Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome to Term 2. I hope the Easter holidays were restful and a happy family time. This term will be very busy, with lots of significant events to celebrate in the next 7 weeks. Already in the first fortnight back, we have celebrated ANZAC Day, boys have attended “House” assemblies, new units of work have commenced and we have delivered the first Parent

Education Workshop.  I welcome back all of the primary staff, after a very well- deserved break and thank them in advance for the care and support they will give the boys this term.

Report Cards

I trust that all parents accessed their son’s “Interim Report Card” on Parent Lounge during the holidays. If for some reason you have not viewed his report, please check Parent Lounge as soon as possible. A full “Academic Report Card” will be issued at the end of this term which will include both Academic and Effort/Application grades.

Parent -Teacher- Interviews

Parent-Teacher Interviews commenced this week and will conclude next Wednesday evening.  The details for booking appointments was emailed to parents during the holidays. Please note that the interviews next week will be conducted after school.  The school day will conclude at 2:55pm as usual.

Year 5 NAPLAN

The NAPLAN tests are scheduled for Years 5,7 and 9 students for May 10,11,12,13 & 16. Teachers will continue to prepare boys for these tests in the next couple of weeks to ensure they are confident, relaxed and ready to do their individual best. All Year 5 classes will do practice sessions, with questions using the same language and in the same format as those in the official tests. These sessions will be guided by teachers and will complement the excellent teaching they do in the classrooms every day. It is essential for the boys to have the correct equipment, including a fully charged laptop and ear phones as the tests will be completed using the “ONLINE PLATFORM”.

External appointments should not be made for Year 5 boys during the NAPLAN period unless absolutely necessary.

For further information about NAPLAN Online, please refer to https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment

AIC Sport: Parent Reminder

This weekend, we officially start fixtures for the Term 2 AIC competition. Lauries have a proud reputation for having very positive and encouraging supporters on the sidelines. I ask all parents to keep this in mind and set a good example for all players and also for supporters from other schools. Many of the people refereeing games are volunteers, young and inexperienced. They should be appreciated and respected by both players and supporters.

Any photos or short videos taken throughout the season would be greatly appreciated and should be emailed to primary@slc.qld.edu.au so that we can include them in the end of year displays and celebrations.

This term, the extensive Music Co-Curricular program continues and we also commence Chess, Public Speaking and Debating next Tuesday evening.

Mother’s Day Celebration

Mothers play a very special role in the lives of all children. We recognise the love that Lauries’ mums give the boys and the huge amount of time they spend supporting their sons. On Friday morning, May 6 (7:00-8:00am) in ERPAC, we will celebrate Mother’s Day in the Primary School. The event details are included in this Primary Newsletter in “Upcoming Events”. We hope to see many mums and any significant female role models here to help us celebrate the day. The morning will be very informal and relaxed, with only a few formalities.  We hope you are able to make it.

I thank you for getting the boys back to school looking so smart in their winter uniforms and with neat haircuts. They might be small things, but I firmly believe it is the little things that combine to make our school great. Have a terrific term.

In this Edition of the Primary Newsletter you can also read about Curriculum Updates, Music and Mother’s Day Celebration Invite in Events.

Regards

Cameron Wigan

Dean of Primary

Lauries Primary Curriculum Update - Katie Jordan

What is the Importance of Vocabulary Instruction?

Research indicates that in order for children to incorporate and meaningfully use new vocabulary in context, they need to be exposed to it at least twelve times. Most children in Australia enter school with a vocabulary of 5000 words. Typically, we expect children to increase their vocabulary each year by 7000 to 10 000 words in order to be successful in their learning.

Research also suggests that the two biggest factors that impact a student’s ability to comprehend and communicate are ‘world knowledge’ and ‘vocabulary’. Exposure to, and instruction and practice of vocabulary is required before students ‘own’ (understand and use) words.

Vocabulary is the link between reading and writing. If knowledge of specific and extensive vocabulary is increased through reading and other vocabulary instruction practices, this can increase the use or transfer of specific and extensive vocabulary in writing.

Vocabulary is linked strongly to academic success because students who have large vocabularies can understand new ideas and concepts more quickly than students with limited vocabularies.

How Can You Support Vocabulary Development at Home?

Encourage Independent Reading: The more students read, the more world knowledge and vocabulary they acquire. By developing world knowledge and vocabulary through reading, it becomes easier for students to both comprehend (listen to or read) and create (speak or write) increasingly complex texts.

