This week I have had the pleasure of giving out a number of Eagle Awards. These are given to children to acknowledge the demonstration of the School Values. Any teacher or member of staff can nominate a child for an award. It does not have to be the class teacher. One of the delights of giving out the awards is that children are often unaware that they have been nominated and show great delight and surprise when something they have done without seeking acknowledgment has been noticed by another. It is one way of making the Values practical and a central part of school life.

Di Renshaw
Deputy Headmistress

Thank you to those parents who were able to attend our Gathering on the Garigal on Friday evening. Apart from a few drops of rain, the night was lovely and a great opportunity for all to chat and make connections. The next social event is the P&F Trivia Night, on 4^th April. I encourage you to organise a table soon, as it is sure to sell out.
 
Our interdependence within our community is what binds our school and makes it such a success. The following reading, which was given at assembly regarding our value of Respect this week, exemplifies this:
 
We say a person is a person through other persons. We don’t come fully formed into the world. We learn how to think, how to walk, how to speak, how to behave, indeed how to be human, from other human beings. We need other human beings in order to be human. We are made for togetherness, we are made for family, for fellowship, to exist in a tender network of interdependence.
-Desmond Tutu on Ubuntu – No Future Without Forgiveness.

 

Monday – Cheese and spinach triangles
Tuesday – Macaroni pie
Wednesday - Salad rolls
Thursday - Nachos
Friday – Lentil and chickpea curry

Shrove Tuesday was celebrated by 2nd Class this week, as part of their unit of HSIE work on "Celebrations".  It was a fun and challenging way for children to follow a procedure (the recipe) and learn how to measure and mix wet and dry ingredients, and crack an egg! Then they cooked the pancakes using electic frypans (with adult help!) and enjoyed a pancake or two each, with berries and honey.  Yum!

3rd Class has been learning about time this week. Students were given the challenge to match the time phrase with an analogue and digital clock face. This wasn’t an easy task but the children showed excellent collaboration and problem solving to match them up.

Ms Bell
Teacher

 

This week we had Crazy Headwear Day for Cook House Market Day. The charity that Cook House chose was Fetch it For a Farmer.

This charity was founded by sixteen-year-old Annabelle K who came and spoke to our Assembly about the drought and the fundraiser she started. Her parents farm is 50km outside of Wagga and the livestock are now fed and watered by hand.

The farmers in Australia are suffering both financially and mentally and Annabelle wanted to do something to help them. She decided to set up a charity and with any money raised buy food vouchers which the farmers could spend in their local grocery stores. This means not only the farmers benefit but so do the local businesses and stores.

The best part is that Annabelle’s charity is a non-profit organisation and this is another reason why Cook House chose to support her charity.

I would like to thank the John Colet School community for supporting this amazing cause. I know we will make a big impact in some farming families' lives and I know they are grateful for our help.

For extra information please visit: https://fetchitforafarmer.weebly.com/#/

Lucia C
Cook House Captain

2M and 2C Classes have, as a group, really taken to their role as 'oldest children in Infants'. They are making consistent efforts to be good role models for the younger children.  They are being encouraged to use the names of adults and peers when speaking or responding to someone.  Also, the children are meeting challenges with emotional resilience.  The focus this year is on student strengths and the development of resilience using the Peace Table, respect for one another, problem solving skills and acknowledgement of their own and others' strengths.  As part of this they have created their own super hero posters.

Lea Connell and Elizabeth McDermott
Teachers

This term we are exploring the value of Respect and in particular respect for one another. It is a particularly good time to study this area as we have many new students at play during our breaks, our school sport competitions have begun, and we also have our swimming carnival coming up soon. Respect is a particular value that brings us together through shared expectations and trust. It is the basis of our relationships at school and is evident in our actions as they unify our community.
 
At John Colet School we do look for the practical application of our Values both at school and at home. If you do witness a change of behaviour or a special action at home, do pass it on to your class teacher, it is wonderful to share and celebrate.

Every week I visit several different classes to discuss Philosophy. Philosophy is very much to do with the building of character which remains one of the most important aspects of the education that we offer at John Colet. Even though we have a dedicated Philosophy lesson once a week, the substance of what we discuss carries on through every aspect of school life. Starting from Lower 1^st and moving up to 6^th class it is striking to note that a child is already innately aware of this philosophical knowledge. Education helps to bring out what is naturally in the heart of a child and turn it into a way of life.

Monday – macaroni cheese  
Tuesday – roasted paprika and garlic potatoes
Wednesday- vegetarian sausage rolls
Thursday- Salad rolls (outside walkthrough)
Friday –Vegetarian lasagne (outside walkthrough)

Today the Senior PISA Girls team played softball against Northern Beaches Christian School.  We won 12 - 4.  The Player of the Game was Ava for her great all-round game. - Ella H

6th Class are into Grok Learning! The new Technology curriculum requires all students from Years 3-8 to learn coding. Grok Learning guides the children to develop practical computational thinking skills. Each week, there are problems to solve with online solutions and step by step walkthroughs for each task. If you would like to have a look yourself, please follow the link: https://groklearning.com/

The class is studying The Burnt Stick as part of of our History unit on the Stolen Generation.  During writing sessions, the children have written an imaginative response about the main character, John Jagamarra.  Their writing is quite impressive and the students are going to type their work up for a classroom display.

Allison Tomicki
Teacher

In classrooms in recent weeks, our many different Maths lessons have been exploring the world of numbers.

Second classes explored addition and subtraction using dice to double and then add of take away numbers.  Everyone ejoyed this 'pair and share' work together. More work with number lines and lots of strategies were developed for completing number sentences.

Lower 1st (Kindergarten) students are moving on along the number line, working with the numbers 3,4,5,6, and 7, also with number songs, and counting forwards and backwards. The children are excited to take home their Oral Counting Booklet so they can show their parents their developing mathmatical skills throughout the year. 

3rd classes have been looking at a range of different strategies for addition and subtraction, while in 4th classes addition and subtraction strategies are being reviewed and applied to multi-step word problems. 

Lower 1st making tricky numbers in playdoh.

Mathmatical concepts made fun and tactile with playdoh in Lower 1st.

When the idea of a 'Friendship Tree' was introduced the children where very enthusiastic.They spent two days finding the 'right' tree in the playground and began to stand there at playtimes if they needed to find a friend. TThey have shared a few times when they really appreciated their peers spotting them and immediately inviting them to join in play. This supported our Philosophy class learning about letting your inner light shine to support others and be your best self.

We are going to share the idea of the Friendship Tree with the wider school community.

Lea-Ann Connell
Teacher, 2C

You may notice as you come through the entrance to school a display of our Development Application for a proposed building project. This exciting plan is for two new classrooms, Art room and a re-developed play space. The intention of these changes is not to increase student numbers, but to enhance our existing facilities.
I do hope you can make it to our parent welcome event this year; The Gathering on the Garrigal. On Friday 21st February, directly after the class parent information sessions, this social event is a great way to mingle with parents across the different year levels as well as teachers and members of the School Board. Adults only I’m afraid, as we will have grown up drinks, food, and a jazz band!