Class Celebrations

Prep

Our prep students were so happy to be back on site for a few days! Here’s a few photos of what we have been up to over the past week.

Grade 1

Considering all the changes so far this term, Grade One has continued to impress all the teachers with their enthusiasm towards their learning. We were very proud of the way the children settled back into our usual classroom routines. The learning spaces were filled with excitement as children reconnected with their peers through collaborative activities in circle solutions, reading and maths.

With a focus on ‘Celebrating Difference’ this term in inquiry, our focus this week has been all about Italy. In reading, we read different non-fiction and fiction books about Italy and learnt many interesting facts. In writing, we looked at a procedural text about making a pizza. Children were asked to write their own recipes of their favourite foods. We are looking forward to our cooking incursion later this term where we will learn about to make pasta!

Grade 2

In Grade 2 we have been learning about multiplication. Here are some pictures of us using groups and repeated addition to solve multiplication number sentences.

Grade 3/4

Someone Else’s Shoes 

Grade 3/4 have really enjoyed learning about people with different disabilities and what life is like for them. This week we explored sign language (AUSLAN) and became ‘Fairness Inspectors’ to explore how accessible our school would be for students in a wheelchair.  

In Week 3 we didn’t let Remote Learning stop us and had a fantastic visit from Renee and Nicole on Webex who answered questions about what life was like for Renee living with a disability. As always, our students made us proud by asking respectful and thoughtful questions to support their learning.  

These are some of Grade 3/4’s thoughts on our inquiry topic so far: 

“Meeting Renee and Nicole was pretty exciting because it was something new and it was my first time having an incursion online. I learned lots of new things and it was something I didn’t experience before. I knew there was a disability that affected people’s talk, but I didn’t know what it was called.” - Nora 3/4E

“I learnt about disabilities and sign language. We used our hands to do sign language and spell our names. It was super fun to learn about disability.” – Sia 3/4D

“I would like to learn more about why someone might get a disability when they are born or if they encounter some experience.” – Rishva 3/4D

 Junior School Council 

“JSC is all about what we can improve in the school, and you can even be part of a sub- committee.” - Aaron 3/4D 

Our Grade 3/4 Student Leaders have been busy as part of Junior School Council. They have been working together in sub-committees on different projects such as fundraising opportunities for the school and finding out what books students would like to see more of in our classrooms. They have been proactive in asking their peers for their thoughts by posting on teams and speaking in front of their class. Such responsible role models!  

Grade 5 and 6

We love seeing the students back on site! Even though our week got cut slightly short, we have had a magnificent time with the Grade 5 and 6's!  Here were some of Grade 5's suggestions on how to make last week the 'Best Week Ever'. 

To bond and reconnect as a team, we designed our own class mascots and mottos. Here are Grade 5's creations:

Congratulations to our winners:

Jules in Grade 5, who won the Grade 5 vote with his amazing 'Banana Man'!

Ava in Grade 6 whose artistic masterpiece 'Scale the Dragon' got voted in as the Grade 6 2021 Mascot! 

We also met Miss Zoe, our lovely new school Library Technician:

We have been working hard with our writing, too. Here are some fantastic pieces of writing from our students. Their task was to write an objective and subjective paragraph about the unseen landscapes of Afghanistan, after watching a video. 

Rose: 

A golden sun, accompanied by a crescent moon, glimmers upon a country of landscapes as unique as a diamond. Afghanistan. It holds culture, mountains and scenery as far as the eye can see.

I’ve always imagined Afghanistan as dirty and old. Everyone living in small, single huts. Dull colour schemes every corner you turn. I would have never thought about what it actually had to offer. The burnt orange sun crisps and sizzles across the stunning land, like bacon bubbling in a pan.

We particularly love the simile used at the end of the last paragraph. We admire how Rose has combined creative, ambitious vocabulary and different sentence lengths to create a beautiful text.

Roshan: 

When we think of Afghanistan we think of bombs, war and cries of fear, but there is another side to this country. Birds tweeting in the silky sunrise. Snow-capped mountains surrounded by pearls of stones overrun by shimmering streams of pure water. Luscious rolling green stretches for miles past frolicking children. The hidden Afghanistan is a truly sensational gem full of nature and scenery. We must be aware of the reality of Afghanistan.

Miss Jo was so proud when she read this as Roshan's goal has been to make his writing more creative by using descriptive phrases. He nailed it!

Archie:

When you think of Afghanistan you may think of barren war-torn rubble, but in actuality Afghanistan is flowing with life. Rolling hills cover the countryside whilst the glassy rivers compliment the mountains in the background. It is beaming with life from top to bottom with kids running in fields of daisies and the aromatic smell of tulips drifting throughout the hills.

Miss Jo was proud of Archie for this piece because his goal has been to use accurate punctuation all the way through a piece of writing. Here, he not only achieved his goal, but used unique phrases which created a fresh, peaceful image of Afghanistan. We learnt a new word from him too!