Marlborough Primary School

From the Classroom

News from 5/6

In English, we are continuing to focus on Narrative and Persuasive writing in readiness for NAPLAN. We will also focus on reading through an article and answering comprehensions questions. In Numeracy, we are looking at how to solve maths problems that involve multiple operations and will be starting a project on creating a 'new space' in the school using measurement and financial planning. 

 

As you know, NAPLAN is starting next week.  Students will complete the tests on the following days;

  • Writing test on Wednesday 13th March 
  • Reading test on Monday 18th March 
  • Language Conventions test on Tuesday 19th March 
  • Numeracy test on Wednesday 20th March
  • Catch up days for tests will occur throughout those dates and on Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd March 

 

The 5/6 students are very excited about Gala Day, which is Friday 15th March. Students need to wear their runners, bring fruit, snack and lunch (no lunch orders) and their water bottle.  We will be playing against many schools in the Maroondah Network and students will be participating in either Volleybounce, Hots Shots Tennis, Kanga 8 Cricket or Basketball.

What's happening in 3/4

In English we are continuing learning how to plan and write a narrative. We have also  been investigating the many roles of  ' Final Silent E' in the spelling of the English language. In numeracy we are increasing our number fluency through 'Speedy Maths'. and sharing our understanding of addition and subtraction. 

 

Homework was sent home on Tuesday for all students. Each student has a homework book with a worksheet attached inside. Our homework schedule works on an 11 day cycle. This allows for students and families who have out of hours commitments. Homework is expected to be returned by Friday 15th of March.

 

NAPLAN begins next week for our year 3 students. As this is a new experience for the year 3 students we have been exposing them to the type of questions and tasks that they can expect. We encourage all students to treat NAPLAN just as they would any other school task and strive to achieve their Personal Best.

The schedule for NAPLAN is as follows:

  • Writing test on Wednesday 13th March 
  • Reading test on Thursday 14th March 
  • Language Conventions test on Monday 18th March 
  • Numeracy test on Tuesday 19th March
  • Catch up days for tests will occur throughout those dates and on Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd March

 

Adventures of 1/2

In English, we have been learning about how to write a weekend recount. We have been looking at punctuation with a focus on capital letters and full stops and how to form sentences correctly. Students have been learning about a character's feelings and actions in a story. 

 

In Maths, 1/2 students have had fun learning about place value with MAB. We made MAB monsters and shared how many hundreds, tens and ones each monster had. We have also enjoyed learning about the different seasons and which months they happen. We made sure to focus on typical seasonal weather, and not the unpredictable Melbourne weather!

 

 

In Wellbeing, 1/2 classes have started their Friendology unit. We are learning to be friendship ninjas! We know how to look after ourselves and recognise the different emotions we feel. We’re also learning new strategies to help us make new friends.

Fantastic Foundation

Foundation students have started attending school full time and they are adjusting well to the extra day. It is amazing to see their confidence and responsibility for their learning grow.

In Literacy, students have learnt the first four phonemes s, a, t, p,i,n and have been practising finding these and remembering their sound. We will be continuing to learn our phonemes with a focus in the coming weeks on m,d,g,o.

Well done Foundation you have shown respect wonderfully during our lessons by caring for their books and classroom library. 

In Maths, students have been practising counting and representing numbers to 10. Students have learnt the skill of being a subitizing superhero. Subitizing is the ability to instantly recognize the number of objects without actually counting them. They have had lots of fun playing bingo and other games to subitize dots on the dice and find the matching digit.

In Inquiry, Foundation students have been learning about their personal strengths and created a strengths tree in the classroom. We have also been learning about emotions and categorising them into negative and positive. In the next week we will be learning skills in how to make a friend.

 

Physical Education

 

More photos of our great tennis skills in action. 

 

 

 

Please note my working days at Marlborough  PS  for Physical Education are

 Thursdays and Fridays   

Bonny Chisholm /Physical Education.

 

Science

Another fun few weeks of science in the STEAM room. The past few weeks in our science class have been nothing short of botanical. 

 

The preppies, with creativity and enthusiasm, embraced the world of horticulture by crafting their very own grass heads last week. It was super fun and super messy! These fuzzy green companions have become the focal point of our recent lessons, as we have learnt how to care and look after them. From understanding the optimal amount of water to the importance of sunlight for their growth, the students been able to shower their grassy friends with love and attention. Hopefully they start to grow more this week! 

 

Meanwhile, the fifth and sixth graders took on the challenge of soil testing, a hands-on exploration that had them predicting the perfect conditions for wheat grass seeds to thrive. Cups filled with sand, soil, and potting mix became the battlegrounds for their hypotheses. Additionally, the students pondered the impact of light on seed growth, making predictions about whether the seeds would flourish in full sun, shade, or darkness. The anticipation in the air is palpable as we eagerly await the results to see if their predictions will blossom into reality over the next few weeks.

The third and fourth graders, armed with keen observational skills, became mini beast hunters. Working in groups outside, they scoured our school yard for the tiniest of creatures. The first and second graders, having discovered their mini beasts, expressed their artistic talents by sketching these tiny wonders, capturing every unique feature. On the other hand, the third and fourth graders took on the challenge of using a 'key' to categorize and determine the characteristics of the mini beasts they encountered outside. 

Warm regards,

Jenny Turner

Science teacher.