Term 2 Curriculum Newsletters
Prep
After embracing what it means to “Be Like KEFAR” in Term 1, our Preps have enthusiastically begun Term 2 and jumped straight back into being safe and responsible learners after a well-earned break.
Literacy
In Literacy, we will build on our learning from last term as we learn to write dictated sentences using familiar sounds. Through daily written and oral practise, students will develop their sound knowledge, letter formation and understanding of sentence structure. They will learn to use capital letters at the start of a sentence, finger spaces between words and full stops and question marks at the end of sentences. Handwriting will be practised daily on Sky, Grass and Ground dotted thirds to help with correct sizing, direction and formation of letters. To build upon students' oral language skills we will be exploring simple sentences that include a noun and a verb. Students then explore learned vocabulary words to verbally expand the sentence to include the "when" and the "where" to make the sentences contain more detail and engage the audience.
Students will be reading short decodable texts and will continue to expand their sound knowledge through daily practise of building, writing and reading simple words with two and three sounds. They will do this by breaking the words into individual sounds and then blending the sounds back together to read and write the word. We will also read a range of rich picture books together and build our comprehension skills through class discussions.
Mathematics
This term in Mathematics, we are learning to count collections and write the corresponding numeral. Students are building confidence in their ability to identify numbers to 10 and beyond and understand the value of these numbers. To advance this understanding, students are comparing collections using words such as ‘more’ and ‘less’, or ‘same as/equal’. We are also learning to read and solve number stories and represent the solutions using concrete materials. Furthermore, we are learning about addition and subtraction and the symbols within an equation that help us read and solve these problems.
Students will also deepen their knowledge of different measurement areas such as height, length and mass and learn how to use the correct vocabulary to measure and compare these units.
As part of our daily routine, we track and count how many days we have been at school and link the Days of the Week to familiar recurring events.
Inquiry
This term, our Inquiry unit of study is “My Family, My Community”. We will focus on personal and family history, our significant life events and special places our families like to visit. We will also look at celebrations that are important to us both historically and now, and explore the unique ways in which celebrations can be shared within the community. We will continue to engage with The Resilience Project to further immerse us with strategies for recognising and managing our everyday emotions.
Independence
We have already seen fantastic growth in students building their independence. Some ways you can further assist with this is to continue encouraging them to pack their own school bags and check that they have the tools necessary for the school day, such as a lunch box, a drink bottle, and their library book/reader (on relevant days). Our goal is for students to walk into the classroom independently and confidently by bringing in their own bag and waving goodbye to you at the door.
Thank you for your support,
The Prep Team
Grade 1
Welcome back to an exciting Term 2! We hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable break and are feeling ready for another wonderful term of learning and growth.
This term in Literacy, our Grade 1 students are excited to dive into a range of engaging narrative and informative texts. Through reading, viewing and rich class discussions, students will deepen their understanding of story structure, characters and key ideas, while strengthening their comprehension skills.
In writing, we will focus on exploring different sentence types (statements, questions and exclamations) and learning how to punctuate them correctly. Students will continue to grow as confident writers by expanding their ideas using conjunctions (e.g. and, but, because) and adverbs to add detail and interest to their work.
Our phonics program will continue to support students in building strong reading and spelling skills, alongside regular handwriting practice to develop correct letter formation and writing fluency.
In Numeracy, students will continue to strengthen their understanding of numbers to 20, building confidence in recognising, ordering and representing numbers in a variety of ways and developing effective addition and subtraction strategies.
Students will be encouraged to think deeply as they engage in a variety of problem-solving tasks, helping to build their confidence and number fluency.
Our learning will also include measurement, with a focus on length and time. Students will take part in hands-on activities to compare and measure length using informal units, and explore time through the use of calendars, identifying days, weeks and significant dates.
This term, students will embark on an exciting exploration of the past and present, discovering how everyday life has changed over time. They will investigate and compare areas such as schools, toys, technology and transport, identifying similarities and differences between then and now.
A highlight of the term will be a special incursion, where a “teacher from the past” will visit our school. Students will be immersed in an authentic old-time classroom experience, participating in lessons with traditional rules, equipment and expectations. This engaging, hands-on experience will bring history to life and deepen students’ understanding of how schooling has changed over time.
Our Wellbeing program continues this term, providing students with regular opportunities to engage in meaningful discussions and hands-on activities that support their social and emotional development. Through guided lessons, students will further strengthen important social skills such as cooperation, active listening, empathy, and positive communication with peers.
Teachers ask that you continue to support your child’s learning by maintaining a regular reading routine of approximately 20 minutes each day, along with number fluency practice using the Numbots App. These consistent home routines play an important role in strengthening key learning skills.
Developing independence is also an essential skill for all young children. This includes learning to take responsibility for their own belongings, organising and packing their school bag, cleaning up after themselves, and managing personal tasks such as dressing independently and unpacking lunchboxes. Encouraging children to follow routines, make simple choices, and complete tasks without adult support helps build confidence, resilience, and self-management skills that support them both in the classroom and at home.
Grade 2
We’ve had a lovely start to Term 2 in Grade 2! Students have settled in well and are showing great enthusiasm for their learning. It’s been wonderful to see their confidence continue to grow.
In Reading, we are enjoying a range of engaging books including City of Light, The Story of a Mars Rover, The Lorax and The Boy and the Elephant. Students are practising important skills such as making predictions, talking about key ideas and sharing their thoughts about what they read. We are also beginning to explore persuasive texts and thinking about the messages authors share in their stories.
