Argus Community Report
Term 2 in Argus
We have had a wonderful start to Term 2 in the Argus Community. Lots of wonderful learning is taking place across all curriculum areas and we would like to share this learning with our families.
Please remember that winter is setting in and children need to be dressed warmly. We also request a spare change of clothes to be picked in all children's bags. Thank you for your cooperation.
Our Learning
Reading
This term, Argus students have been introduced to Independent Reading. Each day, we begin our reading sessions with 10 minutes of Independent Reading where students are expected to sit quietly, read their take home book and then change their book. In this time, the Argus teachers will listen to individuals read, setting personalised reading goals for all students. After Independent Reading, the students then begin their Reading Groups where they do a range of tasks including Guided Reading with the teacher, activities based on our mentor text and hands on games to build their alphabet and word knowledge.
Please remember to sign your child's reading diary each night and return the reading folder, diary and book read to school each day.
Writing
In Writing this term we are encouraging the students to use their letter/sound knowledge to help them spell new words. We are currently focusing on writing simple 3 letter words such as cat, mat, tap, pin. You could practise writing these at home too. When spelling words we encourage students to use their phonics fist (holding their fist up and raising a finger for each sound heard). This is a great way to identify how many sounds are in a word.
Mathematics
We learnt about patterns, a pattern can be made with shapes, colours, numbers etc. Patterns have two or more elements and they repeat over and over again. We found some patterns in our school and then made our own patterns.
In Maths, we have been having so much fun, doing hands on activities learning about the numbers 1-20. We have been on number hunts, made paper chains to represent teen numbers and have played number ordering games using playing cards. We even went on a number hunt around the school, we could not believe how many numbers there were.
Inquiry
Our Term 2 Inquiry Unit is 'Where’s the light?' We started by exploring provocations set up by the teachers. These included musical instruments, mirrors, torches and sounds on the TV. Then we learnt about our 5 senses and we went on a sound hunt to see what sounds we could hear. After our provocations, we started doing some experiments to learn more about sound. We have made kazoos and guitars, we learnt sound is made from vibrations, the vibrations send sound waves through the air and into our ear drums. We have had lots of fun making sound waves in Argus. Next week we will start learning about light.
Here are some photos of our provocations, kazoos and making sound waves with rulers.
Social and Emotional Learning
So far this term we have continued to revise our Community expectations and how to make green choices. We have started to learn more about friendships and what makes a good friend. We learnt that good friends say nice things to each other, mean words 'wrinkle our hearts'. We also made a rainbow fish. This week we watched Wreck it Ralph and talked about how the characters are good friends and how the characters show this in the movie. After Wreck it Ralph, we talked about friendships and the ingredients we need to make a good friendship. Some of these ingredients are: trust, fun, kindness, honesty, goofiness and safety.
Notes to Remember
* Please remember doors to the Argus community open at 8.40 and class begins at 8.50. If you arrive after this time a late pass is required
* Ensure your child has a change of clothes in case of accidents
* Label all belongings
* Your child's reading folder and diary needs to be returned on a daily basis so that they can change their take home books
* Continue to check Sentral on a regular basis for important information
* Our 'Light and Sound' incursion is on the 12th June.
Tips to support learning at home
If you would like to support your child's learning at home, here is a list of ideas:
* Read on a nightly basis with your child, talk about the books read (retell the story, identify characters/setting, favourite part, make connections with the text and their own experiences)
* Practise the letters and sounds being taught each week at school
* Use known letters/sounds to read and write simple three letter words eg. cat, pin, net
* Count up to 20 and back again
*Practise number and letter formation
Here are a few links to You Tube sings we sing at school to reinforce learning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BELlZKpi1Zs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0TR1qiAcnE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0dJWfQHF8Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TgLtF3PMOc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoFhVdYsmPg&t=154s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1Mazc-SsG0&t=95s
Most of all have fun with learning at home, ensure it is enjoyable.
Communication
Don’t forget to check you child’s book bag and diary every day for any important notices and information.
Sentral is also another key form of communication please ensure you have registered and check in regularley for updates and notices.
Feel free to pop in and see Fiona, Stacey, Rebecca or Ashley if you have any questions.