News
Principal's Report
Dear Families,
SCMS continues to be an incredibly busy place with incursions, excursions and SAPSASA events dominating our calendar over the past fortnight. The opening of the nature zone and the continued work on the building has also gained momentum and I have some exciting developments to share below!
Service
By focussing on others we enrich our own wellbeing and lives and we continue to look for opportunities for our students to provide service within our broader community.
We saw a great example of this last week with some of our Year 7 leaders serving a High Tea for the Governor, Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC at the Community Hub. The students were able to serve the members of the community and be enrichened by the many conversations. The positive feedback I have received from so many members of the community from this day has been fantastic.
Our students get so much from these opportunities, including the development of empathy and the ability to connect with people and initiatives that they may not otherwise have encountered. Even their contribution to the Progress Association’s video celebrating Colin’s years of service, cooking donuts brought them joy and is an opportunity to showcase their gratitude for valued members of our community. Having completed a few shifts with Colin cooking donuts over the years, I know how much he appreciates the thanks from our students.
In two weeks our Year 3/4 class will make their now annual pilgrimage to Lake Fowler for a tree planting excursion. Again, another aspect of service and a way we can contribute to our local area and people.
Get Involved!
We would like to continue this outreach approach now that the world is slightly simpler without QR codes and density restrictions! Reach out to us if you know of a way our students might be able to contribute to a community initiative.
Opening of Nature Zone/ Classroom Update
It was so exciting to have a soft opening for our Nature Zone at the school. While we still have some trees and plants to add, and the transportable to be removed to complete the area, we are already seeing the benefits for our students.
Below is an explanation of the various aspects of the area and their benefits to students:
Sand play is a fundamental part of early childhood development. Sand is a tactile material that provides children with a unique opportunity to explore their senses. Sand play can also help children develop their fine motor skills as they use their hands to scoop, pour, and mold the sand. Sand play can also help children develop their gross motor skills. As they run, jump, and climb in the sand, they are strengthening their muscles and improving their coordination. Sand play can also help children develop their balance and spatial awareness.
A water pump can add an extra dimension to sand play. Children can use the water to make sandcastles, dig moats, and create rivers. They can also use the water to wash the sand off their hands and feet.
The blackboard can be used for a variety of activities in the sand pit. Children can use it to draw pictures, write stories, or play games. The blackboard can also be used to teach children about different shapes, colours, and numbers.
The Sound gongs can be used to add sound to sand play. Children can use the gongs to make music, create sound effects, or simply enjoy the sound of the gongs ringing.
Balancing Logs and Stone Steps provide the students further opportunities to understand their spatial awareness.
We expect to have our Junior Primary students in their new classroom after the King’s Birthday (June the 13th).
God Bless,
Scott March
RE News
Hello!
This Sunday we celebrate the end of the Easter season with Pentecost Sunday, the Church’s birthday. We remember when 11 men and one woman were locked in a room out of fear and Christ came and filled them with the Holy Spirit. From this they received gifts that allowed for them to have the courage and wisdom to ‘go out to all the nations and proclaim the Good News.’ May this Sunday we all be open to stirring up those gifts within us to be apostles in this world in which we live!
Also happening this Sunday is the Centenary celebration of St Margaret Mary Church in Edithburgh. We will be having a special mass there at 11am followed by lunch at the Edithburgh hotel. You are most welcome to attend to help us celebrate. Please call the Edithburgh hotel on 8852 6484 to book in for lunch.
On June 9th we are having a whole school mass to celebrate the feast day of St Columba. Mass will be at 11am and we would love to have you there to join with us for this.
God Bless,
Miriam Honner
APRIM
Library News
Yesterday we celebrated National Simultaneous Storytime by having a special guest Mrs Deirdre Taheny visiting our Library and reading The Speedy Sloth to all the children in the school. We were so happy to have Deirdre spend some time talking to the children about how she set up the library in our school and the changes over time.
Student Free Day
Just a reminder that there is a Student Free Day on Tuesday 13 June (Week 7) which is the day after the King's Birthday Public Holiday.
Upper Primary News
Fraction cooking with Jo! In Year 5 students were to make cupcakes, but the trick was they were not given a recipe with measurements to follow! They had to guess how much of each ingredient to use and then see how their cupcakes would turn out. Students made plenty of great observations. What a fun activity!
Spanish News
We read the story called “La Familia de Robots” and then made our own familia de robots.
Junior Primary News
In Year 1/2 we have been learning about character and setting in narratives. We have been focussing on identifying these in a text and developing our abilities to find these. The students have also learnt what describing words look like and how to implement these in the texts they create to make them more interesting.
Middle Primary News
The Year Three and Four class were excited to commence our Bowls Australia workshops! We had our first skills lesson on Monday and loved it!
Garden News
From the garden to plate
We have been spending plenty of time in the kitchen across the 5/6/7 classes, using a lot of produce from the green space. We have cooked fresh herb and garlic Foccacia, and fresh pasta with sauce from scratch using our own tomatoes, capsicum, garlic and herbs, and a Moroccan chicken and couscous dish using our own lemongrass, capsicum, fresh greens, coriander, rosemary and lemons.
In the upper primary we have discussed how climate affects the things we grow in our own area and around the world, and how that, in turn, influences the flavours in the foods we eat. Students have drawn on knowledge acquired from the recent summer garden and subsequent crops.
Little Collies created a beautiful art piece celebrating the autumn season, featuring natural colours using collected local vine leaves. There was a big basket of local green apples for every Little Collie participant to taste test!
Garlic, beetroot and Romanesco broccoli plants are looking particularly vibrant at the moment, and the mandarin tree is nearly ripe. Only a handful of our whole school relish jars left for sale - less than 10!
