Foundation

This week, we had our first visit from the firefighters, we can’t wait to see them again next Monday. A huge thanks to FB dads, Paul and Matt, for joining the Mentone Fire Brigade and teaching us about fire safety.

Literacy:

In Literacy, we’ve been learning lots of new letter-sound patterns, such as ‘igh’ (in light), ‘oa’ (in boat), ‘oe’ (in shoe) and ‘ar’ (as in car). Next, we will explore the ‘or’ (in for) and ‘aw’ (in jaw) sound code. We’ve been so impressed with how the students are using these new sounds in their writing, especially in their weekend recounts.

Inquiry:

This week, we started our rich task, where students began designing and creating a vehicle for a chosen community helper. We can’t wait to show you them during our ‘Parent Picnic’ next Wednesday the 16th of September. A reminder that students will also need to come dressed as a community helper on this day.

Maths:

For the remainder of the term, we will continue doing maths in our classes. We are exploring the topics mass, capacity and length within measurement, developing their understanding through a range of hands-on and practical learning activities.

A few friendly reminders:

Parent picnic from 3:00pm Wednesday the 16th of September.
Community Helper dress up Wednesday the 16th of September.
Footy Day Dress up Friday 18th the of September
Last day of term, early finish 2:30 Friday 18th the of September
Funathon, colour event Friday October 9th

-The Foundation Team

Grade 1

What a wonderful week of learning we have had! We are so proud of all our Grade 1 students and the effort, creativity and enthusiasm they continue to show.

In Mathematics, we have moved into fractions. Students have been finding, identifying and making wholes, halves and quarters using a variety of objects, shapes and hands-on materials.

In Writing, students have been using their creativity to write from the perspective of Mum, imagining what happens when she stumbles across the wolf. They have also been developing their own stories, continuing the events in our focus text Honestly, Red Riding Hood Was Rotten.

In Inquiry, our road trip around Australia continues! Students have been learning about each of Australia's states and territories and keeping track of the places we have "visited" along the way.

In Word Study, we have been reviewing and revising our long vowel spelling codes, strengthening students' ability to recognise and apply these patterns when reading and writing.

Keep up the amazing effort!

Grade 2

Writing: Students have been writing some fabulous persuasive pieces! They have been using strong language with solid reasons to support their opinions.

Reading: We have finished reading ‘Wind in the Willows’ and have begun our new text, ‘The Garbage Barge’. Students have been making predictions about what they think will happen in the story and using evidence from characters' actions to infer their feelings.

PhOrMeS / Word Study: In our PhOrMeS lessons, we’ve been learning to use the 111 rule to know when to double a consonant before adding a vowel suffix (ing, er, ed). If the base word has one syllable, one short vowel sound and then is followed by one consonant we double the consonant. For example, in the word spotting we double the ‘t’.

Inquiry: During Inquiry lessons we have been identifying what waste is and understanding that waste items are made from a range of materials. We have also been exploring where waste comes from, how it can be a problem and what we should do with it to help our environment.

Wellbeing: We have been learning about cooperation and inclusion during our Wellbeing lessons. Students have enjoyed brainstorming how they can work well with their peers inside and outside the classroom.

Maths: We have been busy exploring 2D shapes and 3D objects! Students have been learning to describe their features using appropriate language such as corners, sides, faces, surfaces, edges and vertices. We are now revising all four operations and solving worded problems.

Homework: Thank you for your support with homework: Regular reading aloud and a weekly Word Study/PhOrMeS worksheet. Optional online extras: ‘Nessy Reading and Spelling’ and ‘Sunset/Jetpack Maths’ (Essential Assessment).

Grade 3

Novel Study: This week we finished our novel study, ‘Storm Boy’. Students listened to several pages each lesson and participated in discussions and written responses, with a big focus on building vocabulary and comprehension, sentence expansion to give more detail when writing about the text and using an SPO (single paragraph outline) structure to summarise specific events from the text.

Writing: As part of their exposure to explanation texts, students are focusing on structure, sequence and using technical or scientific words to explain how or why something happens, as well as developing their research, note-taking, and organisational skills while learning about a topic of their choice.

Word Study: Students have been reviewing the morphemes ‘tract’ and ‘form’, combining them with a variety of prefixes and suffixes, as well as reviewing specific homophones, and a range of ‘weird words’. We have also been learning all about Greek numbers: mon-, tri-, tetra-, hexa-, hepta-, and deca-.

Maths: This fortnight, we completed a measurement unit focusing on ‘length’. Students have been learning to identify which metric units are used to measure everyday items, use measurements of familiar items and known units to make estimates, accurately measure and order items according to their length, and use a scale to inform measurements when measuring distances on a map. Encouraging your child to explore measurement further at home, will help them continue to build their understanding and skills.

Balloon-Powered Car Project: Well done to our Grade 3 cohort on demonstrating our Super Six Values along with their ‘forces and motion’ knowledge throughout the planning, construction, racing, and judging phases of the project.

Camp: Our Grade 3 students will attend Briars Camp on the Mornington Peninsula for two days/one night on Thursday 19th to Friday 20th November (Term 4, Week 7). The event will go live on Compass the first day of Term 4, and an information pack will be sent home the same day (which will include a form for parent helper volunteers).

