Newsletter No. 12 | Term 2 Week 2 | Thursday 4th May 2023

Prayer

Principal's Message

Dear Families and Friends,

It was great to be back at school yesterday, it was especially nice to see the children and catch up on some of their holiday stories. I would like to thank the staff for keeping the school running smoothly in my absence. 

We have a busy week coming up with our Little Learners program beginning on Monday, followed by Open Day on Tuesday. 

The Little Learners program is open to children from 3-4 years of age and is always lots of fun!. Little Learners gives young children the experience of participating in play-based activities within the school environment. We see it as another step in preparing children to be ready for school. It is also a good opportunity to showcase our school to anyone who is in the process of selecting a school for their child. If you know of anyone with young children who may like to come along please let them know that they are most welcome. The program runs from 9 - 11. 

Please contact the school if you wish your child to attend.

Our School Open Day will be held on Tuesday 9th May from 9 - 11. If you know of any children who will be starting school next year please invite them along. Word of mouth is seen as the most effective way to advertise a school so spread the word! Parents of current students are welcome to come through the school and visit your child’s class.

A couple of years ago, Jared Wolter and Anthony Cambell created an indigenous garden for the school. It has been delightful watching it grow, it has really come along. Part of the garden has ‘rock beds’. Yesterday’s rain turned the rock beds into creek beds. It really was amazing to see the creeks flowing. The children absolutely loved it! We apologise for children coming home with wet socks, they were in the creeks before we knew it! 

It was a timely reminder that the school yard can become quite wet and muddy in winter so we recommend that children bring gumboots to school if they wish to splash in the puddles. It would also help if they had a spare pair of socks in their bags. 

We strongly encourage children to engage in nature play as it is so beneficial to their wellbeing. As long as they have the right clothing, we are happy for them to splash away. 

Have a wonderful week ahead,

Leanne Eastman
principal@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

Resilience Project

On Tuesday night staff attended an online webinar led by Hugh Van Cuylenburgfrom The Resilience Project. The session gave us lots of takeaways on how we can improve our own personal wellbeing as well as enhancing the wellbeing of the students that we teach. 

Some key points that I noted down were:

Some benefits of practising gratitude are: 

• Improvements in mood
• Fewer symptoms of depression
• Fewer symptoms of stress and anxiety
• Higher levels of self-esteem
• Increase levels of optimism
• Enhanced life satisfaction

Every time you do something kind for someone your brain releases oxytocin which makes you feel good.

Ways to practise mindfulness include: 

• Walking 
• Guided meditation on headphones
• Breathwork
• Colouring-in
• Box breathing
• Sitting in a quiet space - write 5 things you can think / feel / see
• The Calm Headspace APP was recommended

When practising Mindfulness, you enhance: 

1. Concentration
2. Clarity of Thought
3. Equanimity - the ability to let go of anger -  let it go!
4. Ability to care

4/5 Camp

A reminder that we have an upcoming 4/5 Bike Camp to Timboon happening on the 29th and 30th of May, with an overnight stay.

Previously this has been our Year 4 camp, but as last years Year 4's didn't get the opportunity to go, they will be joining in this year as well.

Now is a good time to check your child's bike and make sure it is in safe working order, this includes working brakes, tyres that are pumped up, ect.

If any parents are interested in coming along to the camp please cotact Leanne, we would love to have you join us.

Catholic Culture

Our Diocesan Community - March 2023

The 'Our Diocesan Community' magazine aims to share the good news stories of our schools, parishes and agencies across the diocese. Follow the link below to read the March issue of the magazine.

If you have a good news story to share with others in the diocese, ODC welcome articles and photos for publication in the magazine and the diocesan e-News.  Please forward submissions  to odc@ballarat.catholic.org.au

Prep/1 Classroom News

Welcome to Term 2! We’ve started with a blast. The students have jumped into learning across all areas and are armed with enthusiasm.

