Week 4, Term 1

  Hello from the Prep Rooms! 

This week in Literacy, we met Milo Monkey’s friends, Tim Turtle and Cooper Caterpillar. We learned their sounds, ‘t’ and ‘c,’ and have been practicing the correct formation of these letters in both uppercase and lowercase. We now know enough sounds to start blending them together to read words—an exciting milestone! 

As part of our Big Question inquiry, we continued learning about rhyming words and explored new nursery rhymes. We enjoyed acting them out, identifying rhyming words, and discussing the meanings of interesting vocabulary. We hope your child has been sharing these rhymes with you at home! 

In Maths, we explored the concept of time through sequencing events. We created a School Routine Book and ordered key parts of our daily schedule, such as the morning routine, the end-of-recess and lunch routines, and end-of-day procedures. Students had fun acting these out and practicing them to build independence and ensure everyone follows the correct steps. 

In our wellbeing program, we focused on our Play is the Way concept: "Be Brave—Participate to Progress." We shared stories about the times we’ve shown bravery since starting school, celebrating our courage in facing new challenges and trying new things! 

Next week in Literacy, we will meet two more characters that Milo invites to his surprise birthday party and will further explore rhyming words and nursery rhymes. In Maths, we will begin focusing on counting and place value.  

Have a lovely weekend,  

Nicole and Miss Else 

Hello from the Golden Wattle building! 

This week the Grade 1 and 2 students have enjoyed sharing stories related to our Big Question, ‘What is the power of stories?’ We thought about how some stories have a lesson or message for the reader. This was the case in the Aesop fables, Town Mouse and Country Mouse and The Fox and the Grapes. We also compared characters in our class novel, Despereaux, and learned how pronouns can sometimes take the place of nouns. 

We took inspiration from The Fox and the Grapes for our STEAM Challenge this week. Students worked in small groups to try to make a structure to allow the Fox to get to the grapes. This took a lot of planning, compromising and in some cases, persevering! 

In Maths we have built upon our knowledge of place value with 2-digit numbers. To consolidate our understanding, we used tens-frames, MAB blocks, and number bonds to manipulate the different parts of numbers. Some of our favourite games this week included tens-frame bingo, and ‘Lay it on the line’ where students tried to be the first to get three of their numbers in a row. 

Our Wellbeing focus this week was on ‘Pursuing our personal best no matter who we work with’. One activity involved students working in a group to build the tallest tower that could support a marshmallow. Afterwards students reflected on the different things they do when they work by themselves as opposed to in a group.  

Next week we will be doing a deep dive into the story Where the Wild Things Are. Part of this will involve making our own Wild Things and also an island for them to live on. This will involve lots of creativity, imagination and crafting! If you have any recycling materials or small boxes that your child might like to use during our making sessions, please send students to school with these on Monday. We look forward to inviting family members into our classroom to see our creations on Wednesday from 2:45pm onwards. It should be wild! 

Grade Two families, please keep a lookout in school bags for notes regarding Boomerang Camp that went home today. If these could be returned as soon as possible, it would be greatly appreciated. 

We hope you have a wonderful weekend, 

Wendy, Laura, Claire, Sarah and Andrew 

Welcome to Silver Banksia for Week 5. 

Week 4 started with a bang at the Swimming Carnival. Thanks to Carly for organising this fantastic event. Some students qualified for the Division in Bendigo on Friday the 28th and we wish them the best of luck. We’d also like to say congratulations to all of the students that added their team spirit to the day by cheering and swimming. Entering a race is optional but gives you automatic points for your team, and these do add up!  

This week in Mathematics, we have been working on identifying the multiples of a number using arrays. This hands-on approach has helped students visualize number patterns and build a strong foundation for multiplication. We then moved on to applying the distributive property of multiplication, which allowed us to break down larger numbers into smaller, more manageable parts when finding multiples. 

In Literacy, we have continued reading The Last Bear, deepening our understanding of the story’s themes and characters. Alongside our reading, we have been focusing on subordinating conjunctions and dependent clauses, learning how these elements help create more complex and interesting sentences. We will continue to write our persuasive text next week.  

Students in 5/6BN developed questions and surveyed their peers as part of our Play Is The Way Life Raft lesson. We have been discussing Be Brave – Participate to Progress. Not surprisingly, there were many questions around swimming! Here are some examples of our questions 

Have you been scared of something and not done it and wished you had? 

Have you ever been scared of doing something but realised it’s really fun? 

Have you ever helped someone overcome their fears? 

Have you ever had a friend encourage you to give something a go? 

Bec, Nicci, Jay, Mr Higgins, Ben and Carly

 If you are in the school near the Art room... check out the amazing colour wheel that Hannah painted over the holidays on the wall!  Looks great!  SC

 Swimming Lessons Grade 3-6 Outdoor Pool 

It’s a wrap! Castlemaine filming finished. CNPS outdoor pool swimming lessons finished. 

Thank you to everyone involved in making this valuable program happen. 

House Swimming Carnival Gr3-6 Outdoor Pool 

Congratulations to all students who got out of their comfort zone to participate in our swimming sports to earn points for their team. Laver Green House were the victors with 536 points just seven points ahead of Jackson Red House! Surprisingly, Evans Blue House and Freeman Yellow House finished in equal third on 457 points! See the gallery for our photos. 

