Prep Term 3 Curriculum News

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your child’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

General
Welcome back to Term 3! We hope you all had a restful and relaxing holiday and are ready to get back into another term of wonderful learning. We are now officially halfway through the year, and also halfway through Prep! Time is flying, but we still have lots of learning to focus on and events to celebrate, including making it to 100 Days of School! A special celebration day will be held to mark this occasion, with details of this being communicated separately.
We are so excited to build on the skills and knowledge students learnt in Semester 1 and continue to work alongside you in supporting your child during their first year of school.

KEY DATES:
Friday 29^th July – 100 Days of School Celebration
Friday 5^th August – Curriculum Day (no students at school)
Wednesday 24^th August – Book Week Parade (dress up as your favourite book character)
Thursday 1^st September – Parent Teacher Interviews 11-7:30 (bookings will open on Compass later in the term)
Friday 2^nd September – Whole School Professional Practice Day (no students at school)
Friday 16^th September – LAST DAY of SCHOOL before holidays. Early finish time TBC

Home/School Partnership
Together, we have a vital partnership that supports your child to be the best they can be. By working together, learning from each other, and trusting each other, we can not only give your child their best start to school life, but their best start to their whole life.

It is vital that students continue to build their independence and self-management skills. This area of personal development is an essential life skill. By practising simple, everyday tasks themselves, students will understand how to set themselves up for life-long success. Teachers will be encouraging students to be independent in their learning and organisation, and we encourage you to also support your child in the following ways:
- having them take responsibility for their belongings, such as bringing their satchel, jumper, and water bottle to school every day
- walking to and entering their classroom by themselves
- always carrying their own items, including their schoolbag
- correctly storing items such as jumpers and lunchboxes away safely into school bags when not in use
- knowing how to tie their shoelaces if wearing lace up shoes
If students do forget an item and you drop it off at school after learning has begun, please go via the office.
Parents should not interrupt grades during learning time for any reason.

We are looking forward to meeting with you later in the term to discuss your child’s progress during our Parent Teacher Interviews. Of course, teachers are available to talk with you at any time during the term. We do ask that if you would like to talk with your child’s teacher, that this be arranged ahead of time by phone or email. Before and after school are busy times and teachers are not always available; this includes the time before the bell goes in the morning when teachers are supervising students in the classroom. This is also the case during your child’s specialist classes, when teachers are planning, preparing, and organising either individually or with colleagues. We kindly ask that all appointments are scheduled ahead of time, and that dates and times are adhered to.
If you need to notify your child’s teacher of something after learning has commenced at 9am, please send them an email via Compass, or contact the school office who will pass along the message.

Our partnership also extends to Home Reading. Students are expected to read for 10 minutes per night, 4 nights per week. We ask that the adult reading with each child records a short comment in their reading diary about the book they have read. Teachers will check reading diaries regularly. Students need to bring their satchel to school each day, so that they can swap their home readers daily.

Literacy
In Reading, students have revised what it means to be an independent reader, They have covered the difference between ‘real’ and ‘fake’ reading, have learnt more about ‘Just Right’ books, and have continued to build their reading stamina, by reading a range of self-selected books in their book boxes. Students will continue to learn different decoding strategies to help them read unknown words and will be supported to use the best strategy for the word they are trying to read. Students will also begin learning about reading comprehension – that is, thinking and talking about what is read. Students will focus on predicting before and during reading, visualising a ‘mental picture’ during reading, making connections between their own experiences and what they read, and sequencing the events in a story. We will also be regularly exploring the features and purpose of nonfiction texts.

In Writing, Preps will continue to engage with the ‘Writing Cycle’ by thinking of and developing a ‘seed’ idea in their Writer’s Notebooks before selecting, drafting, and revising that idea in their Writing Book. Students will continue to explore how to use pictures and words to communicate their message and will look at how they can add more detail to each of these elements so they can give more information to their reader. Revising writing will be a key focus this term, with students practising the skill of using full stops and capital letters to correctly form sentences that make sense. This increasing knowledge will continue to support students to write more interesting pieces for longer periods of time.

