Xenica Community Report

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

The Xenica teachers would like to thank all of the families for their ongoing support towards the students. We are having an amazing term, and we are very excited to share with you our learning this month. Students have enjoyed our excursion to the Melbourne Museum!  

Maths

In Maths, students have been developing their knowledge on halves and quarters. Students have completed multiple activities where they must identify halves and quarters. They then further developed their understanding of how to identify halves and quarters of a collection. Students have also been exploring the concept of money. They have ordered the value of the Australian coin and are starting to count the coins. Students are able to understand the different ways we can make $1. 

Inquiry 

In the Inquiry, the topic for this term is Family History. Students have been looking at their families and who are included in their immediate families and extended families. They made family trees to see how all their family was related to each other. Students have been exploring different cultures in Australia by different activities such as making air balloons, decorating paper plates to celebrate the Neplan culture and playing cricket. Students attended the Melbourne Museum and attended a learning workshop called ‘My Grandmothers Toy Box.’ They learnt about how toys have changed throughout the years and were discussing the differences and similarities to toys back then to now.  Students also explored different exhibits such as the Forest Gallery, The Melbourne Story, Bugs Alive, Dinosaur Walk and Dynamic Earth. The students had a fun day.

Reading:

In reading we have been looking at biographies and understanding the structures and layout. We have read many different kinds of biographies and are able to summarise them, create a timeline and highlight the important dates and years. We are also investigating non-fiction texts and identifying the main idea and how to write and explain the important parts in the texts. 

Writing:

To link with our Reading topic, we have also been learning about how to write biographies. The students have been discussing what sort of information is included in biographical writing. Students were able to sit with a classmate and ask questions to find out new information about their friend’s life. We then talked about how to organise our facts into different categories and group our information accordingly. Xenica students were also given an exciting opportunity to interview our assistant principal, Rachel who came for a visit. They are currently working on writing a draft for a biography about Rachel.

SEL

In Social and Emotional Learning this month, the students have participated in a program called Ollie Online. During this program the students explored the concept of green time and screen time. Students were able to identify how to keep safe online. They sang songs and answered questions on how to keep safe online. 

Victorian Curriculum

Here is the link to the Victorian Curriculum if you would like to take a look at what we cover throughout the year. 

https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/level1

Reminders 

• Doors open at 8:40am
• Dismissal at 3:10pm
• Ensure your child’s belongings are clearly labelled. This includes clothing, drink bottles, hats and lunchboxes (lids too) 
• Students are to come to school with a full water bottle each day (labelled)

What you can do with your child at home

• Continue to read to and with your child each night.  
• Encourage your child to develop more independence. (Help pack/unpack their school bag/lunch, or get their uniform ready)
• Encourage your child to take increased responsibility for their own belongings.
• Establishing a regular routine helps students to develop a positive approach to learning and will benefit them as they progress through their schooling.  
• Encourage your child to practise tying their own shoelaces.
• If you need to speak to your child’s mentor teacher, please contact the office to pass on the message or organise this before or after school.

Kind Regards,

1/2 teaching team

Holly, Scott, Adriana and Laura