CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

 We Love Catholic Schools
Catholic Schools Week was held from 8 to 14 March. It was a great way to build relationships with the members of our school community. Throughout the week there were many opportunities to visit our school and experience a day in the life of a student at St Paul the Apostle.

In week 7 it is Catholic Schools Week. Parents came in and join in with their children, BACK TO SCHOOL PARENTS! On Monday the parents were invited to watch a lesson of dance fever.
On Wednesday the parents were invited to watch an art lesson with Mrs Sargent and a sports lesson with Mrs Milic. It was a lot of fun!

Its Catholic Schools Week.

Catholic Schools Week is when parents can come in to see their children do their lessons or their sports, music and art lessons.On Monday our  parents came to Dance Fever at the end of our lesson we had  a parent vs kids dance off. At sport we played 'Rock,River,Bridge' and we also played Bullrush. In art we did an artwork on Ken Done. Our parents have had an opportunity to  watch an art lesson and visit us during our Literacy block. We enjoyed sharing our learning with our parents and our art work looked awesome! Thanks Mrs Sargent.

Mr Dib talks to us about Electricty

Year Five got a special visit from Mr Dib an electrician. We learnt where power came from and how power is transmitted. Did you know that when power transmitted it is an electron flow.

Year 5 learned many things that relate to electricity, we also got a sneak peak of some of the machines electricians use. Mr Dib did some experiments that were so fun.
We learnt about alternating and direct currents which is short for AC/DC. you would think that it is extremely hard to explain the way electricity works to Year 5 students but we all understood it clearly.
When Mr Dib came to our classroom he taught us about different types of circuits such as short circuits, long circuits and many more.

Year 5 was very happy when Mr Dib came to the Year 5 classroom to teach us about electricity we learned about AC/DC  and what electricians do.
The experiments were amazing !!!

Mr Dib showed us what not to do, how to create a spark and how light two light bulbs at the same time.
He gave us worksheets that taught us about different circuits.


He did the best experiments ever
Everyone loved it.
We all loved  Mr Dibs projects. They were awesome can't wait for something like this to happen again. It was very fun
Mr Dib had very interesting information about how electricity works.
He did a demonstration with positive and negative wires and what happens if they touch.
Mr Dib showed if the positive wire connects to the wire where the negative is meant to be.

He showed us how to be safe around electricity and taught us about circuit. If some how you break one Christmas light all the rest of the light bulbs will possibly break or go out. He showed us how how to make a circuit and produce light.

Hist By CJ Dennis

The NSW English Syllabus promotes the development of all areas of English. Recently during class time, Year Five have been experimenting with ways to strengthen and refine spoken texts in order to entertain or inspire an audience. On Friday we presented a recital of Hist! by C.J. Dennis.

                                  HIST!
"HIST....HARK....THE NIGHT IS VERY DARK..."

For the past few weeks, Year 5 have been working extremely hard studying the poem 'Hist' by C.J. Dennis.We have been rehearsing this poem for our assembly this week on Friday 6th March.

The poem is about a few children who wandered through a park at night without any overcoats. Since it is dark, they are frightened by many absurd sounds and their imagination.

The picture book version of 'Hist!'

'HOME AGAIN... HOME AGAIN... HIP....HOORAY!'

Looking After Our World

Awareness of the World Around Us

March 1 is 'Clean-Up Australia Day'. The significance of the day is celebrated all around our community by members taking time out of their busy lives cleaning up their local park, street and community areas. It is also seen as a great learning opportunity at our school. During the week we experienced an incursion where the children learnt about the importance of recycling our food waste by starting a compost bin.
Year Five were very engaged during the lesson and have written an article below sharing their thoughts on the visit.

Recycling!

On Thursday 26 February Year Five participated in an incursion where they were spoken to about how to recycle effectively. A member from the Cleanaway Company, Natalie, also spoke to us about compost and how to start our own worm farm!

The exciting part for most people was holding worms, for others it was absolutely disgusting. In the mini worm farms we wet newspaper, worm eggs, rotten fruit or other forms of worm food. Natalie told us about worm food, worm habitats, worm tea and sickening food for worms.

 One other thing Natalie talked to us about was the three different types of bins. With this he told us about how the cycle works and what happens tot he rubbish.

This talk was very fascinating to everyone and we all had a great and informative time. Some more than others! Some photos are below.