To support their Literacy, students will engage in daily phonics practise to support their letter/sound development. Students will be supported with learning the common sounds for the 26 letters of the alphabet, and how these sounds go together to make words. Students will explicitly practise encoding (writing) and decoding (reading) words by applying their knowledge of sounds and will then be supported to apply this skill during reading and writing.

Numeracy
In the area of Number, students will build on their current number knowledge by working more explicitly with the ‘teen’ numbers. A focus will be fluent counting, including being able to count forwards and backwards from any starting point, comparing and ordering collections using the language of ‘more,’ ‘less,’ ‘before’ and ‘after,’ recognising numbers when written as a numeral, E.G., 14, and making collections using a base of 10. Using this number knowledge, students will begin exploring the concepts of subtraction as splitting a whole into parts, and division as making sure an amount is shared into equal groups. Students will also continue learning how to correctly form (write) numbers.

In the area of Measurement and Geometry, students will explore measuring time by comparing and ordering the length of different events and connecting the days of the week to familiar events. They will also explore the language of position and movement, understanding terms such as ‘under,’ ‘beside,’ and ‘in front of’.

Inquiry
Our Term 3 Inquiry focus is ‘The History of Me’. Students will be exploring their personal and family histories, the make up of families, the celebrations that are important to them, and why families are a vital part of their life. Students will understand that whilst all families are different, every family is important and offers the same thing to children. This Inquiry unit will involve students developing different projects about themselves and their family, so please keep an eye on communication around this.

In addition to this, we will continue to focus on our Respectful Relationships and Play Is The Way social and emotional curriculum. This term, students will explore the topics of ‘Problem Solving,’ ‘Stress Management’ and ‘Help Seeking.’ These Respectful Relationships topics will be connected to our Play Is The Way life rafts, with students gaining a complete understanding of how they have a skillset of strategies that will help them ‘Be Their Own Boss’ and make ‘Strong Choices,’ so that they can continually ‘Pursue Their Personal Best.’

Reminders
Canteen and Food Sharing: We encourage Prep students to only bring a GOLD COIN to spend at the canteen for over-the-counter sales. Students are NOT permitted to buy food for other students, have other students purchase food for them, or share food of any kind.

Label Clothes and Belongings: Please ensure ALL items (jumpers, hats, lunch containers, water bottles, etc) are clearly labelled with your child’s name and grade. If these items are misplaced, they are easier to return if they are named. Any unnamed items will be taken to lost property.

Classroom Donations: We would appreciate any donations of tissues, hand sanitiser, and paper towel for use in classrooms.

Hats: From September 1^st, our SunSmart ‘No Hat, No Play’ policy is in force and students will need to wear their hats outside when playing at recess and lunch. Your child’s hat stays safely in their classroom so they can play outside during the warmer months. If your child requires a hat for TheirCare, we encourage them to keep a second hat in their bag for this purpose, so their school hat remains safely at school for use during the day.

Each year level team has provided their families with a detailed newsletter such as this. If you are interested in reading about all the exciting things happening across the rest of the school, these can be accessed online at our school website from early next week.

Grade 1 Term 3 Curriculum News

Dear Parents,

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your child’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

Welcome to Term 3! We hope that you enjoyed the winter break and managed to get away for a short holiday or simply enjoyed some family time at home. We are now past the halfway point in the year and the Grade 1 students are well and truly back into their learning, familiar with their routines and keen to put their best foot forward for Semester 2.

Reading

The Grade 1 classrooms have again enjoyed access to hundreds of high quality texts throughout the first semester and we look forward to swapping our classroom libraries so that students have access to fresh new books for the upcoming term. An early focus in the term will ensure that students have input into building our classroom libraries and choosing Just Right texts for their desk libraries. There will also be a focus on comprehension strategies this term to encourage students to think deeply about the texts they choose to read. We will be making text to self connections, text to text connections, predictions about the text and inferences about characters' feelings and motives. Take Home readers will continue this term and we encourage all students to follow the homework guidelines and read a minimum of four nights for at least 10 minutes weekly. Students are required to return their readers on a weekly basis so they can borrow books for the following week.

