Student Learning Snapshots

PREP SNAPSHOT 

Hi Prep families, 

In Literacy, students have been reviewing all the sounds we have learned throughout the year, and reading and writing words with these sounds. Students have also continued learning how to write a recount of an experience by using the words ‘First’, ‘Next’ and ‘Then’ to support sequencing their ideas. Students have also been introduced to letter writing. 

In Maths, students have continued reviewing addition and subtraction and strategies we can use to solve addition and subtraction problems. Students have also been reviewing other areas of maths such as graphing and patterns. 

Students have begun their new Inquiry unit of ‘push and pull’. Students have engaged in a range of hands-on activities and exploring the different focuses to move objects, such as pushing or pulling things, and explaining the impact. 

Reminders: 

• Library is on Mondays. Please return all library books. There will be no more borrowing for the year. 
• Please return any take home readers back on Mondays so these can be swapped to new ones for the week. 
• Please ensure students come with a hat and drink bottle. Students will be required to sit in a shaded area if they do not come with a hat. 

Thankyou! 

Prep team. 

YEAR 1/2 SNAPSHOT 

Grade 1 and 2 students have had an amazing few weeks!

In Maths we have been learning about time - so our past few weeks on halves and quarters have been very handy now as we move across to learning how to tell the time on an analogue clock. We are learning about telling the time in different ways too; 3:30 or half-past 3. Test us at home and see how we go! 🙂 We have also been refreshing the days/weeks/months of the year and learning about using calendars. 

In Literacy, we have been learning more about using description in our stories and the Grade 2’s have also been learning how to use dialogue/speech in our stories, and how to punctuate speech correctly. We have been writing some amazing stories that include a problem and a solution to make for a better storyline for our readers. We have all been working really hard on our reading skills and it is amazing to see how much growth has been made from our students from the beginning of the year to now. 

In Knowledge, we have begun our ‘Light and Sound’ unit of work. We have started with ‘light’ and have looked at many areas regarding this. A fantastic activity was tracing our shadows outside on Chaucer Street and seeing the poses that our students made for their partners to trace.  We also made shadow puppets in small groups and the artwork created by tracing these shadows was amazing to see. Students are asked to begin collecting resources for our Knowledge unit - keep an eye on Compass for posts about these. 

Reminders: 

• Library is on Tuesdays - please make sure that your child/dependant has their library books to return as borrowing of library books is soon to cease for 2024. 
• Term 4 is ‘No Hat = No Play’ at HBPS, so please make sure that hats are kept at school. 
• Please ensure that your child/dependant brings their fruit/vegetables for our ‘Brain Food’ time in the morning (10am).
• Please make sure your child/dependant also has their drink bottle every day as the weather gets warmer - a lot of learning time is being lost by trips to the drink tap.

YEAR 3/4 SNAPSHOT 

Grade 3 and 4 students have been powering through our literacy and numeracy learning!

In literacy, students are learning about themes in the story ‘The Wind in the Willows,’ and are connecting these to the characters, Toad, Rat and Mole. Our students have read along with their teacher and also have practised choral and echo reading. This is where they read altogether in unison, and also after the teacher so that they can practise fluent and expressive reading. We have continued to consolidate our understanding of compound and complex sentences using examples from The Wind in the Willows. Our literacy goal this year had been to improve fluency in reading and our students have done an amazing job by reading texts and getting feedback from a peer. Testing results have shown that our students have improved their retelling, more words per minute read and their comprehension through their work. We are so proud of them!

In numeracy, we have been learning to apply our knowledge of sharing into groups and how this transfers to fractions. Students have been learning about parts of a whole, equivalent fractions and fractions with more than 1 whole. We recently began learning about tenths and how this connects to our place value system ‘base ten’. Students have made links between the words tenths and the decimal system. They are doing such a great job!

In knowledge, we have moved from ‘Energy Transfer’ where we learned how energy is transferred through moving objects to a new topic, ‘Human Motion’. Students have learned about how their bodies move, including the movement of muscles, bones and nerves.

Reminders:

• Library is on Thursday.
• Please check with your child if they think they are getting enough food. Many students are eating nearly all their food at the first eating time and are hungry later on. When this happens, they can sometimes need a provided sandwich, however some kids are just happy with a piece of fruit from our basket which is absolutely welcome.
• Many children are not coming with a drink bottle and are asking for drink breaks during the learning time.  Let us know if we can help you with getting a drink bottle.

YEAR 5/6 SNAPSHOT 

Our Year 5/6 students have been engaged in a wide variety of exciting activities that showcase their growing skills, knowledge, and leadership.

The Year 5 students have been working closely with our Prep classes as part of their training to become Prep buddies in 2025. Through these interactions, they are learning how to support younger students while fostering confidence and empathy.

In science, students have been investigating the fascinating world of light, reflection, and refraction. They have conducted hands-on experiments and recorded their findings on Google Slides. Each investigation includes a hypothesis, procedure, results, and discussion, helping students build essential scientific inquiry and documentation skills. Our Year 6 students have been sharing their science work with their Prep buddies, deepening their understanding through peer teaching.

In literacy, students have been developing their presentation skills by delivering speeches on topics of their choice. These speeches allow them to express their passions and interests while practicing public speaking. Building on our earlier exploration of biographies, students are now crafting their own autobiographies, reflecting on their personal journeys and celebrating their unique experiences.

In maths, students have been building their multiplication skills, exploring multiples and factors, and applying their knowledge to real-world contexts. They have also been learning about volume, using the formula length × width × height to solve practical problems and deepen their understanding of three-dimensional measurements.

We are so proud of the creativity, curiosity, and leadership displayed by our Year 5/6 students this term!

5/6 Team

SPECIALIST 

Across this term students in all year levels have been working on continuing to build good sportsmanship by participating in a range of sports and games with a focus on acting in a kind and respectful manner towards all other participants regardless of outcomes. Students have also been working on following rules and being honest during games that require autonomy.

Year 1 and 2 students have been continuing to explore games and activities that involve striking, they have used cricket bats, tennis racquets and other implements to strike balls with control.  They completed a mini golf course striking tennis balls along the ground with racquets, attempting to get their ball in the target with the least number of hits. They have also been applying these skills in modified games of cricket. 

Year 3 and 4 students have been continuing to build their capacity to control a ball with advanced skills by throwing and catching in game situations, they have also been refining their striking ability. They have been completing a unit on cricket where they have participated in throwing and catching, and bat control challenges. They have learned a range of modified games where they have applied these skills. They were particularly enthusiastic about the game ‘Rapid Strike’ where they had to hit a ball off three separate tees with accuracy and control and make as many runs as possible before the opposing team reset the tees.

Grade 5 and 6 students have been learning all about fitness. They have explored the components of fitness including cardiovascular health, flexibility, muscular endurance and strength. They participated in exercises that focused on each of the components. They completed a project where they developed their own  fitness circuit with exercises for all components and then filmed a video for others to complete their circuit. They have also learnt about the importance of safe stretching activities to maintain and develop flexibility.