What's happening?
Foundation
The concert is right around the corner, and we are very excited to perform for our loved ones! We have been very busy in the Foundation. This week, we have one last visit from the firefighters on Thursday.
Next week, we will have concert rehearsals on Monday at school. Costumes will be sent home on Monday afternoon, ready for the big event on Tuesday! On Tuesday, we will have rehearsals at the Palais Theatre.
Please make sure you bring in black pants for your child’s costume by the end of this week. Please make sure they have your child’s name clearly labelled.
Literacy:
In Literacy, we’ve been learning lots of new letter-sound patterns, such as ‘igh’ (like in light), ‘oa’ (like in boat), and ‘oe’ (like in shoe). Next week, we’ll be exploring the ‘ar’ sound (as in car). We’ve been so impressed with how the students are using these new sounds in their writing—especially in their weekend recounts.
Inquiry:
Next week, we will be starting our rich task, where students will design and create a vehicle for a chosen community helper. We’re kindly asking families to send in any empty milk cartons you may already have at home. Please don’t worry if you don’t have any, small rectangular boxes will do.
Maths:
For the next couple of weeks, we will be doing maths in our classes. We are exploring the topics mass and length within measurement, developing their understanding through a range of hands-on and practical learning activities.
Social:
This week, we are proudly joining the whole school in taking a stand against bullying as part of the "Bullying No Way!" week. In Foundation, students have been engaging in rich and meaningful discussions about how we can be kind, be bold, and speak up. Each student has also written a personal pledge, outlining how they will contribute to creating a safe and respectful environment, showing their commitment to taking a stand against bullying.
Just a friendly reminder, we have our parent picnic on Wednesday the 17th of September. We will be sending out more information regarding this closer to the date.
The Foundation Team
Grade 1
We are now past the halfway point of the term, and it’s been wonderful to see the students so involved in their concert singing and dancing. Their progress since the start of the term has been amazing, and they are even learning about how to behave backstage.
In Literacy, students are continuing their Information Reports, with a focus on Australia. This week, they are also learning about the tricky homophones there, their, and they’re. In Handwriting, we are practising “Pp” and “Hh,” and in Word Work, we are looking at the codes “ey,” “eigh,” “ie,” and “ei.” Any extra practice at home is always a big help!
In Numeracy, the focus is on grouping and sharing. Students are learning about arrays, rows, and columns, which will help build strong foundations for division and multiplication.
This week is also “No Bullying Week – Be Bold, Be Kind, Speak Up.” Each day, students are learning strategies to use in different situations, supported by their SRC buddies. These daily activities have been a great way to encourage kindness, confidence, and respect across the school.
Students have also been learning lots of Athletics skills during their Physical Education classes this week.
We’re so proud of the effort and enthusiasm students are showing this term – keep up the great work at school and at home!
Grade 2
The excitement is building for our School Concert, and our Grade 2 students can’t wait to perform on stage on Tuesday!
Writing: Students have been writing some fabulous persuasive pieces! They have been using strong language with solid reasons to support their opinions.
Reading: We have continued to engage in the text ‘The Garbage Barge’ focusing on finding different sentence types within the story. The sentence types include statements, commands, questions and exclamations.
PhOrMeS / Word Study: In our PhOrMeS lessons, we’ve been learning to use the 111 rule to know when to double a consonant before adding a vowel suffix (ing, er, ed). If the base word has one syllable, one short vowel sound and then is followed by one consonant we double the consonant. For example, in the word spotting we double the ‘t’ in the base word ‘spot’ before adding ‘ing’.
Inquiry: During Inquiry lessons we have been identifying what waste is and understanding that waste items are made from a range of materials. We have also been exploring where waste comes from, how it can be a problem and what we should do with it to help our environment.
Wellbeing: We have been learning about conflict resolution during our Wellbeing lessons. Students have enjoyed acting out situations where problems need to be solved in a calm manner.
Maths: We have been busy exploring 2D shapes and 3D objects! Students have been learning to describe their features using appropriate language such as corners, sides, faces, surfaces, edges and vertices. They have enjoyed the hands-on nature of this topic and have identified how 3D objects are used in everyday life.
Homework: Thank you for your support with homework: Regular reading aloud and a weekly Word Study/PhOrMeS worksheet. Optional online extras: ‘Nessy Reading and Spelling’ and ‘Sunset/Jetpack Maths’ (Essential Assessment).
Grade 3
Novel Study: This fortnight, we started our novel study, ‘Storm Boy’. Students listen to several pages each lesson and participate in discussions and written responses, with the current focus on building vocabulary, and sentence expansion to give more detail when talking and writing about the text.
Writing: We are now exploring explanation texts, noting the differences between these and information reports, and procedural texts. Students are focusing on structure, sequence and using technical or scientific words to explain how or why something happens.
