Class Newsletters - Term 2, 2025

English

In Term 2, students will continue 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). They will create short written texts, to state key facts and information.

Students will be assessed on their ability to read, view and comprehend simple informative texts.  Preps will also create a short, written information text, using words and images, about a topic.

Mathematics

Prep students will explore concepts including more, less the same through data collection strategies. They will investigate combining and portioning numbers up to 10 using a variety of different methods and manipulatives including counters, 10 frames and natural resources.

Students will be assessed on their ability to ask questions, collect data and make simple inference as well as their ability to partition and combine numbers up to 10.  

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)

Prep students will continue to examine personal growth and development, families, relationships, rules and how we fit into 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

Prep students will investigate what makes a living thing and explore what is needed to care for living things.

Students will be assessed on identifying and caring for living things.

The Arts:

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

Music with Mrs Murray: amurr51@eq.edu.au

Students explore rhymes and songs as stimulus for music making with a focus on rhythmic elements and matching pitch.

Will be assessed on:

1. a) Pitch matching- Sing a known 2 note song using So Mi
2. b) Identify and clap a 4 Beat Ta Ti Ti rhythm

NB: Some Music assessment tasks from Term 1 were postponed due to the disruption surrounding TC Alfred – these will be completed in Term 2 Week 2.

Health with Mrs Stirling:  sstir16@eq.edu.au

Students will learn to identify and describe different emotions by recognising facial expressions and body language. They will explore the connections between feelings, body reactions, and non-verbal cues.

Assessment will focus on students' ability to interpret facial expressions and body language, and explain how feelings, body reactions, and non-verbal cues are connected.

PE with Mr Brady: lbrad101@eq.edu.au

Prep students will spend the term focusing on each of the field events they will be undertaking as part of the Junior School Athletics Carnival.  These include, long jump, shot put, javelin and high jump.  There will also be a focus on sprinting technique as part of their running lessons.  Prep classes, during the gross and fine motor lessons, will also be learning Captain Ball, Tunnel Ball and Over/Under Ball, Egg and Spoon races plus Sack Races.

Prep students will be assessed on how each student applies the correct technique for each of the above disciplines.

English

Students will be investigating Australian animals and learning how to write information reports. 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 report. Students will also demonstrate comprehension and decoding skills in reading assessments.

Mathematics

Students will continue to sequence numbers to 120, explore 2-digit numbers, investigate parts and whole of quantities, show standard partitioning of ‘teen’ numbers, then numbers to 100.

Students will be assessed on completing small assessments on number.

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)

Students will be exposed to Australian animals and their habitats. 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.

The Arts

Students use the elements of drama to represent different Australian animals.

Students will be assessed on a portfolio of their work.

Music with Mrs Murray: amurr51@eq.edu.au

Students will identify simple rhythms within folk songs, experience soft and loud and sing soh, mi, la and Do with hand signs. They will explore and respond to music, through listening, discussion and written response.

Will be assessed on:

1. Students will sing a SMLD melody demonstrating dynamics and expression.
2. Students will respond to music through listening then written response.

NB: Some Music assessment tasks from Term 1 were postponed due to the disruption surrounding TC Alfred – these will be completed in Term 2 Week 2

Physical Education with Mr Brady: lbrad101@eq.edu.au

Year 1: Students will spend the term focusing on each of the field events they will be undertaking as part of the Junior School Athletics Carnival.  These include, long jump, shot put, javelin and high jump.  There will also be a focus on sprinting technique as part of their running lessons.  Year 1 classes, during the gross and fine motor lessons, will also be learning Captain Ball, Tunnel Ball, Over/Under Ball, Egg and Spoon races plus Sack Races.

Assessment: will determine how each student applies the correct technique for each of the above disciplines.

Health with Mrs Stirling:  sstir16@eq.edu.au

Students will identify and demonstrate protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies to stay safe. They will explore personal qualities and those of others, understanding how these contribute to developing identities.

Students will be assessed on their ability to identify and describe emotions by interpreting facial expressions and body language. They will also explain the connections between feelings, body reactions, and non-verbal cues.

English

Students will select a character from a familiar narrative text they have read in class. They will generate ideas, plan, write and edit their own story based on their selected character.  

Students will be assessed on their written narrative. This will include their use of appropriate narrative structure and language features to link their ideas. Students’ use of correct sentence structure and punctuation will also be assessed.  

