S1 Newsletter

As we wind down to the end of the year, students are reminded to:

• return their library books to the library for stocktake
• return their home readers to the classroom for the classroom stocktakes

Mrs Bulmer thanks everyone who has already returned their books to the library. These books may be returned at any time, not just on your child's library day. Class teachers are also thankful for all the readers that have been returned so far.

It would be a good idea to check if students are missing any personal items, such as jumpers, jackets, lunch boxes and drink bottles, and look in the lost property collection outside the library. There are a large number of items that are labelled and many that are not.

Report by S1R

S1R received a special visitor in Week 7. Alec invited his Nan on our behalf to come and speak to us about culture. 

When Nan entered the room we were very excited. She came in speaking words that we did not know, because she was speaking Anaiwan - one of the local Aboriginal languages. Nan also said that she was extremely happy to be invited to see us. She showed us a few amazing things from Aboriginal culture, like a hunting shield and a coolamon, that is used for collecting and holding fruit and babies. 

Nan also brought some ochre. We learnt that ochre is smashed up rocks, used for face and body paint. Aboriginal people paint their faces and bodies when they have traditional cultural celebrations. Ochre is a natural product that is healthy for our skin. 

Nan told us that she is a feather collector; she collects feathers to show that she is a healer of the tribe. 

While she was here, she told us about an extremely amazing canoe that another one of her grandsons had created. Nan showed us a model of the bark canoe. This model had little people in it. The canoe was nicely polished with thick brown bark. She showed us a video of the model canoe floating down a muddy river.

One of the items that Nan brought was a fire maker. It included a larger curved stick that had holes in it, and a smaller, very straight stick. Alec showed us how we needed to use it correctly, by placing one hand on each side of the straight stick and spinning it back and forth in one of the holes of the larger stick. Nan said if you wanted to start a real fire, you would need dry grass or bark in the hole. We would have to work really hard, for a long time to get it started.

Nan had some fur to show us. She said that it came from a bunny and that it was an important part of making different things, like drums. We also spoke about music and musical instruments. Nan sang us a song in her language. It was such a beautiful song. She also said that one day she would return with some didgeridoos. Only boys can play didgeridoos, girls can help decorate them, but they must not play them. Girls should help by dancing beautifully and playing the clap sticks.

Earlier this term, the boys learnt a kangaroo dance and the girls learnt a gathering dance. We were so proud to perform the dances for Nan. When we performed, it was really important for us to only think positive thoughts.

S1R were able to have a hold and a go of all of the items that Nan brought in for us. We had such fun, we wished she could come in every day of the week.

Thank you Nan for sharing your amazing knowledge with us.

Written by S1R

English

In spelling, we will be learning to spell and read words with the graphemes:

• ‘gn’ as in assign, ‘nn’ as in banner
• ‘kn’ as in know and ‘-ne’ as in airborne
• ‘mm’ as in summer and ‘mb’ as in comb

Mathematics

Stage 1 has been applying all of the skills they have learnt this year to solve a variety of problems, with the focus of effectively communicating using mathematical language.

Students are encouraged to reflect on and discuss the strategies they have used to assist them to learn and work mathematically. 

Students are learning to think more deeply by:  

• reflecting on what they have done 
• organising their thoughts 
• deciding how to express these thoughts

We are learning to communicate mathematically by:

• drawing a picture that explains how I reached my answer
• speaking about the picture I have drawn
• writing a number sentence that explains how I reached my answer
• using mathematical language to express my ideas
• representing my thinking in written and oral forms
• working as a group to come up with a collaborative answer that each member of the group can explain

Integrated Studies

During the past few weeks in Integrated Studies, students have been learning about the culture and traditions of India, China, Nigeria and First Nations Peoples of Australia. They have enjoyed participating in activities about Diwali - the festival of light, making Chinese lanterns and showing off their dramatic skills in some readers' theatre. 

Over the coming weeks, to finish off the Celebrating Differences unit, students will be completing a project on one of the countries that we have studied. They are looking forward to presenting their projects to other classes in the school to share what they have learned during this unit. 

Dates to remember

K-2 Learning Showcase will be held on Wednesday 14 December at 12pm in the school hall, followed by a classroom visit.