School of Foundations
The Net Term 3 Week 3
We were excited to start our term with our Kindergarten students celebrating 100 days of learning. It was wonderful to see our parents join us for this celebration. During the past one hundred days at school the students have learned the routines of school, beginning reading and writing skills as well as learning new Mathematical concepts.
Next week we will be opening our Stage 1 learning spaces to our parents to observe and engage in a lesson in their child’s class. The following week Stage 2 will share their learning.
Ms Pecnik
Head of School of Foundations: K-4
RESPECT FOR SELF, OTHERS and the ENVIRONMENT
Embedded within our daily teaching and learning opportunities are purposeful learning experiences which focus upon St Luke’s Social Pillars of WItness, Manage and Relate. It is through these experiences that we make connections with how we can demonstrate respect. We explicitly discuss, teach and role play what it looks like, sounds like and feels like to show Respect for ourselves, others and the environment across the school.
Here’s an example of the agreement made by the Kindergarten Roos children about demonstrating Respect at St Luke’s. (The little hands are signed with students’ names, promising to show Respect each day.)
Mrs Emerton
Assistant Principal
ES1
Welcome to Term 3! Kindergarten have had an exciting and busy start to the term!
100 Days of Learning in Kindergarten
On Friday of the first week back, students, their families, and teachers participated in the 100 Days of Learning in Kindergarten celebration. This day marked roughly the 100th day of school for our students and was a fun way to begin the new term. Students and teachers dressed up as older people and engaged in a morning of exciting activities in their classroom and on the playground.
Thank you to our families for their support in the first 100 days of learning, the Kindergarten teaching team look forward to your continued support.
English
This term, Kindergarten has started to explore informative texts. There is a strong focus around animals as it links to our Science unit ‘Living World’. Students are developing their informative writing skills through talking, labelling then constructing sentences. Students start by discussing an animal with a partner, sharing words that describe the animal’s looks, what they eat, what they do, and where they live. After plenty of conversation time, the students then get to label an image of that animal. Students then use those labels to create sentences about their animal.
You can assist your child at home with informative writing by providing them with the opportunity to notice and label various objects. After this, ask your child to verbally share the descriptive label in a full sentence, for example “My toy car is red and it can go fast” or “The tree has long and spotty leaves”. Finally, encourage your child to write their message on a piece of paper. If they have trouble writing all the words, you may help your child by asking them to stretch (and say) the tricky word and listen to the sounds they hear, record the letters and sounds.
Mathematics
In Mathematics, so far this term, Kindergarten has been learning about numbers. Students have been learning how to bundle paddle pop sticks to make collections of 10, as well as developing their skills when counting backwards from 20. This week, we have also started to explore collecting, organising and interpreting data. Students have been organising items to create data displays, and answer questions about the data. You can assist your child at home with data collection by sorting and organising lego blocks or toys into colour, shape or size.
How many red blocks are there? Are there more blue blocks or green blocks?
Religion
Students have been unpacking the driving question ‘What is Church?’ during Religion this term. We have been noticing that we can celebrate joyful events in our community through the gathering of the Church. We have been learning to give thanks by gathering as a people of God. Deacon Tony, who leads the faith community, visited the Kindergarten children to share his knowledge of the many sacramental objects in the Church. Each of these objects have a special meaning and purpose. We are thankful for his time and generosity of spirit.
Science
Kindergarten students are learning about living things in Science this term. We are looking closely at the driving question, ‘What are living things and how are they used to meet our needs?’ To help make the learning more interesting, students have been looking after two different living things: stick insects and chicks.
The stick insects need to eat gum leaves, wattle or roses. They enjoy hanging around on branches and sticks and require a daily spray of water so they may have a drink. We will be observing and caring for them all term.
