Students are catching the book worm at Holy Spirit St Clair’s, by being a part of its Early Bird Reading Program.
Designed to support all students by promoting the importance of reading and writing in our daily lives, this program offers more than basic literacy skills.
While improving their ability to read and write, the children spend lots of time with their peers in becoming more aware of others’ emotions, feelings and perspectives. It’s also offers a great opportunity to build positive relationships.
Reading is a major focus at Holy Spirit, as they believe success in life comes from the ability to read and understand complex concepts.
They take a whole-school approach to the teaching of reading, having strategies taught in English, as well as all key learning areas and other aspects of school life beyond the classroom.
In the classroom, children are encouraged to become active in the reading process by talking about what they are reading before, during and afterwards.
They are encouraged to understand the texts at a deep level, rather than just at the surface. This helps them develop life skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, analysis, and justification of their point of view.
Holy Spirit students and families know and understand the importance of reading at home too.
6 Tips for helping your child when reading at home
- Every child reads something he or she chooses… let your child choose the story.
- Every child reads accurately… be encouraging while helping them read the words correctly.
- Every child reads something he or she understands… make sure the story is relevant to his or her experience.
- Every child writes about something personally meaningful… encourage your child to write about his or her interests, or something they care about.
- Every child talks with peers about reading and writing… try to have a conversation with your child about what they learnt from their homework.
- Every child listens to a fluent adult read aloud… try to make time to read to your child or spend some time reading as a family.
(Based on six elements of literacy instruction – Richard L. Allington & Rachael E. Gabriel, 2012)
Holy Spirit Primary St Clair
www.hsstclair.catholic.edu.au
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21 Nov 2025
From Facebook
Stew-pendous performance by our Year 2 stars โญ๏ธ They really brought the classic 'Wombat Stew' to life. No actual wombats were harmed (or eaten) in the making of this play!
21 Nov 2025
From Facebook
๐ Year 4 Persuasive Writing Superstars! ๐ Our Year 4 students have been working hard to plan, compose, edit and publish persuasive texts on a very important topic-why recess should be longer! We are extremely proud of the way Year 4 has strengthened their writing skills and effectively used powerful persuasive techniques to make their arguments clear and convincing. Well done, writers! โ๏ธ๐ฌ๐
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21 Nov 2025
From Facebook
Stew-pendous performance by our Year 2 stars โญ๏ธ They really brought the classic 'Wombat Stew' to life. No actual wombats were harmed (or eaten) in the making of this play!
21 Nov 2025
From Facebook
๐ Year 4 Persuasive Writing Superstars! ๐ Our Year 4 students have been working hard to plan, compose, edit and publish persuasive texts on a very important topic-why recess should be longer! We are extremely proud of the way Year 4 has strengthened their writing skills and effectively used powerful persuasive techniques to make their arguments clear and convincing. Well done, writers! โ๏ธ๐ฌ๐
20 Nov 2025
From Facebook
Our Year 3 students are becoming persuasive powerhouses! They've been diving into the art of persuasive writing, using rhetorical questions to hook readers, crafting strong arguments backed by evidence, and carefully selecting powerful modality and emotive words to enhance their writing.
18 Nov 2025
Western Sydney Catholic Schools hold the phone
Student mobile phone use will be banned across 80 Western Sydney Catholic schools from the beginning of the 2026 school year. The restriction presents a positive opportunity to enhance student outcomes, both in academic excellence and wellbeing.
18 Nov 2025
From Facebook
Our littlest learners in Kindergarten have been working incredibly hard this week! We've been practicing our letter writing skills and, most importantly, learning how to use those handy little words called conjunctions! Conjunctions help us to join our ideas, making our sentences longer and more descriptive. The Kindy students wrote beautiful, thoughtful letters to our Principal, Mrs Garzaniti, all about our school experiences.
17 Nov 2025
From Facebook
Learning while grooving! Year 1 attended Zing today to work on their movement skills. We were formally assessing their ability to use space, follow a sequence, and keep the beat. They certainly passed with flying colours! ๐ฏ #DanceAssessment #PrimaryPE #Year1Fun
16 Nov 2025
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16 Nov 2025
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13 Nov 2025
From Facebook
Every Wednesday, Year 3 students are โDancing through the Nationsโ with Zing. Each session begins with a high-energy warm-up that introduces them to a variety of cultural dance moves and music from around the world. Students are developing their awareness of personal space, exploring how to travel through general space, and learning key movement concepts such as direction, level, and focus. They are also discovering foundational moves and gaining insight into the culture and history behind the dynamic street dance style of Hip Hop.
12 Nov 2025
From Facebook
Cube Counters and Capacity Experts! ๐ Our investigation into volume and capacity is going brilliantly! Year 2 students are using cubes to measure the internal volume of containers and water to measure capacity. We learned the difference between how much space something takes up (volume) and how much something holds (capacity)! Great work measuring, everyone! #MathsIsFun #Year2Curriculum #MeasuringSkills #CapacityExperts
11 Nov 2025
From Facebook
Our Year 4 artists have been painting like the pros โ stepping into the colourful world of Claude Monet and the magic of Impressionism! ๐จ๐ซ Students explored how Monet used light, movement, and colour to capture the feeling of a moment, not just what he saw.
11 Nov 2025
From Facebook
Today, our school community gathered for a solemn Remembrance Day Service to pause, reflect, and honour the courageous men and women who served and sacrificed for our freedom. ๐น The service included prayers, the laying of poppies, and a moment of silence at 11:00 AM to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. We focused on the values of courage, peace, and service, which resonate deeply with our Catholic faith. It is vital that our students understand the significance of this day and the enduring call to work toward peace in our world. Thank you to our students and staff for their respectful participation. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Mr Ashley, Mrs Ritter and Jasmine for sharing with our school community their military artefacts which made our service all the more memorable. ๐ Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. #RemembranceDay #LestWeForget #HolySpirit #CatholicEducation #ServiceAndSacrifice #WeRememberThem