Primary Newsletter
IN THIS ISSUE: •
News from the Classroom
•
Birthdays
•
Student Achievements
Dear Parents and Caregivers, As we conclude the first full week since returning to school it has been gratifying to notice the enthusiasm and optimistic spirit which pervaded the classrooms, corridors and sports fields. Lessons were once again roaring ahead at full steam and the various cultural and sporting activities had their first rehearsals and practices. We also headed off on a number of enjoyable excursions, which were no doubt the highlight of the week. It was another reminder of the multi-faceted richness of what life at Reddam House is all about. Far from dour and repetitive rote learning, ours is an education which embraces all aspects of a child’s learning. Learning about the self and about others is just as important – perhaps even more important – than learning facts and figures. As we imagine what the future will be like for the young people who fill our classrooms, one thing is for sure. It will require of them to be creative thinkers, problem-solvers, and individuals who can use their skills and knowledge in an adaptable manner. As such, a broad and holistic education is all the more critical, especially one which provides as many opportunities to explore as possible. We constantly promote the idea that ‘it’s cool to be clever’. By acknowledging those who excel academically, we don’t only draw attention to their achievements, but we hopefully also inspire their peers to work even harder, so that they too can receive the plaudits. From Kindergarten and throughout the Primary School, we love nothing more than to see the students applying themselves fully and even stretching themselves beyond the bare minimum of what is required of them. This goes for the way they approach all the other activities on offer in the school. Whether in stepping out and trying a new sport, or taking on the challenge of learning how to play a musical instrument, or braving the podium in public The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter
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are there to grow confidence and to enhance the individual strengths which we know each student has. We really look forward to seeing them flourish as they make full use of all the opportunities on offer this year. While excellence is always the high bar towards which we aim, far more important is the willingness to take a chance, to try something new, to live life adventurously and without regret. The best indicator of excellence in a school should not just be the final academic results but rather how fully engaged and involved each student has been, and how well they have developed their unique skills and abilities. Congratulations to Sarella Symonds, who won the silver medal in the ocean swim, the silver medal in the board relay and she was placed fifth overall in the individual Board final. All of that at last weekend’s Branch Carnival at North Curl Curl. She now moves onto the State Championships at the end of February, for which we wish her everything of the best. And finally, our congratulations to Emily Petersen, in Year 2. She received a distinction in her UME Junior piano exam at the end of last year.
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The Year 3s were first out of the blocks when it came to educational excursions this year. They had a wonderful time at the Longneck Lagoon Education Centre on Tuesday. This beautiful and well-run centre was the perfect backdrop for the Year 3s to learn more about their natural and historic surrounds and I have no doubt that it elicited many a fascinated discussion about Earth’s changing surface. The Year 4, 5 and 6 students also had some enjoyable incursions and outings this past week. Although we are sad that Covid restrictions still precluded them from going on their usual camps, the time off campus was a special opportunity for bonding and for building cohesion in their year groups. The teachers mentioned how positive and enthusiastic the students were, which bodes well for a great year! My congratulations to Tom Cooper, who has been promoted to Deputy Head. Tom’s energy and concern for the well-being of all at the school makes this a well-deserved promotion. We wish him well for the opportunities which await him and for the positive input which we know he will make in this new role. Our Chinese families celebrated the New Year this week and we join with them in trusting that the year ahead will be wonderful in every way. We hope that they enjoy the celebrations which will continue in the coming days. Please also follow this link to access our online Uniform Shop.
