Week 3 & 4 - Term 1 2023

KAYA,

We have had quite the busy start to Term 1, with swimming lessons the first two weeks, the start of leadership roles and then online seminars, attending Church with the community and having an awesome visit by Artist Andrew Fraser. 

Firstly, congratulations to our student leaders on receiving their school leadership badges, it was an honour to watch you all receive the badges. You all acted like true leaders and made us very proud. 

⭐⭐Merit Award⭐⭐

Well done to Matilda Merrick for receiving our first 6H Merit Award for 2023. This merit award is for her outstanding start to Year 6.  Matilda we love how you already embody our schools values of CARE to all you meet. It has been wonderful to have you join our 6H family. Matilda you are a wonderful OLC champion. 

Well done to Jax Blackburm for receiving our second 6H Merit Award for 2023. This merit award is for his phenomenal start to Year 6. Jax is putting energy into showing his leadership skills to everyone he meets especially in his role as Sport Ranger. He is starting to develop his leadership skills showing what a great leader looks like, sounds like and feels like. Well done Jax! 

Year 6 Students have got talent:

Congratulations to a large group of our senior students who participated in recent basketball tournaments in Perth. Charlie Lammana, Lakey Thompson, Lily Eve Blechynden, Scarlett Bickett, Xavier Ricciardone, Darcy Archer, Oscar Todd, Xavier Hayhow, James Hutton and Peri Hall.

Our Learning:

Over the past fortnight we have been working our way to figuring out the perimeter and area of composite rectangles. We have also been exploring prime and composite numbers, triangular numbers and square numbers. We are moving into divisibility tests over the next week, as well as investigating the relationship between squares and rectangles leading into surface area of 3D rectangular shapes.

In literacy we have written our narrative cold tasks. We have deconstructed narrative texts to investigate the structure of a narrative and are looking to develop our characterisation so that we can build on our existing knowledge to write interesting and engaging narratives. Amazing stories still to come, watch this space! 

Year 6 Leavers Shirt 2023: 

Please note that we are now collecting payment for the leavers shirts. The shirts are currently being printed and hopefully will be with us in the next couple of weeks, in order for your child to collect their shirt when it arrives payment needs to be made. The cost is $35 per shirt (please keep in mind if you ordered 2 to send in the extra money). We ask that you either send cash clearly labelled in an envelope to your class teacher or pay by eftpos at the office (Fran is aware that you may come in to do this). Well done to Emily Callaghan on completing the beautiful artwork on the back of the shirt. 

Excess veggies table:
Our Year 6 “Eco Warriors” will have a table set up every Monday morning for those of us that have excess veggies to swap, purchase and leave a donation to “Wheelchairs for kids”. Worm Wizz will also be available for purchase by donation. Any leftover vegetables will be brought down to St Georges for the community meal on Tuesday evenings. The idea is that the veggies are picked fresh that morning. It is an easy way to raise funds for “Wheelchairs for Kids” and also help others in our society and prevent waste. The first stall will be next Monday 20 February before school. Our Year 6 Eco Warrior Leaders await your donations.

Project Compassion Launch:

On Tuesday, we participated in an online Project Compassion Launch with CARITAS. This launch included schools from around the state. Our Year 6 “Spirit Spies” will be coordinating some fundraising to help raise money for Project Compassion. 

Ash Wednesday:

On Wednesday we celebrated Ash Wednesday with the Parish Community at the church. Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting. It is preceded by Shrove (Pancake) Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent. The students are to be commended for their respect and reverence on Wednesday.  We pray that Lent will be a time of prayer, reflection, and renewal for you and your family.

Library:

Reminder that the Year 6 library time for 6H is Tuesday afternoon. The students will need to bring their library bag for this, in Year 6 they can borrow 6 books at a time. Please note that I will be encouraging this from my end however, I would love to see all students borrowing books for their at home reading as part of their homework. It would be greatly appreciated if you could support us with this, as we are wanting to place a large focus student's finding something they enjoy reading, whether it be fiction or non-fiction. If your child is regularly not borrowing on a Tuesday, we will be sending an email home requesting your assistance with this.

New Murals:

The old murals in the undercover area are being replaced by new murals which have been designed and created by artist Andrew Fraser (who is giving each class an art lesson this week). The artworks are designed to reflect the indigenous colours of our surrounds and our Catholic identity. Andrew has been commissioned by the P&F. Stay tuned for the changes in the coming weeks.

Before School:
Students that arrive before 8.25am are required to sit in the quadrangle by the office and Year 2 classrooms, this includes Year 6 students, please advise your child of this change. 

AFL Girls Interstate Nomination:
School Sport WA has a number of state team selection trials coming up for various sports. In particular, GIRLS AFL, has been very popular and we are seeking any girls from your school who turn 11 or 12 years of age in 2023 and may be interested in trying out for this year’s WA team. Trials begin April 21 and registration is via the link below. 

https://www.schoolsportwa.com.au/product/afl-girls-12s-interstate-nomination-form/

Last year in 2022 the WA 12s Girls travelled to Adelaide for the national championships and finished 3rd behind Vic and SA. The girls had a fantastic experience playing against other girls their own age from around the country.

Character Strengths: 

Parents, this week we are looking at developing the character strength of Creativity. St Cecilia was known for her musical abilities. She also loved to paint, as well as sing and play music. St Cecilia is why music is such a central part of the liturgy today. Do you come up with lots of different and individual ideas? Are you a problem solver? Do you have a magnificent imagination?

Homework:
This fortnight, homework will include (due Friday 10th March):

• Times table activity booklet - Weeks 5 & 6
• Oral practice of the 7 times tables (try including division also)
• Reading (1/2 hour a day)
• 2 x Banqer interview questions

Please ensure that your child writes their daily reading into their homework diaries and that it is signed once a week by an adult.

Important Dates for Term 1 2023

1. Week 4 - 20th - 24th February - Artist Incursion - Andrew Fraser. 6H will have a visit from Andrew after recess on Wednesday. 
2. Tuesday 21st February - OLC swimming carnival time trials (Year 4 students only) Please note Sport Rangers have been asked to attend to support. 
3. Thursday 2nd March - OLC swimming carnival
4. Friday 3rd March - Pupil Free Day
5. Monday 6th March - Labour Day (Public Holiday)
6. 12th March - Year 6 Car Wash
7. Friday 17th March - Saint Patricks Day
8. Thursday 23rd March - Interschool swimming competition
9. Friday 24th March - National Ride to School Day
10. Sunday 2nd April - Palm Sunday
11. Tuesday 4th April - Year 6 Chrism Mass
12. Friday 7th April - Public Holiday Easter Friday
13. Term 1 school holidays

Kindest regards,

Mrs Hurst.