Welcome to Week 5 everyone and here are some snapshots from our learning throughout the week.

It is also the beginning of Lent for us at  Holy Family Catholic School.  We celebrate Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday this week.

Please send in your photo consent form as soon as possible so that you can see your child ‘learning in action’ too.  Thank you.

Reading Journal

The children have received their Reading Journals this week for you to log their reading journey across the year.

If you could please fill these out each night when your child reads to you, that would be great. Instructions to fill it out properly are on pages 2 – 4 of the diary. We encourage you to read with your child each night as this helps to build confidence, expand their language and nurture a love of reading. Please place the reading diary back in your child’s black library bag each night.

The days that your child reads are added up over time. When your child gets to 25 nights of reading, please remind them to bring us their reading diary and we will fill out the award. We will also check the diaries at the end of each week to see how they are progressing.

Below is also a home reading parent guide with some tips to assist you in helping your children when reading and to help them develop a love of reading.

 

English and Phonics

This week the children have been learning the sounds c/k (same sound) and e.

ON Friday’s the children revise the letter sounds they have learnt by singing the letter sound songs and activities. Today they used the whiteboards to practise their letters.

The children made carp kites today in recognition of our letters c and k!!

Come Read With Me (including literacy games).

At this time of the morning, usually when the children enter the classroom and are at their peak in terms of alertness and and learning viability, the classroom is set up to invite the children to engage in a variety of literacy activities.  Some may also include fine motor skills; all aiming at developing hand control or hand/eye coordination. The tone is casual but with the intention of developing pre-literacy skills as well as learning letter recognition, letter sounds and oral language.

Maths and patterns

This week the children are investigating patterns. Where are they? What are they? Can you make a pattern?  Here are some of the children during the first activity.  It is natural for some children to ‘play’ with their choice of materials whilst others are ready to make patterns and as they progress they become more and more interesting and complex.  We noticed patterns in nature, in our classroom environment and even made musical patterns by trying out body percussion.

Health

Students explored the feeling of Anger: what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like. We also discussed things that can make us angry and things that we can do to help us calm our bodies.

 

Helping in the MUDLA

Last week Mr McCarthy asked RMN to feed the turtles and take one of them for a ‘walk’ as it’s enclosure needed to be cleaned. The children were very excited to do this and discovered that the turtles can actually walk quite fast!

The children are also very excited as this week they will be getting some guppies in the classroom to take care of. We’ve set up a new tank in the classroom to get the water right and we’re all looking forward to getting our guppies on Thursday.

Religion and Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent in the Catholic Church. This liturgical season is a time for penance and sacrifice but most importantly, it is also a time for conversion by growing deeper in our faith.

Our foreheads are marked with ashes in the shape of a cross, made through burned remains of palms blessed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. In many ways, were are reminded that: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return (Genesis 3:19).”

Biblical origins of Lent

We remain faithful to the spirit of the Gospel by living out the 40 days of Lent by increasing our prayer, penance and almsgiving.

We put ourselves in the footsteps of Jesus, who fasted food, water, shelter and comfort for 40 days in the desert (Mark 1:13), before he began his public ministry.

The desert was a place for solitude and reflection where Jesus was able to spend time with God the Father in deep prayer.

The following video may be helpful for parents at home:

Ash Wednesday and what we intend to do during Lent:

Jordan: During Lent I want to be kind and help people.

Vanessa: During Lent I want to Help others.

Hendrix: Safe hands, safe legs and safe words.

Makai:  I will help people carry their things.

Cedric: Play nicely with my friends.

Eliza: During Lent I will listen to other people.

Aiden: I will listen to my mum and dad everyday during Lent.

Vanessa: Take turns with others during Lent.

Manny: We can share with others.

Jordan: We listen to the person who is talking.

Xander: Safe feet.

Our class liturgy involved all of the children by making the sign of the cross, singing songs and listening to stories from the Bible.  The children were beautifully reflective and demonstrated their prayerfulness when talking to God.

Our class intention during Lent:

To help others by giving… and this may be one way of helping others less fortunate that ourselves.  Mr Urdanoff, our school APRIM will collect our Project Compassion boxes at Easter time and the money raised will go to Caritas, an organisation that looks after many people of our world in need.  Below is a picture of our class Project Compassion box, which will be kept on our prayer table throughout the season of Lent.

RMP MUDLA visit

Today the children experienced feeding some of the animals in the Mudla, how exciting!

Technologies  – paper folding

The children folded paper to create a spring and added their own picture on the top.

English | Book making

The children have been listening to an array of stories by the author Eric Carle and discovered that he makes his books with pictures and words just the way the children do! Here is RMP in action, being brave and using their 4 and 5 year old writing and drawing pictures with detail.

And here are RMN in action!

  

Come Read With Me

Art – Eric Carle Inspired Letters