W elcome back to Term 2! U nlike first term, where we had the pleasure
of the sun’s warmth, the coolness is already in the air and Autumn
and W inter will be upon us.
Term
including
a
Prep
W e have a lot of things happening this
breakfast,
school
production plus and a few more surprises!
sports
and
a
school
W e were pleased with the
parents who attended the prep information sessions and from the
feedback we have received we are pleased to announce the content was
welcomed and helpful.
For those few who were unable to attend
another session will run early this term. As we presented during the
information session we will increase our use of the class W iki as a
form of communication and to provide a positive home-school learning
partnership.
Hippos
CURRICULUM NOTES TERM 2, 2014
Religion
Contact details: Mrs
Schwab
[email protected]
u.au
This term in the unit ‘What do I know about Jesus’,
the children will identify the concept of the bible as
a special book that tells us about Jesus’ life. They
will also identify the similarities and differences
between their life and the life of Jesus and express
ways they can show love for others. The unit I care
for God’s World will provide the opportunity for the
children to list and describe objects, actions or
scenes that are beautiful and wondrous and to identify
ways in which they can care for God’s world. We will
demonstrate our understanding and express our
appreciation for gifts through celebrations of song
Inquiry
and prayer.
This term’s inquiry unit is ‘The Past, Present and Our Future.’ In this unit the
students will understand that knowing about our family histories enables us to
discover our cultural origins and develop historical awareness. The students
will explore: the structures of families, celebrating family events, compare the
similarities and differences in families, cultural celebrations and
commemorations and cultural diversity in our community. This will include the
students taking home interview questions regarding their own family, for
example, a family member who has migrated from another country. We will use
a variety of learning experiences: ICT to research other cultures and present
our ideas, read and role play a variety of stories about celebrations and use
math as a way to graph our findings. Through investigating and exploring
cultural diversity students will develop understanding, a sense of welcome and
a willingness to embrace the richness of multiculturalism.
Literacy
Reading:
The children have been making significant progress in recognising and
being able to name the letters of the alphabet. We will continue making this
a daily focus with the children to consolidate their knowledge. They will read
a variety of predictable texts with similar characteristics, supportive images
and familiar vocabulary; nursery rhymes and engage in supported activities
to deepen their understanding. This will draw upon their developing
TAKE HOME READERS AND READING
LOGSThe readers your child takes
home have been chosen so they
are familiar and easy to read.
This will enable your child to
develop a love of reading,
gain fluency and enjoy the
nightly reading process. Your
child will have their reading
heard once a week by a
teacher(this will fall on
their focus student day). An
assessment task and
observations of their reading
behaviors will be completed
and effective feedback
provided to your child. This
is only one way we assess your
child’s literacy skills
knowledge of concepts about print and letter/sound relationships.
The children will engage in literacy activities which include:
! Alphabet/word work- students engage in games, activities to
support their knowledge of sound/letter and word knowledge
! Familiar reading - students read known texts and engage in
supported activities
! ICT- students use programs to reinforce sound/letter knowledge
! Teacher focus group- reading and participating in explicit focus
tasks
Writing
With so many significant experiences happening this term, a focus for the
children is to confidently approach writing to use familiar words ( eg.Oxford
words), phrases and images to convey ideas. This will be taught through
modeled and shared writing experiences. We will continue to focus on
attempting to write using approximate letters for some letter-sound
relationships in common words. Handwriting will be taught through the auditory and visual elements of the Thrass
program and we will include tactile experiences to assist the children to correctly form upper and lower case letters.
This will include varying their pencil grips and how they sit while writing. We will explore writing through the use of a
range of writing implements and software.
Spelling- This term we will continue to develop the children’s letter/sound knowledge through games, activities and
explicit teaching tasks. We will introduce further high frequency words to their familiar word lists. Nursery Rhymes will
play a pivotal role in expanding their concepts of how words work.
Thrass- On a daily basis the children have become familiar with the Thrass chart by listening to the auditory sequence
and participating in games. This program supports the children’s understanding of the phonographic approach. We
will continue to explore further elements of the program to support their reading and writing.
Colourful Semantics is an oral language focused language program which develops the children’s
concept of understanding and constructing sentences in both the written and spoken construction
of their ideas. We use colour-coded cue cards to show the structure of a sentence; each card
represents a word or part of a sentence. The cards tune the children into the key words in
sentences. For example ..WHO was in the story…WHERE did it take place ? WHAT LIKE
…describe the character ( happy, ugly, silly, funny) Combine the elements to create a complex
sentence…The silly boy was in the park yesterday.
2
Mathematics
NUMBER AND ALGEBRA- This term the children will continue to be actively involved in daily counting
activities using dice, beadstrings, numberlines and counters. The children will be extending their
understandings of the “Principles of Counting”
*Each object should only be touched or included once
*Numbers must be said once in the right order.
*Objects can be counted in any order.
