Round the classes 

Reception class: Katie

In Katie's Reception class, we have been very busy learning more sounds. We have also started to learn how to blend 3 and 4-letter words and have even been using the letter tiles to make our own words. In maths, we are starting to learn about "part, part whole" and have been discovering how to share objects equally amongst a group of people. Last week we met the Kimochi Bug who taught us how to spread our wings and be brave. This week we have been trying to put that into practice by bravely attempting new tasks independently. We have also been enjoying visiting the Kindy and have made some great new friends who we can't wait to welcome to our school later in the term. 

Reception/ Year 1 class: Jaya

Welcome back to term 2! We’ve settled beautifully into the classroom after the holidays and have jumped straight into our learning. In Week 1, we joined Kelly’s, Sam’s, and Emma/Stephen’s classes for an exciting new collaborative project to reimagine and revamp our shared outdoor learning space between Sam’s and Jaya’s rooms.

We began by discussing what we like about the space and what could add or change to make it even better. In mixed-age groups, students worked together to brainstorm, map, list and plan ideas. The creativity and teamwork were incredible! Students were thoughtful and reflective, recognising that the space is used for learning, calm breaks and movement breaks—so it needs to work for many different purposes.

This is just the beginning of an ongoing project, and we can’t wait to see which of our wonderful ideas come to life. Here are some of our thoughts and ideas: 

1. Plants growing up the walls
2. Taking away some tables to make more space
3. Fairy lights
4. Books
5. Chalkboard
6. More carpet so we don’t hurt ourselves 
7. Add more colour
8. Soccer goals
9. Bean bags
10. School pet

 Stay tuned for updates as the project unfolds!

Year 1/2 class: Kelly

What a Fantastic Start to Term 2!

The students have begun exploring what addition and subtraction really mean, diving into the mathematical language that helps describe these operations. Words such as add, plus, join together, minus, takeaway, and subtract have become part of our daily vocabulary as we build our understanding.

Over the past two weeks, we’ve been investigating different strategies to solve simple addition tasks. We introduced the concepts of:

• Model – using materials to physically make and solve the problem
• Represent – drawing or sketching what they modelled
• Explain – sharing how they worked it out

At first, working through all three steps together felt a bit overwhelming. So, we took a step back and focused on one step at a time. We began by looking closely at the number sentence and asking, "What do you think this number sentence wants us to find out?" From there, we moved into modelling with materials, helping students physically represent what the number sentence was asking.

This week, we began exploring how to represent their thinking through drawings. This was a challenge at first – many students said, "I just did it in my head!" But with lots of encouragement and explicit modelling, they stuck with it and started to show their thinking in creative and meaningful ways.

Next week, we’ll take the next exciting step: learning how to explain their thinking. I can’t wait to hear how they describe the problem-solving strategies they’ve used! We will like our learning to the 6S Strategy: Search, Seek, Sort, Sketch, Solve and Sense. 

Year 2/3 class: Rachael 

The year 2/3s have been exploring measurement in maths through stories and practical activities. We have used informal units to measure items around the classroom and are beginning to understand the importance of, and how to use, the metric system.  

Our focus during phonics has been excellent! We have also been studying the book "Boy" by Phil Cummings. Students have worked well to describe "Boy's" character and it has formed a great basis for discussions on what it means to be inclusive, especially when we notice our differences. Students have demonstrated passion about their vision for an inclusive world and how they can work to bring this vision to life.

Our focus on wellbeing and the positive effects of gratitude has also been a highlight.

Year 3/4 class: Emma 

This fortnight I have had the privilege of working with the students each day whilst Stephen has taken some long service leave. We have delved into our daily phonics which enables our students to develop their reading fluency and gain skills in recognising familiar words and sounding out new words they encounter. This phonics practise helps when we flow into our writing component, which has been persuasive writing. Students have enjoyed some interesting topics this week, particularly building a case for defending a villain from a fairy tale story! Persuasive writing builds upon students' critical thinking and communication skills, and this has been wonderfully demonstrated during our class discussions and debates. 

Our maths focus for this fortnight has been measurement. We have been looking into the history of measurement, including how the ancient Egyptians used cubits, palms and digits to measure objects, compared to today’s metric measuring devices. We have been measuring different attributes of objects found around the classroom and outside.

We have enjoyed each afternoon a mini arts-integrated project, which connects art, science (fish species and habitats), social studies (geography) and language arts (summarising and writing). Students have summarised important facts about their chosen fish, and to accompany this, an artwork which includes its habitat based on what they learn about their fish’s particular environment, including a form of camouflage in their picture displaying how their fish hides from predators. These artworks look spectacular and are on display in the classroom!

Year 4/5 class: Alex

This week in their literacy learning, students have started our ‘Master the Code’ 3-6 Spelling unit. They have been looking at the history of the English language and how it has been influenced by Latin, Old Norse and French, which contribute to its irregular and complex spelling system. Students have also been getting involved in their reading groups for the novels ‘The Wild Robot’, ‘Hatchet’ and ‘Holes.’ 

In their reading groups, they have been practising their reading comprehension skills of inferring, predicting and summarising. They have been building vocabulary and deepening their understanding of the text through discussion.

Students have also had the first of their weekly drama rehearsals, which will take place each Wednesday afternoon. They have now found out their roles for their play ‘Alec and Alice in Wonderland’. The writer, director and very experienced drama teacher running these sessions is the very talented, engaging and generous Sally Putnam (Gus’ grandmother), who is volunteering her time this term. Students have thoroughly enjoyed their first session and look forward to building this wonderful play together throughout the term.

Year 5/6 class: Sallie

We have had a busy start to the term. In spelling, we have been focusing on the phonemes/graphemes ee, ea, ie, and y. This is a different way of learning and practising spelling for both students and teachers! For reading/writing, we are unpacking The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. It is such a great story with fantastic imagery. For maths, our focus is on fractions.  So much to know!! 

This term we are working on providing podcasts of our learning.  Our first podcast is presented by Ruby and Lila and is around narratives.  Everyone in the class chose a sentence from their own narratives that they thought was a good example of a narrative in the mystery genre. The girls did a great job. Our podcast is raw but authentic! Look out for another one next newsletter. (The podcast goes for 8 minutes, and we would love you to tune in). Please seesaw any feedback.