Round the Classes

Reception: Jaya

We are feeling very settled in our classroom and have been loving getting stuck into our learning, new routines and lots of exciting experiences!

We had a wonderful excursion to Monarto Safari Park and would like to say a big thank you to Katie and Alex’s classes for having us along. We saw so many amazing animals and had the opportunity to observe them in their different habitats, which tied in perfectly with our learning in the classroom. During our bushwalk with Roger, a Zoo Keeper Educator, we learnt about some of the native animals that also live around Monarto and discovered what types of habitats, food and resources they need to survive. It was such a fun day! We are now very excited to get started on creating our very own model habitats as part of our group projects with Katie and Alex’s classes.

We have also been busy learning our sounds and are becoming very excited to spot them in the world around us. We have been noticing, reading and writing sounds, making them with playdough, finding them in books and practising our letters with chalk. We are even starting to put a couple of sounds together to create words, which has been very exciting!

Reception: Katie

The Reception class have had a wonderfully exciting couple of weeks. In phonics we have been learning how to read and write 5 and 6 letter words. We have also been learning about plurals and have started learning the sh and th sound. In maths we have been learning about equal sharing and have been working through the whole school problem solving process to solve problems related to this. We also enjoyed making kites for book week and have started learning how to make short comic strips as part of media arts. In week 5 we went on an excursion to Monarto zoo to learn more about habitats as part of learner agency. We had a great time exploring the zoo by foot and by bus and learning about how the animals construct their own habitats. Now as part of learner agency we have started making our own habitats. 

Year 1: Alex

We have had a very busy few weeks and exciting times in Year 1! From exploring the wonderful world of animals at Monarto Safari Park to celebrating Book Week and getting hands-on with our maths learning.

What an exciting day we had at Monarto Safari Park! The Year 1 students had a fantastic time exploring and learning about the animals and their habitats. We were lucky enough to see lots of animals from the bus and learnt some interesting facts about them. We also went for a walk and had the opportunity to see how a tree hollow can provide a home for many different animals. We enjoyed looking closely at tree hollows and discovering why they are so important. We also had a look at a porcupine and kangaroo skin, which was a fascinating experience for the students. It was wonderful to see their curiosity and enthusiasm as they asked questions and shared their observations throughout the day.

We also celebrated Book Week and the Year 1s absolutely loved it! We have been reading lots of the shortlisted books from the library and enjoying the stories, characters and activities that go along with them. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our love of reading together. A definite highlight was the Book Week Parade! We were so impressed by the amazing costumes and the creativity that went into them. 

In maths, we have been focusing on measurement, exploring mass, capacity and length. We have been enjoying lots of hands-on activities to help us develop our understanding. The students have been learning to compare objects, make estimates and develop the skills needed to measure accurately. It has been wonderful to see the students getting involved, making predictions, testing their ideas and explaining their thinking as they learn.

Year 2: Suzie and Izzy

Students are progressing through the phonics lessons. Currently we are focussing on morphology to create adjectives and adverbs using the suffix -ly. 

We have been working through our class novel ‘The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane’ and identifying adjectives, nouns and verbs in texts we read. Using the class novel, we are exploring reading comprehension strategies such as summarising, visualising and predicting. 

Addition and subtraction continue to be a focus in our numeracy lessons, as well as measurement on Fridays with Izzie. 

We have our new class pet ‘Spyro’ the bearded dragon, and she is providing further inspiration for our focus on how to write information reports. 

Community-minded has been our Learn Stand Give Fly focus this term, with students learning and using everyone's name across the school. We recently sat and had lunch with Sallie’s class and participated in a circle activity to get to know the older students in the school better. 

In Design and Technology, students are continuing their understanding of labelling their diagrams and will begin creating dioramas of an ecosystem based on the inspiration of the developing butterfly garden.

Year 2/3: Emma

Our Year 2/3 class has had yet another fun-filled fortnight!

We have been working on alliteration during our literacy lessons, which has been very entertaining! You may have heard some of our creative pieces at our assembly last week. The class did an amazing job hosting the assembly and singing their song. I was incredibly proud of their independence and bravery, especially with me not being there!

We continue to explore birds through our literacy lessons, looking at information reports and researching our school environment to identify food sources. We were very pleased to discover that our school has a healthy ecosystem for birds to thrive in.

In Mathematics, we have been exploring fractions, and at the moment we are learning how to represent fractions using a number line. Students have enjoyed relating fractions to everyday scenarios and solving problems. Pizza fractions are always a favourite!

We are looking forward to planting our native plants in our butterfly garden and encouraging the wonderful insects and birds to come and visit.

To finish off the fortnight, students enjoyed a visit to the kindergarten, where they performed a couple of songs they have been practising with Stephen’s Year 3/4 class. It was a lovely opportunity for them to perform, connect with the younger children and share their love of music!

Year 3/4: Stephen and Kelly

In HASS, we have started learning about Indigenous perspectives, focusing specifically on the Dreamtime story of Nganno and also, on how Aboriginal people used the natural environment to determine changes in seasons.  We have started comparing the Western system with how Indigenous people would determine the seasons.  

In maths, we have been learning how to subtract numbers with trading.  

This week we also enjoyed singing some songs for the Kindy.

Year 4/5: Rachael and Troy

The Year 4/5 students have been busy brainstorming ideas for a structure that could make our community better for both people and the planet for our Design and Technology challenge. Prototype construction is now underway, with plenty of negotiation, communication and collaboration taking place! Next, students will test their prototypes, gather feedback and begin designing their solutions using Makers Empire. We can’t wait to see what they create!

In English, we have enjoyed reading Kids News articles about fascinating topics in science and geography. These articles have helped us explore new vocabulary and strengthen our comprehension skills. Students have also had fun experimenting with persuasive techniques, culminating in the challenge of creating an advertisement to “sell the unsellable”—including old toothbrushes, dried-up markers and empty glue sticks!

In Mathematics, students have continued developing their multiplication and division skills by exploring efficient strategies and applying their learning to a range of engaging problem-solving tasks.

Year 5/6: Sallie

Our class has continued to build on our "personal projects" and we are starting to see some very creative elements which complement the information portion the students have been working on. Our Monarto excursion was a great success, and as we toured around, we were conscious of looking at habitats and enclosures and considering all sorts of different design elements. It will prompt us to think about our own designs for our Makers Empire challenge of creating a structure or building for the Uraidla Community.

 Our photos and notes are on our pin board in the hallway and some of the photos are attached here. In maths we have been measuring things and becoming experts at converting different lengths, weights and volume. Congratulations to the basketballers, netballers and track athletes for the great efforts they put into their SAPSASA events. Well done!