Leading Teacher Communication

Dear Parents/Carers,

During weeks 9 and 10 Parent/Teacher PPSD Consultation Meetings will be held. During the meeting time you will have an opportunity to discuss your child’s Semester 1 goals, consult and collaborate on Semester 2 goals and review the adjustments currently in place across all domains. We ask all parents to ensure they have confirmed an appointment time via the booking schedule. Should you have any questions regarding the PPSD Meeting please contact your child’s teacher or myself.

We would like to thank all parents and carers for continuing to follow safe procedures at arrival and dismissal times during the ongoing construction work within the College Campus. I would like to remind all parents that it is not advisable to park, stop or wait in the bus stop area prior to entering Arrunga; parents may incur a fine as per NSW Road Rules Legislation.

In order to continue to support traffic control officers and staff in maintaining an efficient traffic flow, the safe arrival and departure of each student and vehicle we ask that all parents/carers remain in their car and continue to drive to the drop off point outside the Arrunga main entrance door. If you are collecting siblings from the mainstream we ask that parents park on the opposite side when waiting, to allow other vehicles to enter the site. Student arrival times are from 8:20-8:40am and dismissal is between 2:30-2:40pm- supervision ends at 2:50pm, after these times the front gates will be closed.

Staff Updates:

We are saying farewell to Mr Shoalin Alnimer and Miss Caitlin Morgan at the end of this term. We would like to wish them all the best as they continue to develop their teaching experience outside of Arrunga.

I will be on Long Service Leave for the first 2 weeks of Term 3, 17th- 28th July. During this period of time I will be unavailable to respond to calls or emails. When communicating about your child all parents/carers are asked to communicate directly to their child's teacher via phone or email as well as the Leading Teacher Linda Drayton Ph: 0408620636 Email: Ldrayton@parra.catholic.edu.au as per the normal school communication procedures. For all other important and/or urgent matters please contact: HSN Coordinator Madalena Novella Ph: 0409122552 Email: mnovella@parra.catholic.edu. Alternatively, I will attend to your matter when I return from leave on 31st July.

End of Term Reminders:

Thursday 29th June- Last day of Term 2 for students
Friday 30th June - Semester 1 PPSD Parent/Teacher Consultation Meetings- 8-4pm -No student classes or students onsite
Arrunga students return for Term 3 on Wednesday 19th July- Please note that Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th July are Staff Development Days therefore there will be no students onsite.
Please check that all clothing and personal belongings are clearly labelled and identified with your child’s full name
Personal Care Kits are replenished for the start of Term 3. We ask that all parents provide a change of clothes including pairs of socks and underwear. If your child has additional personal care items please label them with your child’s full name.
Uniform ordering: Parents are reminded to use the following link when ordering school uniform items. Please ensure that you include “St Luke’s Arrunga” in your reference when ordering.
No nut products should be sent to school, including Nutella or peanut butter.

I hope all our families have a safe and restful break.

Kind regards,

Mrs Catherine Goodwill

Early Stage 1 & Stage 1

Dear Parents and Carers,

The last two weeks before the end of term have been busy and we are incredibly proud of the hard work and effort the students have continued to demonstrate towarsds their learning. Students have been engaging in various activities across all KLAs and there has also been a large focus on developing friendships and teaching students effective ways to communicate their needs and wants to their peers.

Please find below a summary of the learning occurring in our class over the next fortnight.

Kind regards,

Mrs Natasha Narain Mrs Isabel Little

FOCUS FOR LEARNING & ACTIVITIES THIS FORTNIGHT:

Literacy: Early Stage 1/Stage 1 have been hard at work exploring sight words and sentences. Students have started to build a strong bank of common sight words that they are able to recognise and repeat. We have been working towards writing these sight words in various formats including handwritten, concrete materials, stamps and digital writing. We will be continuing this focus next week. Students have also been extended to read and write simple sentences. Students have been encouraged to draw pictures to match sentences and to write a caption that reflects a picture.

Numeracy: During Mathematics students have been working on developing their understanding of measurement. They are enjoying using a balance scale to measure and compare heavy and light items. Students are also learning how to measure the weight of an object using informal units, for example the weight of a toy fruit is 5 cubes. In the coming week, the focus will move to developing and extending student's understanding of forming groups (multiplication and division). They will be using concrete materials to form equal groups and share items.

Religion: For the remainder of Term 2, students will be continuing their exploration of the Fruits of the Spirit and living the 8 Beatitudes. Through this, students have been exploring how they can use the Fruits of the Spirit to become good Catholics by being kind, helpful and loving members of the school and wider community.

PDHPE: During health lessons, students have been exploring how they can use movement skills to problem solve and work together as a team. Students have taken on different roles when working as a team and have shown good cooperation skills in various team building challenges. Moving forward, we will be turning our focus towards identifying safe and unsafe situations when we are at school. Students will be exploring various situations and pointing out what is considered safe or unsafe behaviours.

Stage 2 & 3

Dear Parents and Carers,

Stage 2 & 3 students have been working towards demonstrating teamwork skills and self-regulation strategies. They have been actively participating in all classroom activities with great enthusiasm and continued effort.

This fortnight we will be focusing on gross and fine motor skills through practical based activities across the curriculum. Students will be given opportunities to participate in hands-on based activities related and connected real-life situations and experience during their learning.

