Learning News - Term 4, Week 3

Over the past tow weeks, we have completed our formal testing for Mathematics and Reading across the school. PAT (Progressive Achievement Tests) testing is undertaken across our Diocese, with every child in Year 1 - 6 being tested on their reading and mathematics skills at this time of year, so as to compare their growth over the past twelve months.

The assessment comprises several testlets (small blocks of test items), of which there are eight different entry levels. In total, students complete three testlets in a sitting. Testing is an online environement.

Entry levels are automatically assigned to students depending on their previous PAT Reading or PAT Maths scale score or their current year level. After completing each testlet, students are automatically allocated another group of items of targeted difficulty based on their cumulative performance to that point.

It has been exciting for our teachers to see our students working through this system and we look forward to analysing the results of our students to better inform our teaching.

Yours in learning,

Mrs Shepherd

Kindergarten

This term, Kindergarten have been revising the structure of a narrative. We have been doing this through the exploration of familiar fairytales. This week, we learned about Little Red Riding Hood. We have enjoyed recreating the story using our very own puppets. Great work Kindergarten on your wonderful retelling of the story!

Miss Fraser

Year 1

This term in Geography, Year 1 have been learning about special connections people can have to different places. Year 1 have learned that people can have a connection to a place by where their family lives, where they go on holidays, and where their food and clothes come from. The students have also been looking at the special connection to Country that Aboriginal people have. We now know that the word ‘home’ for Aboriginal people does not mean a house but rather the kinship they share with each other. We looked at traditional homes from the past and saw that houses or ‘wallays’ were made from things found in the environment, unlike the houses of today. We would like to thank Miss Todd and Ms Miller for coming and teaching us about Aboriginal culture this term.

Miss Myers.

Year 2/3

In Creative Arts lessons, Year 2/3 have been brushing up on their drawing skills. Using a video on how to draw a sailing ship, the students drew their own ship onto a blank piece of paper and had the opportunity to add any extras to their design. Following this we then outlined the image using a dark coloured pencil. To finish off our artwork the students could choose between using watercolour paints or coloured pencils. What fantastic artworks and effort by all! Well Done!

Mr Beaumont.

Year 4

Over the past fortnight, Year 4 has been learning how to write a fable in Writing. Students studied some well-known fables including ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’, ‘The Bald Man and the Fly’ and ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ and enjoyed discussing the books. They learnt about the importance of each fable having a moral/lesson that is taught throughout the story. Students then had to rewrite each fable using their own characters, settings and contexts with a similar moral. Fantastic work Year 4!

Miss Maunder and Mrs Gall

Year 5/6

Stage 3 got into the Halloween spirit and made a ghostly artwork. The students used their skills of blending colours to create a midnight sky and made different sized ghosts to make levels. There was a lot of excitement in the room and chats about what to dress up as for the Halloween party. Great work stage 3!

Miss Rasche and Miss Summerell

Numeracy News Term 4, Week 4

Kinder

This week, Kindergarten students were introduced to the topic of Division. Students have been learning about how division is used in everyday life scenarios, like sharing food and making teams. We have learned that when dividing we pull a collection of items apart. Kindergarten made these fabulous playdough cakes for Mr Pig's (our class toy) birthday! As part of the task, Kindergarten had to equally share a group of candles (matchsticks) from a collection to put on his cake. Kindergarten will continue to consolidate their group making skills next week.

Miss Fraser

Year 1

For the past fortnight, Year 1 have been learning about inverse operations and fact families. They discovered that you can use the same parts to make a whole with both addition and subtraction. They used Numicon shapes to find 2 smaller numbers that make a large number.

Year 2/3

In Year 2/3 we have been learning about the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction. During this unit we have been consolidating our knowledge and understanding of number bonds and facts for numbers. We have also focused on how we can use our knowledge of number facts and bonds to help in solving subtraction problems. As part of our learning we focused on using concrete materials to model and create examples of number bonds. This included the use of our class Numicons set, as pictured below. Well Done to Year 2/3 for keeping up the excellent work!

Mr Beaumont.

Year 4

In Year 4, we have been learning about 2D shapes including regular and irregular shapes. Students used 2D wooden blocks to explore the various shapes that can make other shapes, e.g. a hexagon can be made by joining a trapezium, triangle and a rhombus together. They then enjoyed using their knowledge of these shapes to create tessellations. Great work this week Year 4.

Miss Maunder and Mrs Gall

Year 5/6

This week Stage 3 has been learning how to break down worded problems to solve accurately. Students used the following steps to solve a variety of worded problems, working with a partner to discuss their approaches.

Read the question and find key words and numbers.
Say what the question is asking you to do.
Say how you are going to work it out.
Show all of your working out.
Write the answer.

Fantastic work Stage 3!

Miss Summerell & Miss Rasche

St Michael's Primary School, Manilla

'Let Your Light Shine'

Issue 17 · 03 Nov 2023

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