Junior School Weekly for Term 3, Week 1

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

JUNIOR SCHOOL WEEKLY

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL

Upcoming Events Eid Qurban School Closed 20 & 21 July Pyjama Day at Home Friday 23 July

Assalamu Alaykum Dear parents and carers Welcome to week 1 of term 3. I hope you are all keeping well and safe with your families during this challenging time and second lockdown. As you are aware the stay-at-home order has been extended for Greater Sydney until Friday 30th July. For now, this means our home learning program will continue until the end of week 3.

I would like to thank all of you for your swift response to our home learning program and supporting your child/ren with their online learning this week. I have received a great deal of positive feedback from our community regarding the online lessons and I am so pleased to see nearly every child online and learning with their teachers each day. Online engagement and attendance of our students has been outstanding!

On that note, I would also like to congratulate all our students who achieved 100% attendance at school throughout term 2. Regular attendance at school is essential to assist students to maximise their potential. This includes attending all online lessons too.

Students with 100% attendance will be receiving a special attendance certificate once school resumes face to face.

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL This term we warmly welcome two new staff members to our Bellfield family and Junior School team. A warm welcome to our new Learning Support Teacher, Ms Charles. Ms Charles comes to us with a wealth of teaching and learning support experience and will commence learning support sessions online with selected students from Monday 19th July. We also welcome back a familiar face, Miss V. Paras. Miss Paras will be teaching 3A for the rest of the year and we are so happy to have her working with us once more.

Despite the current lockdown, Bellfield College Junior School will proceed with National Pajama Day on Friday 23rd July! Please find more information about how your child can participate, attached to this week’s newsletter. I look forward to seeing all teachers and students in their best PJs during their online learning lessons next Friday.

Lastly, I encourage all families to monitor the NSW Government’s latest COVID-19 news and updates for locations where there may have been exposure to COVID-19 and adhere to the advice as appropriate.

Stay safe and have a restful weekend.

Warmest regards Miss Harold Head of Junior School

Pyjama Day Friday 23 July

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

MRS STEVENSON DEPUTY HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL Dear Junior School Families, I would like to extend a warm welcome to you all, even though we cannot be together at this time. I have loved dropping in to all LIVE lessons throughout the week and seeing lots of smiling faces and superb learning. I sincerely commend our fabulous teachers who have worked tirelessly to prepare and deliver live teaching and enriching tasks remotely. They truly are the backbone of our College. I give an enormous thank you to our families and students who have readily engaged and adapted to home learning. Your patience and encouragement has been appreciated whilst we ironed out any glitches within our program.

Home Learning can be a stressful time for many, and it certainly adds another layer to manage at home as you set up technology and establish new routines. During this time it is really important to take things gently, be extra patient with children and spouses and not be too hard on yourself.

Some days will be great, and some will be hard, but each new day comes afresh and we can always start over. Please read over the 10 Steps for Family Wellbeing provided by the AISNSW and if you would like any support with these suggestions our IHSAN team, College executives and mentors are here to help.

In next week’s newsletter I will discuss some tips and tricks to assist your children with remote learning.

Warm regards Mrs Natalie Stevenson

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

YEAR 6 JUNIOR RANGERS PROGRAM In the Name of God, the most beneficial, the most merciful, “It is He Who sends down rain from the sky: From it ye drink, and out of it (grows) the vegetation on which ye feed your cattle. With it He produces for you corn, olives, datepalms, grapes, and every kind of fruit: Verily in this is a sign for those who give thought.”

(16:10-11) This term year 6 had the extraordinary opportunity to take part in a Junior Rangers program, conducted by National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS).

Our Geography unit for this term was ‘The Natural Environment’, and students were ‘junior’ rangers learning all about their direct, local, and wider environment in which they live in.

Students discovered they are part of the Cumberland Plains, which is Country for Darug people to this day and falls within the Deerubbin and Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Councils.

Year 6 visited local Church Grounds, every fortnight, investigating native plant species, invertebrates and abiotic features. They used geographic tools, such as compasses for direction, kestrels for wind speed, thermometers for temperature, quadrants for their study lines, microscopes, and brushes for collecting invertebrates.

Students connected with the land, discovering many species that are part of our ecosystem.

They sketched in their field books, collected data, and compared this to their school grounds, which in turn is the disrupted land. The results revealed less of a variety of plant and animal species, coming to the realisation of the role they play in our survival.

