Professional Learning Community Foundation (Preps)

WOW! What a first term in Prep! Just like that, our Preps have now had over 30 days at school and already have so much to be proud of. They are now walking into the classroom and proudly waving goodbye to their grown-ups, unpacking their bags independently and are now confident in our classroom routines and expectations.

This term we have already learnt so much! In Reading we have learnt many letters and their sounds and have begun making and reading CVC (consonant – vowel – consonant) words. In Writing have learnt how to write our name accurately, with a capital letter followed by lower case letters and have been having a ‘red hot go’ at writing simple sentences and sounding out words. We have been very busy in Numeracy, practising matching number names, numerals and quantities, counting accurately and learning about 2D shapes.

We have also enjoyed learning about families in PBL, in particular how families are similar and different in many ways. Preps have all created wonderful Family Trees and have proudly presented these in front of their classmates.

A huge thank you to all of our Prep grown ups for assisting their little ones to be as successful as possible during their transition to school. The first term of Prep is certainly a big one for the students as find their feet, so every little thing you do to assist them in developing independence and resilience makes a huge difference.

Wishing everyone a very Happy & Safe Easter. Enjoy the break and we can’t wait to see you in Term 2!

Professional Learning Community 1 (Grade 1 )

As we come to a close on Term 1 it’s nice to reflect back on a busy term. It was a big adjustment coming back to school after a disrupted year, long summer holidays and then a mini lockdown, but the Grade 1s seemed to have settled back into the school routine and are starting to make great progress in their learning.

Along with the busyness of the term we also had a trip to Sovereign Hill which the Grade 1s did a fabulous job of representing Delacombe.

Next term please remember

to check our school uniform policy
stock up on some white or navy socks over the holidays, these must be plain on the top half of the foot
leggings and tights can only be worn under a skirt and not as a stand alone pant
jumpers need to be named
bracelets and necklaces are not part of school uniform
and hair ties, bows and headbands must be school colours

Professional Learning Community 2 (Grade 2 )

We are nearing the end of a busy, exciting and fun-filled Term 1 and it’s hard to believe how quickly it has flown by! We are proud of the many things the Grade 2s have achieved in just one term and are looking forward to seeing what other wonderful things we can achieve this year!

In Reading, we have been making inferences about what we are reading by using our prior knowledge and clues from the text. We have been making inferences about the way characters are feeling and why they acted in the way they did.

In Writing, students will be editing their own writing piece - focussing on making improvements to their spelling, punctuation and figurative language before publishing this in their best handwriting.

In Numeracy, we have been looking at place value. Students have been working hard to order, partition, regroup and rename numbers using their knowledge of place value.

Just a reminder not to bring anything of value to school as there is a chance it could be broken or lost.

The PLC2 team want to wish everyone a safe and happy Easter break and we look forward to seeing you all fresh-faced, well rested and ready for another terrific term when we return after the holidays.

Professional Learning Community 3 (Grades 3)

We made it to the end of term! Congratulations Grade 3 students on a fabulous start to the year. You have all worked so hard and we are so proud of you. We have loved learning about Australian history this term and using our new knowledge to write and research a topic of our own choice. This week in Numeracy, we have spent many happy hours learning strategies to multiply numbers. If you would like to work on this at home, you could google the game ‘Hit the Button’ as it has some activities you can use to work on your times tables skills. We can’t wait until next term as we have many exciting things planned. Have a Safe and Happy Holiday and we will see you soon. Keep on Reading and Writing over the holidays, just for fun!

Professional Learning Community 4 (Grades 4)

This week concludes our first term and what a term it has been. Our Grade 4 students have loved working independently on their Project Based Learning (PBL) task over the last few weeks and this week we have been able to see some wonderfully detailed posters, 3D models and even some witty interviews. The students have this term learned about early Australians, European explorers and later, the first fleet. The topic of sea explorers has formed the backbone of the writing pieces of the last month and it has been superb to see some of the students really getting a good feel for that era in the way they describe the finding of new land and the journey across the seas.

Reading has ended in a very fun week of predicting. Students were told of a theft that occurred and they needed to make a prediction on who the thief was and use evidence to support their prediction. The challenge came when each day new evidence was introduced and students were able to revise their prediction; again needing to use evidence to support their opinions. After this week of work it is clear we have a few real super sleuths in Grade 4; so watch out parents!

Numeracy has seen students work with something they absolutely love- money! They have been counting, representing, calculating change and also working out the most economical between multiple options.

We have a huge Term 2 ahead of us with camp in Week 5. Please speak with your child’s teacher if there are any questions or concerns in the lead up to camp in order to make for the best possible experience for all students.

Enjoy the holiday period and thanks for the support over this first term. PLC 4 staff

Professional Learning Community 5 (Grades 5)

What a term!

We have made it to week 10, which after last year – is such a good feeling! Late last week our Grade 5 students had such a wonderful time at Sovereign Hill, dressing up and living the life of a child of the 1850’s – an experience that I am sure will be remembered forever.

This week in Reading and Writing students are practicing searching for and using information in texts that they read. They are applying SQ3R strategies to answer questions about the text in preparation for NAPLAN in Term 2.

In Writing students are synthesising information that they have researched for their Project Based Learning project on iconic Australian Explorers and writing it into their own sentences that can be used for their presentation. Students will be practising writing a bibliography and making sure their question is included in their writing as they write.

In Numeracy we are linking our knowledge of multiplication to build their understanding of division. Students will complete worded problems to build their understanding and focus their thinking on ‘how many of the (smaller number) go into the (bigger number) – this re structures the students thinking of working up to the bigger number and using multiplicative thinking and strategies to get an answer.

Have a wonderful last week of term!

From PLC 5

Professional Learning Community 6 (Grades 6)

What an incredible time we have had over the past 2 weeks in PLC 6- it truly has been a brilliant end to Term 1!

Last week began fairly regularly, with all classes participating in regular classroom activities. On Tuesday all students then completed their first Health Day for 2021- learning about the importance and need for impeccable personal hygiene. We learned about the importance of washing our hands correctly and often, the need to wash using appropriate hygiene products and the reasons that we use antiperspirant deodorants regularly- with students then creating an advertising campaign for one of these products, which they then presented to their peers with the skills of the most persuasive salesmen and women!

Thursday and Friday were then by far the highlight of the week- sorry Mrs O’Brien and Mr Storey! Our incredibly lucky students and staff, along with their PLC 5 counterparts, were immersed in a 2-day Costumed Schools Experience at Sovereign Hill. All of our students took on their roles, as 1850s school children, with such enthusiasm and gusto and the Sovereign Hill staff could not praise them higher! We learned a multitude of things- from the importance of proper manners and faultless behaviour, to the correct writing techniques using nibs and ink, to what life was like for those living in Ballarat during the Gold Rush- and we cannot wait to see our students apply this new learning to their regular lives at school.

Term 1 really has flown by in the blink of an eye and we hope that each and everyone of our students and their families have a beautiful time relaxing and recharging over the holidays! We look forward to seeing you all back ready for a big Term 2 in two weeks’ time!

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