St Joseph's Primary School South Grafton eNewsletter

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

It is difficult to believe that Term 1 is drawing to a close! On your behalf I would like to congratulate and thank our wonderful staff who tirelessly invest so much of their time, care and professionalism to ensure the children get the best possible learning experience.

This week I would like to highlight the first Parameter from our professioanl learning journey - we believe that all children can achieve at a high level, given the right support. All teachers share this common belief and understand the implications. This belief means no excuses - every teacher, every day has to make a difference to a child's learning. The children are also seen as individuals, which means there are different learning plans for various students.

The open morning we had in Kinder and Stage 1 last Monday was a huge success for all. There were many parents present which shows your level of commitment to your child. Considering many parents work, we had a huge response. The teachers demonstrated the Walker learning pedagogy and the parents commented upon how engaged the children were.

Finally, I wish you all a very safe and memorable holiday. As I told the children at assembly this week - Easter is more important in the Church's year than Christmas. This week the children have dramatised the Easter message in the hall, with each grade taking a part of the story at some stage over the week.

Thank you for showing interest in the work we are doing - attending assemblies, open mornings and prayer opportunities. It is wondeful to see you back on site once more. Please just remember to sign in and socially distance when you enter the gates.

I look forward to a wonderful Term 2!

With every good wish, Lee Denton Principal Masters of Education (Leadership)

Assistant Principal - Anne Forwell

Walker Learning Journey

Recently we applied for a $30,000 grant from Schools Plus Australia to help with our Walker Learning Journey. We are pleased to announce that we were successful. As part of this grant we have also been allocated a coach for the year to assist us to further implement Walker Learning in our school, resulting in improved learning outcomes for our students. Our coach, Jeff Bruce, is a former Director with the NSW Department of Education.

Walker Learning is underpinned by national and international research where students investigate and research. It is not free play. These investigations and projects allow children to partake in self-driven learning, while at the same time are satisfying the requirements of the NSW syllabus.

The classroom environment at St Joseph’s is now also being aligned with the Walker Learning Approach. This includes classrooms being de-institutionalised so they have warm lighting and calming effects of greenery and diffusers. The rooms also have smaller spaces and lowered ceilings to create inviting learning areas for our students.

Term 2 Staff Development Day - Pupil Free

Our next pupil free day will be at the start of Term 2 on Monday 19 April. The first day of school for all students will be Tuesday 20 April.

K-2 Instructional Leader - Larissa Deleiuen

K-2 Open Classrooms - Walker Learning in Action

What a fantastic morning of investigating, learning, observing, questioning and dialogue we had on Monday in the Infants classrooms! Families observed the Walker Learning Approach in action. They observed the 3 key elements to the approach:

Tuning In - Teacher has a conversation with a Focus Child, modelling the language of learning. This is a time to help children focus on their learning, revise Literacy, Numeracy and Developmental Domain Learning Intentions. This is a time for tuning into learning for the whole day, not just investigation time. Three Focus children, a Photographer and Reporter, each have time to be tuned in to their learning.
Investigations - Students investigate the different areas around the learning environment. The teacher will spend time talking with and scaffolding the focus children, photographer and reporter. This is a time where teachers observe and notice oral language, literacy and numeracy skills.
Reflection - A time where students reflect on and identify the learning that has happened and make links to learning that will occur later in the day, guided and scaffolded by the teacher. One or two freebies are shared where a student has demonstrated a link to any of the learning intentions from the day.

Families heard about and saw one of the main ways the children learn - through opportunities for them to engage in investigations of interest to them.

Sport Coordinator-Emma Davis

Cross Country Results

Congratulations to all students who participated in the Cross Country Carnival. Well done to the following age champions:

8/9 Year Girls: Bath-Sheba Bowman

8/9 Year Boys: Braxton Metcalfe

10 Year Girls: Chloe Pye

10 Year Boys: Jackson Grieve

11 Year Girls: Isabelle Pye

11 Year Boys: Peter Hewitt

12/13 Year Girls: Eve Pullen

12/13 Year Boys: Archie Steel

Congratulations to Wilson (Red) House who was awarded the winning house. Students who placed in the top five in their age group will represent the school at the Clarence Zone Cross Country Carnival at McAuley Catholic College on Wednesday 28 April.

