Junior School News

Important Reminders

Take Home Books: We will begin to send decodable texts home from Monday the 17th of July. Please ensure that your child has their Take Home Bag. If they do not bring their Take Home Bag, they will not be able to bring a decodable text home. 

Learning in Action

Literacy

Grade 1: This week, Grade 1 students have been learning about different phonemes (letter sounds) and the different graphemes (letter combinations) that can make those sounds. For example, we investigated the long ‘o’ sound and the three different graphemes that can make that sound: ‘oe’ as in toe, ‘ow’ as in bow and ‘oa’ as in boat. Students then went on a word hunt to find words containing those sounds. We have also read a variety of texts exploring Indigenous stories and culture, as part of our celebration of NAIDOC week. In writing, students have been learning to use adjectives, nouns and verbs to enhance their writing.

Grade 2: Over the past week, the Grade 2 students have begun their Poetry Unit. The students have learnt about poetry and how poetry can be represented in a variety of different ways. The first type of poetry that we delved deeply into was Odes. We learnt about their purpose and structure. The students have started writing their own Odes about something they like or love. Coinciding with NAIDOC week, the Grade 2 students also explored the connection between some poems and our First Nation’s People. This included the connection to land, importance of family and morals. 

Library

Grade 1:  We started Term 3 by reflecting on our Term 2 learning. The students watched a video taken at the end of last term of two triads working together to retell a story, with one group retelling and the other actively listening and asking questions. We discussed whether our success criteria had been met, and how we could improve. It was a great example of how effective questioning can better inform our understanding. Well done to the students who were showcased in the video. 1KA and 1I have Library on Wednesday and 1PA and 1T on Friday. Please ensure library bags are sent to school as borrowing from the library ensures students have a new selection of books each week for home reading.

Grade 2: The students had a fun read aloud session, back in the library to start term 3. They listened to a picture story book called 'Holidays Sorted', written by Jimmy Rees. The students thought it was quite comical, as did the adults listening in, e.g. the many hurdles from kids, when trying to get the family out of the house. Students had great self-to-text connections to contribute to the book, highlighting the fun events from their holidays. The students finished off the session browsing and updating their books to borrow. It is such a great sight to see the students' enjoyment in browsing and borrowing such a variety of books to enjoy at home with their families.

Year 2 Library is on a Monday.

Maths 

Grade 1: Students have been introduced to multiplication through the language of ‘groups of’. They have learnt to skip count through the use of concrete materials and illustrations. During the applied unit, students explored the purpose and features of clocks. This included identifying the different ‘hands’ on a clock.

Grade 2: This fortnight, the Grade 2 students have been focusing on multiplication and discussed that sometimes we might call it ‘times’ or ‘groups of’. The students have used concrete materials to represent a problem by either sharing the counters equally or making an array. They then used skip counting by 2, 3, 5 and 10 to find the total amount.

We have also delved into chance, discussing how likely or unlikely that an event will happen.

Inquiry

Students in Grade 1 started their learning of History. Students focused on early Indigenous Australians and how their culture is the oldest surviving culture. Students discussed what early Indigenous Australians' families looked like, and how the early Indigenous Australians communicated and learnt. They also reflected on how their own life is different to the early Indigenous Australians. 

As we begin this term with a focus on History, Grade 2 students will be learning about how technology has changed over time and its impact on people. Over the term, students will be exploring different topics such as, toys and games, transport, and technology/communication. This week students have begun looking at different objects from the past and having a discussion about what they think the objects were used for and what they look like now. 

Wellbeing - Friendology

Last term the students were introduced to 4 sessions of Friendology: 

Inner Ninja - being your own BFF

True Colours - we all experience positive and negative emotions, colours can represent these feeling

Making Friends - ninja tricks to use to move into the ‘Friend Zone’ with their peers

Friendship Facts - 4 true facts about friendship (e.g. No friendship is the same)

We are starting off this term with the next 4 sessions of Friendology:

Friend-o-Meter - using a coloured tool (A friend-o-meter is painted outside the gym if students want to use it during outside play), to measure how we feel in our friendship. Identifying the difference between healthy and unhealthy friendships and the impact that body language has on our friendships.

Friendship Fires - hurt feelings, misunderstandings and disagreements. Talk-it-Out until the Fire-Is-Out!

Tricky Situations - snatching toys, feeling left out, getting bossed around. Learning to say ‘No’ and what to do.

Kind & Strong - celebration time! Review all friendship concepts learnt thus far.

This week, there were two Year 2 students who discussed their friendship with the teacher. One student felt that their friendship wasn’t always a healthy one. They spoke about the roller coaster effect in friendships, ups and downs. They also spoke about the need to express these feelings to their friend and the other friend respecting them if they think they need space, from a friendship that isn’t feeling healthy.

Please let your child’s teacher know if you would like handouts on any of the topics we cover in the classroom to follow through outside of school.

Preview for Learning

Literacy

Grade 1: Next week, Grade 1 students will revise over some of the vowel teams we learnt last term, identifying whether they appear at the beginning, middle or end of a word. We will read a variety of texts exposing students to the similarities and differences between their lives and what life was like for Ancient Egyptians. Students will continue learning about adjectives, nouns and verbs and use them to write a diamante poem about Ancient Egypt.

Grade 2: In the coming weeks, Grade 2 students will continue to create their poetry anthologies. The students will develop their comprehension skills by using visualisation to understand a range of poetry and they will begin to consider poems that connect with them. In Writing, the students will publish their Odes and start to explore diamante and rhyming poetry.

Library 

Grade 1: We will continue to use the model of triads to build on the students’ speaking and listening skills. At home, encourage your child to retell the story to you, using relevant details. Ask them questions to encourage them to elaborate further.

Grade 2: We will listen to more engaging stories over the next fortnight, promoting students' love for books, as well as speaking and listening skills.

Maths 

Grade 1: Students will continue to practise their skip counting through the use of multiplication worded problems. This will encourage students to discover the most efficient way to solve problems. They will also learn about reading o'clock times by using the minute and hour hand positions.

Grade 2:  We will continue to explore a range of multiplication strategies, including arrays and repeated addition. They will begin looking at analogue clocks; reading o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to.  

Inquiry:

Next week students in Grade 1 will focus on the Ancient Egypt civilization and what their daily life looked like. Students will look at what the Ancient Egyptian families looked like, how they communicated, and how they learnt. They will compare this to themself as well as the early Indigenous Australians. 

Next week, Grade 2 students will be focusing on the development aspect of inventions. They will be developing new knowledge of what a scientist is and what the purpose of a scientist is.

Friendology

Over the next fortnight, the following Friendology sessions will be:

Friendship Fires - hurt feelings, misunderstandings and disagreements. Talk-it-Out until the Fire-Is-Out!

Tricky Situations - snatching toys, feeling left out, getting bossed around. Learning to say ‘No’ and what to do.

Green Team Announcement:

The LPS Green Team is a student leadership group that is focused on protecting our environment to ensure a sustainable future. Green Team members are incredibly important students in the school. They set a great example and encourage others to care for our environment. Green Teams are student leaders. The team includes students from 3-6 who are passionate who implement sustainability projects school-wide. These students run sustainability club, which occurs every Friday at lunchtime and students P-6 can come along and be involved in sustainability projects across the school.

Congratulations to the following students who comprise our 2023 Green Team:

Grade 3: Ava S, Asha B, Aekam K

Grade 4: Paige A, Alex I, Blake J

Grade 5: Penny W, Ava T, Peyton W

Grade 6: Zach D, Aravind G, Helena K