The Importance of Self Management Skills

With vigour, a focus on excellence towards learning, achieving personal bests and personal best to self manage by our students, is pursued by staff in the Junior School.

To be an independent thinker and worker, to make positive choices and to pursue personal self control when interacting with others is essential. These skills and accompanying advice is emphasised in weekly assemblies and throughout the week in the classrooms and specialist classes. Duty staff in the playground also echo these conversations in regards to play.

Students are encouraged repeatedly to look around them and to make sensible, wise choices – even if others are not as enthusiastic about doing so.

Independent thinking, integrity and an understanding of self worth and the right to make our own choices are key skills towards building a positive pathway.

In the later years, the need for these skills and definitely the personal strength required, are absolutely essential. The skill must be built from an early age. If families and schools work on these skill building areas early, there is every chance to strengthen key areas of self management.

Father’s Day Pop Up Shop

Barbreck students were once again treated to a wonderful opportunity to complete their shopping for Father’s Day, courtesy of the Parents’ and Friends’ Association (PFA) Father’s Day Pop Up Shop.

As in previous years, excitement and anticipation about “what to buy” was high and for some young shoppers, the number of appealing gifts, so beautifully displayed, made choices very difficult. Sincere thanks to Mrs Angelina Barber and the many PFA members and parents who contributed to the success of the stall. It is certainly an annual event which is always popular and extremely well appreciated.

Mrs Alana Moor, Head of ELC and Barbreck
NAPLAN Results for Year 3 and Year 5 Students

Last week, NAPLAN results were released to schools, and earlier in the week individual student results were mailed home to parents of Year 3 and Year 5 students. The results were very pleasing, with some good achievements made by individual students that should be celebrated, as well as some pleasing gains across both the Year 3 and Year 5 cohorts.

The NAPLAN assessment measures achievement in reading, writing, spelling, grammar, punctuation and numeracy. The results show how students are performing in relation to the state and national minimum standards at a point in time. It is also used as a piece of data to help identify the strengths and areas for improvement within the School, and provide classroom teachers with further information about student achievement. Individual reports may inform discussion between parents and teachers where relevant.

If you have any further questions about the NAPLAN testing or results, please speak with your classroom teacher, the Learning Plus Department or me.

Ms Catherine Samuel, Deputy Head of Junior School
French Club

French club members Ellie Loupasakis (Year 6) and Callista Galanopoulos (Year 5) record an informative French interview using the Language Lab green screen.

The Dreaver Language Lab is the new home for the Junior and Senior French Clubs, who meet on a Thursday and enjoy the bright, comfortable surroundings while immersing themselves in the French language. French Club continues to be an important place for many students in Years 2 to 6 to participate in the French language and improve their vocabulary and knowledge, while having some fun.

The Junior French Club or ‘Les Lucioles’, has seen an increase in numbers, with many Year 2 and 3 students choosing to regularly attend, learn new verbs and vocabulary and play with the many French activities placed around the room. It is great to be able to share the new space with them as they play in French.

Year 3 students Zhiyi (Eva) Mao, Sofia Marshall and Nina Portnoy create an impromptu play with French vocabulary, puppets and props as part of Les Lucioles junior French club.

The regular attendees of the Senior French Club have continued to work hard to adapt to the new space and to push themselves and their French learning. With cooking coming later in the term, the attending Years 4, 5 and 6 students have just finished a unit on ‘green screening’, using their knowledge of total questions to create short news bulletins about story characters and themselves.

Les Lucioles meets each Thursday at recess, and Club Français de Barbreck meets each Thursday between 3.45pm-4.30pm.

Mr Andrew Gold, Junior School French Teacher