Round the classes 

Reception class: Katie

Over the past few weeks the Receptions have been very busy working on their sounds. We have been learning how to read and write words using these sounds and how to manipulate these sounds to make different words. In maths we have been working on our counting skills and have been learning how to subitise. In HASS we have been learning about our families and looking at what makes our family special. As part of our work with the Kimochis we have been learning about Cloud and how to use our Calm Down Breath in situations that make us angry. We have also been learning what the green and blue zones of regulation are and have been learning strategies that enable us to identify when we are in these zones. We have also been having a lot of fun spending time with the kindy and getting to know our friends on the other side of the fence. 

Reception/ Year 1 class: Jaya

This term, our Reception/1 class has been diving into the Bond Blocks maths program, and it’s been fantastic to see the focus and excitement as we explore number skills together! The Bond Blocks program has been a wonderful tool for building our understanding of numbers, especially when it comes to subitising and working with part-part-whole relationships to 10.

Using the blocks as manipulatives, along with language and activity boards, has helped us establish a routine and made learning feel hands-on and engaging. The short, simple activities are just right for keeping us focused while building essential skills. It’s been amazing to watch students grow in confidence and have fun while practising their maths skills!

We are so proud of the progress we’ve made and look forward to more number fun in the weeks to come!

Year 1/2 class: Kelly

We have had a busy four weeks working on place value and patterns for mathematics. We have been using the language, hundreds, tens and ones for place value and unit of repeat and elements within the unit for patterns. It has been wonderful to hear the children use this language when sharing their answers to a partner.

Year 2/3 class: Samantha

We have had a fantastic few weeks with lots of learning!

In phonics, we have been exploring suffixes and learning the spelling rules for -ly, -y, -er, and -ing. Understanding how these word endings change meaning is helping us become more confident spellers.

In Week 5, we also completed our very first Big Write for the year! Our topic was “Escape from the Zoo!”, and students had a wonderful time using their imaginations to create exciting stories. We loved sharing our writing with our classmates and even had the opportunity to read to some of our Reception friends from Jaya’s class.

In maths, we have been making our own clocks and learning to recognise the hour and minute hands. We’ve had great discussions about what time actually is and why knowing how to tell the time is such an important life skill—where would we be without it?

We are also focusing on collaboration in the classroom and the yard. Year 2/3 have demonstrated teamwork by:✅ Sharing materials and taking turns✅ Listening to and building on each other’s ideas✅ Working together to solve problems✅ Encouraging and helping our classmates✅ Showing kindness and respect in group activities

Reminders: Please support your child with their home reading log each evening and encourage them to bring their blue reader pouch to school daily. This helps develop independence and organisation.

Thank you for your ongoing support! Enjoy your weekend.

Year 3/4 class: Stephen and Emma

We are halfway through the term and have established a rhythm within the classroom learning environment that is positive and collaborative! Each morning students have been focusing their skills on phonetical awareness. During these sessions children are developing the skills they need to stretch their reading, writing and spelling. This enables them to visualise what they read as well as building patience and concentration. - Emma

The students have completed some tasks that focused on the school's overarching theme for this term: Being Collaborative.  This included recording some short clips on iPads which demonstrate examples of being collaborative.  It also included a STEM challenge which involved working with partners to make a 'bionic hand' and an electric car for some students - see the attached pictures and clip. 

In maths, the focus has been on place value, ensuring the students develop a deep understanding of the different concepts of this topic. - Stephen

Year 4/5 class: Alex

In their grammar learning our class has been investigating verbs through a Jocelyn Seamer unit based around the rich and emotive picture book ‘The Fox’ by Margaret Wild. They have been grouping verbs into saying, thinking, action and relating categories. With partners and independently they have been using descriptive verbs to enhance sentences and paint a more detailed picture in the reader’s mind. Students have also began some grammar fluency tasks and started a new index book to keep track of and look up grammatical terms such as ‘synonyms’, ‘antonyms’, ‘verbs’, ‘nouns’ and adjectives.’

In their narrative writing students have been practising using character dialogue to move the plot along, add drama and reveal information about their characters’ personalities, feelings and motives. They have been focused on using quotation marks correctly, moving to a new line when a new character speaks, and using interesting synonyms for ‘said.’

Year 5/6 class: Sallie

What a busy month we have had! In English, we have continued to focus on narratives. Everyone set their own writing goals based on previous writing pieces and then we tried to incorporate these goals into our latest narrative. Finding the evidence in our writing has proved challenging but rewarding.  Our reading groups are progressing and we are getting into the nitty-gritty of the stories. Student-led discussions on different aspects of the novels has seen some interesting dialogue.  It has been a great way to unpack novels. With maths we are coming to a deeper understanding of division. Such a tricky concept to handle when the numbers get larger. Having good control of the times tables is proving an advantage for some.  In amongst the learning we have had NAPLAN for the Year 5's (what a lovely calm but motivated bunch of Year 5s we have), knockout cricket (more to come), getting ready for the sustainability fair, Jam band, House Captains sorting out the health hustle and team cheers, ...and lots more!  Just a heads up, we are hosting the assembly in Week 9 - as they say "be there or be square."