Mount Pleasant Road Primary School & Kindergarten

Discovery Centre

Curriculum

Halo semuanya,

 

Week 9 was another wonderful week in the Discovery Centre! This week we are looking forward to our Christmas Concert on Tuesday night, the Walking Excursion on Thursday and lunch with our buddies on Friday. We have a busy week ahead! To help us prepare, pleasure ensure that your child has an addressed envelope at school as soon as possible. We want to make sure that the letters match the envelope before posting them on Thursday!

 

As we continue to master the components of a good letter such as a greeting, something kind, a question and of course who it is from, students will draft a letter to someone of their choice before writing their letter in a card to post. Building on our focus on reading and speaking with expression, students will work in teams to act out a fairy tale of their choice. They will work together to create a story map outlining the key events from the text in order before negotiating the necessary roles and characters and finally presenting for the rest of the class! We look forward to these Readers Theatre performances and can’t wait to share them on Seesaw with you all.

 

In Maths during Week 9, Foundation explored the language of double and half, to build fundamental skills and fluency before further unpacking multiplication and division. Students used unifix blocks to make and name doubles, and playdough to show half of a shape. Through a range of board games, they built efficiency to share a collection between two and double numbers on a six sided dice. We look forward to revisiting 2D and 3D shapes this week! We learn that 2D shapes have 2 dimensions - edges and corners - whereas 3D shapes have 3 dimensions - edges, corners and faces. Shapes are all around us! What 2D and 3D shapes can you find and describe in your house?

Our Wellbeing sessions have been centred around our Zones of Regulation to support students in building their Emotional Literacy. We know that as the year comes to an end, students will be feeling an array of emotions as Christmas nears as well as the changes associated with the end of Foundation. Students have been supported to unpack the emotions they feel about moving to a new year level with a new teacher, peers and a new space. We have, together, identified strategies to help us navigate these emotions and know the importance of sharing our emotions by speaking to trusted adults and peers or communicating with pictures and writing. To support conversations at home, you might like to discuss the value of Step Up Week next week, where your child will have a ‘practise’ of Grade One before next year. We encourage you to remember that no emotion is a ‘bad’ emotion and we can work together to take care of ourselves.

 

This week is planning week. The teachers at MPRPS will work in their 2023 teams to prepare exciting and engaging programs for next year! Your child will have one day of their specialist classes rather than having them spread across the week. We will finish the week with a Guided Inquiry Project Day! Students will put their impressive knowledge of insects and habitats to use, as they work hard to create a visual representation in the form of a diorama! Want to check it out? We would love you to join us in your child’s classroom on Monday 12th December between 9-9.30am. Can’t make it? We will share photos from our Guided Inquiry Showcase on Seesaw!

 

Have a great week everyone!

Your Foundation teaching team, 

Brooke Henwood, Jessica Hirvonen and Ella Gasowski.

 

Student Voice

As a part of our Kindness Challenge, students would like to share why they love their family:

  • Amelie T - "I love my family because they give me nice hugs and kisses"
  • Sanvi Y - "I love my family because they make me snuggly"
  • Eesa J - "I love my family because they always hug me"
  • Claire G - "I love my family because they are kind"
  • Joey X - "I love my family because they help me find the elf"
  • Rashi B - "I love my family because on Tuesday's they give me special dinner"
  • Maria M - "I love my family because they help me decorate the house"

Reminders

  • Walking excursion is this week Thursday. Please send an addressed envelope to school with your child as soon as possible.
  • Christmas Concert preparation has begun and we are looking forward to performing on December 6th. Join us at 5pm for a family Sausage Sizzle. Performances begin 6pm.
  • Please ensure that your child has a named hat.

Pupil of the Week

FG:  Rayaan V -

For writing a thoughtful and interesting letter to your buddy. You are becoming a wonderful writer, Rayaan! Keep up the great work. 

 

FH: Bastian O -

For demonstrating creativity and dedication during Reading sessions. You are doing an amazing job of reading with expression for characters and when you notice question marks and exclamation marks!

 

FJ: Lina L - 

For demonstrating bravery through making new connections with your classmates as you settle in to MPRPS. Keep it up!