St Andrews PS Newsletter

The Prep/One class has been working hard on learning and revising sounds and practising the correct letter formation. Every day we take turns to pull items out of bag and try to work out the sound from the items. On Friday, there was lots of little umbrellas in the bag. We practised putting our mini umbrellas up, and went under them! 

During Inquiry we have been learning about the local community. We talked about our family as a community, as well as the different groups in our school community. We set up shops in the classroom to role play being shop keepers and customers in our community. Some students quickly ran out of play money and completed a job to earn some more. Some students went to the bank to ask for more. It has been wonderful to see whole Prep/One community working well together.

In Literacy, the 2/3's have been practicing their Read to Self and Read to Someone stamina. Our whole class has managed to reach over 30 minutes of independent uninterrupted reading! We have also begun learning about persuasive writing techniques.

After working so hard on their assembly last week and settling in to their new classroom so well, the Grade 2/3's finally reached half way up our planet themed class rewards chart! As a special one time treat for reaching the planet Mars, the class enjoyed a mini Mars bar and some free iPad time. 

As a part of our morning routine, the class have been learning a new word everyday. This week we came across a particularly tricky word - 'tempestuous' - but we still loved learning it none the less.  

This week the class also selected their Term 1 Student Representatives for the school's Echidna Council. Well done to Hazel and Odin, we know you will do a fantastic job.

What a huge couple of weeks! First, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the grit of the 4/5/6 class. The student came back wonderfully, without missing a beat. Additionally, to every grade six who got online to draft, edit, revise and redraft your captaincy speeches, you have shown an incredible dedication to your learning and deserve to be congratulated.

Second, this last week has been a big one! Kayaking on Wednesday saw everyone dip their toes into a new way of experiencing the world. I was particularly proud of those who overcame their nerves. By the end of the day, I think everyone had thrown themselves into the deep end (in a very literal sense).

This was followed up by leadership day on Thursday for the 5/6s. Our most senior students got taste test of the projects that they could pursue with their senior year and practiced some of the skills they would need to make those projects happen. Everyone came away with some new ideas and skill to put into action… so expect a few student led fundraisers in the near future.

Following some amazing captaincy speeches last week and a very close poll, we were excited to present our 2021 School Captains with their certificates and badges last week. Cindy McLeish made a special visit for the morning and spoke with high hopes for them. I cannot wait to see what these brilliant minds will achieve. 

School Captain - Ada              School Vice Captain - Skye

Student Voice Captain - Scarlett

Sports Captain - Jett                Sports Vice Captain - Luke

Students have been working on setting themselves up for success this year in Japanese. Sporting their handcrafted Hachimaki's, students have been practicing writing their names in Katakana, focusing on accuracy of script, neatly colouring their title pages and pasting sheets into their Japanese books with care. Next week we will get stuck into learning Nihongo.

See images below for activities in the Japanese class.

We love volunteers here at STAPS and we're so grateful to those of you who are already volunteering your precious time for our school. Some of the ways you can get involved are;

• Join School Council
• Gardening - Wednesdays at 2pm
• Feedback meeting opportunities - Keep an eye out. we're looking for feedback on a range of topics
• Classroom Helpers
• Grant Writing and Searching. We have a few applications underway at the moment but they can be mammoth tasks. If you hear of something suitable or want to help out, get in touch. 
• Library Support (See Laura)

Get in touch if you're interested in any of these, or if you have another idea in mind!