From the 1/2 Classrooms

In Term 3, the Grade 1 and 2 students are exploring the importance of treating people with fairness and respect as part of the Integrated Studies unit A Culture of Respect. Students have been learning about and celebrating the diversity of different cultures represented within the classroom and wider school community. 

In Week 3, students were asked to bring in an item from their cultural background to show and discuss, and also research and share information about the following:

• Where they were born
• Where their parents were born
• Language spoken at home 
• Celebrations and traditions

It was special to hear students talk about their cultural background with such passion and knowledge.  We are privileged to be surrounded by a wide range of cultural backgrounds in which we can celebrate and learn from.

The map below shows which countries are represented in our Grade 1 and 2 community. 

Junior Athletics:

There were legs pumping, arms swinging and voices cheering as the junior students participated in the Junior Athletics! Students participated in 4 activities; high jump, relay race, vortex throw and hurdles. It was wonderful to see all students trying their best and hearing the words of encouragement whilst representing their colour houses. They should feel extremely proud of their efforts and the teamwork they showed throughout the event. What a fantastic afternoon we had!

Numeracy:

Over the coming weeks in applied maths sessions, students will be learning about shapes. They will explore the properties of two-dimensions and three-dimensional shapes. Students will be taught and encouraged to use specific vocabulary when discussing, comparing and classifying shapes, such as, vertices (corners), edges, faces (flat surface of a shape), parallel, opposite, curved, straight.  

The home environment is a wonderful place to explore shape! Help your child reinforce the skills taught at school by involving them in the following:

• Make a list of the 2D and 3D shapes that are around the home. 
• If you have construction toys, ask your child to make some different 3D shapes and then describe them- magnetic tiles or playdough are great for this! 
• Sorting toys based on their properties (number of corners, curved sides/not curved, parallel sides/not parallel, cubes/spheres etc.)
• Playing ‘Eye Spy’ with shapes 
  • e.g. tissue box- clue...this object has 6 faces (4 rectangular shaped and 2 square shaped), 12 edges and 8 vertices. 
  • or a simpler version, e.g. dice- clue...this object is a cube shape. 

A common misconception that children have when learning about shapes is not recognising or misclassifying them based on their orientation. Students might struggle to recognise shapes when they are rotated or presented in different positions. Try pointing out and discussing shapes with irregular orientation around your house or environment. 

Thank you for reading,

Grade 1 and 2 teachers