School News
Prep
Hi families, the last two weeks of reading/phonics, provided us with a wonderful opportunity to consolidate our learning from level 3 of the Decodable Readers Australia program. We have been so proud of the progress the students have made. It has been a joy to see the students’ excitement about having books to take home as readers.
In Writing, students have continued to develop their understanding of narratives through the processes of reading fairytales as well as planning and writing stories of their own. We have had a lot of fun with this process and students have loved the opportunity to let their imaginations run wild. They have completely amazed us with their creativity!
In Maths, we have continued with our subtraction unit, students have further developed their number sense and understanding of processes. Students have worked hard to learn subtraction strategies, such as ‘sliding away’, using number lines, drawing and ‘crossing out’ and even touching on ‘counting back’. Having a range of strategies will greatly support their learning as they progress through their primary schooling.
In our wellbeing unit we have recently learned about the concepts of accepting others for who they are and sharing as an act of kindness. We have how important it is to all be our true selves and learned that our differences are what make us unique and special. It’s been lovely to celebrate all of the special thing's students know about themselves and their peers. When learning about sharing, students realised that they put this act of kindness into action every day. We are proud of the way they have learned to consider others and share classroom items as a part of daily life.
Within Investigations, we have continued to learn about different materials and have just completed our first construction challenge – the egg drop. Students were challenged with the task of creating a device that will save an egg when it is dropped from the balcony. This has been a great deal of fun with students enjoying working in groups and the opportunity to practise ‘hands-on’ construction with a range of materials.
Karate Incursion
We were very lucky to experience a fabulous incursion with Sensei Anthony on Monday afternoon! All of the children had a great time practising their ninja moves and even getting to see Sensei Anthony do a handstand! Such a great way to start the week!
Construction materials
We would love to thank all of the families who have provided materials for our construction projects. Currently, we are running out of space to store larger boxes, but would still love donations of small items such as bottle caps, bubble wrap, string, straws etc. Small boxes (for example muesli bar boxes are also still appreciated).
Take home readers / library books: a gentle reminder that we are unable to allow your child to bring home books until they return those that they have previously borrowed. We also require students to have their communication pockets and library bags with them to ensure the books are protected during transit. We would appreciate your support in ensuring books are returned to school each week.
Book Week
We are excited to celebrate book week next week and can't wait to see all the fabulous costumes on Thursday (27th August).
Three-way conferences
Tuesday 25th, Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th August (please book via Compass).
Curriculum Day
Friday 28th August
Fathers’ Day stall
Please keep an eye on the Daily News for information about our upcoming Fathers’ Day stall. To assist with preparing for this day, please note that it is very helpful for us on the day if students come along with a bag to bring their goods home in and if their money is contained in a named ziplock bag.
Kind regards,
The Prep Team
Laina Brebner, Kayla Hartrick and Emma Wright
Grade 1
What another busy fortnight in the lives of Grade 1! The highlight of our fortnight has been enjoying time with our buddies and exploring creative challenges during Investigations... but let’s hear more about what we have been up to.
In Reading, we have begun learning the new digraphs of Level 6, including: er (her), ir (bird), ur (turn), ar (star) and or (for). We have begun bringing home a DRA take home reading book each week. You may like to challenge yourself to explore finding our new sound foci in books you read at home and share with us back at school.
In Writing, we have explored endings with impact in Narrative stories. We enjoyed creating new and alternative endings to familiar stories, including emotional and surprise endings. Everyone had lots of fun using the App Puppet Pals to create short narrative stories and we loved listening and watching our classmates share them with us.
In Maths, we completed our unit on Location by creating a map. We needed to include map features like a key, symbols, a title, and a compass rose. Our little mathematicians also enjoyed giving our Maths partners directions to follow through an obstacle course on our rainbow playground.
In Well-being, students have looked at identifying the different ways in which they are online. They identified what they do online and what information is safe and unsafe to share with others online. Grade 1's most common way to be online was watching Netflix and gaming. We learnt that we can share our hobby with someone online, but we do not share our address or full name.
In Inquiry, we explored designing creative solutions to problems. A highlight was designing a bridge to hold 5 erasers that was 20cm long ... but only by using paper, no sticky tape! Within our Investigation Spaces, students have continued to love making their pom poms, writing stories and coding our robots. We are still looking for donations of cardboard tissue/biscuit/cereal boxes etc for our upcoming robot project. Please send any in with your child.
Congratulations to our Shining Stars this past fortnight - Zac, Mason, Ryder, Arlo, Monty and Harper.
Kind regards,
The Grade 1 Team
Mel Layton, Rowena Blake, Sally Newton and Tim Huntington
Grade 2
In Writing, Our Grade 2 students have been busy becoming mini authors and illustrators! We have been learning about the important features of narrative writing and have used these skills to create our very own books about friendship. Students have developed characters, exciting beginnings, problems and satisfying endings, while also creating illustrations to bring their stories to life. It has been wonderful to see their creativity, imagination and pride as they work towards becoming published authors!
In Reading, we have been developing our skills as visualisers. Students have been learning how to create pictures in their minds as they read, using the words and details from the text to help them imagine characters, settings and events. We have been discussing how different readers can create different pictures in their minds from the same text. Visualising helps us to understand and enjoy stories more deeply and become more engaged readers.
