Dear Parents and Carers,

The past few weeks have been a very busy time.

Last week I attended the principal’s gathering for term one.  There were many topics under discussion including the move to online testing for NAPLAN and the nationally consistent collection of data to name a few.  Our staff has already been working to ensure that we are ready for these processes to come online this year.

As such Mrs Best and myself are attending further briefings about this today.

The first few days of this week has seen us travel to Jindabyne for our Yr.3 to 6 camp.  This was a new location for us and threw up a number interesting challenges for the children.  It was most impressive to see all of our students reach the summit of Mt Kosciuszko.

This proved to be much more of a challenge than expected for a number of students!  Still tackling a challenge such as this and successfully completing it – left many felling very proud of their efforts, and rightly so.

One big take away message was less haste more thought.  Some children were in such a rush to complete an activity that they missed vital instructions and actually couldn’t begin the task at hand.  It reinforced the value of slow down and enjoy this moment, no need to rush to the next.

Camp also has enabled the children to spend time together and get to know each other away from the routine of school and the comfort of home.  Many of the children commented that they learned things about others that were interesting.  It is my hope that the new connections that the children established will continue to grow as this year progresses. 

Thank you to Miss Schneider for organising the excursion and Mrs Best for being willing to participate in the excursion, their efforts ensured that it was a successful few days. 

I trust that your children enjoyed themselves, and remembered Trev’s final words of wisdom about two things – talking to Mum and Dad about your accomplishments on camp and thanking those who made the adventure possible.

Although I have not heard from our K-2 people directly, I hear that they have been busy with a number of different activities this week.

Thanks you to those children who took on tasks that are normally carried out by the older students!

Please check in with your children to ensure that they have enough to eat during the school day.

At present, a number of the children are eating most of the food in their lunch box during recess and are running low on energy at lunchtime.

Swimming – good luck to William, Genevieve, Hamish and Xanthe, who will swim at the Mackillop Swimming Carnival next Wednesday. Please ensure that your child’s clothing is clearly labelled with their name, so that items that have been misplaced can be returned quickly.

At present we have a size 12 tracksuit top looking for an owner.

Excess furniture – we currently have some older style desks that are no longer needed here at school.  These may be useful at at your home, for example they could be used as art tables or a homework space.  If you would like to view the excess tables, please contact Therese Clancy.

Our school calendar is updated every week and can be accessed through our school website at: www.stjosephsgrenfell.nsw.edu.au Please let us know if you are not receiving the Schoolzine updates once you have installed the SZapp.

Additional dates include the regular P & F meetings that are traditionally held on the third Tuesday of the month during term time.

21/05/19          18/06/19          16/07/19

20/08/19          17/09/19          15/10/19

19/11/19          17/12/19         

Sincerely,

Therese Clancy

REC News

The children are learning that Lent is a great time for a change for the better. The Year 2/3/4 students have been talking about the story of Zacchaeus and how he changed from a greedy tax collector to a caring person thanks to his meeting with Jesus.

The K/1 students have been learning about Saul and his big change. Saul was a bully who put people in jail for talking about Jesus and all of his wonderful ways. After his encounter with Jesus, Saul completely changed. He was so excited to share the good news of Jesus that HE was put in jail for it.

Change can be big or small and can happen when we plan for it or when we least expect it. Lent is an opportunity for us to plan some small changes for the better:

ü  Being more patient

ü  Spending more time with loved ones

ü  Getting in touch with friends

ü  Making time for exercise

ü  Making time for prayer

ü  Thinking and doing for others

Change isn’t easy…it requires effort on our part which is why we tend to continue to stick to those tried and true paths. However, changing just one small thing can make a big difference to someone else’s life or even your own!

The K/1 students had their first turn at creating and sharing prayers for the prayer celebration in the church on Wednesday. Their prayers were very relevant and they did an excellent job of presenting them.

We pray for all the people in heaven. Georgia

We pray that everyone in the world will have peace. Harry

We pray that everyone stays safe. Jack

We pray that no one gets sick on the holidays. Jed

We pray that the farmers get more rain. Saskia

We pray that the people in hospital get better. Charlie

May your Lenten journey offer you an opportunity for change.

Many blessings,

Leslie King

Classroom News

Year 5/6
There have been many activities to keep the Year Five and Six students busy of late. Firstly, well done to the students who represented our school at the Archdiocesan Swimming Carnival in Narrandera, and those who are now moving on to the next level of swimming. The Book Fair was a great opportunity for students to buy the latest ‘hot’ books available. The Years Three, Four, Five and Six students and staff had a wonderful time whilst on their excursion at the Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Camp. Here, we took part in exciting group challenges and activities to promote key learning. These included sliders, initiatives, an alpine walk to the top of Mount Kosciuszko, indoor climbing and canoeing. The students have also been making great progress in their units of work.

In Creative Arts, the students have been focusing on Visual Art. More specifically, they have been developing their understanding of the different techniques and tools used in drawing. The students had to identify a human face and discuss the features of the face. They then had to create a mirror image of their chosen face, paying attention to detail. Their efforts were impressive, with some outstanding results. The students have since been investigating examples of human figures, still life and landscape drawings. As a result, they have been discussing the subject matter, the form and techniques used in the drawings. The students are encouraged to select different tools to experiment with creating their art, and to use these different types of subject matter as the focus.

This term, in Personal Development and Health, the students have been deepening their understanding of their personal relationships. They have examined the relationships they have with the members of their family, their friends and the people who belong to the same groups. They have brainstormed the qualities of positive relationships and examined strategies to help them solve problems when they arise in relationships. The students will also develop an understanding of the importance of belonging to different groups and having different types of relationships where they take on different roles and have different responsibilities. This is an important part of their learning.
In Physical Education this term, the students have been involved in a number of different sport activities. Earlier in the term, they enjoyed participating in Swim Safe at the Grenfell Aquatic Centre, which taught them to be safe in and around the water. The students have also been developing their understanding of the modified game of cricket and developing the skills used in the game. This has been augmented in lessons delivered by an accredited coach from Cricket NSW. Each lesson the students have been involved in has focused on a skill used in cricket such as throwing and catching, fielding, batting and bowling. They have also participated in some different types of cricket games. In addition to this, the students have been preparing for the upcoming School Cross Country Carnival.

We are looking forward to two very special visits to the school next week. Firstly, the students are bound to enjoy some exciting and hands-on science learning when Questacon visit. In addition, we are also looking forward to meeting some interesting critters from Taronga Zoo when they call in.

NUMERACY
Mathematics in the classrooms the past few weeks has focussed on measurement, 2D and 3D space. Year 5/6 have been extending their understanding of angle types, estimating angles before measuring and accurately measuring with a protractor.

Year 5/6 investigated cube nets. They made the nets with geo shapes and discovered rules to apply when seeing a flat net to discover which makes a cube.
They also investigated an activity called Cube Houses and looked and recorded the different views.

Year 2/3/4 investigated properties of 3 dimensional objects. They explored how to draw cubes using isometric paper. They were very pleased with their results.
They also had a jigsaw activity matching the features to a variety of 2 dimensional shapes.

Kindergarten students investigated 3D objects and discovered which objects roll, slide and stack. They made a robot out of 2D shapes which they had to cut out and arrange the shape of a robot. They all did a wonderful job.