From the classroom

Curriculum 

Mathematics 

This term in maths, we’ll be working on position and movement, number skills, and measuring mass and capacity. Each year level will approach these topics at a different level, with plenty of opportunities to practise and explain their thinking.Here’s what students will be learning:

• Location and Transformation – younger students will describe where objects are and give and follow directions. Older students will use maps, grids and coordinates, and explore how shapes move when they are flipped, slid or turned.
• Number and Operations – Foundation students will practise counting and place value. Years 1–2 will explore fractions, while Years 3–6 will work on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, including choosing a useful strategy for each problem.
• Data and Patterns – Foundation and Years 1–2 will collect information, show their results and talk about what they notice. Years 1–2 will also describe and continue patterns.
• Mass and Capacity – students will compare how heavy objects are and how much containers hold. Older students will estimate and measure using units such as grams, kilograms, millilitres and litres.

Keeping up our number practice

Regular number practice will continue across the school. Knowing number facts helps students spend less time on basic calculations and more time working out how to solve a problem. We’ll use NumBots, Times Tables Rock Stars and classroom activities, and ask students to share how they worked out their answers.

Foundation – Year 2

• Recognise numbers, count and understand place value.
• Practise addition and subtraction facts.
• Use NumBots to build confidence with numbers and mental calculations.

Years 3–4

• Practise place value and ways to calculate mentally.
• Use Times Tables Rock Stars to practise multiplication and related division facts.
• Choose and explain strategies for the four operations.

Years 5–6

• Keep practising multiplication and division facts.
• Use Times Tables Rock Stars to build speed and accuracy.
• Use number facts when working with fractions, decimals, percentages and problems with more than one step.

We’ll keep encouraging students to explain their answers and check whether they make sense.

Maths at home: Cooking is a good chance to talk about mass and capacity. Ask your child to read the scales or measuring jug, or estimate how much a container will hold. A few minutes of number-fact practice also helps.

Literacy

This term, our whole-school writing focus is on the Persuasive Genre.

In the Prep–2 area, students will be exploring their likes and dislikes, learning what an opinion is and how to give reasons to support their opinions. As students progress through the school, grade 3-4, they will build on these skills by exploring different persuasive devices and learning how language can be used to convince others of a particular point of view. Grade 5/6 students will be writing a persuasive letter about something that Rochester needs, e.g swimming pool.

Book Clubs

Students in Grades 5-6 will continue participating in our Book Club Program this term, enjoying opportunities to read, discuss and share their thoughts about a range of texts.

This term, students have the following books to choose from:

•  The Final Year
• Then
• The War that Saved my Life 
• Restart
• The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
• The Little Wave

A big thank you to Mrs Watson for her continued enthusiasm and dedication to the RPS Book Club Program.

We would also like to sincerely thank our wonderful community for their generous donations towards purchasing books. These contributions have been a real game changer for our upper school students, allowing us to provide a wider range of engaging, high-quality books and helping to foster a love of reading.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Here are some samples of our prep writing!