Issue 9 2011.pdf - St George Christian School

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Junior School Thank you for the extensive response to the questionnaire on the sleeping patterns of your children. This questionnaire was seeking to establish the sleeping habits of students in Junior School. Research has supported the general thesis of an article entitled “The Lost Hour” from the book ‘Nutureshock’, that around the world children are getting an hour less sleep than they did thirty years ago. Researchers maintain that “because children’s brains are a work in progress until the age of 21, and because much of that work is done while a child is asleep, this lost hour appears to have an exponential impact on children that it simply doesn’t have on adults”. In particular, “the brain shifts what it has learnt that day to more efficient storage regions of the brain. Each stage of sleep plays its own unique role in capturing memories. For example, … vocabulary is synthesised by the hippocampus early in the night during “slow wave” sleep, a deep slumber without dreams…. Children spend more than 40% of their asleep time in this stage (which is ten times the proportion that older adults spend). This is why a good night’s sleep is so important for long-term learning of vocabulary words, times tables, historical dates and all other factual minutiae.” This is interesting research that affects all of your children’s lives. As your child moves into the upper years of Junior School, it is important that this research on sleep is discussed with them. The survey which you completed, revealed overall confirming support of the need for children to have restful, prolonged sleep. To the first question: “What did your child do for the hour before bed”, the results showed that although some students were doing homework or playing on the computer, most children were involved in restful activities such as reading or family time for the time immediately before bedtime. To the questions on bedtimes and hours of sleep, most students averaged 10 hours per night which is seen as a minimal amount for this age group. It is a concern that a minority of students were having less than nine hours each night. Not only do the teachers observe that sleep deprived students struggle to engage in lessons, and are inattentive, but these students are less resilient in managing everyday relationships. The last weeks of this term are packed with many activities both in and out of school. Your child’s class teacher will not be setting the normal amount of homework so that students can have time to rest and unwind from the day’s events. I have found that a good way to achieve this restful mood is to read together as a family (the Narnia Series was one of our family favourites) or for each child to read quietly. Therefore, while homework routines will be relaxed from Week 7 to Week 10, each child should be read to or read every night. What did your child do for the hour before bed Year Reading/TV Computer/Homework 3 69% 31% 4 76% 24% 5 45% 55% How many hours of sleep did your child have Year Ten Hours or More Sleep Less Than Ten Hours Sleep 3 69% 31% 4 71% 29% 5 69% 31% Thank you for your support. I look forward to seeing you at “Wild About Words”. Lyn Barnes Head of Junior School Yr 3-6 Sport CSSA Primary State Athletics Carnival Congratulations to the following students who competed at the recent CSSA Primary State Athletics Carnival at Blacktown on Thursday 25 August. Alexandra Clark (6S) Ashley Karagorgovski (6H) Nicola Leech (5F) Kobe Shannon (5G) Kurt Stavrou (6H) Wyatt Tester (6H) Lucas Wong (6s) Open Girls 1500m 12 Yr Girls 400m, 800m and Open 1500m Junior Girls High Jump Junior Boys Discus and High Jump Open Boys Turbo Javelin 11 Yr Boys Discus 11 Yr Boys 100m, 200m and 400m The following students came 1st, 2nd or 3rd in their event and therefore qualify to compete at the upcoming CIS (Combined Independent Schools) Carnival at Homebush on 22 September: Kobe Shannon, Ashley Karagorgovski and Kurt Stavrou. Congratulations! This is an outstanding result and we wish them all the best for their events. Rob Archer, Sports Coordinator
Middle School What a Challenge! The spirit of enquiry and love of learning are fostered in an atmosphere of creative and divergent thinking The Regional Tournament of Minds Challenge Day 2011 was held on Saturday August 27 at the University of Western Sydney. Six Middle Schools students, Isabella DeRieve, Jessica Fox and Joshua Wallis from Year 6 joined forces with Joshua Corby, Jacob Madden, and Noah Moynihan from Year 7 to represent SGCS in one of the most widely respected initiatives for Gifted and Talented students. During Semester 1 the team honed their agile minds by further developing diverse, creative and critical thinking skills to problem solve in two areas on the Challenge day. Each student brought important skills to the group. They worked cooperatively, committing many hours of preparation to get ready for the big day. On the Challenge day they participated in two aspects of the Tournament. Quick, creative thinking was required in the four minute Spontaneous Challenge and the Long Term ten minute response, which the team had been preparing intensively for over the past six weeks. Parents and teachers were thrilled and each team member was excited about the experience. Congratulations to each student for rising to this very demanding challenge. Mrs Tralaggan Facilitator THANK YOU MRS MORRIS FOR ORGANISING MIDDLE SCHOOL DAFFODIL DAY WE REAISED S628.30 HOPE 103.2 HOODIE DAY & YEAR 8 SLEEP-OUT Helen and Aaron from Hope 103.2’s Breakfast Show visited SGCS on 25 August and presented us with lots of prizes for Year 8’s efforts with the station’s Hoodie Day!
Page 1 and 2: ST GEORGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL INFANTS
Page 3 and 4: Whole School News DATES TO REMEMBER
Page 5: Junior School St George Performing
Page 9 and 10: Middle School From these two events
Page 11 and 12: Senior School Year 12 Design and Te
Page 13 and 14: Advertising Ideal for all levels fr
Page 15: Advertising Sutherland Special Need

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