Friday 27 May 2016 Term 2 Week 4

Basket Range Primary School NewsletterBasket Range Primary School NewsletterBasket Range Primary School Newsletter

Working & Learning Together…...as a school, cluster and partnership.

Nancy Saccoia Principal

At Basket Range educators work and learn together in a variety of forums. Professional Learning Community (PLC) Professional learning communities consist of teams of teachers who collaborate and coach each other. These teams are founded on establishing and sustaining a culture of ongoing professional and collegial support. PLC’s at a school, cluster and partnership level, focus on learning that supports and develops student learning. At our school and across the Scenic Cluster educators (teachers) effectively review and innovate their practices by:

working in learning teams with knowledgeable colleagues

planning together, observing and providing feedback to each other

Sharing effective practices

Our Pupil Free Days and Scenic Cluster Professional Development sessions are opportunities for teachers and staff to work together, share practice and engage with new learning. Mt Lofty Partnership Our school also works closely with our local partnership, Mt Lofty Partnership. The purpose of local partnerships is to improve education and child development outcomes for students through a shared leadership model and plan.

Leaders from the following sites meet and work together to plan and implement strategies to achieve this goal. PRESCHOOL Aldgate Kindergarten Ashton Kindergarten Bridgewater Kindergarten Stirling District Kindergarten Stirling East Kindergarten PRIMARY SCHOOLS Aldgate Primary School Basket Range Primary School Bridgewater Primary School Crafers Primary School Heathfield Primary School Lenswood Primary School Mylor Primary School Norton Summit Primary School Scott Creek Primary School Stirling East Primary School Upper Sturt Primary School Uraidla Primary School (schools in green also belong to the Scenic Cluster) SECONDARY SCHOOLS Heathfield High School Arbury Park Outdoor School

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Room 3 News from Sue... It is hard to believe we are already in Week 4 and close to half way through the term. Despite coughs, colds, and wild storms bringing down trees and turning our roads into running rivers, we have soldiered on and settled into a productive routine.

Our maths focus this term has been on 2 and 3 dimensional shapes, counting in 2s, 5s and 10s, and adding on and subtracting. We have drawn, constructed and made models of cubes, pyramids and spheres visualising and feeling through our fingers their different properties. We made a 'chatterbox' to quiz our friends on their new knowledge. Making

the 'chatterbox' had its own challenges. The folds needed to be so precise and to go in the right direction otherwise it just didn't work. Our fine motor skills were put to the test and although some frustration was experienced, in the end practice made perfect. Science is always a favourite and the children enjoyed Maria coming in one day to do an experiment with them working out how to separate mixtures. There was lots of discussion and experimenting with which was the best equipment to use for different substances. Did you know that you don't use the same equipment for everything?

We have begun our knitting. Counting stitches, not making 2 out of 1, and not letting Jack jump off too soon has required a lot of focus and attention. The children are very proud of their endeavours and are learning to make neat rows with even tension. They are their own greatest critics and insist on fixing up the holes that suddenly appear. Some are already planning what they will make next; a hat, a jumper, or perhaps a coat for a turtle?

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Room 3 News from Sue...

In a few weeks we are having a visit from Stirling Kindy and the children are keen to tell stories to the 'little kids'. They are practicing little puppet shows and rhymes and songs to sing to them. We will be sharing our morning routine with the parents who come and I know they will be very impressed with how eager and engaged your children are.

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Room 2 News from Claire ... Week 4 has come round incredibly fast. As I get to know the school and the children in Room 2 better I feel more and more lucky to have found this wonderful school, and to be teaching such an amazing class. I look forward to enabling them to further develop and improve upon their skills and knowledge in the latter half of the term. For those of you I have yet to meet and introduced myself to, my name is Claire Gallagher and here’s a little background about me. My husband (also a teacher) and I, along with our two boys (aged 6 & 8) moved to Australia from England around 18 months ago. We feel very privileged to be living and working in the beautiful Adelaide Hills. I have been a teacher in the UK for 15 years, however this is my first full time teaching post in Australia. As I am sure your children will have told you, I am still getting used to the little differences the Australian life and classroom brings - for example taking the ‘roll’ rather than the ‘register’, having ‘recess’ rather than ‘break’ and being called Claire rather than ‘Miss’. Now I am getting to know your children a little better, I am trying to put in place some regular routines and have introduced a few little changes which, I hope once the children get used to will be beneficial to their learning. One of the big differences in the learning environment is the change of the desk layout in Room 2. I have grouped the students into threes and fours which will lend itself more to group tasks, which I feel are can be just as important as the individual class work. The children seem to be adjusting to this well despite the odd reservation.

