Learning Update
From Mr Collins 3-6
With James being away, I have been performing the role as Acting Principal. This has meant that I have had to be out of my classroom a little more than usual. A massive thanks to Zoe Light and Lauren Bannam who are performing part of my role in the 3-6 room. My holidays were great (other than watching Brisbane win yet another flag), but I was ready to dive back in.
English
This week we looked at synthesizing; making connections to what we read so that we are able to deeply understand text. Our mentor text 'Rockhopping' focused on 2 characters on a journey through the Grampians. It was a great reflection of the beautiful nature we have all around us and how to overcome difficult obstacles. In writing, we have started creating recipes. While some are questionable in their pallete, all students understood the fundamentals of procedural writing and are developing interesting ways of displaying their information while publishing.
Maths
A mixed few tasks as always just to keep it fresh in the 3-6 room. We have been discussing when we can use our brains only to solve problems and when it's necessary to use a pencil and paper. This led to some peer teaching with different kids showing others how they go about solving different addition and subtraction problems. We played an extremely competitive game of Greedy Pig that taught the students about various chance events and how to display them as a fraction and decimal. We practiced rotating, reflecting, and translating tangrams. Mrs Light and I also team-taught a lesson on protractor usage. It was great to have an extra set of hands on this as it can be quite tricky to measure different angles.
TRP (The Resilience Project)
Bubble Blowing - Our last session was about resilience and dealing with failure. We spoke about our feelings, and the kids were tasked with attempting to create a bubble that was not cylindrical (a virtually impossible task). This took patience, teamwork, and ultimately they were unable to complete the task. We then discussed these feelings and how we can manage disappointment.
PE
In PE this term we will be combing different sports to make use of all of the fantastic mixed sports equipment we have at RPS. Prepare yourself for a barrage of photos of this in future newsletters. From week 7 we will begin weekly sessions at Summersalt Gymnastics in East Bendigo.
Integrated Studies
We finished our Australian History and the Gold Rush wall in week 10 last term. Have a look at it!
This term we will be delving into Studies of Asia, before looking at how Christmas is celebrated differently around the world.
From Ms Lehre P-2
End of Term 3
R U OK? Day – Biscuit Decorating
In Week 9, we celebrated R U OK? Day with some creative biscuit decorating. Students enjoyed designing and decorating their biscuits while learning about the importance of checking in with others, being kind and letting people know that they are there to listen.
Maths – Chance and Probability
In Maths, we explored chance and probability using lots of real-life examples, using the words certain, likely, unlikely and impossible.
Students made predictions about everyday events, such as what the weather might be like and whether Mr Collins might wear a pink tutu or eat an apple at recess.
We also conducted our own probability experiment using coloured pencils. Students selected pencils from behind their backs and made predictions about which colour they thought they would pick. This helped us see that sometimes we can make a prediction, but we can't always know exactly what will happen – that's the fun of chance!
Term 4 – Week 1
It has been wonderful to get back into the swing of things this week! Great to see so many students reading at home each night. Each night they read, they receive a different coloured star sticker, and it has been lovely to see their excitement and commitment to building their reading habits.
In Literacy, we have been revising concepts we have previously learned, including the digraphs ph (phone) and wh (whale). In Maths, we have been revisiting place value and strengthening our understanding of the value of digits in numbers, in preparation for our upcoming focus on addition and subtraction. It has been fantastic to see so many students challenging themselves, sharing their strategies and explaining their mathematical thinking.
The Resilience Project
This week, my gro explored the world's slowest animals! Our favourites were definitely the panda and the sloth. We talked about the importance of slowing down and being mindful and then had lots of fun practising mindful movement. Students moved like different animals while listening to a variety of music, focusing on moving calmly and being aware of their bodies.
From Mrs Light
STEM & Kitchen Garden Program (KGP)
Vertical Marble Maze
The students were given a challenge this week. Using cardboard, sticky tape, straws, a cup and a marble, they had to design a maze for a marble to get from point A to point B. The students did such a great job of this activity! We discussed the STEM design cycle and how we can use this to imagine, design, create, improve, test and revise our creations. Next week after we complete the native plantation, all students will have time to create their marble maze using the design they made today.
If you have any cereal boxes, or other boxes that might be suitable to create a marble maze (with sides) we would love to have them at school before next Thursday!
In the kitchen/ Garden
This week the Grade 3-6 students make Spaghetti Bolognese for everyone to share while the P-2 students made delicious garlic bread sticks to have with it. I hope that the skills learnt here at school can be transferred into homes with the students helping to cook family dinners as always, I am so impressed with the students' abilities to have a go and try hard things!
The 3-6 students helped me tidy up the garden beds that were looking a little sad and neglected over the holidays. It was a perfect day to spend some time outside!