Goldfields Division Swimming (select team) 

Some students have the opportunity to participate in the Goldfields Division Swimming at Bendigo East Swimming Pool on Friday 28th February. Notes went home this week and are due back by Tuesday 25th February. Students will be transported by bus and a teacher will accompany the team. Parent helpers are required on the day to assist us with timekeeping or other duties. Please arrive at 8:45am for a prompt 9:00am departure. Best wishes to our Division Swimmers! 

Castlemaine Gift at Camp Reserve 

This event will take place on Sunday 23rd February. Juniors aged 5 – 13 can participate by turning up before 10:00 on the day. See attached flyers on the Community Noticeboard. One adult is admitted free with one child (also free) participating in the Junior Section. 

Bendigo Braves Basketball Home Game Experience for Grade 5/6 

We have an opportunity to participate in the Bendigo Braves Basketball Schools Cup at the Bendigo Braves NBL1 match on Sunday 6th April (please note that this date was incorrect last week and is the first weekend of the school holidays). Our school selects 10 students from Grade 5/6 to compete against other schools using the fundamental skills of basketball, rather than a match. Selected students would need their families to arrange their own transport to and supervision at this event. You will also receive a ticket for you and your student to the game. We’ve had seven students sign up so there are a few spots still available. If you are interested in this opportunity (and not committed to school holiday plans), please contact carly.mcginniskin@education.vic.gov.au 

Hockey Clinics in PE 

Hockey coach, Oscar, visited us in PE on Thursday this week. See the photo gallery below. If you’re interested in your child having an opportunity to experience hockey, Hockey Victoria are also supporting a Hookin2Hockey program for 5-12 year olds, commencing on Saturday 22nd February 9:00-10:00 at the Wesley Hill courts for six weeks during Term 1. Please see the flyer on the Community Noticeboard below for more information and how to register. 

‘Territory’ Style Sport Clinics in PE 

AFL Central Victoria will provide a day of footy clinics in PE on Tuesday 25th February. The Bendigo Braves will also visit our school for two sessions of clinics on Friday 7th March. Not all classes can access all clinics as these sporting organisations can only allocate limited time to each school.  

These clinics will tie-in with the Grade 3-6 PE program which is focussed on ‘territory’ style sports this term ahead of their District Sport Day on Friday 28th March. In PE we are experiencing different ‘territory’ style sports such as Ultimate Frisbee, Netball, Basketball, Soccer, Football, Hockey and Lacrosse, all of which have similar strategies and tactics that are transferrable across the different sports. 

 I’m making a call out to any handy helpers out there who may be able to have a look at our stilts and do some maintenance. The stilts are incredibly popular but unfortunately, we have a couple of pairs out of action that need some simple mending.  

If you think you may be able to assist us to get them back up and running (or rather walking) please see me, Nicci, in the Performing Arts room Tuesday – Thursday mornings before school or after school or email me nicole.simirenko@education.vic.gov.au  

We have 3/4 Louise on Food Garden (Tuesdays - 2.30-3.30pm) for next week and the week after.  Then 3/4 Hannah for Weeks 7,8 and 9 of this term.  If any parents are able to help, please come along in this time to assist in the Food Garden and with pizza making.

Prep E

Oscar Smith - for the enthusiastic way you listen carefully and have a go at all classroom activities.

Gene L - for the brave way you have a go at all new tasks and ask for help if you need it.

Prep N

Quinn K - for staying calm and solving a challenging situation in a positive way.

Bettie B - for your confidence and creativity when acting out nursery rhymes.

1/2 L

Archie W - you approached your Big Write with excitement and ideas galore.  You wrote a great story!

Mali L - for caring for a friend in our game of rats vs mice.

1/2 CS

Asha M - for showing determination and completing a challenging Maths task independently.

Jarvis H - for the thoughtful way you supported your partner during our STEAM Challenge.

1/2 WA

Robbie B - for working hard during Maths activities and showing tenacity.

Jimmy W - for challenging yourself in our Maths activities. Good connection of thoughts.

3/4 PS

Emily B - for your strong attention and focus during Maths sessions

Sadie AR - for the kind and thoughtful way you work in the classroom

3/4 L

Magnus E - for your "explosion" of awesome manners - keep up the great work!

Annabelle C - (the Queen of SFE) - for taking your learning of "silent final e" to the extreme, and noticing it everywhere!

3/4 S

Mitchell H - for the humour and positive energy that you bring to our classroom each day.

Elijah G - for the brave way you pursued your personal best at the swimming carnival.

3/4 H

Finn T - for helping Hannah find the useful shortcuts around the classroom - thank you!

Piper T - for consistently being ready to learn with enthusiasm!

5/6 H

Alba M - for noticing something needed to be fixed, and fixing it!

Josh M - for keeping it real and keeping your cool.

Tessa H - for the way you confidently read aloud to the class.

5/6 J

Carys R - for not giving up on a challenging task and for continuing with it until you had solved it!

Sid W - for seeking out a challenge in Maths and exploring a new concept.

5/6 BC

Beatrix VH - for your confidence in reading during class.

Harvey W - for the polite and calm way you share during classroom discussions and lessons.

5/6 BN

Lochie C - for the quiet and thoughtful way you always strive to do your best; it helps our class a lot.

Pavin K - for your outstanding organisation and always making sure you are ready for the next task.

Indonesian

Tessa H - for going the extra mile to keep our learning space tidy and organised.  Bagus dan Terima Kasih!

Performing Arts

Mary C - for the enthusiasm with which you tuned in to the various rhythm patterns and shared your understanding!

Lachlan H - for the focus and effort you put into exploring the unusual sounds task to create your ostinato.

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