School Council Curriculum Reports August 2021,
Grades F -6
Foundation Curriculum Report
English
The FLC students are learning about the features and purpose of narrative texts: characters, setting, problem, solution. They are also engaging in a range of word solving strategies such as blending sounds, noticing the ‘sh’ sound in words and the corresponding letters, as well as focussing on sight words with an ‘ay; sound at the end. Listening to and responding to shared texts is also being investigated with narrative texts. In writing, the students are writing about characters in known texts and innovating on shared stories.
Maths
The FLC children are working on addition of single digit numbers through making, drawing and writing. They are using a range of strategies and materials to solve such as counting on from the larger number, using number lines, tens frames and part-part-whole representations. The children are also applying addition to a range of problem solving scenarios. In measurement, the children are exploring longer and shorter.
Investigations
The FLC students are able to choose from a variety of stations: supermarket, collage, writing, box construction, sewing and reading. They are being encouraged to make links to our current learning in onset-rime, addition and sharing materials, space and understanding the different needs of each other.
Grade 1 Curriculum Report
Literacy:
Grade 1 students are continuing to revise their previously learnt phonics skills, focusing closely on the skill of ‘Long Spelling Right After Short Vowel’. They are applying their knowledge to understand a new set of rules assisting them to recognise base words and add appropriate word endings and are beginning to explore the many letter combinations that can make long vowel sounds. Small group work in reading time ensures that students are working at a level that targets their individual needs. Comprehension, fluency and vocabulary building are a consistent focus in all reading lessons in Grade 1.
Students are continuing to build their understanding of word types such as adjectives, nouns and verbs. Students are very excited to be exploring narratives and will be closely breaking stories (both their own and familiar authors) into beginning (setting and characters), middle and end. They have begun the writing process by developing a plan, and will be moving toward drafting, editing/revising and publishing in the upcoming weeks.
Maths:
In Maths students are continuing to practice counting and are striving towards achieving individual counting goals. Students have begun exploring location by giving directions to familiar locations. In these upcoming weeks, students will also begin their unit on division, where they will continue to develop their skill of sharing items into equal groups and will explore halving.
Grade 2 Curriculum Report
English:
Fairy tales has been the focus for reading and writing this month. Students have looked at features of common features and explored the language of fairy tales. Students have performed short fairy tales in front of their class practicing their fluency and ability to read with expression. In writing students have created storyboards of common fairy tales and written short paragraphs for the beginning, middle and end. They will transition towards creating their own fractured fairy tale. At a sentence level, students have been exposed to speech marks and adverbs and have experimented using these within their writing. Our two structured spelling lessons have focused on adding -s, -es and -ves to base words, along with new letter patterns such as au and aw.
Maths:
In maths, students have explored multiplication and division, focusing particularly on repeated addition and repeated subtraction as the strategies to solve. Students have applied these strategies to real world problems. We are now moving towards Fractions, students have completed a pre-assessment using Essential Assessment and are now learning about halves, quarters and eighths of a shape and collection. Students continue to work on their individual mental maths goal and making the link between this goal and strategies used in multiplication and division.
Investigations:
This month, students have explored how things have changed over the last 100 years. We have looked at communication, transport, technology, school and toys. As a launch into students own student-led investigation we have proposed an incursion from Supreme Incursions. The proposed date is August 30th, a will go for approximately 90 minutes. Students will rotate through stations exploring varying toy themes. They will discover how toys have evolved over time by exploring their movements, cultural significance and the materials they are made from. The approximate cost will be $11 per student.
Grade 3 Curriculum Report
Welcome to Pre-service teachers: Georgia McNeill and Jordon Smith from Federation University, who are completing their final placement at Surfside P.S. Byron Taylor, a second year pre-service teacher from Victoria University is working with us for several weeks also.
Events:
Athletics Carnival Moved to August 30th
We are still holding out hope for an excursion to support student learning, watch this space!
Wellbeing
Wellbeing has been a high priority in response to the uncertainty of a snap lockdown and short turn around for onsite learning. All grades started with a circle time to discuss feelings and coping strategies when we returned to school on Tuesday.
Curriculum
- Maths – Mental maths goals, multiplication & division, worded problems, challenging maths tasks
- Reading & Viewing – Class serial, inferring, summarising fiction and non-fiction texts, Behind the News
- Writing – Research skills, Information Reports, Writer’s Workshop
- Investigations – Australian History
- Speaking & Listening – circle time, partner work, group work, giving and receiving feedback
Physical Education/Sport:
- MLC sport – Athletics training
Thanks for supporting our students as they worked remotely during lockdown 6.0.
Grade 4 Curriculum Report
In Reading:
Year 4 cohort has begun to read the text ‘The One and Only Ivan’. As we investigate this novel, we are exploring the comprehension strategies of summarising and retelling as well as fluency and phrasing.
