What's happening in the Junior Years
Junior Years - Term 2
Term 2 in the Junior Years has been both busy and rewarding! It is wonderful to see the students working hard and trying their best. The children are very familiar with class routines and expectations and it is wonderful to see how settled and ready to learn they are each day.
Religion
We were super excited to take part in the recent Andrew Chinn workshop and whole school concert. It was amazing to see how many happy faces and keen volunteers we had in our junior years. The students joined in with such enthusiasm…a definite highlight of our Term!
Literacy
In Reading the students have been using mentor texts called “Wonderful Wasps”, “Snap” and “If the World were 100 Animals” to support them in their learning. The students have been using skills such as predicting, comprehending and increasing their vocabulary and grammatical awareness.
In Writing the students have been refining their research skills, by finding facts about various animals. These facts will be used to write clues for a Who am I? booklet.
Other students continue to make terrific progress with Finger Gym. The children are building on their fine motor skills, correct letter formation as well as knowing all the letter names and the sounds they make. The next focus will be on letter blends as well as making words from the sound and blend combinations.
Mathematics
In Maths our focus is on Addition and Subtraction. The students have been using hands-on materials to help them grasp the concept of adding and taking away collections. The students have been encouraged to use the strategies of ‘count on’ and ‘count back’ to help solve their number problems. Other strategies such as doubles, near doubles and bridging to 10 and 20 have also been a focus.
As an extension, some students have been having a go at vertical addition and subtraction problems, requiring regrouping and borrowing. The students have also solved and written their own worded problems.
Inquiry
In Inquiry our topic is “How do living things grow and change?” students are exploring what living things need to survive and thrive in their environment. The children were very excited to take a closer look at the needs of plants. They were able to grow their own plant from a seed ensuring it had plenty of water, sunlight and nutrients from the soil. Going forward we will be taking a closer look at various animal habitats and life cycles. The students have enjoyed using their creative skills during Inquiry learning through collage, trioramas and using watercolour paints to present their work.
Dance
As part of our perceptual motor skills program all F-2 students are lucky to be taking part in dance this term. Led by the very capable and talented Miss Finn, students have shown much delight in learning dances such as Mexican Hat Dance, Zoodio, The Shoemaker's Dance, Hokey Pokey, Heel & Toe Polka and crowd favourite The Chicken Dance. We have loved getting our groove on!
On Tuesday June 6th we will be celebrating with a Junior Years Dance Festival. We invite all parents and friends to join us from 2:30 - 3:00pm on the basketball courts to watch us dance.
Incursion/Excursion
This term the Junior Years students will be involved in an incursion. The team from Wild Action Zoo are coming to visit us at St Brendan's to share with us their Australian Animal Show. We will learn about mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians and the environments they live in. This will tie in nicely with our Inquiry topic for this term.
In Term 4 the students will be heading to Riverlinks Eastbank to watch the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Schools Interactive Concert. Students will be transported to the art, landscape and people of Italy through an exploration of Mendelssohn's Symphony No.4. We will conclude our excursion with lunch and a play at Kidstown, Mooroopna.
Junior Years Team