In our Classrooms

Prep/One Class

The F/1 classroom is continuing to operate somewhere between a science lab, a space station and a mildly questionable research facility.

This week, Captain Marcus and the crew have been deep into their Space Exploration work, with plenty of writing, building, testing and experimenting happening across the room.

Students have been writing field reports about the different alien life forms they have collected samples of, as well as planning, drafting, re-reading and editing their Space Exploration Recounts. There has been a strong focus on getting ideas down, adding detail and going back to improve their writing.

In maths, the crew has been developing some very important Friends of Ten technology. A rocket has now been constructed specifically for the task, with students practising quick recall of number combinations to ten in preparation for future missions.

Science and technology have also featured heavily. There has been food dye involved, which always seems to be a promising sign. Students have been trialling jet-pack and crane technology — fortunately not at the same time — and creating Biological Study Aids to help teach each other about the features of the alien life forms they have encountered.

Most recently, the crew has moved into the propagation of amphibious life forms.

I have decided not to ask too many questions about that one.

There is a lot happening in F/1 at the moment, but underneath all the space travel and alien research is some fantastic learning — writing, editing, number fluency, scientific observation, collaboration and plenty of creative thinking.

Two/Three Class

The 2/3 classroom has been looking a little more like an interplanetary design studio lately, with students putting the finishing touches on their alternate planet dioramas.

Their worlds are now home to some newly designed life forms — specially adapted organisms with features perfectly suited to survive and thrive in their particular habitats. Students have been thinking carefully about movement, protection, food, climate and shelter, then using this thinking to write reports about both their creatures and the planets they inhabit.

After a busy few weeks of swimming and camping, they have settled back into their morning routines, with regular reading and writing helping them continue to build confidence and strengthen their skills. In maths, students have been continuing to build their multiplication skills and becoming more confident using different strategies to solve problems.

The class has also been continuing to build their Ready to Learn strategies. Students have access to regulation toolkits on their tables, sensory tools, weighted toys, break cards and different regulation spaces around the room. They are learning to recognise what their body needs and choose strategies that help them regulate and return to learning.

Next Tuesday, families will have the chance to come in and see some of this work for themselves. The students are looking forward to sharing their planets, life forms, reports and other learning from across the term.

Four/Five/Six Classes

The senior end of the school has officially entered newsroom mode.

Across the 4/5 and 5/6 classrooms, student media departments are now fully operational, with office spaces set up, reporting teams established and journalists working on the latest stories from around Taradale Primary School and the local community.

The response from students has been excellent, with high levels of engagement across the different roles and departments. The first edition has now gone to print and can be found in this weekend’s newsletter under The Talkative Taradalian, with further content also appearing across the school’s social media channels. Plans are already underway to extend the students’ reporting into other local print and digital media spaces.

Behind the headlines, students have been honing the skills needed to produce strong reporting. Readers Theatre, Kids News and a range of literacy activities have been supporting fluency, comprehension and an understanding of how information is gathered, structured, edited and presented for an audience.

In the mathematics department, the 4/5s have been investigating area and perimeter, with students designing floor plans for their dream homes. A number of these designs have progressed from early sketches into detailed blueprint-style plans. The 5/6s have been continuing its work with fractions, adding, subtracting and multiplting them.

During Inquiry sessions, students have been looking closer to home, with both senior classes researching the geology of the Guildford Plateau. They have been learning about ancient lava flows, basalt, erosion and changing waterways, and how these processes have shaped the local landscape over time.

With stories being filed, blueprints being drafted and the geological history of our own backyard under investigation, there is certainly no shortage of material coming across the newsroom desks.

Jessica, reporting on behalf of the Taradale PS senior newsroom.