What's Happening
Foundation
Literacy
Within Phormes, we have begun learning how to read and write CVCC words (four-sound code words). In writing, students are building on their knowledge of recount writing and beginning to challenge themselves by including extra information and details in their work.
Maths
Next week, we will conclude our Addition unit. Students have been focusing on solving addition stories and problems using a range of strategies to support their understanding. These include counting on from the larger number, using Friends of 10, working with number lines and tens frames, and exploring concepts through hands-on manipulatives. These tools have helped students make meaningful connections and develop confidence in their addition skills.
We will also spend time revising and consolidating the learning that has taken place throughout the term.
Looking ahead to Term 3, students will begin their second unit on Place Value. This unit will build on their prior knowledge and deepen their understanding of how numbers are composed and related, providing a strong foundation for future maths learning.
Inquiry
In our Inquiry unit, Healthy Habits, students have been learning about the difference between needs and wants. To consolidate their understanding, they have been busy designing and constructing their own bedrooms, thoughtfully including items they need and want in order to be healthy and happy.
A big thank you to families for providing the materials needed to complete this project. Students are excited to share their creations, which will be sent home during the final week of Term 2!
Reminders
- Pupil-Free Day – Wednesday 24th June: Webex links will be sent home on Monday.
- Last Day of Term 2: School finishes early on the last day of term at 2:30 pm.
- Please refrain from bringing toys to school. If your child has a comfort toy, it must remain in their school bag throughout the day.
- As the weather becomes wetter and colder, please ensure that all jumpers and jackets are clearly labelled with your child's name.
- Over the holidays, we kindly ask that you check whether any name labels have fallen off and replace them if necessary.
- Please also ensure your child has a spare change of underwear, pants and socks in their school bag at all times, as accidents can occasionally happen at school.
Although we will not be assigning homework over the holidays, we highly encourage students to continue reading regularly and working towards their independent reading goals.
As we approach the end of Term 2, we would like to say a huge thank you for your ongoing support at home. We are especially grateful to the parents who volunteered their time to assist with corridor reading this term. It has made a significant difference, and we look forward to continuing this program in Term 3.
We are so proud of our Foundation students and the amazing growth they have shown throughout their first semester of school. It has been a joy to watch their confidence and independence develop each day.
Term 3 Special Event
We will be celebrating our 100 Days of School early next term. A detailed notice with more information will be sent home next week.
We look forward to welcoming everyone back for the first day of Term 3 on Monday 13th July.
Happy Holidays!
The Foundation Team
Grade 1
With just one week left of the term, the weather has provided plenty of inspiration for our Year 1 students! In Literacy,
students have been combining their Weather unit learning with writing by researching and creating information reports about clouds. They have enjoyed learning weather-related vocabulary while developing their report-writing skills.
In Word Study, our focus has been on the trigraphs "air" and "ear". We encourage students to look for these spelling patterns in their take-home readers and books at home.
In Numeracy, students have been learning about Time. They have been exploring seconds, minutes, and hours, ordering the months of the year, matching seasons, and using calendars to identify days, months, and important dates.
In Wellbeing, students participated in role-play activities focusing on tone of voice and how the way we say something can affect how others feel and respond.
Grade 2
We are almost at the end of term 2, only one more week to go! We’d like to congratulate our Grade 2 students on their terrific effort and progress this term- they should be very proud of themselves! Thank you to our wonderful Grade 2 parents for your ongoing support.
Literacy: Our Grade 2 students have continued to be really engaged during our poetry unit and have produced some excellent Diamante and Rhyming Couplet poetry over the last few weeks. Students have been able to build on their understanding and skills around rhythm and rhyme in poetry.
During our PhOrMes/Word Study lessons, students have continued to read and spell words with c and g making their second sounds (c=s and g=j). C and g make their second sound when followed by the letters e, i or y. Words include ice, cinema, cycle, gem, giant and gym.
Students have also been learning to apply their knowledge from our ‘Grammar Project’ lessons by finishing sentences when given a sentence stem containing a subordinating conjunction (before and after).
