Class Newsletters - Term 1, 2023

English

The first Term of Prep is all about engaging students in the wonderful world of literacy. Students will be focussing on: oral language development, phonemic awareness skills, speech sounds, name writing, rhyming words, memory, blending and segmenting words, exposure to familiar words – reading and writing, decodable reading, handwriting through Casey the Caterpillar, involvement with quality literature and learning the concepts of print (left to right, use of pictures, top to bottom).

Students will be assessed on their ability to identify connections between texts and their personal experience, the ability to use appropriate interaction skills to listen and respond to others in a familiar environment. Students will understand that their texts can reflect their own experiences and they will attempt to identify and describe likes and dislikes about familiar texts, objects, characters, and events.

Mathematics

Students will sort and classify objects according to size, shape and colour.  Students will explore position and location.

Students will be assessed on their ability to sort and group shapes by colour, size and shape. Students will identify location using positianal language and demonstrate the ability to both follow and give directions. 

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)

Students will examine personal growth and development, families, relationships, rules and how we fit in to the community. Students will explore familiar places and how to care for them. 

Students will be assessed on their ability to relate stories about their past. Students will share and compare observations about familiar places.

Science

Students will use their five senses to observe the weather. They will learn that we can record our observations of the weather by using symbols and drawings. Students will explore the daily and seasonal changes in the local environment and understand that weather conditions are not the same for everyone in all places of the world.  

Students will be assessed on how the weather affects them and those around them. 

The Arts

Students will participate in visual art and will explore colours, lines, shapes and textures through different mediums.

Technology

Students will explore a variety of design and digital technologies through the term.

Music with Ms Hopper

Students explore rhymes and songs as stimulus for music making and will explore foundational musical skills.

Students will be assessed on demonstrating a steady beat and demonstrating their ability to match pitch.

Health with Mrs Stirling

“Looking out for myself and others” 

Students will become communicators as they identify and describe different emotions people experience. They will become self managers as they identify their feelings to develop self-regulation strategies.  

Students will be assessed on Students will be assessed on their ability to identify emotions and emotional responses through understanding verbal and non-verbal communication. 

PE with Mr Kraynik

Prep students will be focusing their attention on developing gross motor skills in relation to balance and movement.

English

Students will be investigating Australian animals and learning how to write interesting information texts. They will also be developing their reading skills through phonemic awareness and comprehension skills.

Students will be assessed on identifying important information about an Australian animal then write an information text. Students will also demonstrate comprehension and decoding skills in reading assessments.

Mathematics

Students will sequence numbers, counting in twos, 2-digit numbers, investigate parts and whole of quantities, show standard partitioning of ‘teen’ numbers, then numbers to 100. Sequence days of the week and months of the year. O’clock and half past times. Location and direction.  Australian coins.

Students will be assessed on completing small assessments on Australian coins, location and direction and number.

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)

Students recognise that features of a place can be: 
-    natural
-    managed 
-    constructed.  
They can recognise changes to habitats and how we can care for them.   

Students will be assessed on a folio collection of their work.

Science

Students describe changes in their local environment and how different places meet the needs of living things.  They follow instructions to record and sort their observations and share them with others.

Students will be assessed on responding to some questions to show their understanding of living things and their relationship to the environment.

Technology

Technologies has been integrated into the Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) curriculum for this term.

Health with Ms Stirling

Students will be learning about healthy choices.

Students will demonstrate their understanding of healthy choices by answering a series of questions.

Swimming with Mr Kraynik

Students in Year 1 will be focusing on improving their confidence and independence in the water, submerging their face, blowing bubbles, working towards developing a streamline kick and the foundations for freestyle technique.

Outside of swimming the junior school will be focusing their attention on developing gross motor skills in relation to balance and movement.

English

Students will read and write different types of procedural texts and create images to support their writing.

Students will be assessed by: Creating and presenting their own procedure based on the Roald Dhal book 'George's Marvellous Medicine'.

Mathematics

We will be focusing on the following concepts: Telling time to the quarter-hour, use a calendar to identify the date and the months included in season, order shapes and objects using informal units (length, area, volume, capacity).

Students will be assessed by: Read and tell time to the quarter hour, identify the order of the months and seasons, investigating different units of measurement.

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)

Students will be: Examining technologies and how they have changed over time. Students will have the opportunity to experience hands on learning by using and playing with toys and household items from the past. 

Students will be assessed by: Describing and comparing past and present technologies, and describing the impact of the changes over time.

Science 

Students will investigate the properties of different materials and objects.

Students will be assessed by: Designing and constructing a container to hold a mixture.

