Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Vol 22 Issue 35

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Dear Parents and Caregivers, Benjamin Franklin once said that “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” There was none of that negativity in the Primary School this past week, however, as the Year 3-6 stu-dents put their many weeks of preparation in-to practice while writing their end of year ex-ams. It was evident by their calm composure and focus that the preparation made all the difference, as they could approach each ex-am with confidence and show off all that they have learned in recent months.

The teachers were enormously impressed with their efforts, especially with the Year 3s, for whom exam writing is still a new experience. They took on board all that had been dis-cussed about exam writing techniques and ensured that their desks were neatly arranged with all that was required to do their very best in their exams. The balance between ongoing formative assessments and then the final summative

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assessments, such as these in the exams, is an important one. Assessments should never be done merely because they are traditionally part of any school system. Rather, they must fulfil a specific task, all for the benefit of the students who are writing them.

As such, assessments must be seen as part of a process. Work is covered throughout the year and various forms of assessment are designed to check whether that work has been understood and internalised. The loop is then completed once the assessments are analysed and feedback is given to the students, so they can see areas of strength and others where more work is required, or greater clarity needs to be sought.

This is why next week is so important for the students. Although it is the end of the year, and the syllabus has been completed for each year group, many of the skills which have

In this edition

JewQ International Torah competition

Student Achievements

News from the Classrooms

been learned this year will be required in the future. The feedback from the exams thus has a critical role in ‘feeding forward’ into future knowledge and skill acquisition.While there might be a tendency for students to focus on searching for any extra additional marks that they might be able to gain, I hope that they will approach next week’s feedback sessions determined to gain from the big picture of where they can still improve. It is no secret that at Reddam it is ‘cool to be clever’ and we look forward to the students building on their successes from this round of exams, as they move into their new year groups next year and beyond.

It was wonderful to receive news this week of Reddam House students putting the school motto of ‘We Shall Give Back’ into action during the year. The following students gave of their time to assist in a variety of community programmes at the Kids Giving Back organisation. They helped to produce hot meals and tote bags, packed clothing and assisted at soup kitchens for some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

Congratulations

Our thanks and con-gratulations go to , Lucia Perczuk, Ashan Men-on, Diyan Menon, Romi Gor, Edith Marucii, Asher Levin, Eli Levin, Isaac Fan and Justin Luo.

Our Jewish Studies students have spent the past few terms taking part in the exciting JewQ International Torah competition and a number of them did really well. They then had the opportunity to enjoy the Grand Fair last weekend. Our congratulations go to the following students, who were awarded medals:

Bronze: Dylan Loughlin, Freddie Harries, Regina Muhlman, Capri Reynolds, Lilah Ryvchin, Vanessa Samuel, Ariella Shelly, Samual Pinski , Avi Ereria, Oliver Barouch, Leo Platkov, Jed Sammel, Luca Aharonson, Romi Gor, Kin Simon, Ryder Swartz, Daniel Pinski, Charlize Allen, Ashley Vynokur and Elli Liebman.

Silver: Benjamin Levitt, Alexander Hckley, Alma Napthali, Eloise Shields, Michael Rodov, Sophie Lesnie James, Matilda Muhlmann, Claudia Lechem, Laura Townsend, Bally Napthali and Asher Levin.

Gold: Poppy Michael, Eli Levin and Rachel Kaplan

And a very special mention to the Champion of Australia: Gabriel Caspary.

The Holiday Celebration in the Town Hall next Monday should be a memorable occasion. The Jewish Studies students will deliver a Chanukah presentation, Bible Studies students will perform

a Christmas presentation, and the Moral Studies students will perform a variety of works connected to their learning. As we celebrate this special time of the year together, it should heighten the anticipation of enjoying such moments with our families and friends in the weeks to come. It is also a fitting opportunity to honour the cultures and traditions of many of those in our school community.

Congratulations

Next week also sees a number of incursions and excursions which will no doubt be enjoyed by our students. On Tuesday, the dents will have a great time with the incursion, as they are introduced to some of the wonders of the animal world. Also having a good time on Tuesday with their own incursion, the Year 4s will put their creative talents into action during their Indigenous Art workshops while the Year 2s head off campus for what should be a fascinating excursion to the Mars Environmental Education Centre

Then, on Thursday, we get to celebrate with our senior students in the Primary School as we honour the Year 6s at their This should be a fitting conclusion to what has been a wonderful year for them, and as we wish them well for the exciting opportunities which lie ahead.

Enjoy your weekend!

