Learning & Teaching 

WORLD READ ALOUD DAY

Our school will be celebrating World Read Aloud Day on Wednesday, 5th February.

World Read Aloud Day has evolved into a global movement of millions of readers, writers and listeners from communities all across the world coming together to honour the joy and power of reading and sharing stories, and advocate for literacy as a fundamental human right that belongs to everyone.

At St Brendan’s, students and teachers will maximise every opportunity throughout the day to read aloud to each other!

Beginning at 8.45am, in our Library, Sue Carr and Sue Slavin will hold a Toddler Session where they will read picture books aloud to any interested toddlers and their families.

We look forward to seeing you.

Library News 

Students attend library sessions once a week aimed at helping them develop a lifelong love for reading and all types of literature. Throughout the year, students also participate in class reading, Book Clubs and whole school events such as the National Simultaneous Storytime in May, the Children’s Book Week celebrations in August, author/illustrator visits and a Book Fair. 

Parents please encourage your child to remember to bring their library bag on their allocated library day so that they can enjoy their library session, take home a book each week and return it during their next session. Please put the following timetable on your fridge as a reminder.

Term 1 2020 - Library timetable 

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Students who still have overdue books from 2019 will need to inform their teacher and myself as soon as possible so that we can resolve any replacement cost issues quickly and they can resume borrowing. Periodically, overdue notices will be sent home as a reminder to return books, however this is not full proof, so please check regularly with your child to see if they have any library books at home. I often have to phone parents to track down books so I would appreciate your help in this matter to help us in reinforcing one of our school rules, in relation to being responsible with school property.

The Scholastic Bookclub will continue to run this year but noting this term is a short one we will only be sending home one issue. In Week 7, we will have another Lamont Book Fair in the library so please come along with your children before and after school that week. More details regarding this event will be coming soon.

Once again I look forward to sharing many more great stories and fabulous new books with all of our staff and students in the library this year.

Happy Reading!

Gillian Francis

Librarian

Choir News

Somerville Carols by Candlelight

Well done to the beautiful children who attended and performed at the Somerville Carols by Candlelight at The Fruit Growers Reserve, Jones Rd. Somerville on Friday, December 13th last year. This has been my first opportunity to thank them and their families in a whole school forum. You all looked and sounded amazing and really did contribute to the wonderful sense of community during the festive season by performing at the carols. A Special thanks to the members of the Somerville CFA and all of the event sponsors and organisers for making us feel so welcome. Thank-you also to Mrs Carr for coming along to support us. 

Choir 2020

This week, I will call a meeting with all students from Year 2-6 who are interested in joining or rejoining the choir. If so, all students will need to return the permission reply slip which will be sent home to interested students on Tuesday.

Yours in faith.

Emma Chapple

Religious Education Leader

Performing Arts Classroom Specialist Teacher

echapple@sbsomerville.catholic.edu.au

Learning and Teaching at St Brendan’s in 2020.

Dear Parents 

Welcome to a new year of learning at St Brendan’s. It has been a pleasure visiting classrooms to see the students settling in with new teachers and classmates. 

In the next week, you will receive information about the specifics of the class that your child is in. The teachers will communicate with you what they will be teaching this term especially in Maths and English. This gives you an opportunity to support the learning by engaging in conversations about what is happening in the classroom. 

A great way of finding out what is going on during the day is to ask your child…’What did you learn about today?’ This puts some accountability on the student to reflect on what they were learning about and limits the ubiquitous answer of ‘nothing’ when asking a child what they did today!

As a school we are focussing strategically and specifically on Reading this year. Of course all other aspects of the curriculum will be covered appropriately, but we are optimistic that we will make a difference in the way that students learn and develop their reading fluency, comprehension and vocabulary. 

In the Seniors (Year 3-6) we will be running ‘Spelling Mastery’ classes every day at 8.55am to 9.25am except on Fridays. This program helps students understand the relationship between sounds, word parts, and spelling patterns. Spelling Mastery encourages students to learn strategies to spell correctly rather than rely on memory alone.

Please ensure that your child is at school on time as these sessions will begin on time at 8.55am.

If parents would like further information or would like conversations around how best to support your child with their learning, please contact me and we can arrange a meeting.

Liam Buckley

YOGA/MINDFULNESS CLASSES AT ST BRENDAN’S

This year, all classes will be timetabled to join me, in our soon-to-be completed Yoga/Mindfulness room!

Children are natural yogis. They love to move and play. The yoga games and poses we’ll take part in, aim to encourage and develop flexibility, awareness, motor skills and confidence.

A yoga class for children looks vastly different to a yoga class for adults. Adults will often choose to come to yoga because they recognise the need to relax, and bring calmness to their bodies.

Children don’t always know that they need to relax. 

Our children live in an ever-increasingly busy world, and with the sometimes over-use of electronic devices, they can feel the effects of heightened anxiety without understanding it or having the strategies to deal with it. No child wants to feel uncomfortable, cranky or anxious, or get in trouble because of hyperactivity or inappropriate behaviour. 

Here are just 3 benefits for children who regularly practise yoga/mindfulness:

Improved Concentration - Yoga poses and breathing exercises help teach children how to wait and be still, which may help to counteract effects from frequent use of technology.

Feeling of Wellbeing - Children learn techniques to help their bodies become more relaxed and make them feel good from the inside out. This helps to reduce stress and may be useful in alleviating symptoms of mood disorders, including anxiety and depression. 

Physical Fitness - Yoga increases flexibility and balance which can begin to decrease by the age of 7. It also builds strength and posture.  

It is important to remember that yoga is not a religion. It is a discipline - a 5000 year old discipline designed to empower health, happiness and a greater sense of self.

If you have any questions regarding these new classes at St Brendan’s, please see me.

Sue Slavin

Welcome Foundation Students of 2020