Book Week Success

A heartfelt thank you to all our parents and families for your support during Book Week. The week was filled with excitement and a love for reading as students participated in buddy reading experiences, pairing older students with younger peers. It was truly special to see our older students sharing their passion for books in such a fun and engaging way. This activity not only promoted literacy but also helped foster a strong sense of community and mentorship across year levels.

The highlight, of course, was our Book Week Parade! We were absolutely blown away by the creativity and enthusiasm that went into the students' costumes. Your attendance and involvement made the event even more memorable, and we sincerely appreciate the effort you put into preparing the students. The parade was a joyful celebration of our love for reading, and it wouldn’t have been the same without your support!

Life Education Program

We had the Life Education program visit our school in Term 3 Weeks 9 and 10. This important health initiative is designed to integrate seamlessly with the primary curriculum and aims to motivate, encourage, and empower our students to make healthy lifestyle choices. The goals of the Life Education program include:

• Building awareness of key health issues
• Encouraging reflection on how these issues affect students
• Sharing essential knowledge for making informed decisions
• Helping students identify and develop effective response strategies
• Empowering students with the skills and confidence to apply these strategies in their daily lives

For more information about the Life Education program, feel free to contact the school or visit Life Education Queensland's Parenting Guides

Maths at Home

If you’re looking for an engaging and educational way to help your child develop their maths skills, the game Greedy Pig is a fantastic option to consider. It’s a simple yet engaging game that you can play together, and it’s a great way to reinforce important mathematical concepts in a fun and interactive way.

How to Play Greedy Pig

Greedy Pig is a game of chance and strategy. To play, you’ll need a single six-sided die and a piece of paper for keeping score. Each player takes turns rolling the die as many times as they wish, adding the number rolled to their total score. However, if a player rolls a 1, they lose all the points they’ve accumulated in that round and their turn ends. The aim is to accumulate as many points as possible before deciding to “bank” the points, which ends their turn and secures their score for that round.

Learning String Sums

One of the key benefits of playing Greedy Pig is that it helps children practice and master string sums. String sums involve adding a series of numbers together, which is a fundamental skill in mathematics. This game encourages students to quickly and accurately add numbers in their heads, improving their mental arithmetic abilities.

Strategies for Success

While playing Greedy Pig, children can use various strategies. Some examples include:

Make to Ten: Encouraging children to group numbers that add up to ten. For instance, if a child rolls a 4, 5, and 1, they can group the 4 and 6 (1+5) to make ten. This strategy helps with quick addition and is a foundational skill for more complex maths problems.

Doubles Facts: Using doubles, such as 4 + 4 or 6 + 6, to quickly calculate sums.

Near Doubles: If a roll is close to a known double, such as 5 and 6 (which is close to 5 + 5), children can add the double and adjust by adding or subtracting the difference.

Counting On: Encouraging children to start with the larger number rolled and count on from there. For example, if they roll a 3 and then a 5, they start with 5 and count on 3 more to get 8.

Enhancing Maths Skills Through Play

Playing games like Greedy Pig with your child is not only enjoyable but also a powerful way to enhance their maths skills, much like how reading together supports literacy development. Happy playing!

Inquiry Learning – STEM Kits

Our students have been actively engaging with STEM Kits as part of their Science unit. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and these kits provide hands-on materials that bring these subjects to life. Through experiments and interactive activities, students are encouraged to ask questions, make observations, and think curiously about the world around them.

Carla Williams
A/Head of Department – Curriculum