Students learnt the importance of sustaining what Allah swt has given them for generations to come. With that, Greening Australia provided Bellfield College with over 200 native Australian plants, and Year 6 of 2021 got onto their knees and planted hope for the generations to come, right into their own school grounds!

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

YEAR 6 JUNIOR RANGERS PROGRAM

Further, in class they were busy building their vocabulary around revegetation and sustainability to write persuasive essays. They were using persuasive language features, along with the strong real-world field knowledge to inform the reader of the importance and benefits of restoring disrupted land by planting native plants and trees! These beautiful trees will grow to provide natural habitat to many birds and insects, provide oxygen and filter the air we breathe, decrease urban heating by providing natural shade and most importantly contribute to bringing back balance to our biodiversity.

Let it grow…

Let it grow Like it did so long ago…

Maybe it's just one tiny seed, But it's all we really need!!

Let it grow!

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

YEAR 4 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LESSON During Term 2, Year 4 students enjoyed their Science and Technology lessons learning about agricultural processes that are used to grow plants and raise animals. Students were tasked with designing and constructing a chicken house! Look at some of their fantastic results! Well done Year 4!

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF IHSAN In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful Dear parents and carers, Asalamu ‘alaykum.

I would like to thank you for all your support, perseverance and feedback in Week 1 of our remote learning experience. Your child’s creative engagement online lives and grows in the school's tripartnership vision like a tree in the earth from which it draws its nourishment.

Our shared struggles are challenging but meaningful. I recall what some researchers describe as the "form-storm-norm-perform" cycle. When a team first comes together (form), it is often rocky for a time while members figure out the dynamics (storm). At some point, the team finds its ground (norm) and starts to make headway (perform).

Experience and success do not give us easy passage through the middle space of struggle (storm). They only grant us a little grace, a grace that whispers, "This is part of the process. Keep moving forward." As the holy Qur'an reminds us, "O human being, indeed, you are steadily advancing towards your Cherisher, then you shall meet Him" (84:6).

Our mentors in the IHSAN Department have been actively working together across Junior and Senior Schools to ensure that your child is accessing their online classes.

Furthermore, the IHSAN Department has received your feedback about the pilot testing of our Week 1 Qur’an and Illuminations timetable, which facilitated daily Qur’an and Illuminations live sessions. We have been closely assessing the viability of our initial approach, or lack thereof.

We have decided to modify our Junior School Qur’an and Illuminations timetable to accommodate online teaching class by class, instead of combined classes. This rearrangement will maximise the quality of your child’s Qur’an and ILL. learning within their individual classes, including pre-recorded sessions, which will give them more opportunity to complete their work, while engaging with their teacher with minimal distractions. You will receive your child’s new timetable soon.

I would like to wholeheartedly thank you once again for working with our mentors, staff and Heads of School to offer your child the holistic support to thrive and excel. This support cannot be downloaded. It has to be organically uploaded from the grassroots.

Warm regards, Mohamed Wehby Director of IHSAN/Head of Illuminations

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

NSW PREMIER'S READING CHALLENGE Dear Parents and carers, What is the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge?

The NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. The PRC is open to all NSW students in Kindergarten to Year 9, in government, independent, Catholic and home schools.

The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature.

Students must read a certain number of books to complete the Challenge. Upon successful completion of the Challenge, students will be eligible for a PRC certificate in Term 4.

When is the challenge?

The 2021 Challenge opened to students on Monday March 1, 2021 and will close on Friday August 20, 2021.

How does my child sign up?

Students will receive their login shortly from their class teacher. Students will use their login to access their online profile and log the books they read online.

What should my child read?

Please encourage your children to read the books that have been shortlisted on the website prc@det.nsw.edu.au . Students can borrow books from the College library.

Also, a trip to your local library is always a nice way to ensure you have the correct books, as they are easy to find.

By encouraging and engaging all our students to partake in this initiative we hope to develop a greater love for reading and to further improve their literacy and vocabulary skills.

If you need help using the website and the answer cannot be found on the PRC Support site, please contact us at the College on 9606 2666.

Warm Regards Miss Balloot K-6 Literacy and Numeracy Instructional Leader

VOLUME 20 • JULY 16 2021

NSW PREMIER'S READING CHALLENGE