Year 1/2 Classrooms

Amidst the excitement of Athletics Day and rehearsing for the upcoming production, there has still been plenty of learning happening in our classrooms!

World Dance Incursion

Our Year 1/2 cohort recently enjoyed an exciting World Dance Incursion, exploring dances from different continents and cultures around the world. The experience encouraged students to develop resilience, confidence and a willingness to try something new.

Students had the opportunity to learn a variety of traditional world dances while discovering how movement and dance can be expressed in different cultures. They also had lots of fun dressing up in colourful costumes from around the world, helping bring the experience to life.

To finish the session, students were given the freedom to dance and express themselves in their own unique way. It was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to celebrate movement, creativity, culture and individual expression!

Noticias españolas

Recently, our Year 1/2 Spanish cohort has been singing and writing all about finding treasure! A big thank you to Almendra for her amazing musical talent in composing the song. We have been learning new Spanish words and having lots of fun imagining ourselves as treasure hunters.

Next week, we will put our learning into action with an exciting treasure hunt, so make sure you are there on Tuesday!

In our exploration of informative texts, we have started learning about the difference between “pero” (but) and “porque” (because), and practising how to use them in sentences. ¡Qué divertido!

English

In English, students have been reading and studying The Lorax and Where the Forest Meets the Sea. Alongside our reading, we have had a strong focus on building vocabulary, exploring new words from the texts and developing our understanding of their meanings. We have also used the ideas and issues raised in these texts to explore persuasive topics and develop arguments for and against.

In Writing, students have been using the TREE graphic organiser (Topic, Reason, Explain, End) to structure their persuasive writing and expand their ideas with reasons and explanations. We have also been exploring persuasive devices, including emotive language, modal verbs and the rule of three. 

Students have also continued to build their independence as spellers by applying strategies such as sound mapping, syllables and chunking when writing and editing unfamiliar words.

In Grammar, our main focus has been on commas, particularly using commas correctly in lists of items and events. Students have also been revising how exclamation marks (!) and question marks (?) are used to show meaning in sentences.

Writers in Residence

Congratulations to Olive and Gerald from 12EF who are this weeks Writers in Residence!

Mathematics

In Mathematics, we have been excited to begin exploring multiplication and division, which are new concepts for many students. We have been building our understanding through equal groups, skip counting, repeated addition and arrays, using hands-on materials and drawings to make our thinking visible.

Students have also been developing their problem-solving skills using UPAC (Understand, Plan, Answer, Check) to unpack problems, choose strategies and explain their thinking.

Following Production, all students will begin our next round of Tier 2 Mathematics, with a focus on building confidence and fluency with addition and subtraction.