What’s on at Junior School  

Future Enrolments 

A Strong Start Back in Prep! 

The Prep cohort has made a strong start back into Term 2 and are eager to get straight back into their learning. 

“Children learn as they play. More importantly, in play, children learn how to learn” O. Fred Donaldson 

Each day, the students have fun lessons planned for their learning. This week, we have been looking at 10s frames in Numeracy and writing sentences in Literacy. 

After our Maths daily review, which refreshes the students’ minds on our prior learning, we jumped straight into a game of ‘Race to 20’. The aim of the game is to take turns rolling the dice with a partner and putting the unifix cubes on their 10s frames until they reach 20. The first one to 20 wins! 

The students love this game and enjoy playing with a partner of their choice. It encourages them to count, identify numbers using dice and collaborate with their peers. This is a fun game that can be played at home as well. Simply draw up some 10s charts and away you go! 

The students have enjoyed getting back into their learning this week, and we can’t wait to see all the fun learning ahead in Prep this term. 

Year 1 – ANZAC Day 

It was so great to see all the students’ bright smiley faces on their return to school on Wednesday. 1B settled back into classroom routines very smoothly. We all had a wonderful first day catching up and hearing what the students did over the holidays. 

This week we had lots of exciting events happening at school, starting off the week with an ANZAC Day service. The students got to learn about ANZAC Day and what it means. We had special guests from Senior School who participate in the region’s cadet programs, who spoke to us about what they do as cadets. 

The students enjoyed learning about ANZAC Day, we read the story ‘Anzac Biscuits’ and explored some of the vocabulary in the story. The students then learnt about the different ways in which ANZAC Day is commemorated. 1B coloured their own slouch hat which is a famous a symbol of the ‘Australian fighting man’ during World War One. The students thoroughly enjoyed creating these hats and learning about ANZAC Day. 

We are looking forward to another term of fantastic learning. 

‘Lest we Forget.’ 

Year 4 – Resourceful Toys  

Our Year 4 classes have started the term with great excitement as they collaborate and explore options for creating a sustainable toy made from recycled materials. As we explore the concept of ‘materials’, the students will consider the purpose of the material, its strength and durability and whether it’s processed or natural. 

For the first session this week, students considered a range of recycled materials they could use in the creation of their toy. Further to this, in the coming weeks as their toys start to come to life, our Year 4 students will consider what applied and indirect forces are being exerted for the use of their toy. Some of these forces include- push, pull, thrust, friction, gravity and drag. During the unit, students will also be conducting small experiments during their scheduled Integrated Studies lessons and collecting data, which will enable them to make informed scientific conclusions. 

Mothers’ Day Stall Reminder 

A reminder that our Annual Mothers’ Day Stall will be held on Friday May 12. We would be very grateful for some donations of small packets of chocolates, chips, coffee or tea bags etc. Any small cash donations would also be gratefully accepted. 

On the day of the stall, please remember to send along $5 for your child to spend at the stall. If your child requires more than one present, there will be an opportunity for students to revisit the stall during recess to make further purchases.  

Year 2 Camp Reminder 

We are looking forward to Year 2 Camp next week on Thursday and Friday May 4 and 5. Please see below a list of suggested items to bring along to camp. 

* A small suitcase/carry all overnight bag, clearly named on the outside 
*  Sleeping bag clearly named on the outside, pillow, pillowcase and single sheet (flat sheet or fitted sheet).   
* A bath towel, hand towel and face washer. 
* Sensible footwear – 1 pair of shoes extra or boots, (in case shoes become wet) 
* Two changes of underwear, socks, shirts or skivvies. 
* Clothing appropriate to the season: waterproof jacket, summer hat, beanie, warm pyjamas/tracksuit, shorts, tracksuits or jeans 
* Toiletries: Toothbrush, toothpaste, brush and comb, soap, insect repellent and sunscreen all in toilet bag. 
* Tissues, (small pack) 
* Torch for night walk 
* Plastic bag for soiled clothing. 
* One book for evening reading. 

Small backpack for first day with snack, lunch and water bottle 

Please note: We ask that electronic games, phones, smart watches, personal valuables (such as jewellery/money) and cameras (due to privacy reasons) are not brought along to camp. We also ask that parents avoid sending along lollies/snack items in overnight luggage due to food allergy concerns. 

Prep – 2 Music in Term 2 

What a great start! The Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students have engaged in lots of singing, dancing and music-making so far in 2023. All classes have been learning to sing pitches and use hand signs to accompany them. Perhaps your child has come home singing ‘so mi’ and can do the hand signs? The Kodaly approach develops musicianship through singing and uses hand signs developed by John Curwen. Using this approach, the students have learned simple songs and will develop the ability to recognise the pitch of a note as higher or lower. 

In addition, there’s been lots of games and dancing with a firm favourite song – Top of the World by Shawn Mendez which featured in the movie ‘Lyle, Lyle Crocodile’. The Prep students have loved playing games, especially Music Detective! They have learned the music terms for soft (piano) and loud (forte) and can play their instruments with these in mind. We have used buckets, djembe drums, ukuleles, lots of percussion instruments and explored the way that vibrations create sound through water play with tin cans. The students have also begun to think about the way we can move to music and respond to different tempos whilst keeping the beat. Year 1 students have explored beat and rhythm by using hoops to show the beat and people in the hoop to make the rhythm! Year 2 students have been learning about stringed instruments as well as composing their own rhythm sequences and practising their treble clefs. We look forward to lots more music fun in Term 2!