Prep

Welcome to Term 2! It has been wonderful to see all the smiling faces return, ready for another exciting term of learning. The children quickly settled back into routines and have embraced our new learning areas with enthusiasm.

Our Investigation Areas have been a big hit! At the Weather Station, students explored different weather types and learned about Aboriginal understandings of weather and seasons. The Five Senses Area encouraged hands-on exploration of sight, sound, smell, and touch. In Drama Play, the Travel and Airport setup inspired imaginative adventures around the world!

In Maths, we’ve begun learning about addition with hands on materials, which has helped students solve number problems in fun, collaborative ways. In Writing, we started exploring Recounts, focusing on identifying who was involved, what happened, and where it took place. In Reading, students are learning to make predictions based on clues from the story.

This week, we began RUCCIS and have been enthusiastically practicing a variety of circus skills. Students also took part in the Cyber Safety Project, where they were highly engaged in learning how to stay safe online using the acronym ‘STOP’.

We’re so proud of their efforts and look forward to the term ahead! A reminder that Monday 5th is wear your PJ’s day for the word of the week, ‘bed’.

Kindest regards,

The Prep Team

Laina Brebner, Kayla Hartrick and Emma Wright

Grade 1

Welcome back to Term 2!

What a busy fortnight we have had and the students have settled in smoothly and been excited to be back into their classrooms and learning again.

This fortnight the students have enjoyed the Cyber Safety Incursion with Guest Speaker ‘Sam’. They learnt about ‘STOP’, a helpful step by step approach when they are feeling uncomfortable online. Ask your child what the letters S.T.O.P stand for.

We have begun our new spaces in Investigations and are having so much fun. Our topic this term is 'Change: Sustainability'. Some of our favourite spaces have included the Post Office, Café and Art in Nature.

In reading, we have been exploring non-fiction books and learning about how to identify if a text is a non-fiction or not. In Writing we have been learning about Newspaper articles. Students have enjoyed writing an article about a 'Wow' moment of their holidays.

In Maths we are learning about 2D shapes.

Students learnt about ANZAC Day in week 1 and at this Friday we have participated in House Cross Country.

The Grade 1 Team

Tim Huntington, Mel Layton, Sally Newton and Ashleigh Wilson

Grade 2

WOW! What a fantastic first 2 weeks we have had.

Last week, we all enjoyed the extra time off on Monday for Easter and then for Anzac Day. We spent time in class learning about ANZAC Day and some of the symbols we see that help us remember those who went to war to maintain our freedom.

In Maths we have begun our first topic of 'Time'. We have begun to learn about calendars, features of a clock and how to tell to the time to the hour, half and hour, quarter past and quarter to.

Our Writing and Reading have gone hand in hand these last few weeks. We have been reading about procedures in our reading session and have begun to learn how to write procedures during writing. We all loved looking and learning about 'freak-shakes', with the kids creating some interesting recipes.

Our Inquiry Unit this term is all about Earth and Space, with a specific focus on the weather. We have begun to learn about weather patterns, temperature, wind direction, rainfall and how the seasons change due to the rotation of the Earth.

We had a fantastic visit from Ruccis and began to learn all about juggling, including juggling balls, hoola hoops, plates and magic sticks. It was so much fun and we look forward to learning more every Thursday. We also had a visit from 'The Cyber Safety Project', who taught the kids all about safety online.

The Grade 2 Team

Allie Harrison, Sarah Jones and Brendan Van Haaster

Grade 3 & 4

We have had such a positive start to Term 2!

It’s been wonderful seeing the students back in the classroom, enjoying seeing their friends again and jumping straight into their learning.

In the classrooms, the 3/4 level have started reading Roald Dahl’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’. It has been so engaging as we’ve worked through the first few chapters. Students have enjoyed creating a character profile of Mr Fox, as well as studying the author’s craft of the text. This has included understanding the problems of the book so far (Pebble, Rock and Boulder!).

In Writing, students returned to class with so much to talk about and share about the holiday’s which included trips away, movies and of course, Easter! They enjoyed writing a creative and descriptive recount about their holiday events. So much fun was had!

We have moved to creating an alternate sizzling start for their version of ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’. They have brainstormed and selected a different animal as their main character. This included writing a character description using the ‘show, don’t tell’ strategy, to add lots of adjectives!

In Maths, we’ve been learning about the different properties of 2D and 3D shape, including faces, edges and vertices. They have built skills with prisms and pyramids and have now begun measuring 2D shapes. This has led into our perimeter and area topic. The students enjoyed creating their ‘World for Ants’ where they drew attractions for their world which they then had to accurately measure the perimeter and area of these shapes.

In Inquiry, the students have started understanding the concept of ‘change’ with the unit titled ‘Into the Unknown’. This is a history unit, and the students completed a pre-assessment about Australian symbols and participated in a lesson that looked at a selection of important things in our lives that have changed over the years.

We had an amazing Cyber Safety Project session with Sam and Marissa on the 28th April. The students had an absolute ball participating in the session, as the presenters focused on online safety messages that were appropriate for our students. Lots to think about and reflect on as we move through our digital world!

The 3/4 teachers would like to say a big thank-you for all the families that booked a time for the 3-way conferences this week. It was fantastic seeing the kids talk about their learning, including their strengths and challenges. There were some very well thought of goals that the students will be working towards achieving this term!

Like always, please keep a look out for events and information on Compass and reach out to your class teacher with any question or concerns.

The 3/4 Team

Damien Smith, Daena Hailey, Brent Smith, Claire Cripps and Nick Pagliaro

Grade 5 & 6

Welcome back to Term 2! Although we are only two weeks into the term, our students have already had some fantastic opportunities to take part in a range of engaging and educational incursions.

The Cyber Safety Project: We were excited to have the team from The Cyber Safety Project visit us this week after watching them in our video lessons throughout the year. Their session with students focused on how to stay safe online. They discussed key topics like the importance of keeping personal profiles private, what to do if something online makes them uncomfortable, and the potential risks of sharing too much personal information online. The session was full of anecdotes that related to students and they walked away with valuable tips and strategies to navigate the digital world safely.

Hawthorn Football Club: In a very special event, we had the privilege of welcoming a group of Hawks footy players to RHPS! The players, including Jack Gunston, CJ and Jai Newcombe, shared their experiences and routines, and answered questions from eager students. It was an inspiring visit for many of our students, who were captivated by their personal stories and advice. They were also more than happy to get photos afterwards with some of their biggest fans (teachers included)!

Ruccis Circus Training: In anticipation of our upcoming school production, students have been enjoying circus training on a weekly basis with Ruccis. From juggling and hula hoop spinning to building human pyramids and perfecting plate spinning, the students have been working hard to develop these fun and challenging skills. The training has been not only a great physical activity but also a wonderful way for students to collaborate and get creative. We’re looking forward to more captivating sessions in the coming weeks!

The 5/6 Team

Llinos Poole, Rachel Boyle, Alarna Creed, Hayley Peirce and Erin Rennick

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