Shrove Tuesday Celebrations

Pancake Tuesday 

The Tuesday before Lent is know as Shrove Tuesday. On this day it has become custom to eat pancakes, as Lent was seen as a time of fasting. It is also known as "Shrove" Tuesday because of a Catholic custom of going to confession in preparation for Lent. Shrove comes from the word shrive and refers to the absolution of sins.

Today we had a wonderful time in Year Five eating pancakes. During 'Literacy Groups' some children wrote a blog about the experience.

Pancake Day

On Shrove Tuesday, 17 February, Stage 3 (Year 5 and 6) had a taste of some delicious pancakes. Our teachers brought the supplies, such as butter, pancake mix and a frypan. They were nice but some of us may have put a bit too much butter on them. We had a great time but we couldn't have done it by ourselves so some parent helpers came to help. Thank you Mrs Elias, Mrs Dominello (Isabella's Grandma), Mrs Dib and Mr Pillay. 

We snapped some wonderful photos. You can see them below.

Dance Fever

Dancing Together Helps Build Relationships

According to the Foundation Statements within the Personal Development, Health and Physical Education Syllabus the students in Stage 3 should be able to "apply, adapt and vary movement skills in dance, gymnastics, games and sports." At St Paul the Apostle this year, we are focussing on the element of dance. Each week all classes attend lessons based on three different styles of dance - Waltz, Hip-Hop and Samba. Through the experiences the children will cover and understand the elements of movement sequences with control and coordination, by doing so they will be fulfilling the outcomes for stage 3. Please read the reflections of the students, found below.

Dance Fever

Every Monday afternoon, after lunch, Year 5 participate in dance fever. We are learning to do the Samba, Hip Hop and the Waltz. Our dance teachers help us learn new routines. They are awesome, active and inspiring and most importantly they love to dance. 

The first thing our excited, cool and flamboyant teachers did was introduce themselves. We were very impressed to find Cruz came all the way from South America to teach us some moves. Immediately after introducing themselves they told us what we would be doing this term. After a while we did some cool moves and copied Cruz.

The two main dance instructors are very friendly and have a great sense of humour. Their names are Mrs G and Charlotte. Mrs G and Charlotte have names to help us remember the dance routines. One is CAT DADDY. 

Even though we danced with girls and boys we all had a lot of fun. We also had a fewlaughs and smiles. Dance fever is great way to spend some time with friends. Dance fever is so much fun, it is hard to get every step correct but it helps if we count the moves.  I am sure we will get better as the term progresses.

Maybe you will see us on the next 'Australia's Got Talent'. Thanks Dance Fever for teaching us!

Reflections on Our First Week in Year Five

During the first week of Year Five, the teachers have been setting up the expectations for the year and inviting the students to set Literacy goals for themselves. In the next few weeks you will be asked to attend a goal setting meeting with your child. During this time a goal will be set to help the children focus on during the first half of the year.
It is a great opportunity for you to discuss with them what they would like to achieve. When setting a goal it is important to make sure they are SMART. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely)
We look forward to meeting with you and setting goals together.

Student Reflections

During our Literacy Groups some of the students reflected on the first week of Year Five.

Gabriella: This year we have begun Year Five with our topic "It's Electrifying". We have been solving how power can be transmitted without cables or power.

Serom: Mrs Spencer, one of our teachers has been reading 'Max Remy Super Spy' by Deborah Abela.

Ebony: On Monday, Year 5 particpated in "Dance Fever". One of the dance teacher's, Cruz, came all the way from Cuba. We also learned part of two dances, Hip-hop and Samba. We cannot wait until next week.

Christian: We have a group of four and each day we get a special job. There is Gopher, Coach, Quiet Captain and Reporter.

Samantha: We have two tubs one for under our desk and one in a shelf for books and when we move our tubs make a noise.

Emily: We have Mrs Sargent for art on a Wednesday.

Jack: Each Wednesday Year Five participates in Sport with Mrs Milic.

Nicholas: We have awesome diaries they are enjoyable.

Hannah:Year Five is the most interesting year and we have the best teachers ever.

Hayley: Love the teachers and their funny accents.

Here are some other comments made by students:

Year 5 is enjoyable. This year the teachers and subjects are fun. In Year 5 we have been enjoying all the teachers. Year Five is the best. I love school now. Year Five is the BEST, I love the teachers. Year Five is awesome, I cannot wait for camp.