What's happening?

Foundation

We are looking forward to our Healthy Habits Incursion on Wednesday next week! Our Healthy Minds Incursion is designed to help students improve their concentration and focus, as well as understand and regulate their emotions.

In Literacy over the next two weeks, we are focusing on words with four codes (i.e. tent). We have continued learning and reviewing our Weird Words. In writing, we are continuing to build our understanding of recount writing. You may like to discuss with your child on Sunday night or Monday morning what you did on the weekend in preparation for their weekend recount. The students know we begin our recounts with an introduction (including a who, what and where). Then follow using time connectives (first, next then), finishing with a personal comment (it was fun/great/lovely).

In our Inquiry topic ‘Healthy Habits’, students have learnt about balancing healthy eating with exercise and having a positive mindset. We are now collecting shoe boxes, which will be made into bedrooms for the student inquiry project. If your child would like to bring in any other materials to help build their room, they are more than welcome.

Throughout the term, we have been discussing the ‘ Zones of Regulation.’ This is an approach used to support the development of self-regulation in children. In the past weeks, students have practised many coping strategies to support them when in the green, yellow, blue or red zone.

Thank you for your continued support in corridor reading and helping students prepare for their fortnightly Show and Tell presentations.

A friendly reminder that next Friday 6th June is a pupil-free day.

Grade 1

Literacy: This week and next, students will continue writing procedural texts, including some assessment pieces. They have been introduced to the structure of a procedural text and have examples of what a strong piece looks like.

Over the past two weeks, our Word Study focus has been the /or/ sound, represented by the spellings “or,” “au,” and “aw.”

“Or” is the most common and can appear anywhere in a word.
“Au” typically appears at the beginning or middle of words (e.g., August, cause).
“Aw” is usually found at the end of words or before certain consonants like l, n, or k (e.g., draw, crawl, dawn).

Our word study practice page for these spellings will be sent home this Thursday. Please note that these pages reflect current classroom learning; some may cover one week, while others span two weeks.

Mathematics: We are currently working on addition and will soon move on to subtraction. Right now, the focus is on strategies that support this transition. Developing fluency with addition facts up to 10 is essential. Once mastered, this skill supports students in becoming confident, capable mathematicians—our goal at this level!

How can you support this at home?

Use ‘friends of 10’ ten-frame flashcards to build fluency.
Play card games like Snap, Go Fish, or Memory, matching number pairs that make 10 (e.g., 2 + 8).
Try quick addition dice games.
Use iPad apps such as Friends of 10 or Make 10 Plus.
If your child is stuck, encourage them to start from the larger number and count on using fingers or counters.

Wicked Weather Incursion: We’re excited for our Wicked Weather incursion next Tuesday, 3rd June! We hope the students come home with lots of exciting stories to share. Thank you to all families for your prompt consent and payment.

Reader Care: Reader care is an important responsibility for our Year 1 students. Currently, we are very short on readers due to lost or damaged books. Please remind your child to take good care of their take-home readers so they can last for future year levels. Thank you for your support!

1S up date:

We are very excited to Welcome Jiva Cory to the Grade 1 team who is replacing Steph Strong who is about to go on Maternity Leave. Jiva will begin Tuesday 10th June and she will have a week of hand over with some shared teaching before Steph finishes on Friday 13th June. We are also very excited for Steph and her partner and will be eagerly awaiting the news about the baby further down the track.

Grade 2

Literacy: Last week we wrapped up our procedural writing unit. This week students have been learning about poetry. We started with ‘Acrostic’ poems, discovering the effectiveness of a good brainstorm before writing our own acrostic pieces.

During our PhOrMes/Word Study lessons, students have been learning to read and spell words pertaining to the i and o pattern. There are some words where the i and o say their second long sound without a Silent Final e. For example: find and most.

Students have also been learning to apply their knowledge from our ‘Grammar Project’ lessons by identifying and defining adverbs. They have also been expanding simple sentences by including adverbs.

Inquiry/Core Knowledge: As part of our inquiry into the ‘states of matter’ (solids, liquids and gases), students are exploring and hypothesising what will happen when matter is heated or cooled. Some of the questions we are investigating include ‘How are containers matched to the stuff they contain?’ ‘How do we group different materials?’ and ‘How does temperature changes affect matter?’. Students are absolutely loving the hands-on nature of our Inquiry topic this term.

Maths: In Maths groups over the last fortnight we have continued to revise and build upon students Addition and Subtraction knowledge, as well as linking the two operations. Practice at home is always beneficial, from ‘quick facts’ games using dice and playing cards, to explaining which strategy was used to solve a problem.

Wellbeing: As part of the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program students have been discussing ways that people and families can differ, as well as sharing ideas about how we can show respect for others, regardless of our diversity.

Homework: Thank you for your support with homework: Regular reading aloud and a weekly Word Study/PhOrMeS worksheet. A reminder that this homework sheet is handed out every Friday and due the following Friday. Optional online extras: ‘Nessy Reading and Spelling’ and ‘Sunset/Jetpack Maths’ (Essential Assessment).

Seesaw: Please remember to check out your child’s Seesaw page to see some of the amazing activities we get to do at school. If you are having difficulty with logging in, please email your child’s teacher.

