School News
Prep
Even with a shorter week due to the Public Holiday on Monday and our Curriculum Day on Wednesday, our Prep students have shown incredible resilience and enthusiasm in their learning!
This week, we’ve continued to explore how to summarise stories using our summary strip, focusing on identifying the characters, setting, beginning, middle/problem, and resolution/end. The students are building confidence in retelling familiar stories with these key parts in mind.
In writing, we’ve been working on extending our storytelling by using adjectives to describe characters and ensuring our sentences have a capital letter at the start, spaces between words, and a full stop at the end. It’s been wonderful to see students proudly sharing their writing with growing independence and creativity!
In Maths, we kicked off our new topic on 2D shapes. We’re learning to identify and name shapes found in our environment, as well as count the number of sides and corners each shape has. The Preps have enjoyed exploring shapes through hands-on activities and games.
Through our Investigations, we’re observing the growth of our beanstalks, learning how they change over time. As a class, we’re making regular observations and recording our findings—developing both our curiosity and our science skills.
We’re so proud of the way the Preps have embraced learning this week. Their enthusiasm and perseverance continue to shine!
Please note:
- Our school production with Ruccis is coming up soon and we are super excited to showcase our new skills. Please see the compass post about tickets and costumes.
- The school nurse will be coming to RHPS and if you would like your child to be seen for a check-up, please send in your consent. If you have lost your paperwork and in need of another, please contact your teacher. It is a great opportunity to have your child’s sight, hearing etc. to be checked.
- Once you have finished with your child’s portfolio, please don’t forget to send them back into school.
Kindest regards,
The Prep Team
Laina Brebner, Kayla Hartrick and Emma Wright
Grade 1
What a wonderful fortnight of learning we have had in Level 1.
In Writing we have enjoyed selecting our favourite procedure texts and publishing these into a class book. We ensured all our procedures had clear steps to follow and included step-by-step illustrations to help the reader. This week we began exploring poetry and wrote a cinquain poem – a five line poem including a noun, adjectives, verbs and a synonym.
In Reading we completed our unit on reading procedural texts by following instructions to make chocolate balls and tea-cup biscuits. We then began exploring how to read poetry, focusing on reading fluently (or smoothly).
In Maths we completed addition and have moved on to learning more about subtraction. Students began exploring strategies to solve subtraction, including counting back. We had fun playing walk the plank!
In Inquiry we attended our Earth Crusaders Incursion, learning more about how to care for the environment and our impact on the earth. We learnt about the 3 R’s and the time it takes different items to break down. Did you know that an apple core takes only a month to break down, whilst a nappy can take over 450 years!
In Well-being students have been learning about the friend-o-meter and friendship fires. We learnt that it is normal for all friendships to have conflict at some time. We talked about how to put friendship fires out, including talking 1:1 with the friend and explaining how the situation made you feel.
Kind regards,
The Grade 1 Team
Tim Huntington, Mel Layton, Sally Newton and Ashleigh Wilson
Grade 2
What a fantastic few weeks we have had. Students have been working hard on their Poetry books as well as reading and learning about different types of poetry throughout our reading and writing sessions. We are excited for our Poetry Slam that will happen next week (more news to come).
During maths, we have used our Ninja Sliders to practise our 10's facts and are getting quicker at recalling these facts. At the same time, we have been developing our knowledge of addition and number fact families.
Our Mini-a-pults are well underway in our Inquiry Unit. We are learning how energy is stored and used in these ancient devices , as well as how 'push and pull' is everywhere in our world. We are excited to test our 'Mini-a-pults' in the coming weeks.
We have continued our work on Friendology, developing a deeper understanding of friendships and how to be a good friend to others.
Warm regards,
The Grade 2 Team
Allie Harrison, Sarah Jones and Brendan Van Haaster
Grade 3 & 4
Grade 3 and 4 students enjoyed their visit to Quantum, a centre dedicated to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Students explored the properties of electricity and the role of conductors and insulators in electronic circuits through a series of investigations and experiments, which included measuring the mass and volume of substances needed to make playdough, testing materials to determine if they are conductors or insulators and making a game console using a Makey Makey kit.
Production is fast approaching and the 3/4s are busy practising their circus skills in preparation. Costume lists were sent out on Compass last week. If your child is not attending on the night, we ask that you please notify the classroom teacher in advance.
Reading - Students have been exploring non-fiction and hybrid texts to practise the strategy of synthesising, which is where we identify what we know already about a topic then consider how our thinking changes as new information is presented. Researching is a complex skill and students have used a ‘Knew-New’ template to take notes of their findings.
Writing - The focus on nonfiction continues as students research topics to plan and write informative texts, tuning into the use of paragraphs to group similar ideas.
Maths – Students have been exploring the link between addition and subtraction with a focus on fact families. This leads into our subtraction unit where we will be learning efficient mental strategies to solve problems.
Inquiry – Students are focusing on their personal inquiries relating to the ‘Age of Exploration’, a time between the 15th and 18th Century where navigators, explorers and traders journeyed into the unknown, making discoveries and forming connections with different cultures. They are researching an explorer, a voyage they made and the timeline.
Wellbeing – We have been building our awareness of how people, events and situations can influence our emotions, what to do when we feel stressed and naming self-calming strategies.
A friendly reminder to fill in reading logs and to bring homework folders each Monday. Spelling words are sent home and Squizya tasks can be completed up until the end of each term.
The 3/4 Team
Damien Smith, Daena Hailey, Brent Smith, Claire Cripps and Nick Pagliaro
Grade 5 & 6
Hello Grade 5/6 Families,
We had a short but productive Week 8, with the King’s Birthday on Monday and a Curriculum Day on Wednesday. Despite the shorter week, students packed a lot of learning into the remaining days!
Reading
This week, we focused on how images and sound shape meaning in documentaries and biographies. Students watched clips from BTN and explored how visual and auditory elements influence the point of view presented. They also read and analysed biographies, comparing how different media present similar topics.
Writing
In Writing, students continued developing their information reports on historical figures. They worked on structuring their body paragraphs, incorporating relevant images, and writing strong conclusions that summarise the key contributions of their chosen person.
Maths
Our focus was on subtraction strategies, particularly using the “pump it up/drop it low” method to mentally transform tricky problems into easier ones. Students explored efficient mental and written strategies through guided modelling, warm-ups, and problem-solving challenges.
Inquiry
Students completed their historical diary entries or letters, writing from the perspective of a person from early Australian history. They edited their work for historical accuracy and presented it on tea-stained paper to give it an authentic, old-world feel.
Wellbeing
Students continued their learning through the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program. These sessions prompted thoughtful discussions around emotions, strategies, identity, and respect for others.
We’re heading into the final few weeks of Term 2 - thank you for your continued support!
The 5/6 Team
Llinos Poole, Rachel Boyle, Alarna Creed, Hayley Peirce and Erin Rennick