Learning & Teaching 

LEARNING & TEACHING - Vira Pirrotta

Inquiry Learning @ St. Fidelis: 

Inquiry is a dynamic, responsive approach to teaching and learning. 

Contexts for inquiry are most effective when they provide opportunities to meet achievement standards but also when they are authentic 

and relevant to the needs and interests of students.

(© Kath Murdoch 2022)  

Last year, teachers participated in professional learning with Kath Murdoch, where they mapped the shared inquiry concepts for 2023. The mapping allowed us to have a clear direction for this year and to ensure that we address the many learning areas of the Victorian Curriculum and include our students’ interests and voices.

Shared inquiries are facilitated by teachers and designed to ensure that children are engaged in many learning opportunities to develop their understanding of how their world works. The Inquiry deepens the student's knowledge and assesses concepts and skills from the curriculum. The teachers follow a cycle of inquiry as a process that allows students to deepen their understanding of the big concept and question. 

Using the cycle of inquiry, teachers tune students into what they are learning and what they already know and generate wonderings with the students. The students then move to the finding out stage. 

At this stage, students can engage in learning opportunities such as incursions, guest speakers and excursions, they also work as researchers and answer any wonderings or questions they have generated. 

While students work through the finding out stage they sort out and make sense of the new information before documenting, sharing and taking action with their learning. 

During the shared inquiry, teachers use their learning as a springboard for many learning opportunities in reading, writing and mathematics sessions. With teacher guidance, students actively engage in the process of investigation and develop themselves as self-managers, researchers, collaborators, thinkers and communicators.  

This term students will inquire into cultural diversity. Below is a table with our term one focus. 

The students are in the process of starting their first shared inquiry for 2023. Year One and Two students have already visited the Melbourne Museum to discover more about the past. The Year Three and Four students have started unpacking the story, I am Australian Too. The Year Five and Six students started to unpack the meaning of the words culture, diversity and beliefs. 

See the 'what’s happening' page to find out more about the Inquiry in the learning spaces.  

DISCOVERY @ ST FIDELIS 

Also, as part of our Inquiry learning at St. Fidelis in the F-2 learning spaces, the students learn through play during our Discovery Time Workshops. Play provides a context for students to develop skills and understandings about topics that interest them. 

Discovery Workshops include several provocations to invite the learner to explore, question, experiment, create, make, collaborate and problem-solve. The stations are carefully curated and designed with the students in mind to stimulate curiosity, and the teacher facilitates learning through questions and guidance. At the stations, teachers observe, listen, document and question and carefully work with the learner’s interests to build conceptual understandings and support skill development. 

Last week, Foundation and Year 1 and 2 students started their Discovery workshops. Have a look at some of the exciting and engaging personal inquiries.   

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB

The Book Club LOOP platform for parents allows you to pay by credit card. Your child’s order is submitted directly to the school and the books will be delivered to class. You can place your child’s order at scholastic.com.au/loop or by using the LOOP app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. Issue 2 orders are due back next Wednesday, March 15.

SUSTAINABILITY - Annette Gasbarro

What’s happening in Sustainability? 

During our Sustainability learning, we have been busy making lavender, daisy, snapdragon and cress seed spheres for the St  Fidelis' mini market.  The market will take place on Sunday the 19th of March.  

As a group, we collaborated and communicated with our peers while making the seed spheres.  To make the seed spheres we added flower seeds, compost and water and mixed it all together and then rolled them into balls.  We placed the seed spheres in a tray to dry. 

Once they dried up we wrapped and labelled the sphere ready for the mini market. 

We will also be selling a selection of outdoor plants which have been donated to our school by the Tsangaris family. Please came and visit our Sustainability mini market.

by  Xavier, Skyler, Nicholas, Olivia, Benjamin, Florence, Sophie & Milana    

Today in sustainability we made snapdragon seed spheres for our fete on the 19th of March. We made a welcoming sign to welcome people to our mini market. Xena bought some plants for school so we can sell them at our sustainability mini-market. by  Zara

NUMERACY - Colleen Monaghan

It has been great getting into most of the classes this term. I love listening to the great dialogue students are having in their math sessions. his picture here may create some at home with your family.

A picture sparks 1000 maths concepts!  Use this picture as a prompt to stimulate thinking

Ideas for  F-2  students 

Estimate how many cubes are in the image. 

