Learning and Teaching
💻 DT Term 3 Update! 💻
Juniors
This term, the Junior students have begun an introduction to coding. Last week, the Juniors learned that coding is giving a set of instructions to complete a given task.
To learn about this they helped to put some instructions of how to make a vegemite sandwich in order so that the steps made sense and were easy to follow. They also practiced using directional language to guide a friend from
one point in their classroom to another. The Juniors then created some unplugged codes, writing instructions in their own coded language which incorporated arrows, numbers and symbols, to direct a partner to a given point in the room.
In doing this, the juniors discovered how important it is that our codes are in a sequential
order, are easy to read, and use a consistent code. In Week 5, they will be using what they have learned in order to code the BeeBots!
Seniors
The Senior students have begun the term by
analysing different online games to discover what makes a game interesting and engaging for an audience. Not only have they played different games such as Tetris, Pacman and Drift Boss to determine the effectiveness of the game's purpose and the ability to use the controls. The students have also broken down the user interface (the screen that the user can see and interact with) to begin getting ideas for their own games. The students identified that the most effective games are eye-catching, colourful, have a consistent theme, have challenges or levels and have a competitive aspect.
This week, the Seniors have begun designing their own game user interface based on what they stated were important aspects to a game. In their next session, they will then use their design to create their game through the program Code.org.
MATHEMATICS
MENTAL STRATEGIES WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR WEEK 5 & 6 of TERM 3 AT SFS!
The strategies children will be focusing on over the next two weeks are:
| YEAR LEVEL | STRATEGY and SUGGESTIONS FOR PRACTICING AT HOME |
| Foundation | Subitising in the range 1 -10 (using dice or dominoes) What is subitising? Subitising is when you are able to look at a group of objects and realise how many there are without counting. This only works with small groups of numbers and we normally go no further than 10. This is common with objects on dice or dominoes and even a tens frame, where we are so familiar with the arrangement of numbers that just by looking at the objects we know how many there are.
At home, you can do this if you have dice or dominoes or by even representing a number to 10 with materials (e.g. pasta, counters, lego pieces etc.) and asking your child to quickly identify the number represented. They should not have time to count the objects – it is all about visual recognition. |
| Year 1 | Skip counting by 2s, 5s & 10s. This is a great strategy to practice at home as it can be done anywhere and anytime and only takes 1 minute of your time each day to practice. Simply ask your child to start skip counting by 2,5 or 10 starting from zero and see how far they can go. Can they make it to 100!! Challenge: can they skip counting starting from a different number e.g. start at 3 and count by 2s. |
| Year 2 | Partitions of 11-19. -What numbers when combined make any of the numbers between 11-19. Can you record all the combinations in 2 minutes or say them out aloud as fast as you can?
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| Year 3 | Practice multiplication facts – 2,5 & 10 Practice your 2,5 and 10 multiplication facts at home over the next 2 weeks. Can you write them out in 1 minute – can you automatically recall a fact asked by a family member e.g. 2X4=8. Do you realise that multiplication facts link to skip counting patterns? Can you recognise the commutativity in multiplication facts? – that is that 2X5 is the same as 5x2. If you know the answer to one, you know the answer to both. |
| Year 4 & 5 | Practice Multiplication & Division Facts to 10 x 10. Practice multiplication and division facts at home over the next 2 weeks. Can you write them out in 1 minute – can you automatically recall a fact asked by a family member. Can you explain the relationship between multiplication and division – how does this help you with improving your automatic recall of facts? |
| Year 6 | Count forwards and backwards by 1s to and from any number. This is a great strategy to practice at home as it can be done anywhere and anytime and only takes 1 minute of your time each day to practice. Can you challenge your child to start from a 5 or 6 digit number and count forwards or backwards by 1s. |
SPORTS NEWS
SENIOR SPORTS
GRADE 5/6 INTERSCHOOL SPORTS
CASEY NETBALL TOURNAMENT
Next week on Tuesday our Girls Netball team will get a chance to be involved in the Casey Netball Tournament. We wish them all the best in this competition.
OPEROO
District Athletics will take place on Wednesday August 23rd. Parents if your child is on the Athletics Team, please sign the Operoo form giving permission for your child to attend.
5/6 Interschool Sport
Our 5/6's played against Rivergum Primary School today in our first Winter Interschool Sport session. Our Melbourne weather didn't disappoint us, it was awfully windy, so well done to both schools. All teams played with great sportsmanship, I commend both schools' attitude today. Thanks to Trevor, Jakeb's grandfather for helping out in our AFL game today.
Giuliana & Lulli