Classroom News
Foundation Curriculum Newsletter - Week 10, Term 3
Dear Parents/ Caregivers,
What an incredible Term 3 it has been! It has been another fantastic term filled with learning, growth and lots of fun experiences, and we are looking forward to finishing the term on a high with exciting school events. We wish all of our families a safe and happy term break, wherever you may be spending it, and look forward to welcoming everyone back refreshed for Term 4.
Date | Event |
| Friday, 18th September | Second Hand Uniform Stall - 8.30am to 9.15am in library Footy Colours Day Grade 6 Bake Sale 8.30am to 9am Grade 6 Halloween Costume Sale8.30 am to 9am -limited stock Last day of Term 3, 2.30pm finish |
| Monday 5th October | Term 4 commences. |
Here are some highlights from our Term 3!
Warmest regards,
Tegan Cochrane, Renee Kociski, Ashleigh Smith and Vanessa Stimar
Foundation Team
Year 1 Curriculum Newsletter - Term 3, Week 10
Dear Year 1 Parents and Caregivers,
As we come to the end of Term 3, we reflect on a very positive last fortnight of learning. Grade 1 students have been enjoying creating rockets and dream catchers in line with our space topic. Students have also enjoyed attending the Art Show and farewelling Ms Robinson and meeting Mrs Vaelioja’s baby, Margot.
Important Dates to Remember:
| Date | Reminder |
Date | Event |
| Friday, 18th September | Second Hand Uniform Stall - 8.30am to 9.15am in library Footy Colours Day Grade 6 Bake Sale 8.30am to 9am Grade 6 Halloween Costume Sale8.30 am to 9am -limited stock Last day of Term 3, 2.30pm finish |
| Monday 5th October | Term 4 commences. |
Highlights of the Fortnight
We were all delighted to meet Margot this week when Ms Vaelioja dropped in.
Congratulations: A special shout out to Ezekiel LePan in 1C for his wonderful efforts in raising $1700 for MS by participating in a local readathon. Ezekiel read 10 chapter books in August. We are so proud of you Ezekiel. |
Farewell This term we say farewell to Ms Robinson in 1B as she prepares to welcome another little baby into her growing family. We would like to thank Ms Robinson for being such a fun and hardworking member of our Year 1 team and we wish her well with this next exciting chapter in her life. Miss Robinson will be replaced by Miss Emma McDonnell, whom you might have met on the Prep Team this term. Miss McDonnell is really forward to getting to know the Year 1 students and sharing her travel stories with them. We would also like to farewell Elijah Kelley from 1C as he leaves with his family for Kuala Lumpur. We wish him all the best in his new school overseas. Finally, wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday. Can you believe there’s only one term to go? |
Kind Regards,
Caroline Morrison, Rosie Robinson, Alison Sparks and Emma McDonnell.
Year 1 Team
Year 2 Curriculum Newsletter - Term 3, Week 10
Dear Year 2 Parents and Caregivers,
Below is a snapshot of recent activities, alongside important dates for the next two weeks.
Important Dates to Remember:
Date | Event |
| Friday, 18th September | Second Hand Uniform Stall - 8.30am to 9.15am in library Footy Colours Day Grade 6 Bake Sale 8.30am to 9am Grade 6 Halloween Costume Sale8.30 am to 9am -limited stock Last day of Term 3, 2.30pm finish |
| Monday 5th October | Term 4 commences. |
Literacy: In Literacy, students have continued exploring the fascinating world of Ancient Greece. In Reading, we learned about the Battles of Marathon and Thermopylae, the great philosophers Plato and Socrates, and the achievements of Alexander the Great. In Writing, students read a range of Ancient Greek myths and then innovated these stories to create their own versions. These included Theseus and the Minotaur, Mount Olympus, Arachne the Weaver and Pandora’s Box.
Maths: In Maths, students have been learning to read analogue clocks and match them to digital times. We have focused on o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to. Students have also explored turns, including quarter turns, half turns, three-quarter turns and full turns, and connected this learning with their understanding of time.
Art Show: We also enjoyed celebrating creativity at our biannual Art Show. The event provided a wonderful opportunity to showcase the students’ artwork from across the school year and to celebrate the imagination, effort and artistic skills they have developed.
Bookweek: During Book Week, students had lots of fun dressing up as their favourite book characters and celebrating their love of reading. We also enjoyed a special visit from illustrator Ben Wood, who introduced students to his new book Real Pigeon. He showed the children how to draw some of the characters from the book, and they had a wonderful time creating their own illustrations.
