Welcome back to Term 2.. This newsletter is to help keep you informed about the curriculum and the day-to-day activities of Amaroo Gold.

*Teachers work under the structure of an Enterprise Agreement that includes a number of entitlements. One of these is the engagement in Profession Planning Time (PPT) where they are released from class to carry out other professional responsibilities. Each full time teacher is entitled to the equivalent of 2 hours PPT each week, or a pro-rata there for part time teachers. Therefore, all students operate across the school week with at least two teachers engaging in the classroom program of learning.

This Curriculum Outline is designed to communicate what your child is learning so you can support them at home this term. At Good Samaritan, we believe that the partnership between you as parents and our teachers are the most important influences on your son’s or daughter’s education.

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) is responsible for setting and monitoring quality teaching, learning, assessment and school standards across NSW public, Catholic and independent schools. NESA also develops Kindergarten to Year 12 syllabuses for NSW schools. Syllabuses identify: the knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes students are expected to develop at each stage; what students are expected to know and do; Learning across the curriculum areas: cross-curriculum priorities, general capabilities and other important learning for all students.

At Good Samaritan we have a K-6 Scope & Sequence of learning which supports the implementation of the NESA Syllabuses. Below is an outline of the Key Learning Area content & skills being taught this term.

All students take part in Religious Education Programs. The school also provides other opportunities for students to express and deepen their Faith through school Masses, liturgies, prayer and in Christian service and witness within their school environment and the wider community. 

Religious Education follows a curriculum set and approved by the Bishop of the Diocese in conjunction with the Catholic Education Office.

This term in Religious Education, Amaroo Gold will learn about: 

THE EASTER SEASON - This unit focuses on two Easter stories. The first tells of the women at the tomb (Lk 24:1-6) and the second of Jesus’ appearance to his disciples on the shore of Lake Tiberias (Jn 21:1-14). Students will hear about and respond to the Easter message of the Resurrection: Jesus is alive.

BELONGING TO GOD’S PEOPLE:

This unit introduces the students to religious imagery, to the church building and its furnishings and to gestures used. The unit then introduces the celebration of Eucharist through a focus on key liturgical actions and objects used.

English is the Key Learning Area where students develop knowledge, skills and understandings about English language and literature. The students will be actively engaged in the development of skills through:

This term in English,  we will continue to be engaged in reading and writing lessons and move towards greater independence in using high frequency words within independent writing. This will involve;

• learning to write sentences- guided and independent
• continue to practise blending and segmenting sounds/words
• learning to read and write ‘‘Flash’ words
• engaging in meaningful speaking and listening activities
• listen to stories and discuss  features ( characters and the settings)

• Listen to your child read their reader book each night and ensure that all books are returned to school, in the folder, each day.
• Engage your child in authentic and meaningful conversations with your child. Ensure they are looking at and listening to you as this happens.
• Correct, by modelling, any incorrect pronunciation and grammatical structures when speaking with your child.
• Review high frequency words (sent home in a ziplock bag), daily.
• Engage in rhyming songs and games with your child. E.g. ‘hat and cat’, ‘tail and whale’ are rhyming words because they sound the same at the end.
• Draw your child’s attention to words that begin with the same initial sound. E.g. leg and lump.

An essential component of Mathematics is the development of students’ ability to Work Mathematically. This includes the skills of Communicating, Problem Solving, Reasoning, Understanding and Fluency. 

Students’ ability to work mathematically is developed through the achievement of outcomes and working with content of the Mathematics K-6 Syllabus. 

This term in Mathematics, Amaroo Gold  will learn about:

• 2D Space - Investigating triangles and lines
• Whole Number - Ordinal numbers & Teen Numbers, numbers 0-100.
• Length: long, short, tall
• Addition and Subtraction
• Fractions & Decimals - Halves and Wholes
• Patterns & Algebra - Making and repeating patterns
• Data - Collecting and displaying data

• Counting forwards and backwards
• Counting forwards and backwards from numbers other than 1
• Counting using ordinal numbers 1st to 30th
• Identifying numbers before and after E.g. What number comes after/before 9?
• Board games, dice games, number games
• Using everyday mathematical language - numbers, forward, backward, in front, behind, beside, under, on top, counting, patterns, repeating, continuing, whole objects and halves
• Identifying numbers in the environment
• Ensure correct formation of numbers 1-10
• Matching quantities to numbers
• Ensuring that children are correctly articulating the teen number names
• Teen numbers are made up of one group of ten and some more eg 11 is one group of ten and one more

• Review the four basic shapes and their features - circle, square, triangle, rectangle
• Use the language of time - yesterday, today, tomorrow, days of the week, months of the year, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring

The outcomes, concepts and skills of the History Syllabus are based on courses of study across Kindergarten to Year 10. The organisation of content for the stages in primary school is as follows:

In History, Amaroo Gold will focus on “Personal and Family Histories”.

