Junior News

We are in full swing of another busy term! We celebrated 100 days of school for the prep students and they should be congratulated on this milestone! The juniors are beginning to practise their dance moves for the performance Wizard of Oz which the children are enjoying as well as their teachers!

In Reading, the Prep students are beginning to learn about digraphs. Students  have learned that digraphs are two letters that make the one sound such as ‘ck’, ‘ll’, ‘ss’, ‘ff’ and ‘sh’. Students are learning to read words with these sounds and writing them on a whiteboard or responding through class activities focusing on these sounds. Students have also been doing a fantastic job in their teacher focus groups. They have been focusing on reading books in their small group and responding about the story by writing sentences or writing rhyming words such as ‘tap’, nap, and cap. Students have also been using iPads during this time completing literacy tasks which they have really enjoyed! 

In Reading, the Year One students have been learning about suffixes and adding ‘ed’ to words and learning about past tense. Students have been  continuing to read and spell tricky words. They have been reading stories as a whole class focusing on comprehension skills, and also identifying special words such as adjectives, verbs and nouns in the story. Students have also responded to class stories by writing short responses about the text. They have been concentrating on writing words on individual whiteboards focusing on digraphs which they have been learning during class time. 

In Reading, Year Two students have been focusing on spelling patterns, such as compound words and various phonics rules. They are also working on comprehension skills like inferring and identifying main ideas. Additionally, they have been learning about prepositions, conjunctions, and grammar. Students have been reading stories together, focusing on comprehension and identifying parts of speech. They have also been writing short responses to texts and practising writing words with digraphs on individual whiteboards.

In Writing, the prep students are continuing to focus on constructing short sentences. They are using their sound and letter knowledge to write words and we are encouraging the children to write their own sentences with growing confidence. Students have also begun to use writing checklists to check their writing to make sure that they have included what they need to help support them and to  improve their writing skills.

In Writing, students in Year One and Two have been writing narratives. 

Students have been taught explicitly the features of these texts and are exploring how to write these texts with correct structure. Students were presented with photos/pictures and story starters to help spark their imagination. We also discussed the settings and characters which they could have in their narrative. Students used a story plan and explored the problem, solution and ending to their story. We also have started publishing their narratives either using laptops or writing a ‘good copy of their narratives. 

In Mathematics, the children have been learning about the concept of place value. Students have used bundling sticks, connecting cubes and MAB blocks to model two digit and three digit numbers. Year two students have also been modelling numbers in the thousands. Students have also been adding 10 more, and 10 less to a given number. They have also been working on writing and reading numbers. We have also focused on forming the numbers the correct way.

In Integrated, students have been learning about drama, movement and dance. Students had the opportunity to create their own puppets which they had lots of fun making and not one puppet looked the same! Students are also beginning to learn their dance moves for the Wizard of Oz Performance which is happening at the end of term.

During Religion lessons, students have been exploring parables and identifying the moral of the story and how it teaches us how to live in our daily life and follow in Jesus’s footsteps. We also celebrated Father Pat’s 60th Commemoration. We wrote cards for him and had the opportunity to listen to him as he told his story about his life and how he became a Priest. The children found it very interesting and had some great questions for Father Pat to answer. 

In our Social and Emotional learning, students have focused on ways to interact with each other in a positive way. We have been playing games to support teamwork and problem solving. They have enjoyed doing this and it is a great way for them to work together and communicate. 

Thankyou for all of your support and we are looking forward to the remainder of the school term and continue to watch your children grow and learn together. 

Taylor Butler, Sarah O’Hara, Marie Georgiadis and Belinda Hesse