Argus Community Report

Term 2 2021

Dear Families, 

We are proud of all of our students this term! It has been jammed packed with new learnings. We will also be looking forward to Parent teacher meetings in just a few weeks time. Stay posted for further information regarding dates and booking information.

Upcoming dates to remember:

Performing arts "Cinderella" incursion (Wednesday 9th June) form is available on Compass to be filled out. Please fill this out and send through payment as soon as possible. 

Week 9 -   Monday 14th June: Queen’s Birthday - School Closure day

Week 10 - Parent teacher interviews

Tuesday 22nd June: Mad about science show incursion

 Friday 25th June: Last day of Term 2

Reading

In Reading, students have been working on developing their comprehension skills. We have been looking at the concept of visualising, where students were asked to create their own pictures in their mind from the text they have read. Students have been learning about making predictions, before and during reading, and then reflecting on whether their predictions were correct or if they changed while they were reading. We have also explored text-to-text and text-to-self connections. When making text-to-self connections, students were encouraged to think of a time in their life that reminded them of the story / book being read.

Writing

This term students have been learning to write a story, or narrative. They have investigated what the features of a narrative are; such as a beginning where the setting and characters are introduced, a middle, where there is a problem, and an ending where there is a resolution to the problem.  Students have been learning about writing in complete sentences and using correct punctuation such as capital letters and full stops. They have also learnt about adjectives, and are working on including descriptive language in their writing.

Maths

Over the past few weeks we have been learning about addition. Students have been investigating a range of different additive strategies such as friends of ten, doubles, near doubles, counting on, number lines and the add 9 strategy. Students have been working with numbers are up to 1000, depending on the students levels of understanding with place value. Students have taken part in a variety of engaging learning experiences throughout the term. Students ave been working on solving worded problems to do with addition and subtraction. 

Social and Emotional Learning 

In Social and emotional learning students have been learning about how to care for themselves, others, our school and our community. Students discussed ways we could care for our school and were involved in a yard cleanup. 

 Students were also exploring ways to make new friends and join in with a group. Some strategies students can use when making friends include: smiling at them, sharing a fun fact about themselves, being kind and using their manners.  Students had the opportunity to role play in small groups about how they could be a good friend and classmate. 

Inquiry

This term our Inquiry has been focused on ‘Forces and Motion.’

On Monday the 10th May the students participated in an incursion where they were provided with many hands-on experiences to explore the forces of push and pull.

Students were thoroughly engaged and their understanding of push and pull forces was further developed. 

Students have been exploring forces in motion in their everyday life, both at home and at school and sorting these into a Venn Diagram to show which force is being applied. Students have also been conducting experiments on the effect of the amount of push or pull they place on an object to make it move.

Frequently asked questions: 

What work do grade 1 students do compared to grade 2?

Students are grouped in ability groups which are flexible and can change throughout the term as students' needs arise. 

I would like to meeting with my child’s teacher. 

Parent teacher conferences will be held in the last week of term 2. 

How do I know what my child is learning at school?

Each Term we write a term overview in the newsletter, and we will also publish your child’s report at the end of term 2 and 4. 

In Term 3 students will be focusing on the following areas of learning :

Reading: Phonological awareness, fluency and monitoring.

Writing: Punctuation, Research skills and writing information reports, word choice and vocabulary. 

Maths: Time, chance and shape, and the major focus will be on multiplication and division.

Important notes to Remember: 

• Doors open at 8:40am
• Dismissal at 3:10pm
• Ensure your child’s belongings are clearly labelled. This includes clothing, drink bottles, hats and lunchboxes (lids too)
• Students are to come to school with a water bottle each day (labelled)

What you can do with your child at home

• Continue to read to and with your child each night.
• Encourage your child to develop more independence. (Help pack/unpack their school bag/lunch, or get their uniform ready)
• Encourage your child to take increased responsibility for their own belongings.
• Establishing a regular routine helps students to develop a positive approach to learning and will benefit them as they progress through their schooling.
• Encourage your child to practise tying their own shoelaces.
• We continue to promote healthy eating at school. We allow students to have a piece of fruit and vegetable break at 10:15am. We try to discourage highly salty, sugary and processed foods. We talk about these foods as ‘occasional’ or ‘sometimes’ food that can be enjoyed on ‘special occasions’ rather than as part of a child’s daily diet.
• If you need to speak to your child’s mentor teacher, please contact the office to pass on the message or organise this before or after school.

Kind Regards, 

Argus 1/2 teaching team

Carla, Fanny, Addy, Alex, Elin and Laura