What's happening in Room 5

Literacy

Phonics:

This term, we are focusing on developing our phonics knowledge.

We have learnt double consonants and the consonant digraph ‘ck’, as in duck.

This week we are beginning to learning about letter blends.  Each letter is pronounced individually, but quickly, so the letters blend together.  We say...

“2 consonants the blend together, you hear both sounds”

You can see how important it is for our students to have a solid grasp of their single sounds as we transition into the next phase of our phonics teaching.    

Sight Words: 

We are now teaching the ‘blue’ set of words.  So far we have taught:

on, her, was, have, you, by

Mathematics

The students are enjoying learning mathematical concepts and skills through many hands-on experiences using objects and counters as well as the engaging PRIME Big Books.  These big books provide our students with visual representations and explore problem solving strategies too. 

Recently we have been measuring the capacity of containers and learning how to partition the numbers 4 and 5. 

Number bonds are the ways in which a whole number can be split into parts.  We are exploring and recording the different combinations.  For example:

Dress Fancy Day

Many thanks to everyone for dressing Fancy on Friday 10th May.  It was a fundraiser for our graduating classes this year.

 

    

WGPS App

If you have an iphone or android phone, you may be interested in downloading our school app.  Search ‘Wattle Grove Primary School’ on the Apple App Store or Google Play and download for free!  Features of the app include:

· Link to the school blog

· Term planners

· School newsletter

· Canteen orders

· Absentee form

· Contact the school

Being Resilient 

Recently we’ve started discussing ways and strategies to develop resilience when things get us down or don’t go our way. 

Being resilient means that you are able to bounce back from adversity in order to lead a happy lifestyle.  Resiliency strategies are not only important for children but for adults as well, as there are many situations on a day to day basis that can present a challenge or effect your mood. 

Strategies that we’ve talked about include:

· Talking to someone about your feelings or problem

· Walk away and come back to it later

· Laugh and shake it off

· Take deep breaths

· Think about what you could do differently next time

· Think positively

Having a variety of resiliency strategies allows children to develop some good social skills and the ability to deal with challenging situations. 

Welcome Back to Term 2

Welcome back for another fantastic term. We hope you had a lovely Easter break.

Literacy

Week 1 

The phonics focus for this week in literacy has been double consonants, ll, ff, ss, zz. Children learnt that when we read a double consonant i.e. 'ss' we just make the one sound i.e. hiss h-i-ss. Our sight words for Week 1 - they, and, were.

Week 2  

We are focusing on  Consonant-Vowel-Consonant words i.e. cat, leg, big. We are also learning about nouns - nouns are naming words for a person, place or thing.  Week 2 sight words - on, was, her.

Numeracy

This week we have started to learn about volume. We focused on the language of volume including more than, less than, full and empty. We also learnt about the different ways of making 4 ie 2 and 2 more,  3 and 1 more ,  4 and 0 more.

Mothers day stall

Our wonderful P&C are holding their annual mothers day stall until Friday 10th May. Located outside of the BER learning center and in the undercover area in the mornings from 8:15am-8:45am and in the afternoons from 3:05pm-3:35pm. Gifts range from $1 -$7. Raffle tickets are $2 for the hamper.

Class photos

Midland photography has informed us that school photos should be ready for distribution next week.

'Dress Fancy Day'

A note has come home regarding free dress for Friday 10th May. Children who participate need to bring in a gold coin donation to go towards the year 6 fundraiser.

STEM

On our first day back this term, we completed a STEM challenge. The students had to work in pairs to build a bridge from Lego. The bridge had to be long enough to cross the river, and wide and strong enough to hold a Lego person. We had so much fun making our bridges. 

Room 3 and Room 5 Assembly

Room 3 and Room 5 will be presenting the Junior Assembly on Friday 17th May. The theme for our assembly is road safety, so students need to bring a helmet as part of their costume, and where bright coloured clothes. Some children will have a speaking part at the Assembly. If your child has a speaking part, they will bring it home in their reading file. Please help them to learn to say their part without reading.

Week 9

Excursion

This Thursday is our excursion to the Constable Care Safety School. All students need to be dressed in school uniform with their hat. They need to wear closed in shoes, no sandals please. Please pack your child's recess snacks in a zip-lock bag clearly labelled with your child's name. Please ensure their water bottles are also clearly labelled. We are eating recess at the Safety School but we will be back at Wattle Grove PS for lunch. If there is rain predicted for Thursday, the excursion will go ahead. If it looks like rain, please pack a raincoat for your child.

Please arrive at school at 8.30 as the bus leaves at 9 a.m.

In Literacy

We are revising the single sounds Z, W, and Q and the red words: if, so and that.

In Numeracy

We are talking about numbers that come after or before a given number. We are measuring the weight of objects by using balance scales. 

In STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

We are continuing our work on the dioramas to represent the seasons.

Reminders

Just a reminder that next Tuesday is the parent interviews. The students will need to be collected at 12.00 p.m. You should have now received a note regarding the time of your interview. Each interview will be 10 minutes. Please be on time, as often interviews are scheduled back-to-back. We look forward to discussing your child's progress.

