Level 2: Connect

What do you mean we are over half way through the term! 

We are still missing a number of consent forms for the students - if you haven't filled in the Parent Consent Form, can you please do this ASAP. 

Kym Seccull, Zoe Whitaker, Jess Steel & Sean Daley

English 

Core Literacy

In Week 5, students learnt about the busy letter ‘y’, with a focus on the different vowel sounds it can make within a word. They also learnt about homophones (words that sound the same, but are spelt different and have different meaning) and the heart words talk, always, and water.

In Week 6, students reviewed their Core Literacy learning from this term.

Looking ahead in Core Literacy:

• Week 7: Students will learn about the spelling pattern 'ture'. They will also learn about the prefix in- & im- and the heart words blue, those, and these.
• Week 8: Students will learn the spelling pattern 'stle'. They will also learn about the suffix -ible & -able and the heart words whose, move, and people.

Reading & Writing 

English – Information Texts Unit

In Reading and Writing this week, students have been learning how to create their own information texts. Students took notes on their own chosen animal, then drafted an information report. This included writing factual sentences about the animal’s habitat, physical features and diet. Students also included a “Did you know?” fact and created a labelled diagram to support their writing. 

Students then revisited their drafts to edit and improve their work. They reread their writing, checked their spelling and punctuation, and used a rubric to self-assess and make improvements. This process helped students understand how authors revise their writing before publishing a final piece. 

English – Grammar

Students continued developing their sentence writing skills by learning how to create compound sentences. They explored how conjunctions such as and, but, so and or join two simple sentences together to make their ideas clearer and more detailed. Students practised choosing the correct conjunction to complete sentences and wrote their own compound sentences to match pictures and ideas. Students strengthened their understanding of how different conjunctions help show relationships between ideas, such as adding information, showing contrast or explaining cause and effect.

Maths 

This week, students have engaged in a variety of activities to help them understand patterns and structures in our number system. They have explored counting patterns on number charts to 1000 to deepen understanding of how numbers work and how we count. Students have also explored counting patterns that can be created when adding and subtracting 1, 10 and 100 to 3-digit numbers, with and without concrete materials. We have introduced the students to calculators and how to use them in order to create number patterns. If you have a calculator at home, your student might like to show you what they can do!

Inquiry

In Inquiry this week, students began exploring the topic of Growth and Change by learning about how people develop from birth through to older adulthood. Students discussed the different stages of life—baby, toddler, child, teenager, adult and elderly—and how our bodies, abilities and responsibilities change as we grow. Through discussion and reflection, students shared how they have changed physically since they were babies and considered what people at different life stages can do.

Thanks to all the parents who have already sent in photographs (of your child as a baby, a toddler and at their current age). These photos will be used for a classroom activity and all photos will be treated respectfully and returned. Thanks again for your support with this. 

In weeks 5 and 6 we loved getting in the kitchen with Mr Marco and the children all enjoyed their lunch of Noodle Salad. All Year 2 classes will be cooking again in weeks 9 or 10. 

Friendly Reminders 

• Students are required to wear a hat for Term 1. 
• Library is on a Wednesday for all classes. 
• If your child does not have a satchel/folder for take-home books, please provide one ASAP. Satchels and books are to be kept in schoolbags and will be changed weekly on Fridays.
• Homework books are also sent home on Fridays. Please take time to look through the homework and let us know if you have any questions or queries. The next round of homework is due back on Friday 20th March.
• It would be great to have photographs as discussed previously ASAP.
• Easter Hat parade will be in the last week of term (date to be advised soon).