Term 2 Week 10 2020
To the St. Michael’s College Community,
When I look back on term 2 I have many emotions. I am deeply saddened for members of the wider community who have lost loved ones, I am concerned for those in our community who have significant changes to their livelihoods and businesses and I worry for the ongoing health and safety of those around the world without access to the medical care available in Australia. We are all very fortunate to live in a country where there are not 1000s of new COVID 19 cases each day.
But the emotion I feel most every day when I come to school is pride. I am incredibly proud of our entire community for how we have worked together in partnership to enable teaching and learning to continue during a global pandemic. I am proud of our teaching staff for making the transition to at home learning and then back to classroom learning. Many personal hours of time were invested and your efforts are greatly appreciated. Our assistants have continued to provide that extra layer of support at the College - during those times where some students were learning at school and some learning at home our assistants were incredibly important. Our administration team worked tirelessly to ensure updated health advice was implemented in policy, our financial position was secured and that our communities were provided with updated information. And most importantly, I am proud of our students. Managing to successfully navigate through this term is a remarkable experience. The way our students returned to school and settled back into routine is a credit to them and a reflection of the support they are provided by the parents/guardians and their teachers. I am also incredibly proud of the number of students who can now carry their own bag and esky, to and from the carpark - parents you should know that your children are more than capable of this task. I am also very proud of our parent community. Many aspects of school this term are different and many activities/events were cancelled or occurred without your attendance. I am forever grateful for the messages of support you provided the staff and the positive feedback/acknowledgement the teachers have received.
This term was/is an emotionally challenging time. So much uncertainty and worry existed. For many in our community their lives are forever changed. But during this time our College community remained focused on our mission ‘To inspire quality learning, nurture individuals and instil Christian values within a safe school community’. Our fundamental drive was to ensure we provided our students with the best possible education (our first attempt at learning at home was pretty good) and a safe environment for students while at school.
I would like to wish our students and staff a restful break - you have earned your holiday this term.
I am waiting for further health advice before making any changes to the restrictions at the College for term 3. Specific details will be provided to families in an email at the start of term 3.
As a minimum the current drop off and pick up routines will be implemented for the first 4 weeks of next term.
Guidelines recommended by the AHPPC will continue to be implemented at the College.
Stay safe and remember to keep practising good hygiene.
Chris Allom - Principal
Upper primary students enjoyed learning Japanese online during the first half of Term 2, 2020.
Students learnt how to introduce themselves in Japanese, how to answer questions using “yes” and “no”, how to ask what is someone’s name, how to ask and respond to “how are you”, how to bow respectfully and gesture 15 important Japanese words.
Students created a poster with their Katakana name in Japanese, made a Taiyaki origami fish and learnt how to sing a Japanese name song with two puppets.
Online learning proved to be challenging when learning a brand new language but enjoyment, creativity, wonder and interest was sparked.
Miller Sensei and the students thoroughly enjoyed our first lesson back together in the classroom during Week 6, Term 2, 2020.
Students practised all of their new language skills which is now the important framework of our Entry routine for every Japanese lesson.
They continue to enjoy earning special Japanese stamps for great effort and exhibiting excellent language skills. Many of the College students are close to earning 10 stamps or more in 5 short weeks!
Year 4 are learning how to say six animal names in Japanese and place them into the correct Japanese Zodiac race order. Whilst Year 5 and 6 students are learning to say 12 animal names in Japanese and show their correct race order too.
A lot of tasks have practised these core skills including a fun maze, an animal origami mini-booklet and lots of fun and interactive Japanese language games.
Students have been asked to include their families by asking them questions like, “Nani doshi desu ka?” This question asks “What Japanese Zodiac animal are you?”
Thank you to all of the College families that have supported our language learning so well this term. Your encouragement and support is much appreciated. I look forward to another wonderful Japanese language filled term in Term 3, 2020.
Kind regards,
Miller Sensei
Well done to all of the Cross Country runners!
