YEAR 1

Thank you so much to the children and parents of Year 1 who have responded so well to their home learning tasks during this really unsettling time. Both Mrs Hingston and Mrs Noble have felt very supported by the Year 1 families as we've been navigating this path together. The teachers have enjoyed being in touch with the children and parents via email and 'Seesaw', and we have been impressed by the enthusiasm of the Yr 1 students. We are looking forward to getting back to some face-to-face teaching on Monday and Tuesday of next week, as well as a continuation of our home learning on Wed-Fri. Thank you again to the Year 1 Parents, for your understanding and collaboration with us over the last weeks. 

It is great to see so many students completing the set tasks.

Last week in Mathematics we looked at 3D shapes and their properties. This week we are looking at 2D shapes and their properties. The children had to draw 3D shapes which most students did extremely well at. Keep working at this Year 2.

In our Justice Unit for Religion we have been looking at different communities and our own school community. The children were asked to write a prayer at the end of the week and most prayers asked for COVID-19 to be over so that the children could return to school.

Our English this term looks a little different with each child starting the day by working on a program called Lalilo which focuses on phonemic awareness skills. All students are working through set tasks in Spelling City. We have a writing task which has a stimulus picture to encourage students to be creative. Over the next few weeks our focus in reading is increasing our fluency and comprehension skills.

Our Science Unit this term is called Food for the Future. Last week the children leant the difference between fresh and processed food. Their task was to look through their kitchen cupboards and fridge and list foods that are fresh and foods that are processed. This week the students will be working on an experiment which requires them to plant seeds and record the growth rate of their seeds.

HISTORY

This term in History, students will explore how technology has changed overtime and the impact this has on people's lives. They will continue to understand that they are historians and are exploring history by using the inquiry process to analyse and evaluate historical sources. Students will be given a history task each week to complete at home until school returns as normal. 

In music, students will complete a home activity once each fortnight that works towards developing their skills in rhythm, tempo, pitch and dynamics. The activities will be based on music-making and creativity, including students  designing their own instrument, reading music notes, creating and playing compositions and creating their own song lyrics. 

We would like to wish all Mothers a Happy Mother’s Day.

Patty Dunn and Kate Gallagher

Year 3 has worked hard completing their ‘home learning’ tasks over these past two weeks. We have had some successful Zoom meetings to help us with different tasks. Our Religion unit is ‘Values’ which has involved thinking about ‘happiness’ and learning about ‘the Beatitudes’. In English, we are reading the book “The Tale of Despereaux’ by Kate DiCamillo and enjoying hearing about the adventures of a tiny, sickly mouse who takes his fate into his own hands. In History, we have looked at local, national and international symbols. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be discussing significant Australian celebrations and commemorations. In Science, we are learning about ‘Solids, Liquids and Gas’. The PDH unit we have started is about overcoming adversities and learning ways to respond to challenges that we may face in our lives. Overall, it has been a very busy start to the term. I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to the children and parents for the positive way you have adapted to these new and very different circumstances that we find ourselves in. Take care and stay well.

It has been a different way to start Term 2…..working at home!

Year 4 have shown great interest in all their work and are becoming great participants in Zoom Meetings!

In Religion, we are thinking about Happiness and relating it to living out the Gospel values, daily, in our lives. In English, we are enjoying our novel for the term, Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White. It is teaching us a lot about friendship and emotions. Our focus in Maths is Bar Graphs. We have had a lot of fun activities to help us learn more about them this week. In History, we are studying Early Exploration and have learnt about a 15^th Century Chinese explorer, Zheng He. We built a model of a 15^th Century Chinese Sailing Ship in Creative Arts. It was a lot of fun! Thank you to Isla for sending a photo of her model.

Year 4 are to be congratulated on their effort since Home Learning began and our Year 4 parents deserve a big THANK YOU for the support given during this unusual time. Hopefully, we will be back to our classrooms full-time, before too long!

Isla’s Ship Sailing the High Seas

There really aren’t enough words to explain how incredibly proud Miss Gallagher and I are of the amazing efforts of the students in 5/6 over the last two weeks of Term 1 and the first two weeks of Term 2! Yes, there were and continue to be a few issues, but the majority of these have been sorted. The technological skills that the students have developed in this time are far ahead of where they would have been, had it not been for this pandemic! A silver lining perhaps?

We are incredibly thankful for the support and patience of our 5/6 families in getting ‘our’ kids up and running with their At Home Learning. We acknowledge that it can’t have been easy, but we hope that they are now far more independent with these tasks and are flying along, mostly unassisted.

Miss Gallagher and I can’t wait to see their smiling faces next Monday and Tuesday. During these two days we will be focussing on giving the students the input for their learning for the rest of the week. When they are not rostered to come to school (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday), they will still be expected to continue with the learning tasks set for them, based on the activities taught on Monday and Tuesday. These activities will continue to be on One Note and online as they are accustomed.

We can’t wait to have our little OLV family back together again!

 LEARNING SUPPORT

Mrs McCallum is VERY impressed with the great progress many children are making on Lexia with their Home Learning.

Keep up the great work everyone!!

Autism Awareness Australia

Autism Awareness Australia has compiled autism specific resources, videos and information to make managing life during this crisis a little easier for families.

NDIS Update

NDIS Update - For the next five months, eligible participants will be able to flexibly use existing NDIS plan funding to purchase low-cost Assistive Technology, including smart devices, to enable continued access to disability supports through telehealth and telepractice while physical distancing regulations are in place for coronavirus pandemic. See the link for further details as this will be fantastic for many families.