The Net

Arrunga

     

               Leading Teacher Communication

 

Dear Parents/Carers,  

 

As part of the wider St Luke’s Community students in Arrunga have the opportunity to participate and experience many whole school events such as liturgies, reward days, incursions and sporting events.  This term we look forward to participating and celebrating upcoming events such as Book Week, Mini Vinnies Winter Appeal and Wellbeing, Community and Spirit Week. 

 

We are still welcoming donations of warm accessories for Winter to support St Vincent de Paul. If you would like to donate items please send them to school with your child or drop them off in the Front Office. Donations such as warm scarves, hand and feet warmers, gloves, socks and beanies are welcome.

 

On Friday, 18th August all students are welcome to wear their pyjamas to school for the day. This is a day where we will raise awareness about Homelessness in our community. The equivalent of a Gold Coin Donation can be  made through the QKR App by August 18th to support St Vincent de Paul and the work that they do to support those in need. 

 

 

On the 21st August we will launch Book Week with a book parade for all students. The theme this year is ‘Read, Grow, Inspire’  We would like to encourage all students in K-4 to dress up as their favourite book character or book that they find inspiring or is meaningful to them. 

 

We would like to congratulate Jeremiah Aguer in Year 5 for his participation and sporting  achievement during our Primary Zone Athletics event on Thursday 3rd August. Jeremiah placed 1st in a number of events and will proceed  to represent St Luke’s Arrunga in the upcoming Diocesan Athletics event. As a school, we would like to thank all the staff involved in supporting Jeremiah and we wish him well in the upcoming event. 

 

Reminder- Staffing Updates:

  • Miss Eunice Rovero: Stage 2/3 Specialist Teacher 
  • Miss Sheetal Tammal: Stage 4 Specialist Teacher  
  • We also welcome Miss Ella Wilson and Miss Mia Snudden- Teaching Assistants within our HSNC team. 

Kind regards,

 

Mrs Catherine Goodwill

St Luke’s Arrunga High Support Needs

Leading Teacher

 

Ms Linda Drayton

Personalised Planning Leading

Teacher

 

 

Early Stage 1 & Stage 1

Dear Parents and Carers, 

 

Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 students have continued to demonstrate enthusiasm towards their learning which can be clearly observed through their engagement during a variety of learning tasks over the last fortnight. 

 

Students have continued to make positive gains in developing their learning behaviours and social skills aligned to our PBS4L framework. Along with developing students' knowledge and skills in all Key Learning Areas, we have spent time revising and modelling the expected learning and social behaviours. 

 

As a team we would like to acknowledge the growth  we have seen in the way that the students are responding and modelling the expected  behaviours inside and outside of the classroom as per our PBS4L whole school learning story. During this fortnight we will be emphasising the importance of  being safe and respectful learners, through exploring what it looks like and feels like. 

                                                                                                                

Kind regards, 

Mrs Natasha Narain                                                                                Mrs Isabel Little

High Support Needs Specialist Teacher                                        High Support Needs                                                                                                                                     Specialist Teacher

 

FOCUS FOR LEARNING & ACTIVITIES THIS FORTNIGHT:

 

  • Literacy: Students have continued to develop and extend their knowledge of letter sounds and sight words. Students are able to identify letters of the alphabet, model the sound and suggest words that begin with that letter. Students will be learning how to use adjectives to describe a range of items including materials, people, animals and everyday school items. Students will then be supported in using their adjective skills to help express their wants and needs, extend their sentence writing and explain themselves. 

 

  • Numeracy: During week 3 students have been exploring  the concept of representing the whole number. They have been working on counting forward up to one hundred, exploring numbers on a number track to identify the missing number and representing quantity using concrete material such as counters. In Week 4, students will be developing their understanding of patterns including copying and continuing a pattern using 2D shapes, pictures and concrete materials. Students will also be working on identifying and completing patterns involving skip counting.

 

  • Science: Students have shown great understanding of how push and pull forces move objects and materials. Every Monday, students will explore a new mystery material. Students will use tactile and sensory experiences to describe the look and feel of materials. We will then be exploring how materials are used for different purposes and will be experimenting with how to use materials to construct different designs. 

 

  • CAPA/DRUMBEAT: Over the last fortnight students have engaged in learning the dance routine for The Nut bush and The Macarena. They are learning how to move various body parts to the timing of the song such as rolling the shoulders for three counts and then nodding the head for five counts. In the next fortnight, the class will continue to develop their confidence with moving their bodies to the rhythm of the music. In CAPA lessons, we are also creating and completing various experiments to develop their understanding of different materials. During Drumbeat circles, students are learning about rhythm and developing their social-emotional skills including turn taking.

 

  • PDHPE: In Physical Education lessons (Sports) students have been working on enhancing their locomotor and non-locomotor movement skills such as rolling, jumping and skipping. We have also been focusing on developing student’s aiming skills by throwing a ball in a bucket or hoop or ring toss. Over the next fortnight students will work on developing their ball skills including throwing, kicking and passing.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 2 & 3

Dear Parents and Carers, 

 

As we enter the third week of Term 3, we are pleased to share that Stage 2 and 3 students have continued to transition smoothly into the new term and back into school routines. They have been demonstrating a strong sense of enthusiasm and participation in class during learning activities.  

 

As a Stage we are working towards supporting the students with learning new concepts and overcoming the challenges they may be presented with when they encounter something different that they have not experienced before.   

 

Kind regards,

Mrs Merlin Binu                                                            Miss Eunice Rovero                      

High Support Needs Specialist Teacher                High Support Needs Specialist                                                                                                                  Teacher   

 

FOCUS FOR LEARNING & ACTIVITIES THIS FORTNIGHT:

 

  • Literacy:  Students are developing their vocabulary, comprehension and fluency across an array of texts, by  exploring different scientific concepts which are integrated in the printed materials they are working on. The students are also engaged in various fine motor activities aimed at encouraging their writing skills through a variety of mediums.  

