Dear parents and carers,

Week 4 has seen us continuing to work on a range of activities in a settled manner. Although having said that, we’ve been busy with classroom learning and sporting activities.
As we have now settled into the routine of school, I encourage to you check in with your children to ensure that they have enough food to stay on top of their learning each day. The children are reminded to bring their water bottle each day.

Parent Information Evening — thank you to everyone who joined us for the information evening last night.
Please check in with us at school if you missed any information related to your child’s class and their learning this year. Staff are happy to update you on the class plans for this term.

Swim Safe – As you are aware, our Swim Safe lessons for Thursday and Friday last week did not go ahead.
Please be aware that these lessons have been rescheduled for Thursday and Friday of next week (27/02 and 28/02).
As we move closer to Lent, it is time to start thinking about how we can refresh and renew ourselves – Lent will begin on Wednesday (Feb 26).

Mrs King is attending the Religious Education coordinators meeting in Canberra today.

During the first half of this year, we are participating in a pilot project, which includes working with the staff at Royal Far West via their Telecare Health system to work on both speech and occupational therapies. Although in the early stages, this project is shaping up to be very successful, in providing additional supports for both the children and staff.

Attached to this newsletter is a notification about the annual collection of residential address data that is collected as part of the census process.

Interruptions during the day – we ask that all visitors to school come to the front office, especially if you are dropping off lunch or classroom equipment or a message. What may seem something small to you, can result in quite a large distraction to the whole class, as unexpected or unfamiliar people arriving at the classroom door is of interest to all. These visits interrupt the flow of an activity.
Please leave Messages/equipment at the front office; we will get these to your children in a timely manner.

Schoolzine App – as you are aware we have moved to the Schoolzine platform for distributing information. Please take the time to install the SZapp as information is being distributed via SZapp and our website.

School counsellor – our school counsellor will be visiting three more times this term. Each year, the counselling service requires parent referral forms to be updated. I encourage you to make use of the opportunity to access support for your children.

Book Fair – this year, our book fair will be held from March 9-13. More information will be sent out closer to the event.

Asthma Plans – if your child suffers with Asthma, please ensure that you send an updated Asthma Plan to school. An asthma plan is in conjunction with your family doctor.

Winter Uniform Order – please find attached a uniform order sheet. If you require winter uniforms, please fill in the form and return it to school by Friday March 6.

Sincerely

Next Wednesday we will be recognising Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, with a whole school prayer celebration in the school library at 10 am. All are welcome to come and join our Ash Wednesday prayer celebration, which will include the distribution of ashes.

Fr James has asked me to let you know that there will be also a mass, at 6 pm on Ash Wednesday, at St Joseph’s Church in Grenfell. This will allow those who work during the day the opportunity to attend mass to begin their Lenten journey. 

May God’s peace be with you as we begin this Lenten journey,

Many Blessings,

Congratulations to all children who represented us at the Western Region carnival held in Harden on Monday – you did a terrific job.

Well done to our small schools relay team, who will compete at the next level in the coming weeks.

Congratulations also goes to Genevieve and Hamish who will both compete in their respective age groups in the butterfly event at the upcoming Archdiocesan carnival to be held in Narooma on March 2.

It has been a flying start to the new school year, with an assortment of activities to keep us busy. Year 5/6 have delved into their units of work and are displaying immense dedication to their learning. In addition, since the term commenced, the students have taken part in our school Swimming Carnival, Swim Safe program and Opening School Mass. It was wonderful to see all of our new leaders inducted at this special Mass. In addition, those students who represented us at the Western Region Swimming Carnival on Monday achieved well and should be proud of their efforts.

This term, in our Religious Education unit, the students are learning about the action of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. As a result, they will engage with a variety of texts, including Scriptural references to the Holy Spirit and the Catholic Rite of Confirmation. In doing so, they will use a range of Biblical tools. The students will also develop their understanding of informed moral choice, as well as participate respectfully in personal and communal prayer experiences, such as meditative prayer.

In English this term, the students are working on a unit that will explore topics and concepts related to the environment. This links in well with our Geography unit based on the effect of recycling on our environment. The students will jointly, and independently construct an explanation and exposition. They will complete reading tasks aimed at developing their reading skills, and to deepen their understanding of the organisational structures of different types of texts, such as expositions and explanations.

The students will also engage in speaking and listening tasks, which will develop their skills in this area, by participating in debates, presentations, and oral explanations. The Year 5/6 students have also been enjoying reading with their younger buddies in the K/1 class.

This term, in Mathematics, the students have been developing their skills and gaining a better understanding of the use of large numbers (over a million). They have been comparing, ordering and rounding them off to thousands and ten thousands. The students have also been furthering their knowledge of place value to tens of millions. Using number lines, they have been gaining an understanding of the relationship of positive and negative numbers. The students have also been learning about prime numbers, composite numbers, square numbers and cubed numbers. In one investigation, the students explored squares and square roots using Poly Plugs. This helped them to build on the link between a square and its square root, as well as the array concept of multiplication.

In our Japanese unit this term, the students have begun the term with a focus on the meaning of ‘Juunishi’. This refers to the twelve signs of the Japanese Zodiac. The students practised and learnt the names of these in Japanese. The students also chose a goal for themselves for the year ahead. They did so by cutting out a ‘nezumi’ (mouse) and writing their goal underneath. They coloured in one eye of their nezumi and then, when they achieve their goal later on, they will colour in the other eye. The students also worked in small groups to build sentences using classroom language learnt previously and new language. The students were also excited to learn how to use Gimkit. The link for this is provided in our Google Classroom. We are again privileged to work with Sensei Peta this year.

Next Wednesday, the students will participate in our Ash Wednesday prayer celebration, which is the first day of Lent. On Friday, the 28th of February, there will be a Mufti Day. We wish those students taking part in the Archdiocesan Swimming Carnival in Narooma, on the 2nd of March, all the best. St Joseph’s Day is also next month. There are some excited activities planned for the students for this. Please continue to check the newsletter for further news and updates throughout the term.