Welcome to Term 3

This weeks focus is on Yrs 2-3 and 3-6 spelling and writing in our school

Soundwaves;

Students in Years 2-3 and 3-6 have been introduced to the Soundwaves program this year which complements the InitiaLit program in Years K-2.

Soundwaves uses systematic synthetic phonics and word study to effectively teach spelling skills. All students were assessed on their spelling ability at the start of the year and the teaching of spelling is then differentiated according to the needs of the students. While all students are working on the same phoneme/grapheme each week the word list or vocabulary may be more easy or difficult depending on the students needs. Teachers explicitly teach the program to students and monitor how the increased spelling knowledge is being transferred into student writing. Photos below show students at St Pat’s engaging with the Soundwaves program.

Parent Class Contacts

As part of our endeavour to promote communication between home and school, build community spirit and to assist new families joining our school community, at least one Parent Class Contact is assigned to each class group. We are pleased to announce our Parent Class Contacts and thank them for volunteering;

KF- Michael Lay and Hayley Jessop (parents of Austin)

1/2B Mark and Zoe Philipzen (parents of Henry)

1/2 F Kim Stafford (parent of Aadi)

1/2M Pam McDonald (parent of Emelia)

2/3LW Katrina Johnson (parent of Alice)

3/4M Ursula Dam (parent of Connor)

3/4R Christine Murray (parent of Abbie)

4/5B Nikki Bateman (parent of Luke)

5/6C HELP PLEASE

5/6N Nel Sunderland (parent of Connor) 

During Term 3 and 4, the Parent Class Contact/s will coordinate a class social event for families to get together out of school and do something fun. The Parent Class Contact will also support the welcoming of new families throughout the year, assisting them in getting to know other families and to feel part of the school community. This is another means of uniting the school and enhancing the quality of relationships within the school between teachers, parents/ carers and the students.

At the end of last term, teachers have sought permission to share the parent/carer contact information (email) with Parent Class Contacts. The school is still following up on a few permissions. Parent Class Contacts will receive parent information shortly and hopefully you will hear from them soon.