This unit will run over Terms 1 and 2. The focus of Term 2  is: Family Histories - Sources and Stories. The unit provides students with the opportunity to learn about their own history and that of their family. We will look at sources and stories from a range of cultures, both past and present, developing our understanding that families have both similarities and differences.

The objectives and outcomes of the Geography Syllabus are based on courses of study across Kindergarten to Year 6. The organisation of content for the stages in primary school is as follows:

Amaroo Gold  will focus on Geography in Terms 3 and 4.

The outcomes and content in the Science and Technology Syllabus are organised in the following strands and substrands:

This term in Science & Technology, Amaroo Gold  will learn about living things in a unit called “Schoolyard Safari”.  In this unit students will be:

observing the features and behaviour of small bugs and creatures, and investigate the diversity of animal life. Students will explore small animals leading to a better understanding of how their adaptations help them survive in their habitats. Through investigations, students learn how animals move, feed and protect themselves.

The Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus is organised within the following strands: 

 This term in Creative Arts, Amaroo Gold  will learn about:

Visual Arts: 

This sequence of learning activities will focus on painting, paper techniques, and an exploration of different media and materials. Students will have the opportunity to develop their fine motor skills, in the ability to use cutting, gluing and painting skills in order to create an artwork for a specific purpose. Most Visual Arts lessons will be integrated with Science, English, Mathematics and PDHPE.

Music:

Students will engage in performing music of different styles and from different times and cultures by singing, playing and moving using musical concepts. They will learn how to organise sound into musical compositions using musical concepts, and engage in listening to and discussing their own music and that of others.

Students will also be involved in a K- Year 2 musical called “The Litter Muncher”. It is a 30 min production. Lazy Daisy village is idyllic - or at least it would be if it weren’t for a litter problem. Our overworked hero, the Litter Muncher, sets out to change the attitudes of the local people. This is a lively musical that children will adore, which carries a very positive and important ecological message, which builds on ‘knowledge and understanding of the world’.

Students at Good Samaritan have Physical Education/Sport each week. All students participate in the School Athletics and Cross Country Carnivals. Eligible students participate in the Swimming Carnival. After these carnivals squads are chosen to represent the School at Regional and Diocesan Carnivals. Students can then be selected to compete at MacKillop and State levels. Good Samaritan has a clear policy regarding student participation in sporting gala days and representation at competitive sports. Parents are asked to become familiar with this policy. 

This term in PDHPE, students in Amaroo Gold will learn about: Healthy eating and the Zones of Regulation.

Personal Development and Health:

Students will recognise the need to share and cooperate with others. They will also learn how to demonstrate active listening skills. 

We will also review the Zones of Regulation. Zones of Regulation is an approach used to support the development of self-regulation in children. All the different ways children feel and the states of alertness they experience are categorized into four coloured zones. Children who are well regulated are able to be in the appropriate zone at the appropriate time. 

PE/SPORT:

Students will join with Kinder or  Year 1 for PE and Sport lessons throughout the term.

ES1 - K

Unit: Healthy Habits

Students will participate in a range of physical activities to recognise the benefits of being physically active and also explore the connection between health and physical activity in promoting wellbeing. Students will participate in Athletics, and explore locomotor and non locomotor skills as well as throwing and catching.

Stage 1

Unit: Game On!

Students will participate in games with and without equipment. They will try different techniques and ways to move in order to solve movement challenges and make positive choices when moving. They will learn to identify rules and fair play when participating in physical activities. Students will participate in Athletics, and explore games that involve throwing and catching.

Students are encouraged to participate in home learning each day.