Please use this link to access our online Assembly. https://youtu.be/Nb020K4Fz-k Have a great weekend! Dee Pitcairn Principal
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SPORT FIXTURES
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Sporting Fixtures 5th February
COMETS STADIUM
Basketball
Under 12s – Reddam Raptors v Sydney HoopStars Mambas 1.00pm
Comets Competition - Friday Under 16s –Reddam Knicks v New Town Diamonds 4.30pm Under 18s –Reddam Thunder v Coogee Crystals 5.15pm
Under18s – Reddam Suns v Newtown Nets 5.15pm Under 18s –Reddam 4.30pm
1st
Under 14s – Reddam Cavaliers v PCYC Panthers 11.20am Under 14s – Reddam Mavericks v Inner City Bayside Ballers 12.10pm Under 14s – Reddam Nuggets v Inner City Thunder 1.00pm
V v Inner City Gems
Perry Park Courts & Comets Stadium Saturday Fixtures (Perry Park Courts are located behind the Comets stadium)
Girls Under10s – Reddam Lakers v Sydney HoopStars Tigers 8.00am Under 12s – Reddam Bucks v Inner City Wild Cats 10.30am Under 14s – Reddam Timberwolves v AllBlacks 9.40am
Under 14s – Reddam Pistons v Sydney Hoopstars Cobras 11.20am Boys MPCYC Under16s – Reddam Warriors v Accelerate Warriors 4.30pm Under16s – Reddam Rockets – BYE Under 16s – Reddam Pacers v Inner City Panthers 5.15pm Under 16s – Reddam Nets v Inner City Eagles 3.00pm Under 18s – Reddam Heat v CYS 6.45pm
Unders 14s –Reddam Sparks v KHYAstronauts 9.40am
Under 18s – Reddam Grizzlies v Manesis Strength 7.30pm
Boys Alexandria (Perry Park Courts)
Under 18s – Reddam 1st V v Newtown Warriors 3.45pm
Under 10s – Reddam Jazz v Reddam Hawks 8.50am
Water Polo- Saturday
Under 10s – Reddam Hawks v Reddam Jazz 8.50am
Boys
Under 12s – Reddam Celtics v Inner City Demons 10.30am
Primary v Bye
Under 12s – Reddam Clippers v Sydney HoopStars Adders 10.30am
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Under 14s – Reddam Bulls v Newtown Rangers 11.20am
Middle School v Scots, SHORE Pool 11.00am Seniors v Scots, SHORE Pool 2.00pm
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SPORT FIXTURES
I
Girls
Reddam 8 - Bye
Reddam 1 v Bye
Boys
Reddam 2 v Bye
Reddam 1 v Bye
Reddam 3 v Bye
Reddam 2 v Bye
Reddam 4 v Bye
Reddam 3 v Bye
Reddam 5 v Bye
Reddam 4 v Bye
Cricket
Reddam 5 v Bye
Saturday
Reddam 6 v Bye
Under 10 Boys Reddam Roos V UNSW Thunder 10.00am Heffron Park Oval 3 Under 11 Boys Reddam Rhinos V Easts Thunder 12.30pm Lough Field 2
Tennis - Saturday Reddam 1 v Bye Reddam 2 v Bye
Under 13 Girls Reddam House V Summer Hill CC 3.00pm Rowland Park Oval 4
Reddam 3 v Bye
Sunday
Reddam 5 v Bye
Under 12 Boys Reddam Roosters V Easts Hurricanes 8.30am Booralee Park Oval 4
Reddam 6 v Bye
Touch Football - Saturday Girls
Reddam 8 v Bye
Reddam 4 v Bye
Reddam 7 v Bye
Reddam 1 v Kambala, Mission Field 2, Parkes Drive Centennial Park 8:50am Reddam 2 v SVC, Reservoir Field 5, Oxford Street Centennial Park 9:40am Reddam 3 v Kambala, Mission Field 5, Parkes Drive Centennial Park 10:30am Reddam 4 v SCEGGS Mission Field 2, Parkes Drive Centennial Park 11.20am Reddam 5 v Sceggs, Mission Field 5, Parkes Drive Centennial Park 8:50am Reddam 6 v KRB, Mission Fields 5, Parkes Drive Centennial Park 8:00am
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Reddam House Would like to wish a very happy birthday to Veronica Rodov,Thomas Jackaman, Ivy Zagora, Abigail Desouza,Alessia Maksimovich, Noah Mtanios,George Negas, Marco Chun-Hei Alessandro Ip & Anthony Anqi-Wu Li Who celebrated their special day this week and over the weekend
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Principal & Principal Honour Awards Reddam House
Would like to congratulate the following students on their Principal and Principal Honour Awards. Principal Awards recipients: Ariana Hronis
Principal Honour Awards recipients: Hanna Ching and Lawrence Chan
Principal & Principal
Honour Awards
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ART GALLERY
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KINDERGARTEN It has been a great start to Kindergarten, with our students keen to learn the school routine! They have been brave and confident since day one, walking through the school gates with their teachers and showing such independence in hanging their school bags outside their own classrooms. Kindergarten enjoyed meeting their specialist teachers and making new friends in the classroom and on the playground. This week during our English lessons, we introduced the sounds /s/, /a/ and /t/, as we focussed on hearing the sounds independently and at the beginning of words. Our next task was to blend these sounds together to make a word - s/a/t becomes sat! The children were so pleased with themselves being able to read and make a word. We also practised writing these letters with the correct formation.
