What's Happening in Upper Division

Thank you to all students in Upper Division for helping us make our transition to our new rooms.  We are utilising two classrooms for English and Maths lessons as well as NECOM music lessons.

Here are some images of Miss Miller's room:

Here are some images of Mr Hunt's room:

We have commenced Term 3 with students familiarising themselves with their new teaching and learning environment. Students have settled in well this term and are enjoying our spacious classrooms.   

English

Informative texts will be at the centre of our learning in literacy and we will be focusing on the writing process, particularly editing our writing. We will be looking at spoken, written and visual texts as well as informative language devices to embed into our writing. Students will be exposed to a variety of informative texts before and during the unit. We will be reading and viewing factual texts such as non-fiction books, newspaper reports, information reports, procedures and documentaries. Students will have opportunities to read and respond to short informative texts also. 

Mr Hunt will be completing modelled reading with the help of Libby Gleeson’s novel ‘Red.’ ‘The Great Bear’ is also being read to accompany Stage 2’s Persuasive Writing unit. 

Maths

In Mathematics students will be covering the sub strands of whole-number, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, patterns and algebra, fractions and decimals, length, area and two-dimensional shapes.

History

Students will be investigating the reasons people migrated to Australia from Europe and Asia, and the experiences and contributions of a particular migrant group within a colony. We will also conduct a research project on the role that a significant individual or group played in shaping a colony; for example, explorers, farmers, entrepreneurs, artists, writers, humanitarians, religious and political leaders, and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Arts

During Creative Arts Mrs Schaeffer will be researching Indigenous artists and the techniques they use in the lead up to NADIOC Week. For the remainder of the term we will be keeping the theme of ‘Australian Art’ and looking at local artists such as Paula Jenkins and Bronwyn Bancroft.

NECOM music lessons will continue on a Tuesday afternoon with Jess Suann.

Science

In Science, we will be learning about the Earth’s surface and how it changes over time and investigating regular changes caused by interactions between the Earth and the Sun. Students will explore natural processes and human activity to develop a view in relation to sustainable practices. 

PDHPE

Students will be investigating safe and unsafe features of specific environments and exploring actions to enhance their own and others’ safety and wellbeing. Through practical applications, students will develop their help-seeking skills and adopt strategies to help keep themselves and others safe. Students will analyse and gather information to make informed decisions, assess risk and find solutions to promote their own and others’ health, safety and wellbeing.

This term we will be participating in a gymnastics program run by the Armidale Gymnastics Club. Students have been polishing up on their skills on the bars at school and are excited to be involved in this program. Selected students who qualified for Zone Athletics will also be refining their athletic skills before August 5. Throughout the term, students will be developing and performing fundamental movement skills (FMS) through a game-sense approach to learning and exploring different approaches to moving their bodies to effectively participate in games.

ICT

Mrs Fortescue will be developing our ICT skills with online coding platforms to develop computational thinking skills in applying abstract thinking to categorise objects, solve problems, design procedures and collect data. 

Leah Miller and Brad Hunt