School News
Prep
Dear Prep families,
What wonderful couple of weeks we have had! Lots of hands-on activities and new learning experiences have been happening in prep and the students have been having lots of fun.
Although the weather has been wild and windy, it lets students know what to expect when we 'blow' down their houses in science next week! They have been working hard at constructing their very own 'Three Little Pigs' house using various materials from the science room. Over the next two weeks we will use a blower to try and blow down their houses. Their objective was to make it sturdy enough to stay put!
In Maths, the students have been learning about numbers to 20 and beyond. They have been using hands-on manipulatives to explore 'teen' numbers and have been creating number lines using pipe cleaners and beads to count. Each day we have also been doing a 'number of the day' where we unpack a number and explore it, using place value, addition and subtraction. This really helps the student's number knowledge and recall.
The students had swimming week in week 6 at Aqua Hub and learnt various water safety skills. We are very proud of the prep's efforts in getting ready and having a positive attitude each day. The students loved the bus ride too, however there were some naps had on the way back to school after a long week! They came away from the week with smiling faces ready to get back into the water soon!
Shining Star Awards:
Well done to the following students who received the shining star award over the past 2 weeks:
Week 6:
Chloe P, Molly C & Elizabeth E
Week 7:
Joey L, Amaline G & Hannah W
There is not long until school holidays! Please remember to bring your child's portfolio back before the term 3 break so we can get it ready for lots of fun, new work in term 4.
Here are some important reminders for the remainder of the term:
- Monday 9th September – Curriculum Day
- Friday 13th September – Footy Lunch Day and Footy colours 'free dress'
- Friday 20th September – End of Term 3 (2:00pm finish for students).
Kind regards,
The Prep Team
Allie Harrison, Kayla Hartrick, Laina Brebner & Elyce Munnecke
Grade 1 & 2
Another fortnight has gone by so quickly and what a fortnight it has been - so many fun activities to share with our families!
Last Wednesday we were thrilled to welcome author 'Rachel Hyland' who met with the Level 1 and 2 students and shared her book 'It Can't Get Any More Broken'. She also gave us some great tips for story writing.
The Level 1 students met with their Level 5 buddies on Monday afternoon and completed a very fun reading sequencing activity.
In Science, the Level 1 students have been learning about First Nations art and created some 'ochre' based art work on natural materials. In Level 2, students created 'gas' by exploring how different ratios of chemicals create different results.
In Mathematics, students have been learning about Australian coins. They have been practising counting, sorting and ordering money.
Our Literacy focus has been around Non-fiction texts. Students have explored a topic they know a lot about and are writing an Information Report. Ask your child what animal/ sport they have selected.
We welcome Isabelle Xuereb and her family to RHPS and are thrilled to have her join Level 1.
Please read Compass closely over the remaining two weeks of school as there are many important upcoming dates, such as Curriculum Day this Monday (9th September). We look forward to seeing students back on Tuesday for specialist day.
The Level 1/2 Team
Llinos Poole, Sally Newton, Tim Huntington, Emma Wright and Veronica Paps
Grade 3 & 4
Hi Level 3&4 families,
Wow, week 8 already! What an amazing term we have had so far.
Last week the Grade 3/4 students went swimming at Aquahub in Croydon, everyone had a great time, improved their water safety skills and were wonderful representatives for our school. This week it was great to get back into the normal daily routine of our learning once again!
In Reading, we continued our study on poetry and begun learning about a type of poetry called Haikus. Students read a text called “Wabi Sabi” by Mark Reibstein which follows a cat’s journey to find the meaning of her name and includes many different Haiku poems. Students focussed on syllables, conducted a syllable hunt and looked at the importance of each word in a poem.
In Writing, the students learned about the structure of Haiku poems and wrote their own using the structure of 5-7-5 syllables across 3 lines. We braved the cold and went outside on a nature walk to collect ideas and inspiration for our Haikus. Students planned, drafted, edited and published their Haiku poems.
In Maths, we continued our unit on 2D and 3D shapes and their properties. This week, we looked at composite shapes and began exploring the areas of different shapes using informal units. Students showed off their shape knowledge through designing and building their own 3D composite shapes. Next week, we will begin our final Maths topic for the term by looking at chance. Students will use a combination of dice, coins and spinners to investigate the probability of outcomes and design their own chance experiments.
In our Inquiry unit, the students have continued working on their Social Justice and Fairness Projects. Students worked in small groups to research an area that they were interested in and are now working towards presenting their findings. Students have been busy creating posters, PowerPoint and Canva presentations, board games and even designing and using 3D printing. We are looking forward to completing these and presenting them to each other in the coming weeks.
As we draw closer to the end of Term 3, some important dates to remember are:
- Monday 9th September – Curriculum Day (Student free day)
- Friday 13th September – Footy Lunch Day and Footy colours 'free dress'
- Tuesday 17th September – 3/4 Hoop Time
- Friday 20th September – End of Term 3. 2:00PM finish for students.
The Level 3/4 Team
Hayley Peirce, Sarah Jones, Damien Smith, Renée Barnden & Brent Smith
Grade 5 & 6
There has been lots of exciting things happening in the 5/6 classrooms in the last 2 weeks!
Our literacy focus has been around how poetic structure can influence meaning for the readers. Students have demonstrated their understanding of poetry by rehearsing a poem of their choice using appropriate fluency, expression and timing. They have then had a chance to create their own meaningful free verse poems, feeding into the power of emotion.
Here are some examples:
Sadness – Asher H
When you’re filled with joy it comes
It destroys you
Even at your happiest moment it makes you feel
down, destroyed, dejected and distraught
It’s lurking in the shadows waiting for hopelessness to lower his trap
He’s everywhere waiting to let
heartbreak woe and blues at you
Pain – Hudson M
When pain and misery come to one
Someone else gains
But ask me is it worth this suffering?
For a single person’s fame?
Sport – Allie G
Sport is my life
Sport is everything
Sport has many emotions for my likings to explain
In Maths, we have been busy practicing plotting coordinate points on a cartesian plane using negative and positive x and y axis’. To demonstrate their understanding, students have created their own coordinate instructions on an image of their choice, for a partner to solve.
In Science, we have continued to explore how the states of matter; solids, liquid and gas, can change. Students have enjoyed making their own ice cream with ice, salt and milk to create a chemical reaction and then even got to eat it! They also thoroughly enjoyed, mixing cornflour and water together to make Oobleck. Lucky we kept the mess outside!
Grade 6 Parents: If you haven’t yet sent your child’s baby and prep photos (if they didn’t do prep here) for the Grade 6 Year book to Miss Pepprell, can you please do so as a JPEG attachment as soon as possible!
Keep your eyes on compass for more news about what’s coming up.
Thanks.
The Level 5/6 Team
Megan Pepprell, Alarna Creed, Sam Younes, Rachel B, Brendan Van Haaster, and Ashleigh Wilson.