Preschool
This term we welcomed 3 new groups in Preschool (around 65 children) and they are settling in very well. Families have shared with us that their children are happy to come to Preschool.
Our focus has been on belonging and being; children are building relationships with their peers and educators.
Children having been engaging in various experiences, contributing to their holistic learning, with the children's interests guiding our inquiry.
Our learning this term includes Literacy, Numeracy, Religious Education and Child Protection Curriculum along with relevant STEM activities to encourage their skills and dispositions.
We also enrolled in Clean Up Australia where children helped in cleaning up the Preschool. We are also planning activities for Catholic charities, building our connection with community.
Reception
The Reception students have been enjoying their first term of learning. They have been learning how to be collaborators, thinkers, communicators and self-managers. The students have enjoyed participating in a variety of learning areas such as, Literacy, Mathematics, Investigations and Religion.
The children loved preparing and celebrating their first unit Mass in the church, in front of their families.
The Reception children are looking forward to the School picnic on Friday and Multicultural day.
Year 1
Wow can’t believe we are in Week 8! How quickly time flies when you’re having fun!
Life and Learning has been busy Year One. In Religion, we have been focusing on the Season of Lent in preparation for Easter. The students have explored ways that they can follow in the footsteps of Jesus in their interactions with others both at home and at school. We look forward to celebrating this important Liturgical event in our Catholic traditions as we participate in our Year One Unit Mass. The children have also explored the wonders of God’s Creation through a range of stories, art experiences and song. Our genre study focus has been on Procedure Writing, explicitly exploring the structure and language features as a whole class in in small groups. In Mathematics, the children have learnt to identify, classify and describe the attributes of different types of patterns ( cyclic, linear, growing and symmetrical). It is fantastic to observe the students begin to use the appropriate conceptual language and noticing these ‘unit of repeats’ in their everyday life. We look forward to our upcoming events such as our whole School Mass and picnic to celebrate St Joseph’s Day and our Italian Carnevale Festival.
Year 2
The Year Twos have had a wonderful start to the year.
In Literacy we have been learning how to write reports on frogs, butterflies and turtles.
In Mathematics we have been learning about all different types of patterns. In Science we have watched tadpoles turn into frogs and we have kept a diary on those changes.
In History we have been looking at the changes from the past to the present.
Year 3
The Year 3 students have settled in to their new school year. They have been involved in a variety of wonderful learning experiences. We have begun the year with the New Beginnings Program, where the students have explored the learning assets and discovered the importance of a growth mindset. The Year 3 class motto is ..... "reaching new heights in Year 3 and kindness matters." The students are encouraged to build positive friendships through acts of kindness and to always do their best. In Religion, the students are exploring the lives of saints focusing on St. Patrick and St. Joseph, as they learn to be good followers of Jesus throughout this Lenten season. In English, the students have been practising comprehension strategies in reading and focusing on writing good sentences while learning about persuasive text. In Mathematics, the students have been exploring number patterns, measurement and the rules of base ten. The children are looking forward to the St Joseph’s Picnic and Cultural Day.
Year 4
The Year 4 students have settled quickly into their new year school routine. They enjoyed the New Beginnings program, especially learning about how people learn and the different parts of the brain.
In Literacy, the learning has been around descriptive and narrative writing to date, where students are learning to recognise various aspects of writing that enhance meaning and enjoyment. The students are developing knowledge about how to construct simple and compound sentences, incorporating hooks and aspects of direct speech.
In Numeracy, students have looked at patterning and measurement and associated language.
It has been a fun start to the year and we are looking forward to the upcoming weeks, as we approach Easter.
Year 5
What an incredibly busy term in the Year Five Unit it has been so far...
Our learning has so far seen us explore the concept of adaptation in Science, where we particularly enjoyed using vegetable fat and rubber to create a thick barrier to help protect our hands from icy, cold water - just like whales! We completed this learning with an inquiry project which looked at researching an organism of our own choice and justifying how its features: physiological, structural and behavioural help it to survive and thrive in its environment.
In Mathematics, we have enjoyed looking at patterns and have been challenged by Lisa Jane's (our Numeracy consultant) strategies when it comes to measuring different attributes... Our English has developed too with a concentrated focus on our descriptive language and narrative writing. We look forward to what the rest of this year will bring!!
Year 6
The Year 6 students have made a fantastic start to the year! They have quickly adapted to the expectations of Year 6 and enjoyed settling in to their open learning space. As part of our ‘New Beginnings Program’ the students have explored how the brain functions, how to grow their neural connections and how to display a ‘Growth Mindset’ through their personal inquiries into the question ‘How can I be a successful learner?’ They have continued to show persistence and determination throughout all learning areas this term. They have especially enjoyed their ‘Leadership Day’ where they were inducted as senior leaders through an engaging team building and leadership session run by the Scouts SA. All of the Year 6 students now have a leadership role which encourages them to take responsibility for a particular focus in our school community. In addition, all students received their senior uniforms and they are wearing these jumpers and polos with great pride! For the remainder of the term, the Year 6 students are looking forward to performing ‘The Stations of the Cross’ at our whole school Holy Week Liturgy, and they are especially excited about attending aquatics camp at Aldinga Beach in Week 11.
