Primary
@ Reddam
IN THIS ISSUE:
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Music Evenings
Sport Fixtures and Results
Vacation Care Programme
Dear Parents and Caregivers
We have reached the end of Term 1 and what a fabulous term we have had. We have
seen many new students settle into the routine of our school and thrive with the exposure to
so many activities and enrichment opportunities. New friendships have been forged and I
have been thrilled to see how welcoming the students at our school always are to new
faces and families. Well done, boys and girls, on being so kind, respectful and warm to the
new students in our school this term.
This term, we have had some great highlights across all disciplines. The Annual Inter House
Swimming Carnival was a resounding success, with Bronte coming out triumphant. The Inter
House Music Competition was filled with enthusiasm and spirit and saw Coogee take home
the honours. Many individual students had the chance to take part in the orchestra for the
high school production of ‘Oliver’, playing alongside middle school students and music
tutors. We have also seen many of our sports stars be selected for various club and
representative teams and still others making it all the way to state level. The artists within our
student body have created amazing works in the before and after school enrichment
programme and our Future Problem Solvers are well underway with creating their narratives
for submission later in the year. Our student leadership programme is rearing ahead with the
Year 6 leaders enjoying taking on their roles and developing their leadership skills within their
portfolios and at assemblies. Add to that the wonderful excursions which have inspired
students to learn more about how the content they are studying in class is visible in the wider
community. It has truly been a fantastic term.
The final week of Term 1 has been an especially lovely one with our Easter Celebration and
Pesach Seder. On Monday, the students of Bible Studies took part in a moving presentation
of the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. With beautiful songs to accompany the dramatisation of Palm Sunday, Passover, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, the students
conveyed great emotion and feeling. Thank you to the teachers who worked hard to
ensure that the students were able to celebrate Easter in this meaningful way. This includes
Mrs Sue Goodman, Miss Marie Manche, Ms Zoe Curtis, Mrs Rowena Crowhurst, Ms Aimee
Broadbent, Mrs Jo Muirhead, Mr Nick Hawke, Mr Matthew Garrett and Mr Anthony
Shepherd. Thank you also to Oliver Stanton, Michael Sitski and Emily Duffill who played the
beautiful score for the students and brought the songs alive and to Dr Michael McGregor for
his involvement in the evening. Happy Easter to all the Christian families in our school .
On Wednesday evening, the Jewish students took part in a celebration of Pesach with the
hosting of a Seder for families in our school hall. With Rabbi Chaiml present to lead the evening, families were treated to a wonderful representation of a typical Pesach Seder. Well
done to the boys and girls for their presentation of the main events and symbolic elements
of the Seder. Thank you to Mrs Eve Cohen, Ms Karin Mervis and Mr Dean Hattingh, Tessa
Dorfan and Jeannine Shainfeld for the work that went into preparing for the night. A final
thank you to all the parents who assisted with the set-up of the hall and the assistance on
the night. I wish all our Jewish families Chag Semeach Pesach.
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter
Volume 15 Issue 10
Friday 2 April 2015
Page 1
This week, we have had some great sports news this week. Congratulations to Talia Shapiro who
was awarded 3rd place overall for the u10s at the South Eastern Athletics Club prize giving. Talia is
an avid athlete who never shies away from the training required to achieve excellence on the
track. She is well deserving of this award and we commend her for her dedication to her sport.
In Surf Life Saving, I would like to congratulate Alexander Kamahl who was awarded the U10
boys ‘Club Spirit’ Award at Bronte Surf Club for the 2014/2015 season. Bronte Surf Club describes
the award as going to a ‘nipper who has displayed the essential characteristics of being a Bronte
nipper such as keenness to learn surf lifesaving skills, consistent effort to improve, enthusiasm,
sportsmanship, and being helpful and considerate of others’. This is truly a fantastic award to
receive.
