Monarch Community Report
Literacy
In Reading, we have been focusing on three key skills including monitoring, summarising and fluency. Students have been monitoring their reading by being aware of their understanding as they read, actively checking their comprehension and making reasonable adjustments. Throughout summarising, students explored different strategies to how to distil key information from texts, synthesise ideas to create a summary. Furthermore, students have been practising their fluency to enhance their speed, accuracy and expression.
In Writing, students have been focusing on recount and procedural writing. When writing a recount, students have learnt to retell personal experiences and events, including vivid descriptions and sequencing their thoughts. Procedural writing has allowed students to showcase their ability to provide clear and concise instructions, breaking down complex tasks into management steps. Students have followed the structure of writing the title, material needed and steps. We have begun to look at persuasive writing. Students have looked at various ways to express their opinions and beliefs effectively, using various persuasive techniques to sway the reader’s opinion.
In Grammar, students have looked at grammatical structures and tenses to help them write procedural and recount text types. They have looked at the simple past, past perfect, simple present and present perfect tenses. They have looked at verbs and irregular verbs. They have looked at pronouns and first and third person perspectives.
Numeracy
In Numeracy, we have been focusing on addition and subtraction. Students have been learning to use different strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems such as split, compensation and jump strategy. Students have looked at vertical algorithms to add and subtract digits. Students were required to work out numbers that included regrouping. Students also looked at fact families to understand the relation between addition and subtraction.
Imagineering Incursion
The Monarch community was visited by five guest speakers on Monday the 15th of May, talking about various career paths that students may take in the future when they prepare to enter the workforce. We were visited by paramedics, nurses, mushroom agronomists and a tradie. Students were able to have a go doing some CPR hand presses on a mannikin, assemble brains and internal organ puzzles, look into a microscope at biological specimens and use hammers to indent letters onto metal strips. The students had a blast!
Somers School Camp
At the beginning of week 2, 18 students from the Monarch Community embarked on a nine-day outdoor education camp at Somers School Camp with a number of other schools from the Hume region. Whilst attending the camp students were able to participate in a number of different activities including: archery, boating, high ropes, environmental studies, orienteering and abseiling. They were also able to form friendships and network with other Grade 5 and 6 students from the Hume area.
Aitken Hill students were commended by camp staff for their positive attitudes when facing unfamiliar challenging activities and the care that they showed towards other students attending the camp. It was excellent to see students demonstrating the AHPS school values whilst attending Somers Camp.
Special mentions to Ali for winning a writing award for his fantastic reflective journal work, and Ashleen and Nejla for helping their hut win the cleaning/sustainability award.
Reminders:
- National Simultaneous Story time - Wednesday, May 24th
- National Sorry Day - Friday, May 26th
- Reconciliation Week - Saturday May 27th to Saturday June 3rd
- Professional Practice Day - Friday, June 2nd
- Gala Day - Friday, June 9th
- King’s Birthday - Monday, June 12th
- Curriculum Day - Tuesday, June 13th
- NAIDOC Week - Monday July 3rd to Monday July 10th
Imagineering Excursions
- Kangan Tour - Monday, 19th June
- La Trobe Uni Tour - Monday, July 10th