School News
Prep
What a lovely two weeks we have had in Prep. Our Investigations sessions are in full swing now and it has been wonderful to see the children engaging in dramatic play at the fire station, police station and hospital. We have witnessed students making connections to their learning in reading, writing and maths through their hands on experiences.
Our students have been learning about the Zones of Regulation and how they can help us identify and manage our emotions. We have also introduced the students to the benefits of yoga for our minds and bodies, particularly when we are feeling tired at the end of a long day.
On Monday afternoon our Prep students were formally introduced to their Grade 5 buddy at the 2023 Buddy Ceremony. The Grade 5 students had put so much effort into writing a heartfelt letter to their Prep buddy and as teachers we were very proud to see how enthusiastic our new students were about meeting their new special friends. We look forward to many buddy 'dates' in the future.
Our Science classes are also fast becoming a highlight of our week. We have been observing living and non-living things in the school grounds and observing them in their environment. Over the coming weeks we will be learning what living things need in order to be able to grow and change. Lucky for us, we have a resident lizard in our science lab who will help us with our learning!
Next week we will be visited by members of the CFA! We will learn all about fire safety and explore a real life fire truck. If we are super lucky, we might even get a turn with the hose. We know it will be a rich learning experience for our students and we look forward to sharing all about it in the next newsletter.
Keep smiling!
Mrs Creed, Mrs Harrison, Mrs Munnecke & Ms Newton
Grade 1 & 2
The Level 1/2 students have really started to settle into their new classrooms and we are all well and truly into our routines and learning now!
We have been adjusting to the new timetable and all students have done really well to slot into this new routine so easily.
In Reading, students have been looking at retelling and summarising stories in their own words by describing the characters, the setting, the problem and the resolution.
In Writing, students have been learning to write recounts. They have been using time connective words like first, second, after and finally to explain something that has happened to them in the correct order.
In Maths, students have been learning to recognise and investigate the place value of numbers. We have been working on reading and writing numbers up to and beyond 1000.
In Inquiry, students have been introduced to their Inquiry unit ‘Growing Older & Wiser’ which focusses on their identity. Students will be creating a timeline of their life later this term.
Thankyou to those who attended the Level 1/2 Information Night, it was great to see so many of you there. We hope it was informative and helpful.
The Level 1 students were lucky enough to meet up with their Buddies this week. They had a lovely chat and shared a favourite book. Please enjoy the photos below. Have a great weekend everyone!
The Level 1/2 Team
Llinos Poole, Kayla Hartrick, Rachel Boyle, Emma Wright, Sam Younes & Daena Hailey
Grade 3 & 4
What a week the 3/4 students have had! On Monday, we headed down to Phillip Island for our highly anticipated adventure camp. The air was buzzing with excitement as students boarded the buses and we journeyed to our destination.
Upon arrival, students had lunch and games outside, before jumping straight into the fun filled activity rotations that had been planned. These included the giant swing, flying fox, trampolines, peddle racers, photo hunt, mechanical wall and pinnacle. Students challenged themselves to overcome fears and there were lots of smiles and laughter as they supported each other and made the most of the activities on offer.
The fun continued with an afternoon at the beach, where students built sand castles, learnt about the local environment and ecosystem, and identified flora and fauna. The nights consisted of an evening walk down to the pier and a cosy movie night on our final evening, where students brought pillows and sleeping bags into the hall to relax with friends after a jam packed couple of days.
We all had a huge amount of fun and it has been wonderful to see the new friendships that have formed as a result of the last few days. Students will no doubt be eagerly awaiting their next camp, but for now, we hope they can recover from the excitement and have a relaxing and restful weekend!
The 3/4 Team
Carolyn Allan, Tim Wilson, Hayley Peirce & Sarah Jones
Grade 5 & 6
The first few weeks of the school year have flown! We have packed so much in already. The most important thing though, is that the students have settled in wonderfully and have switched back to following school routines extremely well. New bell times, specialists on the same day, and an afternoon break – a fair amount of change and they’ve gone about their business amazingly well!
In Reading and Writing the students have been reacquainting themselves with persuasive texts. They have been analysing different features of persuasive texts, including understanding emotive language and strong persuasive vocabulary. They built on their reading knowledge to incorporate into writing persuasively. Trying to persuade the reader to choose their sport, hobby or activity, has been the order of the week. Let me tell you, they have been very convincing!
In Maths, consolidating their place value knowledge with both whole number and decimals, including ordering and rounding numbers, has been our focus. We have also completed Squizya tasks (will soon be homework) and have finished off our Term 1 assessing on Essential Assessment. The students have reviewed these assessments and observed what their Maths learning goals are. Using My Numeracy will help each student practise skills they need to learn further.
Our Inquiry sessions have begun, and our Term 1 focus is ‘Ethics and Emotions’. The students have started looking at identity and the character traits of different identity groups. They will begin to discuss and learn about their own identity and characteristics and how they fit into different groups, such as home school and the wider community.
The Grade 5s had a wonderful experience at the beginning of Week 3, as they got to meet their Prep Buddy in an afternoon ceremony. They were very excited and is one of the highlights of the year for the Grade 5s. The Grade 6s didn’t miss out – they reconnected with their Grade 1 buddies with the reading of letters (which the Grade 6s wrote) and a general catch-up. It’s such a lovely thing to see!
To finish off a busy 3 weeks, we ended with our camp to Sovereign Hill. There will be more to come with a camp wrap up next Newsletter. Watch this space!
The Level 5/6 Team
Damien Smith, Megan Pepprell, Brendan Van Haaster and Millie Pinney