Clarify Vocabulary when Reading: When reading out loud to your boys, encourage discussion around unfamiliar vocabulary in texts. Discuss meanings of words and brainstorm ‘synonyms’ for the words (words that have a similar meaning).

Play Word-Guessing Games (e.g., ‘Taboo’ or ‘Articulate’): In the roles of ‘talker’ and ‘guesser’, describe key words using phrases and sentences, but avoiding the use of the actual word on the card. Add a competitive element – time rounds, points, etc.

Model Use of Sophisticated Vocabulary: Don’t be afraid to use subject-specific, sophisticated vocabulary in context when talking with your boys! Increasing exposure to more complex vocabulary will only serve to develop their own vocabulary set.

PRIMARY MUSIC- Ross Capern    

Term 1 Easter Breakfast Concerts

The end of Term 1 saw our annual “Progress Report” breakfast concerts for Junior Ensembles in ERPAC.

Congratulations to Treblehood, Concert Band 3, Big Band 3 and String Orchestra 3.

on a delightful series of Easter concerts. These ensembles will perform again at the Junior Ensembles Concert on Thursday 19 May.

Term 2 Concert Dates

Junior Ensembles Concert | 19 May | 6pm ERPAC

Ensembles Performing: Concert Band 3, Big Band 3, Percussion Ensemble 3, String Orchestra 3, Year 5 String Orchestra, Treblehood, ‘Reblehood and Year 5 Musicianship.

The Laurie’s Music Support Group (LMSG) will be holding a pre-concert BBQ with food and drink available for purchase. All proceeds from these events allow the department to further our program with the purchase and maintenance of instruments and equipment that students require throughout the year.

Of course, these BBQs are not possible without the support of the community and as such, the LMSG are calling for volunteers who could assist with cooking and service on the night. The BBQ will run from 5pm – 5:45pm. If you can assist, please register via the link below.

https://volunteersignup.org/JBQ7R

We are looking forward to showcasing our “Junior Ensembles” in a couple of weeks.

Strike up the Band!

Ross Capern
Head of Instrumental Music

Photos - Week 1-2

Mini Vinnies News:  Kate Flanagan

Term 1 review

A big thank you once again to all boys and families who got into the spirit of our Term 1 fundraiser for Caritas. Between our exceptionally popular “Guess the Lolly Jar” and the well-attended “Show Your True Colours Jersey Day”, we raised an incredible $461.90! This is an amazing effort given that all donations were gold coins. We eagerly anticipate equal support of our Term 2 community event – the ILF Book Swap. More info to come on this in the upcoming weeks!

 Year 5 Visit the SLC Arboretum

As you can see from our pictures, the Year 5’s kicked off Term 2 with a trip to SLC’s very own arboretum to conduct an investigation about the adaptations of leaves. Boys were excited to be learning out of the classroom and visiting an area of the school very few students have ventured.

What is an arboretum? Excellent question! An ARBORETUM is a place where trees, shrubs and herbs are grown and cultivated for an educational or scientific purpose. The SLC arboretum is located at the very bottom of the Hancock St Carpark, underneath our excellent Urban Farm. Students will learn about adaptations of various organisms in our first FLC this term with other hands-on science experiments also taking place.

Mini Vinnies Annual Book Swap – Books needed!

The Mini Vinnies crew in Primary are once again asking for donations of any books you may have at home to be donated to our annual book swap. We are looking for any picture, primary fiction or young adult novels to be brought into the Primary Office or 5MR. The book swap itself is run later in the term, and all money raised will go to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

Dust of your shelves and donate to this excellent cause!

Year 5 Science Investigations

This week, the Year 5s conducted another investigation about bird beaks and which beaks are used to gather worms, fish, nectar, seeds and meat off a skeleton. The classrooms were chaotic yet busy with boys engaging in this great activity. After all, it was the finch’s differing beaks on the Galapagos Islands in the 1800s that made Charles Darwin curious enough to wonder about the adaptations that then prompted his famous ‘Survival of the Fittest’ theory.

Primary Mother's Day- Friday, 6 May 7:00-8:00am

TO DO LIST FOR WEEK 2

To help with your busy schedules please see To Do List for Week 3&4 

1. Please notify Primary Office if your son has any changes to his Tuesday afternoon sport transport arrangements from Runcorn.  primary@slc.qld.edu.au  
2. Prepare for Naplan(10-16 May)-Make sure your son has earphones