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Kind regards,
Daniel Lewis, Thilini Marasinghe, Zhuang Bian, Charlene Maguire
Year 2 Team
Year 3 Curriculum Newsletter - Term 3, Week 10
Dear Parents/ Caregivers,
Thank you for all of your help and support throughout the term to make it so successful.
It was great to see so many families at the art show last week, celebrating the fantastic work the children have done.
Important Dates to Remember:
Date | Event |
| Friday, 18th September | Second Hand Uniform Stall - 8.30am to 9.15am in library Footy Colours Day and Parade 9.10am Grade 6 Bake Sale 8.30am to 9am Grade 6 Halloween Costume Sale8.30 am to 9am -limited stock Last day of Term 3, 2.30pm finish |
Numeracy:
This term students have learned a large range of math skills as well as practising skills they already had. Topics we covered include addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. As well as time, learning how to read clocks, learning how to read maps as well as starting to learn how to calculate the area of a shape.
Reading and Writing:
In Reading, students loved to read the story Matilda. Students learned the skill of summarising which they practiced throughout the term, as well as expanding their vocabulary.
In Writing, students created a narrative about a character with a special power, based on the story of Matilda. The stories are very impressive, including the skills they have learned in class, such as dialogue and similes.
Thank you,
Cassie, Harrison, Lauren and Claire
Year 3 Team
Year 4 Curriculum Newsletter - Term 3, Week 10
Dear Year 4 Parents and Caregivers,
Below is a snapshot of recent activities, alongside important dates for the term.
Important Dates to Remember:
Date | Event |
| Friday, 18th September | Second Hand Uniform Stall - 8.30am to 9.15am in library Footy Colours Day Grade 6 Bake Sale 8.30am to 9am Grade 6 Halloween Costume Sale8.30 am to 9am -limited stock Last day of Term 3, 2.30pm finish |
| Monday 5th October | Term 4 commences. |
Reading: Students are continuing to read Boy Overboard and have now reached the part where the family is attempting to move to Australia for a better life. Students are making great connections to their own lives and recognising how different their experiences are from those of people living in a war-torn country. We will continue reading this book into Term 4, encouraging students to make connections, use expert answering strategies, and practise their reading comprehension skills. Please do not continue to read the book at home during the holidays, as predicting what will happen next will be part of our lessons in Term 4.
Term 4 Reading Challenge: Over the last term, we have noticed that the Year 4 cohort is not reading as regularly as we would like. We are beginning to see the impact this can have on students’ reading fluency, comprehension and confidence, as well as their idea generation in their own writing. Regular reading, particularly reading for enjoyment, plays an important role in developing vocabulary, fluency and comprehension while also helping students develop a positive relationship with reading. To encourage students to read more regularly and, most importantly, to read for enjoyment, we are starting the Term 4 Reading Challenge. Throughout Term 4, we are challenging students to read regularly and aim to complete approximately one book each week. Students will have a simple reading chart in their homework book where they can record the book they are reading and give it a rating out of five stars. Longer books may take more than one week to complete, and that is absolutely okay! The focus of the challenge is on developing consistent reading habits rather than racing through as many books as possible. Students are encouraged to choose books that interest them, including novels, graphic novels, comics, nonfiction and other appropriate texts. We want students to explore different books, discover authors and genres they enjoy and, most importantly, find enjoyment in reading. Each class will also work towards a class reading goal, with every completed book contributing to the class total. At the end of the term, we will celebrate students who have shown outstanding commitment, growth and enthusiasm towards reading throughout the challenge. Happy reading!
A few authors/books we recommend would be….. Percy Jackson – Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse
Twisted Tales – Disney A Whole New World – Liz Braswell Once Upon a Dream – Liz Braswell As Old as Time – Liz Braswell Part of Your World – Liz Braswell
The Maze Runner – James Dashner The Maze Runner The Scorch Trials The Death Cure
Artemis Fowl – Eoin Colfer Artemis Fowl The Arctic Incident The Eternity Code
Morris Gleitzman Once Then Now After Boy Overboard Loyal Creatures
Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Prince Caspian The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Silver Chair
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Maths: During the last week of term, students are learning about the difference between volume and capacity. Students have learnt that the litre and millilitre are standard units used to measure volume and capacity. They have also learnt how to convert from one unit of volume to another. This week, students will move on to measuring temperature using analogue thermometers and learning about the standard unit of measurement for temperature, degrees Celsius. They will practise measuring and comparing temperatures.