Dee Pitcairn Principal

Congratulations

Sport Fixtures

19th November 2022

Basketball

Perry Park Courts & Comets Stadium Saturday 19th Nov Girls

Un12s Reddam Storm v Inner City Sapphires 8am Perry Ct 3

Un14s Reddam Timberwolves v Reddam Mystics 9:40am Perry Ct 3

Un14s Reddam Sparks v Newtown Storm 1pm Comets Ct 2

Un 14s Reddam Mystics v Reddam Timberwolves 9:40am Perry Court 3 Boys Alexandria (Perry Park & Comets Courts) Un10s Reddam Lakers v BYE

Un12s Reddam Raptors v Inner City Demons 2:40pm Perry Ct 3

Waterpolo

Un12s Reddam Bucks v Sydney HoopStars Adders 3:30pm Perry Ct 3

Boys

Reddam Juniors v SACS, Cranbrook Pool, 1:00pm Reddam Seniors v SACS, Cranbrook Pool, 12:20pm

Reddam Primary v Trinity & Scots, Scots Pool 10:15am Girls

Reddam 1 v SGHS, UNSW Pool 10:15am Reddam 2 v SACS, UNSW Pool 9:45am Reddam 3 BYE

Touch Football

Reddam 4 v KRB, UNSW Pool 11:30am

Girls: Primary

Reddam Eagles v Snappers, Rowland Park 4.10pm

Reddam Lions v Crocs, Rowland Park 4.10pm Reddam Sharks v Boars, Rowland Park 4.10pm

Sport Results

12th November 2022 Girls

Basketball Boys

Un10s Reddam Lakers v Newtown Wizards 9 15

Un12s Reddam Raptors v Sydney HoopStars Moccasins 18 4

Un12s Reddam Bucks v Inner City Demons 8 18

Un14s Reddam Bulls v Newtown Swans 22 35

Un14s Reddam Cavaliers v Newtown Supersonics 16 43

Un14s Reddam Mavericks v Newtown Yowies 30 25

Un14s Reddam Pistons v Newtown Rangers 16 12

Waterpolo

Would like to wish a very Happy Birthday

to

Chiara Di Lernia, Monty Paxton, Annabella Salib, Zoe Ching, Stuart Hui, Zachary Macintyre, Aidan Man, Amber Charles, Oliver Charles and Joy Ozorio

Who celebrated their special day this week and over the weekend

Kindergarten

We turned the tables this week in Kindergarten with our new ‘Show and Tell’ topic ‘Be The Teacher’! We had a wonderful time learning a whole range of new skills from our talented student teachers. Isabella guided us through a drawing lesson, Tobias taught us what a hybrid is, then helped us to create our own hybrid animals, and Eden gave us a demonstration on how to bake bread! It was such an exciting week and we cannot wait to see what next week’s lessons have in store.

It was all about Australian animals this week in Topic. We learned about koalas and discussed the difference between fiction and non-fiction writing. We wrote information reports using the knowledge we gained including where koalas live, what they eat and what they look like.

During our Mathematics lessons, we revised our understanding of 2D shapes and 3D objects. We looked at the properties of pentagons, hexagons and octagons and used the book ‘Origami Heart’ by Binny to explore 3D objects in real world scenarios.

We delved into water safety at the pool this week in Personal Development and Health lessons. We learned the five rules from the ‘Kids Alive Do the Five’ song and consolidated our

learning by writing and drawing two of the rules.

Year 1

This week in Year 1 the children looked at the book 'Stick Man' by Julia Donaldson. The focus this week was on the illustrators depiction of different emotional states in the story. We discussed how the images added to the power of the story, how the expression of the characters gave us more meaning and how just how enriching the artwork is to any story. Dissecting the craft of a book like this heightens children's inference skills as they become more equipped to digest the book as a whole. The children were delighted to observe how many characters from Julia Donaldson's books pop up again and again in her different titles. A thread of clues of stories run through the images. Have you spotted the Gruffalo child holding a Stick Man? If not then you should look out for it next time!

Our poetry focus for this week was on acrostic poems. The children were shown a range of ocean poems including sharks, dolphins and jellyfish. Being so fortunately connected to ocean life, the children were inspired and motivated to write some underwater poetry of their own. We had starfish, mermaids, crabs and more! It was charming to see the children engage with playful language and begin to apply skills like alliteration and similes and also to use an increasing range of adjectives.

