Term 4 Week 2 2021

Bump It Up Walls

Year 4 students are settled and focused on their learning in Week 2.  Students and teachers are working together to construct Bump It Up walls. These are references in the classroom where students can self-assess their writing and Math and access visual supports for their next step to “bump it up”.  I am including some photos for you. These walls will only continue to develop throughout the units of learning.

Writing Cafe

This term, you may especially hear your child talking about Writing Café. This provides students with regular opportunities to write, responding to prompts, writing a narrative or a persuasive text. The prompts so far have included a mystery “What’s in the Box?” (4D) and a block of chocolate (4C).  Students are super engaged in their writing and love being authors. 

Camp

We are also doing some final preparations for our Year 4 camp. Two of our teachers, Jess Ferguson and Stevie Vos, visited the camp last term. This week, Ms Ferguson, has been visiting all classes to ensure that students are well-prepared and to alleviate any nerves our students may be feeling. Ms Vos has been ensuring all steps have been taken to support our students’ safety and wellbeing. Remember to check in with your child’s class teacher if you have any concerns. 

Uniform Challenge

Finally, thank you for supporting our Uniform Challenge. Year 4 students presented proudly in their correct uniforms, so we recognise all the support you gave at home.

Care for Learning in Year 5 and 6

It has been another great week in the classrooms of Year 5 and 6. I had the pleasure of working in 5S this week as they consolidated their understanding of estimating when calculating money. Students participated in a Rally Coach collaborative strategy in which students tutored their partner and talked out their understanding. This assisted in stretching students while also providing students another opportunity to developing their foundational skills when managing money. It was great working with students and listening to their thinking. I am really looking forward in participating in the upcoming Year 5 Market Day maths program. I also had the opportunity to work with students in 6B as they continued to develop their knowledge of contextual vocabulary when analysing the My Place texts. It was great observing students develop their understanding of a different historical period while also consider the text choices they will make for their upcoming diary assessment. Keep up the great work Year 5 and 6!

Year 6 Awards

At the end of each year we present a range of special awards, sponsored by our local members and organisations, to our Year 6 students. These awards recognise the great achievements of our students and celebrates their contribution to our school community. Awards are aligned to our four cares and our values and therefore these awards continue to promote our positive learning culture within our school and is just another way for our Year 6 students to positively influence our school. Attached is a summary of the awards and the process the school leadership and Year 6 team undertake in deciding a winner. I encourage you to discuss these awards with your child and how they can continue to work towards winning the awards. Good luck!

Have a terrific week.
Martin Winney
Deputy Principal – Year 5 & 6
mwinn7@eq.edu.au 

Student Wellbeing

At MHSS, all classroom teachers proactively build student wellbeing through universal practices such as:

• Greeting students by name as they enter the classroom each morning
• Greeting Circle at least twice a week to give students an opportunity to greet each other and build a class community
• Closing school days with “What Went Well” today
• Ready to learn breaks incorporated into leaning to allow movement and social interaction
• Circle Time lead by the classroom teacher once a week
• Care Class each Friday, with the focus reinforced across the week
• Ready to Learn Plans where students identify what supports their own ability to regulate their feelings.

As we follow up our Queensland Mental Health Week focus from Week 1, there’s no better time to explore the ways we all can support wellbeing.  If you want to know more, please see (https://www.qldmentalhealthweek.org.au/download-resources/) for a range of free resources available for digital download, including PowerPoint presentations, a flapbook, chatterbox, posters and more to start the conversation at home and the importance of ‘Taking Time for Mental Health’.

Have a great week