In the meantime, we’d encourage students to try a sleepover at a friend’s house, if they have not done this before or often, in preparation for spending a night away from home at camp :)

Thank you to our Grade 3 families for your support this term, and we wish students and families an enjoyable break.

Grade 4

We are almost at the end of Term 3, and what a busy and exciting term it has been! Week 9 is shaping up to be another full and productive week as we consolidate our learning, put the finishing touches on our work and get ready for our much-anticipated Grade 4 camp!

Writing

This week, students will be finishing up their scaffolded persuasive writing tasks. Students have worked hard to research, plan and develop their arguments, and will now focus on editing, refining and publishing their persuasive texts. They will also be typing their final pieces, providing an opportunity to practise presenting their work clearly and accurately.

Students will complete a post-test assessment to demonstrate the progress they have made throughout our persuasive writing unit. We will continue to focus on using persuasive techniques effectively, organising ideas clearly, developing strong arguments and supporting opinions with relevant evidence. It has been fantastic to see students grow in confidence when expressing and justifying their ideas.

Mathematics

In Mathematics, we are continuing to consolidate our understanding of decimals, with students applying their knowledge to a range of problems and real-life situations. We will also revisit rounding and continue to strengthen our understanding of place value.

Students will also be exploring budgeting, applying their mathematical skills to practical situations. They will have opportunities to make decisions, calculate costs, compare options and consider how to work within a given budget.

Reading

Following the completion of our novel study of War Horse, we are using this week to consolidate and deepen our understanding of the text. Students will revisit key vocabulary and explore a range of literacy devices and language features, including hyperbole, synonyms and other techniques authors use to make their writing more engaging and effective.

Students will continue to use evidence from War Horse to support their thinking and responses, while reflecting on the characters, themes, events and important messages within the novel.

Incursions

We have two very exciting visits taking place this week!

On Wednesday, we will welcome Mayor Georgina Oxley to PPS. Students will have the opportunity to learn more about the role of a Mayor, local government and how decisions are made within our community.

Later in the week, we will also welcome Tim Richardson MP, Minister for Local Government, Consumer Affairs. We are looking forward to hearing from both of our visitors and making the most of these valuable learning opportunities.

Week 10 – Camp and Footy Day

We are getting very excited for Grade 4 Camp! Camp takes place during the last week of term, Monday–Wednesday, and we are looking forward to an action-packed few days together.

Please make sure you have checked the camp packing list on Compass and that everything your child needs is ready to go. Remember, students will not be provided with a hard copy of the packing list.

We will then finish the final day of Term 3 with Footy Day! Students will have the opportunity to get into the footy spirit and celebrate the end of a fantastic term together.

Please note that the last day of Term 3 will have an early dismissal.

We can't wait for a fantastic final few weeks of Grade 4!

Grade 4 Team

Grade 5

It’s been another busy week in Grade 5!

Inquiry – Venture into Vitality Students have thoroughly enjoyed working on their group projects, visually representing the circulatory and respiratory systems on large posters. Students are writing captions, labelling the different parts of each system and creatively representing the different elements using coloured card and paper.

Maths – Length, Capacity and Mass Maths groups have begun delving into different areas of measurement, learning how to accurately convert between units, measure the length of a range of objects and use scaled instruments to measure mass. Some groups have even explored the features of a circle and learnt how to use pi, radius and diameter to accurately calculate circumference.

Writing – Information Reports Classes have continued to research, plan and draft their information reports on animals and famous identities who have inspired them. Students have practised independently researching using reliable websites, structuring their micro-group paragraphs with a topic sentence, supporting details and a concluding sentence, and incorporating a range of interesting Tier 3 vocabulary.

Comprehension – A Single Shard As we near the end of our mentor text, students have continued to enjoy reading and learning about Ancient Korea and, in particular, Tree-ear’s journey from Ch’ulp’o to the city of Songdo. We can’t wait to finish the unit next week, with students creating their own little animal figurines using air-dry clay!

Grade 6

What a fantastic few weeks it has been for our Grade 6 students! Camp was an enormous success. We lucked out with beautiful weather, and overall, it was a very memorable experience. Most importantly, our students were outstanding representatives of our school. Camp staff commented that they were one of the best groups to come through the program, highlighting their respectful behaviour, positive attitudes, and the encouragement they consistently showed towards one another. Teachers and parents alike agreed that camp was a wonderful experience, and we are incredibly proud of the maturity and character our students displayed throughout the trip.

Since returning, students have settled back into school routines exceptionally well as we begin wrapping up Term 3. We have now completed The Magician's Nephew, and students should feel proud of the discussions they demonstrated throughout the unit. Our Inquiry topic on the Gold Rush is also drawing to a close, with students reflecting on everything they have learned over the term. In Maths, our current focus will continue into Term 4 as we build on our understanding of key concepts.

As we look ahead, there is a growing sense of excitement about entering the final term of primary school. We are looking forward to finishing the year strongly and making the most of the many opportunities still to come. A reminder to families to check Compass regarding Memory Book purchases, as students will require these for Term 4.

Focus Newsletter

'Together We Achieve'

Issue 16 · 11 Sep 2026

In this issue