Maths took us on a shape exploration journey as we focussed on the meaning behind regular and irregular shapes. We looked at pentagons, hexagons, octagons and, of course, some incorporated some dodecagons! We built shapes using geoboards, pegboards, tessellation, Lego, Unifix cubes and also used IWBs and I pads. The kinaesthetic nature meant we were well equipped to play shape detectives and we described the properties of our favourite shape to friends whilst they guessed our secret shape!

Year 2

Year 2 students have enjoyed learning all about life cycles in Science. We investigated the life cycles of frogs and salmon. The students investigated how frogs and salmon reproduce, grow, become adults and die, thus living a cycle. The students wrote about this in stages and discussed the similarities between living things and life cycles. We used our scientific language to describe the various stages of development.

Our spelling list this week focused on ‘tion’ words. We thought of as many as we could and listed those on our whiteboards, reading them and using them in interesting sentences. Writing focus continues with the narrative genre, fine tuning our skills to write exciting endings. We discussed that we should have an idea of how our narratives are going to end before we begin writing. This enables us to build tension and atmosphere. In grammar we looked at punctuation and using speech marks and creative word play.

In Mathematics, we revisited using arrays for use in multiplication and division. The commutative property of multiplication and the relation between division and multiplication were explored. Year 2 love playing times table games and trying their best. The children learned how to order numbers to a thousand along with drawing and describing two dimensional shapes without the use of digital technology.

Our News focus this week gave the students the opportunity to present their own work about the life cycle of an animal of their choice. It was wonderful to enjoy all the different presentations!

In PDHPE we continue to learn ways to keep safe at home, in particular chemicals that may be stored around the home, inside and outside for pool cleaning and gardening.

Our History focus was the life story of Barangaroo the Eora Fisherwoman. The students were enthralled to learn all about this remarkably proud indigenous woman who tried to safeguard her culture amidst the new settlers.

Year 2

Year 3

The Year 3 students approached Examination Week with maturity and determination. They seized the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learnt during the second semester, taking the time to read each question thoroughly and ensure that they have answered them carefully.

In addition to this, the Year 3s also continued to show their dedication towards their revision, using their time outside of the examination room wisely, and displaying a plethora of study techniques to prepare themselves fully for the past week.

Finally, to ensure that the students were keeping healthy mentally, they were given a mid week sport session to allow them to get outside in the fresh air and burn off some excess energy.

Here are some things that the Year 3s had to say about Examination Week:

Jamie Betsis: ‘At times, I have felt like this week has been stressful, but also very fun!’

Capri Reynolds: ‘When you dedicate yourself to your studying, exams don’t seem so scary.’

Romy Hutensky: ‘I think that Examination Week

is special because of that feeling you get when you’ve tried your best. Plus, it’s really fun to revise with your friends.’

Louis Hughes: ’This week has been hard work, but I have found some of the exams easier than others because I have prepared myself well.’

All in all, a fabulous week! You should feel extremely proud of yourselves, Year 3s, as your teachers were blown away by your efforts! Well done!

Year 4

Examination Week has finished for the year… officially! Sighs of relief continued to echo in the classrooms and through the hallways, mirrored by students and teachers alike. The Year 4 teachers would like to congratulate each and every student for their determination, resilience and discipline. To sit through a whopping ten examinations for subjects across the curriculum is no mean feat and we are all proud of their efforts. Know that they laid everything on the table and nothing but efforts were given on each day.

Our scheduled revision times were productive, giving the students valuable opportunities study and prepare for the exams in the ing days. The teachers are also so proud wonderful students’ studying technique, as they employed multiple methods by which solidate their understanding of the content. These included completing sion Booklets, recording key notes cards, and testing each other orally or by using student-created, subject-driven Kahoots. A personal favourite was their whiteboard work, whereby students were given based problems and were asked to solve them using solutions that they encountered their learning. This application of learned tent to new scenarios activates the higher order thinking and problem-solving skills

and compelled them to communicate their knowledge and reason their ideas, thus developing their ability to be critical and creative thinkers in our ever-evolving world. Year 4 is looking forward to receiving feedback for their exams and the fun-filled, action-packed weeks ahead!

Year 5 and 6 Mathematics

There was a definite sense of relief and satisfaction displayed among the Year 5 and 6 cohort after both Mathematics examinations. They ap-plied their learned exam techniques, skills, and knowledge to successfully complete their pa-pers. It was felt that there was a substantial vari-ety and balance of questions to positively showcase their knowledge. Students reported that the exams were fair and that there were enough questions to challenge and stimulate critical thinking without generating too much anxiety.

