Our Grade 3-5 students, as well as some Grade 6 students, began the Swimming and Water Safety program this week at Clarence pool. The two-week program focuses on students’ familiarity with water, common swimming strokes and important aspects of being safe in and around water. Students have overwhelmingly shown enthusiasm and excitement about participating in the program but have also shown some of the effects an additional physical activity across the school week can have. Our teachers are doing a wonderful job of taking this into consideration with their planning and adjustments for students over the two-week period. Parents can also support children by providing additional healthy food and snacks, encouraging an increased intake of water and by giving additional opportunities for rest, whether this be engaging in activities that the child finds relaxing such as reading, colouring in, or having time outside for fresh air.

Last Thursday, we had 40 students from Grades 3-6 choose to participate in the Australian Mathematics Competition. This opportunity is organised for students by Mrs Curran and entry for participation is covered by the school. The competition requires students to complete 30 questions demonstrating their understanding of a range of mathematical concepts. The huge number of students who opted into this competition is a wonderful reflection of our students’ aspiration and willingness to challenge themselves.

On Tuesday afternoon, NAPLAN results were sent home for Grade 3 and Grade 5 students. NAPLAN provides another data set for our staff to view, analyse and reflect upon and we will be using this data to inform some of the collaborative work we do tracking how we are progressing with improving student outcomes and achieving our school priorities. As always, if you have any queries about NAPLAN or student results, please contact your child’s classroom teacher.

Book Week is being celebrated across Australia from the 19-25 August. Over this week, our school will be participating in lots of activities that recognise and celebrate the important role books and stories play in our lives. You may have seen that some classes have already started participating in activities in the lead up to the event. Our school looks forward to having our annual Book Week Parade where students across the school are invited to dress up as their favourite book character on Wednesday 23 August. Dressing up provides a great opportunity for discussions with children about a favourite character, what they like about that character and what materials they may need to source, or make, to look like that character. I have included some simple ideas below that hopefully inspire some options for dressing up with things that already may be at home or could easily be sourced. We also encourage any students who prefer not to dress up to participate in other ways by creating an artwork inspired by a book or to bring an artefact that their peers could guess which book it comes from. Participation comes in many forms, and we want students to participate in a way they feel comfortable with. We invite families along to watch and cheer at our Parade which will be hosted on our courts between 10-10:45am. More details about the parade and our celebrations will be shared in the lead up to and during Book Week, keep your eyes peeled on our Facebook page, Seesaw and Skoolzine for photos and updates.