Learning and Teaching News

For the past week I have been greeted each morning with stacks of letters from our students. The Prep and Year 1 students have been practising their letter writing skills and it has been such a joy to see their creativity and enthusiasm shine through their writing.

In Prep, the children have been learning that when we write letters, we can ask for things. They have been busy practising how to express their ideas and wishes in writing. In Year 1, the students have been working on persuasive letters. The purpose of this genre is to convince someone to do or believe something and it has been wonderful to see our young writers thinking carefully about the reasons they give to support their ideas.

Below are some of the letters I received. Going to a waterpark was a very popular suggestion! One Prep student even asked for a Ferrari, and many thought it would be wonderful to have a pet dog. However, the most common request across both Prep and Year 1 was for new sandpit toys. This was one wish we could grant – and last week the school purchased some new sandpit toys for everyone to enjoy!

The excitement around letter writing has been infectious and it’s wonderful to see our students recognising that their words have power and that writing can bring about real change.

Meanwhile, our Grade 5/6 students have been fully immersed in their science unit this term. The first part of their learning focused on Earth and Space Sciences. Students explored Earth as part of a solar system, using models to investigate systems on an astronomical scale. They learnt that Earth is just one planet orbiting a star and researched how First Nations Peoples of Australia have long understood and interpreted the night sky. They also examined how scientists built knowledge of the solar system through evidence gathered in space exploration and recognised the incredible technologies that have been developed to make this exploration possible.

The second part of the unit has taken a very different and very exciting turn into Chemical Sciences. Yesterday, our students participated in a Crazy Chemicals session that encouraged them to bring out their inner scientist. They investigated, predicted and observed the properties of different materials and the states of matter. The highlight was exploring chemical reactions and watching things fizz, bang, and pop right before their eyes!

Check out some of the photos below to see the fun and learning in action!

Elise Coghlan

Literacy Leader