Learning Across the 

Junior School

From the Head of Junior School and Early Learning

What a beautiful start to the year; with a flurry of excitement and activity our Junior School girls have embraced their return to school, enjoying reconnecting with each other and welcoming their many new friends to the College. Sporting matches, aerobics training and choir practices have commenced, and our full range of co-curricular offerings will begin in Week 3. The girls are also looking forward to the many events planned throughout the term including the R-12 Athletics Carnival, Years 2-6 swimming lessons and carnivals, and the College Autumn Fair to be held on Sunday 26 March. 

A few friendly reminders for the start of the school year:

• You are very welcome to drop your daughter at school from 8am, prior to this time the playground is unsupervised. For the safety of our children, only students attending a morning cocurricular activity are allowed on school grounds prior to this time.
• When wearing the formal summer school uniform, all students need to enter the College wearing their formal straw hat. The College broad brimmed sun hat is worn during recess, lunch, and physical education lessons. If an outer layer is required when travelling to and from the College, then this must be the College blazer, jumpers may be worn as an outer garment whilst at school. 
• Afternoon pick-up is a busy time, we would greatly appreciate your support in keeping parking times on Talbot Grove to the 2-minute sign-posted allocation. Also, we ask that Junior School parents refrain from parking in the ELC carpark. To support with traffic flow, College Traffic Coordinators will be monitoring both parking areas this term.

On Monday 13 February, we will be holding our Induction of Junior School Leaders’ Liturgy. We congratulate our following 2023 Semester leaders:

Ms Marika Snell

Head of Junior School and Early Learning

Instrumental Music Lessons

Dear Parents and Students,

It is not too late to enrol in instrumental music lessons at Loreto College for this term. In fact, you are welcome to apply for tuition at any time throughout the year. 

Learning a musical instrument has been proven to help improve cognitive skills such as memory, concentration and creativity, as well as emotional well-being. It reduces stress and promotes a sense of accomplishment. Furthermore, playing an instrument is a valuable social skill, allowing students to collaborate with others and perform together. It provides an outlet for self-expression and helps to develop discipline, patience and perseverance. These skills and benefits can carry over into other areas of study at school, helping students to become well-rounded and successful individuals. Research suggests that every student should consider learning a musical instrument as a way to enhance their entire education and personal growth.

If you are interested in instrumental music lessons, you can find all the information and application forms on Loreto connect : https://loretoconnect.loreto.sa.edu.au/homepage/7085

*please note - there is a waitlist on some instruments.

Tim de Jong

Leader of Music

After-School Code Camp

After-School Code Camp allows kids to hone their coding skills and keep practising through weekly sessions over the term!

Students will produce multiple games and apps using our exciting online platform Code Camp World!

We have made Code Camp World as accessible as possible so students can truly focus on the fun aspects of coding and carry on their journey at home.

Each week students will choose the features they want to build, and advance their problem-solving skills to build these features using code. They will take ownership over their projects and collaborate with their peers to make awesome apps!

Visit: https://my.codecamp.com.au/course/1809 for more information and to book.

Offered to Reception - Year 6 students.

Kindness in Year 3

Year 3 students have been very busy. In addition to creating new routines, discussing expectations, building rapport and making new friends, we’ve been focusing on Kindness, a beautiful way to start the year. 

We tried to imagine a world where everyone is kind. A big question came out of our discussion:  How can we make that true?

We started by brainstorming acts of kindness. There were lots of positive and hopeful ideas including a class Kindness Jar, picking flowers for someone, sharing toys with younger siblings, sending well wishes, and saying something positive to a friend. Number one though, was smiling at someone.

The girls really nutted out why they are the ‘I’ in KIND, focusing on what they can do or continue to do to spread the act of kindness. They committed to several acts of kindness they felt they could do over the next month.

We will finish off this little unit by writing about a time they were kind. They will be asked to express what they did, who was involved, how it made that person feel, and how they felt.

I think the girls know that, however small we are, or however shy, we can all make the world a better, kinder place.

Ms Hattie Ziesing

Year 3 Teacher

Year of the Rabbit

What is the Zodiac animal this year in 2023? Last year was the Year of the Tiger but this year it's the Year of the Rabbit. The Year of the Rabbit begins on January 22. In Chinese culture, the Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace and prosperity. 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope. People born in the Year of the Rabbit are believed to be vigilant, witty, quick-minded and ingenious. The students in the Junior School have been busy learning about the Chinese new year customs and traditions and making lanterns and Chinese fans to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. 

Ms Magdalene Kho

Junior Languages Teacher

Welcome to our Reception Families

A happy and kind welcome goes to our Reception children, their parents, and families. A total of twenty-three children started school last week, most of them for the very first time. We are so proud of how seamless their transition to school life has been, a result of our successful transition program completed last year. 

Our days have been filled with exploring our enriching learning environment as well as discovering more about each other and sharing about ourselves. A SEAD priority has been to establish the children’s sense of identity, belonging, and appreciation of our similarities and differences. Through engagement with picture books, games, play and discussions, we have made connections with others and established classroom agreements to ensure our learning space is one in which we all feel nurtured, safe, and respected. 

The girls have introduced themselves to the Loreto Community through self- portrait painting and have shared some information about who they are.

Ms Josephine De Angelis and Ms Sarah Grbin