A Spotlight on Learning
A Spotlight on Learning in the JLC on Heights Campus
It has been a busy and exciting term 3 of learning in JLC! Our students have been working hard, building new skills, and showing fantastic enthusiasm across all areas of the curriculum.
In Maths, we have been developing our addition and subtraction strategies. Students have been learning to count on when solving addition problems and have been practising vertical recording to represent addition equations. We have also been applying our mathematical thinking to real-life money problems, helping us see how maths is used in everyday situations. For subtraction, we have been exploring different strategies including counting back, counting down and counting up to solve problems efficiently.
Our writers have been busy creating persuasive texts. We have been learning how to clearly share an opinion and support our ideas by giving three strong reasons. We have also recently revisited the important building blocks of writing: complete
sentences, nouns, verbs and adjectives. Students have been putting these skills into practice to make their writing clearer, more interesting and descriptive.
In Reading, we have been learning to make meaningful connections to texts. Students have been connecting characters’ feelings and experiences to their own experiences and prior knowledge, helping us understand texts on a deeper level. We have also been developing our visualisation skills, creating pictures in our minds as we read to help us better understand and engage with a text.
When reading non-fiction, we have been practising how to answer questions about our texts by re-reading carefully, scanning for keywords and locating the information we need. These strategies are helping us become more independent and confident readers.
Additionally, our new Phonics Plus program has already proven to be a wonderful addition to our literacy learning. Students have been enjoying our daily phonics lessons and are building their confidence in recognising sounds, reading words and applying their phonics knowledge when writing. It has been fantastic to see students becoming more confident and independent as they use their growing knowledge of sounds and spelling patterns.
NAIDOC Week was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, stories and perspectives. Each class took part in an author study, focusing on Indigenous authors and their books. Students also collaborated to create a Deadly Door, inspired by the Indigenous books and authors we explored. It was fantastic to see students working together, sharing ideas and celebrating First Nations stories.
We also had a fantastic time during our Mad About Science incursion! Students enjoyed hands-on exploration and investigated a range of different materials and their properties. There was plenty of curiosity, excitement and scientific thinking as we experimented and discovered new things together.
And finally, swimming has been an absolute blast! Students have been developing a variety of swimming skills while also becoming more confident and independent in the water. Students have shown great responsibility by looking after their belongings, following routines and being prepared for each session. It has been wonderful to see their confidence, independence and enthusiasm grow throughout the program.
What a fantastic term of learning in JLC — we are so proud of the progress, curiosity and teamwork our students continue to show!
Emma O'Bryan
JLC Learning Leader
(Heights Campus)