Damascus Community

Dear Families,

Welcome back to Term 4! 

We hope everyone has enjoyed a restful break and is ready for a busy and exciting final term.

Our Year 2 students have made a wonderful start to the term, quickly getting back into our school routines and enjoying being together again. It has been lovely to see them reconnecting with their classmates and approaching their learning with energy and a positive attitude.

At the end of last term, we said farewell for now to Mrs Amanda Karamas she began her maternity leave and prepares to welcome her second child. We wish Mrs Karam and her family all the very best during this exciting time. We are also very happy to welcome back Mrs Alison Gracie, who will be working in 2A every second Monday.

We are looking forward to a wonderful Term 4 together!

Religious Education:

For our learning in Religion, students will explore what it means to be invited, welcomed and included through a story told by Jesus. They will discuss who is invited, what happens in the story and what its message teaches us about welcoming others. Students will also prepare for our Year 2 Mass, which will be held on Wednesday 14 October at 9:30 am.

English:

Throughout Reading, students will revise the 1-1-1 rule to help them understand when to double the final consonant in a word. They will explore morphemes, build their vocabulary, and develop prosody by reading with appropriate expression, phrasing and fluency.

During Writing, the students will be using the conjunctions before, after, when and if to sequence events from The Boy and the Elephant. They will also begin exploring persuasive writing, identifying persuasive features and planning an engaging topic sentence using rhetorical questions and emotive language, while continuing to build their writing stamina and organise their ideas into paragraphs.

Mathematics:

Our Year 2 mathematicians will be exploring quarters and eighths of collections by dividing collections into equal groups. They will find one quarter and one eighth of larger collections and investigate halves and quarters of lengths and shapes by folding them into equal parts.

Integrated Curriculum:

This week in Integrated, students had the opportunity to share their mini performaces with the class. Moving on from this, we will be using The Ngarrngga project  which is a University of Melbourne initiative led by First Nations educators that help teachers confidently embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and knowledge across all learning areas. Students will be learning to understand the importance of Country and how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples connect with, respect and care for Country. 

Auslan:

In Auslan, students will learn how to describe objects and their colours, following the correct Auslan order by signing the object first and then its colour. They will practise recognising and signing at least three different colours and use these signs to describe familiar objects.

Social & Emotional Learning:

In Social & Emotional Learning, students will explore the qualities of a trusted adult and identify adults they can go to when they need help. They will practise asking for help, recognising when they may need adult support, and understanding the importance of continuing to seek help until someone listens and helps them.

• Read together and ask your child to summarise the beginning, middle and end, read with prosody (expression, phrasing and fluency) and use clues to work out the author’s message.
• Explore fractions at home by sharing everyday items into halves, quarters or eighths. Try sharing fruit, crackers, toys or other objects into equal groups and talk about how each group needs to be equal.
• Have a go at persuading someone! Ask your child to convince you about something simple, such as which movie to watch or what to have for dinner. Encourage them to give a strong reason and use words that make you care about their idea.

Important Classroom Reminders:

• Hats and drink bottles: As the weather becomes warmer, please ensure your child brings their named school hat and a refillale drink bottle. Students are only permitted to havewater only in their drink bottles. 
• Label belongings: Please clearly label all belongings, particularly hats, jumpers and jackets, so they can be easily returned if misplaced.
• Reading books: Please remind your child to change their reading books when they are ready for new ones.
• Spare clothes: Please keep a change of clothes, including socks and underwear, in the front pocket of your child’s school bag in case they are needed.
• Fidget tools & toys: Please leave fidget tools and toys at home unless they are part of an approved adjustment organised in consultation with the school and relevant professionals.

Important Dates to Remember:

• Wed14th October- Damascus hosting Mass @ 9.30
• Fri 30th October- World Teacher's Day
• Mon 2nd November-  No school- School Closure Day

• Tues 3rd November- Public Holiday- Melbourne Cup

   

We hope you have a lovely weekend and look forward to another great week of learning together.

The Damascus Team

Contact us @Damascus

damascus@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au  (all teachers) or