Welcome back after the Spring Break! It has been wonderful to see our students return with such positivity and enthusiasm, actively engaging in both synchronous and asynchronous distance learning. We truly appreciate your continued support in helping them stay motivated, connected, and thriving in our virtual learning environment.
This week, in UOI, we began our unit under the transdisciplinary theme Who We Are, focusing on body systems. For our provocation, students participated in a fun virtual scavenger hunt, using everyday objects to represent connections within body systems—this sparked great curiosity and engagement. The activity concluded with students sharing their prior knowledge through a “What’s Inside the Human Body” drawing task, and later in the week, they explored the difference between body organs and body systems, making thoughtful connections to how our bodies work together.
Next week: students will students will dig deeper into their learning about body systems, with a special focus on the digestive system
Central idea: The human body consists of a network of interconnected systems.
Specified Concepts: Causation, Function and Connection,
Lines of inquiry:
How body systems work
The interconnectedness of body systems
Maintaining a healthy body
Learner Profile: Thinker and Balanced
This week, students began learning about informational report writing, focusing on identifying key features in a text. They explored elements such as titles, formal tone, science vocabulary, and understanding the audience. Later, students took part in an “Author’s Share,” where they wrote a short paragraph to reflect on and showcase their learning.
Next week: students will begin exploring how to write an informational report, connecting their learning to body systems. They will organise their ideas and draft reports explaining how different body systems function, using the features they have learned, such as titles, formal tone, and science vocabulary.
This week in Maths, students explored perimeter, learning how to calculate it for rectangular shapes and other polygons. They challenged themselves to find missing lengths and sides, making connections to real-life examples.
Next week: students will build on this understanding by learning how to calculate the area of 2D shapes.
Celebrating a Wonderful Week of Distance Learning
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Thank you for your continued support this week. We recognise the time, care and flexibility it takes to support your child with distance learning at home, and we truly appreciate your patience, particularly when navigating occasional technical challenges.
It has been a fantastic week of learning, with students demonstrating strong engagement across our Units of Inquiry. We have seen children actively participating in discussions, asking thoughtful questions, and making meaningful connections to their learning. During our live sessions, many students confidently shared their ideas, responded to provocations, and built on each other’s thinking.
Our collaborative experiences have been a real highlight. Students have engaged in small group interactions, working together to share perspectives, contribute ideas, and problem-solve. It has been wonderful to see them listening to one another, taking turns, and developing their communication and social skills in an online environment.
We have also been incredibly impressed by the range of creative responses shared on Seesaw/Google Classroom. Students have expressed their understanding in a variety of ways through drawings, model-making, storytelling, and verbal explanations. These responses show not only their developing knowledge and skills, but also their confidence in sharing their thinking in different formats.
Our daily class meetings continue to strengthen our sense of community, giving students the opportunity to connect with their peers, reflect on their learning, and celebrate each other’s contributions. These moments are so valuable in maintaining a sense of belonging and continuity.
Thank you again for your ongoing support! It makes a significant difference to your child’s learning experience. As we move into next week, we will continue with a consistent structure to support routine and engagement.
We would also like to reassure you that when supporting your child at home, we are not expecting you to take on the role of the teacher. Your encouragement, interest, and presence are what matter most. Supporting your child to engage, listening to their ideas, and helping them to share their learning in ways that work for your family is more than enough.
Padlet link to promote reading.
Please see below a guide to supporting your child through their online learning experience: