Foundation

It’s been an exciting few weeks in the Foundation area. We’ve enjoyed excursions to Merri Creek and the Melbourne Zoo. Thank you again to all the parent and carer volunteers who gave up their time on these days.

In Reading we’ve been exploring poetry. Please practise chunking words into syllables and rhyme with your child at home. The students have also been trying their hand at writing poetry. Ask them to tell you about their acrostic poems, haikus and colour poems.

In Maths we have been revising number concepts that were covered earlier in the year. Please keep encouraging your child to practise forwards and backwards counting, ordering skills, adding and subtracting strategies and sharing into equal groups at home. We’ve also completed our Money unit in which students created their own shops to buy and sell products from.

Important reminders:

Swimming begins on Monday and runs for two weeks. Please ensure your child wears their bathers to school and has a towel and goggles. A plastic bag inside their small carry-bag is also a good idea for wet clothes. Please name everything.

2024 is almost upon us which means the Foundation students will be moving into Grade 1 very soon! Please continue to build your child’s independence at school so they are ready to transition into next year.

We’re looking forward to an exciting last few weeks of term!

Lexie, Joe and Arwen

Grade 1/2

This term our Grade 1 and 2 students made remarkable strides in their academic journey. In Mathematics, they focused on interpreting and creating maps, delving into positional and directional language. They also explored the world of 3D shapes, enhancing their understanding of geometric concepts. In Writing, these young minds mastered various poetic forms, from acrostic poems fostering creativity to rhythmic verses and alliteration sentences showcasing linguistic prowess. Their reading skills also flourished as they identified rhyming words and recognized alliteration in texts.

In Integrated Studies, they explored the origins of everyday essentials like farm-grown foods and natural materials, creating vibrant posters to explain the steps of production.

The Grade 1 and 2 students have also connected with our Foundation students throughout several transition mornings. The 1/2 classes are now eagerly anticipating welcoming the Foundation students into their new classes next year.

All the best,

Grade 1/2 team.

Grade 3/4

Hello 3/4 families,

Our Grade 3/4s had such an amazing time at Melbourne Zoo. We had interesting discussions, including where these animals can be found in the wild, as we noted down what continent they are from. Thanks again to our wonderful parent volunteers for your efforts in helping keep our students safe and happy on the excursion!

We have still been doing some great learning even with all of the excitement as we get closer to the holidays. In Maths, we have recently looked at our mapping skills including looking at scale, keys/legends, compasses and grid references. We will be focusing on revision for the rest of the term with the main area of focus being place value.

In Reading and Writing, we started our new unit called ‘Life Writing’, where students have been creating texts such as letters, journal/diary entries, podcasts and blogs. We will be making smoothies and students will ‘review’ them in their blogs.

In Integrated Curriculum, our students are becoming experts on either Brazil or Madagascar. They will begin to compile their research and decide a creative way to present the information as they work on their project over the next two weeks.

The swimming program is due to start next week and after that, it won’t be long until the term comes to an end. We are so proud of all the effort students have put into their learning this year and want to say a big congratulations on (almost!) completing another school year.

From the Grade 3/4 team - Elena, Jennah, Kieran, Daniel and Stefanie.

Grade 5/6

Newsletter November 2023

Hello wonderful 5/6 families,

Can you believe there are only four and a bit weeks left of the year?! Here’s what we’ve been doing in the area this term.

In literacy, we have been completing literature circles which the students have been engaging really well with. They’ve had the opportunity to read popular books such as Lion, Penguin Bloom and Charlotte’s Web. Unlike the last time we completed literature circles, this time we have grouped the students across the four classes to give students an opportunity to work with new students and forge new friendships. Our writing this term has been linked to our final PBL project. Students have had the opportunity to implement their practice of writing biographies by writing biographies of significant people from Australian history and someone they admire from contemporary Australian history. Afterwards, the students will write a persuasive piece of writing about their hopes for Australia in the future.