The consensus among Year 5s was the best question in the exam was solving what fraction of the surface area of a lolly, in the shape of a cube (made up of three layers of equal thick-ness) was covered in chocolate. Students were gratified that they understood the difference between a vertex and an apex.

They were also well prepared to identify uniformcross-sections.

Most rewaårding was their ability to divide, writ-ing any remainders as decimals and or frac-tions.

Year 6 agreed that the most enjoyable ques-tion in their exam came from Paper 2. The mathematicians were given the volumes of a cylindrical glass as well as 3 ice cubes (already placed in the glass). They were then required to calculate how much water should be poured into the glass, to fill it to the top. This question tested the students’ understanding of the rela-tionship between volume and capacity. We look forward to returning examinations next week and using the feedback sessions as a positive learning experience.

Year 5 and 6 Science

This week, all Year 5 and 6 students sat their end of year Science exam. This exam included content from the whole semester. The Year 5 exam included topics such as Newton's laws of motion, forces and the solar system, whilst the Year 6 exam contained material such as energy stores, circuits and natural disasters. Students in both year groups have been revising very hard over the past few weeks to perform as well as they can in the exam. I am sure their efforts will pay off with amazing results. Students will receive their exam paper and marks back next week during feedback week. Feedback week provides students with the opportunity to highlight where their knowledge was strong and where it needs developing in the future.

There was no Science Club this week due to exams; however, it will be back next week with a bang!

Year 5 and 6 English

This week, Year 5 and Year 6 English students put all their hard work into effect, as they sat their final examinations for 2022. Extra lesson times between exams were used for revision

many, the additional materials strengthening lessons learned in class. Well done to all our hard-working students. The English department is proud of your efforts and gains over this busy

Year 5 and 6 Public Speaking

In the last few weeks of Public Speaking, Year 5 students completed their “Novel to Film Pitch” assessment task. The students gave wonderful and often convincing presentations of a superb range of novels that they felt would make viable feature films. Students often complain at the start of this unit that they “don’t know any books”. But then they remember that they do, or they go and read one or two, and off they go with their presentation preparation Anything we can do to support reading and literacy is vital for this generation

Students will be receiving their speaking results in class, and final results in their reports. It was great to see so many students having fun with this term’s task I certainly enjoyed watching and marking the results. Well done, Year 5 Public Speakers!

Music

The Year 2 musicians learnt the song 'Button You Must Wander' this week in their music lessons. They learnt to sing it, to clap the rhythm, and to play it on the xylophone. They also had great fun playing a circle game, where they passed a ball to the next student in the circle in time with the beat. This game encourages students to keep a clear pulse and to be able to sing whilst keeping this pulse going.

The Kindergarten students enjoyed performing 'Mill Song' arrangements on the xylophone adding percussion parts as well as the bass bourdon parts. They also learnt a new piece, 'Jack in the Box'. For this piece, students played a game where one student pretended to be the 'Jack in the Box', crouching down near the ground. On the lyrics 'of course I will', jumped up from the ground like a jack in the box! Students loved playing this game!

'Jack in the Box So quiet and still Will you come out Of course I will!'

MusicPerformance

Whilst our Year 3 6 students were completing their exams, our K 2 students still enjoyed their full programme. Our morning ensembles continued to run, and all of our students sang up a storm in their Moral, Jewish and Bible Studies classes, in eager anticipation of next Monday's full school Holiday Celebration at the prestigious Sydney Town Hall. We look forward to sharing news of this event next week!

Year 5-6 Synthesiser Ensemble

This term has been an exciting one for the Year 5 6 Synth Ensemble. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to perform live at the final assembly of the year. This is the first time the synth ensemble has performed live in several years and the first time doing so with our new instrument set up. The performance was excellent and there was even a fun little interlude where the students sang. For the remainder of this term, the students will be working on the pop classic Billie Jean. The fast tempo and syncopated rhythms of this piece have challenged the students in a positive way, and it is already sounding great.

Piccolo String Quartet

The Piccolo String Quartet had a great start to the term, preparing and performing the piece ‘A Whole New World’ from the classic Disney movie ‘Aladdin’ for the Spring Recital. During rehearsals, the quartet members would work on not only playing their individual parts but also work on listening to one another. This is because quartets require accurate intonation, rhythm and clear communication skills in order to blend and play in harmony with one another. Recently the quartet has been preparing a new work called ‘Haydn Emperor Quartet’. Haydn is known as the acknowledged father and founder of string quartets. It is a great work for the Piccolo Quartet to prepare to further build their skills and understanding when playing in a string quartet. They are looking forward to future performances coming ahead!