Writing

Independent Writing will continue to be a focus for the Grade One students this term. The students love choosing topics and writing about their interests. Throughout the term, students will have multiple opportunities to develop their handwriting skills and letter formation through explicit lessons. If parents would like to collect some handwriting resources to continue this learning at home, please contact your child’s classroom teacher to collect a simple pack with a few supportive materials. The students in Grade 1 will be given the opportunity to develop their ability to choose topics, build on familiar texts, plan effectively, rehearse sentences and write detailed first drafts before revising their work carefully to make improvements where possible. Students will be encouraged to reread their own writing and talk with others about making changes to improve the meaning, spelling and punctuation before producing a published piece of work.

Maths

In Maths, the Grade One team are excited to introduce a few new concepts this term as well as spend some valuable time consolidating understanding of topics covered in semester 1. To kick the term off, there will be a focus on solving simple addition and subtraction problems using a range of strategies. Students will then be introduced to basic fractions and the concept of sharing between a set of objects before exploring and classifying 2D and 3D shapes using language such as faces, edges and corners. Students will revisit and revise skip counting by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s as well as counting forwards and backwards by 1 from any given number. Measuring and comparing mass, capacity and length will also be covered as revision this term.

Inquiry

The Inquiry unit this term will focus on Seasons and Weather. Many hands-on and engaging lessons will provide students with the opportunity to learn about how weather can change throughout the day or the year. Students will be given the opportunity to identify features of weather within different seasons, observe weather patterns and discover how different locations experience different weather patterns and the impact that extreme weather can have on the way we live and our environment.

Each year level team has provided their families with a detailed newsletter such as this. If you are interested in reading about all the exciting things happening across the rest of the school, these can be accessed online at our school website from early next week.

Kind Regards,

The Grade 1 Team

Grade 2 Term 3 Curriculum News

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your child’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

General
WELCOME TO TERM THREE EVERYONE! We hope you had a wonderful and safe break over the holidays. This term we will be continuing to focus on the six ‘Life Raft’ ideals of our Play is the Way program. These include – ‘Be Brave - Participate to Progress’, ‘Have Reasons for the Things You Say and Do’, ‘Treat Others as You Would Like Them to Treat You’, ‘Pursue Your Personal Best, No Matter Who You Work With’, ‘It Takes Great Strength to Be Sensible’ and ‘Be the Master Not the Victim of Your Feelings’. These Life Rafts help to guide students to continue to strive to be the best version of themselves in all aspects of schooling. Please encourage your child to continue to approach each day with positivity and wonderings about the world around them.

A few reminders:

• There continues to be an issue in the schoolyard with litter. We encourage ‘Nude Food’ wherever possible, with an extra focus on Wednesday’s, to limit the amount of rubbish going back into our environment.
• Please ensure your child’s name is on each of their belongings.

Reading
For Reading, students will continue to build on their understanding of texts by using a range of fix-up and comprehension strategies. They will complete daily Independent Reading for a sustained period of 30 minutes using ‘just right’ texts from our classroom libraries that will appropriately challenge and engage them. Students will be supported with whole-class activities, one-to-one conferences, targeted small group work and personal reading goals to support their reading development. Home reading is expected to be completed for 10 minutes per night, for a minimum total of 40 minutes per week. We encourage students to read out loud to an adult or older sibling. We ask an adult at home to support with this by recording the date, texts read and minutes completed in the yellow home reading booklets. In Semester One the students loved our author studies on Mem Fox, Aaron Blabey and Julia Donaldson. We will be continuing in Semester Two, looking at literature features of texts by authors such as Mo Willems and Roald Dahl.

Writing
In Writing, students have established excellent writing routines and have continued to show enthusiasm as authors. It has been wonderful watching our students increase the volume of writing produced as they move through the ‘Writing Cycle’ which includes: generating seed ideas, choosing an idea, drafting, revising, editing and publishing.

Students will continue to use their Writer’s Notebook to collect ‘Seed Ideas’ which are designed to stimulate their imaginations and inspire them to write. This term, we are working to develop a detailed plan, consider the purpose for writing and add detail to each piece we draft to engage our reader. We will also explore a variety of different text types as well as investigate new vocabulary and spelling strategies. Of course, students will also have daily opportunities to engage in Independent Writing. We are looking forward to celebrating the wonderful writing that will be produced throughout the term!

