Education News 

REFLECTIONS ABOUT TERM 1

Term 1 has raced by and your children will be reflecting on all that they have learnt in all areas of the curriculum at school. It is important for the staff and students to reflect and then set goals and plan for Term 2. It is also important to have these conversations at home. The home-school partnership is an important one to help students reflect on their learning.

Questions to reflect with could include;

What did you learn in Term 1?

What strategies did you learn about in reading, writing, mathematics, STEAM or Physical Vibe?

What did you enjoy in Term 1?

What are you most proud of?

How much effort did you put in in any of the above subjects?

What can we do together to ensure that you improve in Term 2?

The first step in developing a truly reflective learner is to develop a growth mindset within each and every student. Some students do not naturally believe that reading and writing are skills that can be improved upon. We have all heard our people comment that they “just are not good at writing.” With this mindset, students are willing to accept poor scores, give less effort, and accept the status quo. This mindset takes time to alter. Parents can help their children to develop this mindset by talking positively about all subjects at school. We have all been guilty of saying at some time, "I was not good at ... at school." Together we can work together to help our students grow and learn.

NAPLAN is coming

In term 2,  week 4  Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students across Australia will be participating in NAPLAN tests. At CSPS the Year 2, 4 and 6 will also be working on NAPLAN practice activities to ensure smooth transitions and experiences for students throughout their school lives.

It is important to remember that NAPLAN is not about passing or failing, but about assessing learning progress. NAPLAN tests skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. At the classroom level it is one of a number of  tools used by teachers to measure student progress. Results are not received until later in the year. Parents will receive notification and results as soon as the school receives them.

In the beginning weeks of term the teachers will ensure that students are familiar with the test formats and will provide appropriate support and guidance. The best way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to reassure them that NAPLAN tests are just one part of their school program, and to urge them to simply do the best they can on the day.

For further information please see your classroom teacher or https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/parent-carer-support/

ENJOY TIME THESE HOLIDAYS

While no child on the planet wants to do maths sheets or spelling quizzes during the break, the holidays are a perfect opportunity for them to keep on learning. It’s a chance to build upon the valuable concepts and skills they’ve gained in school, while also discovering new and cool things beyond the classroom walls. The key is just not to let them pick up on the fact that they are doing anything remotely educational!

Some ideas to work  on over the holidays are -

Get messy in the kitchen and cook. Planning the menu, buying the ingredients and preparing a meal develops great skills.

Play card games. Introduce them to the fun world of card games and they’ll be practising their number and pattern recognition skills, without even knowing it.

Tempted to ban screens during the holidays, for fear of the kids doing absolutely nothing else? So long as you monitor what they consume and the time they spend glued to them, handheld devices can be a mobile classroom. There are loads of cool educational apps out there-use the school suggested ones such as Reading Eggs, Mathletics or GetEpic for a start.

Visit the local library and read, read read!

Grow something in the garden - something to eat.

Play board games or do puzzles.

Enjoy the holidays and see you back fresh for Term 2. 

Cooperative Learning Team Packs

The Year 2's have been loving our new Team Packs that Mrs Chiovitti has made for each classroom. The team packs include whiteboards, markers and rubbers for each student and assist table teams to complete many Cooperative Learning structures such as Round Tables or All-Write Round Robins. The Year 2's have been using them to practice spelling words, solve Maths problems, prepare for the Big Write as well as Team Building games. The students love them, as do the teachers! Thank you Mrs Chiovitti!