Spotlight on Learning

Stage 1

As we head towards another well-deserved holiday break, 1MP has continued to work hard in the classroom. We would love to share some of our achievements from the last week. 

Mathematics 

In Maths, we have been practising sharing/dividing quantities into groups of a certain size. The students have been learning to read a variety of word problems, highlighting the important parts to recognise what the question is asking. We use hands-on materials to show our working. 

English 

As part of our InitiaLit program, students have been revising the sounds and tricky words from Semester 1. Our activities included a picture/word memory game, sound hunt and peer reading. 

Visual Arts and Writing 

1MP have loved learning about the Impressionist artist Claude Monet. To create a Monet-inspired Waterlilies artwork, the students layered paint, chalk and tissue paper. It was lovely to see so many of the students expressing themselves through their painting techniques and placements within their designs. Magnifique!

We then wrote a description of our artworks. The students focused on using adjectives and sequencing words within their writing. 

Mrs Mulholland - 1MP Classroom Teacher

Stage 2 Mandarin

Stage 2 students have been excelling in Mandarin as they explored the wonderful world of weather (天气tiānqì) this term!

One of the most exciting parts of the unit was learning how to type Chinese characters using pinyin. Students were thrilled to apply their new typing skills to create their own weather diary entries in Mandarin using Google Docs. It was fantastic to see them proudly sharing what the weather was like and what they did – all written in Chinese!

Another highlight was the interactive digital games. Students enjoyed matching weather words, solving puzzles, and challenging themselves in fast-paced online activities. These games made learning fun while reinforcing vocabulary and sentence-building skills.

It has been a joy to see students grow in confidence and take pride in their Mandarin learning. Well done, Stage 2 – your curiosity, effort, and enthusiasm made this unit a great success!

Ms Dong - Mandarin Teacher

Stage 3

 This term, our Stage 3 students have been immersing themselves in a diverse range of learning experiences that truly highlight their creativity and engagement.

In English, the students are delving into the world of poetry through the works of Solli Raphael, the author of Spotlight. They are not only reading his inspiring poems but also experimenting with their own poetic creations. Our students are exploring various poetic forms and techniques, allowing their imaginations to flourish as they express their thoughts and emotions through verse. 5J completed a successful class project on a combined Canva where they recorded their written poem and we took time to listen to each student’s creative poem. We reflected on our poems and gave feedback so that we could improve even more in our next poem writing adventure.

Meanwhile, the 5J class has been tackling some exciting mathematics topics. They have been focusing on problem solving in differentiated Matharoo questions, sharpening their memory and skills in warm up activities, and understanding ‘angles’ in maths. We also worked on ‘time’ as our focus. Our students have engaged in hands-on activities, applying their mathematical knowledge in real-world contexts, which has greatly enhanced their understanding and enjoyment of the subject.

In Visual Arts, our students have been learning about one-point perspective. They have created stunning artworks that demonstrate their grasp of depth and dimension by using a vanishing point in their drawing, bringing their creative visions to life on canvas. The use of perspective in their pieces has added a remarkable sense of realism and intrigue, showcasing their artistic talents. We have also started a new artwork on two-point perspective-which is much more complicated but the final product will be outstanding.

Sports have also been a significant part of our students' lives this term. They have participated in various class sports, fostering teamwork and camaraderie. Additionally, our students have been competing in PSSA soccer and netball, demonstrating their skills and sportsmanship in a friendly yet competitive environment.

On Monday, we enjoyed our Athletics Carnival, where our students had the opportunity to showcase their athletic abilities and spirit. This event was a fantastic day of competition and fun where students could encourage their friends to participate and cheer for their classmates.

It is fabulous to witness the enthusiasm and dedication of our Stage 3 students as they engage with their learning across all subjects. Their creativity, teamwork, and commitment are truly commendable! 

Mrs Janssen - 5J Classroom Teacher

A few 5J students commented on their classwork.

Maths

Fractions Finding Fractions

The past 2 weeks in maths, 5J has been learning all about fractions such as subtracting and adding them! A lot of people got confused, even me, and it was kind of exciting! We had to move around a lot of numbers, and we learnt how to add and subtract fractions with the same whole and everyone hammered in the knowledge with our Matharoo questions. But we soon mastered them with precision and accuracy and will now be able to use them for future use!

-By Elise G

5J has been learning about ‘Time’

This week our class has been learning about time and I’m sure all of us have learnt a lot. Whether it was elapsed time, 24-hour time, a practical workout or different parts of a clock. Personally, I enjoyed some questions about Time duration that made my mind twist into a knot! One of my peers said, “I was challenged a lot and I now definitely know the formula to work out elapsed time!”  

-By Mansa

Angles 

These past weeks 5J has been learning to calculate, draw and use protractors in angles to master all these essential skills. Learning angles such as obtuse (more than 90 °, but less than 180°), reflex (more than 180° but less than 360°) and revolution (360°) whereas in Extension we have been learning about advanced angles such as supplementary (Two or more angles that add up to 180 °) , complementary (2 or more angles that add up to 90 °), vertically opposite  (2 angles that are opposite each other ) and adjacent ( 2 or more angles that are next to each other) . Overall, we have thoroughly enjoyed this topic and hope that the next time we do angles that are even harder for a challenge.

-Boris L

Art

One-Point Perspective

In 5J, students learnt how to draw a one-point perspective drawing in the past few weeks in term 2. People had drawn beautiful drawings that were like real artists. We’ve watched videos  about the topic and learnt so much about the art. With rulers and pencils, we mastered the art of one point perspective. We enjoyed it very much. 

-By Roy

Two- point perspective masterpiece

On the 26th of June, 5J is beginning to create a fabulous new artwork using the two-point perspective method. Our pieces are looking amazing so far and I am sure that they will turn out to become fabulous. We watched a video about the 2-point perspective and we thought it would be really hard. Now that we have started, we figured out that it wasn’t that hard to draw but the details put us in a muddy puddle!  We all can’t wait to see the ending results but I have a pretty clear idea about what it is going to look like!

-By Zara

Sport

The Athletics Carnival

This week, the Athletics carnival took place on Monday. Lots of students participated in the races. The races and sports were high jump, long jump, shot put, 100m races, 200m races and 800m races. The four houses, Cook, Oxley, Flinders and Sturt, won points from the people who participated in the races. On the running races, students and children ran enthusiastically to win tons of points for their house. For the high jump, shot put and long jump, people also won many points. A tasty sausage sizzle fundraiser was hosted by the year 6, pre-orders and orders at the barbeque were made. To go with the already-delicious sausage, a popper was given to cool down the kids who ate the sausages.

What a fantastic day we had at our recent Athletics Carnival! From the very first starting whistle to the final relay baton crossing the finish line, the energy was electric, and the spirit was unstoppable. Whether you were sprinting down the track, launching yourself into the long jump pit, cheering from the sidelines, or helping behind the scenes, each of you contributed to a day full of camaraderie, courage, and competition. A huge congratulations to all our competitors—you pushed yourselves to the limit and gave it your all. And of course, let’s not forget our house champions. You earned every point with passion and perseverance. We did so many events like 100m, 200m, 800m, 100m relay, shot put, long jump and high jump. 

We also raised money to buy new goals by having a sausage sizzle for $5 and nearly everyone participated in it. Thank you to the students who gave something a go, who showed good sportsmanship, and who cheered on their mates—you’re the real heartbeat of our school spirit. Let’s carry this energy with us into the rest of the year. Because if the athletics carnival showed us anything, let's keep it up for next year's cracking athletics carnival!                                              

-By Christian