PLC News

Professional Learning Community Foundation (Preps)

Professional Learning Community 1 (Grade 1)

What a busy couple of weeks we have had in Grade 1. 

Athletics day was a huge success, and we thank all parents and families for coming to support our students. Well done to Cooper W, Tilly W, Evelyn K and Henrietta G on winning the age group champions for Grade 1. 

Students are working hard on their assessments at the moment, and we are so pleased to have seen some awesome growth already this term. We look forward to seeing how much they have learnt this year. 

Swimming is in week 8, there will shortly be an event on compass for all parents to consent to and fill in the forms for Shayne Reese. If you would like to assist with walking to swimming, please contact Miss Gerrard as soon as possible. 

Professional Learning Community 2 (Grade 2) 

Last week students participated in our junior athletics day. It was great to see all students giving events their best effort and enjoying the day. Well done!

Literacy

In Literacy students have been writing a persuasive piece titled ‘Everyone needs a friend’. Students have enjoyed writing this piece and exploring how our friends make us happy, healthier- including mental health and what we can learn from our friends. This has allowed students to investigate what is important to them in both being a good friend and having a good friend. 

Numeracy

In Numeracy students have been revising and extending their place value knowledge. Student have enjoyed playing games exploring the value of each digit in a three-digit number as well as placing numbers on a number line. 

Assessment Week

Assessment week has kicked off this week. This is a great opportunity for students to celebrate their success and progress made since Semester One. Ensuring children get enough sleep, is a great way to support them through assessment weeks.

Professional Learning Community 3 (Grade 3)

This week and next week, students will be completing various types of assessment to gather information for reports but to also identify areas where students may require extra instruction in their learning. Some of these literacy and numeracy assessments are online whereby students use their Chromebooks while other assessments are individual with the teacher. As it has been quite warm recently, all students need to hydrate during this ‘sweaty brain’ time so a named water bottle sent to school each day would be fantastic!

PLC3 students are currently completing some amazing brochures about the Daintree Rainforest. All the amazing facts they have learnt during the Writers’ Festival have assisted them to produce colourful and informative texts to persuade you to visit this delightful tourist attraction. Who wouldn’t want to be amazed by the waterfalls that sparkle in the sunlight, see the weird and wacky cassowary that has blue feathers or snorkel with turtles in the crystal clear water?

In Project Based Learning, students have begun their individual projects related to why Earth has night and day. They will present their projects to the class in a few weeks’ time with some students writing booklets or posters and utilising their Chromebooks and books to research information. Some students have decided to create 3-D models with polystyrene balls depicting the sun, Earth and moon while others are making collages with cardboard boxes. Below are some photos of students measuring the length and direction of their shadows during different times of the day, to help them understand about Earth’s rotation on its axis.

Have a great week!

PLC 3 Teachers

Professional Learning Community 4 (Grade 4)

Wow, Week 6 already!

What a week we have had in PLC 4. 4C was extremely lucky to get to work with Ann – who is the amazing leader of The Writing Model which we following when teaching Writing. She is a ball of energy and got us all inspired to write a persuasive piece about the importance of outdoor play. The students writing for this piece was superb, if you get a chance go in and read your child’s – you will be blown away.

Now on to the next two weeks. We are into our assessment weeks over the next two weeks. It is an exciting but nervous two weeks where students will be doing assessment tasks to show how much they have learnt over the year. Please support your child with getting enough rest to ensure they are prepared to do their best.

Also, a quick reminder about hats – All students must have a wide brimmed hat with their name on it.

Kind Regards,

PLC 4 Teachers

Professional Learning Community 5 (Grade 5)

Writers' Festival was a big success. Everyone had a lot of fun completing the ‘Scavenger Hunt’. Grade 5s loved exploring the hallways. We absolutely loved how creative the school looked and are very proud to be part of such a wonderful event.

We’re off to an excellent start in Assessment. Grade 5s are focusing hard and putting their best foot forward, showing off all that we have learnt this year. Here is what some of our students have to say…

“Although it’s tough, I’m still going to try my best” – Zoe

“Assessment is fun… when you finish” – Brae

“I’m feeling good about assessment” – Eli

“Assessment is like a hot summer’s day, and once you finish, its like jumping into a refreshing cool pool” – Hollie

“I reckon I'll do pretty well in my assessments because I’ve worked really hard in all” – Haidee

Even though it seems tough, we normally know more than we realise” – Reid

“I like my teacher because she explains thing very well” – Jack

“We can achieve anything we put our mind to” - Sara

Professional Learning Community 6 (Grade 6)

Dear PLC6 parents and families, 

I hope this newsletter finds you all in good health and high spirits. As we approach the end of another exciting academic year, it is time to reflect on each student’s achievements and progress this year. This week begins our 2 week assessment period. An opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning and growth from the past semester’s work. This time can be difficult and stressful for many, so we encourage that all students get plenty of sleep, eat a good nutritious diet, and try their personal best in each assessment. 

Literacy: In literacy we have been looking at the "The Water Tower" by Gary Crew. It is a thought-provoking and beautifully illustrated picture book. This captivating story takes place in a small outback town where a mysterious water tower stands tall, casting a shadow of intrigue over the community. The book has sparked numerous discussions in our classrooms where students have had the opportunity to ‘dig deeper’ into the meaning of the story by analysing how the text and images work together to tell us the full story. We have taken inspiration from the mysterious water tower to craft descriptive writing pieces this week around a mysterious place, item, or thing, ensuring our writing includes a range of powerful writing strategies to engage our reader.

Numeracy: Fraction concepts are an essential part of our students' math education, and we are committed to ensuring that they understand and apply these skills effectively. To support this, our teachers have been engaging students in various fraction revision activities to continue and consolidate their learning from this year. We have looked at naming, simplifying and equivalent fractions.

Finally at the end of the year approaches it can be a busy time for transition into high school next year. Please make sure you are aware of any transition days available to your child and ensure you contact the secondary school they will be attending if you have any questions. 

We look forward to sharing and celebrating the final few weeks of primary school with your children.

Regards, 

PLC6 teachers