PBL & Social-Emotional Learning 

The focus for the fortnight is:

Be a Friend – We encourage and support others.

This fortnight’s focus supports the expectation of Be a Friend by encouraging and supporting each other to be the best version of themselves. Teachers and students have been thinking of ways that they can show encouragement and support each other especially at this busy time of the year with assessments starting. It has been wonderful to see how students have engaged with the concept and hearing their random acts of kindness and encouragement.

At Craigslea SS this looks and sounds like:

• We support each other and work as a team
• We share and contribute
• We build trust through positive actions and words
• We encourage and inspire others
• We listen to understand
• We are happy when others succeed
• We keep our body calm and our hands and feet to ourself
• We allow others to participate in activities and share resources
• We respect others space.

Social Emotional Learning

Many times, throughout our day we have the opportunity to support a student’s social and emotional learning needs.

When we teach coping skills and strategies to our students, it's important to fill their toolboxes with a variety of different skills. What works in one situation might not be helpful in another.

Here are 5 types of coping skills to teach your student:

1. Deep Breathing - Examples: 4-7-8 breathing, belly breathing, pretending to smell a candle and then blow it out.
2. Expressive Strategies - Examples: Talking to someone, writing or drawing about how you feel.
3. Distraction - Examples: Walking away, finding something else to do, saying the alphabet backwards.
4. Positive Self-Talk - Examples: Reminding yourself that you can make good choices, telling yourself to focus on what you can control.
5. Physical Movement - Examples: Walking, stretching, yoga, pushing on something.

These are just a few examples of each type. What different strategies do you have in your toolbox?

Step Up Day

At Craigslea we act to support all children with the transition to their new year level in 2024.  As part of this support, we will have Step Up Day on Monday 4 December 2023 for our current Prep-Year 5 students.

Step Up Day provides children the opportunity to be acquainted with their new class members and meet their new teacher (where possible). During Step Up Day children will spend approximately one hour in their 2024 classroom and experience a learning/ get to know you activity. The aim is to enable them to be more comfortable about the change to a new class. This day also provides children an opportunity to be familiar with their new classroom and to then be confident to orientate themselves on Monday 22 January 2024 when they return to school.

After their session, children will bring home a class placement note. This note will inform you of your child/ren’s class teacher and class placement for 2024. These sessions are very effective in supporting students transition to their new class.

 For our 2024 Preps they are invited to their Meet the Teacher session on Thursday 23 November - 9:30-10:30am. Our 2024 Preps will come to “big” school and meet their teacher and fellow classmates and have fun engaging in some activities whilst checking out their classroom.

2024 Student Leader Selection Update

This week, our 2024 School Leader nominees delivered their speeches to the Year 4 and 5 cohorts. The quality of speeches was exceptional, and it has made it a difficult task to narrow down and elect our incoming leaders. All candidates will be notified of the outcome in week 8 with the successful candidates announced at the Year 3-6 assembly. Congratulations to all students who have been involved, your courage and bravery undertaking the leadership process in to be commended.

Year 5 Immersion Day at Craigslea State High School

On Thursday, 30 November from 9am to 12pm, all Year 5 students with their teachers have been invited to attend the Craigslea State High School Immersion Day. This day aims to familiarise students with the way high school operates as well as allow them to see the different facilities high schools have. Student consent forms to attend have been sent home with Year 5 students today. Please complete this form by Monday 27 November.

2024 NAPLAN ONLINE 

In 2024, our current Year 2 and 4 students will undertake their Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN Assessments online.

In order to prepare our students, teachers will be facilitating opportunities for students to begin accessing NAPLAN Online preparation materials via their iPads in 2023, so that they may develop an increased familiarity and fluency with the online format and requisite digital skills ahead of the 2024 assessments.

The preparation that takes place at school will simply be to ensure that students become familiar with and confident in utilising the NAPLAN Online interface and that they also develop the seven key ICT skills for learning online that are listed below: 

• Locate and select an answer
• Type an answer
• Read the screen and navigate web pages
• Manipulate objects on a screen
• Read and comprehend digital texts
• Plan and compose text using word processing
• Listen using headphones

The Year 3 students will be using school iPads to complete the 2024 NAPLAN online.  Although, in Year 3 students will complete their writing test using pencil and paper.

The Year 5 students will either be using their BYOD iPad or a school iPad. The  NAPLAN Online Writing Test for Year 5 will require students to view their screens whilst typing their written responses. Parents will also need to ensure that they have working, reliable headphones for their student to use within the classroom in Term 4 of 2023 and into 2024.

We ask that all parents check that their student has downloaded the ‘NAP Locked Down Browser’ App at their next opportunity, so that teachers and students can continue/commence using this in class and/or at home to develop their familiarity with the online testing environment ahead of 2024. It will also be important to download the 2024 version, which is accessible below:

NAPLAN LOCKED DOWN BROWSER- Install & Access

https://apps.apple.com/au/app/nap-locked-down-browser/id1086807255

When in the locked-down browser, students will have access to the online writing window that they will complete their writing assessments in.

NAPLAN PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION SITE- Access Online from any device

Teachers and parents can help expose students to the wide-range of technology-enhanced questions that they will encounter within the online assessments in 2024 in order to increase their familiarity and fluency with the testing format.

An online assessment public demonstration site can be accessed at the below link: 

https://nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site

Providing your students with the aforementioned hardware and software will enable them to begin their preparation for familiarising with the online interface now. We know that the more familiar students are with the online platform, the more comfortable they will be during the assessment window.

We wish to iterate that this preparation is not "teaching to the test" regarding content for the NAPLAN online assessments. However, it is providing an opportunity for students to familiarise with the online interface and continue to develop the digital literacy and fluency that they will require when undertaking the assessments in 2024.

Active School Travel

 Walking Wheeling Wednesday’s

Wednesdays at Craigslea, are Walking Wheeling Wednesdays! Our school is a part of the Brisbane City Council initiative – Active School Travel.

It was wonderful to see so many of our families and students actively travelling to school.

Why actively travelling to school is good for our kids:

• Higher academic performance in class in terms of attention and alertness
• Developing a sense of independent decision making
• Extra physical activity in the day
• Physical activity helps reduce levels of stress, depression and anxiety
• They learn essential road safety skills
• Forming active behaviours likely to continue later in life

If you live too far away to walk from home, try Park & Stride. Check out our active travel map to see where you can park away from the school and walk/ride/scooter the rest of the way. Active School Travel is one of the easiest ways to incorporate physical activity into everyday life for all children.

How will you actively travel on Wednesdays? #activeschooltravel

Have an amazing fortnight of fun and learning,

Natalie and Sarah