Learning News 1/2

Years 1/2

What a great start to the year we have had! We have already settled into routines and have been working through the rules for living and what they mean to our class. The students have come up with their own understanding and wording for what it means to be "Safe," "Respectful," and "A Learner." We have also discussed our goals for the year, and I have already seen students working hard to achieve them.

Visual Arts

In Visual Arts, we have been creating self-portraits. Using mirrors, we carefully observed our features and worked hard to make our artworks as realistic as possible, paying close attention to finer details such as eye colour and hair colour. Some students have finished their portraits, and they look fantastic! I can’t wait to display them in our classroom.

Religion

This week, we have been preparing for our class Mass. We chose the theme of friendship and kindness to align with what we have been learning in PDH with Mrs Harris. Students reflected on the importance of these values in their daily lives and how they can show them in our school community. It was wonderful to see so many students eager to read, participate, and take on different roles during the Mass.

Maths

In Maths, Year 1/2 have just begun our work on "Whole Number." Students are learning about place value and the role of zero in reading, writing, and ordering two- and three-digit numbers. Through hands-on activities and group discussions, they are developing a deeper understanding of how numbers are structured and how they relate to one another. It has been great to see their enthusiasm as they explore new concepts and build their confidence with numbers.

Tips for parents:

Counting tips:

• Count stairs, letter boxes, or objects in two, threes, fives and tens whenever opportunities arise;
• Put out the number of knives and forks needed for dinner and ask your child to count them in sets of two;
• Talk about numbers whenever opportunities arise. Ask questions such as “Which is bigger/smaller/the same/different?”, house numbers on long streets;
• Take note of larger numbers as they occur (e.g. house numbers, page numbers in books).
• Encourage your child to read the numbers and talk about other ways they could have been written.
• Talk about the order in which you complete everyday activities such as preparing a meal, setting the table. Use words such as first, next, last, third, to describe the sequence of actions.
• Give your child directions using the language of order eg “First put the rubbish in the bin and then go and do your homework”.
• Ask your child to arrange objects in order, eg the family’s shoes. Talk about the order using words like first, second, third, last.