To close this term, I would like to say thank you to the numerous people who have worked hard
this term to ensure the best educational experience for the students in our care. The teaching
staff has, as always, gone above and beyond expectation, preparing fun and exciting lessons,
marking books and tests, and giving students positive feedback to foster good reflection on
learning. Many teachers spend many hours of their own time at school, over the weekends and
evenings, working in their classrooms with the aim of making that little difference. It does not go
unnoticed and I am very proud of the teachers we have at Reddam House. Likewise, the administration staff has played its part in the running of the school. Each member of the team has
ensured excellent administration, organisation and communication so that parents and caregivers, teachers and students were all able to focus on their specific roles in the life of the school.
The hardworking maintenance team has kept the school safe, and ensured the various events
that have been held had the set up required. This is a difficult task with a calendar of events as
busy as ours, and we are very grateful to have such a good maintenance team. Our cleaning
team has worked daily to keep the classrooms, offices, corridors and play areas clean and tidy
so that students could enjoy their space and take pride in their school environment. Without any
one member of the team, the school would not run as it does.
As families head off to various holiday destinations, I would like to congratulate the students for
their very successful term at school. They are well deserving of a rest now and I look forward to
seeing everyone back at school on Wednesday, 22 April, ready for a fantastic Term 2.
A reminder that all co-curricular activities commence on the first day back at school.
Dee Pitcairn
Principal
Reddam House
would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to
Devran Hassip. Ben Landa, Michael Maynard, Koko Bates, Jamie Song, Antonie Sanki,
Benjamin Herz, Freya Paxton, Sacha Paxton,
who celebrated their special day this week.
We hope you had a fabulous day!
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter
Volume 15 Issue 10
Friday 2 April 2015
Page 2
SPORT FIXTURES 21ST MARCH 2015
SPORTING RESULTS 28TH MARCH 2015
BASKETBALL
Girls
12R Div 2 ( Jaimee) V Wild Cats 13 - 28
12E Div 3 ( Jaimee) V Maccabi 2 - 14
14 R Div 2 (Jaimee) V CYS 31 - 16
14E Div 2 ( Jaimee) V CYS 11 - 52
16 R Div 1 (Jaimee) V Jaguars 25 - 69
16E Div 3 (Jaimee) V Frost 26 - 32
Boys
10 R Div 1 ( Matt) V Blaze 20 - 10
12 R Div 2 (Marcel) V Devils 26 - 18
12 E Div 3 (Marcel) V Cobras 2 - 41
14R Div 1 (Henry) V Magic 20 - 38
14D Div 3 ( Henry) V CYS 15 - 14
14M Div 3 ( Marcel) V Celtics 7 - 52
16 R Div 1 ( Lee) V Blazers 38 - 29
16E Div 3 ( Lee) V Pirates 19 - 13
16D Div 3 (Lee) V Mavericks 7 - 44
18R Div 2 ( Lee) V Bulls 34 - 36
18D Div 3 (Jeff) V Maccabi 39 - 24
Water Polo
Junior Girls V Reddam V Sydney Girls High 7
-2
Soccer
Girls 14s V Maroubra 1 - 3
Girls 16s V Pagewood 2 - 3
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter
Volume 15 Issue 10
Friday 2 April 2015
Page 3
KINDERGARTEN
Kindergarten spent this week learning the last few sounds of the alphabet. It is exciting to
know that we have learnt 25 letters of the alphabet and are using them to do some fantastic
reading, spelling and blending in class. It brings such joy to the children as they decode and
blend words and to the teachers, to see their students entering this beginning stage of reading and writing. We cannot wait to finish off with ‘q’ and start our diagraphs next term!
We have been learning about the body and our skeleton. Yesterday, Kindergarten had a
very special visitor come in to talk to us. Dr. Gellert is a gastroenterologist and brought in her
fabulous knitted intestine model to show us. As she pulled it slowly out of her bag, the children
were amazed to see how long the intestine actually is. The small intestine is about 6 metres
long and the large intestine about 1.5 metres long. The children got to hold it up which
helped them to visualise what it actually looks like in our bodies. They listened carefully to
how food travels through our bodies and took away some valuable advice about healthy
eating. The children came up with some great questions and showed a keen interest. Thank
you for coming to visit us Dr Gellert.