Week 8

Week 8 Focus

Literacy

We are revising the single sounds V, P, and J and have started to read the red words an, has and as. We are writing simple sentences using the sight words look, dad, in and like. The students should be able to read all the golden sight words and begin to include them in their writing.

We are building our vocabulary in using the words for the parts of our body. Our Big Talk discussion is about playing games.

Please ensure guided reading books are being returned on a Mondays as other groups will need the books. Students who do not return their books will not receive another one until it is returned .

A reminder that Library Day is Monday, your child should place their library books in their library bag in the green box on Mondays.

Numeracy

We are revising the number 1-10 and counting a collection of objects to 10. 

We are measuring the weight of objects by hefting. Hefting means to hold one object in one hand and another object in the other hand and feel which one is heavier or lighter. The students need to be using the language of The ….  is heavier/lighter than the…. 

We are also using the language of Fewer/Greater when comparing a collection of objects.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

We are working in groups to create a diorama of one of the seasons. We are discussing the type of activities we do, places we go and the clothes we wear in each season. The students will be using the Ipads to record and describe their dioramas.

Health

We have been discussing Passenger Safety. We have included some of the parent information cards for you to read. Our excursion in Week 9 will be to the Constable Care Safety School and will enable all students to demonstrate their knowledge and participate in more activities around Road and Pedestrian Safety. Please ensure you have returned the permission slip and the money as soon as possible.

Week 7, Term 1

Notices

This week we are celebrating World Poetry Day on Thursday 21st of March and Harmony Day on Friday 22nd Of March.

Literacy

We are revising the single sounds N, K, and E.

We have started to learn the Red sight words. This week, the sight words are no, what, long.

For Speaking and Listening, we have started sending home the mystery box. If your child brings home the mystery box, please help them to select an item (not a toy) and send it back with them the following day. One of the mystery boxes has not been returned. If your child has it, please return it.

Please remember to return library books and Keylinks reading books on Mondays.

Numeracy

We are revising the numbers 0 to 10.

We are measuring taller and shorter. 

We are continuing to sort data and interpret graphs.

Week 6, Term 1

Week 6

Just a few reminders for this week.

There is a junior assembly Thursday morning starting at 8.50am. Please be prompt in arriving to school.

School Photos will be on Friday this week. Please ensure all students are in full school uniform. This is a collared Wattle Grove yellow t-shirt, green shorts/skorts/skirts and sock/shoes which are black or white.

The Pre-primaries will be going to the Constable Care Safety School in the first week of April. Please ensure you have returned the permission slip with current contact phone numbers and $7 as soon as possible.

Literacy

We are revising the single sounds H, C, and B and the sight words this, go, we, will.

We are also writing about the Clever Max story for the On-Entry testing.

Keylinks guided reading books will be sent home with every child on a Thursday. Please make sure these books are returned each Monday, even if it is not your child's designated reading day. Thank you.

Mathematics

We are revising the numbers 8 and 9.

We are measuring longer and shorter. At home you can encourage your child to directly compare two objects to find out which one is shorter and which one is longer. Remind the students to line up the ends of the objects, to get an accurate measure.

We are continuing to sort data and interpret graphs.

Science

We are continuing to observe and record the weather each day.

We are also learning about the seasons, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. We are exploring what the weather looks like in each season, what activities we can do and what clothes we need to wear.

Term 1 - Week 4/5

Areas of Focus

Literacy

We are revising the single sounds D, R, O (Week 4) G, L and U (week 5). We are also revising the sight words look, like, the, in, dad (Week 4) and to, mum, here (Week 5).

We have sent home a Facts About Me sheet for you to assist your child to draw and discuss. These need to be returned to school as soon as possible for the students to present a short 3 minute presentation about themselves. Any questions, please see me.

Sight Word/Reading Folders are now coming home. Your child has been allocated a day to return their folder each week. The roster is on the window near the table outside the classroom. Please practise the words daily in short sessions and have your child read their book out loud. You could write the words onto card and place them around the house or play games like memory and fish.

Guided reading books will be coming home for all students on a Thursday. Please return these reading books on a Monday.

Numeracy

We are revising the numbers 5 (Week 4) 6 and 7 (Week 5) and counting a collection of objects to 5. We are measuring big and small, long and short. We are also learning to sort data and create graphs.

Science

We are observing the weather and discussing the symbols used in weather charts. We are going to record the weather each day.

Other Messages

On Entry Assessments have begun. A note went home last week regarding the assessment. Results will be given to parents at the parent meetings in Week 10.

School photos will be taking place this term. A note was sent home with students for parents who would like to order photos. Please return the photo forms as soon as possible.

Medical conditions - if your child has a medical condition, please make a time to go to the office and complete the necessary paperwork so that all staff are informed of what to do.

Absences - just a reminder that if your child is absent from school for any reason, please provide a letter explaining the absence on your child`s return.