you go outside the more points you get to recharge. My favourite part was when we went to the Sports museum, and went on and tested all the sports equipment and games. I liked that it tested how much strength you have. You had to pull a T-handle towards your chest to find out our strength. Dylan Caceres Salama 3/4BP 

When we went to Science works, my team found out about the lack of exercise coming from kids and adults. Our team, the Serious Stem Stars, made an invention to fix that problem. We invented a tracker that goes on your wrist, that tracks your exercise. That tracker is connected to an app on a phone, if you’re doing well you get points and those points get you healthy rewards. Our team also created a little robot and a hologram  that does actions and encourages you along the way. The utilities on the app let you track your progress, control the robot and let you choose a sport to focus on. On the day my favourite part was designing and working collaboratively with my group. Mia Nightingale 3/4GT

At Scienceworks I found out that we used to move a lot more than we do now because the technology was not available. Due to technology, it seems we are less active. My group of 5 and I came up with the idea of making a little robot that when you exercise you get discounts on healthy produce or food. My favourite part of the excursion was being invited to it and playing around in Sportworks. Alexander Hansen 3/4BP

At Scienceworks I found out that the average amount of active sport time is 60 minutes per day. I also learned that a long time ago you were forced to stay active. I made a difference by making a robot and a watch. We created a program so you could choose a sport and a hologram would appear on a screen on the robot's chest. The program includes language selection, sport selection and the current time. My favourite part of the day was going to the sports museum. I could see all the technology and sport that you could put together. There were some virtual sports and some live sports. Gemma Piotti 3/4GT

I found out that people need to stop creating things that make people lazier and instead make things that make people more active and have to go out and do things. I created an app that helps people to be more active, it has a button that says the sport and there it will show you sports you can practise. There is a button that shows your progress and it shows how well you’re doing.  The app lets you play with your family. We also created a holographic robot that goes with it, it shows you how to do a sport/exercise if you don't know how to and a watch that tracks your heart rate/exercise. My favourite part of the day was when we finally started to make the prototype because it was really fun putting our ideas together and creating something that could help people. Zita Mmadike 3/4GT

At Scienceworks we were learning about active design for body and mind. I found out that 70% of people around the world do not exercise enough. My group created a Robot and an App, the robot is used to help you exercise more by letting you decide if you want to dance, do sport or check your points. The points are to use at the shops to get a discount on products. The robot does whatever you code it to do, you are supposed to buy the robot with the app. The app is used if you don't want to buy the robot and you want to do it through your phone, you have to buy the app too. My favourite part of the day was going to the sports museum. I tried out lots of different things, discovered how you can stay healthy and also learnt about how I can keep my body and mind strong. Scienceworks was such a great experience. Selena Triulcio 5/6KD

On Tuesday, Mr Frazzeto chose 20 students to go to Scienceworks with him. On the day we explored and went to exhibits. One thing we went to was an active way to have fun called SPORTS WORKS!! When we got there we got a sheet to write down the name of the game, how it works and what it has in it, like role models. What I found out about Scienceworks is that you can have fun in all sorts of ways! After lunch, we worked on a project for how to make a difference by keeping our body and mind active. Patrick, Monte, Sebastian, Xavier and I built an obstacle course for 5 to 50-year-olds. It can help strengthen muscles and help them grow strong. My favourite part was when we went to Sportsworks, it was lots of fun playing sports and being active! Max Leahy 3/4GT

I found out that in the past, people had to hunt for food and grow fruit and vegetables. Many people had to walk because they had no cars. We designed and created an obstacle course for the ages 9-50 years old. Our prototype was aimed to get people motivated and active to move more so we can become healthy and live longer. I loved the Sportworks where you got to do a variety of active and sporty challenges. Monte Nihill 3/4GT

At Scienceworks. We explored, researched and created an invention in a design sprint. The design sprint was to design and create a prototype for an active body and mind because we found out that since 1970 people have gotten lazier because of technology. We also checked out Sporsworks. At Sportsworks, we explored all the different facts about sports and took part in the sports challenges. My favourite part of Scienceworks was building my design with my friends. We built an obstacle course for people to exercise and stay fit. Overall, Scienceworks was great and I loved it! Patrick Hude 3/4GT

VISUAL ART - Joe Frazzetto

Optical Illusion towards a Vanishing Point

The Year 3/4 students explored one point perspective and produced amazing artworks of a road landscape scene leading to a mountainous vanishing point. However, I also introduced the concept of ‘Optical Illusion’ and explored what is an optical illusion? The students drew a colourful one point perspective optical illusion leading to a vanishing point where it looked as a three dimensional room is shrinking. Here are a few of our 3/4 students’ master pieces. 

ITALIAN - Rosa Fokianos

BUONGIORNO!

Salve a tutti! 

I hope everyone has had un buon weekend and has been busy over the weekend thinking of something for their child/ren to wear for the upcoming Italian day. (See more details below). Perhaps you have already thought of an idea and have either made it, bought it, or know what you need to put it together. Try to be creative if you can! I have an idea of what I will be doing! 🙂 Remember…

The Italian Day is only just over 3 weeks away! 

VOLUNTEER REQUEST

You may already know, as part of the day’s festivities, I am planning for some of the older children to learn to play  bocce, (Italian lawn bowls). Luckily, I have been able to source enough sets for one class to play at one time. 

I am now wondering if there are any grandparents,  nonni, or other family members in the St Fidelis community that play bocce as a hobby. If so, could they spare a little time during the day, (perhaps between 11:30-1:30pm), to come and demonstrate to the children how the game of bocce is played. 

If you know of someone, please either leave me a message via the school or email me direct and we can work something out: rfokianos@sfmoreland.catholic.edu.au

Grazie again, in advance. 🙂

Also, just as a matter of community interest, this coming domenica, (Sunday), there will be a Tarantella Festival held at Edwardes Lake Park in Reservoir. If anyone is interested and is free during the day, go along, if you can. I believe that the lady who demonstrated the Tarantella during last year’s Italian day, (Rosa), will be demonstrating and dancing again at this event, in the morning. If you do go along, perhaps you can join in some of the dancing and maybe take a photo or two, which could be included in our weekly newsletter articles. 📷

Buona settimana!  

Signora Rosa 🌹