7/8A

Secondary 7/8A has had a terrific start to 2024. We started the year focusing on expectations and routines and students have been doing a great job following these throughout Term 1 in the classroom. Students throughout the term have participated in Challenge where they had the opportunity to build their fitness through mini golf, bowling, amazing race and indoor sports. We have celebrated some world celebrations such as Compliment Day, Pizza Day, Pokemon Day and Oreo Day.

In reading, we have been focusing on making connections and understanding the main idea in texts that connect to our discovery unit of Culture such as “My Culture and Me” and “The Littlest Refugee”. In writing, we have been focusing on writing a recount about our language experiences with the details “who, what, what like, when and where”. For their language experiences students have participated in a passport challenge and different crafts that supported students in their learning of culture.

In Numeracy, we have been focusing on place value and location. Students have been focusing on separating numbers into their place value (e.g. ones, ten and hundreds), exploring maps and using positional language to describe the location of things.

In Term 2, I cannot wait to continue to build on the great work we have started!

7/8B

Secondary 7/8B have had a wonderful start to the year, doing a great job at getting into the routine of Year 7/8.

We started off the year with completing team building activities and getting to know each other, helping us to strengthen our bond as a class. The class has taken a great interest in our Discovery unit about culture and have shown an amazing sense of wonder about the world around them. We have loved researching different countries and cultures and created a mural of some of the wonderful countries and cultural groups that exist in the world.

Thanks for a great term 7/8B!

7/8C

In Secondary 7/8C this term we welcomed a new teacher (myself!) and 2 new students to our school. I have felt very supported by all staff and students and our 2 newbies have made the transition well.

In maths, we have completed a unit on place value and have just commenced working on location and transformation – following maps and directions is always fun! We have been reading The Little Refugee by Anh Doh and Suzanne Doh. This poignant and positive story is based on the real life experience of a refugee family.

To accompany our Culture unit we have made Aboriginal flags, learnt to draw lotus flowers, made Vietnamese hats and Chinese lanterns. All the students greatly enjoy these ‘mindfulness’ type activities – they are relaxing and also give us a chance to use the other side of our brains.

Our writing has been based on recounting such activities. Friday Challenges has been fun for all, with the opportunity to mix with students from other classes and try something new.

7/8D

Term 1 has marked the exciting beginning to 2024 for Secondary 7/8D students. It has been fantastic to see the connections that are forming in our classroom. We have had three new students start at Concord in Term 1, with the class welcoming them with open arms.

This term we have focused on the question “what is culture?”

Students have shared personal experiences, as well as learned new things about cultures from around the world. We explored culture in many different ways, discussing culture in the home, classroom, school and how culture looks different for everyone.

In literacy we have read books which link in to this question about culture, such as “My Culture and Me” by Gregg Dreisse. Students shared their knowledge about Aboriginal culture and their personal connections to the text. This story showcases Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and storytelling, and highlights the importance of cherishing and sustaining culture.

In numeracy we have explored place value and location. Students began exploring maps and directions, and combined this with their learning about countries, culture, and the world map. The students also shared their knowledge of place value and worked on placing numbers on number lines.

During the Start Up program, we explored our Concord School Expectations in depth this term (Be a Learner, Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Responsible). Students now have a sound understanding of what is expected of them at school and in our classroom.

I look forward to all the happenings of Term 2!

Adam Rankin

7/8E

Secondary 7/8E have had an engaging, fun and educational Term 1.

We began by getting to know each other through team-building games and activities; learning how to get along, support and cooperate with our classmates. We completed a jigsaw puzzle where we all represented different parts, but our favourite activity was building the tallest tower using spaghetti and marshmallows. Both teams were successful.

We got in touch with our ‘Inner Gremlin’ and ‘Inner Sage’ and worked a lot on emotions. We have read books about different cultures both as a class and individually on Epic. We enjoyed ‘The Little Refugee’ by Anh Do. Language Experiences have been fun to write recounts about. We have; experienced other cultural events, made Vietnamese hats, drawn lotus flowers and created Chinese lanterns and the Aboriginal flag.

