Ulysses Community Report

Term 3 2023

What a wonderful term it has been in Ulysses. Once again the Ulysses students have done such wonderful learning this term. The curiosity and enthusiasm we have seen has been outstanding and has shown us just how passionate these students are in their learning journeys.

Our students have participated in so many fun learning opportunities which we look forward to sharing with you all very soon.

Our Learning

Reading

This term in Reading, we have been exploring persuasive texts. Students have explored many persuasive texts and looked deeper into their features. We have successfully made connections, predictions about what will happen, critiquing, visualising, and summarising the shared texts we have read. Our students have shown a keen interest in the texts we have read together, which has supported their engagement with our learning activities. 

Writing

In Writing we have been learning how to write persuasive texts. Students have had the opportunity to choose their own stance and think of reasons to support. We have had many exciting topics to write about, including writing our own piece to persuade Dumbledoor why we belong in Hogwarts. You may have seen these magical letters flying around in our window! We have learnt to successfully write an opening statement, give reasons with supporting evidence and write a concluding statement, all while following our writing process. We hope to share some of our amazing persuasive texts with you all.

Maths:

In Maths we have continued to explore multiplication and division as well as looking at data and 3D shapes. We have learnt so many ways of solving multiplication and division questions, which have deepened our understanding of how to make groups and to share. Students have become more confident in using resources such as counters, to solve these problems. We had such a wonderful time with data as always. Students were so enthusiastic when asking their own questions and surveying the class. To further develop our understanding of shapes from last term, students have learnt about 3D shapes. We have explored their features including; names, faces, vertices, edges and bases. 

SEL- 

This term in SEL, we have had a strong focus of caring for others as well as caring for our school. Students have explored acts of kindness, ways in which we can be kind to others not only in our class and school community but also while at home. Students came up with many ways they can be kind, which we hope they have displayed in their own homes. We have also looked into ways in which we can care for our school, including taking care of our belongings and classrooms, making sure to pick up rubbish whenever we see it and continuing to follow our rules and routines at school. This focus has been very positive for our learning environment and has helped to have a calm and focused learning community. 

To demonstrate the students' care for their school environment our students have decided to begin a nude food day every Thursday (Throw away Thursday’s). We will encourage students across the school to bring only reusable containers to school to eliminate waste before it enters the school.

Inquiry   

This term in Inquiry, we have continued to explore living things. Our attention has been drawn towards the Great Barrier Reef and the impact of humans in this area. Students have had strong feelings about supporting our reef after learning that it is struggling, and on the verge of being endangered. Students are so proud of the dioramas they have produced on what they hope the Great Barrier Reef may look like again. In the hopes of making a change for the better, our community has decided to have an open afternoon, where we will invite families in to view our hard work. This event will aim to raise awareness of how we would like to save the Barrier Reef from going extinct. We hope to see all of our families and share the many things we have learnt about.

Celebrations:

Important Notes to Remember

• Please label all belongings.
• Students bring blue reading folders, diaries and homework books daily.
• Please ensure students come dressed appropriately for the weather, making sure they have their hats as it is ‘Sun Smart” term. 
• Please ensure your children are attending school as  ‘It is not ok to be away’. If your child is away please notify the office or upload the absence into Compass.
• Pack brain break (healthy snack) in their lunch box for our early morning break between sessions.
• Please check compass daily for any announcements or updates from the teachers or the school, this is our main source of communication.