Foundation & Year 1

Our Foundation children had a visit from Mr Forrest during our Literacy block whilst we were learning all the words that could start with our new sound/m/. We didn't think of muscles, but Mr Forrest was miming the word. We thought he was being a mountain and we were the Billy Goat Gruffs climbing to reach the other side.

We also had a 'visit' from Izabell's egg. This was the first egg from her hens. This hen hatched last year from the eggs we had in the incubator. On Monday, Evies's Mum is going to set up the incubator with a new lot of eggs and they are not chicken eggs! Can you guess what they will be? Hint. It's not a T-rex: it's too scary trying to get the eggs off the mother.

Mrs Chalmers, Classroom Teacher

Years 1 & 2

We are more than half-way through the term and all students have developed good working habits and routines.

In Inquiry we are continuing to look at how we are the same and different. We are finding ways to make sure everyone can be included and feel connected.

In Maths we are learning to break up numbers into hundreds, tens and ones.

Keep up the regular reading, we have some very fluent, expressive readers!

Mrs McKenzie, Classroom Teacher

Years 3 & 4

Literacy

In Grade 3/4 we have been reading Anh Do’s series ‘Skydragon’ as class novels, after reading book one the students couldn’t wait to start reading book two. We have had great discussions surrounding these books and we all can’t wait to see what happens next!

We have also been working on our reading comprehension strategies such as predicting, inferring and identifying author’s purpose. We are just about to start learning more about persuasive writing and I’m sure the students will love the rich discussions that come along with this.

Numeracy

In Maths we have been learning lots about number and place value. The students have learnt and reviewed many skills such as rounding, expanded notation and skip-counting.

All students are reminded to keep reading every night at home and record this in their student diary.

Miss Trembath, Classroom Teacher

Years 5/6 A & B

Over the last fortnight, our Grade 5/6 students have been working hard to edit and publish their Dreamtime inspired Narrative stories. We are ensuring the students are exposed to the writing process and putting their skills into practice by completing five minute ‘Quick Writes’ involving writing prompts to engage them and stimulate ideas. This is engaging the students for their lesson and activating their brains for the day. It is great to hear students requesting this on extra days.

Both classes have nearly finished reading the narrative story ‘The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. We are enjoying the vocabulary work and discussions about the book and learning how Roz the Robot interacts with the animals on the island. We all can’t wait to find out what happens with Roz the Robot next in the story.

During Maths, students have been working on open-ended problem solving tasks. It has been beneficial to see how different students approach more meaningful and difficult tasks that either take a few steps to complete or require more thinking. We also break into Zoned Maths groups and learn Number and Place Value topics at a differentiated level. Essential Assessments is a new online learning platform. When your child completes a pre-assessment on their own at school, it provides information for your child to access extra tasks and support videos based on what your child needs to learn next. Currently, we are studying the Number and Place Value topics. Alternatively, worksheets can be provided to students based on what each individual needs to learn next.

Homework expectations for all Grade 5/6 students are reading each night at home, practicing spelling words each night and completing Maths homework from Essential Assessments. Students have the ability to access the library one period per week and are encouraged to borrow new books that interest them. The expectation is they read each night aloud to a family member. Please find time to hear your child read. Maths homework can be provided by worksheets to assist your child to practice their fluency skills of learned topics. Extra homework can be found on the My Numeracy/My Literacy on the Essential Assessments website.

Our visit to the Engine Club to view the Hornsby Engine and enjoy a barbeque with the local engine lovers was fun for most students. It was great to see both the Hornsby engines working at the same time. It was also exciting to see how the locals cranked up the rare old truck and showed us how it is now a going engine. It was interesting to hear about the ‘Day Elder’ truck which was built c1918 and how it is one of only 2 ‘Day Elder’ trucks in the world. One of which is in Wedderburn (now in working condition) and the other in Europe (fully rebuilt). It is quite rare to see an engine such as this. What a joy to know it is here in Wedderburn for us all to see! We appreciate the efforts of the local members who took their time to welcome us, show us around and cook us a barbeque for their open day. It would be great to see more students join up as members and one day repair or operate old engines such as we saw this week.

VCAL/VCE

Who can believe that we are in Week 6 already. Everyone has settled in well and even though numbers in classes are low due to COVID, students are still doing the responsible thing and staying in touch with their teachers and their studies. Most of the VCE subjects are approaching or starting their first formal Assessment Tasks and are hoping to start off well.

The VCAL students have worked alongside Robyn Vella to get their work placements sorted. We have already seen evidence of Nathan’s work at the Tyre Service, both in the Loddon Herald and on social media. We look forward to seeing more of this in the coming weeks.

Students in Year 10-12 will also have the opportunity to visit the Fosterville Goldmine, just out of Bendigo. The mine authority has organised a full day inspection of the mine, where we will get to see not just the mining operations, but the many other employment opportunities the site offers.

Career Pathways meetings:

Our new Career Advisor, Pam McConville, has begun meeting with senior students throughout this term and will aim to make her way through all Year 11 and 12 students. Groups of students are emailed prior to each visit, outlining the time and date of their booked meeting. If you would like to arrange an additional meeting, or would like to speak with Pam soon regarding your pathway, future work or study plans, please speak with Mr. Gretgrix or Mrs. Woodman to arrange an appointment.

Edrolo:

Year 11 and 12 students are reminded to ensure that they are logging on regularly and supporting their own learning through the available VCE Unit and Area of Study resources.

If you are having trouble logging onto Edrolo, or would like some additional support with navigating the website please speak with your homeroom teacher.

Communications:

We would like to remind all senior students that they are expected to log on to Compass each school day and check their school-based Gmail account for any correspondence from staff. All official communication will be through these channels and these places should be checked daily.

If you are unable to attend a scheduled class, WebEx or will be absent from an event, please notify your teacher by email as a matter of courtesy.

Following are some photos from the great food we are producing in VCE Food Studies:

Compass

Don't wait for the end of semester to view your child's progress. Log in to Compass and view teacher feedback and feed forward at any time by checking out your child's Learning Tasks. Children also receive regular (every 5 weeks) progress reports on their Organisation, Behaviour, Attitude to Learning and Work Completion. Learning Tasks and Reports can be found on you child's profile page.

Date	Day	Event
09 March	Wednesday	Foundation Rest Day
10 March	Thursday	NCD Triathlon
14 March	Monday	Labour Day Public Holiday
15 - 18 March	Tues - Fri	Dental Van visit
16 March	Wednesday	Foundation Rest Day
21 March	Monday	School Council Meeting
22 March	Tuesday	Immunisation Yr 7 & Yr 10
23 March	Wednesday	Foundation Rest Day
24 March	Thursday	NAPLAN Online Practice Tests Yrs 3,5 & 7
30 March	Wednesday	Foundation Rest Day

Important Dates & Events