Due to covid-19 restrictions this years event was spectator free. It was so disappointing to run the event without parents, however everyone had a great time and the weather was fabulous!
Individual class videos will be emailed home shortly and certificates were awarded to placegetters in class.
A very BIG thank you to event organisers Sr Anne, BC and Kevin.
Super Netball Final
Today the students played the final of the St. Michael's College Super Netball between Halley (Yellow) and Tebbutt (Green) resulting in a 3 all draw in extra time.
Well Howdy Partners!! To say term 2 was unusual was an understatement. Some children continued their education at home while others attended school. Online teaching was a huge learning curve for us but we took on the challenge and won! The parents did a wonderful job as substitute teachers.
We were lucky enough to all be back together in week 4 and what a lot of excited cowpokes (and teachers) we had that first day. The Wild West was an adventure as we navigated through some wild learning and even wilder fun. Learning card games, lassoing horses, gold panning and eating cowboy food were just some of the learnins’.
Well chitlins, y’all done us proud!!! And we be thankin’ yer for a mighty fine term.
Term 2 started with a very new and daunting prospect of online learning. With a two week crash course in using the Chromebook in term 1, we amazed everyone with just how quickly we picked up the process of logging on and finding our learning material. With fabulous support from the parents at home, we continued our learning journey and quickly adjusted to school at home.
By week 4, the Year 1 cohort was back in the classroom and very excited to see each other again be it at a 1.5 metre distance.
We wasted no time getting back into classroom routine and continuing our unit focus on minibeasts. We studied snails and bees thoroughly, learning some very interesting facts. Did you know that only the girl bees have stingers and that bees communicate by doing a special Waggle dance?
As part of our English unit we compared fiction and non-fiction texts, opinions and facts. We took our new-found information and created our very own non-fiction book on bees.
Mathematics has been filled with hands-on activities and lots of number games. We explored 2-digit numbers, 3D shapes, chance, simple addition, growing patterns and time. Card and dice games were very fun ways to practise our knowledge and skills in place value and number. They also allowed us the opportunity to practice small group interactions and building important social skills.
Your Year 1 Team - Mrs Jubb, Mrs Monaghan, Mrs Burnett and Miss Hill
2020: A year we will never forget. What a whirlwind Term Two has been!!!
Most of the students started the term off with online learning. They quickly adapted and learned to use multiple programs such as Google Meet, Google Classroom, PM Reading, Google Docs, Mathletics and Typing Tournament just to name a few. To say we are proud would be an understatement. We were so touched by the solidarity of our community in dealing with such an unprecedented event. We truly did learn to ‘come together’ when times were tough. It was so delightful to see the joy on the students faces as another one of our classmates returned from online learning. We truly did miss one another and it was an experience that highlighted the wonderful connections and relationships the students have developed with each other.
During this term, we ventured back into the past and investigated the timelines of the bicycle and the telephone during our History lessons. The students enjoyed learning about the improvements that were made to these inventions across the years. They compared the original inventions with current models of the invention and discussed how the changes have improved our daily lives.
This knowledge was integrated into writing as we focussed on the genre of historical narratives. The children created some very interesting characters such as ‘Ben the Blacksmith’, ‘Billy the Bushranger’ and ‘Jessie the Jillaroo’. The students used olden day clothes, such as mop hats, aprons, vests and caps to role play a variety of characters.
During investigations we engaged in hands-on challenges that supported our learning goals. These experiences allowed us to enhance our social emotional development as well as springboard into our everyday lessons.
What a wonderful experience for them to compare life in the olden days whilst learning through a variety of modern-day devices and resources online. Talk about going from one extreme to the other. Well done Year 2s!
Term 2 - Land Down Under
For the first half of this term, many of us found out, what it was like to learn from home due to the COVID 19 restrictions. Some found it easier than others to adapt to but most of all, it brought us together. Students, teachers and parents were all supportive of each other.
It was like a celebration day, when each child who had been away, returned for their first day. We truly missed each other!
During this term, we continued our studies of Australia particularly from an Indigenous point of view. We compared how life has changed from 200 years ago to today.
