Governing Council Reports

Early Years PLC:

EY2- We are working hard on report writing and finishing off all of the necessary assessments so we have the latest data to include.  We have been finishing off our narrative stories and have started writing powerful persuasive texts and trying to use strong arguments for others to agree with our opinions on certain issues. (Eg - Should school uniforms be banned?)

We met with Tierney Kennedy and had some very positive feedback on our results for our PAT Maths tests.  We are focusing on money, transformations, symmetry, and flips, slides and turns.

We are about to have another 4-week session with Mrs Howard in the library looking at environmental care issues.

Primary Years PLC:

The Year 3/4  teachers had their last meeting on Thursday of Week 3 with the Felixstow team for TAP (Targeted Action Plan.) At the meeting, we looked at our data and the growth in particular our identified students had made. Year 3/4 have been involved in Netball clinics this week which will be concluded in Week 5. The students are getting excited about the upcoming Colour Run and end-of-year Waterworld excursion. 

In Maths we have finished looking at the relationship between Fractions and Decimals, created number patterns and almost concluded our work on money and calculating change.

In the Child Protection Curriculum, 301 and 302 have been talking about recognising abuse and will be finishing up this term looking at Cyber Bullying. In Civics and Citizenship, we have been focussing on identity within the community. 

In Week 5 the Year 3/4  classes will work in the library with Sonia Howard, looking at Science as a Human Endeavour. 

Middle Years PLC:

In maths, the Year 5/6 students have been learning about algebra and patterning. They began by focusing on identifying rules with function machines and identifying patterns on tables and graphs, which then progressed to identifying and creating formulas with variables.

The Year 5’s have been developing their knowledge of poems and how to analyse poems in English, whereas the Year 6’s have continued to learn about how literary texts create a sense of time and place, focusing this term more specifically on the language features of letters.

We have begun our Civics and Citizenship units for HaSS this term, with the year 5’s focusing on the community in Australia, while the year 6’s have been learning about democracy in Australia and our system of government.

The Year 5/6 choir students attended the Northern Music Festival performance on Wednesday the 2nd of November at the Shedley Theatre in Elizabeth. Our students performed amazingly and showed off their talent in the smaller group and on the smaller stage.

The year 5/6 students are very excited about our upcoming camp to Port Hughes in week 6. They will be participating in various outdoor activities over the three days and are looking forward to the short getaway!

Specialist PLC:

PE

In week 1 our boy's basketball team played in the Statewide finals. Unfortunately, they did not come away with a win. Thank you to our parent volunteer Rachel Hartwell for your support and to Brayden for coaching.

In week 2 our girl's cricket team played their first Statewide cricket match against Highgate Primary School. They came away with a win and are now through to the next round. Thank you, Mr Smith and Brayden for coaching.

Congratulations to our students who have been selected for the SAPSASA District teams:

Girls Cricket: Lilly V and Mahlee C 

This term our school received a Sporting Schools grant which is being used to fund netball clinics for our year 3/4 students.

Junior Primary classes have been doing the Mascot challenge this term with buddy classes. The Primary classes have been teaching throwing and catching skills to the younger classes. 

JAPANESE

It has been a big few weeks for the Hiragana competition team. In week 2 we hosted the district competition which had representatives from 6 schools and we were very grateful to have parent volunteer Yuri Ferris as our guest judge. Our team consisted of 9 students, of which had 4 who competed and 5 reserves who acted as wonderful MCs for the day. We placed 3rd with only 2 points separating the top 3 teams. As a result of this place, we were invited to the state competition in week 3. This competition, which runs slightly differently from the district competition, was tough and very competitive. After 2 rounds, some schools get eliminated as only the highest-placed teams go through to the championship round. We were very proud and excited to get through to that round. In the end, we placed 6th which was a fabulous effort. This wonderful team has practised every Wednesday lunchtime for a term to train for this event which shows amazing commitment. 

SCIENCE 

This term we are focusing on Earth and Space Science. The foundation and year 1 students are focusing on the weather, where they have been analysing and describing the daily weather patterns. They will then be learning about the seasonal changes of Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. Year 2 students are focusing on identifying celestial objects and describing the patterns they observe in the sky. They have begun the term looking at the movement of the Sun and Moon during the day and night, and will later be focusing on other celestial objects like the planets in our solar system. Year 3/4 students have been developing an understanding of the Sun, Earth and Moon. They have been analysing and describing the causes of day, night and seasonal changes, and will continue to develop an understanding of these concepts throughout the term. Year 5/6 students are focusing on the planets in our solar system. They have been analysing and describing the planet’s orbit and distance from the Sun, alongside each planet's unique structure. Year 5/6 students will end the term by looking at sudden and extreme weather events.

Performing Arts

This term we have been focusing on drama and dance. Foundation to year 2 has been using The Twits story as a script while learning about expression, characters, voice and movement, while the year 3-4 have been developing their own script based upon The Twits characters. For years 5-6, students are battling in their own dance-off, where they design characters for the dance-off and then develop choreography for their own dance, focusing on shape and contrast.