Mentor Text - Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover

This term, we begin our new mentor text unit by piggy-backing off Term 2's Integrated Studies unit of 'Robot Buddies'. Space exploration is a huge area of interest for students in 1/2A, so we are leaning into it! We have begun reading Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover by Markus Motum (video below). As part of this mentor text, we are highlighting time connectives which help us retell events in chronological order. Year 2 students are also learning a skill called 'jot writing', which is essentially taking notes on key details of events. This style of writing becomes incredibly important in Years 3 and beyond, so we are starting to practice now!

Students are also learning how to identify different parts of a paragraph in a factual recount. We have learnt about a topic sentence, supporting details, and a concluding sentence. Being able to identify these parts in a paragraph will then help students to structure their own paragraphs correctly. Watch this space! (haha get it? Watch this space, because we're learning about a Mars rover going into space...I crack myself up!).

Mathematics - Estimation and how we use it

In Maths, students have been learning about the concept of estimation and are becoming very confident in having 'their best guess'. We have applied estimation to several different mathematical concepts, particularly when checking the reasonableness of our answers when calculating addition and subtraction equations. We also estimated where numbers might go on a blank number line, if we knew the first number was 0 and the last number was 100. Some students got very close to placing their numbers in exactly the correct position (photos below)! This shows a good understanding of number sense, and using mental calculation strategies such as doubling and halving can further increase estimation skills.

This week, students began estimating with units of measurement. We measured the length of our foot using paperclips, after estimating how long we thought our feet may be compared to Mrs Dallas (9 paperclips long, everyone!). Students enjoyed comparing the lengths of their feet and seeing whose feet were longer or shorter.

We all became a bit stumped when we tried to measure the length of Mrs Dallas' foot with icy pole sticks, and found the answer to be very different (2.5 icy pole sticks long!). It was a conundrum to figure out which answer was the 'correct' answer, until Sadie proposed the idea that if we used a ruler or measuring tape, we'd be able to know exactly how long it was.

And so begins our foray into standard units of measurement...😁

Places and our Connection to them

In Integrated Studies this term, students have embarked on a journey across the local Beaufort area (via Google Maps) and identified places that are special and significant to them personally. The Lolly Shop did rate highly in these discussions! We have identified local landmarks and important places to the community, and have now begun to expand our learning to areas the Traditional Owners of the land Beaufort is on - the Wadawurrung people - identified as signifcant. We've learnt about how the Wadawurrung used the land and never took more than they needed or more than the land could provide, and how their regeneration practices made sure no place was ever depleted of resources.

Students have now started learning about significant Indigenous landmarks across the wider continent, now known as Australia, beginning with Uluru. We watched this very interesting video and learned that the Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people are the traditional landowners of Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, and their history can be traced back 10,000 years!

Goodbye from Mrs Dallas!

Well, this is officially my last newsletter article for our 1/2 Grownups - how time has flown this year!

I want to sincerely thank all of the grownups who have sent through messages of congratulations and support, or popped in before or after school to have a chat with me about my career move into speech pathology. It has been a joy to share this passion of mine with you, and your care and best wishes are very much appreciated.

While this may be goodbye, it will not be forever! Keep your eyes peeled for me floating around the school as a CRT before the end of this year, and into next year. I love the school community so much that I just won't be able to stay away!

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the year with a new face at the helm of 1/2A, with some new ideas and young(er) knees ready to tackle sitting on the little chairs! As always, stay safe, make good choices, and always be kind if you have the opportunity to do so🌻

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