Argus-Xenica Community Report

Welcome to the Argus/Xenica Community Newsletter, as we enter a new term, we are mesmerised so see so many enthusiastic kids reinvigorated with energy to boost their knowledge. We have a series of great excursions and activities planned for the term, and we hope to be part of another great term with the preps. As we are approaching the end of the year, us teachers reminisce about the great memories we have formed throughout the year with our students. We hope all our students have enjoyed learning and being taught by us as contently as we have teaching them. 

Reading

In Reading, we are currently working on informal letters. This consists of describing the features of these texts, and articulating the elements that an informal letter consists of. This topic also consists of analysing and critiquing these sorts of texts and dividing substantial components of the text. We have started and will continue this topic all throughout this term. We have already observed successes in the understandings of students regarding this topic. We are also continuing CVC words this term. We have commenced work on reading full sentences, using letter sounds and heart words, considering the remarkable success we have experienced this entire year, we know our students will excel in this topic likewise. 

Writing

We are currently working on informal letters. We prompted students to first write a letter to their parents, building on formation and the purpose of the letter. We are now encouraging students to write letters to other classes to expand their thinking and capabilities. Teachers have seen great results with this new topic and hope to further construct on this subject to improve our students’ abilities. We are also working on CVC segmenting; the students are sounding out a series of sounds that create a word and they write the sounds down to create the word. This is an essential component of writing as it teaches students to move away from rote learning and to be comfortable in using their guidance to problem-solve for themselves. 

Maths

We are teaching students how to count and distinguish money. We are stimulating students to use their knowledge of money to trade using fake money and items to further build on their awareness in this subject. This is a gravely significant topic as understanding how money works is an important tool required for the real world. We are also teaching students about weight. Students are prompted to judge which items are heavier and lighter. We have now also introduced a weighing scale into this to further erect their understanding in this topic. 

Rippon Lea Estate

As part of our inquiry curriculum, students will be participating in an excursion to the Rippon Lea Estate. This excursion is to take place on the 22nd and 23rd of November. The permission form for this is on Compass, so please fill it out. If you are facing any difficulty filling this out, please contact our office for further assistance. 

Summer Hats 

As we are approaching summer, please make sure your kids are equipped with hats. We follow a no hat, no play regulation so please make sure students have a hat that has your child’s name on it.