Junior School News
Prep
In Reading, the Preps have been consolidating their understanding of open syllables, when the vowel is not trapped and makes its long vowel sound, as in she and no, as well as closed syllables, when the vowel is trapped and makes its short vowel sound, such as in shut and cup.
The Preps have been stepping up their learning in Writing by expanding their sentences through adding a when and where, which adds extra information and makes their sentences more interesting.
In Maths, the world has turned into a collection of endless shapes as students explored the features of circles, rectangles, triangles, and squares. They discovered these on numerous shape hunts and created them in a range of ways, such as using geoboards.
Year One
In Year One, students have loved learning a new reading rule called the ‘Rabbit Rule’. The Rabbit Rule focuses on how to divide a word into syllables: if it has two consonants between two vowels, you split between the consonants, such as in words like napkin, Elmo, and raccoon. The students enjoyed memorising this rule through a catchy chant and matching actions, as well as identifying and marking the vowels and consonants.
In writing, students have been continuing to practise and explore completing sentence stems that begin with subordinating conjunctions, including before, after, if, and when. They have been identifying how the two parts of a sentence link and relate together through cause and effect, as well as learning to use commas correctly in these structures.
In Maths, students have been exploring subtraction and its connection to finding the difference and to addition. They have been highlighting the importance of mathematical signs—for example, + as "and," − as "the difference between," and = as "the same as." The Year Ones have been creating some very impressive equivalent equations, ensuring both sides have the same value, such as 8 + 3 = 4 + 7.
Year Two
The Year Twos have been revisiting the rule of ‘Sail Away’, in which ‘ai’ makes the long a sound at the beginning or middle of words and syllables, such as in paint, afraid, and claim, while ‘ay’ makes the long a sound at the end of words and syllables, as in sway, display, and relay.
In writing, the Year Twos have been continuing to build their bank of subordinating conjunctions, including before, after, if, when, even though, and although, which show the relationship between two actions and help them create more complex sentences.
In Maths, students have been strengthening and practising their addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers, such as 78 − 55 = 23, using the skill of regrouping.
It is always heartwarming to see the amazing friendships on the school yard during lunch and play, as well as the creative and inventive games and activities students come up with. Here are just a few moments captured from this week: students creating fairy gardens, building amazing sand sculptures and tunnels, engaging in make-believe games, and enjoying classic football competitions.
Story Writing
This week, students in the Junior School were given the opportunity to showcase their growing writing skills.
They created a writing piece based on a provided image, putting their developing spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation to the test. It was amazing to see the clear growth of all students, as well as the development across the Junior School at each year level, from Preps to Year Twos.
Topic
In this week's topic lessons, students have been learning about a range of ways to stay safe and healthy. This was highlighted through the amazing posters each class made on a range of different topics such as sun safety, hygiene and eating healthy.
Students have also loved developing their understanding of the importance of sun protection and the catching memory hook of slip, slop, slap, seek and slide.
Religion
Throughout Term Two, each class within the Junior School has had the privilege of attending and representing the school during the weekly Mass in our parish. This not only helped provide students with a connection to God and their wider community, but also offered a meaningful opportunity to explore the significance of prayer, Mass, and how to show reverence in our faith. This special time in prayer was further enriched during our weekly Religion lessons. Year Ones baked soda bread to recognise the important symbol of bread in the Catholic Church, as well as the value of sharing.
Meanwhile, the Preps have been creating their own ‘Days of Creation’ books, and the Year Twos have been learning the story of Joseph’s Coat of Many Colours by making their own puppets.
School Disco
Friday was filled with buzz and excitement as the much anticipated annual school disco was just a few hours away. We heard about many students dancing and playing their hearts out, not to mention the amazing shimmering outfits, infectious smiles, and energy filling the school hall! These special memories are what make school such a magical place, and we cannot thank the parents enough for helping to support these precious moments.
As we head into the long weekend, and with many students working extremely hard to push themselves in all aspects of their learning, it’s a fantastic time to not only enjoy quality family time but also to rest and recover, especially as many students have been battling illnesses over the past few weeks. We can’t wait to see the students back on Tuesday for what will be an amazing final few weeks!
Sophie Prosser
Junior Leader
hwood@shsandringham.catholic.edu.au
bmaloney@shsandringham.catholic.edu.au
sprosser@shsandringham.catholic.edu.au
comeara@shs.catholic.edu.au kflynn@shsandringham.catholic.edu.au