One of my regular routines includes the setting of homework tasks. Whilst I don’t believe in setting homework for the sake of it, I do believe that allowing students to get into regular habits of completing work at home is beneficial. For the older children high school is not too far away and having these good habits will enable them to cope with the higher homework demands. Where possible I will set tasks which coincide or benefit the work we do in class. Though this may not always be feasible I feel will make the homework more favorable when achievable. Each week the homework will be given on a Monday and taken back on a Friday. Please take some time to check your child’s homework book. I have included a section for you to sign, and I of course will also be checking and marking it each week. I have recently set up a reward system in the classroom where children can be recognised for any positive behavior, exceptional work, and strong choices. The children will collect reward points, which they will be able to exchange for small rewards (special pens/pencils etc.). All students have started a ‘Novel Study’ which is an individual literacy project where the students choose the novel they wish to study. The task is designed to enable me to assess how well they are able to work with little or no help and identify where I need to support them most. I have also changed the way they learn their spelling words by giving them a choice of ‘Word Study’ activities each week that focus not

only on their spelling words but on words in general. The tasks are designed to enable different types of learners to explore their words using a variety of methods rather than one method, which may favor some learners and not others. The next few weeks we will focus our Literacy work on creating a book for a specific audience. Due to the upcoming visit from Stirling District Kindy we have decided to create illustrated storybooks, which they will share with the children who come to visit. They are also

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Want to help at home?

designing an activity they can do with the small group of Kindy students they will be looking after on their visit. I have been very impressed with their storylines so far and am thoroughly looking forward to seeing their books taking shape. For our Mathematics project this term we will be covering many topics - scale, measurement,

perimeter, area to name a few – through our ‘design your dream house’ project. The children have started their grand designs, which vary from the very simple one bedroom cottage to the huge multi story mansions! This project will be supported soon in their STEM afternoon when they will create a scale model of the bedroom with all the furniture and choice of décor. As I have a specialist Arts background I have introduced Drama into this terms work. As well as many team building drama games we have tried some mime and we have even done a little dance! I have loved seeing the children enjoy the creative subjects and intend to use a lot of Drama to teach different aspects of the curriculum in the coming months. The children of room two are keeping me in shape by taking turns to run a short activity for our daily fitness session. They have shown their teamwork, independence and leadership skills running these sessions and each day I look forward to my new challenge!

As the Winter Fair is getting very close we have also begun thinking about craft projects they can make to sell. This will directly feed into some of the Design and Arts curriculum. We will begin working on these items very soon and of course use our Mathematical skills to ensure we price them right! I have been extremely impressed with the class so far – in particular when it comes to their responsibilities within the school. I am very much looking forward to getting to know them better and being a part of their learning journey. Thank you so much to all the parents who have made me feel very welcome in such a beautiful school community. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries or would just like a general chat regarding your child. Claire Gallagher

Room 2 News from Claire...

You can help your children at home by involving them in mathematical activities and talking to them about mathematics and its everyday uses. Be positive! Praise your child's success.

Encourage your child to have a go at measuring, calculating, counting, estimating and solving problems. Invite children to

investigate and make discoveries for themselves. Encourage them to find their own answers. Don't be too quick to

tell them the answers.

Bounce into Maths Many children love to play ball games.

Help your child to learn their tables by playing a ball game

with them. First, ask a tables question, e.g. 7 x 9. If your child

answers correctly then they can have a shot at the basket or

a kick for goal, etc. Ensure you score so effort is rewarded,

e.g. a goal = two points; if the ball hits the ring without going

inside, then score one point. Your child then asks you a tables

question. You can also play in teams.

Cooking at Home Children can help

you prepare shopping lists, work out

the quantities of ingredients needed,

weigh the ingredients and check on

the cooking time. Involve children in

selecting new recipes

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The Sound of Music ...

We welcome to Basket Range PS Matt Lang who with the assistance of Emma Parker has taken on the role of Music teacher. Matt takes students from both classes on Monday afternoons. They spend time enthusiastically experimenting with rhythms on the instruments and then in learning new songs in choir sessions. We look forward to future performances.