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter
Volume 15 Issue 10
Friday 2 April 2015
Page 4
YEAR 1
The students have had a busy and exciting term. They loved the excursion to Taronga zoo, performing in assemblies, improving their reading,
writing and maths skills and much, much more.
This week we participated in a Visual Literacy activity which involved
looking at a number of pictures by the artist Ken Done. The students
were able to identify some key features of Sydney in his landscapes and
write about the city in which they live. They also used oil pastels to
create their very own, vibrant cityscapes.
City
Sydney is a big city and a very pretty looking place. There is a zoo,
museums and a huge Opera House.
By Darcey
City
Sydney is a busy city. There are tall towers and buildings. It is very colourful at night. It has Luna Park which is very fun.
By Rafael
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter
Volume 15 Issue 10
Friday 2 April 2015
Page 5
YEAR 2
Year Two have gone loopy in maths this week. The students were given an opportunity to
show case their understanding of number and data collection skills. To begin each pair of
children estimated how many Fruit Loops they had in their cup. They then counted, tallied,
graphed and added their Fruit Loops together. The students showed how much they have
matured this term, working collaboratively, sharing ideas and helping each other to learn.
YEAR 3
What an outstanding way to round off Term One! Our Year 3 students excelled at last Friday’s
Reddam ‘House’ Music assembly. All the students performed beautifully and exhibited true
Reddam qualities as they supported and cheered on each of the houses. Combined, the primary students created a rhythmic and musical sea of red, yellow and blue enthusiasm. The
Year 3 students did their absolute best and demonstrated undeniable enjoyment as each
house performed the school song, house war cry and special musical piece with exceptional
diligence and discipline. Well done Year 3, we are grateful for your music!
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter
Volume 15 Issue 10
Friday 2 April 2015
Page 6
YEAR 4
Year 4 students focussed on researching prominent people in HSIE this week. Co-operative
learning groups studied Eddie Mabo, Ian Kiernan or Mother Teresa and then presented a report to the class on their assigned role model. Following each presentation, the audience
were quizzed on the beliefs, achievements and life of each person. Each group evaluated
their group work performance and suggested goals for future improvement. Students found
teaching their peers to be an interesting challenge. The study of Eddie Mabo linked our First
Fleet unit to our Term 2 HSIE study of Cultures and Beliefs.
ENGLISH
Over the course of the term, every Year 6 student has been busily immersing themselves in the wonderful
world of Australian literature and the way in which various composers have captured various aspects of
our young history as a nation.
Most recently, students in Year 6 have been learning about the migrant experience after World War II.
Through the use of a fabulous website called MyPlace.com.au, students have been learning about the different periods of Australian history through the eyes of a fictional character and the series of clips that are
based on their life in a specific period of Australian history. In regard to their post-war migrant studies, Year
6 closely analysed the life of a fictional boy named Michaelis whose parents were post-war migrants from
Greece.
Students analysed his clothing, the roles of his parents, his role as a young Greek boy torn between two
cultures and the different cultural aspects of Greek life and Australian life. Students also learnt about popular culture of the day, especially the growing popularity of the television and heroic characters like Robin
Hood. To consolidate their studies, Year 6 merged their work on imaginative writing with Michaelis' story;
composing literary recounts based on the clips from his point of view.
When asked about their thoughts on this area of study, these were the responses some students provided.
I really liked learning about post-war Australia because it gave me an insight into the post-war experiences
of my family members. Sacha Korban
I loved learning about the Greek culture through the eyes of Michaelis. I can't believe he had to go to an
extra day of Greek school on top of his five days a work at normal school! Jake Bauer
Overall, I just love learning about Australian history as I've never had the opportunity before. Alex Aney
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter
Volume 15 Issue 10
Friday 2 April 2015
Page 7
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter
Volume 15 Issue 10
Friday 2 April 2015
Page 8
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter
Volume 15 Issue 10
Friday 2 April 2015
Page 9
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter
Volume 15 Issue 10
Friday 2 April 2015
Page 10