Monthly Archives: May 2016

Inquiry: Keep Me Covered

We have begun our Inquiry topic called “Keep Me Covered” about different homes around the world. Last week we read a book called “Come Over to My House” by Theo LeSieg (otherwise known as Dr Seuss). This introduced the idea of different types of housing around the world. Students chose a house they were interested in and drew a picture of it. They then had to come up with two questions about the house that they would like to know the answer to. This is because questioning (and asking deep questions in particular) is a central component of Inquiry.

Today I drew children’s attention back to Australia (we will then move out to our neighbouring countries and then South America and Africa). Children were given one state of Australia. They then had to find the missing parts of Australia to make a complete map. It was interesting to hear comments move from “I don’t know what I have” to “I have Perth” to “I have Tasmania” and finally to “I have Northern Territory, who has Queensland?” etc. This dialogue occurred naturally but we will formalise it in the weeks ahead. Students then had a go of drawing a freehand map of Australia before being shown some tricks to help them (Australia is a rabbit with the ears being North Queensland and Tasmania being a carrot!) This task helps students form a mental picture of the shape of Australia.image image image image image image image

 

 

Term 2, Week 2 – NAPLAN update

I hope that all families had a lovely weekend and were able to celebrate Mother’s Day and treat mum.

As we head into Week 2, I thought I would let all families know what the week will look like due to NAPLAN being held.

Monday will be a day as usual – (students have their extra music lesson at the very beginning of the day now)

Tuesday – All students need to be punctual as the Year 3s will be beginning NAPLAN around 9:00am in the morning. Year 4s will be set their usual Literacy work to do in the library under teacher supervision during this time. If Year 4s arrive late, they will need to sign in at the front office and then go straight to the library so as not to interrupt the Year 3s.

There are two NAPLAN tests on Tuesday for the Year 3s which will take them up to recess. The first is Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) from 9:00am-9:40am. The second is Writing from 10:05am-10:50am. As there is a break in the middle, students will be able to eat their fruit, go to the toilet and have a drink before the commencement of the second test.

After NAPLAN, the day will continue as normal with a few extra games etc. to reward the students for their efforts. Year 4s will be back in the class after recess.

Wednesday – Reading test 9:00am-9:45am. Upon completion of this test, the Year 4s will return to class and the day will continue as normal.

Thursday – Maths test 9:00am-10:00am. Upon completion of this test, the Year 4s will return to class and the day will continue as normal.

Friday – Catch up NAPLAN testing will occur for any Year 3 students who have missed a day. These tests will be supervised by a member of leadership. All other Year 3s and 4s will have a regular Friday.

Either on Thursday or Friday, we will have some time to celebrate the effort of our Year 3 students as a class with a special fun activity.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Veronica

 

Mother’s Day Stall

A quick reminder that the Mother’s Day Stall is tomorrow: Thursday 5th May at school. Students can bring up to $10 to spend at the stall. They will also need to bring a bag to store any bought items. Our browse and buy time is at 12:40pm just before lunch.

Welcome Jessica M!

It is with great pleasure that we welcome (back!) Jessica M. We are excited to have our friend back and in our class and Mrs K thinks it’s great that we have another girl. There are now 27 students in the class, 17 boys and 10 girls!

Welcome back to Term 2!

I hope that all the children had a great school holiday break. We are looking forward to another busy term. Some things to note include:

  • Library borrowing is now on Wednesdays after lunch
  • We have an extra music lesson this term with Mrs Rayner which is first thing on Monday mornings
  • Students will be learning History and Geography with Mrs Williams this term, instead of German with Frau Smith (this will swap again in Term 3)
  • Our Inquiry topic for the term is “Keep Me Covered” – learning about homes around the world. Year 3s will focus on Australia’s neighbouring countries while Year 4s will look at homes in South America and Africa.
  • The Walkathon will be this term!

I’m looking forward to this term of learning and trust that the students will be engaged and motivated.