Word Study: Students have been reviewing the morphemes ‘tract’ and ‘form’, combining them with a variety of prefixes and suffixes, as well as reviewing specific homophones, and a range of ‘weird words’. We also began looking at the Greek numbers ‘mon’ as in monorail and monologue, and ‘di’ as in diverse and dilemma.
Maths: This fortnight, we revisited ‘Time’, with a focus on reading, interpreting, and writing both analogue and digital times, converting between analogue and digital times, and solving problems involving analogue and digital time. As always, opportunities to read and interpret time further at home and when out and about, will be a great way to consolidate and build on your child’s knowledge and skills.
Wellbeing/Values/Social Skills: Students have been learning more about respect for diversity, describing some of the ways people and families can be different, and sharing ideas about how we show respect for difference in a friendly way. We have also participated in the whole school program for ‘Bullying, No Way’ week, with the theme, ‘Be bold. Be kind. Speak up’.
Project: Students are doing a fantastic job of working with a partner to construct their balloon-powered cars. Thank you for your support with providing additional materials. Once construction and decoration is complete, we will be racing!
Concert: Not long to go now! Your child will bring their costume home after the dress rehearsal on Monday and will need to come to the Palais on Tuesday night wearing all of their items/accessories. We are very excited!
Grade 4
We are heading into a very exciting and busy part of the term, with both the school concert and Grade 4 camp coming up soon. Students are looking forward to performing on stage and to the adventures that camp will bring.
In Literacy, we recently finished reading our class novel War Horse. Together, we explored the story’s themes, characters and messages, and discussed our ideas using evidence, quotes and strong vocabulary to support our thinking. In writing, we have been putting into practice the skills we have developed throughout the term. Students planned, drafted, edited and published their own persuasive pieces, focusing on following the correct structure and using powerful, persuasive language to make their arguments engaging and convincing.
In Numeracy, we are proud of the fantastic progress students have made in their understanding of fractions over the past few weeks. This week, we began our new unit on decimals, with a focus on connecting decimals to fractions, exploring decimal place value, and learning to multiply decimals by 10, 100 and 1000. Next, we will extend our learning by working with money-related decimals and making links to percentages and discounts.
In Inquiry, we launched our new project called May the Best Party Win. Working in groups, students elected a party leader, a local minister, and a school minister, then began identifying issues within our school and community. Their task is to design policies and propose solutions to these issues, learning about leadership, teamwork, and the democratic process along the way.
Reminders: Please continue bringing in plain black pants for concert costumes. Also, take some time to check over the camp packing list so students are ready and well-prepared.
Grade 4 Team
Grade 5
Grade 5 students have had a fantastic couple of weeks! A highlight was the Aspire Higher Leadership Incursion, where students developed important leadership skills and put them into practice through a series of exciting team challenges.
In addition, our concert preparations are well underway. Students have been rehearsing with great energy and enthusiasm, and we can’t wait to showcase their hard work. A friendly reminder for families: please ensure your child brings in their black pants for the concert by the end of the week.
Reading Comprehension – A Single Shard
Students have continued to enjoy exploring our mentor text, A Single Shard. They have been practising writing thoughtful responses that include depth, detail, and evidence from the text. As we near the end of the novel, students have impressed us with their ability to identify the story’s turning points and track the development of the main character, Tree-ear.
Writing – Procedural Texts
Following our explanation writing unit, we have now begun exploring procedural texts. Students have learned about the structure and key features of this genre. They particularly enjoyed following and giving clear instructions while watching a very humorous Mr Bean video and creating their own creative corner bookmarks.
Mathematics – Length, Capacity and Mass
In maths groups, students have been delving into all things measurement. They are practising converting between different units and will continue to explore concepts related to length, mass, capacity, and volume.
Inquiry – Venture into Vitality Projects
Our Inquiry unit has officially launched! Students have been placed into project groups and are working towards creating life-size posters of the human body. These will showcase their learning about the respiratory, circulatory, and digestive systems.
Homework
We encourage families to continue supporting students in maintaining strong homework habits. This includes completing vocabulary, maths, and reading tasks regularly at home.
Grade 6
What a fantastic few weeks we’ve had! Our Grade 6 students showed incredible resilience and teamwork during camp, overcoming challenges and unpredictable weather with positivity and determination. The camp staff were full of praise, saying our group was among the best they’ve ever had. Overall, it was an amazing achievement for us all! Students also enjoyed their excursion to Sovereign Hill, even if we didn’t strike it rich with gold to bring back to school...
In Literacy, we continue exploring The Magician’s Nephew and working on our memory books, while in Maths, we’re revising key concepts, focusing on Measurement. From converting units to calculating areas of circles and applying complex formulas.
Next week is the big concert! Costumes should now be complete and at school. Students are reminded to wear dark-coloured pants and runners for the performance. We know they’ve been working hard and can’t wait for you to see the results!