Maths
Term Three promises to be a busy, but exciting time in Maths! Students are working on their understanding of telling the time on both analog and digital clocks, with a focus on reading o’clock, half past, quarter to and past times. We will be exploring the relationship between multiplication and division, and how they differ from addition and subtraction. They will be asked to solve a variety of number and worded problems using strategies such as drawing or building arrays and number lines.

Students will also be discussing the chance of familiar events happening will be having a go at posing their own research questions (e.g. What is your favourite ice-cream flavour?), collect data using a table or list, before representing their findings using simple pictographs or column graphs.

In the latter part of the term, students will read and develop simple maps. They will also learn to give simple directions using language such as ‘left’ and ‘right.’

Inquiry
This term’s Inquiry unit is called ‘Where Am I?’ Students will learn to identify significant places around Victoria and understand what makes them special. We will be exploring Victorian landmarks of cultural and spiritual significance, both manmade and naturally formed.

Students will learn to understand why people have become connected to these special places around Victoria. We will identify ways that we can care for and preserve local historical sites, such as national parks and aboriginal landmarks. These include the You Yangs and why they are culturally significant to the Wadawurrung people. Students will identify different ways to care for our environment and learn about the role that we play in looking after places around us.

By the end of the unit, students will be able to describe and explain where various Victorian landmarks are located, from the sporting stadiums such as the MCG to the Murray River and the Victorian Alpine Region. Students will be able to discuss natural, managed and constructed features of these places, and how they change over time. They will also enjoy learning how to read and construct labelled maps (linking with Maths), as well as interpret data and information to describe the direction and location of places, using terms such as north, south, opposite, near and far.

Each year level team has provided their families with a detailed newsletter such as this. If you are interested in reading about all the exciting things happening across the rest of the school, these can be accessed online at our school website from early next week.

GRADE 3 TERM 3 CURRICULUM NEWS 2022

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your child’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

GENERAL
Wow! Halfway through the year already. We would like to express how proud we are of all the students and their success in Semester 1, we can’t wait to see them shine in Semester 2. The Grade 3 team would like to share their appreciation for all your support for the year so far.
We ask for this continued support in Term 3 to ensure students are completing a minimum of 80 minutes of home reading (filling this in their diary each night) and 40 minutes of Maths each week, then also handing homework tasks in on time. A friendly reminder that if your child is displaying cold and flu symptoms, that they will need to stay at home until feeling better.

The Grade 3 team are excited to share that we will be going on an excursion to The Werribee Zoo in Week 6 (Thursday 18^th August) of this term to support our Inquiry topic. We will be needing parent helpers, so please get in touch with your child’s teacher if you’re available for the day.

LITERACY
This term, we will continue to link reading with writing by analysing different author’s texts to see what skills they use to influence their readers. We will also continue to emphasise the importance of selecting ‘Just Right’ books to enable them to practice the comprehension strategies as well as their personal reading goals. Student Reading Journals will continue to serve as a tool to track their individual goals and daily reading.

In Writing, the students will continue to explore the Writer’s Workshop and emphasise the importance of using our Writer’s Notebooks to develop and stretch our ideas. This term will be building on our knowledge of vocabulary and using it to create fluent sentences of varying lengths and types. We will continue to encourage students to find authentic purposes for their writing and would appreciate parents supporting these endeavors at home as well.

A reminder that the following resources are available for home reading support:
Epic: https://www.getepic.com/
Sunshine online: www.sunshineonline.com.au

If you don’t already have the login details for these sites please contact your child’s teacher.

NUMERACY
In Mathematics this term, the children will learn about a range of concepts, skills and strategies with a specific focus on Multiplication and Division, Fractions and Chance and Data. They will be encouraged to use their problem-solving strategies to build a tool belt of skills to help them solve a range of mathematical problems. Students will also continue to focus on recalling basic number facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) quickly and accurately. They will continue to work on 2s, 5s and 10s times tables. It would be appreciated if you could help your child to learn these facts at home in addition to their homework. Families can also support at home by encouraging your child to play games involving counting and number facts.

