F-4 Community News

Foundation

Welcome back to Term 4 in Foundation! What a busy term we have ahead with lots of special events coming up.

In writing, Foundation students have been learning about the beginning, middle and end of a story. They have been exploring how to organise their ideas into sentences to retell a story in the correct order. The students are developing their understanding of story structure and building confidence in writing their own sentences. They are also learning to use a four-step checklist to edit their writing and check that their work is complete.

In mathematics, Foundation students have been exploring data by answering simple yes and no questions and collecting information from their classmates. They have been learning to record their results using tally marks and discuss what their data tells them. This has been a great opportunity to develop their counting skills, compare results and talk about what they notice!

In Religion, Foundation students have been learning about how each of us is special and unique. They have been exploring the qualities that make them special and how everyone has their own gifts and strengths to share. This week, the students created special gifts for their Year 12 buddies, sharing what makes their buddies special and showing how much they appreciate them.

We encourage families to continue reading with their child at home to build confidence, fluency and a love of reading. Regular practice helps students strengthen their letter-sound knowledge and apply the skills they have been learning in class. Please also continue to practise their tricky words, as recognising these words quickly helps students become more confident and independent readers. Even 10 minutes of reading each day makes a difference!

Year 1

Welcome back to Term 4! The Year 1s have started the term beautifully, following our classroom routines and expectations with enthusiasm, focus and increased maturity. Well done Year 1s! We have a busy term ahead and are looking forward to an exciting term of learning.

In literacy, students have continued developing their reading and spelling skills as they explore new sound patterns, including 'ear', 'eer', 'air' and 'are'. Students have also been extending simple sentences by adding more detail, such as when, where, why and how. We have seen some outstanding sentences that demonstrate their understanding of adjectives and adverbs.

Our mathematics learning focused on location and position. Students learnt how to use ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.), follow verbal and written directions, describe locations and solve position problems. They became experts at using left and right by dancing to fun songs and giving and following directions with a partner.

In science, we have started our unit on Daily and Seasonal Changes. Students are investigating how weather and seasonal changes affect our everyday lives and the world around us. This week, we learnt how to read the weather and created our own weather reports.

We are so excited for a fun-filled term ahead!

Year 2

Welcome back to Term 4! The students have made a wonderful start to the term and are ready for another exciting period of learning and discovery.

In English, we have begun exploring poems in storybooks, discovering how authors use rhyme, rhythm and interesting language to make their writing engaging and fun. In mathematics, we are learning about fractions and exploring how we can recognise and represent equal parts of a whole.

In religious education, we have been learning about The Good News and exploring the Bible, developing our understanding of its stories and messages. In science, our topic, Sounds All Around Us, has encouraged us to investigate the sounds we hear every day and discover how sounds are made.

We look forward to a wonderful term filled with new learning, exciting experiences and opportunities to grow together!

Year 3

There has been lots of chatter in Year 3 maths as students survey their classmates, collect data and graph their findings. Students have enjoyed asking questions, gathering responses and representing their data in different ways. They are learning to interpret their graphs, compare results and draw conclusions based on the information they have collected. It has been wonderful to see them sharing their findings, discussing patterns and discovering interesting facts about their classmates!

Students have begun reading The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Ivan is a captive silverback gorilla who has lived for 27 years in a glass enclosure at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. Invite your child to share their thoughts about Ivan’s life and imagine what they would change to help him.

Year 4

In science, our Year 4 students have been exploring the Properties of Materials, focusing on absorbency. Through a hands-on experiment, students investigated how different materials absorb water and discovered that some materials soak up liquid easily, while others do not. They explored how the properties of materials influence their everyday uses and enjoyed putting their predictions to the test!

In maths, students have been developing their digital skills by using Excel spreadsheets to organise data and create graphs. They explored how information can be represented visually, helping them to interpret and compare data in different ways.

It has been wonderful to see our Year 4 learners building their scientific understanding while developing their mathematical and digital skills!