The most excitement has stemmed from the introduction of our class storyboard and play-based mini-worlds. In our classroom, we have a run-down, old farm set up. The students have been tasked with turning the farm into a more sustainable, productive business.

Students are working together in groups to help make collective decisions. We have the following groups: River Detectives, Waste & Rubbish Team, Farm Animal Group, Wildlife Warriors & The Bankers. It has been truly awe-inspiring to hear the students' ideas as they work towards this common goal. 

Literacy: This week we have started learning about information reports. We will be using our model text “Bouncing Back - The Eastern Barred Bandicoot” to learn about the different parts of a good information report. 

Maths: Students have been consolidating their knowledge of place value this week. We’ve also introduced some Maths into our play-based learning through the inclusion of a ‘farm budget.’ 

Religion: Our concept for Religion is love. We’ve been talking about all the different ways we experience love in our lives.

Congratulations to all students on a productive first couple of weeks back.

Keep up the home reading!

Allira Kluver
akluver@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

2/3/4 Classroom News

Welcome back everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your break and had the opportunity to catch up with family and friends, plus time for relaxing and rejuvenating!

Last Friday we had our Alleluia Day liturgy. Thank you to my class who ran the liturgy and did a great job with their reading and participation. We then gathered for a whole school game, and it was lovely to watch all the grades interacting and showing such joy playing together.

On Wednesday morning I was very surprised to see a visitor in our classroom. Please check out the photo below of our friendly intruder!! Rest assured he was safely placed in the garden outside.

Religious Education: In R.E. our concept for this term in ‘Unity’. Our Essential Learnings for this concept are:

The Catholic Church community strives to be people of unity and justice.

Christians are called to respect the uniqueness and diversity of creation.

Literacy: We have been working on recounts in Writing and how we can add description to our writing. We are also looking at adverbs and graphemes that represent the long ‘o’ sound.

The Year 4’s are focusing on the text ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ this term. They will read several chapters a week(this is to be done at home) and complete activities related to the story each week. It is expected that they have read Chapters 3 and 4 before Monday 8^th May.

Numeracy: In Maths we are investigating subtraction of numbers. The Year 2’s are subtracting single digit numbers from 2 digit numbers; the Year 3’s are subtracting 2 digit numbers from 2 digit numbers; and the Year 4’s are subtracting 3 digit numbers from 3 digit numbers.

Integrated Curriculum: This term our focus is Sustainability. The students will be immersed in the idea that the Earth is the only place that we know of which can sustain life. They will learn about living things and how they rely on the environment to survive. Students will learn about the life cycles of different animals. They will research an endangered animal and participate in a Conservation Conference to raise awareness of the threats that the endangered animals faces and how people can help.

The Resilience Project: This week we looked at different emotions and how we can identify them from our facial expressions and body language. We modelled a variety of emotions with a partner and represented the feelings in their journal.

Homework: Homework has been sent home with new spelling words to practice and a variety of basic mathematical concepts to work through. Homework is due back by Monday.

The Star of the Week award goes to Liam Wilson. Congratulations on your excellent effort!

Mandy Sutherland
msutherland@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

Congratulations to Pearl Armistead for coming in first place at the Cororooke Hall Market Colouring Competition, and also to Matilda Carlon who placed second. Well done girls!

4/5/6 Classroom News

Welcome to Week 2 of Term 2! What a chilly few days! We have been very busy in the senior room, getting back into the swing of things and doing some really valuable learning. We are on the search for any wooden blocks, animals, cars etc if anyone has some they aren’t using anymore, thank you!

Homework: Homework was sent home on Monday. The students have a subtraction sheet to complete and spelling words to practise. This is due back to school on Friday 12th May. A reminder to encourage your child to read each night.

Reading: This term for reading groups, each group is completing various types of novel study. Activities required of the students range from independent reading, writing summaries, word work, developing questioning skills and more! The books we are reading at the moment are as follows:

Pink group: Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl.

Green group: The BFG by Roald Dahl.

Blue group: Toad Rage by Morris Gleitzman.