A reminder that the following resources are available for home reading support:
Hit the Button: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Maths games: https://www.mathgames.com/grade3

Hooda maths: https://www.hoodamath.com/games/third-grade.html

Maths Easily: https://matheasily.com/

INQUIRY
During Term 3, students in Grade 3 will be working collaboratively on our topic, ‘The Great Safari’. As part of this unit, students will develop the following understandings:

Continents and countries below the equator are part of the Southern Hemisphere

• Vegetation can look different and have important roles within environments – habitats, collect rainfall, etc
• There are a range of different climates within the Southern Hemisphere (3 main types: Tropical, Arid and Temperate)
• Types of vegetation and animals are native to those environments and rely on the climate to survive
• Natural environments are made up of flora, fauna and major natural features/landmarks

At the end of this topic, students will make an informative resource to share with the Grade 5 students about climates, environments and animals in the Southern Hemisphere.

Each year level team has provided their families with a detailed newsletter such as this. If you are interested in reading about all the exciting things happening across the rest of the school, these can be accessed online at our school website from early next week.

Grade 4 Term 3 Curriculum News

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your children’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

WELCOME TO TERM 3, 2022!

We hope you enjoyed the school holidays and are staying warm. With half the year behind us, the Grade 4 team is looking forward to another fantastic term of learning! We would like to thank you all for supporting us through a great first semester. We are sure you would have been able to celebrate your child's achievements recorded in their first semesters reports and know that you will encourage their continued efforts in striving for their best.

As always, Term 3 is an exciting time of the year. Not only are students well-versed in classroom routines and expectations, but a number of exciting activities await students in the weeks ahead! Please note that Book Week will be held again this year in August as will the Book Fair. Whilst dates are TBC, our annual Book Parade will take place during this week (so start thinking about those costumes!)

Reading:
Students will be setting up their new Classroom Libraries for Semester 2 with a new range of books early this term and we will continue to work on their individual reading goals. As teachers, it is always incredibly rewarding to see our students reading independently for a sustained period of 30 minutes or more each day! As always, we encourage students to borrow frequently from both the school and classroom libraries so that they can enjoy a variety of rich literature when completing their reading at home.
Over the next few weeks, we will be working with students to develop their ability to ‘monitor their understanding’ of what they read, identify the author's message of a text, differentiate between facts and opinions, identify the main idea of a text, as well as ask questions about the text and author.

Writing:
Students will continue to follow the steps of the ‘Writing Process’ throughout Independent Writing sessions. Students will also explore and write a variety of text types including information reports, discussion pieces and persuasive texts.

Maths:
The Term 3 Mathematics topics for Grade 4 are - Multiplication and Division, Fractions, Decimals and Percentages, Chance, Data Representation and Interpretation. A major focus of our Mathematics program is to involve students in ‘real life’ numeracy problems where they are able to apply their skills and knowledge to discover solutions. An important yearly focus for Grade 4 students is for them to know their times tables. All classes will spend time on a variety of activities and games to allow students to develop an understanding of multiplication and number facts.

Inquiry:
This term our inquiry topic is ‘What a Wonderful World’. Key understandings will relate to the following:-

The earth is divided into large areas of land that are called continents. There are natural and human characteristics of continents; climate and weather, habitats, flora and fauna, population, geographical features, natural resources, and industry. Children will investigate how Australia has similarities and differences with other continents. Children will investigate how they are able to share their understandings and learnings of comparing and contrasting Australia with another continent.

A friendly reminder that coming up to Term 4 we have our Grade 4 camp. Camp Wilkin is between Monday the 21st of November and Wednesday the 23rd of November. Please make sure you have those dates in your calendar! Details about Camp Wilkin can be found as an Event on Compass. There will be lots of information to come, so keep an eye out.

Each year level team has provided their families with a detailed newsletter such as this. If you are interested in reading about all the exciting things happening across the rest of the school these can be accessed online at our school website from early next week.

Kind Regards,

Simone Confait, Leigh Robinson, Ellie Johnson, Blake Freeman and Lauren Maslen.

Grade 5 Term 3 Curriculum News

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your children’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in Term 3. There is also additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

TERM 3 OVERVIEW

WELCOME BACK!

Welcome to Term 3! We can't believe how fast the school holidays went but it was great to see the students arrive at school organised and ready to learn. They quickly settled back into their school routine after sharing their holiday adventures with each other. We have reminded our students of the high expectations we have of them and we know that they will once again rise to the occasion.

