What's Happening
Foundation
Welcome back! Foundation students have enjoyed sharing about their holidays with their teachers and peers. It is lovely to have them back refreshed and ready for a big Term 3. We have been amazed with how quickly the students have settled back into school life.
On Tuesday 4th August, we will celebrate our ‘100 days of School’. A detailed notice was sent home this week.
Again in Term 3, we would love assistance with Corridor Reading 8:50-9:10 (or once structured learning has begun).
Inquiry:
We have begun our new Inquiry topic; ‘Community Helpers’. We are looking forward to the Fire Brigade visiting on Monday 7th and 14th September (this is subject to change).
Maths:
Over the last few weeks, we have been revising Place Value in our maths groups. Students have been exploring numbers to 20, -ty numbers, teen numbers and 2-digit numbers, to consolidate their understanding of this topic. Next week we will move to our new subtraction groups.
Literacy:
Within PhOrMeS, we have begun learning how to read and write CCVCC words, which are five code words. Students are learning to apply comprehension skills within their reading of these words. In writing, students are building on their knowledge of recount writing and beginning to challenge themselves by including extra information.
Now the weather is wet and cold we encourage you to pack spare pants and socks, and a warm named navy jacket. It is also a good idea to keep a spare change of underwear, pants, socks and even shoes in your child's bag at all times as accidents can occur at school.
Book Week will be celebrated from 10–14 August with a range of exciting activities, including a whole-school incursion, Dress Up Day, The Great Book Swap. We are also very excited about our first excursion to Parkdale Library on Monday 18th of August, where we will join a Storytime session. We will be seeking parent/carer volunteers to assist with the library visit. Please find more information via Compass soon.
We know this will be a great term and cannot wait to see what the kids achieve!
Grade 1
What a wonderful start to Term 3. It has been fantastic to see our Year 1 students return with such enthusiasm and a positive attitude towards their learning.
In English, we have begun our Procedural Writing unit. Students are learning how to write clear instructions using bossy (imperative) verbs and sequencing words to help others follow a procedure successfully.
In Inquiry, we have started learning all about Australia, which has tied in perfectly with Parkdale Primary School's NAIDOC Week celebrations. Students have been learning the Boonwurrung word for "yes" – wawa, while exploring the importance of Connection to Country and celebrating the rich cultures, histories, animals, lands and peoples of Australia's First Nations communities.
In Mathematics, students are investigating patterns, creating, continuing and identifying AB, AAB and ABC repeating patterns using a range of materials.
As always, thank you for your continued support with home reading. Reading every night makes a huge difference to your child's confidence and progress. We are so proud of the wonderful effort everyone has shown already this term—keep it up!
Grade 2
Our Grade 2 students have made a terrific start to Term 3.
Writing: students are learning about the structure and features of Explanation texts. Students had a chance to write a piece on the life cycle of a chicken.
Reading: Each class has been reading Wind in the Willows, exploring the key elements of the text, including its characters, setting, plot, and themes. As we read each chapter, students have been answering comprehension questions to deepen their understanding and support their analysis of the story. In addition students are building their fluency and expression by reading with a partner (fluency pairs).
Spelling: During our PhOrMes/Word Study lessons, students have been learning to read and spell words containing opening syllables, as well as reviewing previously learnt spelling rules.
Grammar: students were introduced to pronouns and how they can be used instead of a noun. Students were able to identify and include pronouns in sentences.
Inquiry: We have introduced our new Inquiry topic for this term, ‘Earth’s Precious Resources’, with some guiding questions including: What are some of the precious things we get from our planet Earth? Where does water come from? Why is it important?
Maths: Students have been building on their understanding of multiplication as repeated addition, groups and arrays, and developing effective strategies for solving multiplication stories and number sentences. Further experiences with these concepts at home will continue to consolidate students’ understanding of multiplication in ‘everyday life’.
Wellbeing: As part of our ‘U R Strong’ program students have been learning about the four strategies for making new friends, including how to show kind and friendly body language. The four strategies for making new friends include: Super Introducer, Ask and Pass, Quick Questions and Be a Friendship Magnet.
Homework: Thank you for your support with homework: Regular reading aloud and a weekly Word Study/PhOrMeS worksheet. Optional online extras: ‘Nessy Reading and Spelling’ and ‘Sunset/Jetpack Maths’ (Essential Assessment).
Grade 3
We have had a very busy and exciting start to Term 3! Our excursions to ACMI, and then Parkdale Secondary College, both ran very smoothly, with our Grade 3 students proudly demonstrating our ‘Super Six Values’.
Core Knowledge: Our inquiry unit this term is all about ‘Forces and Motion’. So far, students have been investigating forces as a push or a pull, forces in relation to motion, direction, and strength, balanced and unbalanced forces, and gravity. Students have also explored various forces acting on objects, such as friction, and investigated whether we could describe and predict patterns of motion.
Writing: We began the term with a focus on the structure and features of procedural texts. Students are learning to expand sentences in procedural texts using adverbs and adverbial phrases of time, place and manner; and to ‘bump up’ their instructions using tier two vocabulary and precise words.
In our grammar and syntax lessons, we have been revising and building on students’ understanding of complex sentences, dependent and independent clauses, subordinating conjunctions, and punctuation, in order for them to improve their sentence writing skills.
In our word study lessons, we reviewed the morphemes ‘rupt’, ‘port’, ‘zo’ and ‘bi’, combining them with a variety of prefixes and suffixes, and then we added the morpheme ‘tract’. We have also been learning more about using the ‘y to i rule when adding a suffix’, as well as reading and spelling a range of homophones and ‘weird words’.
