Class News
KINDER
In Religion we have started a new unit “Prayer as Talking to God”. We discussed how and why we communicate with God. We found out how talking to God is similar and different to talking to our friends. In English we are continuing with our literacy unit on Fairytales. We shared different versions of Little Red Riding Hood (book and video ) and found the similarities and differences. We labelled an illustration of ‘The Big Bad Wolf’ using adjectives eg. scary eyes, sharp teeth, bushy tail. We learnt that adjectives describe nouns. From here we ventured into topics about personal safety such as stranger danger and early warning signs that our body gives us when we feel worried, unsafe or scared. Early warning signs include butterflies in tummy, feeling hot and sweaty, fast heart beat, feeling shaky and feeling sick. We answered the questions, “Should Little Red Riding Hood have gone into the woods alone?” “What should she have done when she met the wolf?” Personal safety is taught as part of our Child Protection unit which we are covering this term.
Our 30 second talk during News time has been on the topic of “What we want to be when we grow up” and “Fairytale characters we would like to talk with.” It is very difficult for most children to talk for 30 seconds non-stop without repeating what has already been said. Everyone in the talking circle gets to talk and there are no interruptions.
In Maths we have been learning to Group and share concrete materials to solve problems.
YEAR 1
In Religion we have looked at how the Sacrament of Baptism has changed over time. ‘Baptism’ means to immerse in water, and the water used in this Sacrament is a sign of the new life we are given when we become followers of Jesus. We completed a ‘curiosity box’ activity where we uncovered mementos from Mrs Noble’s daughter’s Baptism, including a white gown, bonnet, baptismal candle, tiny white shoes, a bracelet with a crucifix and other special items.
In English we read ‘Cindy Ella’ by Tom Champion. It’s an Australian version of ‘Cinderella’. We’ve done some sequencing of the story, focusing on the setting, characters, orientation, complication and resolution. We’ve also made comparisons between characters from the different texts we’ve read this term.
In Grammar over the last few weeks we’ve had a focus on the use of exclamation marks, synonyms and antonyms. Using synonyms and antonyms to expand our vocabulary makes our writing tasks more interesting to read.
Last week, Year 1 were learning about Mass. We used an equal arm balance to order objects from lightest to heaviest and also to find collections that had the same mass. For example, we found 7 large paddle pop sticks had the same mass as 10 blocks. This week in Maths, we are learning about division. This is introduced as “sharing”. We have been sharing collections into equal groups, to find how many there are in each group.
In Science, we have been looking at the weather: seasons and changes that come with each season. We had a great time last week using the classroom bee bots! We gave them a set of directions (an algorithm) to navigate their way around the grid to get to the seasonal pictures.
YEAR 2
Here is something from year 2 for the newsletter. I'm so sorry it's a bit late :(
In geography, Year two have been learning all about the world. We have learnt that there are seven continents – Australia, Asia, Europe, North and South America, Africa and Antarctica, and five oceans – Pacific, Indian, Arctic, Southern and Atlantic. We have also learnt that the Earth is round and that it has two hemispheres. We live in the Southern hemisphere. We even learnt that things are a bit different in the Northern Hemisphere – their seasons are opposite to ours and their hurricanes spin the opposite way to our cyclones. Yesterday we got to explore the globe on Google Earth and we had lots of fun!! We are also very excited to start learning how to use our virtual classroom on Microsoft Teams.
YEAR 3
Our Religion unit is ‘Eucharist’. We read a picture book about remembering, titled “Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge” by Mem Fox. It is in remembering special people and events that they are made present to us again. Our reason for celebrating the Eucharist is to remember and to make present the saving action of Jesus Christ.
In English, we are reading a selection of books about Australia. This week we are reading the book, ‘I’m Australian Too’ by Mem Fox. Over the next two weeks we will be discussing things that make Australia a great place to live, why immigrants and refugees choose Australia to come to, and using the rhyming pattern of the book to write our own stories.