Inquiry/Core Knowledge: As part of our Inquiry/Core knowledge unit ‘All Mixed Up’, students have continued to investigate changes to matter (solids, liquids, gases) and conducted experiments to determine if changes to matter caused by heating or cooling can be reversed.
Maths: Students have continued to build their understanding of telling the time, focusing on telling the time on analogue and digital clocks. As always, opportunities to explore these concepts in everyday situations at home will be a wonderful way to consolidate and build on your child’s knowledge.
Wellbeing: We have been identifying physical reactions we might have to the different emotions we can feel. Students have also created their own personal tool kit for self-regulation and ways they can calm down when faced with a challenging situation.
Grade 3
Novel Study – We have been reading the text, ‘Yirra and her Deadly Dog, Demon’, a story about indigenous children living in Sydney. In addition to focusing on the ‘big ideas’ within the text so far, students been building vocabulary, sentence writing skills, and their understanding of literary devices (e.g. similes and idioms).
Writing: To kick off our poetry unit, students have been developing their rhyming skills and syllable knowledge, with a focus on limericks – challenging but lots of fun! Keep an eye on Seesaw to see some of their work. Next week, we will explore Haiku poetry.
Word Study: This fortnight, we have been learning more about the Greek morpheme ‘bi’ and Latin morpheme ‘rupt’, and using these with a variety of prefixes and suffixes. We have also been reviewing when ‘y to i rule when adding a suffix’, as well as reading and spelling a range of homophones and ‘weird words’.
Maths: Over the last three weeks of this term, we are working through one of our ‘Multiplication and Division’ units. Students have been representing problems using number sentences, diagrams and arrays, and using a variety of calculation strategies to solve. Students can consolidate their learning further at home by using learned strategies to solve ‘everyday’ multiplication and division situations, along with practising facts/times tables.
Wellbeing, Social Skills and Friendships: Our session this fortnight highlighted hot topics for this age group including: birthday parties, how to kindly decline, feeling caught in the middle, following & copying, and “stealing” friends. Our final session for the term ties it all together, reviewing the key concepts covered so far.
Homework: Thank you for your ongoing support with homework this term - we are very impressed with the students’ effort to complete tasks, and hope that the homework has helped consolidate their learning, as well as giving parents some insight into what their children are learning each week. We encourage all students to continue with regular reading over the last week of term and throughout the holidays. All school ‘take home’ books need to be returned before Friday 26th June please.
Grade 4
Our Star Time incursion was a huge success this week the students learnt so much about the movie making process such as how to use a green screen, filming techniques, editing processes such as transitions, sound effects etc. It was great to see co-operative group work and problem solving amongst the students.
Literacy: Speaking and listening skills were put to the test during our Star Time movie making incursions on Monday 15th June and Wednesday 17th June. The students did an excellent job with writing, reading, rehearsing and delivering their scripts when recording their speaking parts. We are now reading a great class novel called, ‘The Worst Witch’ and the students are completing reading comprehension tasks and vocabulary activities for each chapter that we cover.
Numeracy: Space is our current Maths concept in Grade 4. Students have been looking at the geometric properties of 2D shapes and 3D objects as well as identifying common shapes in composite shapes. Students have been learning about the different transformations that shapes and objects can undergo such as reflection (flip), rotation (turn) and slide (translation). They have also completed work that involved creating symmetrical shapes and pictures.
Daily Reviews are embedded into our lessons every day with each Maths class. The tasks in these reviews cover previous concepts that the students have been taught such as multiplication (facts, 2-digit x 1-digit), fractions, decimals, time, addition and subtraction. The purpose of our Daily Reviews is to help students consolidate their understanding of previously taught skills and concepts and to build fluency and recall.
Science: We have begun a new science unit called, ‘Melting Moments’ which comes under the umbrella of ‘chemical sciences’ for Level 3 & 4 of the science curriculum. Our Grade 4’s will be investigating a change of state between solids and liquid that can be caused by adding or removing heat. Students have been introduced to the structure of science reports and will be writing these for different activities and experiments that they will be completing in class.
Homework:
- Reading 5 x week. Students should be recording their reading in their diary, and we ask if you could please sign these at the end of the week.