We heard many Dreamtime stories, amazed at the explanations and descriptions of how this great land, its animals and people came about.
As writers, we explored narratives and hybrid texts which allowed us to tell some original and exciting stories of our own.
On our Chromebooks, we became even more interactive, utilising Google Meet, sharing reading responses to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and accessing the plethora of links and sites our teachers had set up for us on Google Classroom.
In Science we discovered the forms of matter, their properties and their uses. We even had fun racing liquids in a viscosity race, melting chocolate and sticking our finger in honey!
From a design Technology point of view, our classes observed and examined different materials to reveal their purposes and how they could be re-purposed through reuse and recycling.
As model citizens in Civics, we suggested why it is important to make rules and their role in our community.
We continued our artistic journey, by creating meaningful Indigenous style pieces of Art, which allowed us to communicate our feelings through the beautiful patterns we created.
This term taught us to be stronger and to ‘soar’ in the light of adversity!
Even though we started term 2 apart physically, it was wonderful to see everyone come together to support each other through what was a term like no other!
The term started with learning online via technology. Our days consisted of Google Meets, Chromebooks, Hyperdocs, Google Forms and Google Classroom. Everyone jumped on board and showed what a true community spirit we have at SMC.
Together we achieved and learnt so much- Mighty Mentals, Informative writing, reading comprehension, Lifecycles, Mapping, art (to name a few). Not to mention the improved technological skills that we continue to use in the classroom to date. We were truly inspired by the effort and commitment that the children demonstrated through this very ‘crazy’ time.
We were super excited to have all of the students return to the classroom in week six. The classrooms were full of excited chatter as everyone reconnected after being apart. It didn’t take long to get back into the swing of things and since returning to the classroom we have enjoyed participating in literacy rotations, the shared reading of ‘Gangsta Granny’, STEM Challenges, a Maths scavenger hunt, boot camp etc.
We hope that everyone has a well deserved break and we can’t wait to see you all in term 3!
What an unusual Term 2! While Year 5 were saddened to miss playtime with our friends, musical rehearsals and mathematics rotations; we welcomed and embraced new experiences during the Covid-19 online learning period.
These included: entertaining Google Meets, learning in pyjama bottoms, online community choirs and 'Light up the Dawn' ANZAC services. If you were lucky enough to have a birthday during Covid-19 – well let’s just say you were treated to a very ‘special’ and ever-memorable rendition of Happy Birthday!
Curriculum wise, Year 5 students impressed all teachers – at home and at school – as they adapted from Google Docs lessons in the live classroom in Term 1 to utilising these docs all day for half of Term 2.
Special congratulations to Emily, Lily, Lainey, Kirra and Mia whose poems and photographs were selected to be buried in the Pumicestone RSL ANZAC Time Capsule to record how our community remembered the ANZACS and kept their spirit alive during ANZAC Day 2020.
Also in Term 2, we learnt about persuasive texts, studied budgets, expenses and GST in Economics and Mathematics and investigated behavioural and structural animal adaptations in Science.
Term 2 began with learning from home for the majority of Year 6 which proved challenging and different for everyone. We tried to have as much fun as possible on our online meets every morning and afternoon but it wasn’t the same as being able to see, learn and play together everyday. The highlight was delivering the Year 6 shirts and seeing the children's smiling faces. This and our online meets did give us the opportunity to connect with each other when the world was in isolation.
When everyone came back to school the room felt magical as we saw each other's faces and Year 6 filled with joy, relief and happiness. On the first day back from online learning it was back to hard work, fun and just being with each other again.
During the rest of the term, we jumped back into all the lessons, assessments and our new novel “Once”. We also started our Japanese lessons face to face for the first time and have enjoyed learning a new language.
We continued our Alice in Wonderland practice for our movie/musical, got back into inter-house sport competitions and ran our last ever primary Cross Country race.
Grasshopper Soccer coming to St. Michael's on Tuesday afternoons. Click the picture to enrol.