In Maths, we have been exploring mapping and location. We have had lots of fun putting our learning into practice by creating our own treasure maps. Students included a legend, grid references and clear instructions to help others navigate their maps and locate the hidden treasure. It has been fantastic to see students using mathematical language, following directions and applying their problem-solving skills in such an engaging way.
Our Inquiry learning has taken us on an exciting journey through the Solar System! We have begun researching our favourite planets and discovering interesting facts about their appearance, size, moons, temperature and position in the Solar System. Students are gathering information and recording their findings in preparation for our exciting end-of-unit project, where they will have the opportunity to share their learning with others.
We have also been learning about Cyber Safety and what we can do if we ever feel unsafe, uncomfortable or worried while using technology or being online. Students identified five trusted adults they could talk to if they needed help. To reinforce our learning, we created mini puppets representing our trusted adults. We are learning that it is important to speak up, ask for help and remember that we never have to deal with an online problem by ourselves.
Lilydale High School Sports Coaching
We were excited to welcome students from Lilydale High School who visited us as part of a coaching unit they are completing at their school. Our Grade 2 students had a wonderful time learning and practising a range of sports skills with the high school students. It was a fantastic opportunity to develop our teamwork, coordination and sporting skills while learning from some enthusiastic young coaches. A big thank you to the Lilydale High School students for making our sessions so enjoyable!
3-Way Conferences: Next week we will be holding our 3-Way Conferences. These conferences are a wonderful opportunity for students, families and teachers to celebrate learning, discuss progress and set goals for the future. Please remember to make your booking through Compass.
Book Week: We are very excited to celebrate Book Week next week! We will be celebrating our love of books and reading throughout the week. Our Book Parade will be held on Thursday, so students are invited to dress up as a favourite book character and join in the fun.
Curriculum Day: We will finish the week with a Curriculum Day on Friday, which means there will be no school for students on this day. We hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!
Kind regards,
The Grade 2 Team
Allie Harrison, Sarah Margetts and Brendan Van Haaster
Grades 3/4
Dear families, we’ve made it past the half way point of Term 3!
In Literacy, the 3/4 students have been trialling a unit created by Ochre Education. The unit is anchored around the text “The Wild Robot” by Peter Brown. This unit will take us through until the end of Term 3. Students have been learning comprehension strategies, analysing characters, investigating the themes of nature versus technology and studying narrative structure. We have also been focussing on spelling and vocabulary from the text, persuasive writing features, and learning to write in a cursive handwriting style.
In Maths, the 3/4 students have continued their unit on division. This week they learned to divide by using the halving strategy. Students learned to halve numbers to divide by 2, 4 and 8. Students also learned to identify the link between multiplication and division and use real life scenarios to solve equal shares.
In our Inquiry unit, students learned about different types of forces by conducting simple investigations in small groups and using their discoveries to categorise the forces. They particularly enjoyed creating static electrical forces with ballons on their heads!
In our Wellbeing lessons, students in 3/4 wrote and shared stories about help-seeking that included details about the emotions their character felt, and the coping strategies and strengths they used.
Looking ahead to the end of this term, some key dates to remember are:
- Friday 28th August: Curriculum Day
- Monday 31st August: Hoop Time (selected students only)
- Tuesday 25th, Wednesday 26th August and Thursday 27th of August: 3 Way Conferences
- Friday 18th September: Last day of Term 3.
Kind regards,
The 3/4 Team
Nick Pagliaro, Daena Hailey, Brent Smith, Claire Cripps, Ashleigh Wilson and Mykaela Oakley
Grades 5/6
We have completed another week of learning in Grade 5/6 and are now more than halfway through Term 3!
In Reading, we have been exploring our new level novel, Us Mob Walawurru by David Spillman and Lisa Wilyuka. The students are enjoying reading this historical novel and discussing the characters and events so far.
In Writing, our spelling focus has been the prefix ‘pro’, meaning for, in favour of or forward. In Grammar, we have been learning more about simple, compound and complex sentences. We have learnt how to expand and add detail to sentences by using adverbial phrases. Students have also begun researching and planning a factual recount.
In Maths, we have been exploring division and developing our understanding of its relationship to multiplication. Students have been testing their recall of multiplication and division facts, as well as investigating mathematical problems using a range of division strategies.
In Inquiry, we have continued our exploration of our Discovery theme. Students have been investigating how the Earth’s tilt impacts our seasons. We have also been learning how to plan and conduct a scientific experiment using a fair test. The students have enjoyed researching scientific investigations online.
Please remember that it is Hoop Time this Monday, 24th August. It is an early start as we will be playing at Waverley Stadium. Students need to be in the gym from 8.15 am onwards, as the bus will be leaving RHPS at 8.30 am. For more information, please refer to the details on Compass.
And finally, don’t forget that our Book Week celebrations are happening next week! On Thursday, 27th August, our students will take part in our annual Book Week Parade during Session 5.
Week 7 is going to be a busy one! Have a great weekend, everyone!
Kind regards,
The 5/6 Team
Llinos Poole, Erin Rennick, Hayley Peirce and Kylie Morrissey