 

  • Numeracy: The numeracy focus for this fortnight is centred around the mathematical strand of the whole number and how we experience this in our everyday lives. Students have been working on developing their skills of counting with the help of concrete objects. They have extended their knowledge of addition and subtraction through various hands-on activities in the classroom and interactive class games to consolidate their learning. Over the next two weeks students will be learning more about number patterns and missing numbers.

 

  • Religion:  As we continue to explore the question “What makes a hero?”, we are focussing on the value of “RESPECT” for this fortnight. Through inspiring stories and discussions, we hope to instil in our students a deeper understanding of what it truly means to be a hero. 

 

  • CAPA: Students in Stage 2 and 3 are learning a variety of dances from different cultures.  Students are using the various dance techniques to understand that there are different elements of dance through demonstrating a variety of movement skills. 

 

  • PDHPE: We have integrated a range of Science and CAPA outcomes during our SoSafe and Sport classes. Stage 2 and 3 students have worked on identifying how to regulate breathing, understanding the importance of exercising regularly and taking care of their health. We will be continuing to  focus on how human beings are different and also the same as others. Students have collaboratively worked together in groups to learn to be a safe and respectful learner within Arrunga and the wider St Luke’s College  community.

 

 

 

 

Stage 4

Dear Parents and Carers, 

 

Stage 4 students  have continued to transition smoothly into the new term and back into school routines. We are focusing on building healthy habits by making good choices about what we eat, getting enough rest, outdoor play and drinking lots of water. Students have been demonstrating a strong sense of enthusiasm and participation in class during learning activities.  

 

As a new classroom teacher in Stage 4, I am getting to understand and know more about the students through our daily reflection circles.  As a Stage 4 cohort we are working towards supporting each other and building new positive relationships., through learning new things about our likes and dislikes each day and overcoming any challenges with a positive attitude.

 

Kind Regards,

 

                                                             

Ms. Sheetal Tammal              

High Support Needs Specialist Teacher   

 

FOCUS FOR LEARNING & ACTIVITIES THIS FORTNIGHT:

 

Literacy: Students are developing their reading, speaking and listening skills through reading and comprehension activities including opportunities for students to read as a class, independently and 1:1 where required. Students are learning to interact with a variety of stimuli including text, photography, and video formats to develop their speaking and listening skills.  

 

Numeracy:  Students are developing their number skills including number identification, counting, counting by 2s,4s,5s, and 10s,. They are using knowledge of number value to add and subtract numbers with or without concrete objects. We are using real-life experiences and hands-on activities to apply our knowledge of time and money such as finding things from Coles catalogue to purchase and calculate the total amount. 

 

Religion: This week the focus has been on understanding Islam religion. We watched a video on “5 pillars of Islam” and students had interesting questions and wonderings about different religions. We are making efforts to recall religion with their specific symbols and names.

 

Food Tech: Students are excited about their food technology lessons. This week we are learning to make blueberry muffins. They participate in preparing nutritious food and follow a sequence to prepare nutritious food. We are also focussing on identifying safe food handling techniques eg: washing hands and utensils, cutting up vegetables, wooden spoon to mix batter, grater for grating and so on. Our primary focus this week is to follow instructions to complete the recipe with support and practice safety rules in the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTINUITY OF LEARNING AT HOME:

 

  • Learning Stories: You can access your child’s individual learning/social stories via their Seesaw portfolio. Our PBS4L whole school Learning story supports student learning and understanding in how to respond to daily situations or events appropriately as well as how to join in group activities and establish friendships. Please read and revisit your child’s learning stories with them at home. 

 

  • Visuals as Communication Starters:  Use Seesaw as an electronic platform  to engage in a daily review of learning activities alongside your child. By using the photos and learning updates as visual reminders you can support your child with sharing,  communicating and  identifying what they have been learning or have enjoyed doing at school. 

REMINDERS:

 

  • If you need to contact your child's teacher, please be aware that teachers are face to face with students during the day and will respond to your inquiries as soon as possible. For all urgent matters please direct your inquiries to the main college office on (02) 9854 3100. 
  • Please ensure that your child has a drink bottle and a hat every day.
  • All items and personal belongings including lunchboxes and drink bottles need to be clearly labelled with their name 
  • School drop off time is between 8:20-8:40am and collection is 2:30-2:50pm. Please ensure that you are on time to drop off and collect your child. Outside of these times you will need to sign in, drop off or collect your child at the main office. 
  • If your child is unwell they should remain at home. If they present as being unwell they will be escorted to the main office sick bay and you will be called to collect them.

 

  UPCOMING EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY:

  • Friday,18th  August - St Vincent De Paul- Pyjama Day to raise Awareness 
  • Monday, 21st August- Book Week Commences 
  • Monday, 21st August- Book Parade- “Dress Up”

 

 

Term dates for 2023 are as follows:

  • Term 3 - Tuesday 18th July - Friday 22nd September
  • Term 4 - Monday 9th October - Thursday 14th December

 

Staff Development Days:

  • Friday 1st September- Staff Formation Day
  • Monday 9th October & Tuesday 10th October- New Curriculum Reform Days 
  • Friday 15th December- Teacher/Parent Conferences 
  • Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th December- Pupil Free Days

*School development days occur at the beginning of Terms 1, 2 and 3 and the last two days of the school year. 

 

HELPFUL LINKS: 

 

 

   “I come that you may have life

Life in all its fullness”  

                             John 10:10