Grade 3

Core Knowledge:

Over the last two weeks, as part of our unit We Are One, students have been learning about how First Nations totems represent their connection to the land and each other. Each student chose an animal that reflects their personality to be their personal totem. We also explored sustainable practices, as well as the traditional foods and tools of First Nations people.

Writing:

Students have been applying their developing understanding of the structure and language features of information reports by completing a report about the Yarra River. They are now working on their final report for the unit, focusing on First Nations instruments, tools, and shelters.

Word Study:

Over the past few weeks, students have been learning about the Latin base port. They have been practising spelling using morphology by applying prefixes and suffixes to the base port, helping build their vocabulary with words such as export, teleport, and portfolio.

Maths:

After wrapping up this block of our Data unit, we have delved back into Addition & Subtraction. Students have been learning to add and subtract with and without regrouping, using a range of strategies such as partitioning and the vertical algorithm.

Wellbeing:

Our wellbeing focus this fortnight has been on "friendship fires" and how students can use the "friend-o-meter" to recognise what a healthy friendship looks like. There have been collaborative classroom discussions where students have shared strategies to support and strengthen their friendships.

Homework:

Thank you for your ongoing support with homework. We have reminded all students to ask a grown-up to check their homework with them and help fix any errors or make improvements before submitting it. We encourage you to support your child with completing tasks as needed.

We will continue collecting diaries every Friday to monitor and reward home reading. Please remember to check and sign your child's diary each week.

Grade 4

It’s hard to believe that we are moving towards the halfway point of Term 2. The students have been completing a variety of mid-year assessments during the past two weeks. The Grade 4 teachers are so proud of our students for completing these and it’s been wonderful to see some great growth in their learning so far this year.

Reading: We have continued to delve deeper and read about how humans depend on plants for survival, the life cycle of trees and ants as well as how seeds are dispersed by these tiny yet strong insects. Students continue to build their reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension skills from one lesson to the next. We include reviews and retrieval activities so the students can revisit previous learning and use this to continually build upon and develop their understandings which are linked to our Science unit of study.

Writing: Students have completed some terrific research and note taking for a chosen animal’s life cycle or a plant’s life cycle. They have been learning about and practising writing engaging introductions for an explanation text as well as using sequencing words and adverbs of manner when writing the body paragraphs to explain the stages of their animal or plant’s life cycle.

Numeracy: Length and perimeter has been our focus in Maths. There has been plenty of ‘hands on’ work involving measuring, converting and comparing formal units of measurement. Students have also learnt how to measure the perimeter of regular and irregular shapes and have been practicing this using measuring tools such as their ruler.

Excursion to Healesville Sanctuary: The Grade 4’s thoroughly enjoyed their time at Healesville Sanctuary on Friday 23rd May. It was a wonderful day of learning about different animals and their unique features that allow them to adapt to their environment. The bird show was an absolute highlight! Many thanks to the parents who accompanied us on the day.

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.
Mentor Text word study homework + morphology task.
Essential Assessment - My Numeracy task

Grade 5

We’ve had another busy and meaningful week of learning in the classroom!

In Reading, we continued with Rabbit Proof Fence, exploring Chapters 4 and 5. Students were introduced to Molly, Daisy, and Gracie, learning about their early lives at the Jigalong outpost.

As part of Inquiry, we recognised Reconciliation Week by exploring its significance and purpose. We also spent time reflecting on Sorry Day and the importance of storytelling and healing in Australian history.

In Writing, students responded to both the Bushfire Dreaming artwork and Kevin Rudd’s National Apology speech, using emotive and evaluative language to express their understanding and responses.

Our Word Study focus was the morphemes cede/ceed/cess, with students investigating how these roots connect to words about ‘going’.

In Wellbeing, we explored character strengths, helping students identify positive traits in themselves and others.

In Maths, we wrapped up our unit on fractions with impressive growth across the cohort. We’ve now started a short unit on decimals before heading off to camp.

Reminders:

STOMP dance sessions began this Friday and will continue each week for the rest of the term. STOMP has choreographed our school concert dance and will be working with students each Friday morning.
Camp is just around the corner! Please check Compass for final reminders about departure details and medication. Students will need to bring a packed snack and lunch on Monday.
No homework for Week 7. Reading, literacy, and maths homework will resume in Week 8.

We’re incredibly proud of the enthusiasm and effort students continue to show. Bring on camp week!

Grade 6

Literacy

Students have continued their work on information reports this week, researching, planning and writing a text based on the topic of ‘Festivals’ as part of their post unit assessment.

In Reading, we have continued working on our ‘Astronomy: Space Systems’ unit. This week, students have considered the question ‘Why do some stars appear brighter than others?’

Mathematics

In Mathematics, we will be completing our unit on Decimals this week. Students will be revising their work in class before completing two pre-tests on Friday in preparation for our next topics. In Week 7, students will commence our next concept on ‘3D Objects’.

Interschool Sport

Students played their fourth round of interschool sports last week at home against Parktone. We now have a three-week break, during which teams will train on Friday mornings before our next interschool sports round against Mentone on June 20th.

Grade 6 Camp

Information will be sent home in the coming weeks about the Grade 6 Log Cabin Camp in Term 3 from Wednesday 27th August to Friday 29th August. If your child/children will not be attending camp, please contact your child’s teacher as soon as possible.

Term 2 Dates

Please check Compass and Focus for further information regarding Term 2 dates relating to Grade 6 students.