Classroom connections
We hope that by showcasing the learning from each year level in this section of our newsletter, we give you, our HEPS community insight into the amazing things that happen in our classrooms on a regular basis. Please enjoy a snapshot of our wonderful learning from the last fortnight.
Foundation
In foundation TD…
In Numeracy, the students have been introduced to addition and are given opportunities to learn with games and hands-on materials. The students write a number sentence. The students play darts with counters and add theirs cores. The students roll a six-sided dice, collecting unfix cubes to build a tower, using as pairs a total of 30unfix cubes. The students learn the addition strategy of ‘counting on’ with cards.
In Literacy, the students practise reading and writing their words in pairs helping each other. The students write down words with diagraphs following a picture prompt enhancing their phonemic awareness. Thank you to parent helpers who dedicate their time and effort every day in the morning to do reading with the students.
In Inquiry, we are learning about seasons focusing on winter. The foundation students requested to make snowflakes with their buddies. Together they created beautiful different patterns of snowflakes. FTD is the first class to win the Nude Food trophy. We are working hard to win this trophy every week. The students enjoyed the dance incursions and had fun learning new steps and dancing with the whole school.
Foundation students started a friendology programme with their fuzzy friends. They made special ninja head bands for them and could not stop cuddling them.
Level 1
1CR have been very busy and having fun in the classroom!
In Inquiry over the past two weeks we have been looking at science experiments which involve observing change. We have experimented with Jelly, Popcorn and Spaghetti and investigated/observed the change that occurs when heating, cooling and cooking them. We had a strong focus on chemical and physical change that occurs through these actions.
Writing has been linked closely to our Inquiry lessons over the past week as we have been learning to write procedures! The students enjoyed writing specific and detailed procedures about the experiments they have been doing. We finished with a fun and free procedure of ‘Disgusting Sandwiches’ which we all had a laugh with.
In Numeracy we have been exploring shapes and learning about the features of 2D shapes. We enjoyed making crazy shape faces where students were able to use a range of shapes to make creative faces. We then looked at all the features that were in our shape faces. The learning intention behind this lesson was to problem solve and work out how many corners, sides and faces where included in our faces.
We also loved our whole school Connect group activity of becoming ‘Friendship Ninjas!’ The students are very excited to be learning about our new wellbeing whole school approach, Friendology 😊
Level 2
Literacy
In Grade 2, we have been working on making predictions before, during and after we have read. In this last week we have been focusing on non-fiction texts about water to help us build upon our schema about this topic, taking notes and collecting information about the books we are reading to build upon our knowledge.
In the past few weeks we finished a wonderful unit on persuasive writing and have enjoyed working on convincing our peers and teachers about why we should save water, drink water as well as writing some amazing pieces about why our Mum’s are the Best ever
Numeracy
Level 2 have continued learning about money these past few weeks, and have used their knowledge to explore adding a variety of collections together. They have also begun to delve into addition, enjoying sharing strategies they use and leaning on a range of tools to help them solve a range of addition sums. The students had a wonderful time on Numeracy day enjoying a variety of activities.
Inquiry
The last few weeks have seen the students engaged in a range of water experiments. All the students enjoyed experimenting with water, learning about the water cycle and how rain falls from the sky. They conducted experiments to show how a solid can turn into a liquid and a gas. The students have enjoyed looking each day at their very own water cycle at work on the classroom windows and we are looking forward to our upcoming excursion to the local creek to find out even more about the wonderful world of water.
Reading: Analysing texts
Writing: Information reports
Maths: Addition and subtraction
RRRR/Friendology: Exploring personal preferences/Learning how Friendship Ninjas can make new friends.
Inquiry: How water is cleaned and re-used/Creek incursion
Level 3
It’s been a busy couple of weeks in Level 3 both in the classroom and outside of the classroom. The students really enjoyed learning our dance for open night and performing it on the night. Thank you to those who came to visit our classroom.
