Classroom News
Foundation Curriculum Newsletter - Term 3, Week 8
Dear Parents/ Caregivers,
Welcome to Weeks 8 and 9! It is hard to believe we are already approaching the end of Term 3. It has been another fantastic term filled with learning, growth and lots of fun experiences, and we are looking forward to finishing the term on a high with several exciting school events.
A few important dates to pop in your calendar:
- Friday 4th September: Father's Day Breakfast and Father's Day Stall.
- Thursday 10th September: Our annual Art Show, where students will proudly showcase the wonderful artwork they have created throughout the year. Students can also come dressed on this day as their favourite artist or in something colourful and creative. A gold coin donation would be appreciated for our Art room kiln purchase.
- Friday 11th September: Our grade 6 students will hold a Halloween Costume Stall to help raise funds for their graduation.
- Friday 18th September: Last day of Term 3 and our Footy Colours Day! Students are invited to dress in the colours or jersey of their favourite football team. This can be any football code they follow AFL, NRL, soccer, rugby, NFL or another team they love. We can't wait to see the colourful outfits!
Thank you for your continued support throughout the term. We are excited to enjoy these special events together and make the most of the final few weeks of Term 3!
Date | Event |
| Wednesday, 2nd September | Hands on Science Weather Incursion |
| Friday, 4th September | Fathers Day Breakfast, Father’s Day Stall |
| Thursday, 10th September | Art Show Art Show Dressup Day |
| Friday, 11th September | Halloween Costume Sale |
| Friday, 18th September | Last Day of Term, Footy Dress Up Day |
Literacy:
Over the next two weeks, our literacy learning will continue to build students' reading, writing and spelling skills through engaging texts and explicit instruction.
In Reading (Core Knowledge), students will explore the texts Safety in Storms and Meteorology, building their understanding of different types of weather, how meteorologists help us, and ways to stay safe during severe weather. Along the way, we will continue to develop comprehension strategies, expand vocabulary and make connections to our Science learning.
In Writing, students will continue strengthening their writing skills by learning about text structure and the features of informative texts. They will participate in modelled writing, structure activities, toolkit lessons and story mapping to help them organise their ideas before beginning their own writing. Regular dictation activities will also continue to support sentence construction, punctuation and spelling.
In Sounds-Write, we will continue consolidating Unit 11, with a focus on blending and segmenting increasingly complex words through symbol searches, sound swaps, word building, reading and spelling activities, and daily dictations. Students will also learn the new Heart Words these, two, my, try and by, helping to build both their decoding skills and automatic recognition of high-frequency words.
Numeracy:
Over the next two weeks, our mathematicians will continue developing their understanding of addition and subtraction within 10 through a range of engaging, hands-on learning experiences.
Students will explore a variety of addition and subtraction word problems, using part-part-whole, take apart and take away stories to build their understanding of how numbers work together. They will use concrete materials, drawings and number sentences to solve problems, explain their thinking and make connections between different mathematical strategies.
As students become more confident, they will investigate "finding how many more" problems and apply their knowledge to solve a range of mixed addition and subtraction word problems independently.
We will also continue our Facts on Fire sessions, focusing on Dot Number Totals to strengthen number recognition, subitising and fluency with number facts. To finish the fortnight, students will consolidate their learning through a variety of fun and interactive maths games that encourage collaboration, problem-solving and mathematical thinking.
HASS: Science: Weather and Seasons:
In Science, students explore how we can care for Country by learning about the important connection between people, plants, animals and the environment. They will discover simple ways to look after nature, including protecting plants and animals, keeping our surroundings clean and respecting the natural world. Students also became Nature Detectives, carefully observing and recording clues from the environment, just as scientists do. Through hands-on investigations, discussions and outdoor observations, students developed their skills in noticing patterns, asking questions and learning from the world around them.
