Community Bush Dance

Thank you to all the families who joined in our Bush Dance on Wednesday night. We really enjoy the opportunity to get families together to connect with our school community.

Congratulations to our students for having a go as we know some students had to step outside their comfort zones, these sorts of opportunities help to build our students social skills and their ability to be resilient.

3/4 Learning Update

It’s been an exciting and productive term in 3/4! Our students have been hard at work exploring new concepts, developing their skills, and showing fantastic growth across all learning areas.

In Literacy, we have been focusing on both narrative and persuasive texts. Students have learned how to structure their writing with clear beginnings, middles, and endings, as well as how to persuade their audience with strong arguments and convincing language. We’ve also worked on summarising different texts, helping students to identify the main ideas and key details. A big focus has been on making inferences—reading between the lines and thinking about what the author might be suggesting rather than directly telling us.

We’ve also taken a deep dive into the 'Ideas' writing trait, where students are learning how to make their writing more engaging by using the 'Show, Don’t Tell' strategy. Instead of telling their readers how a character feels, they are learning to describe actions, thoughts, and dialogue to bring their writing to life. It’s been fantastic to see students developing into thoughtful, creative writers!

In Numeracy, we wrapped up our unit on addition strategies, where students explored different ways to solve problems efficiently, including stacking, jump strategy, and using number lines, rounding and estimation. We also investigated odd and even numbers, discovering patterns and how these numbers behave when added or subtracted.

It’s been wonderful to see so many of our 3/4 students actively participating in the school’s Clubs Program. Students have had the opportunity to explore their interests and try new things in activities such as bike riding, coding, basketball, tennis, and much more. Whether learning new skills on the court, coding their own music, or pedalling around the community, our students have embraced these opportunities with enthusiasm and energy.

In addition to clubs, our students have also enjoyed tennis coaching sessions with Coach Milo. These lessons have been a fantastic way for students to develop their coordination, fitness, and tennis skills in a fun and supportive environment. Many budding tennis stars have been spotted on the court!

We are so proud of the effort and enthusiasm shown by all our students this term. We can’t wait to see where their learning and adventures take them next!

ART NEWS

What a start to the year we have had! Students have been creating lots of pieces of art using a variety of techniques and mediums.

Grade 5/6 have been working on presenting their names ‘Graffiti style’ and have done a fantastic job. Grade 3/4 have been busy learning how to weave with paper, draw portraits and draw ellipse jars. Grade P/1 have been learning how to draw their self-portrait and they painted some amazing Bunny pictures. Gr 2 have been working on 3D flowers and adding texture to their art. Enjoy the pictures.

Science News

This term students in grade 3-6 have been working on units from the Chemical Sciences.

In Grades 3 and 4, we have been exploring the Properties of Materials, focusing on whether they are natural or processed (manufactured). This has led us to investigate how materials are used in both modern society and historical contexts, as well as their impact on sustainability. Through this learning, we are becoming more aware of the importance of The Three R’s—reduce, reuse, and recycle. We have examined various properties of materials, including size, shape, transparency (transparent or opaque), weight (light or heavy), surface appearance (shiny or dull), clarity, and whether they are natural or processed.

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Grades 5 and 6: Reversible and Irreversible Changes

In Grades 5 and 6, we have been studying Reversible and Irreversible Changes while developing a deeper understanding of the Scientific Method.

A reversible change is a physical change where a material can return to its original state. For example, water freezing into ice can melt back into liquid water, demonstrating that the change can be undone. In contrast, irreversible changes occur when a material undergoes a transformation that cannot be reversed. For instance:

Cooking an egg permanently changes its structure.
Burning wood turns it into ash, which cannot be restored to its original form.

Throughout this unit, students have actively observed and participated in various experiments to explore these concepts. As a culminating activity, they are now applying their knowledge by designing their own experiments using the Scientific Method. These student-led investigations build on the experiments conducted earlier in the term, serving as a foundation for their creative exploration of reversible and irreversible changes.

Performing Arts

This term in Performing Arts, students in Grade Prep, One and Two have been exploring the world of Drama. They have focused on enhancing their performance skills by creating and performing characters, with a particular emphasis on using their voice, body and facial expressions to bring characters to life. While some activities encouraged independent work, most have been cantered on teamwork, as students collaborated in small groups to create and perform drama pieces. Throughout the term, the students explored various forms of storytelling, including fairytales, picture storybooks and Dreamtime stories, helping them gain a deeper understanding of drama and the power of expression. The students have enjoyed the creativity that these activities have provided.

Mini Lit

Mini Lit Sage is a literacy program that is offered to students in Grade 1 &2 who will benefit from additional support to help them read and spell. It is a systematic phonics program and reinforces the concepts covered in the classroom. Students are selected based on a few short assessments. Students work in small groups of up to 5 for 45 minutes four days a week. Currently we have 4 groups running with Mon, Beck and Ms Trickey. All students are showing excellent progress.

Rochester Primary School Newsletter

Respect, Resilience, Responsibility

Term 1 Week 10 · 03 Apr 2025

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