Inquiry Centre

Curriculum

The Inquiry Centre had an adventure filled week as we piled onto buses and made our way to Healesville Sanctuary. Students were very excited to see the many Australian animals at the Sanctuary and to participate in our Education Session about Aboriginal Cultures and Life Cycles. A highlight for many of us was the amazing bird show, Spirits of the Sky, where a wedge tailed eagle soared surprisingly close to our heads! Well done to the students who upheld our school values throughout our excursion, showing respect and responsibility as they explored Healesville. It was a fantastic experience for all students and particularly special for our Year Ones as it was their first excursion at primary school! We would also like to say a big thank you to the parent volunteers who so generously assisted on the day. Hope you enjoyed seeing all the photos and videos on our School Instagram!

Back in the classroom, we continued using the curiosity and enthusiasm that we displayed at Healesville to assist us in our learning. In Reading, our focus was on non-fiction texts and learning about the different features that we find in these texts. To begin this unit of study, students looked at news articles, explanations, procedures and fact books to take note of how these are different from and similar to fiction. Students challenged themselves to engage with different texts as we explored more non-fiction books in the library for a scavenger hunt. We found books with contents, glossaries, captions, diagrams and maps and had fantastic discussions about their purpose. It was also great for students to have the opportunity to connect their understanding of non-fiction texts by using them to help us learn more about the animals at Healesville.

In Writing, we have been investigating persuasive texts and focused specifically on giving reasons to support our ideas and opinions. Students spent time brainstorming reasons to support their opinions about different topics such as ‘should every child have an iPad?’ and ‘which Healesville Sanctuary animal would make the best pet?’ They also explored a range of openers to help them sequence and extend their reasoning.

In Maths, we have been learning about using different strategies to solve subtraction problems and using our reasoning skills to explain our working out. With a range of hands on games where students practised using numberlines, counters, icypole sticks and MAB blocks, students experimented with which strategies were most efficient in helping them solve problems. Next week, we are focusing on building fluency - an important step for mathematicians as they become more confident with their addition and subtraction skills.

We hope that you have a fantastic week ahead,

Miss Glen, Mrs Gill, Miss Honan, Mr Jenkins, Mrs Seadon, Ms Vo and Miss Wang

Student Voice

Johanna C - "I loved seeing all the animals at Healesville."
Jason D -"My favourite part was the bird show - especially the bird that talks with a squeaky noise"
Jude G - "It was great to see the wombats because they are my favourite animal."
Zoe D -"It was lots of fun to see the kangaroos and the night animals."

Reminders

1/2J will be sharing at Assembly this week and parents are welcome to attend
Grandparents Day will be held on Thursday 27th of May
The Art Show and Open Night will be on the evening of Thursday 27th of May
If you have any recycled items at home that could be used for craft, please bring them in for a Guided Inquiry project!

Pupil of the Week

1/2G: Troy M -

For demonstrating persistence and focus when learning your codes. It is great to see your enthusiasm when recognising different codes and their sounds. Keep up the great reading, Troy!

1/2H: Lucas M -

For showing a love of learning and teamwork when creating a poster about the importance of saving water. You did a fantastic job utilising your prior knowledge. Well done Lucas!

1/2J: Ashley T -

For showing kindness and perseverance while practicing our new ‘one more minute’ strategy in class. You showed that you could kindly ask for permission to have a break and worked hard to make good choices. Great job, Ashley!

1/2SV: Marley N -

For demonstrating a love of learning when working on all tasks in the classroom. You also show curiosity when reading by asking questions and making insightful text to self connections. Keep up the fantastic work Marley!

1/2W: Jordan C -

For demonstrating a love of learning and curiosity on your trip to Healesville Sanctuary. It was fantastic to see you exploring your understanding of different animals and making connections during our Aboriginal Culture and Life Cycles talk. Great effort Jordan!

1/2Y: Leo G -

For demonstrating a love of learning during our trip to Healesville Sanctuary. You worked hard to read through the information at each animal area to better understand interesting facts and shared this information with classmates. Well done Leo!