Mathematics

We will be focusing on the following concepts: Fractions, 2D shapes, and Location. 
Students will be assessed by: Recognising, classifying and describing 2D shapes, dividing shapes and collections into halves, quarters and eighths, and Locating features and using maps

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)

Students will be: Explore significant places, local communities and connection to places.

Students will be assessed by: Correctly labelling a map, describing places at different scales and people’s connections to those places.

Science 

Students will investigate the relationships between forces and the motion of objects.

Students will be assessed by: Designing and constructing a toy using scientific understanding of push and pull. 

The Arts

Media Arts: Students will create a multimodal art work based on a familiar narrative character.  
Students will be assessed by: Creating an artwork using digital technologies. 

Music with Mrs Murray: amurr51@eq.edu.au

Students will discover the instruments of the orchestra and experience music that uses these instruments. They will reflect on what characteristics are unique to each instrument family. 
 
Will be assessed on:
(a)    Workbook on Instrument Families
(b)    Aural test identifying Instrument Families

NB: Some Music assessment tasks from Term 1 were postponed due to the disruption surrounding TC Alfred – these will be completed in Term 2 Week 2.

Health with Mrs Stirling:  sstir16@eq.edu.au

Students will identify and demonstrate protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies to stay safe. They will explore personal qualities and those of others, understanding how these contribute to developing identities.
Students will be assessed on their ability to identify and describe emotions by interpreting facial expressions and body language. They will also explain the connections between feelings, body reactions, and non-verbal cues.

Physical Education with Mr Brady: lbrad101@eq.edu.au

Students will spend the term focusing on each of the field events they will be undertaking as part of the Junior School Athletics Carnival.  These include, long jump, shot put, javelin and high jump.  There will also be a focus on sprinting technique as part of their running lessons. Year 2 classes, during the gross and fine motor lessons, will also be learning Captain Ball, Tunnel Ball, Over/Under Ball, Egg and Spoon races plus Sack Races. 
Assessment: will determine how each student applies the correct technique for each of the above disciplines.

English

Students will read, view and comprehend simple informative texts. They will describe how informative texts are structured; explain the language features; and identify how visual features extend meaning.

Students will create a written and multimodal informative text for an audience. They will use text structures including paragraphs; topic-specific vocabulary; literary devices; and visual features.

Mathematics

Students will use mathematical modelling and strategies to solve problems. 

Students will solve addition, subtraction and multiplication problems. They will estimate, compare and measure the duration of events using formal units of time.

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) 

Students will identify and describe aspects of the Runcorn community that have changed and remained the same over time.

Students will conduct an inquiry into the history of Runcorn State School and its surrounds. They will pose questions, sequence events on a timeline and identify points of view.

Science 

Students will explore the properties of liquids and solids. They will conduct investigations and will communicate their ideas and findings. 

Students will conduct an investigation about liquids and solids changing state when heat is added or taken away. 

The Arts

Students will investigate Media Arts techniques and concepts to create a variety of animations.

Students will collaborate to plan and make a digital animation that communicates a story.

Music with Mrs Murray: amurr51@eq.edu.au

Students will sing, read, play and create part work. They will experience different time signatures, dynamics and expression. 

Students will compose and perform an arrangement using melodic percussion instruments, rhythmic percussion instruments and dynamics.

NB: Some Music Assessment Tasks from Term 1 were postponed due to the disruption surrounding TC Alfred – these will be completed in Term 2 Week 2.

Health with Mrs Stirling:  sstir16@eq.edu.au

Students will explore and apply protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies in various online and offline situations. They will investigate actions that promote health, safety, relationships, and wellbeing. They will also examine how success, challenges and setbacks build resilience and identity. They will analyse how stereotypes influence choices and actions.

Student assessment will focus on students' ability to demonstrate protective behaviours, apply help-seeking strategies, assess actions that promote health and wellbeing, reflect on how resilience and identity are shaped by challenges, and critically analyse the impact of stereotypes on choices and actions.

PE with Mr Brady: lbrad101@eq.edu.au

Students will spend the term focussing on each of the field events they will be undertaking as part of the Junior School Athletics Carnival.  These include long jump, shot put, javelin and high jump.  There will also be a focus on sprinting technique as part of their running lessons. During Gross and Fine Motor Lessons, students will also be learning Captain Ball, Tunnel Ball, Over/Under Ball, Egg and Spoon races and Sack Races. 

