School of Foundations
Over the past three weeks the teachers have been spending time building relationships with their students, setting high expectations, practising classroom and playground routines. Our ultimate goal is to build a collaborative classroom, where children can develop social and emotional competencies and master rigorous academic content and skill. Devoting time to this during the first few weeks of school will set up success for our students for the rest of the year.
We also want to continue to build positive school-home partnerships. Below you will find information about the learning in each stage. This is a great opportunity for families to have a conversation about the information and pictures shared by the teachers.
ES1
Play
The kindergarten students have immersed themselves in developmental play sessions, which have occurred daily to enable the students to feel safe, happy and to build their confidence in their new learning space. Play has also allowed the students to develop their social and communication skills with their peers and teachers.
The students have also embraced opportunities to care for each other and the environment.
English
In Writing, students have been engaging in ‘Draw, Talk, Write and Share’. Students are learning about how their drawings convey a message and that they are able to share what their drawings mean through conversation. Once the students feel confident enough, then they begin to add letters and words to their drawings.
During Shared Reading, students have also been working on identifying parts of a book, how to read a book correctly as well as recognising rhyming words.
Mathematics In Mathematics students have been working on their counting skills. Students have counted different resources to count collections with a focus on estimating by looking at their collection, counting accurately and recording the number of their collection. Kindergarten have also been introduced to the concept of length. The students have started to compare the length of objects, ordering the objects from shortest to longest. They had a great go this week measuring the length of their feet with a partner using informal measurement.
Religion
Our first Religion unit for the term introduces the students to be loving and kind like Jesus. Throughout the program, the students work towards being a good friend to others, using kind words, helping each other, sharing and working together. We gave students the opportunity to show us how they can be good friends through our play-based learning sessions, as well as in our writing lessons. The students are also learning who Jesus is and what we can do to follow in His footsteps.
English
In English this term, the students have started by writing to inform. They have worked with their teachers to construct informative texts which identify their hobbies and interests, favourite foods as well as their families. Writing to inform has been a wonderful way the students and teachers have learnt more about each other.
Mathematics
In Mathematics, the students have been working on a range of whole number activities with concrete material to build their capacity and understanding through number manipulation. The students have been choosing and applying mathematical techniques to solve problems and working with their teachers to communicate their thinking and reasoning skills.
Religion
In Religion, the students have started the year learning all about caring for God’s creations. They have worked with their teachers to understand how God created the world in seven days and are exploring how we need to look after our world by making connections to our immediate environment.
Part of our Religion unit involves the students participating in daily meditation. The students use this time to refocus their minds and to participate in daily prayer.
Stage 2
English - All About Me
In English this term, students are learning to write to inform. Students have begun this by writing all about themselves. This has been a fun way to get to know the students and for them to get to know each other.
Mathematics - Representing Numbers
In Maths, Stage 2 is currently learning about Place Value. Students have been investigating a range of real world problems to apply their knowledge of place value.
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Religion- Prayer and Meditation
This term, Stage 2 have been learning about Prayer in Religion. Part of this has involved participating in daily meditation. Students are given the opportunity to calm themselves, listen to relaxing music, reflect on their day, recite prayers and intentions as well as develop better positive self talk. The students do this by saying a range of different positive affirmation statements and repeating them out loud.
Other - Cyber Safety Webinar
As technology continues to advance and become a larger part of our lives, it's crucial for parents to understand the importance of online safety for their children. The internet offers a wealth of information and resources, but it also presents potential dangers, such as cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate content, and the risk of personal information being shared without consent. By teaching children about online safety from a young age and supervising their internet use, parents can help ensure that their children have positive and safe experiences online. Additionally, it's important for parents to have open and ongoing conversations with their children about online safety, so they feel comfortable coming to you if they ever have any concerns or need advice.
As part of National Safer Internet Day, Stage 2 participated in a Cyber Safety Webinar with a range of other schools across Australia. Students were taught necessary skills about using the internet safely in a fun and engaging way. For advice on how to keep your children safe, click HERE.
Sport
During the last few weeks, the students from Kindergarten to Year 4 have been focusing on what it means to be a Team Player. The activities we have been enjoying have included working in collaborative groups to work together to “rescue” one another when we may have been “stung by a wasp” (that is, tipped in a game of chase) or work together to build teams based upon certain criteria. The children have displayed wonderful listening skills, as well as supported one another to develop throwing, catching and fitness skills.
Wellbeing
Starting at a new school can be a daunting experience for any student, regardless of their age or background. The transition from one educational institution to another can be challenging and unsettling, particularly if the student is moving to a completely new environment. This is where the importance of catching up with new students comes into play
The process of catching up with new students at St Luke’s is essential because it helps our new Primary school students feel welcomed, accepted, and supported. This approach is particularly important for students who are coming from different cultures or regions, where the school environment may be significantly different from what they are used to.
This past week was the first step in catching up with new students and on this day we introduced them to the school environment. We gave them a tour of the school, explaining the various facilities, and introducing them to key personnel. Hopefully this will help new students become familiar with their new surroundings and feel more comfortable in their new environment.
We also provided students with a booklet to help them become familiar with each other and the school in general. It also gives us teachers a bit more information and an insight of who they are.
We feel that catching up with new students on a regular basis is a vital process that helps to support students as they transition to a new school. By prioritising the needs of new students, we hope that St Luke’s can create a more supportive and welcoming environment that benefits all our new students.
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Music
New Musical Playground!!
Exciting music news! Construction has begun on our new music playground for students in Kindergarten to Year 4. This resource will act as a learning space for music curriculum learning, a performance space for ensembles, and a free play space where students have the opportunity to self direct and extend upon the musical concepts introduced as a part of formal learning. The playground will feature untuned percussion and C major scale instruments facilitating authentic outdoor music classes, outdoor performances as well as exploration and free play.
Furthermore, we are looking to create weatherproof booklets with simple songs like the Questacon example below. This will be especially useful as St Luke’s students begin to gain confidence in reading music and aid in the development of musical literacy in the younger years.
To say the music staff are excited would be an understatement!
