Weetangera Primary School eNewsletter

From Julie

Dear Families

Week 9, Term 1 and we have much to celebrate. From the beginning of the year, we have had new students, new teachers, a new year of learning and, as in all things some new and interesting challenges that have kept us all on our toes.

As we have moved through the term COVID has ebbed and flowed around us presenting additional challenges to what we would have said, a few years ago, was our usual way of being. Things are set to change from the beginning of Term 2. The following easing of restrictions will be in place:

school sports will resume without cohorting restrictions,

school bands, and performance rehearsals will be able to resume without our students needing to remain in their cohorts
face to face school assemblies and performances will also be allowed for students, although at this stage parents are unable to attend in person
school sports competitions can resume off school grounds, and parents are welcome to attend these events if held outdoors
Interstate excursions will also be allowed for trips within a 4-hour driving distance to the ACT, as well as overnight excursions resuming where appropriate.

Additionally, an enormous thanks to everyone in our community; parents, uncles, aunties, grandparents, and family friends for your support, your compliance with the current school restrictions, and helping us to normalise the challenges and complexities the students face. It’s been much appreciated and a great help, allowing us to get on with our job of teaching and learning.

I have had some interesting conversations over the term regarding how to uncover what students have been up to all day at school. The usual response from children is that they have done ‘nothing’! Which must lead you to wonder; what do they do at school, is there any learning going on and how can I get my child/ren to let me in on the secret of what they do get u to while they are at school?

There are some simple questioning techniques to use to begin to uncover how your children have spent their day. Try some of these questions as a starting point:

Questioning is the best way to stay connected too.

What was something you learned today?
Did anything funny happen today?
What were 3 things you enjoyed today at school?
What was your highlight? What was your lowlight?
What was your favourite thing today?
Who did you sit next to/play with at break times today?
What was your favourite act of kindness you witnessed today? How
Were you kind today?
What was the most challenging part of your day today?
What made you smile today?
What was the best part of your day?
What are you looking forward to doing tomorrow?

Our holidays begin at the end of next week, and school returns on Tuesday, 26 April. At the beginning of next term, I will be on leave for a few weeks and Mel Bezear will be the principal in my absence. I am looking forward to trekking around the Victorian Silo Art Trail and taking in the amazing work of the graffiti artists responsible for some of the biggest artworks in regional Australia. This one is in Sheep Hills Victoria:

Have a safe and happy holiday, rejuvenating with your families as we prepare for Term 2 that will see the reintroduction of assemblies, NAPLAN assessments, sporting events, excursions and musical experiences amongst other things.

Thought for the week:

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forgot what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Maya Angelou

Regards

Julie

Request for Donations

We are looking for a range of items for use in some of our classrooms and on the playground. If you have any of the below that are clean and still in good working order (these are all for use by students), can you please contact the school using our school email address: school.information@weetangeraps.act.edu.au. Please send us a photo and a description if you can. Even better if you can help to get it here!

If you'd like to talk about these requests or require any further information please contact Mel Bezear via 6142 2600.

Rocking Chair
2-seater lounge/lounges
Hammock
Children's tent
Swing set
Foam balls
Bouncing balls
Beanbags/beanbag chairs
Floor cushions
Throw rugs
Small table (e.g. a card table)
Jigsaw puzzles (complete): cardboard or wooden
Lego/Duplo
Dolls
Dinosaurs
Craft supplies

What's happening in Music

Kindergarten: This term in music, The Magic Hats, Possums and Ladybirds are learning about the elements of music. They are exploring ways to make sound using their voice and body, and are discussing how music is made and why. The mini musicians have been using their body to keep a beat and clap rhythms, playing percussion instruments to different genres of music and looking at the different ways music can be written. Take a look at the mini composers at work:

Year 1 & 2: This term in music, Year 1 & 2 are further exploring rhythm. Using percussion instruments, the students performed in front of their class and were met with ecstatic applause. The students have also been looking at connecting visual cues with pitch by learning how to see pitch when hearing sounds through Kodaly hand signs. The marvellous musicians have formed a class band and are using xylophones and Boomwhackers to play songs that they know and love. Check out some of our breathtaking bands!

Sarah Masling

What's happening in French

As part of our French program at Weetangera, we had the opportunity to participate in the Francophonie competition that is a school celebration of the different Francophonie countries around the world. Through this competition, students get a chance to recognise that French is a language spoken and celebrated all over the world in many different ways. Our school was given the country Egypt to celebrate and understand its significance in the Francophonie. We spent time in our classes exploring the country and learning about its traditions, geography, celebrations, and etc. We then, either individually or in groups, created posters to represent the country and celebrate its culture. As part of the requirements of this competition, 16 student posters/contributions were chosen to represent Weetangera School, 8 from years 3 and 4 and 8 from years 5 and 6.

Here are the posters we created. These posters displayed an excellent balance between research and writing skills, as well as creativity and art.

Shamim Sabetraftar

What's happening in Health & PE

One of the three rotations for Year 3-6 students alongside French and PE is Health. Helping our students learn about health and the importance of leading an active lifestyle has been very rewarding!

Year 3/4 Topics: Term 1

What Does Health Mean to Me?
What Are the Benefits of Being Healthy and Physically Active?
How We Can Be More Active
Safety on The Playground
To understand the influences on what you eat

Year 5/6 Topics: Term 1

To understand the benefits of physical activity and being active to children’s health
Why is physical activity important for health and wellbeing?
Types of Health
Planning and Implementing Opportunities to Be More Active at School and at Home
Advertisement: Why It Is Important for Children to Be Physically Active

Erwin McRae

Meerkats Update

Meerkats update In the Meerkats classroom we have been busy with all aspects of learning this year. Learning in the Meerkats happens through a wide variety of methods. Students learn individually and in small groups. Within the Meerkats classroom we utilise 2 Augmentative & Alternative Communication device (AAC device) for students to communicate. These devices provide our students with a voice and they are also able to complete writing and maths activities among others.

We use experiences from our student's lives to generate writing ideas. Each Monday the writing forcus is what the students did over the weekend. To begin our writing, as a class we brainstorm different ideas about what the students could write about. Then, we work together using interactive writing as a class to complete a demonstration writing sample. We then work with the students to take their writing further and focus on each student’s specific learning need.

Sarah Cairns

Harmony Day

Harmony Day was last Thursday, 24 March. Students and staff dressed in orange or significant clothing from their culture or country of origin.

Students participated in a range of activities that helped them learn more about the many different cultures that are represented in the Weetangera Primary School commmunity.

The Weetangera Primary School P&C is up and running for 2022, with lots of wonderful stuff planned already. Please see below for an update.

PC_Update_March_2022.pdf

Garden Update

Some of the children in Kindergarten have been helping in the vegetable garden to pick the abundance of tomatoes ripening this week. We have been working hard to develop engaging writing lessons in kindergarten and to provide opportunities to have authentic and purposeful writing tasks. Some of the children helped to record a list of jobs in the vegetable garden, focusing on the initial sounds they could hear in the words. We talked about ‘tomatoes’ and how we might spell the word. The children made connections to their sound focus for the week and the learning they have been doing in the classroom. We brainstormed what we might use the tomatoes for and are keen to learn more about how we can look after the vegetable garden at Weetangera Primary School.