The Arts

Students will develop a range of skills within Media Arts and Drama.

Students will be assessed by: Creating and presenting a multi-modal procedure.

Music with Ms Hopper

Students will use melodic and rhythmic percussion in group ensembles exploring melody, ostinato, beat and dynamics.

Will be assessed on:Demonstrating a melodic ostinato and beat in time to a sung melody.

Health with Ms Stirling

Students will become communicators as they identify and discuss personal strengths and achievements of themselves and others. They will become self managers as they identify their feelings to develop self-regulation strategies.  

Students will be assessed on their ability to identify emotions, emotional responses, strengths and achievements of themselves and others.

Swimming with Mr Kraynik

Students in Year 2 and 3 will be developing their freestyle swimming stroke with focus on improving technique and efficiency in particular their head position in conjunction with their breathing and consistent movement.

Outside of swimming the junior school will be focusing their attention on developing gross motor skills in relation to balance and movement.

English

Students will read, view and analyse persuasive texts. They will identify persuasive techniques and structure to help them construct written persuasive texts.

Students will write a persuasive letter and complete a reading comprehension assessment.

Mathematics

Students will apply a variety of mathematical concepts in real-life, lifelike and everyday mathematical situations. They will explore number and place value, chance and data, symmetry, angles and 3D shapes.

Students will be assessed on chance, number (addition, subtraction, representing, partitioning), symmetry, angles and 3D shapes.

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)

Students will identify celebrations and commemorations of the past that have significance in the present. They will identify and describe aspects of their community that have changed and remained the same over time.

Students will conduct an inquiry into the significance of Harmony Day and how it is commemorated by different groups. They will pose questions, sequence events on a timeline and identify points of view.

Science

Students will investigate how heat is produced and the behaviour of heat when it transfers from an object or area to another. They will identify that heat can be observed by touch and that formal measurements of heat (temperature) can be taken, using a thermometer. Students will explore the properties of liquids and solids and understand how to identify an object as a solid or a liquid. Students will understand how a change of state between solid and liquid can be caused by adding or removing heat.

Students will be assessed on planning and conducting investigations about heat, heat transfer and changing states of matter, by collecting data safely and using appropriate equipment to record formal measurements.

Technologies

Students will explore and use a range of design technologies. They will investigate, design and make a variety of design ideas to determine suitable design methods.

Students will be assessed by planning, designing and producing a solar oven using sustainable materials.

The Arts

Students will investigate Media Arts techniques and concepts to create a variety of animations. They will explore dance used in Harmony Day celebrations from a range of cultures and communities. 

Students will collaborate to plan and make artworks that communicate ideas through the use of Media Arts digital animations.

Health with Ms Daryau

“Good friends and good feelings” Students will become thinkers and collaborators as they investigate emotional responses of themselves and others to positively interact with those around them. They will become self managers as they describe and apply strategies that can be used in uncomfortable and unsafe situations.  

Students will be assessed on their ability to identify emotions and emotional responses of themselves and others. Students will also identify and describe strategies to use unsafe and uncomfortable situations.  

Swimming with Mr Kraynik

Students in Year 2 and 3 will be developing their freestyle swimming stroke with focus on improving technique and efficiency in particular their head position in conjunction with their breathing and consistent movement.  Outside of swimming the junior school will be focusing their attention on developing gross motor skills in relation to balance and movement.

English

What makes poems entertaining? 

Students will be assessed on their ability to explain how a poet’s choice of text structures and poetic devices affect the reader.

Mathematics

How do numbers work together?

Students will be assessed on their understanding of the properties of odd and even numbers; their ability to classify angles; and their ability to identify and explain chance events.

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) with Mrs Anglim 

How has life on this land changed?

Considering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, students will be assessed on their ability to use sources to explore the reasons for the journey of the First Fleet and the nature of contact between First Nations peoples and others. Students will be assessed on their ability to locate information from sources, describe the experiences of individuals or groups from the past, and recognize the significance of events in bringing about change. 

Science with Miss Smith

Erosion: what's the big deal? 

Students will be assessed on their research and observations of natural processes (like weathering) and human activities (like logging), and their ideas for solutions to erosion.

The Arts with Ms Ryan:

What makes an artwork unique? 

Students will be assessed on their ability to compare and discuss the elements and processes in their own artwork in comparison to the artworks of others.

Health with Ms Stirling

"Good friends and good feelings"

Students will be assessed on their ability to identify emotions and emotional responses of themselves and others. Students will also identify and describe strategies to use unsafe and uncomfortable situations.  

