Achilles 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The school holidays are just around the corner! This month has been filled with fun activities and exciting “House spirit colour” games. We also celebrated the first day of winter by coming to school in our pyjamas! Students have been working hard, and their school reports will soon be available online. It has been wonderful to see their learning and growth this term.

Thank you for your ongoing support. Please have a read below of what the students have been learning this month.

Reading 

What a wonderful term we have had so far exploring a wide range of books in our classes. We have been learning and practicing many different skills including making a prediction and then confirming or denying our predictions as we read. We also made connections to the characters or different events that happened in the book and related this to our own lives. it was interesting learning about the different types of grammar in the books we read. We practised identifying different nouns, verbs and adjectives as we read and thinking about why the author chose these words. We learnt how to make inferences and use our prior knowledge to figure out something from the text that the author did not explore.

Writing 

In Writing we have been planning and drafting our own persuasive texts. We chose arguments such as 'are cats better than dogs?' and 'should we have more days at school'. We used a planner to structure our ideas and used this to write our ideas in full sentences and into paragraphs. The OREO structure was used to help us write effectively and clearly present our arguments to one another. We practised our editing and revising skills and published our final work.

Maths 

Students have been exploring a variety of mathematical concepts and building important problem-solving skills in Mathematics. They have been learning and applying different strategies to efficiently solve subtraction problems, such as counting back, using number lines, and breaking numbers into parts to make calculations easier.

Students have also been working on recognising and continuing number patterns, helping to strengthen their understanding of how numbers work and relate to each other.

Another key focus has been on understanding fractions. Students have been learning that a fraction is a part of a whole, such as when a shape, object, or group is split into equal parts. They’ve discovered that while the shape of a half may change, the size of the half remains the same. 

It’s been a wonderful term of growing mathematical thinking and making real-world connections!

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) – June Focus

In SEL, students focused on understanding and managing emotions through positive coping strategies. They learned how to take turns fairly in games and explored how to deal with feelings of disappointment or exclusion. We discussed the difference between calming and cheering strategies and when to use each. The children also identified situations that can cause fear and practised ways to cope with them. In our lessons on managing anger, students named their triggers and practised expressing their feelings in safe, respectful ways. These important skills help them build resilience and support positive social interactions.

Inquiry – June Learning

In Inquiry this month, the children explored different types of landforms and bodies of water. They learned to identify and describe natural, man-made, and constructed features. They also deepened their understanding of maps and models, including their purpose and examples. This learning came to life in a hands-on collaborative project, where students created a beautiful community model using recycled materials. It was wonderful to see their creativity shine as they built schools, beaches, mountains, a sick bay, and more. Through this activity, students not only applied their geographical knowledge but also developed important collaboration and communication skills.

Friendly Reminders

• Doors open at 8:50 a.m. and dismissal is at 3:20 p.m.
• Ensure your child’s belongings are clearly labelled. This includes clothing, drink bottles, hats, and lunch boxes (including lids).
• Please ensure that your child is reading their home reader for 15 minutes every night and that their reading log is filled in and signed by a parent/guardian.
• We strongly encourage students to bring along some brain food (fruit and vegetables) that they may eat in class. It is important that this is included as an additional snack in their lunchbox.
• If you are going away on a longer holiday, please use compass to update your child/ren's attendance. 

Have a lovely school holidays,

The Year 2 Achilles Community Teachers

Britt, Shaveta, Natalia, Anne, Tamanna, Kartia and Belinda.