Teaching and Learning Areas

Foundation

Hello Foundation families and carers,

We are so pleased to see our students settle into the routines of school and begin developing friendships that may carry them through their schooling and beyond.

In literacy, we have finished teaching the first stage of the Little Learners Love Literacy phonics program and have dived into the second stage. Students are now attempting their first set of decodable readers in class. Maths lessons have been focused on rote counting to and from 20 as well as what ‘good counting’ looks like including moving items from one place to another to ensure you don’t count it twice. Students have also begun exploring how larger numbers are made of smaller numbers and can be partitioned into ‘part-part’ and the ‘whole.’

We kindly ask that parents and carers begin to build their child’s independence over the next few weeks by asking them to carry their own bag to and from school, allow them to unpack their own bag at soft start and work towards walking into the classroom unassisted by the end of Term 1.

Grade 1/2

In Maths, the Grade 1/2s have been learning all about place value. We have been partitioning numbers into their place value parts (thousands, hundreds, tens, ones), making numbers with MAB blocks, placing numbers on number lines, and expanding and renaming numbers.

We have played games such as ‘Number Target’, ‘Place Value Pebbles’, ‘Guess My Number’ and ‘Place Value Mastermind’ to apply our knowledge of place value to strategically identify and place numbers on a gameboard. Students have demonstrated their understanding on a ‘thinkboard’ by showing the same number represented in a variety of different ways.

It has been great to see students make progress with their understanding of the big concept of place value. Well done to all the fabulous 1/2 mathematicians! Our next topic in maths will be fractions of a whole, looking in particular at halves, quarters and eighths.

Grade 3/4

This term in Integrated Studies, our Year 3/4 students have been working on an new and exciting project where they are designing and building their own sustainable vehicles using recycled materials. We would like to thank our wonderful school community for the incredible support, as we have received heaps of recycled and reusable materials donated from families. These materials have given students a fantastic range of resources to work with, while also reinforcing the importance of reusing and reducing waste.

Students have been working either individually or in small groups to plan and design their vehicles, thinking carefully about how their creations will move and what materials will work best. This week we have begun the building stage, and while the classroom has been a little chaotic (and definitely a bit messy), it has been wonderful to see the students’ designs really come to life. Cardboard, milk cartons, bottle caps and other recycled materials are being transformed into some truly creative and innovative vehicles and we are already seeing some amazing designs and clever solutions from our young engineers. We look forward to sharing the finished creations soon!

Grade 5/6

It’s hard to believe we’re already at the end of Term 1!

INTERSCHOOL SPORT

Interschool sport has now wrapped up for Term 1, and we just wanted to say a big well done to all of our students. We were really impressed not just by the effort and skill on display, but by the team spirit and fair play shown throughout. It was great to see students encouraging each other and getting involved—something to be really proud of. Students are now trying out to join the netball, footy or soccer teams for Term 2.

MAKER SPACE

For those students who weren’t part of a sports team, the Maker Space has been a busy and exciting place to be. Students have been using all sorts of materials to design and build their own creations, and the results have been incredibly inventive. It’s been fantastic to see their creativity and willingness to experiment.

We are always on the lookout for materials for our Maker Space. If you have any spare craft supplies at home, we would love to take them off your hands! Think cereal boxes, bottle tops, leftover wrapping paper, unused paint, including house paint, half-used glue, sequins—anything that could be reused creatively is welcome.

MATHS

In Maths, we’ve just finished our fractions unit. Students have made great progress with understanding fraction concepts and now need your help to consolidate their knowledge in real life situations. One of the easiest ways to support this at home is through cooking—things like halving a recipe, or giving students only a 1-cup measure and asking them to work out different amounts, can really help build understanding of fractions in a practical way.

LITERACY

Our Reading and Writing sessions have been centred around memoirs. We’ve been using Boy by Roald Dahl as a mentor text, looking at how he can take a small moment from his life and turn it into something really engaging. Students have been having a go at doing the same thing in their own writing, using memories from their lives and stretching them into detailed, interesting pieces.

STINGRAY?!

And finally—welcome back, Kerry! It is in fact true—Kerry had a rather eventful weekend and was injured by a stingray while swimming in South Gippsland. After some excellent care from surgeons, she’s back with us, sporting a wheelchair for now and a very impressive story to share.

Thanks again for a great term.

The Grade 5/6 Team