Hello Parents and Carers,
The rain has been delightful. Our school water tank is full and our grass is lush and growing taller! The cooler change makes learning that little bit easier. Autumn is here at long last!
Challenging Learning
Challenging Learning is the pedagogy we support at St Mary’s and it is about making learning more interesting by challenging how we think about concepts. Last week I explained the strategy of Odd One Out which is a quick ten minute activity to start or finish a lesson. Students are asked to base their answer on sound reasoning and all answers are shared. It always amazes me how we can think differently about the same problem.
This week, I have another example to demonstrate the strategy. It is based on fractions and would be ideal to do with Year 2-6 students. Have a conversation at your place and let us know which one you think is the Odd One Out? There is no right answer, just an opportunity to ‘think and reason’. If you like please write your answer on a piece of paper and place in the Odd One Out box located in the front office. I’ll share some of the answers this Friday in our K-6 mini-assembly.
National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence
Next Friday 20 March is a nationwide day of action against bullying and violence. St Mary’s is a registered school and students are encouraged to wear bright colours in honour of the focus of the day which is Bullying, No Way! Classes will be doing some of the activities from the website https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/. All students will receive a backpack toggle to attach to their school backpack as a reminder that we do not tolerate bullying or violence at our school and that all students have the right to feel safe.
Grandparents Day - We will be having Grandparents Day on Thursday 2 April 2020. Each class will present an item showcasing some of their work from this term. Our classrooms will then be opened for parents and grandparents to walk through and view followed by a sausage sizzle. It should be a wonderful way to celebrate the important role our grandparents play in our lives. Please extend an invitation to all the grandparents in our community and let them know it starts at 11:30am.
Professional Development
Both Ms Buckmaster and Ms Crozier have had the opportunity to do some Numeracy Professional Development this week. Ms Saunderson attended professional development on Religious Education last Monday. Ms Justine Hughes is also in Canberra this week completing professional development in her role as Classroom Support Teacher. We are fortunate to have current initiatives and professional development practice available for regional schools.
Have a lovely week everyone.
Jannine