Classroom News

Foundation News

Literacy & Numeracy Update

There has been lots of exciting learning over the last few weeks. Students finished a unit on shapes by creating a variety of pictures using different shapes! They described and sorted rectangles, squares, circles, and triangles based on their features. 

Students explored landmarks in Europe such as the Eiffle Tower and Colosseum in Content Knowledge. As part of their ongoing exploration of the world, students will begin learning about landmarks and animals in Africa this week.

Reminder

This week, we are excited to welcome the team from Responsible Pet Ownership for a special incursion. This interactive session will help our students learn about caring for pets responsibly. A social story is attached to help prepare your children for this experience.

Foundation Kitchen and Garden

Last week in the kitchen, Foundation students used fresh produce to create some healthy snacks. Inspired by pictures of insect-like creatures, they made their own creations out of the healthy selection of fruit and vegetables provided. They had lots of fun making their own creations and enjoyed eating them as well.

Junior School News

Written by one of our students: 

In Kitchen Garden the kids raked some manure because it helps our plants grow! Other kids were looking at dirt, trying to find insects. The girls were trying to find bugs in our garden beds, but didn’t find any. Maybe it was because it’s too cold! JSA did a great job helping out in our garden this week!!

Middle School News

Content Knowledge

Middle School students are continuing to enjoy the adventures of Mole, Water Rat, Toad, Badger and various other friends whilst reading The Wind in the Willows. There is a lot of archaic language included in this text such as ‘calling on’ (visiting someone), using a ‘cudgel’ (a thick stick used as a weapon), or luncheon (lunch). Students have enjoyed learning about and using this vocabulary in discussions about the text. 

Text Construction:

We have been using co-ordinating conjunctions to compose stylish and sophisticated sentences, much like the author of our text, Kenneth Williams. Students have been enjoying challenging themselves with conjunctions such as nor or yet. An example from a Year 3 student: Toad gets excited and buys new things all the time, yet he gets tired of them quickly. 

Numeracy: 

After an exciting week looking at Shape using geoboards, this week we will be rediscovering and refining addition and subtraction facts. We will be practising using friends of 10 and doubles and near doubles initially to build automaticity. Building quick recall of addition and subtraction facts is essential, as it forms the foundation for more complex problem-solving as well as building student confidence. 

Reminders

Students should be reading for at least 20 minutes each night. The Wind in the Willows text is on Google Classroom and accessible from home. When students read at home, please remind them to log it in their diary to receive a dojo point.

Please ensure iPads are charged overnight before bringing them to school each morning. 

Senior School News

In literacy this week we are exploring a deeper understanding of our Information Text study "Mayans, Inca and Aztec." More specifically the Inca who were ruled by the Sapa Inca in the great mountains. Pairing this with our continued collaborative partner reading increasing our accuracy and fluency. 

Throughout text construction students are exploring the use of appositives to improve and strengthen sentences in their work. They are also showing what language features they have learnt and used previously throughout this unit in a three minute writing piece on the Mayans, Inca and Aztec. 

In Numeracy we look to break down a consistent approach to division, building on repetition of our number facts and learning the processes or using algorithms, arrays and building number sentences, pairing this with fact checking by using commutative law. Students also have a few puzzle challenges thrown in to improve their problem solving skills. 

Finally, camp is only right around the corner and the students are all very excited which is fantastic! Students will have a informative exploration in the classes on what to expect and a detailed plan of the trip. A friendly reminder to all our families to follow up payments before we set sail next Wednesday. 

If any questions need answering, please contact the front office or your teacher and we can help support you with your inquiry.