Wellbeing:
In Respectful Relationships, students explore why we wear clothes and learn that clothing helps to protect our bodies, keep us comfortable and cover our private body parts. We also introduce the concept of body safety, helping students understand that their body belongs to them and that they have the right to feel safe. Through age-appropriate stories, discussions and role-play, students practised the "No, Go, Tell" safety strategy, learning that they can say "No" to unwanted touch, "Go" to a safe place if they can, and "Tell" a trusted adult if something makes them feel unsafe or worried. These lessons help students build confidence, recognise trusted adults and understand how to seek help when they need it.
Warmest regards,
Tegan Cochrane, Renee Kociski, Ashleigh Smith and Vanessa Stimar
Foundation Teachers
Year 1 Curriculum Newsletter - Term 3, Week 8
Dear Year 1 Parents and Caregivers,
Important Dates to Remember:
| Date | Reminder |
| Thursday 3rd September | Spatzenschule Lunch Orders |
| Friday 4th September | Fathers Day Stall & Fathers Day Breakfast |
| Thursday 10th September | Art Show Art Show Dressup Day |
| Friday 11th September | Halloween Costume Sale |
| Wednesday 16 September | Whole School Assembly |
| Friday 18 September | Grade 6 Bakesale Footy Dress Up Day Term 3 Concludes 2.30pm |
Book Week: It was wonderful to see the entire TPS community come together and embrace our Book Week Dress-Up Day. The Grade 1 students thoroughly enjoyed participating in the classroom door gallery walk and proudly showcasing their costumes during the dress-up parade. Students also loved learning how to draw Pigeons with illustrator Ben Wood. A special congratulations to Sybil Halliwell for being awarded Best Dressed in Grade 1. Well done, Sybil! Thank you to everyone who helped make the day such a fun and memorable celebration of books and reading.
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Writing: In Writing, we will be continuing our exciting diary writing unit as we journey into space! Students will be writing diary entries from the perspective of their space adventures, developing their ability to include interesting details and relevant information. We will be focusing on the questions Where? Who? What? Why? and When? to help students create detailed and engaging recounts of their space adventures.
Maths: In Maths, we have been exploring calendars and time, developing our understanding of how we use and read them in everyday life. We will also be revisiting addition and subtraction with regrouping, while continuing to strengthen our place value strategies. Students will also be exploring equal groups and graphing, using hands-on activities to develop their understanding of these important mathematical concepts.
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We are crafting - donations please! As we come to the end of our Term 3 Space unit, students will enjoy creating some fun space-themed craft activities to celebrate all that they have learned. These special creations will be displayed in the classroom and taken home for students to enjoy. If you have any brightly coloured wool at home that you would be happy to donate, we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your support!
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Kind Regards,
Year 1 Team
Caroline Morrison, Rosie Robinson, and Alison Sparks
Year 2 Curriculum Newsletter - Term 3, Week 8
Dear Year 2 Parents and Caregivers,
Below is a snapshot of recent activities, alongside important dates for the next two weeks.
| Date | Reminder |
|---|---|
| Thursday 3rd September | Spatzenschule Lunch Orders |
| Friday 4th September | Fathers Day Stall & Fathers Day Breakfast |
| Thursday 10th September | Art Show Art Show Dressup Day |
| Friday 11th September | Halloween Costume Sale |
| Wednesday 16 September | Whole School Assembly |
| Friday 18 September | Grade 6 Bakesale Footy Dress Up Day Term 3 Concludes 2.30pm |
Y2 Sleepover & Mini Olympics
Year 2 had a fantastic time at our Sleepover and Mini Olympics! Students enjoyed pizza for dinner, followed by a movie and popcorn with their friends. After spending the night at school, they were up and ready for the Mini Olympics the next morning. It was wonderful to see everyone joining in, working together and having lots of fun!
Sleepover:
Mini Olympics:
Kind regards,
Daniel Lewis, Thilini Marasinghe, Zhuang Bian, Charlene Maguire
Year 2 Teachers
Year 3 Curriculum Newsletter - Term 3, Week 8
Dear Parents/ Caregivers,
Thank you for the fantastic start to term 3.
