Year 1/2 Term 3 Overview

Welcome back to Term 3! We hope you found time to relax and recharge with your family and friends over the holidays. This term promises to be a busy one with lots of great learning opportunities. 1/2B will welcome a student teacher, Chelsea Myers, beginning in Week 3 until the end of term. Some solar panels will be installed in Week 2, outside our classrooms, so the external doors will not be accessible next week.

Important Reminders

• Winter uniform needs to be worn this term
• Please initial your child’s Reading Record each day when you hear them read aloud. Remember the text coming home as their ‘reader’ is an easy, independent text so the focus can be on comprehension, not decoding words. Stop your child as they are reading and ask them a question about what is happening so far or what might happen next rather than a general question at the end of the text.
• Homework will be sent out on Tuesdays, but not each week. Homework may include a selection of 3 tasks across any subject area. Please complete your holiday homework ASAP if not finished. 

Inquiry/Religious Education

In our Inquiry unit students will explore the question ‘How have our family and community gatherings changed over time and why is this still important today?’. Through the study of history, students will learn about the ways families come together to celebrate and connect, both within their immediate family and as part of the wider community. They will identify similarities and differences between different generations and explore the reasons as to why these changes have occurred over time. Our RE unit crosses over as we delve deeper into what it means to gather together as a catholic community. Students will explore Bible stories such as Feeding the 5000, The Wedding at Cana and the Baptism of Jesus to make connections between these stories and the meaning behind our own gatherings. 

Mathematics

Our topics this term in order will be:

• Measurement: Time (Calendars, analog times & turns): Students will explore how to use and interpret calendars to identify days, weeks and months. They will learn to tell the time to the hour, half hour and quarter hour on an analog clock. They will also look at quarter, half and full turns to build understanding of direction of shapes.
• Measurement: Mass & Capacity: Students will estimate, compare and measure mass using formal and informal units including hefting, balance scales, litres and milliliters. 
• Multiplication and Division: Students will solve simple problems involving equal groups, sharing and arrays. They will recognise and represent multiplication and division by grouping, repeated addition and skip counting (particularly using 2s, 5s and 10s)
• Shape: Students will identify and describe 2D shapes and 3D objects focusing on their features including sides, corners, faces and edges.

As our Maths topics often progress quickly, we strongly encourage regular number practice at home to support your child’s learning. We are happy to provide direction for home activities that support this, so please come speak to us if you need further clarification. 

Literacy 

This term we will be exploring parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs and adjectives and understanding how to better use phrases and sentences when writing. Through reading and writing we will investigate recounts, information reports and persuasive texts. We will explore a variety of mentor texts including ‘Refugees’ by David Miller, ‘The Lorax’ by Dr Seuss and ‘Let’s Save the Great Barrier Reef’ by Catherine Barr. 

Social & Emotional Learning

We will continue working through the explicit teaching of The Resilience Project and lessons surrounding the 3 tricks of being truly happy: gratitude, empathy and mindfulness. We encourage you to also practise these tricks at home and may send home some activities for homework related to our lessons. We will regularly teach explicit emotional literacy to further our understanding of emotions and social awareness. 

Specialists

Please see the timetable below for specialist lessons. 

IMPORTANT DATES: 

• Monday 28 July - Chelsea Myers (student teacher) visiting 1/2B
• Wednesday 30 July - 100 days of Prep
• Thursday 31 July - Chelsea Myers (student teacher) starting placement in 1/2B
• Tuesday 29 July - 1/2B class mass
• Tuesday 5 August - 1/2A class mass
• Tuesday 5 August - Local walk to the dentist (links to Inquiry)
• Friday 1 August - 1/2B have PE - once off change for this week only
• Thursday 7 August - Parent Information Evening - Inform and Empower Cyber Safety 7.00pm
• Monday 11 August - Book Week incursion 
• Tuesday 12 August - School Closure Day
• Tuesday 19 August - Book Week Dress Up Parade 9.00am
• Thursday 21 August - Student Led Conferences 3.30pm - 7.00pm
• Saturday 23 August - PA Games Night - Major Social Event 7.00pm
• Friday 5 September - Father’s Day Breakfast 7.30am
• Friday 19 September - Footy Dress Up Day and End of Term 1.00pm finish 

We can be reached via email, or leave a message at the office, and we will endeavour to respond within two working days between 8am and 5pm. Please read our school newsletter which comes via email every fortnight on Monday. Facebook and Instagram are also a great way to see what is happening at St John's.

Clorinda Maio cmaio@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au

Naomi Ryan nryan@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au

Ange Crowe acrowe@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au