Week 10, Term 1

Wow!  We have reached the pointy end of the term and this will be our last blog post until Term 2. 

A big congratulations to our First Eucharist recipients and their Prayer Buddies who supported them in a beautiful service at the OLSC church last weekend. We are so very proud of their level of maturity during the preparation process and for they way in which they have supported one another in receiving the sacrament.

Mrs Meyer deserves a huge thank you for helping us prepare and have a deeper understanding of what it means to receive the Eucharist. Mrs Casella did an incredible job baking and decorating the cupcakes which were deliciously enjoyed by the students after the celebration. Thanks Mrs C, we could taste the love! A final big thank you goes out to Mrs Jane King and the band/choir for providing us with music at the mass.

Farewell Mrs Casella
We are extremely sad to be farewelling Mrs Casella at the end of the term and we will miss her bubbly, positive vibes in Year 4M. Anyone who knows Mrs Casella will feel her love and zest for everything that she does and know what an excellent and supportive teacher she is. It has been a privilege sharing the class with you Chrissy and we can't wait to have you back for relief in Year 4!

Welcome Mrs Zanetti
We welcome Mrs Megan Zanetti to Year 4M who will be teaching us from Monday-Wednesday for the remainder of the year. Mrs Zanetti is a familiar face around OLC this year and she has already been doing lots of relief work about the school. The class are very much looking forward to meeting their new teacher soon.

Easter Raffle
Easter Raffle tickets must be returned by this Monday 3rd April.

Project Compassion Colouring Competition
We encourage participation in the $1 Colouring in competition. Spare entry sheets are in the classroom and just require a gold coin donation to Project Compassion for entry. Entries are currently displayed on a pin up board in the classroom. A class winner will be chosen this week. Week 8 saw OLC collecting $375 from classroom boxes. Well done! Judah recently raided the spare change in his house and came in with a whole glad bag full of coins. Way to go Judah!

OLC Character Strength:

Parents, this week we are looking at developing the character strength of Honesty. St Gertrude the Great is known as a powerful champion of truth and justice. She was a Benedictine Nun who dedicated her work to theology, learning and writing.

• Do you like to know the truth?

• Do you like people to be truthful to you?

Homework

Our final homework for the term is due this THURSDAY 6th April. Let's aim for the whole class to bring it in on time!

Friendology
We have been delving further into the topics of Friendship Fires and Mean-On-Purpose behaviour in our Friendology lesson last week. Here is an example of one of the posters that we have on our classroom wall, inclusive of useful steps to follow when the children experience conflicts or 'fires' in their friendships. We are encouraging the students to be as independent as possible in talking to their peers with openness and honesty. We understand that this is a skill which requires practice and always encourage the children to seek help from an adult when they feel that they cannot solve a Friendship Fire alone.

Spelling Revision

During the Parent/Teacher meeting process, some parents were keen to practice/consolidate this term's spelling sounds over the holidays with their children. In the table below are the phonemes we have covered thus far in Year 4 from the Soundwaves Spelling Program. Additional to the focus phonemes there are weekly focus concept lessons based on spelling and vocabulary concepts such as suffixes, homophones, and Greek and Latin roots.

If you wish to receive a copy of this term's spelling words please email me on amy.sherborne@cewa.edu.au and I'll email you a PDF version.

Holidays commence this Good Friday 7th April. The students will recommence in Term 2 from Wednesday 26th April, following a Student Free Day on the Monday and ANZAC Day on the Tuesday. We hope that everyone has a Happy Easter and enjoys some well deserved time with family and friends.

See you all in Term Two for more learning, growing and happy times in Year 4M!

Amy and Chrissy