Teaching and Learning

2026 Maths Night 

On Wednesday March 25th, we held our annual Maths Night and were so pleased to see such a great turnout from our school community. It was a fun and relaxed evening, with lots of hands-on games and activities for students and families to enjoy together. It was wonderful to see so many people getting involved and having a go.

The “Guess the Lolly Jar” was a big hit again this year, with plenty of eager guesses. Well done to Ayla for her winning guess!

Thank you to all of our families for coming along and supporting the school—we really appreciate it and love seeing our community come together like this.

Mathematics at Home 

With Maths Night on March 25, here are some ways we can incorporate mathematics into our daily lives! 

What is subitising?

Subitising is the ability to visually recognise how many objects are in a small group without counting. For example, knowing that someone is holding up 3 fingers without counting each finger.

Practising this skill at home will help your child to recognise small groups quickly without the need to count. Subitising usually works best with small numbers – up to 5, and sometimes up to 10.

At home

Dice games

Roll a dice and have your child call out the number of dots as quickly as possible. Then count together to check. Roll again.

How many fingers?

When out walking, hold up 1-5 (or up to 10) fingers and thumbs for 1-2 seconds, and ask your child to tell you how many fingers they can see.

Snack peek

Place up to 5 pieces of snack food (for example, grapes, crackers) on a plate without your child seeing. Let your child look briefly, then cover it. Ask ‘how many did you see?’ Reveal the pieces and count together to check.

Plate patterns

Place up to 10 items on a plate, using familiar patterns. For example, 8 buttons could be arranged in 2 sets of 4 that use the pattern shown on standard dice. Let your child look for 3 seconds, then cover it. Ask ‘how many did you see’, or ‘how many altogether?’ Show the items again and count together to check.

Missing eggs

As you use eggs, show the egg carton to your child and give them 2 seconds to look at the number remaining without counting. Ask them, ‘how many eggs are left’ or how many have been used?’

At the supermarket

Bunches of bananas

Hold up a bunch of bananas for a few seconds and ask your child how many there were before counting. Count together afterwards to check if they were right.

Yoghurt tubs

Show your child a packet of yoghurt tubs quickly. Is it a pack of 2, 4, 6 or 12 yoghurts? Ask them, ‘would this be enough for everyone in our family?’

At the park

It’s a handful

Hide up to 5 small objects (for example, stones) in your hand. Open your hand briefly for 1-2 seconds then close it. Ask ‘how many did you see?’ Open your hand and count together to check.

Knock them down skittles

Watch Everyday maths - around the house to see how to set up a game of skittles using empty plastic bottle.

Play your own game of skittles and have your child call out how many bottles are left standing after round. They can show the number on their fingers too.

What is partitioning?

Partitioning is breaking a whole number, for example 7, into different parts, for example 3 and 4. Breaking this ‘whole’ number into 2 ‘parts’ is called part-part-whole.

Another example would be taking the ‘whole’ number 9 and breaking into 2 ‘parts’ of 6 and 3. In this example the number 9 could also be broken into ‘parts’ of 4 and 5, or 2 and 7 or 1 and 8.

Practising this skill at home will help your child understand that any number can be broken into different parts, which supports later learning in addition and subtraction.

At home

Toy sort

Count a collection of your child’s favourite toys, such as construction blocks. This total is the whole.

Ask your child to rearrange them into 2 groups (parts) and tell you how many are in each part.

Bring both parts back into one group and then separate into 2 parts in a different way. Ask them, ‘how many ways can the toys be grouped into 2 parts?’

Petal parts

Draw a flower with 9 petals. Have your child count the petals (the whole).

Ask your child to colour in the petals of the flower using 2 different colours; for example, 4 red petals and 5 blue petals.

Draw a second flower with 9 petals. Ask your child to show you another way to colour the petals using the same 2 colours.

If you like, you can draw more flowers with 9 petals and see how many other ways your child can break 9 into 2 parts using the 2 colours.

You can also do this activity with flowers that have a different number of petals.

At the supermarket

Oranges and apples

Pick 7 pieces of your child’s 2 favourite fruits (for example, apples and oranges).

Have your child tell you the total number of fruit (the whole), as well as how many of each type of fruit (the parts) there are; for example, 3 oranges and 4 apples. Talk about what other combinations of the 2 fruit types would make 7.

