Senior School News
We're already halfway there!
Term 2 has been nothing short of exciting. Our senior school is continuously reflecting and adjusting our practices to ensure the best outcomes for our students.
We are thrilled to report significant success with the implementation of our new English block structure. Each two-hour block is thoughtfully organised to maximise learning opportunities. It begins with 30 minutes of Spelling Mastery, where students work in multi-aged ability-based groups. They then transition to their classrooms for 10 minutes of focused morphology/etymology learning, followed by 10 minutes of partnered fluency practice. The block continues with 30 minutes dedicated to writing syntax and 30 minutes for reading comprehension work. The students have embraced this new structure and should be proud of their efforts.
Last night, we celebrated the culmination of our Grade 6 students' hard work during their sacrament of Confirmation. Over the past two weeks, they have engaged in a research project exploring their chosen saint, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and reflecting on how their chosen saint can guide them in their Catholic journey. The beautiful ceremony took place at our church, officiated by Bishop Tony Ireland.
During the past two weeks, our catch groups took a break to allow our senior teachers to focus on specific areas of the curriculum that don't necessarily align between the year levels. Despite the different topics being covered in Grade 5 and Grade 6, our teachers ensured that all students' varying abilities were catered for, through the creative utilisation of IT skills and flipped classrooms. Grade 5 students recently completed their unit on multiplication and division, while Grade 6 students focused on decimals and the four operations. In the upcoming two-week block, both year levels will delve into the topic of shape.
Our students continue to explore the link between animal adaptation and survival. In the following weeks, we will hold Topic lessons where Grade 5 and Grade 6 students will collaborate to share and foster their learning in this area.
Additionally, our highly successful Respectful Relationships program remains ongoing on Mondays. This term, Grade 5 students are focusing on problem-solving strategies, while Grade 6 students are learning about help-seeking strategies. On Monday as part of our RR program, the Grade 5 and 6 students will be watching ‘Embrace kids’ in the classroom together. We understand some students attended the premier last week, however with such great feedback from the evening we think it is really valuable we view, discuss and explore this movie as a cohort.
Inter school sports have been a resounding success for our teams. Last week, both our football and netball teams emerged victorious against St. Joan of Arc. Our students have been commended by our opponents for their exemplary behaviour and sportsmanship, and they should take great pride in this achievement.
Lastly, we would like to congratulate a few of our senior school students who have advanced to the third round of State School Tryouts. Spencer Buck (Grade 5) and Harry Hopgood (Grade 6) have successfully been selected for the third round of AFL trials, while Milly Surkitt (Grade 6) has advanced to the next round of State Basketball Trials.
That's all for now,
The Senior School Team
Jayne McKay
jmckay@shsandringham.catholic.edu.au
Trent Thiessens
tthiessens@shsandringham.catholic.edu.au
Dara Blake dblake@shsandringham.catholic.edu.au
Simon Brown sbrown@shsandringham.catholic.edu.au