Xenica Community Report

Term 2 2021

Our Learning

We would like to thank everyone for their continual support to our community.

We are XENICA!

Reading

In Term 1 Reading, students have continued to develop their understanding of letters and sounds.We have been investigating u, r, h, b, f, ff, l,  ll sounds. Students are exploring different text types both as a class and individually, in order to look at the different features of fiction and non-fiction books. We have also used the 5 W’s (Who, what, when, where, why), to ask and answer questions about our texts and develop our literal understanding of what we have read.

Writing

In Xenica, our writing focus has been on explanation texts. We have incorporated our inquiry topic into writing. In Term 2 Writing, students have been learning to write about how our toys move using an explanation writing structure. We had to write down notes while playing with our toy, we then planned our writing. Once we finished planning we started our explanation writing on how our toy works. We had to include an introduction, how our toy works, and our conclusion. 

In handwriting students have learnt about entry and exit points for letters and the formation of letters. Students are learning about anticlockwise letters such as a, c, d, g, e, o, f and s. 

Maths

In Maths Term 1, Xenica has explored the concept of addition and subtraction. To develop students' understanding we have used strategies such as number bonds, which allow students to recognise and recall 2 parts that add together to make the whole. We have used ten frames to make and recognise numbers which add up to ten. Students have also used number-lines to practice counting on and back using the jumping strategy. We have also practiced splitting numbers as a strategy to add 2 and 3 digit numbers.

SEL

In Social and Emotional learning this term, students in Xenica have been learning about the importance of friendships and strengths that can make a good friend. Students have used their knowledge in order to create role-plays in class that show how they could be a good friend. Students have learnt about the different qualities a friend has such as hard worker, curious, funny, honest, fair, forgiving, curious, kind, patient, leadership, generous, friendly and brave. Students learnt about the definitions of these words and explained when they have experienced this in a friend.

Inquiry

In Inquiry, students are exploring the topic forces and motion. Forces and Motion are integral parts of our daily lives. Objects move in predictable ways, as described by the universally accepted principles of force and motion. Students will come to understand how they can use forces to produce motions that allow them to be safe and to enjoy themselves.

The guiding questions students are exploring are  ‘What is force and motion?’ and ‘How does force and motion affect the way objects move?’. Through these guiding questions students have identified vocabulary that associate with the topic forces and motion such as movement, push, pull, force, size, shape, objects, affect, changes, pace, fast, slow, strengths, length,distance and gravity. 

Students have been immersed in sorting different objects/items according to the way in which they need to be manipulated to move (push or pull or both). Students have demonstrated their understanding of sorting items through venn diagrams, taking photos on ipads and separating them into categories.

Students have actively participated in hands- on experiments or activities to discover how and why that was the outcome. Some of these are tug of war, tunnel ball and painting. Throughout this inquiry cycle our students have been inquisitive and contributed to our thinking wall. The students will gather more information and will continue the cycle of asking questions and confirming. 

Important Notes to Remember

• Homework is taken home on Fridays (SPELLING-must only complete one row of spelling words a day)
• Homework is due on Wednesday-please ensure your child completes the homework
• Please label ALL belongings
• Students are encouraged to bring their iPads to school each day
• Bring hats and water bottles to school clearly labelled
• Please ensure your students are attending school ‘It’s not ok to be away’.