Fairview
Ms Kerrie Neophytou
The Wise Woman's Stone
A wise woman who was travelling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveller who was hungry and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveller saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveller left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone." - Author Unknown
It is one of my favourite passages, as it has the ability to provide us with a time of reflection on how we can respond in a selfless manner. I have read to the children passages in the Bible of such generosity; the poor widow (Mk 12:41-44), the good Samaritan (Lk 10:30-37) and love your neighbour (Matt 22:37-39). Generosity is not measured by the amount we donate; but truly our actions, and what is in our heart. We regularly recite the Golden Rule to the children – “treat others the way you want to be treated”. An easy and simple way to live! Also a time to be grateful for our blessings and community!
Reading and Exploring!
One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is the ability to read and comprehend. Knowledge and comprehension open doors of opportunity, encouraging curiosity and embracing discovery. Reading has many facets which are integral to literacy acquisition. In 2005 the Australian Government commissioned the National Inquiry into Teaching Literacy, it may be 14 years old but the content is integral to literacy programs. It states:
Reading enables us to gain information for leisure, education, business and day to day purposes. As adults, we model reading to children and the importance of this necessary skill. We encourage children to read for meaning and try to gain as much information as possible. In Fairview, we develop skills and reading strategies for the children to use in a variety of situations. Children actively participate in the home reading program, encouraging parents to engage in their learning and the process of exploring the text via questioning and discussion. Reading with your child every evening should be a very special time to share as a family.
There are many questions concerning reading levels and children’s literacy benchmarks, this is not the focus for the home reading program. The homeroom teacher will hear the children read during the week, they are not hearing them read their home reading book, but a book from a guided reading activity or similar task. The children are reading an unseen text and the teacher is assessing the skills and strategies they are using. The teacher gains an enormous amount of information from this process. This monitoring process occurs via a variety of learning experiences and amongst all learning areas. There is a strong focus on comprehension, prediction, fluency, questioning, retelling and self-correction.
Shared reading with a young child is a wonderful experience, they light up with the awareness of their independent capability. Please enjoy this shared process, as many memories are made when reading as a family!
Music Count Us In
Count Us In is built around a unique program song. The writing of the program song each year begins with our National Songwriting Competition, open to all students from across Australia. The finalists of the Songwriting Competition then gather together to write the program song. Student finalists were Sawab Mlaih (NSW), Amber Farnan (QLD), Roan Nair (VIC) and Brady Cavanagh (NSW) who worked collaboratively with music professionals to create this year’s Music Count Us In song – “We Are”. They worked with the assistance of Program Ambassador, John Foreman, and a guest celebrity Program Mentor, Jack River.
The song is then recorded by students and released to all registered schools. The program song forms the basis of extensive resources for teachers. The registered schools across Australia then sing the song at the same time which occurred on Wednesday 7 November at 12.30pm. It was great fun, with dancing and singing from Prep to Year 6 and teachers also joining in. Thank you to Mr Scandrett for your preparation.
Dates to Remember
It is quite a busy time of the year and calendar dates which relate to Fairview:
First Aid and Canteen Reminders
Please note the following:
- Head Lice: Please inform your child’s Homeroom teacher of all the head lice cases. The only way to control head lice is to inform and educate parents. Ensure you check your child’s hair for head lice at regular intervals.
- It is crucial to inform the College of any infectious disease (e.g. gastrointeritis, chicken pox, school sores, hand foot and mouth disease, etc). Any report will be treated with the utmost confidentiality and the family’s privacy will be respected. Please inform me of any of the above situations via email: kneophytou@aitkencollege.edu.au. We appreciate your understanding and support.
- Please return all lost property (eg. uniform items) to the First Aid room. It is imperative that all clothing items are labelled clearly with the child’s name.
- Preparatory School children are not permitted to visit the canteen before school begins and at recess. We only encourage lunchtime purchases via a lunch order.
Term 4 Assembly Schedule Updated
The Fairview Chapel service is scheduled every Monday from 9.00am to 9.30am and it is then followed by a topic focused Assembly from 9.30am to 10.00am. We always welcome parents, grandparents and friends to these services. All visitors must sign in at the Chapel and Performing Arts foyer. Please note the amended dates for Year 1A and Year 1M.