Reading

In Term 3, students will continue to focus on strengthening their use of comprehension strategies to interpret and understand texts. They will participate in close reading sessions as well as literacy circles. Students are learning about different kinds of figurative language, such as similes, metaphors and personification. They will continue to set personal reading goals and be supported through independent conferencing and focus groups. Students will analyse picture story books (physical and multimodal) on a deeper level by inferring, identifying the author's message and discussing the themes of the text. Students will be encouraged to view picture story books from the lens of the author by discussing the writing traits used to craft the texts. This process will assist students when they create their own picture story books in Writing.

Writing

In Term 3, students will continue to participate in daily Writing Workshops, ensuring they are challenging themselves to write across the different genres. They will continue to celebrate their writing through classroom Author’s Chair and read alouds and give and receive quality feedback. There will be a focus on revising this term, students will learn how to add & remove sentences, substitute words and to move sentences around to improve their writing. A focus on purpose and audience will see students create picture story books for junior students at Lara Lake. The Grade 5 students will develop their understanding of figurative language and rhyme and explore how these literary techniques can be used to entertain the reader.

Maths

The focus area for the beginning of Term 3 will be on fractions, decimals and percentages. Students will develop their understanding of the different constructs (area, distance, collection) of fractions, enabling them to order fractions by size and find equivalent fractions. Students will then investigate ways to convert fractions to decimals and percentages, this will prompt students to make connections with how fractions, decimals and percentages are used in real-life situations.

Inquiry

In Term 3, we will continue to explore Asia and then in the later weeks of the term students will explore immigration to australia. Students will explore the causes and reasons of why people migrated to Australia from Europe and Asia. We will explore push-pull factors that led to migration to Australia, students will look at individual narratives of families who have migrated to Australia by reviewing primary sources such as letters, formal documents, historical objects and interviews. We will explore the history of Australian democracy and citizenship by looking at the varying levels of inequality that certain groups were subjected to.

iPads

Google Classroom will continue to be an accompaniment to our everyday learning. iPads will be required at school, fully charged so that students can continue to access blended learning. Please ensure any non-school based apps are deleted from your child’s iPad to comply with the LLPS User Agreement.

A reminder that New Department of Education guidelines stipulate that no mobile phones or smart watches can be used on the school premises during school hours without Principal approval. For further details please refer to the policy documents on Compass and the Lara Lake PS website.

Mr Robinson, Mr, Payton, Mr Leggett and Mr Joustra

Grade 6 Term 3 Curriculum News

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your child’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

Welcome back to all Grade 6 students and families, as we undertake the second half of 2022. We hope everyone had a happy and restful break with their families, friends and loved ones. The Grade 6 teachers are excited to see the continued growth and learning of all students in Semester 2.

Literacy
In Reading this term, the students will engage in a Roald Dahl author study. Through this experience they will use a variety of comprehension strategies to enhance their understanding. They will gain a deeper knowledge of how authors develop characters and use language features to engage their audience. Students will also continue to have access to our extensive classroom and school libraries to help them engage in independent reading activities that will foster their love for reading.

At home, you can continue to support your child by engaging in rich discussions about the books they are reading and recording in their homework log.

In Writing, students will continue to develop their passion for writing as part of the Writer’s Workshop. Students will be encouraged to experiment with different text structures and language features they have come across in their reading and include it in their own writing. A focus will be placed on the Organisation and Word Choice traits. This will help to develop students' abilities to create cohesive texts filled with rich vocabulary to engage their audience.

A spelling and phonics program will also be included in the Literacy block. This will aid the students in both Reading and Writing, by developing their ability to hear sounds and record these accurately in their independent writing.

Numeracy
In Numeracy this term, there will be a focus on problem solving strategies and real-life problems involving Fractions, Decimals and Percentages. This will include explicit teaching of the different ways fractions can be represented, such as equal parts of a whole, as a part of a collection or explored through measurement. Students will then explore how fractions relate to decimals and percentages and use these different representations fluidly. Students will continue to have the opportunity to learn through project-based tasks and open ended questions, which will cater for and extend the diverse range of learners in the classroom.

At this level we expect that most students know their times tables (1-12) and can recall these quickly.
We ask that families assist learning at home by encouraging children to complete the homework slides that will be posted each week. You can also play games that will assist their mental computation such as discussing the price of items when shopping. Please also ensure your child has access to Essential Assessment where they can complete learning modules to support their learning in our classroom.

