Upper Primary Learning

UPA

Wow what an amazing start to 2022 it has been! I am really impressed with the development that I have seen in the short period of time that Term 1 has presented itself. Like all first terms of the year, it has been a challenging term to get settled into new routines, new structures and new classmates, but it has been great to see the students become more engaged in their learning and excited to try new and different things.

Each Monday morning presents us with a new language experience. Our history topic has leant itself to trying common things that people did in the past, but not so much anymore, such as games that were played, how household chores were done, and how clothing was made. This week we each made a small contribution to a whole Upper-Primary quilt that reflect things that make them feel safe and comfortable. These language experiences complement the mentor text that we are currently focusing on, which this term has been ‘Window’, ‘My Place’, and ‘My Two Blankets’.

We have been incorporating a new reading/phonics program, ‘Little Learners Love Literacy’ where students have been building on and consolidating their knowledge of letters and sounds and how we can use them when reading.

In maths we have worked hard on building counting skills and understanding place value of numbers. Students have been very busy learning about time both telling the time to o’clock and half past and knowing the days of the week and months of the year.

Very proud of the developments made so far and am looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year brings! Well done UPA.

UPB

UPB have had a great start to the year! They have settled well into the new school year, becoming friends with their classmates, learning lots and creating many memories.

In English, the class has enjoyed doing their language experience each Monday which is related to the focus text of the week. These are all hands-on activities which allow the students to delve into the lives of people in the past. They have used old washboards, irons and beaters and played olden-day games such as marbles, hula hoops and quoits. 

UPB have also made woollen monsters as they learnt about the woollen mill and created a class blanket to reflect things that make them feel comfortable and safe. 

In Numeracy, UPB have been working hard with learning about the place value of numbers, making numbers using hands on materials and challenging themselves to think about bigger numbers. 

They have also been excited to learn about how to tell the time and have become champions at reading the time on the hour and half hour! 

Keep up the great work UPB! I’m looking forward to our adventures next term! 

UPC

UPC has had a challenging start to the year with a change in class teacher during the term.  We have enjoyed having Anne as our teacher for many weeks, but we are now very excited to welcome Isabelle as our new teacher for the rest of this year.  Despite these changes, we have all shown great resilience to work together, get to know each other and continue our learning.

Each Monday we have participated in some wonderful language experiences including doing household chores the old fashioned way such as using an old washboard, iron and hand mixer. We also had lots of fun playing games from the past such as marbles, skittles, pick up sticks, marbles and quoits.  We also loved contributing to the Upper Primary blanket reflecting things that make us feel safe at school. We have used these experiences to build our vocabulary and to write interesting sentences.

In our Maths session we have been practising our counting each day and learning to use our knowledge of time to talk about the days of the week, months of the year, reading a calendar and working out when we each have our birthdays. We have already celebrated a couple of birthdays this term.

It has been a great term and we are really looking forward to next term.

UPD

It has been a busy and exciting time in UPD during term one. The students have enjoyed the swimming program at Reservoir Leisure Centre, developing vital water confidence and safety skills.

Language Experiences have been a highlight of our English program this term. The students have thoroughly enjoyed participating in old-fashioned games such as hop-scotch, skittles, pick up sticks and quoits. 

They have investigated utensils from the past, such as a wooden washboard, a cast-iron iron and hand mixer. They have learnt about a woollen mill and created yarning sticks and pom poms from wool. Recently they have created a design to include on a section ‘blanket’ using images from their own personal experiences. All of these hands-on experiences have related to our mentor texts during these weeks. The students have also enjoyed writing about their experiences and have focused on using nouns, verbs and adjectives to compose their writing pieces.

In our Integrated Unit about the ‘History of Australia’ the students enjoyed an informative visit to the Discovery Centre and were intrigued by the implements used by the miners on the Goldfields and viewing the artefacts used by the soldiers in the First Word War.

In Maths the students have worked conscientiously on their skip counting skills and place value concepts. This has included learning about expanded numbers and using concrete materials to make models of numbers.

All in all, it has been a very productive term with students making new friendships and interacting with their classmates in a positive way and further developing their social skills.

UPE

UPE has enjoyed a wonderful first term. Everyone is settled and learning is well underway.

This term we have enjoyed learning about life in the past. We have enjoyed some wonderful language experiences each Monday including using an old fashioned washboard and hand mixer. We loved playing games from the past like skittles, pick up sticks, marbles and quoits and we have contributed handprints to an Upper Primary blanket reflecting what makes us feel comfortable at school. These experiences have built upon the students vocabulary and helped them to write meaningful sentences.

In Maths we have worked hard on building counting skills and counting together has been a highlight of our number sessions. Students have been very busy learning about time both telling the time to o’clock and half past and knowing the days of the week and months of the year.

We have been busy working on a new Reading Program, Little Learners Love Literacy and students have been building on and consolidating their knowledge of letters and sounds and how we can use them when reading. 

We are very proud of UPE.

UPF

UPF students have settled well into their new classroom and their new school.  They have taken on every challenge with enthusiasm and drive, enjoying all aspects of learning and playing in Upper Primary. 

UPF students have been pioneers of the new phonics program, Little Learners Love Literacy, learning to read, write and spell with confidence.  Language Experiences and rich mentor texts have connected students to Life in the Past through playing games, such as marbles, quoits and skittles, learning about chores by using a washboard to wash clothes and making a class patchwork quilt. 

Writing has brought these experiences to life with an emphasis on labelling images using Who, What, What like and What doing words from Alien Talk. 

In Numeracy, counting has been a big part of each day through teacher groups, games and table-top activities. Practising and applying concepts of time has been  ongoing from the moment students arrive each day with setting up the day and date to manipulating analogue clocks and sequencing the days of the week and the months of the year. 

I cannot wait to see what lies ahead for UPF next term. We’re only just beginning. 

UPG

Wow! What a term we have had in UPG. The students have worked incredibly hard all term.

We have engaged in the Language Experiences every Monday, sharing our understanding and enjoyment of olden day games, chores, hobbies and stories. Improved vocabulary and understanding of Past, Present and Future tense has lent itself to writing interesting and descriptive sentences. We have loved the specialist programs, in art we have looked at works by Picasso, Digital Tech we have improved our keyboard skills, Music has also been keyboards with various pop songs and PE we played cricket and football focused on teamwork. Incredibly proud of the effort and consistency of students to apply themselves to all areas of learning. Well Done UPG.

UPH

Term 1 has flown by! UPH has been very busy. We have thoroughly enjoyed our Integrated Unit focusing on History. We looked in depth at how things change over time, whether that’s ourselves and our bodies, our towns, or our school. We explored old fashioned lifestyles as our language experiences, including the activities and chores people did in the 1800’s.

In Maths we have been focusing on our counting and place value skills, as well as learning about time.

In literacy we have explored many texts relating to our Integrated focus which is History. 

The students have all been successful in comparing our lives to those in the stories. We have also done some fantastic writing relating to our language experiences.

I am very proud of UPH for all of their hard work! Bring on Term 2!

Allied Health

Occupational and Speech Therapists

Students in Upper Primary are off to a great start to 2022! They have been engaging in a variety of Speech and OT activities to enhance their communication, literacy and emotional regulation skills. We particularly loved the Year 6 Community Access elective!

Rachel Morgan                                                                        Maddison Byrne

Leading Teacher                                                                     Leading Teacher

Teaching and Learning                                                         Wellbeing and Engagement