Orange group: Toad Heaven by Morris Gleitzman.

Writing: In Writing this week we have been writing recounts about our holidays. Students have been using their 5 senses to add more detail into their writing and make it more interesting for the reader. It sounds like everyone had a wonderful break!

Spelling: In Spelling this week the Year 4 students have been working on various spellings for the sound /oe/, for example: dough, loathe and vogue. Year 5/6 students have been working on the prefix /re/. We have been discussing the origin of /re/; it comes from the Latin language, meaning repeating or backwards. Examples: reverse and rehydrate.

Maths: In Maths we have been revising Subtraction and I have been incredibly impressed with all students and their determination and eagerness to challenge themselves in this topic. All students have been working on subtraction with regrouping or ‘borrowing’. Year 4’s have been working with 2 3-digit numbers, Year 5’s have been working with 2 4-digit numbers and Year 6’s have been working with 2 5-digit numbers. Year 6 students have also been doing some work subtracting positive and negative numbers.

Religion: This week in Religion we have begun our Heritage unit. We have been discussing what heritage is and we have been looking at the importance of remembering and acknowledging our heritage.

Integrated Curriculum: In Integrated Curriculum this week we have begun our unit on Sustainability. We have been looking at weather maps and comparing weather data across different locations in Australia.

Have a great week and please don’t hesitate to email me if you have any questions or concerns.

Tahlia Whytcross
twhytcross@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

Victorian Premiers Reading Challenge

The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and St Brendan's is excited to be participating. The PRC application offers a range of exciting features including:

• access to a library catalogue (including book images and blurbs)
• a modern user-friendly interface
• rewarding students with badges as challenge milestones are achieved
• the option for students to mark books as a favourite, give them a star rating or complete a book review

The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 8 September 2023.

Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books.

All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers.

To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit: https://www.vic.gov.au/premiers-reading-challenge

More information will be sent home with children who have chosen to participate in the challenge in the coming days.

Community Book Club

Our next book club night is fast approaching and we would love to see some more parents come along! It is such a great social night.

Our current Book Club read is 'Educated' by Tara Westover, and we will meet in Week 4 of this term on Monday, 15th of May at 7.30pm in the Hall. If you are looking for a copy of the book, the Colac and Geelong libraries have some available, or you can purchase online at Booktopia using this link: https://www.booktopia.com.au/educated-tara-westover/book/9780099511021.html 

We have an Instagram page! For reading motivation and to stay up to date with what we are recommending follow @community.bookclub on Instagram. If you have suggestions for future Book Club reads please email them to gwatts@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au . 

Even if you haven't been able to finish the book before the night (or even start it), we would still love you to join us for a drink and a nibble. We can't wait to see you there!

Important Dates

MOTHERS DAY CLASSIC EVENT

This year we are taking part in the Mother's Day Classic to help those affected by women's cancers. The Colac event is taking place on Sunday 14th May at the Botanic Gardens with two categories on offer; the 3.3km run which begins at 9am or the 3.3km walk which kicks off at 9.05am.

We have created our own fundraising team called 'St Brendan's Coragulac' and we would love it if you could register to join us in walking or running on the day. If you can't make it on Mother's Day please feel free to leave a donation in  lieu of participation. To register or donate with 'St Brendan's Coragulac' go to: https://www.mothersdayclassic.com.au/fundraisers/StBrendansCoragulac11182 

Acknowledgement of Country

At St. Brendan’s Primary School we pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land, the Gulidjan people and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

We will respect the land, animals and waterways, from the roots of the earth to the tops of the trees. Through the example of our first Australians, we understand that if we look after the country, then the country will look after us.

About Us

School Vision:   'For you I have a destiny and a hope.'                    

PARISH PRIEST: Fr Michael O’Toole                  PRINCIPAL: Mrs Leanne Eastman

SAC CHAIRPERSON: Mark Robb          CHILD SAFETY OFFICER: Mrs Leanne Eastman