Junior Classes
The Juniors have had a very positive start to their school year. It has been fantastic to get to know all of our new Prep children and continue to make connections with all of the other Junior students.
The students have enjoyed being able to integrate lessons together, joining classes and being able to work together across year levels as a Junior Hub. This has been a seamless transition that the students get the exposure of different teachers and working with peers.
In English, we have started with our Literacy program called InitiaLit. Students come together in levelled groups to complete the program every morning. Students are working with the same teacher throughout this term. Students are becoming aware of class expectations and enjoying the routine.
In Prep students have learnt about what a word is and the difference between words and pictures. We have been learning to count syllables in words, and understanding what rhyming words are. Students have also focused on learning how to segment the sounds in words. These skills are the foundation for beginning to learn how to read and we will begin teaching the sounds and letters in the next couple of weeks.
In Year One Students are revising the Prep program, focusing on tricky words, vowels, digraphs and syllables in readiness to advance into the Year One InitaLit. In the Storybook writing we have been reading ‘Fang Fang’s Chinese New Year’, comparing the differences in how we celebrate New Year in Australia and how it is celebrated in China.
In Year Two the InitiaLit Program Is taught in three specific components, grammar, comprehension and spelling. In grammar students have been learning about nouns such as a person, place, animal or thing. In the comprehension lessons they have been introduced to imaginative texts and during the spelling lessons they have been learning about different digraphs such as ay/ai, ee/ea and oa/ow.
During Religion lessons, students have wonderfully decorated their class prayer cloths that were blessed during the opening school mass. We enjoyed learning about Shrove Tuesday and eating pancakes that the PFA made for us. This led into starting to learn into the season of Lent and its beginning on Ash Wednesday.
In the Geography unit ‘Local Places’ the students in Prep and Year One have been learning about natural, managed and constructed features of local places, and their location. They have also identified natural features of local places using stories from First Nations Australians.
In Year Two, we looked at the Geography of Australia including discovering where the school is located. We are learning about suburbs, towns, cities, states and Australia as a whole. Students have created their own ‘Suitcases Posters’ which include information on where they live, what countries they have visited and different facts about Australia.
Students have enjoyed completing their Mathematics lessons on shape, working together as a whole cohort. We have been learning about 2D shapes and their characteristics, comparing the differences and similarities. Students have sorted shapes into similar groupings, identified 2D shapes in their everyday lives and enjoyed drawing shapes.
In our Social and Emotional learning, students have set learning goals which are relevant to them. Students will also build connections with each other and learn to follow classroom routines.
We are looking forward to a productive year ahead of learning, friendship, and having fun in our Junior hub!
Taylor Butler, Sarah O’Hara and Marie Geogiadis