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Kind Regards,
Sam Pallas, Jessica De Angelis, Katie Smith and Tim Maclachlan
Year 4 Team
Year 5 Curriculum Newsletter - Term 3, Week 10
Dear Parents and Carers,
What a Fantastic Term!
What a fantastic term of learning, growth and achievement we have had! It has been wonderful to see our students embracing new learning opportunities, challenging themselves and celebrating their successes along the way. We are incredibly proud of all they have accomplished this term.
As we come to the end of another busy and rewarding term, we wish all our students and families a safe, relaxing and happy holiday break. We hope everyone enjoys some well-deserved time to rest, recharge and spend time together.
We look forward to welcoming everyone back for another exciting term of learning!
Below are some important dates to keep in mind for the beginning of Term 4.
Key Dates | |
| Week 10 | |
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| Term 4 week 1 | |
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| Term 4 week 3 | |
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Grade 5 My Best Self Dance Programme:
Our Grade 5 students have been participating in the My Best Self Dance Programme, where they have been developing important skills and qualities in resilience, respect and leadership.
Throughout the programme, students have not only learnt some fantastic dance moves, but have also had lots of fun, built confidence and reflected on their learning and personal growth each week through their journals.
It has been wonderful to see the positive changes and growth in our students throughout the programme. Their hard work, enthusiasm and commitment have truly shone through, and they should be congratulated on their achievements!
We were so proud to celebrate their learning and showcase their fantastic dance skills in our recent performance. Well done, Grade 5!
Vanessa Burke and Josh Bretherton,
Year 5 Team
Grade 6 Curriculum Newsletter - Week 10, Term 3
Dear Year 6 Parents and Caregivers,
We thought it would be beneficial to outline a few of the important dates and curriculum content for this term. Below is an overview of important dates for Term 3. There will be possible updates or new dates added to Compass as the term progresses:
Date | Event |
| Friday, 18th September | Second Hand Uniform Stall - 8.30am to 9.15am in library Footy Colours Day Grade 6 Bake Sale 8.30am to 9am Grade 6 Halloween Costume Sale8.30 am to 9am -limited stock Last day of Term 3, 2.30pm finish |
| Monday 5th October | Term 4 commences. |
Reading : During this week, students continued exploring Greek mythology through their reading of texts connected to the Iliad. Students completed their study of The Iliad and explored aspects of Ancient Greek art and culture, making connections between the stories, characters and artwork of the time. They then moved on to a range of well-known Greek myths, including Perseus and Medusa, Persephone and Hades, Daedalus and Icarus, and Orpheus and Eurydice, as well as many other fascinating myths. Throughout these texts, students developed their ability to identify key information, make inferences and support their ideas with evidence from the text. They also explored themes, character motivations and the ways authors use descriptive language and storytelling to engage readers. Through class discussions and written responses, students continued to build their vocabulary and confidently explain their understanding of the texts they read.
Maths: During this week, students continued to develop their understanding of measurement, with a particular focus on area, perimeter, volume and capacity. Students explored how to find the perimeter and area of composite figures by combining or subtracting the areas of rectangles. They applied these skills to solve a range of worded problems and developed strategies for identifying the information needed to solve problems efficiently. Students also investigated volume by finding and comparing volumes using displacement and explored how different units of measurement are used to describe volume. They practised converting between units and calculated the volume of rectangular prisms using cubic centimetres and cubic metres. Through practical investigations and problem-solving activities, students strengthened their ability to select appropriate strategies, estimate and check their answers, and explain their mathematical thinking.
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Science: During this week, students continued exploring the fascinating world of fungi and the remarkable ability of living things to survive in extreme environments. Students investigated Indigenous Australian perspectives on the uses of fungi and developed an appreciation of the important knowledge and practices associated with fungi. They then explored extremophiles, investigating some of the toughest organisms on Earth and how they are adapted to survive in harsh environments. Students completed mini research tasks on extreme survivors and considered the question of whether humans can also be described as extremophiles, using evidence to support their views. To further develop their understanding, students watched a National Geographic documentary exploring extreme environments and the adaptations animals use to survive in challenging conditions.
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Kind Regards,
James Thomas, Natasha Williams and Emma Heron
Year 6 Team