Term 2 2019

Welcome to Term 2, 2019. The students have settled in well to the school year and we look forward to the term ahead.

In Literacy, our focus is to continue to develop and improve our reading strategies and understanding of how to read a variety of texts and their purpose. We will fine tune our critical literacy skills in recognising that ideas in texts can be written from different viewpoints and interpreted and responded to differently. The students are very excited to study ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ by J.K Rowling as our classroom text. This text will be used to support our reading and writing of various texts. We will have a strong focus on investigating and developing vocabulary in order to make our meaning, feelings and opinions clear in our writing.

There is excitement in the air. For as we ‘go to press’, NAPLAN is fast approaching. In order to give ourselves the chance to do our best on the big test, we have been carefully looking at practice questions, whilst revising and developing our Maths skills and knowledge. In particular, we have been sharpening our problem solving strategies, such as extracting the key information from a worded problem.

In Number and Algebra, our focus on fractions will be guided by assessments that have identified precisely the particular areas on which our students need to work. We will be investigating how fractions can be ordered, and placing them accurately on number lines. We will also be adding and subtracting fractions, even those with different denominators!

“How did it get so late so soon?” Thank you, Dr. Seuss! We agree, it’s already Term 2, so without further ado, let’s delve into the topic of ‘Time’. This term we will be applying our knowledge of telling the time to calculating elapsed time. This skill is so important to our daily lives. For example, in working out what time of the day a movie will end, or in knowing just how long you’ve been doing your homework one evening. Also in Measurement, we will be looking at Volume and Capacity, which means…you guessed it… the metric system! Did you know that the international system of weights and measures known as the metric system was adopted in France in 1795 and is now used around the world? It is a decimal system of measurement based on 10.

Last, but certainly not least, in Statistics and Probability, as we design experiments and gather data, we will find that our discoveries can be expressed in different forms, such as a variety of graphs and tables.

Good luck with NAPLAN to our senior students and we look forward to a great term in Maths. Just remember what Shakuntala Devi said: “Without mathematics, there's nothing you can do. Everything around you is mathematics. Everything around you is numbers.”

Respectful Relationships education is a core component of the Victorian Curriculum from Foundation to Year 12, and is being taught in all government schools. There  is strong evidence showing that this approach leads to positive impacts on student’s academic outcomes, their mental health, classroom behaviours and relationships between students and teachers. During Term Two, Senior School Students will participate in weekly activities focused on ‘Seeking Help’, speaking confidently, communicating clearly, thinking about trust and courage; whilst continuing to explore our five You Can Do It Keys to Success. The Senior School Students are enjoying being Buddies with the Year Prep children and are continuing to support them with either PMP activities weekly in the hall or participating in classroom learning opportunities.

Term Two Dates:

10th  May: Mother’s Day Activities (BER)

14th - 16th May: NAPLAN

23rd May: Senior Constable Ritchie (Cyber Safety)

29th May: Coal Creek Excursion

5th - 6th June: Senior Incursion

10th June: Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday

17th June: Senior Winter Lightning Premiership

26th June: Parent/Teacher interviews (3:30pm - 7:30pm)

28th June: Last day of term two - 2.30pm finish