In maths, the students have been problem solving BODMAS problems. It has been such a fun and engaging unit of work and has been great to see students challenge themselves. Coming up, we will be tasking students with creating and implementing budgets for a variety of situations including planning a family holiday and a trip to the Melbourne Show.

PBL is ending with a bang this year. Over the course of the semester, the students have been working through mini projects to represent their learning from all the different parts of Australian history. The culmination of their learning will take the form of a presentation in the final week of the year through which students will present their different projects they’ve been working on as well as a collaborative project the whole cohort has contributed to. The 5/6s are recreating Tom Roberts’ ‘The Big Picture’ which was painted to recreate the forming of the federation of Australia. Each student will contribute three portraits to represent Australia’s past and future. It’s currently about 8m² so it’s going to be a huge project that will encapsulate our learning for a term and a half. We will have an opportunity to share our learning with families and the community later in the term.

For wellbeing, we have been going to the local Warr Park and going for walks around the block. We have found the students to really enjoy these excursions and have been talking about the benefits of activities such as walking and playing outside.

Upcoming for the term, we will have swimming starting next week and will run for weeks 9 and 10. We will also have our Funfields excursion as well as seeing our Grade 6s off at their graduation.

We are so excited to welcome Lina and Sandra back to the area! We also want to extend a humongous thank you to Keerththana who has been helping out and doing such a wonderful job in 5/6C.

5/6 teaching team :)

STEM Sessions for Foundation Students

During STEM lessons, our Foundation students have been designing and constructing simple structures using Lego. The requirements were that they use Lego to build a robot that performs a job. We have had some very creative robots built, including robots that teach, do the food shopping, clean, cook and fly people around the world.

PE

From Monday October 16th - Thursday October 19th, St John’s Ambulance attended Merri-bek Primary School to deliver a free First Aid program to students from Prep - Grade 6. This free program teaches primary school students the importance of First Aid and what to do in an emergency.

The knowledge and skills gained from this program is designed to develop First Aid awareness in school children and contribute to building a more resilient community. This program is age-appropriate and integrates with the Victorian Curriculum.

Foundation

Through a storybook, the children will see how Johnny Bear identifies an emergency, puts the Danger, Response and Send for help strategy into action and helps call 000 in an informative session. Students will learn the first aid chant that will help them remember what to do in an emergency. Includes a fun quiz on first aid to get students up and involved.

Grade 1 & 2

Students learn how to spot DANGER in an emergency, RESPOND accordingly and SEND for help. They will be guided on what number to call and act out a scenario to get them comfortable calling 000 in real life. Students will play a fun and interactive game as teams compete in the first aid quiz. By the end of the program, students will leave with essential skills and knowledge which they can call upon in an emergency situation.

Grade 3 & 4

Following on from the Prep – Grade 2 modules, students will revise ‘DRS’ which involves assessing for dangers, obtaining a response and calling Triple Zero. The main focus of this module will be demonstrating how to check airway and breathing and how to place a patient into the recovery position. Students will then apply the knowledge they have learnt through an interactive game based on the DRSAB action plan.

Grade 5 & 6

Reiterates the learning of standard modules 1 & 2, however incorporates a practical CPR component, guiding students through how to perform CPR and when it is required in a Frist Aid situation. Students will also participate in group problem-solving scenarios based on a variety of first aid situations allowing them to apply their knowledge.

Coburg High Transition Bike Ride

On Monday 20th November, 23 students from the Grade 6 area participated in a bike ride to Coburg High School which they will be attending next year. It was a great experience for students to learn about bike safety whilst riding on the road and different routes they are able to take when riding to high school next year.

Once at the school, students participated in bike riding activities, had a small tour of the school and were able to experience the joys of purchasing food from the canteen. Students were also able to interact with students from Coburg High during lunch time.

Overall, it was a great day and we hope students enjoyed the experience, especially the tricky hills on the way back!

Merri-bek Mail

Issue 8 · 24 Nov 2023

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