School of Foundations

2023 SOF The Net Term 1 Wk 10

This week the students celebrated Harmony & Multicultural Day. It was an opportunity for our school community to come together to celebrate inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging at St Luke’s. It also provided us the opportunity to donate a grocery item to support the Jesuit Social Services. As a Catholic school we know how important it is to be in service to others and help those in need.

ES1

It has been a very busy fortnight in Kindergarten with so much great learning to be shared.

On Wednesday of Week 10, we celebrated our first liturgy as a cohort. We were able to welcome our parents, special family members and friends to the Marketplace. The children joyously sang two songs, while some of our children had the opportunity to share prayers and their learning.

Religion

In Religion, we created friendship rocks to share with a friend in our class groups. Over a period of time, each child shared thoughts, feelings and interests with their friend. Following this they were asked to create a design that represented their friend’s interests. This was then transferred onto a rock using paint pens. The final result as you can see from the images is a vibrant representation of the friendships the children have begun to make in their first year of school.

Mathematics

In Mathematics, this fortnight we have been exploring numbers, counting to thirty with and without items. The children have been playing the game ‘grab, guess, count and record’ or ‘handfuls’. The aim of the activity is to organise a collection of objects so that anyone walking past can work out how many there are by looking, thinking and counting. To apply this at home you may use household objects e.g. pegs, matchbox cars, blocks, buttons, pebbles, pasta, etc.

Instructions

1. Get a handful of objects or a small container of objects and predict (guess) how many there might be. Write this number.

2. Ask your child to organise their collection so that anyone walking past can work out.

How many there are by looking, thinking, and counting. Ask questions like:

● What can you see?

● What helps you to work out the total?

● Can you organise the collection in another way that would make it even easier to

work out the total? Is there another way?

● Are there more or less counters than you predicted?

● How many more or less?

● Can you draw a picture of what you see and how many there are?

English

In our English lessons, students have been working very hard to learn to compose a text. They have been creating messages and sentences that contain known words and the starting sound for unfamiliar words. The Kindergarten teachers model writing every day and provide opportunities for the students to draw, talk, write and share in their writing experiences.

The Draw, Talk, Write and Share (DTWS) process is an empowering process that allows students to begin writing with a drawing experience that connects to their world. You can read more about it here.

Stage 1

Religion

On 17 March it was St Patrick’s Day. The students learnt about how this day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.

In light of the celebration students completed an activity that involved students writing about what they would do if they found a pot of gold. Students then decorated their writing with a charm for good luck!

Mathematics

This week we have been focusing on the unit ‘Position’. Students have been using positional language such as left, right, under, over, behind, in front, above, around, and through. Students have used the positional language to provide instructions and to follow directions.

Students read through the book, Roise’s walk and recreated a map of their own farm for Roise. Students used maths equipment to create the farm and journey and then duplicated it in their books.

They labelled the journey that Rosie could take in their farm using positional language.

Religion

In Religion this term, Stage One has been learning about how we can care for all of God’s creation. Students have been identifying problems caused by humans and producing solutions to these problems by identifying ways we can be Stewards of Creation; with examples on how to care, protect and respect the environment.

English

For the last three weeks, Stage One has been focusing on writing persuasive texts.

Stage One Lions are trying to convince their teachers that their chocolate bar is the best and should be chosen as the Chocolate bar to be created by the class.

First, the students brainstormed what made a good chocolate bar and added some adjectives that they could use to help describe the ingredients. Then they drew their chocolate bar with all of its delicious additions. Finally, they thought of reasons why the teachers should choose their chocolate bar to be made by the whole class.

When composing their text they made sure they added persuasive language and strong arguments.

Stage 2

English - Biography on a Significant Australian Person

Throughout this term stage 2 has been writing an informative biography about a significant Australian. Students were able to choose from a range of Australians which included but were not limited to; Mary Mckillop, Eddie Mabbo, Sir Donald Bradman and Dr Fred Hollows. Students first had to research their person of interest using their Ipads, where they located and selected information (Inquire Pillar) from a range of appropriate and valid sources. Students then organised this information (Inquire Pillar) into subheadings, ready to formulate their biography. Students also had the chance to reflect and compare when visiting the BUMP IT UP WALL. The wall detailed to students what level their writing was at and the next steps they needed to take to improve it.

