Round the classes 

Reception class: Katie 

In Katie's reception class we have been busy learning four new letter sounds. We have been learning how to write these letters correctly and we have even been able to put the sounds together to make some words! 

In maths we have been learning different techniques that will enable us to count accurately. We have also been learning how to form numbers correctly while writing.

As part of our work with the Kimochis (feelings) we have been learning about Lovely Dove and how it is important to take someone 'under our wing.' 

As part of our work in HASS we have also been learning about ourselves and our families. 

We are very much looking forward to the cooler weather next week so that we can finally get into our garden. 

Reception class: Kelly

We have had a great start to our learning this last couple of weeks. The children have been learning the letter names and sounds of s,a,t and n. They have been learning how to form both the capital and lower case letters of the sound as well as learn how to write two words - sat and at. We have continued our writing of recounts and have mainly focused on what has been happening on the weekends. The children have been discussing who they were with and what they were doing.

In maths we have been learning about how to form our numerals 0-9. We have been practising how to form our numbers in different ways - using chalk, using sticks in the sand and then using our fingers in the sand.

For Design and Technology we have started designing our dream garden. We our linking this to our HASS topic about what's special in our community.

Year 1 class: Jaya

The class has settled in well to our classroom routines after a busy but fabulous start to the term. I have been so impressed with their enthusiasm and engagement towards their learning. 

We have been having lots of discussions about how we can be gritty and what it means to show grit in all areas of our learning! The whole school focus has tied in well with our maths learning, which has had a focus on developing a growth mindset and how mistakes help us learn. We have been revisiting our written number formations as well as different ways we can group items together to make collections and patterns. 

In Literacy, we have started looking at the important elements of narrative writing including setting, characters and plot. We loved working in small groups to tell creative and engaging stories using pop-stick prompts. I am excited to see their creativity blossom as we continue to explore storytelling and writing!

Our HASS inquiry has a history focus this term and we have begun looking at our own family forests. I think we are all excited to keep learning about each other’s families and how they have changed over time. 

We are looking forward to the busy and exciting term ahead with lots of learning, growth and fun!

Year 2 class: Samantha

We hope this newsletter finds you well. Here's a glimpse into what the Year Two class have been up to recently.

In our literacy lessons students have been revising base words, prefixes, and suffixes as morphemes. This understanding helps them unlock the secrets of word formation and improves fluency. We have also revised the graphemes that make the /a/ phoneme during phonics lessons including 'a_e' 'ai' 'a' 'ay' 'ey 'ea'.

As part of our narrative exploration, we've embarked on our class novel with 'Fantastic Mr Fox' by Roald Dahl. The class has been immersed in character development, exploring the traits that make each character unique. WOW words have become our magical tools to describe characters.

In our mathematics lessons, we've taken a detour into the incredible world of our brains! Embracing the concept of Growth Mindset, we've learned that our brains are elastic and can grow with effort, perseverance and grit. The inspiration for this journey came from the picture book 'Your Fantastic Elastic Brain' by JoAnn Deek PhD. 

The students have been fascinated by the idea that making mistakes and facing challenges during maths lessons and in our daily lives actually helps our brains grow stronger.

Here are some insights from the week:

Florence shared, "I have learned that the neurons in my brain can send messages to other parts of my body and tell it what to do."

Zadie discovered, "The neurons connect in my brain as I learn, and they are really important. You don't even notice when you're growing them. You grow them by learning from your mistakes. The taste sensation part of your brain works quite hard. It decides all the tastes you like and tells you if something is too sweet or too savoury. "

Reuben reflected, "I learned that as you get older, your brain grows by making mistakes and learning by going to school and seeing things that can help you learn. Like the first time I saw a crane, I asked my dad and he helped me learn. I asked him questions, and the answers helped my brain to grow."

We've also directed our attention to fostering creativity and concentration through exploring Van Gogh's artworks. Using sunflowers generously provided by Lilly in Year 3, we delved into the intricacies of colour, line, and floral details. Utilising oil pastels, we honed our blending techniques in creating our unique renditions. 

Fun fact: Did you know...sunflowers symbolise friendship, happiness, and kindness?

Enjoy your weekend everyone. 

Year 3 class: Stephen and Troy

We are enjoying a fantastic start to the school year.  We are grateful for our new classroom, with its amazing space and views of the outside environment.  The swimming has made us reflect on What Went Well each afternoon before home time. We have also re-visited our understanding of the Zones of Regulation, and we now have a new tool in place to communicate which zone we are in with our teachers.  The picture below shows this tool – Ask us and we can tell you how it works. We also gave some thought to the Learning Pit to see where we are at with our knowledge of Place Value.

