Year 3 - Year 5

Assistant Principal's Report

Middle School News

It has been another fantastic fortnight with much to report.  Across the school, we are continuing our focus on nurturing and inspiring great writers whilst introducing a whole school systematic approach to Reading through the introduction of the ‘Readers Workshop’.  This approach is well researched and focuses on explicit teaching of reading strategies including comprehension and purposeful independent reading.  It has been truly terrific witnessing our students across Years 3/4/5 interact and engage with ‘just right’ books.  As parents and carers, you can show your interest in learning more about the reader's Workshop and ‘Just Right Books’ by asking your child.  At Pakenham Springs we have committed to a strong and viable curriculum of ensuring five hours a week in the subject of Reading.  There is a quote I like to recite when I hear about a child’s dislike of reading; “There is no such thing as a child who hates to read.  There are only children who have not found the right book”.

Our middle school and senior students are not simply being taught to read, rather we are teaching them to question and interact with what they read.  In Years 3/4/5 we are exploring many thinking and questioning strategies to better engage with our reading by recording in our reader's notebooks memories, connections, questions, predictions, feelings and thoughts.

In numeracy, ‘Place Value’ is being put under the spotlight across many year levels as it really is the basis of our entire number system.  Having a strong understanding of Place Value supports students (and adults) to compute and solve mathematical problems mentally. Our place value system in Australia is understood by knowing that the position of a digit in a number determines its value.  We have a base ten system where each place represents ten times the value of the place to its right. Walking through the learning sessions this week, I have greatly enjoyed hearing students explain how they can round up to the nearest ten and add or subtract numbers easily using their Place Value knowledge.

I wish everyone a very productive, happy and safe fortnight ahead.

Kindest Regards

Jane King

Assistant Principal in Middle School