Grade 1/2

As we begin Term Two, we hope everyone had a lovely Easter break and that all mums and special people enjoyed the thoughtful cards and gifts created by the students for Mother’s Day.

Early in the term, we also commemorated ANZAC Day with a special service led by our Grade 6 students. Our class contributed by helping create a wreath and taking time to reflect on the importance of remembrance and gratitude.

School swimming is now underway with great success, and it has been wonderful to see our Grade 1 and 2 students demonstrating leadership, encouragement and persistence during each session.

We are also very excited to welcome Abbey Kerr into our classroom this term. Abbey is a pre-service teacher in her final year of study, and we are enjoying getting to know her while supporting her on her teaching journey.

In Literacy, students have continued developing their skills through the Sounds-Write program and are now working confidently with more complex multisyllabic words within the extended code. It has been fantastic to see them applying these skills across their reading and writing with growing independence. In our text-based learning, we have explored the mentor texts ‘Iggy Peck, Architect’ and ‘The Most Magnificent Thing’ as part of our Magnificent Masterpieces unit. Through ‘Iggy Peck, Architect’, students responded to a narrative picture book while building their understanding of tier 2 vocabulary. They practised identifying and creating statements and questions, using correct punctuation, and extending their ideas using conjunctions such as but and because. Through ‘The Most Magnificent Thing’, students focused on procedural writing, using precise and imperative verbs, applying new vocabulary, and using time connectives such as before and after to sequence their ideas clearly. They then applied these skills to create their own procedural texts.

In Mathematics, students have been developing their understanding of place value by reading and writing three-digit numbers in words and numerals, working with numbers to 1000 and beyond, and exploring how numbers can be represented in different ways. They have been locating, comparing, and ordering numbers on number lines and charts, and partitioning numbers into standard and expanded forms. Students are also beginning to identify and represent four-digit numbers with growing confidence. In our Measurement unit, students have been exploring length through hands on learning. They have compared and ordered objects using both direct and indirect comparison, solved simple problems involving length, and used informal units of measurement to measure, estimate, and check the length of objects in meaningful and practical ways.

In Inquiry, students have been exploring Biological Science through our ‘Growing Well’ unit. This hands-on learning has focused on plants, plant parts, and what living things need to grow and survive. Students have enjoyed exploring plants around our town, completing craft activities to identify plant structures, and conducting experiments using controlled conditions to investigate what plants need to thrive.

As part of our Respectful Relationships learning, students have been focusing on kindness and the many ways it can be shown. They created thoughtful kindness jars for their classmates and reflected on the unique qualities and strengths they see in one another. It has been wonderful to see students building empathy, encouragement, and a strong sense of classroom community.

It has been a fantastic start to the term, and we are proud of the enthusiasm, curiosity, and kindness students continue to show each day. We look forward to another exciting term of learning together.

- Miss Lowe