Xenica Community Report

August Update

We have had a wonderful and busy month in the Xenica Learning Community! Students have been working very hard and we are very proud of all of them. Some of our highlights this term have included Book Week, Pyjama Day and our excursion to the Melbourne Zoo. 

Our Learning 

READING

This term in Reading, we have been focusing on evaluative comprehension. Students have been justifying their opinions on books they have been reading during independent reading and giving their book a rating.  

Students have been working hard to practice their reading goals during independent reading time this term. They have been given many opportunities to visit the Burudira Library. 

As part of our Inquiry unit 'What impact do we have on living things?' Students have been looking closely at non fiction texts based on animals and life cycles. Students have been learning how to search for facts in the text and then summarise them in their own words. This has helped them with their research for their information reports.

WRITING

In Writing we have been looking at the structure of an information report. Students learnt the difference between a fact and an opinion and were able to identify these in a range of texts. They have been utilising their iPads and non fiction texts as tools to research facts about an animal of their choice. A big focus for us this term has been summarising key information in our own words. Students looked at how to search for specific information using Google on their iPads, and the contents pages in non fiction texts.

Students will aim to publish their information reports by the end of the term by following the writing process of planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. We look forward to sharing these with you very soon.

MATHEMATICS

This term students consolidated their knowledge of 'Multiplicative Thinking'.  Students extended their understanding by using skills they have learnt such as sharing by 1's or by multiple amounts to help them solve worded problems. 

Students worked in small groups to demonstrate what arrays look like. This gave them the opportunity to see real life examples. Some groups of students completed some activities based on fact families and were able to explain the relationship between multiplication and division. 

INQUIRY

On Wednesday the 28th August, the Xenica Community were fortunate enough to head to the Melbourne Zoo for an excursion as part of our Inquiry unit 'What impact do we have on living things?'.  We arrived at the zoo at 10am and sat down to have a quick snack before we headed off to explore some of the animal exhibits. After we spent some time looking at some of the animals and their habitats around the zoo, we headed off to the 'Wild Explorers Program'. This program was hands on and enabled us to explore different animals, their life cycles and their habitats. We were also lucky enough to meet Sandy the lizard and Austin the snake. They were both very friendly and we had lots of fun engaging with them.  After this, we had some lunch and then set off for another hour of exploring the zoo. The students were all very well behaved and there were lots of smiles throughout the day!

SEL

In SEL we have been focusing on how to resolve conflict. We have been doing lots of role playing where we have been practising different scenarios that will help us deal with problems we might face at school and out in the yard. Students learnt about the 5 steps to resolving conflict and modelled what this looks like  in small groups.

You may want to practise the 5 finger rule at home with your child:

1. Ignore the person who is causing conflict

2. Move away from the person or situation 

3. Explain why you have moved away or why you feel unsafe

4. If the behaviour continues, say "Stop I don't like it"

5. Tell an adult

Requesting a teacher meeting

As you are aware, our priority is ensuring students are ready for learning in the morning. We kindly ask that if you would like to make a time to chat with your child's teachers please feel free to organise a convenient time via Sentral or write a note in your child's diary. This will ensure that you get our full attention as we are unable to have in depth discussions in the morning. 

Teachers are available during these times, however an appointment must be made prior:

- Thursday and Friday before school

- Thursday and Friday after school

We thank you for your understanding and support with this.  

Important notes to remember:

• The doors will open at 8.45am as learning begins at 8.50am. Students are encouraged to come into the community independently.
• Students will change their take home books each day and bring them home each night.
• Students will bring their diaries and homework books to school on Friday's which will be checked by teachers.
• Students are encouraged to bring their iPads to school each day.

We look forward to sharing more learning experiences with you soon.

Kind Regards,

Carla, Maddy, Fanny and Lucy.