Leichhardt State School eNewsletter

From The Principal

Assessment time is a culmination of the teaching and learning sequence – a time for students to show what they have learned, and for teachers to assess how well they taught the unit of work. Unsurprisingly, assessment time can be very stressful to some students; and the importance of parents’ and carers’ support during this time cannot be overstated.

We know that teachers play the most important role in ensuring their students learn well and are able to show that learning in many different ways. We also know that parent and carer support at this time makes a huge difference to how a student approaches assessment and how much they believe in their ability to achieve great results.

As assessment time begins, I would like to encourage you to discuss your child’s learning with them and ask them what they need to do to get an A in English or any other subject. We ask this question and a few others at every Assembly and in every classroom to make sure our students understand what we value – learning. If you have any questions about how best to engage in conversations about learning with your child, please contact their teachers and seek advice. They will be more than happy to help.

NAPLAN testing has been completed and our students in Years 3 and 5 can return to their normal school routine. The administration of the test has been a big undertaking, and Mrs Anforth has done a fantastic job to ensure all students were ready and able to complete the test to the best of their ability. NAPLAN is only one measure we use to monitor our students’ outcomes. NAPLAN results will be available to parents and carers later in the year.

In one of the earlier editions of the Newsletter, I wrote about our Deadly Dancers being invited to perform at the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) Conference in June. At Leichhardt, PBL is a framework for building a positive culture for learning and it shapes our behaviour expectations of students and staff. The school has worked hard since 2020 to implement PBL strategies across the school, and this has resulted in some fantastic results for our students. We saw students’ outcomes in curriculum and behaviour improve simultaneously.

To celebrate these achievements, we wrote an application to present at the Conference and have been successful. Joy Anforth and Anna Neville will present The Power of PBL to Improve Student Outcomes at the Conference and highlight all the great work that is happening at our school. As Principal, I could not be prouder of the work our staff have done collectively to change the lives of our students for the better.

Over the last couple of weeks, you may have noticed a Student Teacher in your child’s classroom as part of their professional experience days. Our school proudly supports universities and offers placements for future teachers. We have many talented students who have gone through this experience at Leichhardt and been successful in securing a job upon completion of the teaching course.

In 2022, Leichhardt State School has 6 graduate teachers who have shown great enthusiasm and willingness to learn, and, at the same time, managed their class/es very well this year despite the challenges of student absences. Thank you, parents and carers for supporting our beginning teachers.

Stay safe, strong and kind. I hope you enjoy the Newsletter!

Learning @ Leichhardt

Teaching and Learning

Well done to the students for another enthusiastic week of learning. As the weather improved it was fantastic to see many classes using the learning spaces outside and moving their bodies for brain breaks.

We are excited to share that the senior students now have bookwork expectation posters displayed in their classroom. These will be used as a reference point for teachers and students to use throughout their lessons as they continue to build their confidence in organising their notes. Bookwork expectations will allow a great foundation for our students as they learn notetaking. Well done to the students for the pride they have in their learning. The two students pictured are displaying bookwork expectations in mathematics.

HPE

It has been another great week of moving our bodies. Students have been performing running, jumping, landing and throwing movements. It has been fantastic to see the students persevering in their physical activity lesson as well as encouraging their peers. We look forward to celebrating their hard work in week 9 at sports day. Stay tuned for more information about this!

Did you know the average person walks about 7,500 steps per day.

STEAM

This term in Science, the Year 6 students have continued their units focusing on circuits and switches. They have created switches for a circuit and completed an investigation into which materials can be used as a switch to transfer electricity. The Year 5 students have learnt about how plants and animals adapt to their environments. They have investigated whether the surface area of a leaf affects the amount of water it loses.

In the coming week, the Year 5 and 6 students will be commencing their assessment items. Year 5 will be designing, building, coding and critiquing their creations. Year 6 are completing a written task on Cyber bullying and safety. For parents of Year 6 this is the perfect opportunity to discuss this topic with the students.

Our students are all having an amazing time learning in STEAM!

Reading @ Leichhardt

It was lovely to see so many students receiving Reading Eggs Awards at the April Reading Eggs Award Assembly. This was particularly so given that for half of April, students were on holidays! Well done, students for continuing to read on holidays and a big ‘thank you’ to parents and carers for encouraging your child/children to read!