Two packets

Select 2 packets of bread rolls and ask your child to count the number of rolls (the whole). How many are in each packet (the parts)?

At the park

Chalk and talk

Use chalk to draw a number (the whole) on the pavement.

Have your child draw that number of a favourite shape below the number. Ask them to circle a number smaller than the whole to make 2 parts; for example, draw 6 shapes and circle 4 shapes, leaving 2 shapes as the second part.

Nature numbers

Collect a small group of sticks, leaves, or stones from the park. Count the whole with your child and then ask them to sort into 2 parts. Count and then bring back together to separate a different way.

Jumping in parts

Ask your child to do 10 jumps in 2 parts. They might do 4 quick jumps for the first part, pause, and then do another 6 quick jumps for the second part. Ask, ‘how many jumps in each part’ or if there was another way they could jump in 2 parts.

Resources:

• https://www.vic.gov.au/mathematics-and-numeracy-home 
• https://www.vic.gov.au/how-build-your-childs-numeracy-skills-birth-grade-2 
• https://www.vic.gov.au/how-build-your-childs-literacy-skills-grade-3-6 
• https://arc.educationapps.vic.gov.au/learning/sites/mathscots?fuse=1 

Moorabool Shire 

Moorabool Shire's youth services are aimed at young people who live, work, or study in Moorabool Shire. They have a range of programs, services, and events for all young people in the community - including holiday programs!

We will have a representative come for an incursion next week to discuss the programs, resources, and events that the grade 5 and 6s can attend. 

Resources:

• https://www.moorabool.vic.gov.au/Services-and-support/Moorabool-families/Youth-services 

Progress Rerpots 

On April 2, Mathematics Progress Report Comments will be published. 

How to access Progress Reports

Using the Xuno website:

https://docs.xuno.com.au/portal-how-to-view-and-download-your-reports 

1. Click on the Learning menu and then click on the Reports item. If you're using a mobile device, you'll need to tap on the menu icon in the top left first, before you can tap on the Learning menu. 
2. Parents can select a specific child by clicking on the button labelled with their child's name. If you are logged in as a student you will only be able to view or download your own reports.
3. Find the desired report by scrolling through the list and then clicking on it to view or download it. In the XUNO Portal, you can download reports by clicking on the relevant report name. Reports are ordered chronologically by year with the most recent report at the top of the page. The reports you see are those that your school has chosen to share with you through your XUNO Portal.

Using the Xuno app:

https://docs.xuno.com.au/accessing-student-academic-reports-in-the-xuno-family-app 

1. Please follow the steps below to access student reports on the XUNO Family app.
2. Tap on the three horizontal lines in the top left to open the left hand menu.
3. Scroll down until you find the Reports heading and tap on it.
4. Select the student you’d like to view reports for by tapping on their photograph, then tap on the arrow shown to view the applicable report.

Book Club

Issue 2 orders have closed. We are currently awaiting deliveries. 

Scholastic Book Club is a service offered to students, parents, and teachers. Brochures advertising a variety of books and computer software are sent home with each student, approximately twice a term.

Purchase of the books is not compulsory and there is no obligation. If you do wish to purchase any goods, simply log into the Book Club site www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP and follow the prompts. All Book Club orders must be ordered and paid for via LOOP. Do not send order forms and cash to school. When the order arrives at school, books are sent home with students.

The School earns “Bonus Points” for each order which can be used to purchase new resources for classroom libraries. 

Click here for the Scholastic Book Club Parent Log in page or to register for new users.

You can have a look at the online catalogue here: https://scholastic.com.au/book-club/book-club-parents/issue-preview/. 

How to order 

Click on ORDER in the top menu or REGISTER first to save your details for the first time.  Select Ballan PS and your child’s class.  Add your child’s name and last initial. Enter the item number from the brochure.

You can order for multiple children at once. All orders are linked directly to the school.  

Our school receives bonus points, which are redeemed for a variety of books for the children; therefore, we thank you for your continued support.

If parents wish to collect orders personally, please let the school know.

Please go to www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP and find Ballan Primary School to order or alternatively you can download the LOOP app via the App Store or Google Play.

Connect with BPS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BallanPrimarySchool 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ballanprimaryschool/ 

Happy learning, 

Madison Nicholls 

Acting Learning Specialist 

Madison.Nicholls2@education.vic.gov.au 

Ph: 5368 1072