What an incredibly busy term it has been!! We have crammed in so much learning, collaboration, and a lot of fun from beginning to end. We are super proud of the children’s growth academically and socially. Both classes have experienced many highs from classroom experiences, Discovery Day outings, assemblies, and an amazing ‘Family History’ expo.

Here is an overview of what we have done this term!

Literacy

Writing – We have explored persuasive and information texts and continued to develop our recount writing. The children loved writing persuasive pieces in which they tried to convince their audience to side with them. From convincing Liane to go up in a hot air balloon, challenging Lexi on whether the Dees were the best footy team, persuading people to save water, and even writing letters to Rod to convince him to grant their wishes. The children certainly used the vocab of persuasion to their advantage. During our inquiry into informative texts, the children explored the elements of the genre identifying common characteristics such as index, contents, glossary, and the use of labelled diagrams. We continue to improve and develop our recount writing through interesting vocabulary and appropriate grammar.

Reading – Within our RWInc and Literacy Group sessions the children are consolidating and improving their reading through explicit teaching targeted to individual needs. Fluency and expression are developed through daily sessions working within a small group.

Speaking and Listening – The children have had many opportunities to develop their speaking and listening this term. How amazing were they in sharing their family’s history at the museum? They were also incredible speakers during the Year 1 & 2 assembly in week 8. Other opportunities to improve our speaking and listening have included the creation of our ‘Dear Earth’ book where we read our research, collaborative learning where listening and holding space for other points of view is important, and when out on Discovery Day we collaborate, negotiate, and compromise all of which take a lot of speaking and listening.

Numeracy

Number – This term our major number focus has been on developing our multiplication skills. The children have worked on the connections between repetitive addition and multiplication, skip counting, arrays, and beginning to formally record multiplication. Throughout the term we have also continued to consolidate her understanding of addition and subtraction and place value.

Measurement & Geometry – this term we have explored ‘time’. We have looked at calendars, telling time using clocks and timelines.

Inquiry

We began the term working on our ‘Sharing the Planet’ unit where we inquired into the impact people have on Earth’s renewable and non-renewable resources and how we can help to conserve them. We finished the term exploring ‘Where we are in Place and Time’ and sharing our amazing family histories through curating artifacts and presenting our ‘Family History Expo’ with the school community. Intertwined through these inquiries we continued to explore natural cycles (How the World Works), systems (How we Organise Ourselves) whilst making connections to our values and beliefs (Who we Are). It has been incredible to hear the children connect their learning!

Discovery Day

Wednesday is our favourite day of the week. We love being out in nature, where we can explore, discover, and connect with our classroom learning. Our outdoor classrooms allow for hands-on experiential learning. The children can explore and observe our learning in real life making it meaningful and recognisable. A few weeks ago, the children worked in small groups to document where they have seen and made connections to our Unit of Inquiries whilst out on Discovery. Below is a condensed version of their brainstorming as well as their original shared thinking.

Gorgeous Georgy

Our ‘Gorgeous Georgy’ is taking a well-deserved break during Term 4. We wish her safe travels and look forward to hearing about her adventures when she returns. Whilst she is away, we will be supported by her replacements – Heather, Donna and Bron. Echo the Story Dog This year, Year Two students at Minimbah have been enjoying a unique and furry approach to boost their reading skills. The "Story Dog Program" has taken the classroom by storm, with our eager young readers finding encouragement in the company of a four-legged reading companion, Echo. Every week, Echo and his dedicated handler, Kathryn, visit our Year 2 class. During these sessions, students take turns reading aloud to Echo on a one-on-one basis each week for approximately 20 minutes per child. This interaction provides a unique, non-judgmental and supportive environment for students to practice their reading skills, boost their confidence and improve their reading skills.

We wish you a great holiday, and we will see you next term!

Liane and Lexi