Achilles Community Report

Celebrations from Term 2

This term has been filled with so many events and celebrations. 

In the week leading up to the 25th of April, Anzac Day, the prep students learnt all about the Anzacs who fought in the war to protect us. We commemorated them by reading stories, making a poppy wreath, and cooking Anzac biscuits in the staff room. Well done to Kinsley, Julian and Ava from Prep B for talking about Anzac Day and sharing our Poppy Wreath at Assembly in Week 1! 

On the 22nd of April we celebrated Earth Day. The students learnt all about how to care for our Earth through play, collecting rubbish from around the yard, sorting through the rubbish and collecting data on the types of waste that was found, learning about what we can and cannot recycle, and how bad plastic is for our environment. The preps have been doing so well at encouraging each other to clean up the yard each day and remember not to throw their rubbish on the ground. 

On the 5th of May we had our Athletics Carnival. The prep students had so much fun participating in all the sports games out on the oval. They joined in games such as running races, stompers, egg and spoon races, bean bag toss, hurdles, kangaroo hopping races, and much more! 

On the 11th of May, Mad About Science came to visit to teach us all about Light and Sound. The prep students worked on lots of experiments in small groups. They tapped different materials with a stick to hear which ones sound could travel through. They used small torches to see which ones light could travel through. The students wore special glasses that let them see rainbows all around them and used special mirrors that reflected the light to make different patterns. After our incursion, the prep students were so excited to learn more about rainbows, shadows, and how light and sound is made. We have continued to explore all of these ideas and look forward to finding out more! 

Eid Mubarak to all families who celebrated on the 13th of May. We thank all families and students who shared their traditions with us at school. The prep students watched some videos, made cards/decorations, and decorated dates with coconut and chocolate to celebrate this special day. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all our students who celebrated their birthdays in Term 2!!!

Shanaya

Khloe

Carmina

Hartaj

Mouna

Saheb

Abhay

Aidan

Mahtab

Alexander

John

Alyssa

Youarish

Fatima

Seerat

Alana

Evangeline

Savannah

Nora

Adam O. 

Alimah

Gavin

For our future Achilles birthdays, if you would like us to help celebrate your child’s special day at school please let us know. If you would like to bring any gifts to hand out, we suggest something small such as bubbles, pens, rubbers, textas, or balloons. Unfortunately we can not hand out food items due to allergies and other dietary requirements. We look forward to celebrating the many birthdays to come!

Snapshots from Term 2

Reading 

In Reading during Term 2 , students have been learning their letters and sounds. This month we focused on the letters s, a, t, p, i, ,m, d, g, o, c and k.  They have been focusing on using these letters to decode and read 3 letter words (sit, mat, gap, dog). They have also been working to develop their phonological awareness through rhyme. Students have been practicing identifying if words rhyme and coming up with their own rhyming words. Using picture story books, our students have been practicing skills such as making predictions, retelling stories and making texts to self connections. 

Writing 

Throughout this term in Writing, we have been focusing on recounts - where students  draw a detailed picture of something they did over the weekend or of a cooking experience at school and attempt to write a sentence to match their picture using their letter sound/knowledge. We have also been focusing on the use of sound buttons in simple words so students can make the connections between a sound that is said and  a written letter. Students are also learning how to form and write letters correctly with correct entry and exit points.

Maths 

In Maths, we have been continuing to count and make numbers to 10 and beyond. We used different experiences to collect and record data. Prep students have been on a mission to collect rubbish for Earth Day and used information to create a graph. We have also been learning about partitioning a whole number into two smaller groups. Here is what that looks like in action! 

SEL

During Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in Term 2 we focused on our ‘caring for’ values. The prep students learnt about what it looks like to care for: 

• Learning
• Others
• School
• Themselves

We engaged in a number of hands-on activities such as caring for our school by correctly borrowing and returning sports equipment with support from the year 6 students. As a community we have been working towards using ‘cake tokens’ on class dojo to positively reinforce ‘caring for’ behaviours. Students have felt a sense of pride watching their ‘care token’ numbers go up over time. 

Inquiry 

This term we are exploring the science of Light and Sound. Students participated  in the Mad About Science incursion where they conducted experiments with light passing through objects, rainbows and different types of sound. In their mentor groups, students have explored their on wonderings and questions. They are doing experiments investigating how rainbows are made, how shadows are formed along with other topics.