St James Learning and Teaching 

Happy Science Week!

To celebrate Science Week and our Inquiry topic of Earth and Space Science, we have been engaging in activities that spark wonder and curiosity whilst building our problem solving and critical thinking skills. All students have been working to create a rocket that has either the best launch or best design. We look forward to seeing the winners tomorrow. 

North Brighton Kinder and Hunt Child Care also came to visit and they made their own rockets that were able to fly.

Today, all students participated in an incursion from Science Discovery Dome where they looked at the night sky, saw the constellations and planets and learned about day and night and different weather conditions.

We have loved celebrating Science Week this week and look forward to continuing to explore different science topics.

Bridie Slater

STEM Leader

Literacy

The importance of Oral language in Our Children’s literacy development

Proficiency in oral language in young children is vital for school success. When children start school with strong oral language skills, they tend to have a much easier time learning to read and write than those with oral language difficulties. They are also more likely to quickly adjust to school routines, follow instructions, and get along well with others.

By nurturing oral language skills from birth, parents and teachers are helping children build a strong foundation for literary and scholarly success.

How does oral language contribute to reading success?

Oral language is the foundation of all literacy skills. If young children experience rich oral language by talking with and listening to adults and other children, they will have a large ‘bank’ of spoken vocabulary, words they understand when used in spoken communication.

Children will have heard and joined in word play and rhyming and be aware of the sounds of English. They will be familiar with lots of different sentence types and understand how language can change in different situations . They will understand that words have meaning, and that we use language to communicate information, ideas, feelings and thoughts .

The role of parents in literacy development

Sharing a book every day is one of the simplest and most enjoyable ways that parents can support early literacy development at home. When a caring adult shares a book with a young child, opportunities are created for learning new words and engaging in meaningful conversational exchanges. Children learn how books work and develop their interest in listening to stories. 

When sharing books with a child, it is important to have fun. This means that parents don’t always need to read the whole story from beginning to end. In the early years, children should be encouraged to select books that interest them, to turn the pages and to talk about what is happening in the pictures.  

While reading the same books over and over might be a little boring for adults, it is the repetition and predictability that children often like and that helps them learn new concepts and words.

Families can support children in their oral language development by providing a variety of opportunities for children to listen and talk for different purposes.

Here are some of the best ways parents and caregivers can encourage oral language:

• Talk to your child and listen responsively. Ask and answer questions.
• Read aloud to your child at least once a day. Good books expose children to vocabulary and sentence structures that they won’t hear in everyday situations. Research has shown that reading aloud to children is a major factor in their success in learning to read at school.
• Talk with your child about the books you read aloud together. Ask your child about the characters, plot or setting; the themes and ideas raised by the book; topics they’d like to read or learn more about as a result of reading aloud.

Mandi Joplin

Junior Literacy and Intervention Leader

Sport 

The Holt District Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 1st September at Duncan McKinnon Reserve. Our team has been chosen from the results at the St James Athletics Day in April as well as the Holt Cross Country in May. An Operoo was sent to all students who made the team last Friday. The team list and student events are attached to the Operoo as well as in the Year 3-6 students classrooms. Some students who are only in one event may be used as emergencies in the event of another team member being absent or unwell. Please note students are only allowed to compete in two events plus a relay. 

Please be at school by 8.30am for an 8.45am departure.

The return time will vary depending on how fast the day moves, we aim to be back no later than 2.30pm.

Please ensure your child brings with them a fully packed lunch and water bottle as well as plenty of warm clothes as it can get very cold. 

Correct footwear is also very important. 9-10 year olds are not allowed spikes at all. Needle spikes are not permitted at all, no spikes in the 800 and 1500. Pyramid or Christmas tree spikes are ok for sprint, hurdles, relays and jumps. 

If you are available, we do require approximately six volunteers to assist at the Triple Jump for the day, as the high school students who usually support us on this day are not available. You do not need to come to and from on the bus if you can help out. 

Training will be held at St James on Tuesday 22nd and 29th August at lunchtime and recess. Students will already be in their sports gear on these days.  

I require a number of volunteers to run the Triple Jump with me, so if you are available please feel free to volunteer via the Operoo. 

Georgia McNamara

Sport Co-Ordinator/Senior Physical Education Teacher

Library

Premier's Reading Challenge

Our St James Students have been working really hard reading away.  We have just over a month to complete the challenge

 Congratulations to our readers on the leader board

Next week is a very exciting week in the Library, it is… BOOK WEEK!

Each day at lunchtime  there will be activities run by our amazing Year 6s and Mrs Joplin. 

Monday - Draw a new book cover for your favorite book

Tuesday - Harry Potter Competition

Wednesday - Library Scavenger hunt

Thursday - Book Review. 

Each day there will also be a whole school activity for the classes and teachers to engage in.

Friday will be a very busy day with:

And during the day we are very lucky to have a visit from none other than the amazing Andrea Rowe, author of Jetty Jumping and Sunday Skating. If your child has a copy of her book/s at home they are more than welcome to bring them in on Friday to have them signed. 

Happy Reading

Mandi Joplin        

Teacher Librarian