2021 HOUSE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

On Friday 26 March, the St Michael’s Primary Campus held their annual House Cross Country Championship event. The event was run in year levels and live streamed to parents/caregivers and grandparents with commentary undertaken by Primary students. On a cool 20-degree day, Reception to Year 1 students started the proceedings in the morning. It was a great atmosphere with the students cheering each other on and getting into the cross country spirit. There were some outstanding individual efforts throughout the morning, and everyone involved should be proud of their achievements. In the afternoon, the Year 2 to Year 6 boys stepped onto the track, running a much larger course. All students showed great commitment and enthusiasm completing the course to the best of their abilities. At the conclusion of the event St John’s (Yellow) were crowned as the winners of the shield. Thank you to all staff members, the maintenance team, Mr Ashley Morrison and Ms Joanne Gilmore for their involvement on the day.

The place getters are as follows:

Mr Dion Gazettas, Physical Education Teacher and Primary Sports Co-Curricular Coordinator

MARKET STALL

Are you ready for our first Market Stall for 2021?  Come along to Chol’s Garden from 2:30pm on Wednesday 7 April to buy some beautiful sustainable gifts and produce.  All proceeds will be given to WOODiWiLD, a not-for-profit charity specifically established to grow biodiversity plantings on farms across Australia.

These are some of the items for sale:

De La Sauce made by Year 3 and 4 students – $6
Pesto made by Year 3 students – $5
Bath salts made by Year 1 and 2 students – $3 to $5
Herbal Teas made by Year 4 students – $5
All-natural lip balms made by our Senior Eco Squad – $3

A variety of seeds and fresh produce including tomatoes, basil, beans, zucchini and herbs will also be available.

Your Youth Environmental Leaders look forward to seeing you there.

Mrs Robyn Palmer, Sustainability Support Officer

G.E.M. GIRLS EMPOWERMENT MENTORING

This week the Year 8 Female Leaders from the Secondary Campus returned to Primary for their second session with the Reception girls. The term focus was ‘getting to know you’ through storytelling. The Reception Girls and Year 8 Leaders worked together to create a story of their lives. The Receptions showed off their skills on the iPads using the application ‘Book Creator’ for this task. Fast friendships have been formed with the Year 8 Leaders which has helped the girls form their identity within the school. We are so pleased to see how the Reception girls are thriving and contributing towards and within the school community after one term. We look forward to continuing G.E.M. next term where our focus will move to girls in sport.

Miss Annabel Lampard, Girls Pastoral Care Teacher – Primary

TEACHING AND LEARNING MATTERS

This week, all students have been busy finalising their preparation to showcase their learning at the Portfolio Conference Evening (Tuesday 30 March). These events are an opportunity to hear first-hand exactly what students have been learning all term. A key part of this process is to celebrate the successes and to acknowledge the development of great learning habits.

For those of us closely following the learning journeys of our students, we can always support young learners by asking good questions and therefore we model curiosity and wonder about things we don’t know (yet). A growth mindset is important – no one can know and do everything – however, being curious leads us to new discoveries and increases our motivation, this is when work feels like play and we are in the zone.

The Primary Values support good learning habits and every class I have visited this term provides opportunities for students to develop these skills and values. In no particular order:

I have seen Year 1 go to ‘Infinity and Beyond’ as they explore space and the South Australian night sky with a visit from the Sky Dome this week and they have designed some amazing machines to clean up the space junk from our universe.

Year 5s have been waste warriors! Watch this space as they provide us with the results of their school survey.

Year 6 students have developed empathy as they learn of migration journeys to Australia.

In Year 2, the good old-fashioned fairy tale has been reimagined and new books have been published.

The mini master chefs in Year 3 have surpassed themselves with their zucchini skills and sustainable heathy living.

Reception students are learning about absolutely everything from early reading to all about each other!

Year 4 students have examined ‘Life in Chains’, looking at eco systems and exploring how connected we all are to plants and animals.

As you take time to reflect on the start of 2021’s learning journey, maybe use the Primary Values to have a conversation about this term’s learning.

One of my favourite authors is Neil Gaiman and he once said this about creativity, “the world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before”. I think this applies to all types of learning and there has certainly been plenty of opportunities to learn with and from each other this term.

Ms Joanne Gilmore, Director Teaching & Learning – Primary

PODCASTS IN PROGRESS

On alternate Tuesdays over the course of this term, a fine band of creative whizz-kids have been learning the basics of podcasting. We are almost ready to broadcast their first programs!

The topics are quite varied and we have all had to learn how to storyboard and story tell. We have also developed our skills of questioning techniques. Hopefully by the start of Term 2 we can share the fruits of our labour with the whole community after some editing and technical know-how.

Here are some photos of the boys in action working with James Meston from Arch D Podcasting and Radio CESA.

Be prepared for some wacky topics as the boys delve into stories of lockdown, why some animals have strange names and the big debate of pop vs rap, amongst other interesting tales. You may have heard a few of us honing our skills at the House Cross Country Championships last week!

Ms Joanne Gilmore (on behalf of the Podcast Legends), Director Teaching & Learning – Primary

CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY

This month our Year 5 students, as well as seven of our Secondary classes, participated in Clean Up Australia Day. Three separate events were held where students cleaned up litter from our own school yards, as well as conducting a cleanup along the River Torrens. This annual event is a great way to highlight the litter issue, as well as a reminder about the need for everyone to cut back on the amount of plastic we use.

Daily litter clean ups in our school yards will remain a part of our everyday commitment to reducing litter at both campuses, rather than just a once per year event.

Year 5 Students & Mrs Robyn Palmer, Sustainability Support Officer