Kind regards,

Mrs Merlin Binu Ms Linda Drayton

FOCUS FOR LEARNING & ACTIVITIES THIS FORTNIGHT:

Literacy: This fortnight we have been reading books which focus on moral values and critical thinking . Within these themes we have embedded our reading and writing skills. In our literacy galleries we will be reviewing the term skills vocabulary, sentence structures, long vowel sounds, writing formation and comprehension. Over the next week students will continue to develop their sentence building skills by composing and writing simple or compound sentences.

Numeracy: The Mathematical strand is Measurement and Geometry, Students have learnt different ways of measuring length, area and weight through different informal units. Over the next few weeks students will be learning about Multiplication and Division using the language of “groups of” through concrete materials and objects.

CAPA: In CAPA, Stage 2 and Stage 3 have been exploring ways of making pictures using different painting and collage techniques. Students have been learning about how colours can be mixed to make new colours and how warm and cool colours can be used to create mood in a picture. The subject matter of our artworks has been linked to the texts that have been used in the daily shared reading sessions. Students have been encouraged to express what they notice about how the illustrators use colour .

PDHPE : In PDHPE, our main theme focus has been on how to be a safe, respectful learner as a member of school and wider community. Students have been given opportunities to participate in various sports activities alongside the mainstream students at recess and lunch. Students have learnt strategies and ways that they can make healthy, safe and physically active spaces at home and school.

Stage 4

Dear Parents and Carers,

This fortnight Stage 4 has been actively engaged in learning across the different Key learning areas. During food technology lessons students have looked at how to follow a procedural sequence and have been identifying safe food handling practices. We are also focussing on understanding and using our PBS4L skills to be a safe, respectful, learner.

Please find below a snapshot of activities we have been focusing on this week and during week 10. As always please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Kind regards,

Mrs Sabitha Sadasivan

FOCUS FOR LEARNING & ACTIVITIES THIS FORTNIGHT:

Literacy:

In literacy this term, students have looked at books that develop our understanding of Australia and the different cultural perspectives. Through Dreamtime Stories, students have linked their understanding of old and new things which has been integrated with the history unit. We have looked at various visual texts to see how the images in the text can help us understand the meaning of stories better. In the coming fortnight students will be looking at how to fill in a form with their personal details and how to navigate online websites to find information.

Numeracy:

This fortnight we have started to look at division using concrete materials. This has allowed the students to visualise how division can be applied in real life situations. We are also exploring the concept of map and direction along with number activities. In the coming fortnight, we will be integrating our food technology lessons with numeracy by looking at how to make purchases online and using the appropriate amount of money.

Religion:

The focus for Religion this fortnight has been on looking at various parables and the teachings of Jesus. These stories are linked to the PBS4L outcomes of being kind and understanding the importance of helping each other. In the coming fortnight we will take a look at the skills we have looked at during the term and how to apply them when communicating and working with our peers.

History:

History lessons this fortnight are looking at things that are old and new. We have looked at how transportation has changed over the years using videos and visuals. Students also compared the olden day toys to the ones that we use currently. We will be looking at different traditional Aboriginal foods during the coming week.

CONTINUITY OF LEARNING AT HOME:

Revisit and read through with your child at home the learning stories which have been uploaded to their Seesaw account.
Review Seesaw alongside your child by using the photos and learning updates to support them with communicating and identifying what they have been learning or have enjoyed doing at school.

REMINDERS:

If you need to contact your child's teacher, please be aware that teachers are face to face with students during the day and will respond to your inquiries as soon as possible. For all urgent matters please direct your inquiries to the main college office on (02) 9854 3100.
Please ensure that your child has a drink bottle and a hat every day.
All items and personal belongings including lunchboxes and drink bottles need to be clearly labelled with their name
School drop off time is between 8:20-8:40am and collection is 2:30-2:50pm. Please ensure that you are on time to drop off and collect your child. Outside of these times you will need to sign in, drop off or collect your child at the main office.
If your child is unwell they should remain at home. If they present as being unwell they will be escorted to the main office sick bay and you will be called to collect them.

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY:

Term 2

Monday 19th June- Semester 1 PPSD Parent/Teacher Consultation Meetings - 4-6.30pm
Thursday 29th June- Last Day of Term 2
Friday 30th June - Semester 1 PPSD Parent/Teacher Consultation Meetings- 8-4pm -No student classes or students onsite

Term 3

Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th July- Staff Development Days -Pupil Free Days - No students onsite
Arrunga students return for Term 3 on Wednesday 19th July

Term dates for 2023 are as follows:

Term 2 - Wednesday 26th April - Thursday 29th June
Term 3 - Wednesday 19th July - Friday 22nd September
Term 4 - Monday 9th October - Thursday 14th December

*School development days occur at the beginning of Terms 1, 2 and 3 and the last two days of the school year.

Monday 17th July- Pupil Free Day
Friday 1st September- Staff Formation Day
Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th December- Pupil Free Days

HELPFUL LINKS:

NDIS June 2023 Newsletter
Positive Partnerships
If you have any further enquiries relating to the free CSPD eSafety Webinars please email safeguarding@parra.catholic.edu.au

“I come that you may have life

Life in all its fullness”

John 10:10

The Net

Term 2, Week 9 2023

Issue 6 · 23 Jun 2023

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