Cross Country Carnival

Gumbaynggirr Language-Liz Hegedus

Giinagay Ngujawiny -Hello You Mob,

Welcome to the last week of Term 1. It has been a wonderful term teaching each stage different aspects about Indigenous culture.

Stage 1 are currently learning about 'Songlines' and how they are important to Indigenous culture. Songlines are the responsibilities of the Aboriginal people of Australia. Songlines connect the Aboriginal people with the Dreamtime and how they believe the world was created. Songlines tell the story of the Australian landscape. It is believed in the Dreamtime, ancestral spirits created songlines, also known as 'Dreaming Tracks' to create routes through the landscape. The songlines relate to landscape, landmarkers, animals, plants, stories, songs, dance, sky and paintings. Through these creations the bond between Aboriginal people, Dreamtime and songlines are sacred and strong.

Stage 1 learnt about the 'Songline' story 'The Bush Plum Dreaming.' This is a big story that spreads right across the western and central deserts from Lajamanu and Warlpiri country to the Utopia homelands. The Bush Plum Dreaming or Creation Story from the Utopia region goes like this: "In the Dreamtime winds blew from all directions carrying the bush plum seed to the artists’ ancestral lands. The first bush plum of the Dreamings grew and bore fruit and dropped more seeds. Many winds blew the seeds all over the Dreaming lands."

Stage 1 turned into artists and had to draw their own version of 'The Bush Plum Dreaming.' Their drawings are absolutely beautiful! We have some very creative artists in our wonderful school.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy and Safe Easter.

Darrundang Ngiinda -Thankyou Miss Liz Hegedus

Weekly Merit Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received a Merit Award this week.

Kindergarten Rubin French for using his listening skills whilst listening to a story and sharing his thoughts. Meliah Daley for using the sound chart to identify the sounds in words when writing. Byron Brockwell for representing amounts in different ways on a bead kebab.

Stage 1 Noah Grainger for his wonderful writing focusing on the p/pp sound. David Van der Vlist for working hard on his personal goal of treating resources with care. Lincoln Browne for his continued efforts to recognise his emotions and to think of others. Elijah Willis for his inquisitive explanation during Mathematics reflection. Vashti Bowman for her enthusiasm during St Parick's Day collage investigations using coloured wallpaper to create a three leaf clover. James Awbery for modelling St Joseph and treating others with kindness. Harrison Light for his insightful knowledge and interest in writing about emus. Max Fraser for working hard on his personal goal of being attentive during explicit teaching time. Maverick Buchanan for contributing well during class discussions about adjectives, nouns and verbs. Ned Scully for his enthusiasm to learn in new ways during Walker Learning investigations.

Stage 2 Sebastian Willis for his positive attitude during our unit on Chance in Mathematics. Darcy Smith for on task behaviour and getting tasks started with a sense of urgency. Ryan Smith for increased focus during all learning tasks. Chloe Pye for including great tier 2 words in her story writing. Rahni Hummelstad for her contribution to class discussions during mathematics. Matthew Fletcher for his increased focus during learning tasks. Eva Davis for her creative and engaging ideas when planning her story. Emmett Hammond for positive class participation during writing tasks. Tynan Boers for showing great self control and increased focus on his learning. Stage 3 Lily Barrett for her commitment to our morning class conference. Monique Rogers for her Christian way of including others. Tallon Shoesmith for his calm focus during Christian meditation. Peter Hewitt for his contribution to class discussions when making connections in his reading. Cameron Barratt for having a successful re-entry back into St Joseph's. Emily Hyde for using her multiplication facts to help find factors and multiples of numbers. Archie Steele for his contribution to class discussion when making connections to what he has read.