The chicks arrived at the beginning of Week 3 and have quickly hatched into cute yellow and black chicks. On Wednesday we moved them from the incubator to the brooder so they can stretch their little legs, eat, drink, grow, play and cuddle one another. The excitement was palpable when the students found out the eggs had hatched overnight. Over the coming weeks students will engage in learning activities that encourage students to think about how the needs of living things are met by engaging with the stick insects, chicks, as well as other living things This learning will be consolidated in an excursion to Golden Ridge Animal Farm which will be communicated to parents soon.
Sport
This week we enjoyed the outdoors, running around our beautiful playgrounds learning how to work in teams. We competed in Relay Races, where we focused on Gross Motor Skills such as jumping, hopping and skipping, plus also participated in some old fashioned games such as ‘Stuck in the Mud.’
Stage 1
Welcome back to Term 3! Stage 1 have had a wonderful start to the term!
English
In English the students have been exploring imaginative stories and fairy tales. They have experimented with different sentence structures and constructing stories to entertain their audiences.
Mathematics
Stage 1 have started off the term focusing on multiplication and division in mathematics. They have been using concrete materials to represent full and partial arrays.
History
As part of our History unit this term, Stage 1 had the opportunity to attend Hambledon Cottage Museum where they experienced what life was like in the past, compared to what life is like now. The students were immersed in hands-on experiences relating to home life, education and exploring olden homes and artefacts.
Stage 2
English - Persuasive Writing
This term in Writing, Stage 2 is learning about writing to persuade. At the end of last term, students created their own persuasive text. With the newfound knowledge of persuasive text features students have been enthusiastically revisiting their previous writing assessment to make improvements. It's remarkable to witness how they are applying the persuasive techniques they've learned to strengthen their arguments and make their writing more convincing. We've seen their confidence grow as they craft well-structured pieces, backed by evidence and supported by clear reasoning. It's a joy to see their enthusiasm for persuasive writing soar.
Pre-assessment
Re-written pre-assessment Pre-assessment & Re-written
Mathematics - Decimals Game
This term our wonderful students are exploring decimals to represent numbers. They have been able to unleash their competitiveness in activities such as the Decimal Game which explored using cards to see who can create the biggest number from hundreds to hundredths! The Decimal Game is a unique educational tool that combines the joy of play with the power of learning.
Religion - Godly Play
This term, stage 2 are exploring how we can show mercy in our everyday lives. Over the last week, Stage 2 has used the Godly play set to explore and deepen our understanding of the Prodigal Son. Through the combination of the Godly play set as well as reading scripture passages and watching videos of this scripture passage, the students were able to explore their current understanding of this scripture and the message behind the parable. Stage 2 will continue to deepen their understanding of what mercy is, how God has taught us to show mercy and how we can apply these teachings to our everyday lives.
Other - VR Goggles
Stage 2 students utilise VR goggles to explore geography in an immersive and exciting manner. Through virtual reality, they visit diverse locations worldwide, gaining firsthand experiences of natural wonders and cultural sites. This innovative approach fosters critical thinking, problem-solving, and environmental awareness. The use of VR goggles breaks traditional learning barriers, allowing students to become enthusiastic global citizens.
Health
In Stage 2 this term we are learning about ‘How we can contribute to promoting a healthy, safe and active community at St Luke’s’. The students have identified strategies of how they can improve their physical and mental wellbeing. The students have been engaged in some research and they found out that students aged between 6-10 years old should have at least 9-12 hours sleep a night. Each student has created a weekly plan which includes activities to relax, connect with others, hobbies to have fun and finding a person to talk to about their worries and concerns. Their plans have been uploaded to Seesaw for parents to read and discuss with each student on how these can be embedded each week into their daily routines at school and home.
Music
This term in Music, Stage 2 are learning to play the violin. The violin can be quite difficult to learn at the start, with many aspects to learn and think about at one time, such as how to hold the bow and violin, how to move the arm, how much pressure to use, how to read the music, and the names of the strings. Despite this, students in Stage 2 are working hard, and beginning to play with a smooth, clear sound. We are excited to see where their playing progresses over the term.
