Mrs Lawson Reading & Maths Groups

This term we have been lucky enough to have Miss Black working with us. Miss Black is in her third year of her teaching degree at LaTrobe University. The students have enjoyed having Miss Black as one of their teachers and have been wonderful models of what happy, engaged students who work hard and challenge themselves, look like.

This term our focus text is 'The One and Only Ivan'. The story follows Ivan, a silverback gorilla who lives in a circus in a shopping mall. The students are very engaged in the story so far and have been learning all about the history of the circus and why the laws around circus animals has changed in the last few decades. Each day, students are introduced to new vocabulary within the text. So far we have learnt some really fun words such as mesmerised and unpredictable.

During our Maths sessions over the past three weeks, we have been learning about 'Time'. The students had a quick recap on all the features of an analog clock and then moved into expanding their skills in time conversions. Students have been using some complicated multiplication skills to work out have many hours in three weeks and how many months in four decades. It has been encouraging to see students challenging themselves with these skills and excitment on their faces when they have those 'ah-ha' moments! Next week we will start learning about mass and how to convert different units of weight.

P/1 Super Heroes

We have had a wonderful start to Term 4, with lots of exciting learning experiences and plenty of fun along the way!

We kicked off the term with our gymnastics program at Summersaults, where students had a fantastic time developing their fundamental movement skills. It was wonderful to see everyone having a go, building their confidence and enjoying the different gymnastics activities.

In Literacy, we have continued to strengthen our phoneme knowledge and apply these skills in our writing. We have also been exploring how authors come up with interesting ideas for their stories and learning strategies to help us generate and develop our own creative writing ideas.

In Numeracy, we have been busy with lots of hands-on learning experiences! Students have been exploring multiplicative thinking, mass and data through a range of engaging activities. We have particularly enjoyed collecting, sorting and representing data, while learning how to interpret and discuss our findings.

Check out the photo below of our students collecting and representing data about their favourite pets!

Our next Numeracy topic is Time! Students will be exploring how we measure, describe and sequence time through a range of fun, hands-on activities.

We are looking forward to another exciting term filled with learning, growth and fun!

Students of the month:

Congratulations to Chantal and Ava for receiving the P/1 students of the month awards.

TEAM 2/3

What a busy start to the term!

In Writing, my group has been writing fractured fairy tales. This means they have been using the skeleton of a known fairy tales to write their own version of the story. The stories are great! We are just about to start publishing them and after we’ve shared them with the Grade P/1s, they’ll come home for your enjoyment!

In Maths, we’ve been hefting and using scales to see which objects have the greatest/ smallest mass. We have revisited fractions too and had a look at the next step in fractions- identifying which fraction is the largest/smallest. We have been working on correcting the common misconception that ‘the bigger the denominator (the bottom number) the bigger the fraction.’ The students were surprised to find it’s the opposite! One half (1/2) with a denominator of 2, is larger than one quarter (1/4) with a denominator of 4. I asked the student ‘What would you rather have 1/2 a cake or 1/4 of a cake?’ Bet you can guess what your child said!

We are just about to start our Australia Day Competition drawings. This year’s theme is True Blue. Your child will be drawing a picture that shows what being True Blue means to them! Students will bring home a form to sign this week. Please return it asap!

Mindfulness- Each day we do something different for mindfulness, which occurs straight after the lunch break. On Thursdays we do yoga and other activities to help your child learn the different options there are for slowing down and relaxing. See a couple of photos below of this week's yoga mindfulness session.

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

Congratulations to Lillian and Khonner on receiving their Student of the Month awards this month 👏🏻👏🏻

4/5/6 Classroom News

We have certainly hit the ground running in the 4/5/6 classroom, and Term 4 is sure to be an action-packed and exciting one! The students have loved learning new skills in our Gymnastics and Dance sessions, and have approached these physical challenges with determination and enthusiasm. We have also been running a whole-class focus on taking responsibility for our classroom jobs, and everyone has been completing these to a great standard.

In Literacy the students have been exercising their creative muscles while writing a few scenes for the Story Players scripts. It’s going to be very exciting for them all to have the opportunity to perform their own work at the end of the Term! We have also been learning about World War 2 to help us understand our book The Blue Cat, which is set in Sydney in 1942. Over the next week the students will also be wrapping up their ‘True Blue’ writing submissions to the Loddon Shire’s Australia Day competition, and they’re looking great so far.

In Maths we have covered the topics of locations on grids, estimating and measuring angles, and backtracking equations using arrow diagrams.

In Technology we are starting to explore algorithms and how to write effective instructions (and discovering how hard this can be)! Our Humanities focus this term is Economics and Business, and the students have been learning about and researching the ways in which our jobs can benefit both ourselves and the community.

Students of the Month

Congratulations to Katelyn and Maddi, our 4/5/6 students of the month!

Dance Incursion

Students had lots of fun participating in a 30-minute dance lesson, with Kira, where they learned new dance moves, developed their coordination and rhythm, and expressed themselves through movement. It was a fantastic opportunity for students to build confidence, stay active and enjoy dancing together!

IPS School Values Award Acknowledgments are....