Inquiry
In Semester 2, students will continue to explore how energy from a variety of sources, such as water turbines, solar and wind can be used to generate electricity. They will also continue to learn how energy can be transferred or transformed and investigate the efficiency of different machines.

Following this, we will begin a new unit titled, ‘My Body, My Choice’. This unit will challenge students to consider and describe factors that contribute to their health, safety and general wellbeing. They will also examine how community wellbeing is supported by celebrating diversity and connecting to the natural and built environment.

The iPads will continue to be used daily, therefore it is imperative that these are at school and fully charged every day.

Homework
We ask for your continued support in ensuring that homework is completed regularly and handed in on the due dates. It is expected that students read at home (minimum of 4 days for at least 30 minutes) and complete at least 40 minutes of maths homework from the Google Classroom slides each week. This may also be supplemented with Essential Assessment Learning Modules, or other specific materials supplied by your child’s teacher.

Each year level team has provided their families with a detailed newsletter such as this. If you are interested in reading about all the exciting things happening across the rest of the school, these can be accessed online at our school website from early next week.

Kind regards,
The Grade 6 Team.

Specialist Newsletter Term 3.

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your child’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

MUSIC
Term 3 in Music is going to be “hands on”!
Preps will sing, move, and learn to play marimbas, percussion and are learning about beat, rhythm and how music is written.
Grade one and two students are singing and moving in their music classes, and growing in skills and confidence. They are using “solfa” (doh, re, mi, fah sol, la, ti, doh) to learn music reading and writing.
Grades 3 and 4 are learning to read and play percussion, uke and guitar music and charts, as well as some bucket drumming and junk band music. They will also have a go at composing their own rhythms and performing them in class.
Senior students will play more instruments, working on some percussion and composition earlier in the term, and working in small groups to create, rehearse, record and perform pop music later in the term. Students will work in whole class “Jam” lessons where they play as a big band, and their own small bands where they choose their own music to learn and play.
Two new singing groups are rehearsing each week with Mrs Mckenzie: a grade 1-3 group on Tuesday at recess, and a grade 4-6 group on Friday at lunchtime. All are welcome to join.
One of the most exciting things will be the addition of performances to whole school assemblies. Mr Turner has been working on some assembly performances with grade 5s (5RC in week 3) and grade prep (PEG and PSB in week 7 ). We hope you can come and see them.

Mrs Megan Mckenzie and Mr Rob Turner.

VISUAL ART
We are back for term three! After a two week break, it is great to see all of the students again in Art. We are very excited about the artwork that will be produced this term. This term our student’s artwork is on display throughout the corridors. It would be wonderful for you to have a conversation with your child about their artwork.
It is really important that all Grade’s 1 – 4 students have an art smock or a large old T-shirt that goes over their school uniform as we are going to be using clay.


Grade 6 students start the term off big by being part of the International Peace Poster Competition run through the Lions Club of Lara. Students will be creating posters based on the theme “Lead with Compassion. What a great way to give our students a chance to express their visions of peace and inspire the world through art. This Art competition happens each year and students design their own poster. We will keep you informed through Compass with photos of their work. We are sure you will agree with us our school has very talented students.

Grade 5 students will be learning about artists Andy Warhol and Wayne Thiebaud and how they developed the POP ART movement. We look forward to seeing some inventive ideas using everyday foods and manipulating paint in a different way.

The Grade 3 and 4 student’s this term are learning to use clay techniques to create different sculptures. There will be a few sculptures coming home ready for a special place in the garden.

Grade 1 & 2 students will also be moving onto learning about clay. Clay activities for Grade 1 and 2 will focus on artistic expression and skill development.

Due to massive shortages in clay supplies across Australia, we have managed to source some natural terracotta clay. This clay will be fragile and not fired in a kiln. Your child is welcome to place their sculpture somewhere precious at home or place it in the garden so it can naturally filter back into the soil.

In term 3, Preps will be focussing on printing. They will explore a number of different ways to do this, including texture rubbings and using different printing tools for stamping.