We thought it would be beneficial to outline a few of the important dates and curriculum content for this term. Below is an overview of important dates for Term 3. There will be possible updates or new dates added to Compass as the term progresses:
Important Dates to Remember:
| Date | Reminder |
| Thursday 3rd September | Spatzenschule Lunch Orders |
| Friday 4th September | Fathers Day Stall & Fathers Day Breakfast |
| Thursday 10th September | Art Show Art Show Dressup Day |
| Friday 11th September | Halloween Costume Sale |
| Wednesday 16 September | Whole School Assembly |
| Friday 18 September | Grade 6 Bakesale Footy Dress Up Day Term 3 Concludes 2.30pm |
Numeracy:
This fortnight, students have been learning different strategies to solve multiplication and division problems. We have begun vertical multiplication, working up to 1 digit by 3 digit multiplication. We have been doing skip counting to help with multiplication fluency, it would be amazing if you did extra practice at home!
Reading and Writing:
In Reading, we have been reading Matilda, and the students have been loving the story so far. We have explored the main characters through character analysis, continued practising our new skill of summarising, and completed a range of comprehension activities to deepen students' understanding of the text. We are about 65% of the way through the book. Please ask your children to summarise what we have read so far.
In Writing, the students have continued creating narrative pieces based on Matilda. Students have created a detailed plan, and have been creating their paragraphs carefully following their plan and teacher instructions. Students have used their computer skills to type their narratives onto Google Classroom.
HASS: Science
In Science, students have begun to explore forces such as pull and push forces as well as continuing our lessons on plant lifecycles.
We had a sensational incursion where students had the opportunity to play at different stations to explore forces and how they impact our world.
Wellbeing:
In Wellbeing, we have been exploring the importance of positive friendships and learning strategies for mending friendships through our "Building Bridges" lessons. Students have discussed ways to resolve conflicts respectfully and strengthen relationships. Over the coming fortnight, they will take part in role-play activities to practise real-life situations where they may need to "build bridges" with friends and use positive communication skills.
Laptops will be required everyday. Please assist your child to ensure that their device is coming to school fully charged each day.
Thank you,
Cassie, Harrison and Lauren
Year 3 Team
Year 4 Curriculum Newsletter-Term 3, Week 8
Dear Year 4 Parents and Caregivers,
Below is a snapshot of recent activities, alongside important dates for the term.
Important Dates to Remember:
| Date | Reminder |
| 5th September | 8am Fathers Day Breakfast and Coffee Cart |
| 5th September | Open Morning |
| 5th September | Fathers Day Stall |
| 10th September | Art Show and dress up Day |
| 11th September | Year 6 Halloween Costume Sale Fundraiser |
| 16th September | Whole School Assembly |
| 18th September | 8.30am Grade 6 Bake Sale |
| 18th September | Footy Colours Dress Up Day |
| 18th September | Term Concludes at 2.30pm |
Book Week What a busy couple of weeks the Grade 4 students have had! We have been making the most of a very exciting time at school, with Book Week being a particular highlight. Students had a wonderful time dressing up as characters from their favourite books, visiting all the door displays and parading their creative costumes around the basketball courts. Well done to our Chippy Chaser Seagulls for winning best dressed! We were so impressed with all the costumes, and thank you for the effort that went in from home. We finished the week with a visit from the amazing author and illustrator Ben Wood, who co-created the popular Real Pigeons book series. Ben took us behind the scenes of his creative process, sharing how he developed the characters and brought them to life through his illustrations. They even got the chance to illustrate their own pigeons. The students loved hearing about how the characters were created and learning more about what it is like to be an author and illustrator.
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Melbourne Museum and IMAX Excursion On Thursday, we took the students to Melbourne Museum for an exciting day of learning and exploration. The students watched Deep Sky at IMAX and had the opportunity to explore some of the museum’s fascinating galleries, including the Forest Gallery, Dynamic Earth and Our Wondrous Planet Exhibition. It was also the students’ first whole-year-level trip on the train, which was a great success! We were incredibly impressed with the behaviour of all the students throughout the day. They were kind, respectful and considerate of those around them and represented our school beautifully by wearing their school uniforms with pride.