STEM - Nick Polvere
Over the last seven weeks, students in STEM have learnt how to apply the engineering process (Ask, Research, Imagine, Plan, Create, Test, Improve) to real world problems. Thus have included, looking at plants and sustainability in drought conditions, designing an interactive electrical diagram to communicate the negative effects of fossil fuels using electronic circuits, building coin sorting machine for canteens or other businesses and building bridges to cross the Murray River. These are just some of the interactive, collaborative projects that the children have been undertaking. Their enthusiasm and active participation in creating solutions to possible real-life situations has been outstanding.
Sport - Michael Musolino
21 of our Year 3-6 students represented our school at the Catholic Schools Swimming Carnival at Oaklands Park on Wednesday 17th March. The students competed in a variety of events, including freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. Summer Sport is coming to an end for our Netball and Cricket students. For Winter Sport, we will be nominating a number of Soccer and Netball teams this year. Our School Basketball teams will continue playing into the Winter season. Information about Winter Sport teams will be made available in the school holidays to those students participating.
Italian - Emily Parrella
The Italian Curriculum at St Joseph’s has begun with una festa! (A party!) Children have been learning about the biggest cultural festival in Italia, Carnevale. This celebration marks the beginning of the most holy time in our Catholic calendar, Lent. Students have learnt about why we celebrate Carnevale, the Catholic significance and have also created their own masks for the inaugural Carnevale di SJP, which will be held next Wednesday 24th March. This day will not only be a celebration of the Italian language and culture at SJP, but also a celebration of all of the wonderful cultures that we are lucky to have as a part of our community, to celebrate Harmony Day (which occurs this week). This special event will begin with a masked costume parade for the community and then the day will continue with a myriad of activities for students to take part. These activities include: puppet making, craft, art, intellectual STEM challenges, soccer, bocce and traditional Italian dancing. We have even created a café atmosphere in the morning that will be run by the P&F, as well as a special cultural food day for all students to participate, run by Josie and the canteen.
Students have also begun and will continue their term focus on Sono Io (All about me). They are creating written texts completely in Italiano about themselves and practising their Oral Language skills by reading and presenting to myself and their peers. Their recognition of the Italian language and their dedication to learning another language at St Joseph’s is to be absolutely commended. Their excitement and willingness to have a go is phenomenal to witness as their Italian teacher. From here, we will delve into Pasqua (Easter) and the similarities and differences between Easter in Italia and Australia.
Bravissimi Ragazzi! A brilliant start to your language learning in 2021!
Marie Polvere
This year has commenced with lots of changes and enthusiasm to undertake new ways of presenting learning. The staff and children are engaged in many new experiences. I have commenced my Reading Intervention program with a small group of children in Year 1 and they are responding with a positive mindset, trying hard to face challenges and recognise their strengths. On Monday and Tuesday of Week 8 I am participating in a webinar about Inclusive Education through ACEL NDIC exploring ways to truly be inclusive. Listening to Carol Ann Tomlinson so far has been reassuring, inspiring and thought provoking. She is a wonderful advocate for working from a child's strengths and their ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development), not focussing too heavily on their 'deficits' but building confidence and differentiating how to access the curriculum. She is a wonderful speaker who has provoked the challenge to help our students reach even greater heights, through careful consideration of the adjustments provided. Reviews have commenced and this will be a point of important discussion and consideration.
Over the next few weeks NAPLAN for 2021 information will be sent out to the families of children in Years 3 & 5. Remind children to try their best but keep in mind that the class teacher can give insight into your child's learning profile if you would like to know more about their progress.
I have also sent out information about the ICAS competitions for Years 2 to 6. We will only go ahead if we have enough interested parties. I have received a few responses, however, will need more to continue. We still have time as the tests are in August.
Religious Education
Term 1 has definitely started with a buzz of activity with both staff and children keen to start the academic year with enthusiasm. Term 1 also is a busy one for our church calendar as we began LENT in Week 4 with our Ash Wednesday Mass and then we continue to prepare for the Easter Season. Class masses this term will again be celebrated at 10.10am in the Church for Year R-6. Each class will have an opportunity to prepare a Mass where the children will take on roles and responsibilities for that Mass. A note will be placed on Seesaw to families regarding the details of these masses. Our Sacramental Program continued in Week 2 with parents attending meetings to assist in the preparation of their children for First Eucharist and Confirmation. All sacramental dates have be published and parents made aware. We still await our date for Confirmation. Our Commissioning Mass was celebrated on the 26th February as our School Staff, School Board, P&F and Parish Pastoral Council were presented to the community. First Eucharist /Confirmation Candidates were also presented at this mass. We prepare this week to celebrate as a whole school our St Joseph’s Day Mass followed by a School Picnic. This day is very special as we recognise the qualities of our patron Saint Joseph.
I look forward to working with staff, students and parents this year as we all strive to enrich the lives of our students through and with God's love.
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