Can you explain your thinking? 

• How could you sort the flags into groups? Think of another way you can sort them in groups.
• Name five different shapes you can see on the flags.  
• There are a few different stars on the flags. Identify the different types of stars, how many points do they have? Are their sides always equal? Survey your family or friends. Which of these flags can they identify and name the country they belong to? 
• The flags are on squares in this image, normally flags are represented on rectangles. List 3 – 6 other 2D shapes you know the names of.
• Name the features of a cube that distinguishes them from other 3D shapes. 
• Look at the image of the American flag on the top of the cube. Can you explain what steps (flips, slides, turns) you would need to do to make it sit directly on top of the flag image on either side faces of the cube? 
• Create your own flag that uses at least three colours and three 2D shapes. 
• Choose one of the flags in the image, and use mathematical language to describe what the flag looks like to a peer. See if your peer can guess which flag you are talking about.

Ideas for Middle students

• Estimate how many cubes are hidden in the image. Justify your thinking. 
• What fraction of the flags have red on them? Can you describe this as a percentage? 
• Create a T chart or Venn diagram to explain the similarities and differences between a cube and a rectangular prism. 
• If you were going to teach a younger child how to identify one-third, which flag would you use? Why? 
• There are many examples of right angles in the image above. Find three – six examples of acute angles. 
• Research the countries each of the flags belong to. Create a data display or graph to show which the continent of the world the flags belong to. 
• Many different countries use the colours red, yellow and green. 
• How many different flags can you create with different combinations of these colours? 
• Research which countries have all these colours on their flag and locate these on a map. 
• Choose a flag that has three or more colours. Using precise mathematical language, describe what the flag looks like to a peer. See if your peer can accurately draw the flag. 
• The flag of the USA has 50 stars representing the 50 states and 13 stripes representing the 13 original colonies. If there were 9 cubes with 6 faces covered with the American flag, how many stars and stripes would there be in total?

Ideas for Senior students

Estimate what percentage of the cubes are hidden in the image. Justify your thinking. 

• If you were choosing a cube at random from the visible cubes, what is the probability you would select one with the colour yellow on it? 
• What is the probability of selecting two cubes in a row with black on them?
• Survey your family or friends. Which of these flags can they identify and name the country they belong to? Give each person surveyed a score as a percentage of the total flags. 
• Create a Venn Diagram to explain the similarities and differences between a cube, a rectangular prism and a parallelepiped. There are many examples of right angles in the image. Find at least two different examples of each of the following: acute angles, obtuse angles and reflex angles. Define each type of angle. Can you define the term ‘angle’? 
• If the flag of Djibouti was placed on a square face, with the point where white, green and blue all meet exactly in the middle, work out all the angles in the image (including the ones in the star). 
• Describe the following countries’ flags to a peer using mathematical language. See if your peer can accurately draw each of the flags. Each flag has taboo words you cannot say in your description. Good luck! - Sweden. (Taboo word: cross), Bahamas. (Taboo words: point/ pointy), South Africa. (Taboo words: ‘Y’, point/pointy).
• If you were going to teach a younger child how to identify the fractions one-third and one-quarter, which flag would you use? Why?

SPORT & PE - Michael Jennings

SSV Coburg District Swimming Championships

The SSV Coburg District conducted its annual swimming trials for 14 schools in our local area on Tuesday 21 February at Elite Swimming Pool in Pascoe Vale.  Students were able to swim freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle & medley relays in 10, 11 and 12-year age groups. 

Congratulations to the following St Fidelis' students who represented our school at this event: Hunter, Maya, Olivia, Alex, Xena and Emily.  

Special congratulations to Hunter in the breaststroke, our 12 Year Girls Freestyle Relay Team and our Open Girls Medley Relay Teams who have progressed to participate in the Inner/North Moreland Swimming Championships on March 14 at Oak Park Pool. 

TIGER WOODS HAS SOME COMPETITION !!!!

Congratulations to Carlo Munafo and Hunter Fairbanks (Year 2) who are about to embark on their Golfing career. Both were presented with a cap and polo top to mark the beginning of the Nexgen Junior Academy at the Northern Golf club. Can't wait to see you both on the PGA tour in the coming years. Well done!