Next week will be all about settling into our learning patterns for each day…😊

Year 4/5 class: Alex

In Week 3 students have been preparing to run their first assembly for the year. Congratulations to Lila and Layla for rehearsing and confidently leading the assembly as the hosts. Congratulations to all of the class for their different roles in the assembly including the practising of the ‘Cha Cha Slide’ brain-break dance. Students introduced to the school as a brain-break that all classes can use. We are aiming to have all students in the school learn the dance with their classroom teachers so that in Term 2, when we host our next assembly, we can do a whole school dance. If adults of families want to learn it too and join in during that assembly, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KnVSZbl-fk

In their literacy learning students have written a Brightpath narrative as a pre-assessment. I am using this to see where they are at in terms of their narrative writing skills currently. Students will also use this writing piece to look at what they could improve and with support will be setting a specific goal for their writing. Students have started investigating spelling patterns through their first Words Their Way sort. They have also been using the Read Theory program to practise their reading comprehension skills. 

In maths students have begun a unit on place value. They have been participating in some place value games and problem-solving activities to tune into this area of learning. Students have been participating in their daily mental maths and Mathletics activities to build and maintain their number fluency and practice in maths areas across the curriculum on a daily basis. Students have been conscious of whether they are in their comfort zone, growth zone or anxiety zone in their maths learning and have been actively seeking support when needing the work to be harder or easier to keep them adequately challenged. 

The Year 5 students have started choir on Tuesday afternoons with their choir teacher Carol. The songs sound great and we are already learning a lot! The Year 4s have been enjoying some singing and art lessons with Sallie during this time. 

The Year 4 students have had their first introduction to Maker’s Empire. It is a digital 3D modelling app in which students can create 3D design projects as part of their Design and Technology learning. Year 4s have been participating in the design ‘training lab’ part of the program. The Year 5s have been excellent teachers and ICT support people during this initial set-up and learning for the Year 4s. What great leaders you are becoming. 

Students are looking forward to running the first Tuck Shop for the year on Thursday the 7th of March. Also, we wish Harrison all the best on his family holiday and look forward to following his adventures through Seesaw updates!

Year 5/6 class: Sallie

Our Roald Dahl novel study is in full swing. Just starting with looking at Roald Dahl's life and then we are going to create 6 of our own questions and answer them relating to the individual novel we have read. I have already seen some great question starters such as " I wonder ....." (thanks Ben). We then will move on to the free choice areas that have a variety of activities and questions that cover drama, creating, making, vocabulary and characters. I love watching these projects evolve and seeing the creative ideas generated. 

We will continue with place value in maths and our daily maths mental activities. Listening to the students explain to their group how they got their answer and why they are correct is always interesting.  

During the week Alex and I did some professional development with Makers Empire, an online design program. Our school was chosen to be part of their promotion Kids in Space. One of the perks is that the school gets a 3d printer and specially designed programming tasks. The tasks set by Makers Empire are innovative "problem solving activities" designed for students to think, create and problem-solve in small groups with a "space theme".  We will be going on an excursion (tbc) to the Adelaide Discovery Space Centre in the coming weeks. Both Alex and I are excited about this program. 

Science: Philippa

As part of our science lessons about investigating objects and what materials they are made from, Katie, Kelly and Jaya's classes enjoyed guessing what was in mystery boxes and bags. No peeking was allowed, students could only use their sense of touch. The materials we have focused on are glass, plastic, rubber, fabric, wood, metal and rock. Maybe students could look for objects made from these materials at home and talk to you about them!

Sam’s class is focused more on changing and combining materials so we have been investigating how playdough and paper can be changed. Last week we folded paper into hats. This week we investigated whether scrunched or folded towel soaks up more water and tried to cut a post-it note into the longest possible strip of paper.

For Stephen’s, Alex’s and Sallie’s classes the focus is solids. liquids and gases. Stephen’s class investigated properties of solids and liquids with the blue ice cube experiment. What happens when you put a blue ice cube in half a glass of oil? This week they melted ice, butter and chocolate.

Alex and Sallie’s classes have been trying to blow gravity-defying bubbles, cube-shaped bubbles and investigated ‘Can triangular and rectangular wands blow triangular and rectangular bubbles?’ Our results were different from the video that we watched so we have been trying to explain this. We are reworking on writing predictions for our investigations then drawing labelled diagrams and writing about the results.

Indonesian: Ibu Susan

In Indonesian the Reception classes have started reading a story about lots of different coloured hats (topi), whilst the other JP classes have a slightly harder story about some silly hats. These stories use high frequency words, patterning and repetition. The older classes have started learning about pakaian (clothes) and are adding adjectives like colours to simple descriptions.

PE: Emma and Troy

This week during our lower primary Physical Education lessons we practised our coordination of striking a ball with bats and fielding. These fundamental movement skills were practiced individually and within inclusive games that focused on teamwork and spatial awareness. Students enjoyed demonstrating these skills and showed enthusiasm during each game. 

Gardening: Jo

The veggie gardens have survived the heat so far.  Students planted some seedlings last week to replace those that had finished. 

We are learning about composting. Students have made individual compost jars, layering the wet and dry ingredients and we plan to watch the composting process and see how long it takes.