In Writing, students are learning how to build stronger sentences by joining ideas using words like because, but and so. We are practising how to write clear and detailed sentences, and beginning to combine them into longer pieces of writing. Using The Boy and the Elephant as inspiration, students will plan and write their own persuasive paragraphs, and have opportunities to edit and publish their work.
In Mathematics, we are continuing to build confidence with addition and subtraction within 100, using different strategies such as regrouping, partitioning and number lines. Students are also learning how to solve two-step problems. We will explore telling the time to the half hour, practise directions and turns, and begin learning about multiplication through arrays and skip counting.
In Inquiry, our focus is the Solar System. Students are learning about planet Earth and its place among the eight planets, as well as exploring day and night, shadows and the changing shape of the Moon. We are also learning about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples use stories to explain patterns in the sky. In our “Caring for the Earth” learning, students will explore where materials come from, how we can reduce, reuse and recycle, and why composting is important. They will also get creative by making a toy from recycled materials.
In Wellbeing, we are supporting students to understand and manage their emotions, especially when they feel strong feelings like anger or stress. Through our programs, students are learning about gratitude, mindfulness and positive ways to cope with challenges.
We are looking forward to a fun and engaging term ahead!
Grade 3
Welcome to an exciting new term! We are looking forward to a busy and engaging few months ahead, full of wonderful learning experiences for our Grade 3 students. Here’s a snapshot of what’s happening across our curriculum.
Our literacy focus is on non-fiction reading and writing. Students will explore the key features of information reports, including writing structure, descriptive language and varying sentence types. They will use these skills to plan, draft, edit, and publish their own factual recount.
We are also undertaking a novel study on ‘Yirra and Her Deadly Dog, Demon’ by Anita Heiss. Through this engaging story, students will explore the journey of Yirra and her cheeky, and misbehaved dog as she struggles to control him and needs to find a solution fast. Readers will build comprehension skills by identifying key themes, making inferences about, and analysing character relationships. The text encourages deeper thinking about family, friendships and confronting social situations.
Students in our cohort are further developing their reading and spelling abilities through the Sounds-Write program. This explicit, structured method builds strong phonics understanding and helps learners apply their knowledge effectively in both reading and writing tasks.
Our Inquiry units this term are exploring ‘Indigenous Australia’ and looking at the ‘Geography of Australia’ and its close neighbours. Students will investigate significant Indigenous events, people, iconic landmarks and identify what ‘Country’ means to our Indigenous Australians. Students will also explore the geographical features of Australia, ranging from topography to the climate, wildlife and fauna in our country and compare it with our close neighbours, utilising maps, technology and lived experiences.
Our learning in Numeracy will continue utilising Daily Review and will strengthen students’ understanding of key mathematical concepts, including addition strategies and the subtraction algorithm, to build accuracy and confidence. Students will also explore data investigations and develop their skills in measurement using rulers, making real-world connections. In addition, we will introduce non-unit fractions, helping students deepen their understanding of how parts make up a whole.
Supporting Reading at Home
Please encourage your child to read aloud daily for 10-15 minutes by reading junior fiction texts or other texts of interest (from the school library/local library).
Supporting Maths at Home
Short, regular practice helps build strong number foundations.
By the end of Grade 3 it is expected that students are able to recall multiplication facts of 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x and 10x times table and the related division facts. Practice on Times Table Rockstars a few times a week (for roughly 5 mins at a time) builds confidence and fluency with both multiplication and division.
Some students are also consolidating their recall of addition and subtraction facts. Number facts practice on NumBots supports your child’s automatic recall of basic number bonds, which is essential for later maths success.
We’re grateful for the important role you play in supporting your child’s learning journey. It’s a pleasure to see students growing in confidence and engaging with new ideas throughout the term.
Warm regards, The Grade 3 Teaching Team
Ainsley, Jemma, Jovana and Kate
Grade 4/5
Grade 6
Welcome to an exciting term two, we have our Athletics Day at Williamstown on Friday the 15th of May and we also have Grade 6E putting on a drama performance at assembly on Friday the 1st of May.
In Reading this term, we will continue to read ‘Rivet Boy,’ which is set in 1888, and follows the life of a twelve year old boy, John Nicol who has a job at the Forth Bridge construction site, in Scotland. This will be followed by another novel, ‘Us Mob Walawurru,’ by David Spillman and Lisa Wilyuka. This novel follows the life of Ruby, a young Luritja girl growing up in Central Australia in the 1960s. Living on a cattle station, Ruby is faced with many situations and dilemmas resulting from cultural difference. Ruby deepens her understanding of her connection to her country and learns more about her past. During this novel we will analyse this books by look at wording, how the author and illustrator have structured the text in particular ways and how different elements of a text contribute to character development.
While in Writing, we shall be structuring a persuasive piece based on an argument for or against child labour. This is in response to our novel study on “Rivet boy.’ With our novel ‘Us Mob Walawurru.’ The students with be writing factual recounts using a multiple paragraph outline, followed by writing a character analysis. Within these lessons the students will be exposed to sentence combining, writing complex sentences and sentence expansion.
In Mathematics this term, the students will continue to work on the ‘Maths Hero, high impact maths lesson,’ program. Here we will undertake daily reviews of the concepts already presented and also introduce new unfamiliar concepts. The areas that we will cover this term include powers of 10, simplifying fractions, constructing angles using a protractor, probability using fractions, perimeter and interpreting timetables. Keeping in mind that we regularly modify and extend tasks to challenge each individual.
Our Inquiry unit this term is, ‘Australia In The 1900’s.’ Areas that will be covered include Federation, the Stolen Generation, The ‘White Australia Policy,’ World War 1 as well as the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.