Assessment: will determine how each student applies the correct technique for each of the above disciplines.

English

What can we learn from stories? Students will explore a range of traditional and folk tales from around the world.
They will be assessed on their ability to share an extend ideas using relevant details from a text; using text structures to organise and link ideas; using language features including subjective and objective language; topic-specific vocabulary and literary devices; and using features of voice.

Mathematics

How can we break numbers down?
Students will be assessed on a range of mathematical achievement standards, namely:
- representing tenths in decimal form using understanding of place value;
-counting and representing tenths as fractions on a number line; and
-converting between units of time when solving problems involving duration.

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) with Miss Krause 

How are people and the environment interconnected in diverse places? 
Students will be assessed on their interpretation and presentation of geographic information and data in a range of different formats.

Science with Ms Ryan

How does Earth’s surface change?
Students will be assessed on their discussion of how natural processes and human activity cause changes to Earth’s surface, and their identification of when science is used to understand the effect of their actions.

The Arts (Visual Arts) with Mrs Cunningham

What makes a performance unique? 
Students will be assessed on their ability to compare and discuss elements such as role, relationships, voice and movement in dramas they perform and view.

Music with Mrs Murray amurr51@eq.edu.au

Students develop skills in reading notation, recorder technique and ensemble playing. 
Students will sing, read and play a variety of repertoire on the recorder in different forms. 

Students will be assessed on:
(a) playing a recorder piece based on the Pentatonic Scale
(b) written test

NB: Some Music assessment tasks from Term 1 were postponed due to the disruption surrounding TC Alfred – these will be completed in Term 2 Week 2.

Physical Education with Mr Brady:  lbrad101@eq.edu.au

Students will spend the term focusing on each of the field events they will be undertaking as part of the Senior School Athletics Carnival.  These include; long jump, shot put, javelin, discus and high jump.  There will also be a focus on sprinting technique as part of their running lessons.  
Assessment: will determine how each student applies the correct technique application of the field event disciplines.

Japanese with Nagashima Sensei

Students will use language to explore the concept of introducing oneself in Japanese. 
* Greetings
* Year level
* Age
* Likes
* Numbers in Kanji writing
* A Traditional event

Students will be assessed on:
a) Notebook work (being assessed during Term 2)
b) Speaking test – greeting/name/year level/age/likes/body language

English

Students will analyse and discuss a fantasy novel and create an alternative ending.
Students will explore choice of language features and vocabulary throughout the narrative text and how these contribute to the authors message. 
They will write an alternative ending and demonstrate knowledge of language features such as topic-specific vocabulary and literary devices while also maintaining the theme of the text.

Mathematics 

Students will develop a range of mathematical understandings with a focus on 12 and 24 hour time, fractions and decimals.
Students will complete two assessment pieces.
1. 12 and 24 hour time.
2. Fractions and Decimals.

Science with Miss Smith

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:
•    how astronauts survive in space
•    information about how different people contribute to our science knowledge of the solar system

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) with Mrs Cramb

Students will examine how to distinguish between needs and wants and identify why choices need to be made about how limited resources are used. They will investigate how different types of resources are used by societies to satisfy needs and wants of present and future generations. 
Students will complete the following assessment: 

• Describe factors that influence their choices as consumers.
  
• Identify strategies that can be used to inform these choices.
• Present their ideas, findings and conclusions in a range of communication forms using discipline-specific terms and appropriate conventions.

Music with Mrs Murray amurr51@eq.edu.au

For 5S and 5C

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, and will further demonstrate their development of ukulele techniques including playing chords and the C Major scale..

Will be assessed on:

(a) Small group performance

(b) Responding to Music (written task)

For Year 5/6M

Students will learn about The Blues and create a whole class arrangement of a Blues Song with opportunity for improvisation.

Students will listen to, play and analyse a variety of music based on the 12 Bar Blues Progression, using voice, instruments and demonstrating an understanding of the musical elements. Year 5 students will develop their skills in reading ukulele tablature and notation.

Will be assessed on (Term 1 continuing into Term 2):

(a) Composing lyrics for a whole class Blues Song (lyrics) and arranging this song for performance

(a) Performing the class blues song demonstrating improvisation and part work

(b) Responding to Music (written task)

Health with Mrs Stirling:  sstir16@eq.edu.au

Students will explore and practice protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies for online and offline situations. They will also analyse how behaviours affect health, safety, relationships, and community wellbeing, and investigate resources to manage changes and transitions.

