Curriculum News
Curriculum
Student progress in the areas of English and Mathematics continues to be monitored closely so that learning is targeted to the specific needs of each student in the form of explicit, whole class teaching and workshops.
WRITING, SPEAKING, LISTENING and READING
The Year 7 Semester 2 writing focus will be on developing skills in constructing reviews and information reports and the Year 5/6 writing focus will be on narratives, explanation texts and reviews. Vocabulary expansion will be dependent on text topics, integration of all other curriculum areas as well as words identified through class novels and independent reading. We also focus on "academic vocabulary" to empower our students to be successful in interpreting demands across all subjects and in a variety of learning contexts.
Students also have the opportunity to regularly express their ideas and work on specific aspects of their writing through 15 Minute Writing tasks. Making plans, proofreading and editing written work will also be a focus with the expectation that students take greater responsibility for this.
Listening and speaking skills will be developed through class participation, assembly presentations, Year 7 speeches and class based oral presentations.
Spelling workshops are targeted to student needs and focus on understanding spelling generalisations and the origin of words, with the expectation students will then transfer skills into everyday writing.
Developing reading comprehension skills will take place through guided reading sessions, class novels, and small group work targeting key reading behaviours and comprehension skills.
Mathematics
Learning Mathematics is an active process where students build their own mathematical understanding through interaction with the ideas they hold and alternative ideas held by others. Students are encouraged and supported to take risks and persevere with new or different and efficient ways of thinking and solving problems, and will understand that mistake making is an important part of their learning.
Students will continue to develop understanding of the algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and will explore, and apply a range of written and mental strategies for computation to solve multi-step problems with a focus on measuring masses. Students will continue to apply their understanding of concepts related to place value, fractions, decimals and percentages.
Students will develop their understanding of concepts relating to capacity, as well as have opportunities to collect, represent and interpret data and investigate chance. We will be investigating angles, time and geometry.
Year 7 Mathematics
This semester, our Year 7 students will be focusing on the strands Measurement and Geometry and Statistics and Probability. Students will reconnect with geometric reasoning by focussing on the classification of triangles and quadrilaterals and investigating angles. They will also consolidate their understanding of percentages through problems involving financial mathematics. This will lead into probability and statistics with many opportunities to represent and interpret data and to explore concepts relating to chance.
Interdisciplinary Studies
Including: History, Geography, Economics & Business, Science and Design & Technology
We use an inquiry approach to assist the students’ learning of skills and attributes necessary to become successful, independent and lifelong learners. In addition to the subject specific concepts addressed, key skills developed through our inquiries include: questioning, researching, analysing, evaluating and communicating. The Fisher staff plan and assess all inquiry units together.
Year 5/6
Can one person really make a difference?
This semester students will continue their learning on sustainability and finding solutions to our question, “Can one person really make a difference?”
Our inquiry will incorporate many areas of the curriculum with an emphasis on Biological and Physical Sciences and Geography. Students will be looking at both local and global issues and will engage in projects involving a range of natural environments.
Learning experiences will be hands on, collaborative and involve students making connections to living things and the impacts of increasing human activity on available natural resources. Students will investigate various renewable energy sources, while making links to endangered animals and protecting their environments. Multiple opportunities will be provided for students to embed new learning across a variety of contexts.
We encourage parents and families to visit the Gym for our Science Week exhibition on Thursday Week 9 (19th September), where we will celebrate our learning and share our discoveries.
Term 4 will involve an Economics and Business inquiry with students learning about the purpose of business and recognising the different ways that businesses choose to provide goods and services. They will also identify individual strategies that can be used to make informed consumer and financial choices.
Year 6,7 Science (F14,15)
Deep Blue
During Term 3, Year 7 students will be delving into Chemical Sciences. They will investigate various mixtures and discover ways of separating them usefully. They will also investigate the way various materials dissolve creating solutions and discover ways of reversing the processes. With Science Week coming up in week 5, students will develop activities for other students to do based around this year’s theme, “Deep Blue.”
