Student News

Foundation

In Literacy, we continue to learn about phonemes (sounds) and graphs (letters) that represent them. Last week, we learned about the phoneme /k/, made kites, and flew them outside! We can use the graphs c, k, and the digraph ck to write the sound.

We have been learning to measure this week in Maths. We have been comparing items and using the vocabulary of longer and shorter to order objects in the room.

Grades 1 & 2

Grade 1

The Grade 1 students have been using some fun new resources during their phonics sessions this term! 

Whisper Phones

When reading aloud, students can ‘whisper’ into the phone and hear their voice clearly on the other side. This helps them hear their pronunciation of sounds better and helps to cancel out some of the background noise.

Magic Torches

Students are given a set of word cards to read. But can they see the whole word? Using their ‘Magic Torches’, students are able to shine a light on parts of the word that were invisible. They then blend and read the new word. 

Magnifying Glasses

Students have been using these to find words hiding in a picture. They then read the hidden word and use it in a sentence with their partner. 

Grades 3 &4

It’s Term 2, and in Grades 3 & 4, we have hit the ground running! In Literacy, we have begun reading the novel Yirra and Her Deadly Dog Demon. Students sit alongside their fluency partners, taking turns reading aloud and following along in the story. We've also been exploring some fantastic new vocabulary words, including sly, nuisance, ridiculous, gentle, sprint and ancient. In spelling, we have been learning the spelling rules for making nouns plural by adding ‘s’ or ‘es’.

In Numeracy, we are wrapping up our unit on multiplication and division. We have now explored the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 times tables, along with their corresponding division facts. It’s been a wonderful start to the term, with lots of excitement and great learning happening in Grades 3 & 4.

Grades 5 & 6

In Grades 5/6, we’ve launched our exciting Market Day project! Students are challenged to design, create and sell a product or service with the goal of turning a profit - developing their entrepreneurial thinking and numeracy skills along the way. We also had a wonderful visit from Melba College, where former Kalinda students now in Years 7 and 8 returned to share their secondary school experiences. They answered a wide range of thoughtful questions from our curious 5/6 students, offering valuable insights into the transition to secondary school.

Visual Arts

This week was an exciting opportunity for the Grade 5 and 6 students to experience using a spray can to colour their completed “ME Boxes”. They chose a single colour that connected the individual pieces assembled inside their shoe box. Rotating the box helped to ensure all surfaces were coated with paint.

Along with the Grade 3 and 4 students, they constructed 3D poppies from either tissue or crepe paper that I used to form a wreath in the corridor, acknowledging our ANZACs.

The Foundation students were thrilled to see their finished ceramic discs. They carefully threaded beads onto a pipe cleaner and attached them to create a hanger for these colourful artworks. 

Libby Shaw

Visual Arts Teacher

LOTE

In grade 1 and 2 students have been learning about Children’s Day celebrations in Japan. On 5th May families fly carp kites called ‘koinobori’ as a wish for the future health and happiness. We have made our own koinobori in class with students each adding a scale with their names in Japanese.