Round the classes 

Some great learning Friday 23/8/2024 @ 10am

Reception class: Jess

During book week, our class was able to spend some time with the big year sixes. They helped us answer questions about books and we were able to solve the scavenger hunt, where we had to find clues around the school. It was wonderful to spend time in the library where the year sixes could sit quietly with our class and read the students a story. It was amazing to see the older students of the school interact in such a lovely manner and how our Receptions are beginning to build trust and confidence in interacting with other students of the school community.  

Reception class: Kelly

What a busy fortnight we have had. What a great start to Book Week to see all the children dress up as their favourite book character. A special thank you to Sallie's class for helping us with the book week quiz and the book week scavenger hunt on Friday. 

To finish off Book Week, our class got to host assembly. I was so proud to see such bravery, grit and resilience as each child spoke at assembly. The children enjoyed reading Koala Lou written by Mem Fox.  We had great discussions about the main character, the problem in the story and how the problem was resolved.

They produced some great drawings which they shared at assembly!

In maths, we have been looking at what comes before and after a number. The children used dice number lines and the hundred chart to help them find out which number comes before or after a number. It was great to see some children challenge themselves with numbers after 100 too.

Year 1 class: Jaya

Book Week 

How wonderful was Book Week! We had a lovely time in our classroom celebrating and enjoying lots of wonderful books, stories, illustrators and authors. A highlight was creating our very own ‘Dream Jars’ inspired by our class novel, The BFG by Roald Dahl. Our jars collect and capture any dreams, thoughts, or ideas that we have and they are something we can continue to add to.

Bond Blocks

Over the past term and a half, the year 1 class have been exploring and using Bond Blocks. One of our favourite lessons of the day! This is a mathematics program that focuses on the fundamental number skills and it aims at supporting students to build fluency in these skills. Bond Blocks has been helping us to become more fluent in our basic fact knowledge (bonds) and practice lots of simple addition and subtraction. The short activities, games and tasks focus in on a particular skill and are designed to be consolidated through repetition. We love playing paired games, especially when it involves a race or competition! A huge part of our learning has been caring for and looking after the resources, including the special cases of wooden blocks. We have been demonstrating how responsible and organised we can be by ensuring they are looked after and packed away correctly. Here are some pictures of us during a Bond Blocks lesson. 

Year 2 class: Samantha

In Year 2, we've had a wonderful time starting conversations about our grandparents and the special roles they play in our lives. The students have been fascinated to learn about how different childhood was for their grandparents compared to their own experiences. This week, we have been sharing stories and picture books about grandparents, sparking meaningful discussions and connections. As part of our Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) curriculum, we are excited to delve deeper into these generational stories over the next few weeks. Each student will have the chance to interview their grandparents, gathering stories and insights to compare the past with the present. This activity not only enriches our understanding of family history but also helps us appreciate the diverse experiences that shape our communities.

Year 3 class: Stephen and Troy

The year 3s have continued enjoying the challenges and fun of STEM tasks.  This includes problem-solving to make things work, trial and error and working collaboratively with peers to achieve a good result.  This time the challenge was to build a structure made of straws that could support weights being placed onto it. 

In maths the learning has centered on graphing skills.  We have looked at various types of graphs including bar, line and picture graphs. We have made some of our own bar graphs by interviewing each other and collecting data that could be made into a graph.  We have also enjoyed the challenge of having to pose our own questions on the graphs we have made. The questions we posed were then given to peers to answer. 

Year 4/5 class: Alex

This fortnight students have been applying their persuasive writing skills to plan, draft and edit their Big Write on the topic of whether ‘technology is harmful for primary school-aged children.’ Students did their ‘Talk Homework’ to think through their ideas for their writing with family members, brainstorming ideas for and against the argument before choosing the side they wanted to argue for. Students chose their top three strongest reasons and wrote out a plan using the ‘Hamburger’ planning sheet. They followed the OREO paragraph structure, stating their opinion, their reason and three examples followed by their opinion again. Students aimed to include an introduction, a conclusion and a range of persuasive devices to convince their readers. Many students demonstrated evidence that they had achieved their individual writing goals through this piece. Once completed, students edited their work before printing it to display in the classroom and send home on Seesaw.

Year 5/6 class: Sallie

What a great week Book Week was. We enjoyed dressing up, doing the cross-age activities and completing the quiz and scavenger hunt. Supporting the younger classes was also fun ( trying to lead buddies to the answers rather than telling them the answers is always a challenge!). In English, we have completed a Brightpath assessment in persuasive writing and great improvements can be seen. We are also focusing on complex sentences - using the subordinating conjunctions, in order to and so that to join our independent and dependent clauses. We have also investigated neutral and emotive verbs. In maths, we have moved on from decimals and fractions and are starting a unit of work on measurement. Estimation in measuring is important so if the opportunity arises perhaps you could work into your conversations with your children " How far do you think it is to....." or I wonder how long that fence is ..." . We are nearly finished our Hass work into Vietnamese refugees and unpacking the emotions associated with displaced people through our novel Onion Tears.  Please return Lightning Carnival notes asap. 

Indonesian: Ibu Susan

In Indonesian the year 5/6 class has continued their research into delicious Indonesian dishes to add to their menus. They have also completed a translation exercise using the key words we have looked at so far. The year 3 and year 4/5 classes have been practising writing more complex sentences about food using simple adjectives. The younger classes have been busy making the kucing (cat) from our food story this term. They have also revised numbers with counting activities and songs.

PE: Troy & Emma

For the last two weeks students have been finishing their unit on tee ball. Students have been able to use fundamental movement skills of throwing, catching (with/without a glove), fielding, hitting and running around bases to play modified matches. It has been terrific seeing students use their skills and gameplay knowledge to run independent games with less assistance from an adult. It’s been terrific to continually see the enjoyment increase each week.  - Troy

We were extremely excited to welcome Triskills to Uraidla Primary School. They will be here every Tuesday for the next four weeks working with all classes to learn fundamental skills required in gymnastics. It’s fantastic to get the opportunity to try new skills and sports and hopefully develop a lifelong habit of being active. 

Science: Philippa

We celebrated Science Week in Week 5 and 6 by learning about the vulnerabilities of  Bar-tailed Godwits and Bower Birds in our science lessons.

There were also lunchtime science activities on Tuesday and Wednesday in Week 6.

Thanks to students from Sallie's class for demonstrating how to launch vinegar and bi-carb rockets on Tuesday. Some didn't take off but most did and the audience had a lot of fun watching them!

Thanks also to students from Alex's class who demonstrated different-sized paper helicopters on Wednesday. Afterwards they did a great job with helping other students to make their own paper helicopters. Lots of fun was had by all! 

Gardening: Jo

Our mushrooms have sprouted!

The year 2 students have been watching and waiting as we observed the mycelium, pinning and finally mushrooms. The mushrooms doubled in size over the weekend and the students will be harvesting soon. 

Apologies

So sorry these photos were missed in the last newsletter, but we thought they are too good not be seen!