To The School Community,
Firstly, remember that Monday 4th November is a Curriculum Day, NO STUDENTS Monday 4th November. During this day the staff will begin to develop curriculum plans for 2020, create initial groupings for students moving into 2020, spending some time on drafting their end of year reports and hopefully enjoying a nice lunch together.
Since my last bulletin the students and staff have been involved in many learning opportunities both in and outside of the classroom.
Our Edible Garden Program goes from strength to strength with students experiencing opportunities through STEM and lunchtime activities. They are currently distributing veggie seedlings for you to plant in your patches at home. Mr Burdess and many community volunteers are supporting the students during this experience.
Students in all year levels also experience the use of “mentor texts” to understand what accomplished writers do to create engaging and effective compositions.
A mentor text is a carefully chosen text which models a particular trait, focus or feature of writing (or other learning areas). Good quality mentor texts help students see what success looks like to guide their writing and meet their goals.
With the guidance of Rachael Curtain, our Learning Specialist, teachers have deepened their understanding of how to use mentor texts to support learning and teaching.
Student Leadership
Our year 5’s have begun the process to decide on the leadership profile for their grade 6 year. A dozen students have been recommended by their peers to stand for School Captain with the students presenting at last week’s assembly. These students will continue to showcase their leadership at the year 5 camp next week.
All students will take on a leadership role that suits their skills, interests and areas that they would like to improve. These roles will be developed with significant input from the students over the next month.
Class Structure
A class structure has been decided for the 2020 school year and is a s follows:
Foundation ( PREP) 3 classes
Year 1/2 – six classes
Year 3 – three classes
Year 4/5 – six classes
Year 6 – three classes
Transition Sessions
During November and December we will be hold 3 transition sessions where the students will be placed into groupings leading in to the 2020 school year.
These sessions give us an opportunity to connect students to each other and teachers of those year levels to help us form classes that will be finalised after the final transition in mid December. You will be notified via correspondence which teacher your child has for the 2020 year during the last week of school.
As part of the transition sessions our year 5 students have visited many of our 2020 Foundation students over the past 2 weeks. The feedback about our students connecting with the Kinder children has been very positive and the year 5’s have thoroughly enjoyed the visits. Being a Buddy in year 6 is a special part of the year and I know that they will doing a fantastic job supporting our newest preps.
As a school we continue to find opportunities for students to have extra curricular experiences to add value to their school experiences. During the last few weeks students have been able to participate in, Debating ( Grand Finalists), Excursions to Lake Connewarre and the Lobster Pot, Chess Tournaments, Tennis Clinics as well as some students choosing to participate in the much anticipated Wizard of Oz performance later in the year.
Christmas Fair
Our Christmas Fair will be held on Friday December 6th and we look forward to having a great evening together. Apart from the rides and a delicious BBQ Dinner available on the night there will be many activities, stalls and entertainment for you to enjoy.
A successful part of our Fair in the past has been Hamper Raffles where our community has rallied to donate prizes, vouchers and services to the hampers. We are hoping that this support can continue. We would like to thank those who have already donated or sought out donations.
Working Bee
There is an opportunity for families to attend a Working Bee on Sunday December 1st. This will assist in preparing the site for the school fair ensuring we have the school looking its best for the event.
In the lead up – ASAP – I am looking for parents with the knowledge and skills to build a permanent stage for the school. This will be a deck approx 6×4. If you are interested in coordinating this for us please contact me directly.
Enjoy the rest of the week and good luck to our year 5’s going on camp next week. I know that you will enjoy what is a fantastic program at Cave Hill Creek.
Important Dates:
Monday 4th November – Curriculum Day – NO students at school
Wednesday 6th November – Grade 5 Camp (return on Friday 8th November)
Thursday 7th November – Grade 1/2 Living Things Incursion
Friday 8th November – Whole School Assembly (3.00pm)
Tuesday 12th November – Werribee Zoo (Preps)
Thursday 14th November – School Dental Van