Maths: We began the term with another ‘Addition and Subtraction’ unit, looking at different types of word problems and using efficient strategies for solving. The unit also included some lessons with money, focusing on representing money values in different ways, and calculating change. As always, opportunities to explore and practise further at home, would be a great way to consolidate and build on your child’s knowledge and skills.
This week, we introduced our ‘Angles’ topic. Students have been learning to recognise angles as a measurement of turn, identify the rays and vertex of an angle, use an angle ruler to check the size of an angle, and compare turns and angles to right angles.
Wellbeing/Social skills: This fortnight, students explored the concept of personal and cultural character strengths. They provided examples of how a personal or cultural strength can be used in different situations, and named some strengths people can use to help them to learn and thrive in everyday life. They also investigated and identified what respect can look like, feel like and sound like in a range of situations, focusing on respect for people and country.
Homework: Will continue to be assigned on Fridays and students have been reminded to ask a grown-up to check their homework with them, and fix errors or make changes as needed, before submitting. Also, to continue regular home reading, record in diary, get it signed by a grown up, and bring it to school every Friday. Thanks for your ongoing support with this.
Grade 4
We have had a very busy couple of weeks in Grade 4, filled with lots of learning and discovery. Thank you for all the efforts and amazing attitudes towards your learning!
In Reading, we’ve continued exploring our class novel War Horse. We’ve been unpacking its themes, characters, and storyline in detail, and using quotes from the text to strengthen our reading responses. Along the way, we've discovered lots of new vocabulary, which students have been enthusiastically incorporating into both their responses and their own writing.
In Writing, we’ve been learning about persuasive techniques through the DAFOREST model, helping us make our arguments more convincing and effective. We've also focused on crafting engaging introductions using the GST structure. Students have done a fantastic job and are excited to begin developing their body paragraphs next week.
This week in Maths, we wrapped up our multiplication and division unit. Our focus was on dividing larger numbers, both with and without remainders. We even challenged ourselves to convert remainders into decimals and fractions! These skills were then put into practice through solving real-life word problems.
In Inquiry, we’ve continued our “May the Best Party Win” unit, where we’re learning all about the Australian government. This week, we discovered how a law is made by following its journey through the House of Representatives and the Senate, with plenty of debate and discussion along the way! We're very excited to welcome Tim Richardson next week, who will be visiting to speak with us about local government.
Reminders: We’re all looking forward to Grade 4 Camp in the final week of term! Medical forms have been sent home, please return these by the end of next week so we can ensure everything is ready for a fun and safe camp experience.
Grade 5
Reading – A Single Shard Students have thoroughly enjoyed delving into our new mentor text, focusing on the lives of Tree-ear and Crane-man in this incredible story set in 13th-century Ancient Korea. Throughout the unit, students have explored the ancient Korean social hierarchy, apprenticeships, the pottery-making process, and have begun learning about symbolism.
Writing – Explanation Writing As a cohort, we have been learning about the structure and features of our new writing genre: explanation texts, which explain how a phenomenon occurs (e.g. How does the water cycle work?). As a class and in small groups, students have constructed explanation texts on the digestive and respiratory systems, ensuring they include learned Tier 3 vocabulary and accurately sequence the processes involved.
Maths – Operations Maths groups have been working hard to further develop their problem-solving skills throughout our Operations unit. Students have practised unpacking multi-step worded problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division using strategies such as CUBES, bar modelling, rounding and estimation. Some groups have also been introduced to BIDMAS and the order of operations.
Inquiry – Venture into Vitality (Health) Our Inquiry topic this term explores a range of important health concepts. As a class, we have investigated why the digestive, circulatory and respiratory systems are vital to our bodies and how they work together. Students will be working towards completing an exciting group project, creating a visual display showcasing the major body systems, and we can't wait to see the finished products!
Camp Reminders
Medication: Please ensure any medication that has not already been submitted to your child's classroom teacher is brought to school as soon as possible (Tuesday morning at latest please) in a named zip-lock bag, along with the completed medication dosage form that was sent home earlier this week.
On Wednesday morning, please ensure your child arrives at school between the usual times of 8:45am and 9:00am.
Students should place their large bag and sleeping bag under the covered area outside the Japanese Room before heading to their classroom with their small backpack and pillow.
Inside their small backpack, students should have a snack, lunch for the first day and a drink bottle.
We kindly ask that parents assist with placing large bags and sleeping bags underneath the buses when they arrive at approximately 9:30am.
If your child requires travel sickness medication, please administer the first dose before they arrive at school. Any medication required for the return bus trip should be provided to your child's classroom teacher as outlined above.
Please note that students are not permitted to bring extra food (including lollies and chocolates), smart watches, mobile phones or money.
Grade 6
Grade 6 has made a fantastic start to Term 3, and the students have settled back into learning with enthusiasm and focus.
In Reading, we have begun our new novel study on The Magician’s Nephew. Students are already engaging thoughtfully with the text and developing their understanding of characters, themes, and author techniques.
Students have also started working on their highly anticipated Memory Books. While they are being very secretive about their creations, there is plenty of excitement surrounding the project. We know they are looking forward to sharing their finished products with family and friends at the end of the year.
In Mathematics, our focus is on Patterns & Algebra. We have been extremely impressed with the students’ prior knowledge and their ability to apply mathematical thinking to new concepts. Their confidence and engagement have made for an excellent start to the unit.
Although interschool sport has now concluded for the year, Grade 6 Sport will focus on preparation for Athletics Day, while also providing opportunities for students involved in successful Term 2 sports teams to continue their training and development.
Overall, it has been a wonderful start to the term, and we look forward to seeing students continue to challenge themselves and achieve their goals.
Reminders
Please ensure all Grade 6 jumpers are clearly named.
High school transition forms need to be returned as soon as possible.
Camp medical forms also need to be returned promptly.
Thank you for your continued support. We are looking forward to another successful term in Grade 6.