Guildford West Public School
NEWSLETTER - 2022, Term 2, Week 5
Principal News
We have had a busy and an exciting start to the term with all classes using the new school kitchen for the first time! The first few weeks saw the students making Mother’s Day treats for their mums or special women in their lives. After this, students in Stage 2 used the kitchen to make ANZAC biscuits and Johnny Cakes, Stage 3 made rice paper rolls using produce from our garden, and Kindergarten, Stage 1 and the Support Unit classes made pumpkin and honey muffins. It has been a great opportunity to develop students’ understanding of the idea of ‘paddock to plate’ as well as expand students’ understanding of kitchen procedures and vocabulary associated with the kitchen.
I have enjoyed spending time with classes across the school both in the kitchen and in the classrooms. A focus across the school this year has been on ‘number talks’. This is a process in mathematics which encourages students to think about how they obtained an answer to a mathematical question and to explain their thinking. This week I spent time with Stage 2 during their maths groups where we focused on multiplication and explaining our thinking of how they answered a question. We used our outdoor learning spaces to engage students in movement through mathematics to assist in activating their brains and being ready to learn. We played physical movement activities such as ‘Rob the Nest’ where students practised their multiplication facts in a fun, active way.
I would like to particularly make mention of our Learning Support, ILSP, and RFF staff who have assisted in covering many staff absences this term as a result of illness. These staff have demonstrated great flexibility, often having to cover classes with very short notice. This has meant that while there have been some disruptions to our additional learning programs across the school, that student learning in the classrooms has been able to continue with as few disruptions as possible.
Ms Weston
Support Unit News
S Alcott have been enjoying novels written by Roald Dahl. Our favourites have been The Witches and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Following our reading of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, S Alcott decided they wanted to write their own movie about one of the characters. They have been busy writing a script, making props and designing costumes ready for filming later in the term.
In History, S Alcott have been learning about Captain Cook and his voyages. We have mapped his journeys on a World Map and completed research projects about his life. We have also been learning about the First Fleet and their voyage to Australia. We have explored what life was like for convicts aboard the ship and put ourselves in their shoes to write letters back home.
Students in S Alcott have also had lots of fun and engaging lessons outside our classroom. During STEM lessons we have used virtual reality headsets and coded Lego to make it move. We have also spent time in the school’s Paddock to Plate kitchen learning new recipes and enjoyed getting outside gardening.
Kindergarten News
Kindergarten have begun Term 2 settled and happy. A lot of exciting things are happening at our school and the Kindergarten students were excited to be a part of these activities.
Paddock to Plate Garden
At the end of Term 1 we had planted pea seeds. Over the holidays our seeds grew into seedlings and we planted them into our allocated garden beds. Kindergarten students first weeded their garden beds, turned the soil and then planted their seedlings. This experience will give the students the opportunity to grow their own produce and hopefully enjoy eating vegetables once it is time to harvest and cook them.
Paddock to Plate Kitchen
We were excited to use our Paddock to Plate kitchen to bake delicious honey joys for our mothers or special women in our lives on Mother’s Day. We also created handmade cards for our mums. This was a very good opportunity for us to learn about different purposes of texts.
Writing
This term we are learning about the communities we belong and celebrations we have as a family which is the focus of our History unit. Kindergarten students did a wonderful job writing about their families and illustrating their writing samples with colourful drawings. It is very exciting to see students using their sound/letter knowledge very well when forming sentences and combine this skill with their creative writing ideas.
Stage 1 News
Cooking
Students in Stage 1 loved using our new school kitchen to create their own Mother’s Day surprise. Each class have been busy with their own new garden. They have learnt about what a living thing needs to survive and the importance of creating a rich garden environment. Each student has planted their own seeds and cannot wait for them to sprout. Students will use a range of plants from our garden to create some wonderful recipes in our new Paddock to Plate kitchen as part of the Stephanie Alexander program.
Coding
This term, Year 2 students have been taking part in a coding program called Scope IT. They have been learning about what coding is and using algorithms which are series of steps to complete a task. They work in pairs where one student is the navigator (giving instructions), and the other student is the driver (controlling the mouse) to complete the tasks. Students have loved it and are very engaged each week.
Stage 2 News
Stage 2 has had a great and busy start to the term with Year 3s participating in NAPLAN. Well done Year 3s for showing great resilience and trying your best! This term, Year 3s have engaged in a STEM program known as “SCOPE IT” which aims to enhance students’ logical thinking, imagination and creativity. S2 Barton and S2 Lidwell participated in coding lessons offered by SCOPE IT and it was great to see students highly engaged and using the technological language used in the world of computer science. Students will continue to explore and discover more about Science and Technology throughout this term.
Students in Stage 2 also focused on ANZACs and their significance in our history as part of their literacy lessons. To commemorate ANZAC Day, students respectfully participated in our whole school ANZAC service alongside respected members of our community. It was great to see students showing respect and remembering the sacrifice made by our soldiers. S2 Barton took inspiration from ANZAC Ted, a book that we explored in class and designed their own army uniforms to understand the significance of this national day. Stage 2 also thoroughly enjoyed their first lesson in our Paddock to Plate Kitchen where we made delicious ANZAC biscuits which was a very meaningful lesson for all of our students. We have some impressive chefs in Stage 2!
In the kitchen, students have learnt many fundamental literacy, numeracy and vital life skills such as reading recipes, measuring ingredients, hygiene, table setting and safe handling and storage of food. We cannot wait to experiment more in the kitchen and try out new recipes. We all hungrily anticipate to munch on the flavoursome dishes too!
Stage 3 News
What an amazing start to Term 2 Stage 3 have had!
Stage 3 have been working hard to improve our writing this term! We have worked collaboratively in groups to share ideas and construct some descriptive sentences. We are now working on working together to find facts about the Frontier Conflicts between the British and Indigenous peoples. These facts will help inform our informative sizzling starts and help us construct our informative texts.
We have all also had the opportunity to cook in the new kitchen and we loved it! We have some budding chefs on our hands! Making Vietnamese rice paper rolls was so much fun. We were able to use many ingredients from our school garden to make the rolls. We enjoyed learning kitchen skills such as grating, cutting and peeling. The teachers were very proud of students who showed great teamwork and collaboration.
S3 Lingiari and S3 Pitt have also enjoyed a program called Scope IT which have been coming to the school every Friday to teach students fundamental coding skills. Students have learned all about being a navigator, a driver, algorithms, pixels and loops. By the end of the year all Stage 3 students would have had the opportunity to participate in the program also.
Walk Safely to School Day
On Tuesday 17th May, we participated in Walk Safely to School Day. This day focuses on pedestrian safety such as crossing the road at the pedestrian crossing, ensuring we walk along the footpaths (rather than run) and holding a parent’s hand for our younger students when walking to school. We were lucky to be joined by our local police officers on this day to reinforce this important message.
Guildford West Public School
Email: guildfordw-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Website: www.guildfordw-p.schools.nsw.edu.au
Location: 23-51 Palmer Street, Guildford West NSW, Australia
Phone: (02) 9632-9942
Facebook: guildfordwestps