Japanese with Sensai Nagashima

Hello to families of Year 4 students! I hope your child is as excited as I am about exploring Japanese language and culture together. Your child could be nervous before the first lesson, but soon it will be fine. 

If you have any concern, feel free to contact me at jxnag0@eq.edu.au. 
As I am at Runcorn SS on Mondays and Tuesdays only, you may not hear from me till the following week. But I will always reply you.
Let’s have a good start of Term one!

Learning contents: Welcome to Japanese lessons!
* Greetings
* Say name in Japanese
* Classroom instructions
* Counting numbers 1-10
* Traditional events

Assessment: 
Speaking - students say "hello" and "own name" in Japanese, and bow.

Things to bring:
1x grid notebook 10mm A4
1x mesh pouch for notebook and handouts
Pencil case
Glue

Swimming with Mr Kraynik

Years 4-6 are focused on improving their efficiency in the freestyle stroke as well as developing the backstroke and the breaststroke.  

English

Students will study the Novel:‘Deltora Quest Forest of Silence’ by Emily Rodda.  Students will explore author’s choice of language in fantasy narrative genres. The focus will be on character development, plot and settings.

Students write a short fantasy narrative. They will establish setting and demonstrate knowledge of characters positive and negative traits. They will use deliberate language features such as noun groups, adverbs and figurative language such as similes and metaphors.

Mathematics with Ms Cramb

Students will Students will develop a range of mathematical understandings with a focus on multi-digit addition and subtraction as well as single-digit multiplication and division. Fractions, data and chance will also be investigated.

Students will complete two assessment pieces.
1. Understanding of multiplication, division and fractions and problem solving
2. Interpreting data and posing questions to gather data.

Science with Ms Daglish

Students will describe the key features of our solar system including planets and stars. They will discuss scientific developments that have affected people's lives and describe details of contributions to our knowledge of the solar system from a range of people

Students will write a report for a magazine about exploring our solar system which will include:-
-  key features of our solar system (e.g. the planets)
-  information about how different people contribute to our science knowledge of the solar system.

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) with Ms Daglish

Students will explore how people and the environment influence each other to create a place.

Students will demonstrate their understanding by investigating the characteristics of two distant places and making informed conclusions about their preferred place to live.

The Arts 

Students will examine the practice of artists from different cultures and locations and take inspiration for their own artworks. 

Music with Ms Hopper

Students will learn a variety of approaches to the ukulele including chords, arpeggio, melody and part work.   They will develop skills in reading ukulele tablature and notation. 

Will be assessed on: Demonstrating arpeggio and melody on the Ukulele.

Health with Ms Stirling

Emotional Interactions: Students will recognise the influence of different emotions on behaviours and relationships and will become self- managers as they identify their feelings to develop self-regulation strategies. 

Students will be assessed on their ability to examine emotions and emotional responses, and describe the influence on behaviour and relationships. 

Japanese with Sensai Nagashima

Japanese Writing system:
•    Three types of Japanese writings
•    Reading and writing hiragana(one of the Japanese writings)
•    Own name in katakana (another Japanese)

Students will be assessed on reading a short hiragana book aloud.

Swimming with Mr Kraynik

Years 4-6 are focused on improving their efficiency in the freestyle stroke as well as developing the backstroke and the breaststroke.    

English

This Term Year 6 students will study a range of short stories focusing on character development through conflict before writing their own short story.

Students will be assessed on a writing a narrative justifying their editing.

Mathematics with Mr France

Number and place value working in millions
Fractions and decimals
Chance and data representation and interpretation.
Students will be assessed on various assessment tasks

HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences) with Mrs Jarvis

This term Year 6 students will look at how and why Australia became a Nation 1800s – 1999 and how those changes occurred.

Students will be assessed on a portfolio of work which includes a report on the Significance of Henry Parkes.

Science with Mrs Jarvis

This term students will Learning through inquiry. The changing states of matter and looking at recycling as one of those changes. Is it reversible or irreversible?  Exploring, planning and constructing fair tests. 

Students will be assessed on a practical experiments.

The Arts

This term students will explore advertising through visual, drama and media arts.

Students will be assessed through a portfolio of work.

Health with Ms Stirling

“Emotional Interactions” 
Students will become thinkers as they recognise the influence of different emotions on behaviours and relationships. They will become self managers as they identify their feelings to develop self-regulation strategies. 
 
Students will be assessed on their ability to examine emotions and emotional responses, and describe the influence on behaviour and relationships.  

Swimming with Mr Kraynik

Years 4-6 are focused on improving their efficiency in the freestyle stroke as well as developing the backstroke and the breaststroke.