Literacy
In our reading lessons we have been learning about ‘inferring’ with fiction books and delving deep into characters, their emotions, their traits and their motivations. We have also been looking at using evidence from the text to support our thinking.
We have been learning how to plan and draft adventure narratives with a ‘Bold Beginning’, a ‘Mighty Middle’ and an ‘Excellent Ending’. We are almost finished with our drafts and this week we should be moving on to editing, revising and publishing our stories.
In spelling this week we are learning about the ‘qu’ sound. We have been doing lots of work around breaking words down into syllables to help us with our spelling. Please see the attached photo for some of our spelling words this week.
Numeracy
The last couple of weeks we have been practising solving subtraction problems using our reasoning skills to explain how we have worked out the problem. We have been using lots of different strategies to help us solve the problems such as using MAB, drawing pictures and using plastic coins. It’s really important in Level 3 that students don’t just think of solving problems in just one way.
Wellbeing
Last week we began our ‘Friendology’ journey at HEPS. In Level 3 we identified our emotions and learnt how to ‘tame our butterflies’. We will continue focusing on ‘Friendology’ throughout the year.
A big thank you to all of the parents who are helping with reading in our classes. It’s much appreciated.
Level 4
In Writing, the students have been learning about Australian Explorers and are writing an information report. These reports not only help students develop their research and writing skills, but also their listening and speaking skills as they will be presenting their findings to their classmates. Our students are improving their research skills by gathering data and information from reliable sources, such as books and online resources.
In Numeracy, the students have been undergoing assessments and have started working on Symmetry. They explored and created their own symmetrical shape using the environment as inspiration. On Tuesday 23rd May, students participated in a Multi-age Numeracy day. Their final activity for the day involved finding angles in sport. Students discovered that angles are ‘everywhere’.
During Connect groups on Friday 21st May, students were officially introduced to Friendology. They will be learning about how healthy friendships are the building blocks of healthy communities. Students decorated their headbands with language used within the program.
Level 5
HISTORY FUN IN 5AP!
Reading, Writing AND Inquiry
For the last few weeks, we have been focusing on our Inquiry topic, ‘Museums in Motion’, all about Australian history. The students were put into pairs or small groups and assigned an event in the history of our country.
During Reading, we were focusing on how to spot a credible website then skimming and scanning for the information we needed to find out about the details, causes and effects of our historical event.
When it came to Writing, we focused on putting all this information into our own words and into the structure of an Information Report.
Then came the fun part – making dioramas!! Haven’t they all done an amazing job?
Maths
A huge focus in Maths in Level 5 is making sure we know our times tables inside out, back to front and standing on our heads. So, we spend some time most weeks practising them using different games on our iPads. This week we have also been looking at different aspects of time and reading timetables so we can get to where we need to go on time!
Level 6
Inquiry
In Inquiry, Level 6 students have been exploring Australian history and learning about significant Australians and events that have shaped our country. Students have chosen one of these events and have been creating dioramas that demonstrate this understanding. As part of the project for this term, students are creating specific audio to do with their event, helping to depict and explain their event. Students have chosen to recreate that actual event, record a mock interview with the person/people linked to the event, or a narrator retelling the story. Students will be showcasing their work during week 9 of this term (Tuesday 20th June, from 2pm).
Excursion to Immigration Museum and ACMI
Last week, Level 6 students visited the Immigration Museum and ACMI in the city. The Immigration Museum allowed students to understand how Melbourne has become the multicultural and diverse city that it is and how these people arrived here and the challenges that many faced. The building itself is an important part of Victorian history – it is the original Customs House. Students at ACMI learnt about the history of the moving picture/image and how movies, series and the visual arts have evolved here in Australia. The museum has a wonderful yet unique collection of artifacts (Thor’s actual costume on display was popular) including video games, with many students spending their time playing classic games such as ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Ms Pac-Man’. As you can see in the pictures below, we had a great time and we got insight into how Mr Leonard may have spent his younger years as a youth!
