Author Visit: Sally Rippin Inspires Young Writers

On Wednesday 25th, our Grade 1/2 students had the exciting opportunity to meet renowned author Sally Rippin via Zoom. Sally shared where she gets her story ideas from—often blending real-life experiences with imagination—and gave insights into the creative process behind her popular series such as Billie B Brown, Hey Jack!, School of Monsters, and Polly and Buster.

Students were captivated as Sally guided them through the development of characters and cartoons. They especially enjoyed creating their own imaginative illustrations during the live drawing tutorial. The session inspired students to explore their own storytelling ideas and deepened their understanding of how authors use experiences and creativity to bring stories to life.

Writing in Action: Information Reports on Water

This term, our Grade 1/2 students combined their Discovery learning with Writing to produce informative reports about water as a resource and its importance to living things—including humans, plants, animals, and aquatic life such as fish.

Students explored the structure and purpose of information texts, learning to use headings, subheadings, topic sentences, and factual content. They also focused on writing in clear paragraphs and adding relevant diagrams or pictures to support their ideas.

After drafting and editing their reports in their writing books, students were paired with Grade 5/6 buddies who supported them in publishing their final pieces using Google Docs. This collaboration helped build digital skills and confidence as they proudly shared their learning in a polished format.

It’s been a fantastic way to bring together writing, research, and teamwork!

Here are some of 1/2A's amazing information reports:

Money Matters in Maths!

Over the past few weeks, our Grade 1/2 students have been diving into the world of money during Maths. They explored the value of Australian coins and notes, learning to recognise, describe, and order them according to their value. Students discovered that the value of a coin isn’t determined by its size and learnt to identify coins by their unique features such as images, edges, and colour.

A highlight of the unit was using their creativity to design imaginative money creatures—animals, insects and monsters made from coin rubbings! After creating their creatures, students calculated the total value of the coins used, applying their skip counting and addition strategies. They also explored ‘heads and tails’ and practised listing different coin combinations to make set amounts.

Through hands-on activities, students practised simple transactions using play money, added collections of coins to make $2, and worked within a budget in a fun classroom shopping task. Given a total amount, they had to decide what they could afford to buy and what they couldn’t—encouraging decision-making and financial reasoning.

This practical and engaging unit helped students deepen their understanding of dollars and cents, the purpose of money, and the important symbols and animals that appear on our currency—all while building real-world numeracy skills in a fun and meaningful way!

End of Term Reminders – Important Dates!

As we near the end of a busy and exciting term, here are a few important reminders:

Homework books – Please return all homework books before the end of term.
Pyjama Day – On the last day of school, students are invited to wear their PJs for our JSC Out of Uniform Day. Please bring a gold coin donation to support a great cause.
Final Assembly – Our end-of-term assembly will take place at 2:00pm, with an early dismissal at 2:30pm on Friday 4th July.
Discovery Project Showcase – Families are invited to come and see the incredible work students have been doing during our Discovery unit! Join us on Tuesday 1st July from 2:30pm to 4:15pm to celebrate their learning.
Student Portfolios – Please return portfolios to your child’s classroom teacher by the last day of term (Friday 4th July).

We are so proud of the way our Grade 1/2 students continue to show the Pascoe Vale North Primary School values of Respect, Responsibility, Excellence in Learning, and contributing to a Safe and Caring Environment.

Thank you for your ongoing support—we’re looking forward to a wonderful end to the term and all that Term 3 will bring!

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