Stage 1

Welcome to Week 4.  Thank you to the many visitors to our classrooms on Friday! Our classrooms were full of  parents and grandparents, carers and friends enjoying sharing in the learning that has been happening over the year so far. We know our students were so proud to share some of their learning with you.

We are very much looking forward to our sessions at the gymnastics centre, starting this Friday. It is great to see so many permission notes signed through School Bytes. If you have not yet paid or signed the permission note, could you please do so by this Thursday afternoon. Students may wear suitable clothing, such as navy sports shorts or tracksuit pants with their Friday shirt and joggers on gymnastics days.

English

Our persuasive writing is continuing. We are reading quality texts to gain an understanding of persuasive techniques and are learning to apply these to our writing. Students are learning how to strengthen their sentences by using conjunctions, high-modality language and rhetorical questions to influence the reader to agree with them. We are certain they will enjoy sharing their persuasive writing with you!

We are learning to:

• use facts to persuade the reader
• correctly structure a persuasive text

We know we are successful when we:

• use strong thinking verbs
• think of a persuasive argument using a modal verb
• summarise our arguments usig the bottom of the burger bun technique
• use a fact to justify our opinion
• use a rhetorical question to assist our argument 

Mathematics

We continue to apply the skills of making equal groups, recognising equal groups and sharing collections equally. You can help your child at home by giving them plenty of opportunities to apply these skills in everyday situations - sharing a pizza, identifying equal shares of a bag of lollies, equal time playing a favourite game, sharing out the dog treats equally between the four-legged members of the family. This may lead to the question - what do we do with the leftovers?

We are learning: 

• how doubling and halving relate to multiplication and division 
• to model and use arrays to solve multiplication and division problems
• to divide collections using sharing and grouping strategies

Integrated Studies 

Over the coming weeks, Stage 1 will focus on inquiry questions involving our 5 senses. We will investigate different forms of energy, including sources of light and sound, and why objects can be hot or cold.

We are learning to:

• use our senses to understand the world around us
• think and investigate scientifically (like a scientist)
• investigate sources of light, sound and heat 

Physical Education 

This term in PE, students will be developing their competence and confidence in fundamental movement skills, such as catching, throwing, bouncing, hitting and kicking. Students will play a broad range of games and sports so that fundamental skills can be practiced in a safe, enjoyable setting.