School News
Prep
Another wonderful week in Prep! We loved celebrating our 100 Days of School on Friday 1st August and had many comments from students about it being 'the best day ever'. A special thanks to parents for the huge effort you all made with students' costumes!
Reminders:
- Please remember to check your child’s clothing to ensure name tags are still clearly visible.
- Our swimming program will commence in Week 7. Ensure you have completed the permission forms on Compass.
This week in spelling we are completing phase 4 of the Smart Spelling Program. We will launch into revision next week as we give the students a chance to consolidate their learning.
In reading, we have unpacked the different elements of our favourite fairy tales. It has been great fun identifying the characters, settings, tricky situations and resolutions in stories such as ‘The Three Billy Goats’ gruff.
For writing, our fairy tale theme has seen us beginning the planning of our own stories. We have unpacked the descriptions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters and created our own characters which has been lots of fun.
Maths has once again involved a great deal of hands-on fun while we investigate counting collections up to 20. Whilst many of our students can count much higher than this, our purpose is to ensure that students develop a range of solid counting skills that will serve them strongly as they branch into dealing with larger numbers, such as ‘tap and count’ and ‘slide and count’.
This week for investigations we have continued our fairy tale theme, as well as focussed on what ‘green choices’ and ‘red choices’ look like. We have been pleased to see that our photographers and reporters (focus students) have seen many examples of green choices during this time. These have included sharing, taking turns, walking carefully through the spaces and helping others. All of the students are showing such beautiful behaviour and we are so proud!
Within wellbeing we have been looking at emotional literacy from the Respectful Relationships Program. Students have considered how we need to respect people for who they are, even if they are different to us. It has been a lovely opportunity for us to talk about how we can all be special and unique and still care for and respect each other.
Kindest regards,
The Prep Team
Laina Brebner, Kayla Hartrick and Emma Wright
Grade 1
Our highlight this fortnight was the excursion to Quantum. The Grade 1 students had so much fun exploring all things 'forces'. They raced cars on different surfaces, set off a rocket and learnt all about electrical circuits. So much fun and learning was had by all!
In Maths, we have been learning about multiplication. We have practised skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s.
In Reading, we have been practising decoding words using a range of strategies. We are learning to read and understand prefixes, suffixes and split digraphs.
In Writing, students have been focusing on the sizzling start of a narrative. We have been practising using different techniques to capture the reader's attention at the beginning of our stories, such as starting with a sound BANG! or starting with dialogue "Can I have a pet Mum?".
In Inquiry, students have begun their Culture Collage. They are learning more about where they are from and what each unique culture brings to our community.
In Well-being, students have been learning about friendships and staying safe online. We discussed what we should or shouldn't share online to stay safe and protect our privacy. We also had our first Connect Group for Term 3. We have all joined new groups and are having fun learning new skills
Congratulations to our shining star winners this fortnight: Jordan, Arthur, Macey, Molly, Neave and Scarlett.
Kind regards,
The Grade 1 Team
Tim Huntington, Mel Layton, Sally Newton and Ashleigh Wilson
Grade 2
We have had a wonderful start to the term. Lots of exciting learning has already occurred.
In Reading, we have learnt about comprehension and how to infer when reading. Looking at the characters' motives, words and facial expressions to determine how they are feeling, even when not directly stated.
We have continued to explore narratives over the last few weeks, identifying sizzling starts, backfill, pebble rock and bolder problems and how to have an exciting ending.
In Maths, we have continued to build our knowledge of times tables, fact families and how these can link with repeated addition. Some students have taken on the challenge of playing 'Hit the Button' (an online multiplication game) to improve their automatic recall of times table facts.
During our Inquiry session, we began to explore sounds and how they can be created. We have created shakers by filling containers with different materials and listening and observing the different sounds they can make. We have begun the planning to design our own instruments. We also had an opportunity to visit Quantum, where we explored game design. It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to design their own scrolling platform game and set challenges and obstacles for their character to navigate.
In Wellbeing, we have revised the different programs we run at RHPS. One being zones of regulation, which is all about ourselves and how we can monitor our own emotions. We revised friendology, which focuses on our relationship with those around us, especially our friends. Finally, we looked at the Cyber Safety Project, which focuses on online safety within a global environment.
Warm regards,
The Grade 2 Team
Allie Harrison, Sarah Jones and Brendan Van Haaster
Grade 3 & 4
We would like to congratulate the students in 3/4 for the wonderful way they have started Semester 2. They have shown excellent behaviour and attitudes in class and have completed lots of fantastic learning already!
In Reading, the students continued analysing different forms of poetry. This week the students learned to identify similes, metaphors and the reason authors use them in their writing. They also completed the Term 3 Reading Learning Task by responding to poetry including how it made them feel, as well as identifying the intended audience and author’s purpose.
In Writing, the students continued learning different styles of poetry. They learned to write similes comparing unlike objects using the words ‘like’ or ‘as.’ They also learned to write metaphors and personifications and practised adding detail to their poems by including adjectives in their writing.
In Maths the students continued working on multiplication. This week we focussed on the 10, 9 and 5 times tables. The students particularly enjoyed singing the times tables rap songs by Mc Grammar. The students also completed a pre-test on division in preparation for our upcoming division unit.
In Inquiry, the students learned about different types of forces, and matched examples of activities with the types of forces. For example, applied force, gravitational force and tension force. We also learned about wind power and built our own pinwheels.
In our Wellbeing lessons this week, students learnt why it is important to seek help from an adult and how to identify which problems are serious enough to require help from an adult. They also learnt to identify people they can turn to for help as well as the people they are able to help.
Kind regards,
The 3/4 Team
Damien Smith, Daena Hailey, Brent Smith, Claire Cripps and Nick Pagliaro
Grade 5 & 6
The first few weeks of term have been a whirlwind of exciting events and enriching learning experiences for our Grade 5/6 students!
Hoop Time
Our students took to the courts with great energy and sportsmanship during the Hoop Time basketball tournament last week. Competing against teams from local schools, students proudly demonstrated the school values, along with teamwork and resilience. It was fantastic to see so many students pushing themselves, encouraging one another and having fun in a competitive environment.
Netball & Tee ball Teams
Our Grade 5/6 netball and tee ball teams recently competed at Division against other schools and have now progressed through to Regionals! This is a huge achievement and a testament to the dedication, teamwork and perseverance of all involved. We’ll be cheering them on as they take on this next exciting challenge!
Buddies
Recently, the Grade 5/6 students teamed up with their Prep and Grade 1 buddies for a fun-filled afternoon of maths games. The older students showed fantastic leadership and care as they guided their younger peers through hands-on activities that made maths fun, meaningful and engaging for all involved.
Multiplication
In the classroom, our focus in Maths has been developing mental multiplication strategies through a variety of hands-on games. Students have enjoyed the challenge of applying their knowledge in creative and fast-paced ways, helping to build confidence and accuracy.
Poetry
In Writing, students have been exploring the world of poetry, experimenting with different forms including limericks and haikus. They've also been diving into the features and language techniques of different poems in reading lessons, including imagery, rhythm, rhyme and structure. It’s been wonderful to see students expressing themselves creatively through words.
We are proud of the way our 5/6s continue to show leadership, creativity, and a love of learning. We look forward to seeing what the next few weeks bring!
Kind regards,
The 5/6 Team
Llinos Poole, Erin Rennick, Hayley Peirce and Alarna Creed