Classroom News
Foundation News
Literacy
Recently our students have been looking at many new digraphs. What is a Digraph I hear you say?? A digraph is when 2 letters come together to make a single sound eg /ck/ as in duck, /ss/ as in kiss, /zz/ as in buzz, /ff/ as in puff and /ll/ as in bell.
We have been reading these digraphs in our books and looking at when we would use these in our writing. Students have continued to learn about landmarks and animals in our world and have enjoyed discovering and writing facts about the moose from North America.
Numeracy
During Numeracy we have continued to look at numbers and their parts eg 7 is 4 and 3. This last week has seen us focus on numbers from 6-10. Students have represented numbers and their parts in many different ways such as on a tens frame, as a number train and a number bond.
Students also created pictures to demonstrate their number facts. We are hoping that students can recall these number facts quickly and use this skill in many other aspects
Skill in focus
Heart words- During Literacy sessions we have been focusing on heart words. These words are either High Frequency words or High Frequency Words with sounds we need to know by heart. For example the word your is not a word that students would be able to segment the sounds. They need to know this word by heart. We are building a bank of heart words the students have access to during writing. These will also enable greater fluency during reading times.
Future learning
We continue our trip around the globe, learning about different world landmarks, celebrations and animals. Students will be able to read and write about the many different things they are learning.
We will introduce students to our “ground, grass, sky” books and they will begin to form their letters using appropriate sizing and formation. During Mathematics, students begin learning about shapes and their features. We will discuss the features of shapes and begin to sort them into categories.
Junior School News
Literacy
Junior School students are currently learning about the four distinct seasons. Last week, we looked at how different weather patterns that come with each season can impact farm land. The Junior students recently completed their unit on Ancient China, where they learnt about the making of silk, The Great Wall of China, parades and celebrations in China and Chinese inventions.
We utilised our sizable new sandpit to try and replicate the Great Wall of China, where the classes went head to head and displayed great creativity, collaboration and teamwork. Please see some photos of their impressive creations below. Students used this experience to write a recount piece in Text Construction, where they used a range of Tier 2 vocabulary words to describe the experience, such as construction and integrity. mathematics.
Skill in focus
Heart words- During Literacy sessions we have been focusing on heart words. These words are either High Frequency words or High Frequency Words with sounds we need to know by heart.
For example the word your is not a word that students would be able to segment the sounds. They need to know this word by heart. We are building a bank of heart words the students have access to during writing. These will also enable greater fluency during reading times.
Future learning
We continue our trip around the globe, learning about different world landmarks, celebrations and animals. Students will be able to read and write about the many different things they are learning. We will introduce students to our “ground, grass, sky” books and they will begin to form their letters using appropriate sizing and formation. During Mathematics, students begin learning about shapes and their features. We will discuss the features of shapes and begin to sort them into categories
Phoneme focus:
Numeracy
In Numeracy, students have been exploring measurement, by using Unifix blocks, MAB blocks and informal units to measure lengths. Junior students have measured the length of different classroom items, themselves, and large areas outside such as the basketball court and PE shed. Below are some photos of students measuring each other in the classroom using blocks (formal measurement) and measuring areas outside using their feet (informal measurement)!
Reminders
When students read at home, please remind them to log it in their diary to receive a dojo point!
Middle School News
Literacy
Content Knowledge: We have finished our Novel Study unit on Storm Boy and have started to learn more about the setting of the Coorong in South Australia, note-taking as we go before we move on next week with our new text The Wind in the Willows. Students have been engaging in buddy reading to enhance their fluency when reading. They have been loving reading out loud to each other and trying to beat their words per minute when they read the text for a second time.
Text Construction: This week we have been completing a group task that saw students working in small teams to construct an SPO on an aspect of Storm Boy (characters, setting, relationships, theme/moral) Then taking the SPO they created together to write a paragraph which will be shared with the class.
Mathematics: In Math we have been looking at length and area. Students enjoyed getting outside and measuring the perimeter of the COLA, down ball courts and basketball courts with the trundle wheels.
Looking Ahead:
Week 6 sees us starting The Wind in the Willows in Content Knowledge, working on sentence structure in Text Construction and beginning a new unit on data in Math.
Reminders:
Students in Middle School are expected to complete 20 minutes of reading each night. This is recorded in the student diary for teachers to check. Well done to all students who are completing their daily reading and earning class tokens and dojo points!
iPads should be brought to school fully charged to 100%, ready for a busy day of learning.
Wheels Wednesday happens every Wednesday (weather permitting) Bring your bike to school if you would like to join in!
Senior School News
Literacy
This week, we have continued reading and exploring our class novel "Rivet Boy". Students have explored the risks the bridge workers face daily, symbolism in the text related to the main characters and what loyalty means from characters actions. Students have also explored statistical facts and meaning behind child slave labour, comparing Australia to other countries and using this information to create strong informative persuasive writing pieces. Throughout text construction students have explored the meaning and use of modality words, literary devices and figurative language in their persuasive writing pieces. Students have used the current class novel to pull out parts of the text and understand what and why the author has used modality words, literary devices and figurative language has been used.
Numeracy
Students have begun the week with a grapple task which has explored the multiple uses of a decimal board. Students are exploring what misconceptions they may have when comparing their previous unit of fractions when comparing and ordering. They have been using decimats and number lines to confirm and check their understanding of decimals and how they align with a place value chart.
Reminder
Winter sports is here! Next Friday the 30th is the big day! Selected students have been working hard and practicing in their selected sports and have been doing a fantastic job of showing the school values and having great pride their school.
Our Grade 6's also received their Grade 6 tops today!
