Classroom Gallery
News from Kindergarten!
Kindergarten students have been busy settling in and learning our school routines. I am sure you have had some exhausted little people at home but rest assured they are all happy in the classroom and out in the playground.
Last week we finished reading The Very Hungry Bear by Nick Bland. We looked at the characters, expanded our vocabulary, discussed where bears live and what they eat. Our last activity was to create an alien out of playdough and draw it. The most exciting part was when we ventured out under the trees and built homes for our aliens, using only what nature had provided. It was lovely to observe the children design, create and problem solve together.
Our maths focus over the last fortnight has been measurement- length. Using concrete material we have been learning how to compare lengths of objects, exploring why the length of a piece of string doesn’t change when it is curved or straight and using mathematical language to describe length.
What's happening in Year 3/4
This term in PDH - we are completing a unit on Child Safety based off the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum.
The Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum has been developed to support Queensland schools’ delivery of key safety messages to students in Prep to Year 9. The curriculum has been developed by a working group comprising: Bruce and Denise Morcombe; the (former) Commissioner for Children and Young People and Child Guardian; officers from the Department of Education and Training; the Queensland Police Service; and the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs; together with a network of advisors involved in researching child abuse and its prevention.
Through a series of lessons, students will learn how to recognise, react and report when they are unsafe or find themselves in situations that can have a significant detrimental effect on their physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing.
The curriculum aligns with the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education (Version 8.1) content descriptions.
We encourage you to talk to your child about what they are learning in class. The following table outlines the content to be delivered.
Safety lessons for students in Years 3–4 will include:
Recognise: These lessons focus on students being alert to clues in their environment (e.g. sound clues like alarms, visual clues such as hazard signs or smell clues such as smoke) and to body clues (e.g. goose bumps or racing pulse) which may help alert them to unsafe situations. Students will learn about children’s rights and their right to be treated fairly. They will learn about the importance of rules and that these exist to keep them safe. Learning rules about private body parts is also included to develop understanding about inappropriate touching. Sadly, there is evidence that children as young as Prep-age are exposed to this sort of harm, and in the majority of cases, by someone they know. Students will use anatomical language for private body parts in lessons to remove the shame and embarrassment often associated with discussing genitalia. Using anatomical language (e.g. penis, vagina) can improve the confidence of children to report inappropriate touching and removes any confusion that nicknames can cause.
To find out more please read the attached Parent Guide Document.
Delighting in our mouthwatering corn harvest!