We ask your child to:

• Read daily (15 minutes) and record in Home Reading Log
• Practise reading some of the Magic 100 words each night. Magic Words are the most common words in English and are the most important words in learning to read and write.​ They will be kept in a ziplock bag in your child’s reading folder.
• Talk time - Students have been allocated a specific day (Thursday) to present an oral presentation to the class which will help develop confidence with speaking and listening skills. An overview for the term will be sent home outlining the topics for students to choose from. 

• Developing independence in your child. Where possible, make them responsible for putting or checking that their lunch box, library bag and/or reading folder is in their bag
• Listen to your child read their book
• Fill in the reading log and return the folder each day
• Review high frequency words each night 
• Talking to your child about the people in your family (immediate and extended family), what you call them, their relation to your child and where they were born.

Please support your child to be Ready to Learn each day by ensuring he/she has the following:

Reading Folder 

Munch and crunch

Water bottle

Recess 

Lunch 

Hat 

At GSFM we follow a school wide classroom behaviour sequence. Each student starts the day on ‘Ready to Learn’ and is encouraged to stay on this level all day.

Amaroo Gold’s  rules are displayed with visuals in the classroom. Students are encouraged to follow the rules within the classroom. Students have individual reward charts on their desk with the goal they are striving to achieve. They are rewarded with stickers, free time and small gifts from a prize box when they achieve their goal.

In Term 2, Amaroo Gold are focusing on listening to directions and following instructions in the classroom and on the playground. Students are rewarded for positive behaviour on the playground with house colour tokens. House rewards are given frequently.

All students are expected to be neatly dressed in their school uniform or sports uniform each day. Classroom teachers will monitor the wearing of the uniform on a day-to-day basis and inappropriate dress will be brought to the attention of the student and, where necessary, parents. 

This year Winter uniform is worn from Tuesday 10 May - remembering that Monday 9 May is a Pupil Free Day (Staff Development Day - students do not attend school on this day).

Parents may use their discretion for the week on either side of these dates based on the weather.

GOOD SAMARITAN CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL UNIFORM

Students are also expected to wear the correct Sports Uniform on sports days:

ALL ITEMS OF UNIFORM MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED WITH THE CHILD’S NAME

Ongoing communication between school and home is essential. The school aims to work in partnership with the home and recognises that parents wish to be informed of any problems. Likewise, there is a need for parents to keep the school informed of any events that may impact on the life of their child at school.

Through this mutual communication we aim to provide a safe and supportive environment for your child.

1. If you have any educational/behaviour concerns about your child always contact your child’s classroom teacher in the first instance. Your child’s classroom teacher will always make contact with you if they have any concerns regarding your child’s education or behaviour. 
2. Grades and classes across the school are supported by Middle Leaders. You are welcome to contact the Middle Leader/s responsible for your child’s class/grade if you have continued concerns regarding your child’s education or behaviour. The Middle Leaders will also contact you when and if necessary.

Middle Leaders 2022

3. If the issue remains unresolved beyond the Middle Leader then please address your concern/s to the Assistant Principal or the Principal.

4.Parents may contact teachers by email via the school office (info@gsfmdow.catholic.edu.au) but are asked to understand that a response may not be immediate and certainly cannot be expected beyond the regular hours of the school day or week. At Good Samaritan, we believe it is important to speak with parents either in a face-to-face meeting or over the phone when responding to emails that may be of a sensitive nature or that may require a lengthy response. Therefore, the email response you receive may be of a generic nature. 

5.Parents are asked to understand that teachers' primary responsibility throughout the school day is towards the students. Therefore, teachers are unable to engage in discussion when they are in direct supervision of students.

For any absence the school must receive notification of the reason for the absence within 7 days of the return to school. This applies for partial absences as well as whole day absences. Please supply the reason via Compass. In the event that a notification is not supplied the absence will be recorded as Unjustified/Unexplained.

We will inform you of any additional events in Term 2 in the school newsletter or by email.

• Week 2 - Thursday 5th May - Mother's Day Liturgy and Morning Tea at school.
• Week 2 - Friday 6th May - Mother's Day Stall.
• Week 3 - Monday 9th May - Pupil Free Day.
• Week 3 - Winter uniform to be worn.
• Friday 20 May - Athletics Carnival
• Tuesday 21 June Parent/Teacher Interview Week
• Friday 1 July Whole School Run & Picnic