Within our writing:
The Year 4 learning community has been continuing developing their Writer’s Notebook and selecting ‘seeds’ from the 2021 Olympics to develop their ability to form writing ideas. Students have also been developing information reports independently based around the Olympics or Animals and they have been working collaboratively to develop scripts to film news report segments.
In Maths:
Students have had the opportunity to investigate duration of time through the use of, worded problems and hands on Olympic styled events. Students have also begun exploring symmetry and finding lines of symmetry in the real world and in crafting activities.
In investigations:
This term the Year 4s are exploring physical and chemical science. Within this unit of work students are learning about the different types of matter, for example solids and liquids.
Grade 5 Curriculum Report
Investigations
Students have been investigating chemical and environmental change. During remote learning 5.0 students chose a science experiment to demonstrate chemical change. In the classroom students have been investigating how and why animals adapt to their environment and used this knowledge to design an appropriate mascot for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.
SEL
Students have begun the topic, Gender Identity. Through discussion students have been able to express their wonderings in a safe non-judgemental environment. Students are then working towards identifying actions that children and adults can take to contribute to a respectful, friendly, and inclusive school.
Reading
Students have been participating in Reciprocal Reading groups (now called Book Club) and have been enjoying the rich discussion that comes with this approach. Students are also completing Close Reading activities to deepen their understanding of text and are also reading for enjoyment during independent reading.
Writing
During Writer’s Workshop students have been utilising their senses to up level the detailed description in their writing. There has also been a big focus on organisation and purpose and audience.
Maths
Students have been learning and many strategies to show their thinking and solve division number sentences and worded problems.
Grade 6 Curriculum Report
Writing
We began the term with a strong focus on Persuasive Techniques in writing and explored the 6 + 1 writing trait of organisation, in particular unpacking the structure of a debate and how to formulate and argument or contention when writing persuasively. Students have spent time familiarising themselves with the roles of each team member on a debate and have had several mock debates in class time, practicing various roles and speaking in front of a live class audience. Writing tutoring groups will continue this term.
Reading
Students have started reciprocal reading/book club groups that will run weekly. We continue to engage with independent reading and class novels. Reading has been heavily linked with writing so there has been a lot of viewing and analysing debates as well as unpacking persuasive texts. Reading tutoring groups will also continue this term.
Maths
Since the start of the term we have been focusing on decimals and decimal place value, adding and subtracting decimals and converting between decimals, fractions and percentages. We have now concluded our unit of learning on decimals and will apply this knowledge into our next topic of measurement beginning this week. Maths tutoring groups continue to run this term.
SEL
Health/Sexual Education and Child Wise have started and will continue to run once per week until the conclusion of term 3. These two subjects will take the place of Social and Emotional learning for the remainder of the term.
Investigations
We briefly started a topic on Australian government last term and are in the process of finishing the 6-week investigation unit. Lessons covered as part of this unit included democracy, Australian and global Citizenship and roles, responsibilities and levels of government. At the conclusion of this topic, we will begin a topic of Australian history from 1901 – Current Day.
Kitchen Garden August Report
Remote learning T3:
- Kitchen and garden activities provided on Seesaw/google classroom for Year 3 and 5 as per specialist roster
- Afternoon cooking or gardening activities for small groups of onsite supervision students are available.
Kitchen:
- Limited onsite sessions this term due to lockdowns and absences.
- Year 3 have had 1x 1hour session to date, Year 5 have had 2-3 x 2 hour sessions.
- Simple menus to start off with, with less different dishes, enabling students to focus on essential knife skills and proper hygiene and clean up.
- Year 3 will contribute to Art Show finger food catering in Week 6 during kitchen classes.
- We will start to make preserves etc for fundraising, during kitchen classes later in the term.
- All recipes are provided in digital format for students on Seesaw/GC, and in the newsletter.
Garden:
- Some nice late winter veggie crops coming along now, being used in kitchen classes.
- The chickens are going well and laying about 5-6 eggs per day. Students move them over to the orchard run at least one day per week.
- "Chicken club" continues to run each Wednesday lunchtime, by the Year 4 girls who are doing a fantastic job. They have also been promoted to chicken care duty on Thursdays and Fridays, replacing the Kitchen Garden captains on those days.
- Wednesday lunchtime garden club has been happening and we have enjoyed having some very keen younger students who love to jump in and help with weeding or digging.
- Thanks to Terry for building frames and lids for the 2 donated bathtubs, now repurposed into worm farms. These will be set up with worms etc during garden classes.
- Thanks to our garden volunteers - grandparents Rhonda and Fiona who attend weekly to keep the garden from getting out of control!
- A garden working bee is required and we are waiting for the 10 person gathering limit to ease...watch this space!