In Term 4, students will focus on Earth and Space Sciences and be inquiring into how the internal and overall movements of the Earth create various phenomena including eclipses, seasons and tides, along with earthquakes and extreme weather events. They will explore these events through a number of hands on investigations.
Throughout the semester, students will continue developing their Science Inquiry Skills where they will get opportunities to conduct scientific investigations, plan and implement fair experimental methods and identify variables to be changed and measured. There will also be a particular focus on Science as a Human Endeavour where students will expand their scientific knowledge and make connections to the real world.
Year 7 HASS
During Term 3, Year 7 students will be building upon their learning in Ancient History by inquiring into and the emergence of a number of ancient civilisations. With a focus on 'How Do We See The Past In Our Present' Through this unit, students will explore different civilisations and then have the chance to pick a 'home' civilisation that they will explore in greater depth. Learning about Laws, Social Classes, Farming, Trade, Inventions, Religion and art are just some of the areas students delve into before researching SIGNIFICANT patterns from their chosen civlisations that they will then recreate on some pieces of pottery. Learning about Timelines and Archeology will also feature at some point during the unit. By the end of the unit, students will walk away with an understanding of the following concepts - evidence, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy, significance and contestability.
Term 3 and 4 will involve an Economics and Business inquiry: 'What types of work exist and in what other ways can people derive an income?' with students learning about the relationships between producers and consumers and the characteristics of successful businesses and entrepreneurial behaviours. We will create pop-up businesses with the aim of making profits to contribute to school resources as a legacy left by senior students upon completing their time at LNPS.
We will also conduct a Health inquiry into puberty, its impacts and developing resilience to cope with physical, social and emotional change. More information will be sent home prior to beginning this unit.
F'ARTS & Technologies
This year, Fisher students are participating in Friday Arts within class groups. The learning includes Drama, Dance Music, Media and Visual Arts with students experiencing a range of experiences and programs.
Miss J Martin is teaching Textile Arts, Mr Tarleton Dance, Ms Sonja and Mr Starr are taking Visual Arts and Ms Patterson is teaching Robotics. This is a great chance for students to develop new skills, take risks and increase confidence.
PE & Health
This semester, our Year 4 - 7 students will be learning through movement by practising, applying and transferring a variety of movement concepts and strategies with and without equipment. The focus sports for the semester will be Table Tennis, Badminton and Volleyball. During these sessions students will be demonstrating control and accuracy when performing specialised movement sequences and skills. They will be applying these movement concepts and refining strategies to suit different movement situations.
In Health, the year 5/6 students will continue to
Languages - German & Greek
Greek
This term students will continue to focus on the topic of Music & explore music genres and various Greek dance styles. They will design and create their own musical instrument and use their knowledge of verbs and adjectives to write about their creation. In Week 5, students will perform the song Φραγκοσυριανή at the Primary Assembly accompanied by Con Dalagiorgios on bouzouki.
Other language learning experiences will include reading and creating written texts, oral interactions and listening tasks. Students will be encouraged to work both independently and collaboratively to develop and enhance their vocabulary and language learning skills.
Google Classroom has also become an integral part of teaching and learning and it is being used to share announcements, extend learning and give feedback. It is a valuable means of communication where additional information and resources can be shared and accessed by students at any time and not just during language lessons. Therefore, students are encouraged to check Google Classroom regularly.
Students are also encouraged to support their learning and build their confidence and fluency by working online with Duolingo which is the world's largest online language learning platform. Duolingo can be accessed at home and every student has an account where their progress is monitored.
Please ask your child about their Greek language lesson and encourage them to share what they have been learning.
Language learning experiences include reading and creating written texts, oral interactions and listening tasks. Students communicate with peers to share ideas and opinions, relate experiences and express feelings. When participating in collaborative activities and classroom routines, students ask and respond to questions, working both independently and collaboratively to develop and enhance their vocabulary and language learning skills.
Students are encouraged to support their learning and build their confidence and fluency by working online with Duolingo, the world’s largest online language learning platform. Duolingo can be accessed at home and is very easy to follow. Each student has an account and their progress is monitored. Share in this learning at home. Parents can learn too!
Lisa Mudge (German Teacher) and Voula Pagonis (Greek Teacher)