Argus Community Report
Welcome to Term 3
Welcome to Term 3. We hope everyone had a restful holiday break and that all students are ready for another term of exciting learning opportunities. Celebrating 100 days of Prep was a great start to the term. The students enjoyed getting their certificates, threading 100 beads onto a necklace, writing about what they think they will do doing when they are 100 and also celebrating with delicious party food. Thank you to all families for their involvement. Please see photos of our festivities below.
It was wonderful to see our school community dress up in PJs last week to support fundraising for children in foster care. We had so much fun and were very warm and cosy all day. Here are some pictures of us on PJ Day.
Term 3 Curriculum
Reading
This term in Reading, we have started Reading Conferences with students. Every 3-4 weeks your child will read individually with the teacher. The teacher will set an individualised reading goal based on your child's needs. These goals will be communicated to you in your child's reading diary. Goals may include: pointing to words as he/she reads, recognising Oxford words automatically in a text, using letter sounds to sound out words, retelling a story etc. Please reinforce this reading goal when you read at home.
We will also continue to have reading group sessions each day. The children will participate in a range of activities to develop their reading ability, including reading with the teacher each week in a small group. We will be teaching the students to use the following strategies when reading.
Writing
In Writing, we will continue to focus on spelling. Students are encouraged to stretch words out saying them slowly and writing any sounds they hear. All attempts are encouraged, they may not be able to hear all sounds correctly but it is important that they feel confident enough to have a good. Initially, we focus on simple 3 letter words and once confident the students will begin to attempt words with more syllables. A simple home activity could be word building eg. spell, cat-mat-hat-sat etc. Students could also attempt to spell their Oxford Word lists at home. This will build on their vocabulary of known words they can use in their writing.
We are also learning to use new vocabulary in our writing. This includes drawing and labelling pictures. For those students who are ready, we are extending this to using adjectives and other strategies such as alliteration and onomatopoeia in their writing. Students are encouraged to expand on their ideas, creating an image in the reader's mind, though the use of adjectives.
For our 100 Days of Prep celebrations, we used the aging booth to age photos of the students and then they wrote about what they will be doing 'When I am 100...' Here are some of their ideas.
Maths
In Maths this term, we are learning about addition. We are developing the students understanding of part-part-whole (numbers can be represented in different ways, for example 3 and 4, 1 and 6 and 2 and 5 all make 7.) Then we progress to the concept of addition, which includes:
* counting all (give students two groups of counters eg. 4 and 3 and they count all to identify the total)
* count on ( begin with the bigger number and count on eg. roll two dice with a 5 and a 2, start at 5 and count on 2 more)
* Friends of 10- which numbers can we add to make 10
* Doubles facts
We will also be learning about Measurement (mass, capacity and length). Students will participate in a range of fun activities, using informal units such as counters, paddle pop sticks and hefting with their hands to compare and measure objects within the Community. We would love donations of bottles, cups, jugs of varying sizes to complete our capacity activities which start in Week 5.
At the end of the term, we will be revisiting Base 10 again. Depending on student's needs they may revisit numbers 1-10, learn the teen numbers 11-19 or extend beyond that. Activities will include reading, writing, representing and order numbers.
Inquiry
In Term 3, our Inquiry Unit is 'How does the weather change?' We will be learning about seasons and will discuss, observe and record weather in their own environment, exploring how it impacts people and places.
Guiding Questions will be:
How can I describe what the weather is like each day?
How can I use weather information to predict the weather?
How does different types of weather affect myself and others?
What different types of clouds are there?
Provocations to generate student interest at the beginning of the term included: watching weather videos and reading weather stories, sorting clothes according to the weather, making a weather booklet, dressing a bear for different types of weather and playing weather bingo. See below for photos of our provocations.
Social and Emotional Learning
This term in our Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) unit, we are learning about our emotions and how to self-regulate. We will be re-visiting our learning from Term 1 about the different types of emotions we feel. These can include happy/joy, sad, angry, scared/fear, tired, sick, and excited. We will then be learning about what we can do when we feel these ways and apply our knowledge in different scenarios. These ideas will be explored through books, videos, anchor charts, games, picture sorts, small group and whole group discussions, and crafts.
Some ways you can help me at home
- Talking about how a character is feeling in a book or movie
- Practising our relaxation techniques of yoga, listening to calming music, or drawing
- Making your own stress ball
- Make different faces in a mirror and naming the emotion.
Notes to Remember
* Please remember doors to the Argus community open at 8.45 and class begins at 8.50. If you arrive after this time a late pass is required
* Ensure your child has a change of clothes in case of accidents
* Label all belongings
* Students change their take home books each day and please remember to fill out their book titles in their diary each evening
* Students have letters/sounds and/or sight words to practise each night
* Diaries are checked every Friday, however, students are expected to bring these to school each day.
Tips to support learning at home
If you would like to support your child's learning at home, here is a list of ideas:
* Read on a nightly basis with your child, talk about the books read (retell the story, identify characters/setting, favourite part, make connections with the text and their own experiences)
* Practise your child's reading goal
* Encourage your child to use the reading strategies above to read unknown words (see strategies above in Reading)
* Practise reading and spelling the Oxford Words
* Use known letters/sounds to read and write simple three-letter words eg. cat, pin, net
* Reading rhyming stories, think of rhyming words and make up your own rhymes
* Play games like I Spy and board games
* Practise addition at home using concrete materials, dominoes and dice
* Count up to 20 and back again
* Practise number and letter formation.
Here are a few links to You Tube songs we sing at school to reinforce learning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BELlZKpi1Zs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0TR1qiAcnE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0dJWfQHF8Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TgLtF3PMOc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoFhVdYsmPg&t=154s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1Mazc-SsG0&t=95s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4zsLZzU5xE
Most of all have fun with learning at home, ensure it is enjoyable.
Communication
Don’t forget to check your child’s book bag and diary every day for any important notices and information.
Sentral is also another key form of communication please ensure you have registered and check in regularly for updates and notices. Feel free to pop in and see Fiona, Stacey, Rebecca or Ashley if you have any questions.
Happy Term 3!