18-Aug-2023
Dear Families
This week our new relocatable arrived and the team from GROVE Constructions have been hard at work preparing these rooms. We are hopeful that the building will be ready for occupation in the final week of term and Mr Heywood is very excited at the prospect of using one of the 2 rooms for his amazing Performing Arts program!
Next week is jammed packed with activities and a short week for our students.
Third time is a charm! Weather permitting we are hoping to run our year 3-6 Athletics carnival at the Velodrome on Monday.
To acknowledge the support of our ‘Story Dogs’ team, our Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) gold coin fundraiser will be on Wednesday. Students are encouraged to wear their PJs and suitable shoes to help promote awareness of our the work that the story Dogs team do at our school and in other areas of the state. https://www.storydogs.org.au/
Thursday from 3:30 – 5:30 pm is our biennial Art Show. Students have been creating some amazing pieces of art work over the last few months and these will proudly be displayed throughout our school. There will be some food trucks on-site for anyone who wants to grab a snack as you wander between display settings
Friday is a student free day – and with such a busy week – it may be just the tonic for our students and a chance to rest up and reset for the last 3 weeks of the school term. Our staff will be engaging with our Positive Behaviour coach throughout this day undertaking our Annual first Aid training to ensure our staff are up to date with Level 1 or 2 First Aid.
Positive Schools
Schools are positive places of learning and work where everyone has a right to a safe and healthy environment.
Everyone is responsible for maintaining respectful, supportive relationships in their school community.
As we are in the latter half of our third term, I thought it was an opportune time for us all to reflect on our school values of Respectful, Kind and Determined and to use these values to set our expectations for how we would like to finish off the year. We all have a shared responsibility for ensuring that we uphold these values, and I am committed to ensuring that everyone in our school community is treated with respect, fairness and dignity. This is particularly important where there are concerns or sensitive matters that might need to be raised, or where we think that particular issues should be responded to or handled slightly differently.
It is also a good time to remind our community – students, parents and carers – that if they have any concerns or queries about a school related matter, the best way to raise those matters is by talking directly to our school leadership, so that these can resolved in a respectful way. It is a source of frustration when I hear that our positive school culture may be being undermined by way of inaccurate comments or talk in the school community, rather than addressing concerns with the school directly. Thankfully, such instances are very rare, and I am proud of the supportive and collaborative relationships we have as a school community.
At this point in the year, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who contribute to the positivity of our school community each and every week. Though I cannot thank each of you individually, I wish to assure you that your efforts and support, particularly at challenging times, does not go unnoticed.
MORPHOLGY in the Classroom
Taking prospective families on tours around the school is a wonderfully confirming experience. The learning and teaching in all classrooms is setting our students up for success – particularly the work being undertaken in Reading. As students become increasingly proficient and can recognise sounds, blends, digraphs and the rules of reading, we focus more and more upon MORPHOLOGY. The most important reason for studying morphology is to enhance vocabulary – thereby increasing comprehension
Morphology is the study of words and how they are formed and used. Very often this includes a focus on prefixes and suffixes and it is quite amazing to see and hear our students’ understanding of these. A tangible benefit of Morphology might be seen in this recent maths anecdote. Students sometimes get confused when discussing the Perimeter and Area of any given 2 dimensional shape. This confusion can be eliminated by explaining that the prefix peri – means around, and meter – means to measure. Students now know that the Perimeter of a shape is the measurement around the shape.
An example of the sorts of learning tasks and activities that some students are exposed to at school , and can be replicated at home is offered here.
Word building activity using morphemes
- Prepare a list of base words and a set of affix cards that can be attached to the start or end of one of the root words – see the table below for an example.
- In pairs or small groups, students take turns to flip affix cards face-up and decide which base word the upturned card can meaningfully attach to.
- The ‘flipper’ says the new word aloud and defines it.
- All students in the pair or group write down the new word alongside a definition of that word and a sentence containing the word.
5. As an extension, students can be asked to incorporate the words (or others with prefixes that they can think of independently) into a written passage or story
This link below may be of interest for anyone wanting to discover a bit more about morphology- but a word of warning- this learning can be addictive 😊
Morphology and comprehension strategies – Five from Five
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DRILLS
We have identified a couple of dates that these may be held (weather dependent) and we have tentatively scheduled the drills for September 7 @ approx. 3:00 pm and September 15 @approx 12:30 pm.
Most likely these will be held in the afternoon and we respectfully request that any parents or carers who are onsite at the time of the Drills participate and model positive safety practices to our students.
Key dates in Term 3
- Drop Everything and Read PJ Day – Wednesday 23 of August
- Art Show – Thursday 24 August 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm at school
- Curriculum Day (Student free day) – Friday 25 August
- District Athletics – Friday 8 September
- Performing Arts Incursion– Friday 8 September
- Last Day of Term Friday 20 September. 2:00 pm assembly and dismissal at 2:30 pm
James Whitla
I wish to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which this is being read – for most of us – the
Bunurong- members of the eastern Kulin Nations – and pay my respects to elders past present and emerging. I
wish to acknowledge our First Nations people and pay respects to them. I note further that these lands were
never ceded and are, and always will be, Aboriginal Lands.