Primary
Mrs Leanne Schulz
Happy Holidays!
A very big thank you to students, families and staff for making it through Term 3 lockdown together! It has been an inspiration to see all the amazing teaching and learning that has taken place. Every week at the Fairview and Cumberland Assemblies, classes have had the opportunity to showcase the excellent learning and the variety of activities that students have been involved in throughout the term. One of the highlights of my week is to see hundreds of smiling students at our Zoom Assemblies. It is an absolute delight to see Fairview and Cumberland students get together during Assemblies and Chapel services to celebrate achievements and feel that special sense of community and connectedness. Likewise, how wonderful the Primary discos run by Mr Lawless have been, where everyone gets to have fun, smile and dance until exhausted!
There have been numerous photos and videos shared of Maths activities, Science experiments, reading progress, writing samples, artwork, Integrated Studies projects, cooking, oral presentations, incursions, dress up days, and student reflections. I cannot thank our dedicated primary teachers enough for their time, commitment and care throughout the term. We are all very proud of the hard work and positive attitudes demonstrated by the students.
The primary staff and I wish you all a safe and relaxing holiday break! We miss all the students and families and cannot wait to see some normality return.
Prep News
Miss Gemma Jackson (Prep AHOS)
Term 3 has come to an end and the Prep teachers could not be prouder of how the students have tackled Home Learning. We have enjoyed seeing their faces on Zoom every day and watching them progress through their learning. We have had some great highlights of the term, including: Book Week, beach dress up day, a Science and Zoo Zoom incursion, having guest teachers read to us on Zoom, multiple discos and making craft cars. Over the past few weeks, we have learnt about money and skip counting. The Preps had a great time learning about Australian coins and playing shops at home. We also have been exploring dreamtime stories and sequencing the text. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful Prep parents for supporting your children with their learning and many Zooms. Enjoy a restful break!
Year 1 and 2 News
Mr Jevon Scandrett (Year 1/2 AHOS)
It is hard to believe Term 3 is over! Despite some challenging circumstances, the students have continued to learn and grow thanks to the hard work of their teachers and support staff. On behalf of the Year 1 and Year 2 team, I would like to thank families for their ongoing support during this period of Home Learning; these unusual and difficult times have certainly brought to light the importance of good relationships between school and home communities.
Year 1 students have been busy learning about 'Australian Flora and Fauna' in Integrated Studies this term. They have created some amazing habitats from materials around the home and garden.
In Year 2, students have explored the topic of 'capacity' during their Maths lessons. Take a look at some of their work in the photos below!
I wish all students a safe and relaxing break and look forward to seeing everyone again in Term 4.
Year 3 and 4 News
Mrs Anne Adams (Year 3/ 4 AHOS)
As promised, I have featured the Book Week photos in the newsletter. Although this event was a while ago, the students loved dressing up and working with authors and illustrators online. Year 3 students were lucky enough to have Adam Wallace. He talked about how he elaborates on real events and then exaggerates these, turning them into crazy stories. Year 4 students were engaged with learning how to illustrate using simple shapes to get them going. Sue DeGennaro’s writing and illustrating process made it easy for students to create their own masterpieces. Both year levels walked away from the workshops with the understanding that the ideas and illustrations are all trial and error. You do not have to be an expert to write a book, but you do need tenacity.
Students from Year 3 and Year 4 have been decorating their neighbourhoods and homes with messages of hope through this lockdown. Their chalk drawings, water drawings and posters remind us all that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Year 3
Year 4
Students from Year 4 had a wonderful Zoom incursion with Kids Helpline. Steph, a counsellor, took them through emotions they might be experiencing through the lockdown. She asked students to check in on how they are feeling, emphasised that all emotions are normal and armed them with some strategies to cope with these emotions. The five C's of self-care are used to help students to cope during lockdown. Calm- find activities that make you calm such as reading, going for a walk, listening to music. Care- for ourselves and others. Create- take time to create so you are expressing your feelings or to distract yourself. Connect- with people and your pets. Chat- to your friends and family. Students were asked to brainstorm activities for each category. A free service is provided where children can talk to a counsellor via phone or webchat. Here is the link if you are interested: https://kidshelpline.com.au/.
RUOK day was celebrated last week. This is a day where students were taught strategies to ask their friends or family ‘Are you OK?’ The four steps are: to ask ‘Are you ok?’, to listen, to encourage action to help the situation, and to check in with the person. Although this only lasted for the day, these actions are encouraged all through the year.
On behalf of the Year 3 and Year 4 team, I thank you sincerely for all of your support behind the scenes and I wish you all a restful holiday break if you get one. We are looking forward to Term 4 which we all hope will be face-to-face teaching as soon as possible.
Year 5 and 6 News
Mr Nigel Keegan (Year 5/ 6 AHOS)
There have been so many excellent examples of student work this term and many valuable learning experiences. The photos and student comments below represent the many highlights of the last ten weeks of learning, from home and on-site at school. Thank you to students for all your hard work this term and to parents for your incredible support.
Mia S (5M)
This term 5M did multiplication, division, rounding and estimation, and worded problems. In Maths, I have really been enjoying the work even though it can get hard at times, but you just have to try your best and that’s all that matters.
Kisali P (6T)
In Term 3 we did a variety of Science experiments for our Integrated Studies topic 'Renewable Energy', one of them being mining a cookie to replicate the impact coal mining has on the environment. I found it very insightful and a fun activity, especially because I was left with two cookies and a pile of chocolate chips to eat later!
Aanya K (5A)
Term 3 may have been a one-of-a-kind way of learning but that did not mean we did not have fun! We have had our own activities at home such as: pyjama day, bring your pet to Zoom day and crazy hair day. We also had Book Week and we dressed up as our favourite book character! We have learnt many things such as writing an information report, doing Kahoot quizzes, and learning bucket drumming. But that’s not it…we have had many challenges through the weeks such as the 125 days of school challenge, trick shot challenge, and many more!
Pasidhu G 6K
A highlight for Term 3 this year was when I was awarded Class Captain. I was very proud of that achievement because I was trying very hard to achieve it since Year 3.
Congratulations
A huge congratulations to the following Cumberland students for competing in online competitions during Home Learning! Thank you to Mrs Mary Ann Di Martino, who worked with the students and organised their participation in the events.
Maths Games Day Competition
Year 5/6 Team A came 1st and scored the highest points across all categories:
- Aaryan K (5A)
- Alana O (5A)
- Archer H (5A)
- Tim C (5A)
Year 5/6 Team B came 3rd:
- Frederick O (6K)
- Kisali P (6T)
- Rafael B (6K)
- Ronan K (6T)
Maths Challenge
- Charlie D (4A) - certificate of proficiency
- Elmer M (4M) - certificate of proficiency
- Ethan L (4A) - certificate of credit
- Ronell M (4M) - certificate of credit
- Tamanna S (4M) - certificate of credit
- Laksh C (4M) - certificate of credit
Chess Tournament
- Aaryan K (5A)
- Ethan L (4A)
- Rafael BG (6A)
- Ronell M (4M)
Appreciation - a parenting skills for the ages
By Michael Grose
‘Kids’ attention-seeking is the most common misbehaviour in families, frequently overwhelming and exhausting parents. The antidote for attention-seeking is appreciation, the genuine deal when it comes to helping kids feel good about themselves. Appreciation is highly motivating. Even adolescents will generally respond to a parent’s appreciative comments, although their faces won’t always not show it. Appreciation can change the mood of the giver and receiver and it’s a behaviour that if adopted by children can be experienced by the next generation.’ Read Full Article