Students will be assessed on their ability to explore, practice, and apply protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies in various situations, analyse the impact of behaviours on health, safety, relationships, and community wellbeing, and demonstrate understanding of resources to manage changes and transitions.

Physical Education with Mr Brady: lbrad101@eq.edu.au

Students will spend the term focusing on each of the field events they will be undertaking as part of the Senior School Athletics Carnival.  These include, long jump, shot put, javelin, discus and high jump.  There will also be a focus on sprinting technique as part of their running lessons. 

Assessment: will determine how each student applies the correct technique application of the field event disciplines.

Japanese with Sensai Nagashima

Students will use language to explore the concept of Japanese writing system.
· Understanding Kanji was formed
· Reading and writing hiragana
· Writing own name in Katakana

They also explore cities and sightseeing spots in Japan.
· Learn transports used in Japan
· Research cities and what they are famous for.

Students will be assessed on:
a) Notebook work (being assessed during Term2)
b) Hiragana quiz
c) Speaking/writing test- Plan and present a Japan trip

Technology

Digital Technology (with Miss Smith)
Students will explain how digital systems connect together to form a network using 'Dash'.
Students will create a sequence of movements for Dash to follow in outer space using the list of considerations.

Design Technology (with Mrs Cramb)
Students will create a natural disaster board game while testing and improving design choices.  

English

This term Year 6 students will engage with a wide variety of informative texts such as reports, reviews, procedures, expositions, explanations, discussions, biographies and autobiographies by Australian and world authors including Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people, and texts from and about Asia.

Students will explore a variety of print, digital, and film texts with a wide range of technical information and topics which may include topics of interest to students and topics being studied in other curriculum subjects.

Students create a written and multimodal informative text.

Mathematics with Mr France and Mrs McNamara

• Order of operations
• Problem solving
• Prime and composite numbers
• Budgeting
• Timetables and planning an itinerary

HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences) with Mirs Jarvis and Mrs McNamara

This term Year 6 students will explore the following inquiry questions:

What does it mean to be an Australian citizen?

 How have experiences of democracy and citizenship differed between groups over time and place, including those from and in Asia?

Students will be assessed on a portfolio that investigates the rights and responsibilities of Australian citizens today and the experiences of Australian democracy and citizenship for different groups in the past.

Science with Mrs Jarvis and Mrs McNamara

This term students will investigate electrical circuits as a means of transferring and transforming electricity.

Students will be assessed on practical experiments.

The Arts with Mr France and Mrs McNamara

This term students will explore Pop Art.

Health with Mrs Stirling:  sstir16@eq.edu.au

Students will explore and practice protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies for online and offline situations. They will also analyse how behaviours affect health, safety, relationships, and community wellbeing, and investigate resources to manage changes, transitions and puberty.

Students will be assessed on their ability to explore, practice, and apply protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies in various situations, analyse the impact of behaviours on health, safety, relationships, and community wellbeing, and demonstrate understanding of resources to manage changes and transitions.

Japanese with Sensai Nagashima

Students use language to explore cities and sightseeing spots in Japan.

They will:

• Learn transports used in Japan
• Explore cities and what they are famous for.
• Extended hiragana learning

Students will be assessed on:

1. Notebook work (being assessed during Term2)
2. Speaking/writing test- Plan and present a Japan trip

Music Year 5/6 and 6 Term 1 & 2 with Mrs Murray amurr51@eq.edu.au

Students will learn about The Blues and create a whole class arrangement of a Blues Song with opportunity for improvisation. 

Students will listen to, play and analyse a variety of music based on the 12 Bar Blues Progression, using voice, instruments and demonstrating an understanding of the musical elements. Year 5 students will develop their skills in reading ukulele tablature and notation.

Will be assessed on (Term 1 continuing into Term 2):

(a) Composing lyrics for a whole class Blues Song (lyrics) and arranging this song for performance

(a) Performing the class blues song demonstrating improvisation and part work

(b) Responding to Music (written task) 

Physical Education with Mr Brady: lbrad101@eq.edu.au

Year 6: Students will spend the term focusing on each of the field events they will be undertaking as part of the Senior School Athletics Carnival.  These include, long jump, shot put, javelin, discus and high jump.  There will also be a focus on sprinting technique as part of their running lessons. 

Assessment: will determine how each student applies the correct technique application of the field event disciplines.