Come visit our Art Gallery over this term – new things are up all the time, a great time would be when we are finally face-to-face for Parent-Teacher interviews. We know our students get a ‘kick’ when you come to look and comment about their work.

Ms Susan Torriero, Mr Rob Turner and Mrs Candice Canning

INDONESIAN
Term 3 Newsletter: Bahasa Indonesia
This term all students will complete activities related to World Orang Utan Day which is celebrated on August 19^th every year. The aim is to learn about these wonderful creatures and bring awareness and attention to the challenges faced by these endangered creatures.
Here is an overview of what students will be learning in the remainder of Term Three.
In Prep, students will learn to count up to 10 and will learn the names of family members, different types of fruit, begin to express their preferences and learn about Orang Utans as they read “Dua Orang utans yang lucu sekali” (Two cheeky Orang utans). The unit will culminate in students being able to taste a variety of fruits and give their opinions on what they have tasted!
In Grade One, students will learn about different feelings and be able to sing a song about feelings. Students will also focus on counting up to 20 as well as using a range of adjectives to begin to describe their family members in terms of appearance and age. Students will also learn about one of the largest, smelliest flowers in the world which is only found in Indonesia!

In Grade Two, students will consolidate their knowledge about numbers up to 20. They will learn about zoo animals and begin to use a range of adjectives to describe and talk about a zoo animal of their choice. Students will also investigate Sumatran tigers and be able to describe them in Indonesian.

In Grade Three and Four, students will learn the names of various food items and begin to group them into categories using a healthy eating pyramid. They will also begin to compare meals in Indonesian and Australia. Students will work towards developing in a role play ordering simple meals from a “warung” ( a small café/ shop that serves food) in which they will develop a menu, look at money and asking how much something costs.

In Grade Five and Six, students will focus upon learning about animals in Indonesia with a focus upon endangered animals. Students will develop some posters raising awareness to the issue of plastic pollution and how it affects marine life. They will research an endangered animal in Indonesia and be able to write a short description about it. The unit will culminate in students learning about “topeng” (masks) and designing and creating a mask based upon the endangered animal they researched.
P.E.
Term 3 is shaping up to be a very active time for your child!
Each year level will have the opportunity to experience and participate in some type of sporting clinic.
Beginning on Monday July 25th for three weeks, Life Education will be delivering an educational program to each year level. For more information regarding exactly what Life Ed is, keep an eye out on Compass.
This term Grade Prep - 2’s will continue to work on different fundamental motor skills through a range of skill stations and start to develop these into games.
The Grade Preps and Grade 1’s will have an opportunity to participate in a hockey clinic and the Grade 2’s will be learning about ‘Rookie Rollers’. This is a type of lawn bowls program which is directed at the interests and abilities of younger children.
All of the junior grades will be having a visit from the Melbourne Renegades Cricket Team which is very exciting on Monday July 25th. During the visit, the students will be given the opportunity to ask questions and also participate in some cricket type activities which will involve using soft balls.
Grade 3 to Grade 6 will continue to develop their skills in the areas of netball, football and soccer.
The Grade 3’s are extremely fortunate to participate in a free 4 week tennis clinic which is run by Tennis Australia. On the 4th session they will go to the Lara Tennis Courts and have a go at having a game.
A ‘Hockey Clinic’ will be conducted with the Grade 3’s and the Grade 4’s during this term.
The Grade 5’s and Grade 6’s will have the opportunity to participate in a ‘Softball Clinic’ and a ‘League Tag Rugby Clinic’.
District Athletics will be happening on Tuesday August 9th for selected students. Please complete the Compass permission and payment form if your child is in Lara Lake’s House Athletics Team by Friday August 5th.
As always students will continue to learn and consolidate on team work and sportsmanship when participating in PE.
Please continue encouraging your child to participate in Physical Activity to do their personal best at school and at home.
Remember to read Mr Moylan’s Weekly Wrap for a report on the numerous clinics happening over Term 3.
It will be a term full of your child learning new skills while having fun and enjoyment.
STAY FIT AND HEALTHY
Please if you have any concerns or questions don’t hesitate to contact me.
Mrs Dowling




Each year level team has provided their families with a detailed newsletter such as this. If you are interested in reading about all the exciting things happening across the rest of the school, these can be accessed online at our school website from early next week.