Classroom News

Date 

Event

Spatzenschule Lantern Festival

(NOTE: Orders for this close on 9/6/26)

Curriculum Overview:

Numeracy:

In Numeracy, students have been learning to give and follow directions to move people and objects to different locations within a space. They have also begun exploring how to compare order objects and events in length.

Literacy:

In Literacy, students have continued their exploration of information texts. They have been writing an information text on ‘Black Bears’ where they have learned to write sentences about the animal’s habitat, appearance and diet. They have also been continuing to write expert answers by responding to stories they’ve read.

Wellbeing:

In Wellbeing, students have been learning to develop a positive mindset by recognising that challenging situations can improve over time and by considering different perspectives. They have also been building resilience through optimistic thinking strategies when responding to everyday challenges and setbacks.

Year 1 Melbourne Zoo Excursion:

On Tuesday 19th May, Year 1s went on an excursion to Melbourne Zoo to support their Literacy and Geography units they had been learning in class. The students had a wonderful time seeing all of the animals at the zoo, and learning about the habitats and features of a range of different animals in their workshops.

From their workshops, they were asked to reflect on two questions:

Would a frog survive in a desert habitat?

Why is there sand in the tortoise habitat?

These could be great questions to discuss at home to further develop students’ critical thinking skills. 

Some fun facts learned at the zoo included:

• Giraffes have four stomachs.
• The tortoise needs sun to keep its shell hard and protective.

Above are some photos from our exciting Melbourne Zoo excursion. We hope you enjoy them!

Date

Event

Songroom Project:

This week the year 2 students all attended the Songroom Project. During their lesson, students learnt about aboriginal seasons and created artworks connected to our current season.

Writing: Sentence Writing

We're exploring the life cycle of trees this week, using because, but, and so to build richer sentences about how trees grow, change, and thrive.  

• Songroom Project 

3A: 10am

3B: 12pm 

3C: 1pm 

• Year 6 Fundraiser (Toy Sale) 

Maths: Multiplication

In Numeracy, we are continuing our unit on multiplication and division. Students will be focusing on the 2, 3 and 4 times tables, as well as developing their understanding of the related division facts. We will be building fluency and confidence through a range of engaging activities as well as teaching multiple strategies. 

After Multiplication and division students will begin the unit on Graphs. Throughout the unit students will collect data. They will present data in multiple ways, and then make interpretations from these data displays. 

Reading: Expert Answering

Students are thoroughly enjoying our Core Knowledge unit, The Ancient Roman Civilisation. So far, they have explored the causes of the Punic Wars, learnt about the different groups within Roman society, and are now investigating the fascinating world of the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus. They have been practising how to answer literal, inferential, and evaluative questions using short passages from the core knowledge text. 

Writing: Complex Sentences 

As part of our Information Text unit, students are developing new skills through the Model Text Toolkit. They have been identifying the different parts of complex sentences, learnt how to write a topic sentence, and strengthen their understanding of simple and compound sentences.

HASS: Ancient Rome

Students will continue learning about Ancient Rome in both HASS and Reading. We will explore the impressive buildings of Rome, including the Colosseum, and learn about important historical figures such as Julius Caesar. Students will also discover some of Rome’s marvellous inventions, including roads, bridges, and aqueducts, and learn how these helped shape everyday life in ancient Rome. 

Wellbeing: Friendship Styles

Students recently completed a Wellbeing Survey. These surveys are anonymous and are an important tool that help us monitor how students are feeling and progressing, while also allowing us to adapt our planning and respond to the individual needs of our students.  

To further support your child at home, you may like to ask them the following three questions: 

• Where did you show kindness/resilience/respect/responsibility today? 
• What is something you did today that made you feel proud?
• What is one thing you would like to practise or get better at?

You can also play: High, Low, Buffalo 

The High: Ask them to name the best or most exciting thing that happened at school today.

The Low: Ask for the hardest, most frustrating, or saddest part of their day.

The Buffalo: Ask for something random, funny, or weird that happened to them.

Students have been introduced to the Four Friendship Styles. In pairs, they discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each style. 

• Two peas in a pod 
• The Bouncy Ball 
• Just Me
• Group 

Students learnt that: 

• None of the styles are better or worse than the other. 
• Friendship styles are not fixed in the way that star signs are fixed. 
• People have a choice and they can change styles if they want to try something different.

8.30am - 9am Grade 6 Graduation Bake Sale

2.30pm Term 2 Concludes

Maths:

In Maths students will begin exploring maps and develop their understanding of how maps help us navigate and learn about the world. Students will practise interpreting grid references to describe and identify the positions of objects, giving and following directions, and reading a legend on a map to locate specific places. They will also learn how to use scale to determine actual distances in real life and further develop their compass skills. 

Literacy:

Reading

In Reading, students will be exploring a range of writing skills and techniques through visual texts and rich discussion around a variety of picture books, such as text ‘Last stop on Market Street”. Students will use pictures and illustrations to make predictions, infer meaning, and deepen their understanding of the story and characters. They will also focus on using sensory language to create vivid descriptions, helping them paint clear images for the reader by describing what characters can see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. 

Writing

In Writing, students are beginning to write the opening sections of their historical allegories (narrative writing based on historical events). They will focus on engaging the reader from the start by using effective storytelling techniques such as fronted adverbials to add detail about time, place, and manner, as well as foreshadowing to hint at events that may unfold later in the story. 

Wellbeing 

In Wellbeing students are learning to identify the skills needed to stay safe and secure online. Using the acronym ACT and critical thinking skills to help us. 

Key Dates 

• Tuesday 26th May: Division cross country 
• Wednesday 27th- 3rd June: Reconciliation Week 
• Friday 29th May: AFL gala day 

• Wednesday 27th- 3rd June: Reconciliation Week 

• Monday 8th June: Kings Birthday 

• Tuesday 23rd June: Science Incursion 
• Friday 26th June: Last Day of Term 2 2:30pm finish 

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Maths: Multiplication and Division of Decimals

Students have been exploring multiplication and division of decimals. They practised multiplying decimals by single-digit numbers, as well as by 10, 100, and 1000, and learned to work with decimals to two and three decimal places. In division, students focused on dividing decimals and whole numbers to find quotients in tenths. Lessons also included strategies for estimating products and quotients, helping students check their answers and build confidence in solving a range of decimal problems.

Reading: A Night Divided

In Reading, students will continue to explore the timeline of WWII and the Cold War, and themes that arise during these events. They will continue to read their class novel, ‘A Night Divided’, focusing on characters' emotions, themes and imagery within the text. We will explore figurative language and how the descriptions set the mood of the story. Students will also summarise what they have read using a checklist. 

Physical Science:

In Physical Science, students will explore how the human eyes and brain decode visual information. They will explore how refraction can impact what we see, and they will investigate objects that are transparent, translucent and opaque. Students will also explore the Kelvin scale to describe the temperature of colours.