The first thing that comes to mind when we reflect on Term One is just how well the Lower Primary students have settled into their new classrooms and with their new teachers and support staff. From our Prep students who are excited by everything, through to those who have been with us for some time, it is the improvement in social confidence and learning readiness that stand out. Students take great pride in their achievements and willingly share these at assembly, or with myself and other teachers on a regular basis. The look on the students faces as they tell you about their work or something that they have achieved says it all. Students have also worked hard on building strong working relationships with their teachers and classmates always striving to be kind and safe. It is so good to witness the confidence they are displaying as learners.

This year, as a special welcome to Lower Primary families, we had our first Family Fun Night at Lollipops Play Land Bundoora and it was a huge success. This is a specifically designed indoor play centre for children of all ages to have the most fun ever…. and they did! There was a range of equipment where children were able to play safely and with independence. The feedback we received from everyone; parents, students and staff was overwhelmingly positive. I had many parents come up to me to say how much they enjoyed the evening and appreciated this time to meet other parents and staff in a social situation. We thank parents for taking this opportunity to connect with each other, staff and your children's friends in a relaxed way outside school. The staff also enjoyed the opportunity to get to know you all a little better and to see the children having fun with their siblings and friends in this safe and engaging environment. This will certainly be on the calendar again next year as a welcome to the school year at Lower Primary!

At the start of this term, teachers assessed students in order to develop Individual Education Plans, programs and learning groups that support the learning needs of the students within their classes. Thank you to those parents who took the opportunity to discuss and ask questions about the assessment process and your child’s Individual Education Plan at the recent SSG meetings. We hope you found the process informative and that it provided some insight into the direction of your child’s learning program for Semester One.

The integrated unit for this semester is “My Senses”. Over Term One, students were introduced to the senses of touch, hearing, smell, sight and taste. They engaged in hands-on activities to explore these senses and have begun to identify the body parts associated with them. This unit has provided a range of active learning experiences that started with a visit from “Mad About Science”. A science educator came to deliver a workshop which included whole class demonstrations as well as free exploration to introduce students to the five senses. Workstations were set-up with a variety of open-ended activities focussing on touch, taste, sight, hearing and smell.

The workshop activities included:

Exploration of various types of lenses such as coloured eye glasses, magnifying glasses, kaleidoscopes and mini telescopes.
Exploration of sound waves with tuning forks and other sound makers.
Students testing their sense of touch by touching and feeling a variety of objects.
Exploration of a variety of different smells and guessing what they were.
Participation in a taste test demonstration to determine certain flavours.

Students across the campus will also have the opportunity to visit the Discovery Centre at some time this semester. The centre has been set up to encourage students to explore the senses along with wellbeing and regulation options. LPA, LPB and LPC have already had this opportunity. They were able to engage with a range of sensory items using different body parts such as their hands and feet to experience different textures. Students also used their sense of smell to guess the scent of a variety of playdoh options and explored the Zen garden where they could relax and regulate if they wanted.

We celebrated Harmony Day with an out of uniform day. All students were encouraged to come to school in dress that represented their culture or to wear orange which represents Harmony. Harmony Day allowed us to celebrate multiculturalism and the differences that make us all unique. The classes focussed on developing an understanding that we all look different, we are all important and we can all learn from each promoting a sense of belonging for everyone. Classes selected their own activities including the story “We Are all Different” along with a range of craft, literacy and social skills activities showing our understanding of Harmony Day.

Lower Primary continues to purchase a range of fresh fruit and vegetables for our students each week from a local business. Platters are prepared in classrooms and students are encouraged to try a variety of fruit and vegetables. Most students enjoy the fresh fruit and vegetables but those who are a little more hesitant are encouraged to have a “little” taste. The program reinforces healthy eating habits at school.

We are looking forward to celebrating the end of term with a fun day that includes an Easter Hat Parade, rotations of special activities and of course that old favourite …an Easter egg hunt. To complete the day everyone will join our first ever colour run on the Lower Primary oval area. How exciting!

From Around the Classrooms:

LPA, LPB, LPC

As an introduction to our Integrated Studies unit "What are My Senses?" Lower Primary attended a sensory based incursion where the students explored their senses whilst participating in various experiments. LPA, LPB and LPC thoroughly enjoyed exploring optical illusions, smelling different scents, along with ordering textures and making sound vibrations using a tuning fork. Students made predictions about taste when trying to identify different lollipop flavours. All the students enjoyed the incursion and the practical components.

LPC thoroughly enjoyed reading the story “If I were the Easter Bunny”. We wrote about what we would do if we were the Easter Bunny and where we would hide the eggs. The students then decorated an egg to show what their eggs would look like. We had lots of fun using a filter to turn ourselves into the Easter Bunny.

LPD, LPE, LPF

Students in LPD, LPE and LPF celebrated Harmony Day in Term 1. On this day we celebrated our diversity as a community and as a school. We reflected that everyone belongs and has a right to feel safe and valued regardless of their background or ability. We read stories and participated in fun activities that promoted inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

LPG, LPH, LPI

This term, students in LPG, LPH and LPI have been participating in a variety of language experiences to develop their oral language skills. Students have engaged in different activities and followed up by creating ALD's and class texts to build up their vocabulary. Some of the fun activities the students have participated in include:

making playdough
water play
sensory exploration with shaving cream
making bubble wands
making a textured hot air balloon
collaging a minion

The students are highly engaged in the hands on activities and have been using some rich vocabulary during and after each experience. Students have been writing about their experiences with the support of staff and ALD's.

LPJ and LPK

Students in LPJ and LPJ have enjoyed reading and mathematics lessons this term. In reading, we focused on a story of the week and learnt about the story in lots of different ways. These included sensory and puppet play, using Aided Language Displays and our AAC devices to identify characters, main events, comprehension and concepts of print to further support student understanding. We also learnt that books have a front cover and a title.

In Maths, we focused on our number work. We explored identifying and recognising different numbers . LPJ and LPK practiced 1:1 correspondence in hands on ways including counting objects, interactive games and playdoh mats.

We are looking forward to more Reading and Maths in Term 2!

Specialists

Library

Students were super excited at being back in the library space this second half of the term. We have listened to various books about being in the library, looked at the features of fiction and nonfiction text and recognised the various book part names. This term, we have introduced a library success pass. Students are rewarded for bringing their book bags to school and borrowing regularly, great learning and listening is also rewarded. Students names go into a raffle and each week a student will win a book prize. It is wonderful to see enthusiastic book borrowers wanting to take books home to share with their family.

P.E

Term One was a busy term for establishing relationships with all students. During P.E, I got the opportunity to get to know all students while focusing on ‘Being healthy, safe and active’ and ‘Moving the Body’. Each week, students completed different activities that got them engaged and moving around in a fun and energetic way. Students particularly enjoyed sessions with the parachute identifying how their bodies move and relate to space and objects. Also, students enjoyed practicing their hand eye coordination skills and overhand throw skills in weekly sessions and were very excited to show off their newly learnt skills in some basketball drills. We will keep shooting for the stars!

Performing Arts

Bing, Bang, Boom! There’s been lots of noise and excitement in the Performing Arts room. Exploring the percussion instruments, using role play to host tea parties, playing Hot Cross Buns on the tone bars, playing dance and freeze games and singing songs. It has been a wonderful first term thanks to the student’s participation and enthusiasm in the program. I’m looking forward to more fun and exciting things to come in Term 2. Have a great break!

As always a big pat on the back to the Lower Primary students and staff for all your hard work this term. We look forward to a happy and productive Term 2 together.

Happy Holidays and stay safe,

Kath

Dates to Remember

Term 1

Term 2