Week 8 Term 1 Blog Post

 Kaya,

I hope you all had a wonderful sunny Saturday and Sunday to finish your week. What a fun week we had, a green mid-week celebration was had by all. Miss Hurst was such a true ambassador of the Irish spirit, immersing us in a wonderful culture experience. I thank her for the time and effort she put in to planning such authentic and meaningful tasks, whilst still having fun! 💚🍀 The students not only took part in all the activities but even had a wee jig (Miss Hurst's language) at the end of the day.It was such a pleasure seeing the children leave with huge smiles on their faces beaming from ear to ear. 

Then to top it all off, the Year 6 students finished their swimming lessons on Friday with incredible manners and respect for their awesome swim instructors, what a great end to the week!

Week 8 Learning

Maths:

In Maths, we have been learning about prime and composite numbers, triangular and square numbers, as well as exponents. Over the next week, why not get your child to explain to you what each one is. Next week we will be focusing on mental and written strategies for addition and subtraction. 

As you may have already noticed we have a new focus for this year with the year 6 students times tables. Why not play a game with your child using timestables (x6, x7, x8) at home. We play one in class called shoot out. The students are getting pretty good. Perhaps they could teach you. 

Writing:

In writing, we have started our focus on narratives. Last weeks focus for narratives was character development. We first looked at the scary Miss Trunchbull from Matilda (Tip - When you get a fun family moment watch or read Roald Dahl's Matilda - such amazing characters in that story). We then looked at protagonists and antagonists in a story. Ask your child to tell you the difference between them both. 

We then developed and created our own character Leprechaun on Saint Patrick's Day. They were wonderful, full of description, adjectives and thought. These amazing pieces of work will be available for viewing at the Parent Night. Towards the end of the week we focused on story starters. I have told the students that starting a story with "Once Upon A Time" is BANNED in 6R. 😂😃 So we are now looking at more creative ways to start a story like using onomatopoeia or starting the story mid-action. Next week we will be moving to plot development focusing on mini problems.  

PLEASE READ...Over the next couple of weeks we intend to watch 'Narnia - the Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe' in parts, to support our focus on narratives. As we move through the parts of  a narrative, eg setting, characterisation, an inciting incident, problem, climax, etc we will be watching the related clips to support. This movie is rated PG therefore I am required to inform you and ask that if you would prefer that your child didn't see the film  that you notify me of this ASAP. 

Swimming Lessons:

They have finished 👏 well done to all the year 6 students, they all worked very hard over the last two weeks and had fun at swimming. Thankfully, we finished the two weeks off with two sunny days with crystal clear waters. The students were commended by their swim instructors for their resilience on the rougher days and their respect throughout the two weeks. Well done to those students who have passed and moved on in their swimming levels. 

Week 8 Reminders 

Reminder about First Aid: 

The students of  Year 5 and 6 will participate in a First Aid Response course ran by St John of God. This is a free incursion and each session will run for 45 minutes. The Year 6 classes will have their training on this upcoming Friday 26th March from 12.05 - 12.50pm. 

Bears to Show We Care: 

On Friday the 26th March the students are asked to bring one teddy (size to fit inside school bag) for our mission fundraiser. The students will need to bring in one gold coin donation. 

IMPORTANT...Year 6 Family Mass: 

On Saturday the 27th March at 6pm the Year 6 family mass will be held at Our Lady of the Southern Cross Church. We look forward to seeing you all there. 

Parent Night: 

Over the next two weeks, Paula and I look forward to meeting with you on either Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons. If the times indicated in the original email do not work for you please contact me and I would be happy to organise another time to arrange a meeting. Please do book in a slot to come and have a chat, We look forward to seeing you all. 

Housekeeping: 

1. Homework Signature - Can you please ensure that the students homework is signed on Thursday afternoon, this is then checked in class on Friday. I believe this keeps the students accountable to both myself and you guys. 
2. Library - Library will be back on Wednesday, please send your students bags and books. I appreciate your patience during swimming lessons. 

Upcoming Events

1.  Parent Teacher Interviews week 8 and 9 

2. Bears to Show We Care - Friday, 26th of March 

3. First Aid Training - Friday, 26th of March

4. Year 6 Family Mass - Saturday, 27th of March 

Homework
Due: Friday, 26th March
Our homework diaries having not arrived as yet. The students will continue using their homework books for now. 

Home Learning Grid includes:
1. Reading 20 minutes each night - write title and amount read into their homework book each night.
2. Spelling Activities - spelling grid to be completed in homework book. 
3. Mathematics - Times Tables - x8 written and timed
4. Three well-being tasks from learning grid.

Have a wonderful week everyone,

Mrs Ricciardone & Miss Hurst