Grade 1/2L

What a busy and exciting term it has been as we begin to enjoy some warmer weather. We loved having Abbey Hayes with us as she completed her final teaching placement. Abbey brought great enthusiasm and care to our classroom and we wish her all the very best as she begins her teaching career. A highlight of the term was our JSC Pyjama Day, where students (and staff) loved coming to school in their cosy PJs to help raise money for children in foster care. It was such a fun day for a very special cause. We also celebrated Book Week, which is always a favourite on the school calendar. The Book Week Parade was a fantastic celebration of reading and we loved seeing the creativity and excitement in all the costumes.

In English, students have continued to develop their reading and writing skills. Our phonics program has focused on more complex spellings to represent different sounds, while also revisiting earlier sounds to keep them fresh. In Grade 1, we have been learning how words are formed by exploring prefixes, such as re-, and suffixes, such as -ful and -less. In Writing, students have loved creating procedural texts inspired by mentor texts such as ‘How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth’ and ‘Wombat Stew’, carefully thinking about the steps and order of instructions. They have also written recounts and are now beginning to explore persuasive pieces, inspired by ‘Jetty Jumping’, a story about a group of friends who learn to take turns and support each other as they have fun jumping off a local jetty. We have also been focusing on improving sentence structure. Students are learning how to join ideas using words like before, after, if, and when, and how to turn incomplete fragments into full, clear sentences.

In Mathematics, our focus has been on multiplication and division. Students have been exploring different strategies to solve problems, including using arrays, repeated addition, skip counting, and making links between multiplication and division. For example, they have been learning that if they know 5 × 4 = 20, then they can also work out that 20 ÷ 4 = 5. These skills have been applied in real-life problem-solving activities to help students see the purpose behind what they are learning. In addition, we have been learning to tell the time on both analogue and digital clocks, exploring concepts such as o’clock, half past, and quarter past, as well as linking these to daily routines.

In Inquiry, students have been exploring how simple machines can make work easier. Through hands-on investigations, they have learnt about ramps, levers, and pulleys. The highlight of this unit has been designing and building Rube Goldberg machines, where students combined creativity with problem-solving to create chain reactions that performed simple tasks in fun and inventive ways.

As part of our Respectful Relationships program, students have been learning about two important topics. In Topic 4: Problem Solving, we explored strategies for working through tricky situations, practising how to think carefully, listen to others, and find fair solutions when challenges arise. In Topic 5: Stress Management, students reflected on how it feels when things get overwhelming and practised calming strategies to help manage big emotions. These skills are helping students to build resilience, strengthen their friendships, and feel more confident in themselves.

It has been a wonderful term filled with curiosity, creativity, and plenty of problem-solving. We are proud of the way our students are building their confidence as learners and look forward to seeing them continue to grow in the coming weeks.

- Miss Lowe