Week 7, Term 4

 Hello from the Prep Rooms! 

This week in Literacy we have been reading words with our new sound ‘oa’ of boat. We finished our class novel ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and completed a book review with our favourite character and their journey throughout the book. In writing on focus has been writing in our dotted thirds books. This is challenging as we have to remember which lines to use for the different letters. We are becoming more confident every day! We have also been learning how to edit sentences using our ‘red editing pencils’ and fixing up capital letters, spaces between words, making sure it makes sense and including punctuation. In Maths, we have continued our 1-minute challenges and have been practising quick addition, subtraction, doubling numbers, numbers to 50 and pairs to 10 through different maths games/activities each day. For our STEAM Monday challenge, we learnt how to use the ‘code and go’ mice to get the mouse to move to reach the cheese. We even added a challenge of going through a tunnel. After a few hot days in a row, we were excited to go to our second swimming lesson. Thank you to parent helpers who supervised walking to and from the pool. 

Next week in Literacy we will continue revising all the sounds we have learnt this year. We will continue writing in our dotted third books and getting new books to read. In Maths we will continue revising addition facts, subtraction facts, ordering numbers and continuing number patterns. In STEAM we will continue using the ‘code and go’ and learning how to code the mice accurately to reach different destinations.  

Have a wonderful weekend! 

 
Lauren and Nicole 

Another lovely week in the sunshine for the 1/2 classes. After finishing our magnificent stories last week we’ve moved our literacy focus to procedural writing. We’ve learnt about the structure of a procedure and how to write the steps out in a clear way. This fits in perfectly with our inquiry into ‘where does energy come from?’ as we undertake different experiments to learn about forces and energy. This week we explored water resistance and magnetic energy. So much fun! 

In Maths we used stories and games to learn about statistics and probability. A favourite game we played is ‘corners’; possibly not one you can play at home as you need a large group, but maybe your child can explain how it works. We looked at recording and graphing our data and then analysing what we found out. 

1/2SB enjoyed their last session in the garden with the much-anticipated pizza cooking. If you need some help in the kitchen then these are the kids to ask! They expertly rolled out the dough, placed on the ingredients and then made sure each piece was gobbled up with no chance to get cold. Thankyou to our parent helpers Max, Gabe, Lara, Lori and Jodi for coming along to help us in the garden over the last few weeks. 

Next week we will start our advent calendars in Maths, continue with procedural writing in literacy and learn about solar and wind power in BQT. 

Have a wonderful weekend, 

Sarah, Sally, Bec and Wendy

Here is an example of the incredible writing students have been completing during their novel study.

The following paragraph may not be suitable to read to younger audiences. 

What Role Does Daisy’s Death Play in the Novel?

In the novel, Daisy’s death causes the Pullman family to forget their arguments and problems and August realizes he’s not the center of attention. In a blog post, Palacio explains that this is a “real growing up moment for August.” In other words, August experiencing losing something he truly loves and it’s not just about him. In the novel, when Daisy dies, August says “I’ve never seen Dad cry before, but I saw him cry tonight.: (page 225). This moment shows August empathising with his dad after the tragic loss of their dog, Daisy. By including Daisy’s death in the novel, something happens to the Pullman family that was more important than most of their other problems. Through this scene, August has grown up and felt empathy for others in his family.

By Allegra DL

Grade 5/6: This term, the grade 5/6 students have been creating impressive perspective drawings. They have been working hard to add details and design elements that capture a sense of space and depth.  

Prep: The Prep students enjoyed making playful artworks this week. They used black pastels to push a counter around their pages, creating a squiggle drawing, which they filled with vibrant patterns and colours.  

Grades 1/2: The grade 1/2 students have successfully completed their pinch pots, showcasing their creativity and craftsmanship. 

Grades 3/4: This term, grades 3/4 explored the use of masks in different cultures. They created these cute and colourful faces using egg cartons.  

Prep N

• Austin T – for the passionate way you are approaching writing and taking care with your spelling.

• William E – for the positive attitude and resilience you have shown during writing despite your broken arm.

1/2S

• Angus M – for the enthusiastic way you have approached our big question about energy.

• Mahlee C – for the curiosity you showed when exploring magnets in BQT.

1/2SB

• Evie M – for your gentle direction during our Wilson games.

• Alice O – for the extra effort you put into all of your learning.

1/2W

• Oden R – for your thoughtfulness around our Big Question ‘Where does energy come from?’

• Delilah B – for your beautiful writing about a freedom machine.

3/4CN

• Emmett L – for the impressive progress you have made in your reading. Keep up the great work!

• Beatrix N – for the enthusiastic way you share your learning with the class. It’s wonderful to see you taking pride in your accomplishments.

3/4L

• Keir E - for your insightful contributions to class discussions. 

• Tessa H - for rethinking strategies in our outside games. Keep up your determination!

3/4L

• Elke H – for your kindness and thoughtfulness. You always think of others.

• Audrey D – for taking your learning further and researching your inspirational woman.

3/4PS

• Elijah A – for the thoughtful way you helped put the sports equipment away.

• Lola H – for all your hard work leading to outstanding results.

5/6J

• Hamish B – for all your hard work and dedication to improving your maths this year.

• Hendy S – for identifying an ingenious way to show misleading data.

5/6SL

• Atticus H – for the way you were so willing to help others with their maths learning journal task.

• Ted C - for the dedicated way you have approahed maths this year. Your results speak for themselves!

Indonesian

• Abigail F – for your impressive and thoughtful contributions to class discussions.

Performing Arts

• Lani M – Fantastic job learning your lines. Your dedication and hard work really shows.

Stilt Licenses

• Codie R, Thomas S