During Mathematics, students worked towards writing the numbers 1 to 5 accurately and used the ‘Numeral Song’ as a fun and interactive way to learn this skill. Students demonstrated their knowledge of counting during rotational activities and when using hands-on manipulatives. As part of our Topic unit ‘Marvellous Me’, students explored their similarities and differences and discovered what makes them special as an individual. We will continue to learn about each other’s families, cultures and traditions that make us unique.
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YEAR 1 This week in Year 1 the children were introduced to the author Anthony Browne. We will study his texts throughout the term. We commenced with ‘Piggy Book’ in which the family are not all helping out with the chores and the illustrator gradually turns them into pigs! The children loved hunting for the pig clues within the images and discussing the meaning behind the transformation. They wrote their own letters to the family insisting on more help around the house and designed some fabulous pig images to accompany their demands. Our focus in Maths was on the exploration and consolidation of place value. The children used dice to create their own random numbers and build them with dienes blocks. This kinaesthetic activity allows the children to see the number in physical quantity which really supports their concept of the value of a number.
In Science, we introduced our topic of Light and Sound. We worked through a listening story where the children highlighted the sources of sound. A silent meditation allowed us to focus on the sounds around us. It's amazing to consider the number of stimuli we have around us all the time. History and Geography allowed us to express ourselves and important events in our lives. The children created a timeline of the special events in their lives. They spanned from learning to ride a bike to a memory of a father bouncing a ball which made us laugh as a toddler. This sequencing allowed us to then explore new vocabulary related to time ‘in ancient times, long ago, yesterday, now, today, next year.’ We used our language to spot the odd thing out in images of scenes from the past, present and imagined future. Well done, Year 1, on an excellent week!
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YEAR 1
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YEAR 2 Year 2 have enjoyed adjusting to their new classrooms, routines and forming new friendships. The teachers are very impressed with the manner in which the students have been demonstrating their growing independence and organising skills. The children were delighted to share their holiday experiences when constructing recounts in English. We look forward to providing opportunities which will further consolidate this writing structure throughout Term One. The students have been engaged in a variety of activities this week in Mathematics lessons involving tens frames and we have also solved addition and subtraction problems. There has been a focus on discussing efficient strategies for this as well as exploring the properties of two-dimensional shapes. In History we have discussed the significance of important days and the celebrations involved with Australia Day and Chinese New Year. We linked this to reading comprehension activities which provide an opportunity for the students to reinforce their reading for deeper meaning and understanding of texts by asking specific questions. The students thoroughly enjoyed wearing ‘mufti’ to school on Wednesday and learning about ‘The Year of the Tiger’. In Science we introduced the students to our topic on ‘Materials’ and look forward to exploring this concept though hands on experimentation and investigation in the coming weeks. The students were bubbling with enthusiasm as they returned from specialist lessons throughout the week. The teachers are excited about the adventures ahead with this wonderful Year 2
cohort.