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Kind Regards,
Year 4 Team
Sam Pallas, Jessica De Angelis, Katie Smith and Tim Maclachlan
Year 5 Curriculum Newsletter - Week 8, Term 3
ivers,
Below is a snapshot of important Term 3 dates. Please note that additional events and updates may be added to Compass throughout the term, so we encourage you to check regularly to stay informed.
Key Dates | |
| Week 8 | |
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| Week 9 | |
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| Week 10 | |
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Book Week Parade & Dress Up Photos:
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or require further clarification.
Vanessa Burke and Josh Bretherton,
Year 5 Teachers
Year 6 Curriculum Newsletter - Week 8, Term 3
Dear Year 6 Parents and Caregivers,
We thought it would be beneficial to outline a few of the important dates and curriculum content for this term. Below is an overview of important dates for Term 3. There will be possible updates or new dates added to Compass as the term progresses:
| Date | Reminder |
| Friday 4th September | Father’s Day Breakfast and Father’s Day Stall. |
| Thursday 10th September | Art Show and Dressup Day |
| Friday 11th September | Year 6 Halloween Costume Sale Fundraiser |
| Friday 18th September | Footy Dress Up Year 6 Bake Sale End of Term 3 dismissed at 2:30pm |
Hellenic Museum Excursion: As part of our Reading unit on The Iliad and Greek mythology, the Year 6 students visited the Hellenic Museum to deepen their understanding of Ancient Greek history, culture and storytelling. Throughout the day, students explored authentic artefacts, examined how myths reflected the beliefs and values of Ancient Greece, and discovered the historical context behind many of the characters and events studied in class. Through interactive activities and guided learning experiences, students made valuable connections between literature and history, enriching their understanding of The Iliad and bringing the ancient world to life.
Maths: During Weeks 6 and 7, students investigated the properties of 3D objects and explored the concept of chance. They examined how different cross-sections are formed when right prisms are sliced and identified the relationship between the shape of the cross-section and the original object. Students also developed their understanding of probability by describing the likelihood of events using fractions, decimals and percentages, placing probabilities on a scale from impossible to certain. Through hands-on investigations, repeated chance experiments and digital simulations, students compared expected and observed results, discussing how increasing the number of trials affects the reliability and variation of outcomes.
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Reading: During Weeks 6 and 7, students continued exploring The Iliad by analysing key events, characters and themes, including fate, honour, loyalty and the influence of the gods. They developed their comprehension by responding to inferential questions, using evidence from the text to justify their thinking and writing detailed responses in full sentences. Students also extended their understanding of Ancient Greece by investigating how the Trojan War has been represented through ancient artworks, learning about different periods of Greek art and examining how myths reflected the beliefs, values and culture of the time. These learning experiences strengthened students' ability to interpret complex texts while making meaningful connections between literature, history and art.
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Science: Throughout the month, students investigated ecosystems and the important role living things play in maintaining healthy environments. They explored the conditions needed for plants to grow, examined how energy flows through food chains and food webs, and learnt how changes to ecosystems can impact living organisms. Students also investigated fungi, including the ecological role of mould as a decomposer, and conducted a class bread mould experiment to observe how different environmental conditions influence growth while learning how to record their findings in a scientific report. In addition, students explored Indigenous Australian perspectives on the traditional uses of fungi and researched extremophiles—organisms that survive in extreme environments—before evaluating whether humans could be considered extremophiles using scientific evidence to justify their opinions.
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Kind Regards,
Year 6 Team
James Thomas, Natasha Williams and Emma Heron
Specialist Curiculum Newsletter - Week 8, Term 3
Dear Parents/ Caregivers,
Below are some snapshots of what has been happening in the specialist classrooms this term.
Music
Foundation to Year 2:
Year 3 to Year 6:
Visual Arts
Foundation to Year 2:
Year 3 to Year 6:
Physical Education
Foundation to Year 2:
Year 3 to Year 6:
French
Foundation to Year 2:
Year 3 to Year 6:
