Curriculum Matters
Jells Park Primary School
Foundation
On Tuesday 27 October, our Foundation students became little scientists during an exciting weather incursion!
As part of our classroom Weather Unit, students explored how and why the weather changes and how it affects our everyday lives. The students got hands-on with lots of fun experiments. They watched how clouds and rain form, made their own model of the water cycle, watched a hot air balloon light up and explored a special snow-like material. They also made their very own UV detector to take home! Our Foundation students also learnt some exciting new weather words, including evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection.
Our Foundation students had a blast exploring the wonders of weather through fun experiments and activities!
Level 1
Level 1 students have been learning about shapes through fun, hands-on activities. They used playdough to make 2D and 3D shapes, explored shape blocks to count sides and vertices, and went on shape walks around the school to find shapes in the world around them. These activities have helped students build their understanding of shape in an engaging way.
As part of our learning about Dreamtime stories, students read How the Kangaroo Got Its Tail. Inspired by the story, they used playdough to create their own kangaroos, carefully adding a stick to represent the kangaroo’s tail. The students then wrote a short paragraph explaining their creations and making connections to the story. It was a wonderful opportunity to combine storytelling, creativity and writing!
We have also been busy exploring our Think It, Make It, Test It! inquiry unit. Students put their creativity and problem-solving skills to the test by making boats using paper, aluminium foil and lego. They carefully folded, shaped and experimented with their materials before testing their creations to see if they would float on water.
The students were excited to see how their designs performed and discovered that some boats floated better than others!
Level 2
Level 2 Adventure Day
On a hot sunny Thursday, the Level 2’s headed to Stringrybark Lodge in Gembrook for their Adventure Day! The day began early but that didn't stop the students being incredibly excited for the activities to come. They slapped on some sunscreen on they were on their way!
During the day the students enjoyed multiple fun activities: they had hut building in the wilderness which saw them work as groups to construct a free standing hut from branches and sticks. Archery, where they tested their aim and their armstrength to hit a bullseye. Low ropes course, where balance was key. Real life hungry hippos had them taking in turns being towed on a board to scoop all the balls. Lastly the main event, the big flying fox, their nerves were tested as they had to climb a tree to reach the platform from which they would be sent flying over the lake. Throughout the day all the students were displaying the school values tremendously. We saw respect in buckets whilst the students worked collaboratively and kindly as team members to build huts, collect balls as hippos and guide one another around the low ropes, and strong resilience as they tackled their fears to do the flying fox.
As well as the fun activities Stringybark Lodge provided everyone with great food for lunch, dinner and desert. The students enjoyed it so much! They were fended off like seagulls as they asked non stop for 2nd and 3rd helpings.
Overall it was a fantastic day that the students thoroughly enjoyed!
Level 3
This fortnight, the Level 3 students have been developing their narrative writing skills.
We have been exploring the structure of a narrative and learning how to uplevel our writing by adding engaging details, interesting vocabulary and creative ideas to capture our readers’ attention.
In Maths, we have been exploring probability through hands-on activities, including creating our own spinners and challenging our friends to a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors! These fun activities have helped students investigate the likelihood of different outcomes and represent probability using fractions and decimals.
Level 4
Our Level 4 students are having way too much fun on camp to give a recount of their adventures! We can't wait to hear all about it in the next newsletter.
Level 5
Level 5 students have been exploring word origins by creating Etymology Trees.
By tracing words back to their root meanings and origin, students have been expanding their vocabulary and gaining a deeper understanding of how language works.
We encourage students to share their discoveries and new word connections at home!
Level 6
Level 6 students have been given the challenge of planning a road trip around Australia. They are to choose destinations, work out how long each journey takes, read timetables and create an itinerary for their trip. They are working on calculating elapsed time and use timetables and itineraries to plan a journey.
They are also using their prior knowledge of the four operations to support their working out and they are using their Digital Technology skills to research and support their journey.