Maths has been all about numbers and Place Value; Essential Assessment, games, worksheets and Mathletics.

The Discovery unit on Cultures has opened our eyes to our own backgrounds and nationalities of others. We have been really interested in the celebrations all over the world.

We were lucky enough to have a day out to Gresswell Park and Binnak Park for a BBQ and to socialise on the play equipment. We have celebrated many International/National Days such as; Pizza Day, Oreo Day, Bubblegum Day, Potato chip Day, Popcorn Day.

We also had a special fish and chip lunch to celebrate lots of learning and way too much fun in 7/8E this term, let’s hope it continues into term 2.

7/8F

The students in Secondary 7/8F have worked hard over Term 1 and continue to support each other collaboratively. We initially spent three weeks preparing for the year ahead with our start-up program to establish clear expectations and enable students to apply these to their new setting each day.

We have engaged in enriching learning experiences across all curriculum areas. We particularly enjoyed literacy by looking at our mentor texts, ‘The Little Refugee’ and ‘My Culture and Me’. Linking this to a writing experience such as the Passport Challenge, Lantern Making, and designing a lotus flower helped students consolidate their learning. This is all linked well with our Discovery unit question of ‘What is Culture?’ in many different contexts. Our culinary skills were enhanced during the Food Tech sessions where we made several dishes including pizzas and pancakes.

In Numeracy, the students developed excellent mathematical knowledge of place value and applied this learning to real-life problems. Students began exploring maps and directions and even got to go on a scavenger hunt around the school.

We have enjoyed getting to know other students from different classes through our Challenge activities, such as Action Indoor Sports, Dancing, and Bowling, and overall are looking forward to Term 2.

7/8G

Term 1 has been exciting and engaging for Secondary 7/8G students. It has been wonderful to see students making connections with peers both inside and outside of our class so far this year.

This term we have focused on the question “what is culture?” Students have shared personal experiences, as well as learned new things about cultures from around the world. We explored culture in many different ways, discussing culture in the home, classroom, school and in other places like clubs.

In literacy we have read books which link in to this question about culture, such as “My Culture and Me.” Students shared their knowledge about Aboriginal culture and their personal connections to the text.

In numeracy, we have explored place value and location. Students began exploring maps and directions, and even got to go on a scavenger hunt around the school. The students shared their knowledge of place value and worked on placing numbers on number lines.

We explored our Concord School Expectations in depth this term (Be a Learner, Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Responsible.) Students now have a sound understanding of what is expected of them at school and in our classroom. I am so proud of our class for showing these expectations each day.

I look forward to seeing what Term 2 brings for the students of 7/8G!

Madeleine.

7/8H

Secondary 78H have had a great start to the year.

During the ‘Start Up’ Program, students enjoyed participating in team building games, setting up classroom routines and building friendships throughout the section.

In English and Discovery Unit, we have been focussing on ‘What is Culture?’ We have explored a variety of texts including ‘My Culture and Me’ and ‘The Little Refugee’. These texts allowed us to discuss where our families come from and the different traditions and celebrations we all take part in.

During Maths we have been focusing on place value and location. We have been exploring a variety of maps and understanding how we follow directions to get to a particular location.

A highlight for 78H has been taking part in a variety of language experiences each week which has allowed us to develop our vocabulary in order to create our writing pieces. Some of our favourite activities have been the Aboriginal flag mosaic, the lotus flower drawing and recently our colourful lanterns.

ALLIED HEALTH

Occupational Therapist: Keely Wescott and Speech Pathologist: Leia Leventis

Leia and Keely have had a great start to the year working with the Secondary 7/8 students.

Leia is our Speech Pathologist and we welcome Keely Wescott, our Occupational Therapist, to the section.

Leia has been working in each class on reading, spelling and supporting communication.

Keely has been running daily sensory circuits and working with each class on recognising body clues to assist students in getting ready to learn.

Leia and Keely have started running an Amazing Race Challenge Program together.

The students have had a lot of fun working in teams to complete challenges focusing on teamwork and gross motor skills.

Secondary 7/8

Issue 1 · 28 Mar 2024

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