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YEAR 2
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YEAR 3 On Tuesday, the Year 3s eagerly attended their first excursion of the year at Longneck Lagoon Education Centre, located in the stunning surroundings of Scheyville National Park. There was a buzz of excitement as the students made their way through the beautiful bushland to reach their destination, and what awaited them was a fun-filled day of exploring and experimenting to enhance their scientific knowledge of ‘The Earth’s Changing Surface’. Split into three groups, the students participated in a rotation of activities to explore the effects of erosion in the area and study the local soil and rocks. The Year 3s ran tests to find out the PH level of the soil around them, and rolled up their sleeves to uncover what type of soil it was by mixing it with water and attempting to roll it into various shapes. Other highlights included getting up close and personal with the soil by studying it under a microscope, conducting experiments to see the effects of rain on different types of soil, and a bushwalk by the lagoon to see the impact of erosion on the local area. All in all, the Year 3 students and teachers had a fantastic day, coming home with a mountain of new facts, and an eagerness to continue learning about the topic in the classroom. Way to go Year 3!
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YEAR 3
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YEAR 4 Year 4 teachers would like to extend a huge welcome to the new cohort of students. The first full week of school was filled with exciting introductions, brilliant excursions and fun learning. It was great to see all students shine as they came back to Reddam House. The highlight of the week was seeing how much the students enjoyed the learning which took place outside of the classroom. On Monday, Drum Circle Events led an incursion that taught children the importance of listening to others, concentration and collaboration. These skills were developed through the medium of playing Djembe African drums. On Tuesday, students then went to visit Lough playing field to participate in “The Amazing Race”. Here, students worked on their social skills and learnt how to reflect, voice their opinions,
and shared their ideas in a safe environment. It was a fun-filled start to the year and a powerful insight into how amazing this year will be
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YEAR 4
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YEAR 5 & 6 SCIENCE 2022 marks the start of a new exciting year for Year 5 and 6 students in Science. Over the course of the year, students will study biology, chemistry, physics, scientific investigations and earth and space. Students will take part in an array of practical activities and gain a deeper understanding of how the world and beyond operates. I am looking forward to a busy year in Science. During the incursion this week, Year 6 students took part in a bridge building activity. Students were challenged to use their teamwork, communication and logical thinking skills to build the strongest bridge possible over a 30cm gap. The winning team was the team with the bridge that withstood the most weight being applied to it.
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YEAR 5 & 6 ENGLISH & PUBLIC SPEAKING YEAR 5 AND 6 ENGLISH The English Department would like to welcome back all students in Year 5 and 6 to what is sure to be a fun-filled year. This term, students in Year 5 will be exposed to a variety of persuasive texts and short stories. Students will begin the term by reviewing the art of persuasion by deconstructing, analysing and writing their own persuasive responses. Students will also read and analyse a range of short stories, focusing on the structure used and language features. Moreover, students will explore a range of themes and social issues through the study of the visual text ‘The Little Refugee’ – a short story that tells Anh Do’s incredible life-journey. As always, we will be encouraging students to draw upon their critical thinking and creative writing skills.
This term, in Year 6 English, students will focus on the changes that have occurred throughout Australia since its colonisation in the 18th century. We will reflect on what it means to live in a multicultural society, as well as to consider what our colonial history means to indigenous Australians. Students will engage with a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts that will enable them to respond in various imaginative and informative contexts. Texts that will be studied this term include ‘The Rabbits’, written by John Marsden and illustrated by Shaun Tan, a fable about colonisation, told from the viewpoint of the colonised. We look forward to exploring this visual text with the students, along with poetry written by the famous Banjo Patterson. YEAR 5 PUBLIC SPEAKING
Welcome back to all students in Year 5 public speaking. I’m not sure how any speaking assessment task can beat the Master Chef presentations you did at the end of Year 4, but we are certain to have a lot of fun getting up front this year. This term, students will be practising their off-the-cuff speaking skills in a unit all about making impromptu speeches. This week we played speaking games, to get used to what it feels like to talk to an audience without much preparation time. What a vital life skill this is for our Stage 3 students, as they take on more leadership roles around the school.
