Classroom News

Foundation: Mrs Fleming

The Foundation students have returned from the holiday break with enthusiasm and have settled straight back into their learning routines. 

In InitiaLit, students have been introduced to the sounds /k/, /u/, /b/ and /j/. They have continued building their reading skills by blending sounds to read words in our partner fluency time, practising tricky words, and reading and writing simple sentences. 

Wednesday was a very exciting day as we celebrated our learning with a Teddy Bear Picnic as part of our InitialWrite program. Students were delighted to bring their special teddies to school and involve them in our literacy activities. Together we described our teddies, played a game, sang a song, and enjoyed a picnic with our furry friends. It was a wonderful hands-on learning experience that brought plenty of smiles and laughter to the day.

In Maths the Foundation students have been excited to begin a new topic focusing on addition and subtraction. We have been using simple number stories to help us understand how to add small collections together and take away from a group. Students have had lots of fun bringing these number stories to life by using a variety of items from around our classroom to act out each problem.

Grade 1/2: Mrs McKiernan & Mrs Tyler

We have had a fabulous and fast-paced start to term 3 in 1/2 MT.

We have started looking at sound in Inquiry. We made string telephones where students decorated them and learnt how sound travels from a sound source to our ears in sound waves.

In maths, we are learning about shape. We have used a variety of materials to help us explore shapes. These include pattern blocks, 2D and 3D shapes and popsicle sticks. We used the popsicle sticks to explore parallel lines. We made different shapes and objects that have parallel lines.

We are excited for the events happening later in this term, including the Grade 2 sleepover, the F/1 fun day and swimming week!

Grade 1/2: Miss Wooden

Welcome back to Term 3! I hope everyone had a wonderful break and is ready for an exciting term ahead. I want to take a moment to commend our students for their fantastic behavior and engagement while Miss Wooden was away during the first week. Lacey and Jarrah were especially great role models in the classroom, exhibiting responsibility and kindness throughout.

A big thank you to Mrs. Dove for stepping in and looking after the class during this time. Your support and dedication made a significant difference!

This term, the students have started a lot of new learning. In maths, we are diving into shapes, exploring their properties and applications. In science, we're investigating sounds and how they are produced, which will lead to some fun experiments! In English, our focus is on story writing, and I can’t wait to see the imaginative tales the students create.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for some sunny days ahead this term!

Below is some of the work that students were proud of from the start of the term. 

Grade 3: Miss Taylor

Welcome back to Term 3! We hope all of our Grade 3 families had a wonderful and restful holiday break. It has been fantastic to welcome everyone back to the classroom, and we've loved seeing the students settle right back into our learning routines with such enthusiasm.

We have a busy and exciting start to the term ahead! Over the next fortnight, we'll be taking part in our Water Week Incursion, celebrating Pyjama Day, and joining our school community for our special Grandparents' Mass. Alongside these exciting events, we'll also be spending time revisiting and strengthening our classroom routines to ensure we're set up for another successful term of learning. Learning Conversations will take place in Week 3, and we're looking forward to meeting with families to celebrate each student's achievements, discuss their progress, and share goals for the term ahead. 

Our learning has already hit the ground running! In Literacy, we have begun researching the beautiful Coorong as we prepare to write an informative piece alongside our class novel, Storm Boy by Colin Thiele. During our research phase, we've been watching videos, reading informative texts, and building our knowledge of this unique environment. We've also been exploring how authors "paint a picture" for their readers by using rich and descriptive language, and we can't wait to see these skills come to life in our own writing.

In Maths, we've started the term by tackling worded problems using our UPSC strategy (Understand, Plan, Solve, Check). The students have been working hard to break problems down, identify important information and explain their thinking. We've also been busy mastering our times tables, and we're proud to say our Grade 3s are already 3 times table experts! Why not test your child at home and see if they can impress you with their speedy recall?

Science has returned to our classroom this term and has quickly become a favourite! Our young scientists have been investigating the differences between solids and liquids through a range of fun, hands-on experiments. We've compared ice and water, explored how a biscuit changes from whole to crushed to crumbs, investigated how heat can melt different materials, and discovered how cooling can change melted substances back into solids. The curiosity, enthusiasm and thoughtful discussions during our investigations have been wonderful to see, and we're excited to continue exploring the fascinating world of science throughout the term.

We're looking forward to another fantastic term of learning, growth and fun, and we can't wait to see what our Grade 3 students achieve over the coming weeks!

Grade 4/5: Mrs Stock

Welcome back to Term 3! We hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing holiday break.

We've had a busy and positive start to the term. In Inquiry, we have begun our new Science unit, Manipulating Light. Students have been investigating how light behaves, exploring how it travels in straight lines, reflects off different surfaces, and refracts (bends) when it passes through materials such as water. They have enjoyed taking part in hands-on investigations and making predictions about what they observe.

In Mathematics, students have been working hard on fractions. They have been learning to add and subtract fractions with the same denominator, as well as converting improper fractions into mixed numbers. It has been fantastic to see their confidence continue to grow.

In Religion, students took part in a 'Warm Fuzzies' activity, where they wrote kind and encouraging messages to one another. It was wonderful to see students recognising each other's strengths and positive qualities, helping to build a supportive and caring classroom community.

Last week, we also had a wonderful RRRR lesson with some thoughtful discussions and collaborative small-group problem-solving. Students explored when it is important to seek help from a trusted adult and when they can confidently solve problems independently or with the support of a friend. It was great to see everyone sharing ideas respectfully and learning from one another.

Grade 5/6: Miss Rasmussen

It has been wonderful to welcome everyone back to school, despite the cold and foggy mornings that have been greeting us!

We have begun reading our new novel for the term, Once by Morris Gleitzman. Although we are only in the early stages of the story, we are already intrigued by Felix and his experiences as a Jewish boy caught up in the events of World War II.

To complement our reading, we have been researching Poland in preparation for writing an information report. We have been particularly interested to learn how Poland’s history of war has had lasting effects on its landscapes and wildlife.

In Maths, we have been exploring fractions in greater depth. We have learnt how to find common denominators so that we can add and subtract fractions more easily. Applying these skills within worded problems certainly challenged our thinking!