What's happening in our learning spaces? 

tudents of the Week

Foundation - Year 1/2

We started off our week engaging in the Resilience Project. In Foundation, we explored what it means to ‘Feel the Music’ and discovered how we could change our mood through music. We engaged in lots of groovy dance moves and reflected on how we felt before, during and after listening to the music. It was lots of fun! 

In Year One and Two, we learned about what it means to have an ‘attitude of gratitude’. We learned that having an ‘attitude of gratitude’ helps us to see the good things around us. We talked about the difference between a ‘bad attitude’ and an ‘attitude of gratitude’ and delved into different ways we could help ourselves see the good in things. We unpacked this through role plays and sorting scenarios to help us understand that sometimes things don’t go our way, but it is up to us to manage our attitude! We continued to engage in some Yoga and Mindfulness Colouring each day to help us check in with ourselves and keep a positive attitude! Check out some pictures here:  

In Foundation, as readers, we explored the role of the ‘ch’ in words. We learned that when ‘c’ and ‘h’ are put together, they create the ‘ch’ digraph! We sorted out our thinking by engaging in word sorts and identifying different words with the ‘ch’ sound. 

In Year One and Two, we continued to explore how picture books can share similarities and differences, and learned how to sort our thinking using a Venn Diagram. We focussed on making text connections: text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world to help us build our comprehension. We all continued engaging in our Literacy rotations to continue to develop our skills in Literacy.

As people of Catholic faith, we were fortunate enough to have Ian Vergel, a seminarian at our parish, meet us at St Fidelis Church. He guided our understandings of the symbols at our church by showing and explaining the purpose of different objects and vestments used at the church. Here are some reflections from the F-2 students

• I learned that purple is not only used during Easter. It is also used during Advent - Asha 1/2SC
• The priest wears different colours - Eponine 1/SC
• The seats at the top of the church were once used for church choir - Eva 1/2SC

We look forward to another fantastic week of learning in the F-2 learning spaces! Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Foundation to Year Two Team

Leanne Wenckowski, Alycia Marsico, Stefanie Carriera and Alexandra Phillips. 

Year  3/4

Another busy week of learning has flown past! 

As readers, we are learning to identify the cause and effect in texts. The cause is why something is happening and the effect is what has happened that causes the effect. We have been reading different non-fiction texts about animals and identifying the cause and effect in each text. We recorded our thinking in a diagram. Take a look!

As writers, we are learning to write detailed sentences describing an object. We are including conjunctions to expand on our sentences and joining our sentences to form a paragraph. Take a look!

As mathematicians, we continue to explore a range of efficient strategies to solve subtraction problems. This week we looked at the Bridge to 10 strategy and used a number line to jump backwards in tens and ones. Take a look!

As inquirers, we continue to explore our big question “Who decides and how?’. On Friday, we were lucky enough to have our school Principal, Mrs Watson, speak with us about the decisions she makes as the leader of our school. 

Our wonderings…

• How do you make decisions?
• What’s the hardest part about being a Principal?
• Why did you decide to change the logo of our school?
• Why did you decide to refurbish the junior learning area?

We found out…

• Mrs Watson makes decisions from the moment she walks through our front gate. Mrs Watson sometimes decides on her own or she decides with others (staff, parents, children) Mrs Watson listens to the ideas and perspectives of others to make decisions. 
• The hardest part about being a Principal is having to make tough decisions that not everyone might agree with. 
• Mrs Watson decided to change our school logo because she wanted to refresh the brand of St Fidelis. Mrs Watson collaborated with a range of people to make the final logo, such as parents, teachers, graphic designers and students. 
• Mrs Watson decided to refurbish the junior learning area because she noticed that the old spaces were not safe for people. Mrs Watson decided to apply for a grant and was successful. Mrs Watson was able to upgrade our facilities to give us a fresh, flexible learning environment for us to learn in.

We appreciate the time Mrs Watson took out of her busy day to share with us the decisions she makes as a Principal. 

We look forward to another week of learning!

Year 3/4 Teachers 

Belinda Panzarino, Katarina Davidson & Graham Troy

Year 5/6

It has been another busy and eventful week in The Senior Learning Area. 

As we continue working through the ‘The Resilience Project’, the focus this week was on describing and understanding how our brain reacts to different feelings and developing strategies to remain calm. The following questions were posed: 

What happens in our brains when we feel different emotions? 

What do you think our brains might look like if we are calm / stressed?

As a way to visualise what our brains might look like when we are experiencing different emotions, each student had the opportunity to make their own ‘Mindful Glitter Jars’. In small glass jars, we placed some glitter and water. When shaken the glitter would fill the jar (symbolic of our busy brains) , and then slowly fall to rest on the bottom of the jar (symbolic of our calmed brains).  Students were then asked to recall a memory of a time when their mind felt like a shaken glitter jar. We brainstormed strategies we could use to clear our brains and keep ourselves calm. We all enjoyed this hands-on activity, and agreed that our glitter jars were meaningful reminders of how we can be mindful of challenging situations, and the strategies we could use.

Last Friday, many of our Year 5/6 students competed in Soccer finals. The boys / mixed team played two matches. Everyone played well and supported each other, however, we did not advance to the next level. The girl’s team played two matches and lost in a penalty shoot out. All teams are to be congratulated for their enthusiastic participation and sportsmanship on the day. 

The Year 6 Confirmation candidates were privileged to have Bishop Terry Curtin visit them and speak about their upcoming Confirmation. He gave an engaging talk about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in the modern world, and the importance of choosing a saint and sponsor who can guide them in their lives. Bishop Curtin explained the Rite of Confirmation, and demonstrated how he will bless the candidates with the chrism. The students demonstrated their knowledge of the Sacrament of Confirmation by enthusiastically participating  in the discussions, and confidently responding  to Bishop Curtin’s questions. Please continue to keep our Confirmation candidates in your prayers.

We are looking forward to another great week of learning. 

Michelle Casamento, Olivia Sargent,  Annette Gasbarro and Viviana Clarke 

5/6 Teaching Team