Spotlight on Learning
Early Stage 1
Phonics and Reading:
Last week Kindergarten met ‘Danny Dingo’ and “Hannah Hippo’ as students learnt the sounds that the letters ‘d’ and ‘h’ make. Using numerous taught letter sounds, along with the introduction of ‘tricky words’, students have excitedly started reading decodable books in class. As part of a new sound being introduced, students brainstorm a range of words that start with that sound which further builds their vocabulary knowledge.
Writing:
KR have also been introduced to a range of quality picture books to develop their comprehension and grammar skills and learning that texts are created for a variety of purposes. We have been exploring the features of a non-fiction text and have loved learning some amazing insect facts from ‘The Big Book of Bugs’ and comparing this to the narrative text ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. Students have been learning about the difference between nouns, verbs and adjectives and are beginning to use these in their writing. To compliment our text exploration, KR made their very own very hungry caterpillars during visual arts.
Maths:
In Maths, KR have been exploring the concepts of ‘combining’ and ‘separating’ through a range of stories, worded problems and use of concrete materials. Students have begun to apply their friends of 5 and 10 facts to solve these problems. Students took part in whole-class bowling when exploring the concept of ‘separating’ and finding how many ‘left over’. Students have also been introduced to ‘organising data’ and have been sorting objects into groups based on colour or similar attributes. From this, KR have been practising making ‘columns and rows’ to organise the data so that it can be easily viewed and interpreted. It has been so pleasing to see all students aiming high in all subjects and aspects of school. Keep up the amazing work KR!
Miss Raj - KR Classroom Teacher
Stage 2
4F have been thoroughly engaged in the multi-purpose novel Wandi, this term. This story is not only factual but has elements of imaginative, informative and persuasive text included throughout. It is based on a baby dingo (Wandi) who was grabbed by an eagle and then dropped far away from his family, in the Australian bush. The style in which Wandi is written has allowed the students to experiment with lots of different writing techniques, such as use of high modality, rhetorical questions and emotive language to create writing to inform, persuade and entertain the reader. Students enjoyed making Canva posters about dingoes, using the information and techniques they had been learning about. An interesting aspect of reading Wandi, is that the students have been able to read about the real Wandi (who is now living in a Victorian animal sanctuary) on his official website and make connections with what they have read and what they are writing.
In mathematics, students have been learning about multiplication and the many different strategies you can use to help solve multiplication problems. Lots of games and hands-on activities have helped the students to understand the concepts of arrays, and partial arrays. Students have also been looking at how to find factors of numbers, how to use inverse operations and the relationship between multiplication and division.
In Literacy groups students have been writing a sales advert, trying to influence someone to buy a particular item. Students had to choose a classroom object such as a water bottles, a shoe, or a pencil case and use persuasive language to convince their peers to buy it.
Students have also have been practising their drama skills by reading scripts and plays. This focuses on using expression, intonation and volume to engage the audience and helps to increase fluency. Lots of fun for both the performers and the audience!
Miss Fairgrieve - 4F Classroom Teacher
Stage 3
Our student leadership team recently embarked on the Natural Leaders course at the Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre, undeterred by occasional light rain showers. Throughout the program, our leaders actively participated in activities created to develop communication, leadership, problem-solving, teamwork, and trust-building skills.
Set amidst the great Australian outdoors, our students navigated nature trails, collaborated on problem-solving activities, and engaged in trust-building exercises. Despite the weather, their enthusiasm remained high.
It was particularly pleasing to see our students quickly develop working relationships with peers from other participating schools. Their ability to forge connections with students they had just met and seamlessly engage in collaborative activities reflects their excellent interpersonal skills.
We're immensely proud of our student leaders' dedication to personal growth and development. Their positive impact within our school community is clear, and we look forward to their continued contributions.
Mr Love - 6L Classroom Teacher