Persuasive Writing Topic Week 6

This week's topic is: I think we should play in the park after swimming lessons. The context of this is that each day when we line up ready to board the bus back to school, the children look longingly at the Volcano Park and ask me why we can't have a play. Perhaps they will answer their own question this week!

Students are encouraged to decide are they for or against this topic. They need three different reasons which support their position. No writing is necessary, they just need to think through their ideas ready to share on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Blue Bots have landed!

This week we have been learning how to program the school's Blue Bots to follow pathways. This involves creating a set of instructions and then pressing a series of directional buttons to make the robots move. This links with our Technology program and our Mathematics focus on mapping this week. Below are some photos of our plans and the Blue Bots in action.

Merit Certificates End of Term 3 & Start of Term 4

Congratulations to these deserving students on receiving a merit certificate at the end of Term 3 or for the beginning of Term 4. It is wonderful to see so many students striving for excellence in all they do!

Back row: Steel, Riley, Holly, Neve
Front row: Krissy, Gazal, Chelsea.
Absent: Lucas.

Arrays Explained by Room 14 Kids!

"What is an array you ask?" An array is arrangement of objects into a set of rows and columns. We do this to quickly work out how many are in a set. This is multiplication. For example, the chess board has 8 rows and 8 columns. We can add: 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 64 or 8 x 8 = 64, as well!

4 x 3 = 12

7 x 3 = 21

2 x 2 = 4

1 x 7 = 7

5 x 4 = 20

5 x 7 = 35

2 x 3 = 6

6 x 3 = 18

6 x 2 = 12

Thank you for learning about arrays with us!

Term 4 Super Scientist Challenge

In Term Four, the Super Scientist challenge will be in the form of a research project. All students are required to research a scientific topic and present their information to the class in a two minute presentation. Students are allowed to use posters, charts and PowerPoint presentations. 

The Year Two class presentations will take place in Week 5 of Term 4. Each Year Two class will select their top ‘Super Scientists’ who will move forward to the Year Level Super Scientist challenge. This will take place in Week 6. We look forward to seeing all the wonderful presentations. 

If you have any questions about the Super Scientist Challenge, please come and see us. 

Thank you 

Year Two Teachers 

Term 4 Week 5 Super Scientist Presentation Days:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
Eadson	Krissy	Marisa	Gazal
Holly	Canaan	Deep	Steel
Neve	Tylah	Han Yu	Steven
Navshan	Indiana D	Connor	Lucas
Kiara	Ryan	Indiana B.	Riley
	Naomi	Chelsea	Chloe

Week 3 Narrative Prompt

Swimming Lessons

Two swimming notes were sent home last week. They are due back with payment of $40 by Nov 1.

Term 4 Foci

Term 4 Focus

ENGLISH 

• Writing (narrative and persuasive) following all aspects of the format
• Sentence structure (use nouns and verbs correctly in sentences)
• Spelling blends, digraphs, double and silent letters 
• Suffixes and prefixes
• Using paragraphs
• VCOP – vocabulary, connectives, openers, punctuation
• Similes and figures of speech
• Tense, pronouns, adjectives 
• Homophones/homographs
• Reading (by sight, not sounding out) and spelling of high frequency words  
•  Fluency – Guided Reading books will be sent home each week for students to perfect their oral reading.
• Demonstrating comprehension with more detailed responses.

MATHS

Number and Algebra

• Orally counting to and from 1000
• Number Facts to 10 and 20
• Investigate number sequences, (twos, threes, fives and tens)
• Describe patterns with numbers and identify missing elements

·        Understanding and solving word problems  

• Place Value

·        Recognise and represent multiplication as repeated addition, groups and arrays

·        Recognise and represent division as grouping into equal sets and solve simple problems using these representations

·        Revising how to solve simple addition and subtraction problems using a range of efficient mental and written strategies

 Measurement and Geometry

·        Interpret simple maps of familiar locations and identify the relative positions of key features

·        Investigate the effect of one-step slides and flips with and without digital technologies

·        Identify and describe half and quarter turns

Statistics and Probability

Revising our work from late Term 3:

Identifying outcomes of familiar events involving chance and describing them using everyday language such as “will happen”, “won’t happen” or “might happen”

SCIENCE

The Term 4 Science topic is Chemical Sciences – All mixed up. In this unit students learn about materials that don’t mix well, and others that are difficult to separate.

HASS

HASS will continue to investigate how technology has changed over time.

HEALTH

This term we will be learning about protective behaviours. The major themes we will explore each week centre on the following statements:

·        We all have the right to feel safe; and

·        We can talk to somebody no matter what it is.

Stationery

At this point in the year some students are beginning to run low on some of their stationery. The main item has been whiteboard markers, to such an extent that I can no longer continue to supply these. It would be appreciated if parents could please check with their child if they need a replacement. These should be clearly labelled with your child's name. Your help in this matter is gratefully appreciated.

Week 2 Big Write Topic

This week's narrative topic will be based on the following prompt. Our focus will be on describing the scene in order to develop an exciting plot. Students should use all of their senses to describe what they see, hear, smell, feel and taste. They should also think about the character  and how they came to stumble on the scene. Please remember that no writing is required, just a good discussion to develop some vocabulary and ideas before our Big Write on Thursday.

Welcome to Term 4, Week 1!

Welcome back to school! I hope all the children have had a happy and safe holiday and are fresh and ready for a very busy term. 

This week our writing focus will be on narrative writing and the prompt is below. Please take the time to discuss the topic with your child so that they have an opportunity to develop some vocabulary and story ideas in readiness for our Big Write on Thursday. No notes or writing is required, just a chat!

Learning Journeys

Thank you to all the parents and grandparents who came to the Learning Journey afternoon. The students loved sharing their learning and it was great to hear them explain the focus of each activity.