Mathematics - Length and Angles

Over the last fortnight, stage 2 have been exploring the concept of length and angles. Stage 2 have enjoyed engaging in a range of different hands-on activities to develop their understanding of length and angles.

Religion - Stage 2 Liturgy

In Religion this term, Stage 2 has been learning about Prayer and the meaning of prayer for the Christians. Students have come to the understanding that they can pray in many different ways to communicate with God. As we come to the end of the term, students have been able to transfer their knowledge by writing their own different types of prayers. Students have particularly enjoyed writing prayers of intercession, praise, thanksgiving and adoration. Students were able to showcase their learning during our Stage 2 Liturgy, in which they were able to write and pray using their own prayers, as well as, reflect on the meaning of prayer through a Liturgical Dance.

Other- Creative Arts - Artist Study

Stage 2 was absolutely enthralled when learning about the iconic artist Yayoi Kusama in their recent art lesson. The children were fascinated by her distinctive style of art, particularly her use of bright colours, polka dots, and repetition. They eagerly engaged with the lesson, asking questions about her life and artistic process. The students were inspired by Kusama's courage to follow her artistic vision, and will even attempt to create their own versions of her artwork. It was a truly exciting and educational experience for them, and they left the lesson feeling inspired and eager to continue exploring the world of art.

Music

As Term 1 concludes we have been reflecting on how far our Kindergarten students have progressed since the beginning of the year. Kindergarten can now clap a beat together and in time, they can play along with desk bells following the music and playing their note at the correct time (video sample). Kindergarten can now create, notate and sing simple rhythms (Video sample). We look forward to introducing Kindergarten to the keyboard, Ukulele and Bucket drums throughout the rest of the year.

Ensemble expression of interest

Stage 1 Students will have the opportunity to join the new Recorder Ensemble.

Stage 2-4 Students will have the opportunity to join the new Woodwind Ensemble.

Both ensembles are a new and exciting addition to the St Luke’s music department. In these ensembles students will learn a new instrument, challenge and stretch their musical skills and gain ensemble skills.

A note has been sent home via Compass, where you will find more information and have the option to express your child's interest.

WORLD POETRY DAYWorld Poetry Day

On Tuesday the 21st of March we celebrated World Poetry Day. This day is a special occasion to celebrate the achievement of wordsmiths all over the globe, whether it be a songwriter, playwright, novel writer, or the writer of those two poetic lines in a special hallmark card, poetry has the power to capture in words the beautifully chaotic world we live in. As a college, we created a World Poe-e-tree in the centre of the Market Place where each student had the opportunity to write their name, draw a picture, create a short alliterative poem, write a few lines from their favourite poem or song and form part of our installation artwork. The activity saw students from K-12 assisting and it really was a charming reflection of the creative talents of our students and a reminder about the importance of narrating our world in poetry.

We also facilitated several fun poetry inspired activities in the Hub including sensory poetry, colouring in activities, paint chip poetry composition, rhyming dominoes, ice-cream scoop poetry creation, to name a few.

And finally, our poetry competition. We had 40 students from the SOF enter the competition with wonderfully composed poems. We could only select four winners and it is our great pleasure to announce that the winners from SOF are:

Benjamin Staples (Year 2) - The Old Fat Cat

Harshil Patel (Kindy) - The Square

Myrah Sapaliga (Year 4) - Friendship

Arabella Miranda (Year 3) - My School is Cool

Their poems are below for your enjoyment. A special thank you to Miss Chelsea Wick for helping me in planning, leading, creating, facilitating and executing the activities for World Poetry Day. Miss Wick’s excitement, energy and passion were clearly evident and I appreciate her help to make this special day a reality for our students. And a HUGE thank you to students from Miss Wick’s Year 9 Creative Writing and Film Studies elective class who helped facilitate the activities in the Hub and erect the Poe-e-tree.

Mrs Josephine Camilleri - Assistant Principal, School of Leadership

Benjamin Staples (Year 2) - The Old Fat Cat