Learning Areas
Foundation
As Term 3 progresses, we have continued to explore more jobs through some wonderful parent presentations and a visit from our local firefighters. Students have begun replying to Blueys dad recommending which job he should do.
In maths, students are focussing on counting forwards and backwards, investigating some simple skip counting patterns.
In literacy, students are learning about the techniques writers use through an author study looking at Pamela Allen books. Students have started writing their own fiction narratives and producing some very creative stories with interesting characters, problems and solutons!
We had so much fun celebrating 100 days of school with games, races, baking cakes, dress ups and more.
And it was so wonderful to see them all performing at our Stuck in the Library concert. What a night!
Well done preps!
The Prep Team,
Lexie, Arwen and Joe
Grade 1/2
1/2s design and create month
Over the past few weeks, our Year 1 and 2 students have enthusiastically immersed themselves in an engaging project that combined creativity, engineering, and design. Guided by teachers, they designed their own pinball machines and maze runners. Once the design phase was complete, students transitioned to creating their projects, tackling challenges and showcasing their creation skills. As the projects neared completion, they decorated their machines, adding a personalised touch that highlighted their unique personalities. The students are now eagerly awaiting their opportunity to present their creations to their families next week.
Grade 3/4
Hello 3/4 families,
Wow, it's been a busy term! Firstly, everyone looked fantastic at the book week parade. We had fun learning about Democracy and local councils at the 3/4 Integrated Curriculum incursion and we have been practising lots for our concert. We enjoyed STEM Morning when we made Junk Racers. Plus, we shared our picture book creations and did some buddy reading with the Preps.
In Mathematics, we have spent the last month learning efficient strategies for Multiplication and Division. Even though we have now moved on to a new topic, we encourage families to please continue practising times tables on a regular basis.
In Reading, we have ended our Jackie French author study and have now begun Literature Circles. This involves students reading a novel of their choice in small groups, taking on a role each day and completing an activity related to that role. Roles include ‘Vocab Villain’, ‘Sublime Summariser’, ‘Inky Illustrator’ and ‘Crazy Connector’. You might like to ask your child what each role involves and what they do once they have read their set pages. For example, the role, ‘Inky Illustator’ allows students to practise the reading strategy ‘visualising’. Students are asked to draw a picture about something they just read and write a sentence about why this is important to the story.
In Writing, we began Open Cycle Writing which allows students to have free choice in producing texts of different types and genres. This is a great way for students to get creative and follow their passions. They follow the writing process for each one (plan, draft, edit, conference, publish), checking-in with their teacher each lesson, and also aim to practise a writing goal they have set for themselves e.g. use quotation marks in a narrative, using the correct verb tense or improving their handwriting.
In Integrated Curriculum, 3/4 students have begun designing and creating a proposal and accompanying letter to change something in the school. We will use what we have learnt about democracy to vote on the best designs and will raise money on an upcoming Free Dress Day to fund this initiative. The top 4 proposals will be sent to Maria and she will make the final decision. Students are very keen on either a mural or adding some nice plants to the 3/4 balcony. It will be interesting to see what they vote for, and what wins! In the meantime, keep an eye out for an announcement about Free Dress Day coming soon and don’t forget to bring your gold coin donation!
From the 3/4 teachers (Elena, Kieran, Stefanie, Jennah and Daniel)
Book week
Reading Books to Preps
Maths
Dance Practice
Science Week
Democracy Incursion
Grade 5/6
Hello wonderful 5/6 families,
The students have really been enjoying the unit of work we’ve been doing in literacy this term, biographies and memoirs. Throughout the unit, students have had the opportunity to learn about a range of different people from sports stars to scientists to activists. We have been analysing the different text features and way that biographies are written whilst giving the students an opportunity to write their own biographies about people who interest and inspire them. Currently, the students are writing their own memoirs about memorable moments from their lives and experimenting with the different style of writing that memoirs adopt.
PBL this term has been an exploration of a period in history when Europeans first arrived. Some of the notable figures from that time include Bennelong, Pemulwuy, Barangaroo and William Buckley, one of which the students have written a biography about. This slice of history involves the settlers and squatters who had just arrived in Australia and the way life was like at that time. The students have then chosen a way to present the information they’ve been researching in the form of a diary/letter, interview, or diorama.
In maths, the students have been exploring tenths and hundredths in decimal, fraction and percentage forms. They have been successfully adding and subtracting tenths and hundredths using a visual representation snake game. Next week we will be moving onto mapping and grids.
Coming up this term, we are heading to Melbourne Museum and the State Library next week to see some of the things we have been learning about in PBL. Then in week 10, we have Spanish Day where we will spend the day celebrating all the countries of the world that have Spanish as a national language.
Tori, Kerry, Lina, Simon and Sandra :)
PE
Athletics Carnival
On Wednesday 16th of August, 11 x 3/4 students and 28 x 5/6 students participated at the District Athletics Carnival. Everyone did an amazing job and should be proud of their efforts. A number of students have qualified for the Division Championships to be held on the Wednesday 6th of September.
Well done to:
- Emmett who came 3rd in long jump
- Marcel who came 3rd in triple jump
- Arlo who came 3rd in discus
- Izaak who came 3rd in 100m
- Leo, Arlo, Daniel and Declan who came 3rd in their relay
Well done to:
- Theo who came 2nd in discus
- Harry who came 2nd in shot put
- Orla who came 2nd in triple jump and 2nd in shot put
- Veronica who came 2nd in 100m and 1st in 200m
Well done to:
- Beth who came 1st in 800m
- Kira who came 1st in long jump
- Sathya who came 1st in discus
- Dilara who came 1st in discus and 2nd in shot put
- Veronica, Orla, Olive and Dayton who came 1st in their relay
Celebrating Women’s World Cup
On the back of a successful Matilda’s campaign at the Women’s World Cup, Merri-bek Primary School held its own World Cup. It was amazing to see the school community support the Matilda’s and the growth in women’s football/sport in general.
It was great to see the sportsmanship and team-work amongst all students during our World Cup Round Robin. We hope everyone had fun and look forward to our next sporting event!
A big thank you to Simon, Costa and the Grade 5/6 student referee’s, as well as all staff who joined in on the day.
