EMAIL NEWSLETTER
Welcome back to term 3. It’s going to be a very busy one with lots of different activities.
This term we will be working on an Integrated Studies unit titled ‘From Then Till Now’. Our aims are for the children to gain an understanding of the ways in which people, places and things change over time. During this unit, the children will examine some of the changes that have taken place in themselves, their families, their school and their neighbourhood. The children have already worked on timelines of their lives, talked about an ‘old’ object and how it was used, and matched their friends’ faces to their baby photos. The photos are still in our classroom if you would like to have a look at all of the beautiful babies.
Our grade worked with the 1/2’s to set up a worm farm, and the children have been saving their ’brain food’ scraps to feed them. They have also planted carrot seeds in the new vegetable patch. Let’s hope we get to make some yummy food when they grow. We have plans to make a scarecrow to frighten off the birds, and we are also going to plant a herb garden outside our classroom near the outdoor learning area.
The children will continue working in literacy groups including guided and shared reading, handwriting, spelling activities, Reading Eggs, and writing in different genres. At the moment we are learning how to write narratives, and the children have found out that narratives need to have a setting, characters, a problem and a solution. The Preps have joined the Grade Ones in doing Reader’s Workshop where they are learning to think more deeply about what they have read. They may respond to their reading with a comprehension activity, a reflection or response, an activity on the language and vocabulary in the book, or a response as an artist or illustrator. They are all making great progress in Reading, and hearing their readers at home as well as sharing picture story books with them is a huge support to our work at school. The children will continue to participate in speaking and listening activities, show and tell and reading to the Grade.
This term we will continue to develop the childrens’ understanding of number, writing numerals, counting in different ways and counting on and back from a given number. The Preps will be focussing on learning about 10: the different arrangements of numbers which make 10 and using ten-frames to investigate 10. The Ones will be focussing on numbers to 100: counting and sequencing; counting forwards and backwards from different points and understanding the value of tens and ones. We will also be looking at multiplication, chance and data and perimeter later in the term.
The School Production will be performed at the end of this Term. All grades are involved in the Musical production of ‘Trash and Co’ and the Preps and Ones have already started to learn their songs. On Friday afternoons we practise all of the Production songs with the other grades. We have read through the Prep and Grade One parts and will assign them very soon. Some children are keen for a speaking part and others are happy to just be a part of the Production. If your child is given a part they will probably need some help in learning their lines and projecting their voice. More information regarding dates, times, tickets and costumes will be sent home as we get closer to the date.
We will also be attending a performance of ‘Two Peas in a Pod’ at the school on the 16th August. The children have read and enjoyed the book in Library with Mrs Kitching.
We have been reading lots of books for the Premier’s Reading Challenge, and some of the Grade Ones have been adding in the books they have been reading at home. Everyone is well on the way to meeting the challenge which ends soon.
We are looking forward to this busy, exciting term and continue to value your support and input.