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YEAR 5 & 6 MATHEMATICS It was lovely to welcome the Year 5 and 6 students back into the Mathematics classes this week. After a few enjoyable days of orientating themselves, working collaboratively, meeting new classmates, and firming up friendships, they were ready to reacquaint themselves with life in the classroom! In our Maths lessons we explored good work habits, one of them being the importance of keeping material organised and in so doing improve efficiency and results. The other important topic that was addressed was the benefit of setting out work in a sequential way, with the aim of ensuring that mathematical thinking, intention, and understanding is communicated and reflected. Students were given strategies and examples to practise these skills.
Year 5 mathematicians investigated different kinds of numbers, namely natural numbers, whole numbers, and integers. They looked at the language of maths and discussed what ‘consecutive numbers’ might mean and they provided examples of sets of consecutive even and odd numbers. Furthermore, they were challenged to read and write big numbers going even further than quintillions. Year 6 students learned about base ten and their powers, exponents, or indices. They wrote large numbers in expanded and exponential form. Michael Zeritis in Year 6 felt satisfied that he
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MUSIC What an exciting week it was! The Reddam Music students are so glad to be back and making music again. This week, the Year 5 students listened to Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an exhibition’ and learned about the instruments of the orchestra. They also played a rhythmic piece for hand drums called ‘One to four’. The Year 6 students had a wonderful drum circle incursion learning about African drumming as well as an extra Music class in which we learned the song ‘Three little birds’ by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The students had a lot of fun and ended up with an arrangement of the song that was not only quite challenging, but also sounded fantastic by the end of the lesson. We are all looking forward to a term full of great music
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MUSIC
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MUSIC PERFORMANCE It was our pleasure to welcome all of our young musicians back to their individual tuition this week. Our teachers reported back about their very excited students, as they move on to new and exciting repertoire and progress to new grades and books! Similarly, our new beginner students have responded so well to our music programme, and we can't wait to hear more from them! Some allocations are still happening, and teachers will be in touch over the next week. Next week, we resume our ensemble programmes. We cannot wait to welcome Year 5 and Year 6 on Mondays, Year 2 on Tuesdays, Year 3 and Year 4 on Wednesdays, and Year K and Year 1 on Fridays! Additionally, we have choir starting for our Year 3 and Year 4 students on Mondays, Year K and Year 1 on Tuesdays, and Year 5 and Year 6 on Fridays.
We are all looking forward to an exciting and productive year of music making! Performance Submission Videos for Assemblies and Recital Please submit a performance via the link to be considered for assembly performances, when assemblies are permitted to resume. Similarly, for recital performance when we are able to schedule our Welcome Recital. Voluntary Ensembles We will soon be resuming our voluntary ensembles, observing cohorting guidelines. There are many options available to students, including rock bands, string orchestra, electronic music production, jazz band, brass ensemble, and so many more! Please register your interest at the link and please note teachers will be in touch over the next week with start-up information.
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Calendar 2022 TERM 1
Thursday 27th January Thursday 27th January Thursday 27th January Friday 28th Janaury Friday 8th April
Staff Development Day Year 7 Orientation & Testing Day Year 5 Orientation Day Term 1 Students K – 12 Term 1 ends
TERM 2
Monday 2nd May Tuesday 3rd May Monday 13th June Friday 1st July
Staff Development Day Term 2 Students K – 12 School Closed – Queen’s Birthday Term 2 Ends
TERM 3
Monday 25th July Tuesday 26th July Friday 23rd September
Staff Development Day Term 3 Students K – 12 Term 3 ends
TERM 4
Tuesday 11th October Wednesday 12th October Wednesday 7th December Friday 9th December
Staff Development Day Term 4 Students K – 12 Term 4 ends Teachers’ Last Day
Good Friday & Easter: 15th -18th April (Term 1 School Holidays) Anzac Day: 25th April (Term 1 School Holidays) Queen’s Birthday: 13th June (within Term 2) Labour Day: 3rd October (Term 3 School Holidays) Rosh Hashana: 25th September – 27th September (Term 3 School Holidays) Yom Kippur: 5th October (Term 3 School Holidays)
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