Below are just some of the students who received April Reading Eggs Awards:

The Reading Eggs Teacher Engagement Award was taken out for the second month in a row by Ms Simonds (Prep B). Well done, Ms Simonds!

Only 4 days left until the end of May!

Please encourage your child to engage with Reading Eggs so they can be in the running to earn a May Reading Eggs Award!

Prep Reading @ Leichhardt

At Monday’s Assembly five Preps achieved Sight Word awards for reaching their personal sight word goals. Four of the Preps pictured below, from left to right, are Zarah, Kaluaka, Jack and Noah. Well done, students!

Kaluaka then demonstrated application of his sight word knowledge by reading a story about colours to the Assembly. Well done, Kaluaka!

It is great to see the Preps tracking well with their sight words.

Sight word knowledge is very important as sight words account for up to 50% of words on a page!

Please check the below information to ensure your Prep is on track with their sight word knowledge. If you have any questions about sight words or how your child is progressing learning their sight words, please contact your child’s teacher.

Average acquisition of sight words during the Prep year:

End of Term 1 of Prep = 3 sight words known

End of Term 2 of Prep = 15 sight words known

End of Term 3 of Prep = 50 sight words known

End of Term 4 of Prep = 91 sight words known

National Simultaneous Storytime

At 11am on Wednesday, it was National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) and Leichhardt State School staff and students took part! NSS is a time when all of Australia comes together to celebrate reading and encourage all young Australians to read and enjoy books.

Leichhardt State School students were very excited to listen to our principal, Mrs Bogicevic, read online the story, ‘Family Tree’ written by Josh Pyke and illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh. Students were also very excited to know that they were listening to the same story at the same time as everyone else in Australia!

Students thoroughly enjoyed creating their own family tree using the template developed by Junior Art Teacher, Ms Sarah. Thank you, Ms Sarah!

Art with Miss Sarah

In Art this term we have continued looking at the elements of art. Over the past few weeks, many classes have explored creating art pieces using different materials and textures. Students are building and increasing their vocabulary by describing how different textures feel that they use within art sessions. We have had so much fun learning outdoors and collecting natural materials to make self portraits, learning about animals and also using picture books and messages in stories to create art works.

Students in Prep listened to a story called ‘The Worry Monster’. The book was based around children sharing their worries to their pet monster who then gobbles up all their worries. The children made their very own worry monsters by using playdough which tied in with smooth and squishy texture. Please enjoy some of the artwork Leichhardt students have created and produced so far this term!

From Student Services

Student Services…We Care!

In Student Services we have been very busy working at keeping our students safe and well!

Please remember, if your children are unwell in any way, keep them at home to rest and recover.

Students showing any signs of illness will be sent home and if showing symptoms of COVID-19 will be given a RAT test to be completed at home. Students may return to school when they have a negative test result and are symptom free.

Updating Contact Details!

Please remember, to update your contact details with the school. Up-to-date contact details ensures that the best care can be given to our students.

Lost Property!

Please remember to clearly name your child's belongings. This enables items to be returned to their owners. If you have lost something, please come down to Student Services and check out the big red tub, where you will find lost property.

Preloved School Uniforms!

If your children have grown out of their school uniforms, it would be greatly appreciated if you would please consider donating them to Student Services. Students often require a change of clothes while at school and our supplies are getting low.

A huge thankyou to those families that have already donated!

Riddle!

You can hear me and control me, but never see me or touch me. What am I?

Your voice!

Tuckshop

The lovely ladies, who volunteer at our school tuckshop, have been very busy preparing food for our hungry students. Why not support our tuckshop by ordering one of their value packed Lunch Packs for $5. Lunch Packs include a sandwich (vegemite, jam, honey or cheese), popcorn or shapes biscuits, muesli bar or le snack, a piece of fruit, a cupcake and a popper. That's right! All 6 items for only $5.

Tuckshop is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Orders should be placed by 9am and payment may be made by cash or eftpos.

Volunteers are always welcome. If you have an hour or two to spare, please consider helping at the tuckshop. Many hands make light work!

Volunteers@Leichhardt

At Leichhardt State School, we believe that it takes a community to raise a child. Please read the article below to see how the Leichhardt Community is working to support Leichhardt State School’s Homework Club to make a positive difference for our children.

Last week was Volunteer Week at Leichhardt State School and while we always thank our volunteers for the wonderful work they do, last week was a special week to make our volunteers feel extra appreciated.