- Morphology homework - ‘hydr’ (on Seesaw or as a hard copy)
- My Numeracy Task - Multiplication & Division - VC2M4NO6
- Multiplication fact practice.
Grade 5
What a productive and exciting fortnight it has been in Grade 5! Students have continued to challenge themselves across all learning areas, demonstrating curiosity, creativity, and a strong commitment to their learning. We are proud of the effort students have shown and look forward to sharing some of the wonderful learning experiences taking place in our classroom.
Reading
Students are continuing their study of Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence and are nearing the end of the novel. To deepen their understanding of the text, students will soon watch the film adaptation and compare how the story, characters, and events are portrayed in both the book and the movie. They have been reflecting on the journey of the characters and evaluating their decisions, emotions, and relationships, while understanding the historical significance of their escape. Through discussions and comprehension activities, students are developing their ability to analyse character actions and consider different perspectives.
Writing
Students have been exploring a variety of poetry forms, including limericks and ballads. They have been creating limericks inspired by Indigenous locations and Australian animals, focusing on rhyme, rhythm, and humour. Students have also been writing ballads based on the characters and events from Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, using descriptive language and storytelling techniques to bring the experiences of the characters to life.
Maths
Students have begun a new unit on probability, aligned with the Victorian Curriculum. They are learning to describe the likelihood of events occurring using terms such as certain, likely, unlikely, and impossible. Students are exploring chance through hands-on investigations, including flipping coins, rolling dice, and selecting counters from a bag. They are also learning to record and represent the theoretical probability of simple events using fractions and everyday language. Through these activities, students are developing their understanding of how probability can be used to predict and explain outcomes in real-world situations.
Inquiry
Students have been researching influential Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, including figures such as David Unaipon, Cathy Freeman, and Sir Douglas Nicholls. As part of their research, students are investigating the achievements of these individuals, the challenges they faced, and the significant impact they have had on both Indigenous communities and Australian society. This learning is helping students develop a greater appreciation of the contributions and resilience of First Nations peoples.
Wellbeing
As part of the Respectful Relationships (RRRR) program, students have been exploring personal strengths and the importance of showing respect for others. Students discussed what respect looks like, sounds like, and feels like at school, both in the classroom and during recess and lunch. Through class discussions and collaborative activities, students reflected on how respectful actions help create a positive, inclusive, and supportive learning environment for everyone.
Sport
Students have been developing their teamwork, communication, and movement skills through a range of handball-style games, including American handball. They have also been participating in netball and soccer activities, where they have focused on game strategies, cooperation, and demonstrating good sportsmanship.
Word Study
In Word Study, students have continued their PhOrMeS learning by exploring the Greek root psych, meaning mind, and the Latin root put(e), meaning to cut, clip, or clean. Students investigated a range of words containing these roots and examined how understanding the meaning of individual word parts can help them determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. This work supports students' vocabulary development, spelling knowledge, and overall understanding of how words are constructed and connected.
The students and teachers are looking forward to a cozy and safe winter holidays.
Grade 6
Literacy
Students have continued their media study on the movie ‘Hidden Figures’ this week. Students have undertaken a quiz and are writing a response text based on the film.
In Reading, we will soon be concluding our ‘Astronomy: Space Systems’ unit. Students will be completing an end-of-unit quiz and may have the opportunity to research a significant question or idea related to space.
Mathematics
In Mathematics, we have finished our unit on ‘Fractions, Decimals & Percentages’, with students completing their post-test on Friday. Students have commenced our new topic, ‘Probability’, this week.
Interschool Sport
Students played interschool sport against Mentone last week. Our next round is this Friday 19th June, away at Kingswood.
Space Incursion
On Thursday of this week, students participated in a space-themed incursion involving the ‘Science Discovery Dome’. Children also completed several space-related activities throughout the day to celebrate the end of the unit.
Camp
Information will be sent home soon about the Grade 6 Log Cabin Camp in Term 3 from Wednesday 26th August to Friday 28th August. If your child/children will not be attending camp, please contact your child’s teacher as soon as possible.
Term 2 & 3 Dates
Please check Compass and Focus for further information regarding Term 2 and 3 dates relating to Grade 6 students.