In Maths, we completed measuring tasks using millimetres, centimetres and metres. This week we are consolidating our knowledge of multiplication and division and applying our knowledge of multiplication to solve division questions
In Geography, we are learning about some of the natural features of Australia. Last week we looked at rainforests. The Daintree Rainforest, in north Queensland, is the largest rainforest on the mainland of Australia. It is thought to be over 130 million years old! This week we are learning about mountains and mountain ranges of Australia. The Great Dividing Range is Australia’s largest mountain range and stretches from north Queensland to the Grampians in Victoria. The peak of this mountain range is Mt Kosciusko in NSW. It is thought to be over 135 million years old.
Wednesdays’ PE lessons are focusing on developing teamwork. Last week we had a lot of fun playing ‘Peg Invasion’. This week, the skill focus was dodging opponents and the game was called ‘Slide Tag’.
In Visual Arts last week, we learnt how to do paper plaiting to make frogs on lily pads. The Daintree Rainforest is home to 28% of Australia’s frog.
YEAR 4
In Religion, we are coming to the end of our unit on Eucharist. We have learnt about the terms consecration and transubstantiation and have shown good understanding of their meanings. We learnt that Eucharist is the third and final Sacrament of Initiation. We also can state the four ways that Jesus is present in the Celebration of Eucharist. He is present in: the priest, the scriptures, the gathered people and in the bread and wine. We will be starting our next unit, The History of the Church, in the next couple of days.
In English, we are continuing to enjoy our novel for Term 3, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. It is very exciting, at the moment, because Aslan has arrived in Narnia. We can’t wait to keep reading! Last week we wrote narratives with a partner. We used a picture as a stimulus and wrote about The Animal Games. Mrs Carroll enjoyed reading our stories!
Our focus in Maths, last week and this week, has been Multiplication and Division. We have worked really hard on all activities and we discovered Area Models to assist in multiplying 2-digit numbers by 1-digit. We were all very successful in using this model. Some of us extended ourselves to multiply 3-digit and 4-digit numbers by altering the area model. We are now concentrating on division and using inverse operations to check our accuracy.
In Geography, we have looked at various environments in our world and also various animals. We worked with a partner and focused on one environment to research the different animals that live there. It was really interesting and sometimes surprising!
In Science, we have learnt more about both weathering and erosion. We had fun doing an experiment to test the abrasion of rocks, using sugar cubes which we shook in a tin. The result showed us how rocks can break down when they experience friction in the environment. We also learnt about the Twelve Apostles, near Port Campbell in Victoria, and discovered they were formed through erosion. We also discovered there are only 8 left standing at present.
We cannot believe we are more than halfway through this term!
YEAR 5/6
Religion
In Religion we continue to unpack the parts of the Mass. Last week, in groups, we wrote a summary of this in 25 words or less. Tricky right? Then Ms McGann got us to do it on our own in 20 words or less AND then we refined it even further to a 10 word summary. Not easy, but we did it!
We now move on to look at ways that we are called to love and serve others. We will also brainstorm and discuss the purpose of the Concluding Rites.
Maths journey
We have been immersed in learning about fractions for many weeks now and our knowledge, understanding and application of these sometimes ‘frightening’ fractions has grown exponentially! Ms McGann is VERY proud of us. We can identify proper and improper fractions, convert improper fractions to mixed numerals, add them, subtract them and NOW, multiply them! We have used activities on Matific to consolidate our learning and we are also in the midst of a fraction assignment – creating a game of fraction dominoes which we all look forward to playing soon. We acknowledge that we are on different levels of learning but everyone works hard on their understanding and application of knowledge. See the photos below of us playing Fraction memory and working on our tasks for the week.
Persuasive Writing
Another piece of WOW work form the last couple of weeks, is the improvement in our persuasive writing. It is even obvious to us how far we have come. Again, we acknowledge that we are at different levels in our ability to construct powerful, persuasive paragraphs, but we can all see the improvement from when we started this last term. Ask us to show you what we have done so far – you can see it on our One Note folders.
Microsoft Teams
As you may be aware, we have started to use Teams for messaging each other regarding school and homework, things to remember and upcoming events. We will begin to use this more and more so if you could assist your child in downloading the (free) app onto their iPad/phone/computer, this would be very handy as they will get an alert as soon as one is applied to the class page.