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Korean Homestay Program...

How does the possibility of exposing your child to another culture without leaving home and the opportunity for a lifelong friendship sound? Our families have the chance for just that. We need families to host South Korean students in Term 3 this year, from 26th July to 13th August. Taking a South Korean student into your home and caring for them for a period of 3 weeks will be an extremely rewarding experience for your family and the child you are hosting. The Homestay Program students are from Chengju which is located in central South Korea approximately at 2-3 hour drive from Seoul. The children all speak their mother tongue of Korean. This is the official language of the country and is spoken by more than 80 million people worldwide. They also learn English. Some of the benefits of children being bilingual are— It’s good for brain development It gives them a cultural awareness It improves their overall communication skills,

and It will completely transform their travel

experiences. The purpose of their visit as a Homestay Program student is to be immersed within another culture where they are strongly encouraged to speak their host family’s language and experience everyday Australian life. The benefit for the host family is they also get a glimpse of another culture, within their own home.

There are approximately 50 students visiting Adelaide who will be hosted by schools across the suburbs and hills. These students will attend school for 12 days and participate in our regular school program. You will not be out of pocket, with home stay families receiving approx. $800 to cover expenses. The school will earn approx. the same amount per student. Students will need a bed and somewhere for their belongings. They do not necessarily need their own room and in most cases would prefer to share. When

not at school Korean students would participate in your normal family life and possibly some sightseeing/tourist activities. All adults in each home stay family will need to have

the appropriate DCSI check and Reporting Abuse &

Neglect (RAN) training which the school will organise.

If you wish have a child stay with you or just need

more information about this possibility please contact

the school by Wednesday 1st June. For the program

to be possible we need to host 4 Korean students.

South Korea is a country in eastern Asia. South Korea's flag pictures a red and blue Yin-Yang symbol, red (yang) on top, blue (yin) on the bottom, in the center of a white field. Four groups of three long and short black bars (called kwae) surround the central circle. This ratio of the height to the width of the flag is 2:3. South Korea's flag was adopted on January 25, 1950; the flag is called Taegukki (which means, "Great Extremes"). The white in this philosophical flag represents peace and purity. Symbolically, the Yin-Yang symbol represents opposites; it is the belief that all things in the universe have two, opposite aspects that cannot exist without the other. The kwae trigrams are from the I Ching; the broken bars symbolize yin (dark and cold) and the unbroken bars symbolize yang (bright and hot). The four Kwae represent: heaven (three unbroken bars), the Earth (three broken bars), water (one unbroken line between two broken bars), and fire (one broken bar between two unbroken bars). The Kwai trigrams are placed in such a way that they balance one another, heaven is placed opposite Earth, and fire is placed opposite water.

Basket Range Primary School Newsletter

Basket Range Primary School 16 Cramond Rd Basket Range SA 5138

PH: 8390 3466 FAX: 8390 1062

EMAIL: dl.0511_info@schools.sa.edu.au

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Don’t forget to check our page:

https://www.facebook.com/basketrangeps

Upcoming Dates...

Thursday 9 June Stirling District Kindy visit

Friday 10 June P&F Canteen Day

Monday 13 June Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday

Tuesday 14 June Pupil Free Day

Tuesday 21 June Pedal Prix 6 Hour Race

Wednesday 22 June Governing Council Meeting 6:30pm

Wednesday 29 June Bunnings Student Workshop

Sunday 3 July

Winter Fair

Relevant History Screening Policy changes... Many of our parents and guardians volunteer at our school to support their child’s learning.

To make it easier for parents and guardians to volunteer their time, the Department for Education and Child Development has updated its relevant history screening policy and procedures.

As a result, parents and guardians who volunteer to directly support their child will no longer require a relevant history screening. This will mean many of our volunteers can help out sooner.

A screening is still necessary for parents and guardians who are volunteering at school camps and sleep overs, as well as those hosting billets and homestay students.

As has always been the case, a screening is not needed to attend single events or activities at our school. These include concerts, fundraisers, swimming week or sports day.

Screenings are just one measure used to help keep children safe. Everyone who works with children plays a part in child protection, including watching out for inappropriate behaviour.

Find out more about relevant history screening and keeping children safe at www.decd.sa.gov.au. If you have any questions about screening, these changes or the new on-line application process please speak with school staff.