*It does not matter how you put them
*The last number tells “how many”
They will also focus on ordering numbers and the concepts of more, same and less in relation to quantities.
The formation of the numerals 0-9 will be explicitly taught using a range of different tactile materials eg
overwriting sheets, sandpaper numbers, playdoh and magnetic boards.
MEASUREMENT & GEOMETRY~ This term the children will be learning about time. The focus will be
on connecting events to days of the week and sequencing familiar events in time order. They will also be
learning about 2D shapes where they will sort, describe and name familiar two-dimensional shapes eg
squares, circles, triangles and rectangles. Children will also continue to investigate the everyday language of
location and direction such as between, near, next to, forwards and towards. They will give and follow
simple directions.
STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY- Children will represent responses to questions using simple displays.
The focus on data representation will link to our inquiry unit The Past, Present and Our Future.
Traveling Journal
Nelson’, our class mascot will continue to come home with the children on rotational basis. ‘Nelson’
has his own backpack with a journal for writing in.
Your child can play with him, take him on outings, e.g. to the supermarket or the park, read to him
or prepare him a special dinner. Talk with your child about the adventures Nelson has had when
visiting your home and have your child draw a picture or take a photo of Nelson’s visit prior to
attempting to write about the experience. You may be the scribe for your child.
Please ensure that Nelson is returned to school on Thursday’s and Monday’s so that your child
can share the adventures with the rest of the class. We hope you enjoy Nelson’s visit.
3
FOCUS STUDENT DAYS…
This year students will be allocated as being the focus students for that particular day. The
emphasis is not only for Show and Share days, but also to allow the children to negotiate
roles and responsibilities on particular days with their peers. For example emptying bins,
setting up and packing up classroom resources.
Please note: if your child is away for their Show and Share time, it will roll over to the
following week !
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday Thursday
Friday
Damien
Remy
Curtis
Indi
Mark
Amelia
Sam
Evie
Lachlan
Ben
Ruby
Will
Chance
Ethan
Heath
Tyson
Ellie
Coby
Harrison
Matilda
Marli
WEEKLY TIMETABLE
Monday
9:00 –
11.00
* snack
*Flag & Assembly
Religion
Literacy
ReadingReflectionLiteracy Groups
Spelling-/Thrass
Literacy
ReadingReflectionLiteracy Groups
Spelling-/Thrass
Writing
RECESS
11:0011.30
4
Tuesday
RECESS
Wednesday
Specialist
subjects
SportScienceBounce Back-
RECESS
Thursday
Religion
Friday
Religion
Literacy
ReadingReflectionLiteracy Groups
Spelling-/Thrass
Writing
RECESS
Literacy
ReadingReflectionLiteracy Groups
Spelling-/Thrass
Writing
RECESS
11:30
-12.30
Math
Math
Math
Math
Math
*snack
12.301.30
PMP & Show and
Share
PMP & Show and
Share
Literacy
Handwriting
Running Records
HFW focus
Music & Library
PMP & Show and
Share
1:30 –
2:15
LUNCH
LUNCH
2:15 –
3:20
Writing Focus
Inquiry
LUNCH
Religion &
Show and Share
LUNCH
LUNCH
Music & Library
ICT &
technology
Partnership in learning
We are committed to a learning partnership, which will provide the best outcome for your child and this can be
achieved by us all working together to support your child.
In the classroom and school
As a school we are committed to using a model where the teacher is responsible for the delivery
of the curriculum. We value the assistance in the classroom from teacher assistant, parents,
grandparents etc. When you work in our classrooms we ask you to work alongside groups of
students, not doing it for them but allowing them to problem solve and enjoy the learning
experience. Prior to assisting in the school a reminder that a Working With Children check and
a Classroom Helper’s Agreement completed
There are many other ways you can support your child/school~ production( making costumes,
props) , sport and athletics skills, excursions, Parents and Friends, classroom representative to
name a few.
Working in the classroom may look different each week depending on the timetable. It may
include working with different groups of students and not your own child. We will prepare
students for this outcome. Whilst it can be difficult, we ask that younger siblings do not
accompany you when working in the classroom or excursions due to safety reasons.
Confidentiality and commitment
When you work in the classroom being confidential is essential to everyone’s child. We
acknowledge that each child is unique and will travel along their learning journey at a different
pace and we cater for the needs of every child . We ask you to consider when offering to assist
in the classroom/school that you commit to the roster and scheduled times to allow for
consistency and minimal interruptions.
As a part of the Hippo’s Literacy and Math blocks the students will participate in small group activities and we are seeking your assistance. You will receive a timetable and roster for you to complete to indicate your available day. Once the timetable is completed you will find the roster displayed on the noticeboard outside the Hippo’s classroom and on our class Wiki. The roster will be displayed each day for your convenience. If you are unavailable, for any reason and we are unavailable in the mornings to communicate with you please feel free to remove your name from the list. Similarly, if our daily timetable requires us to cancel or make changes we will make contact you at our earliest convenience. To make this process easier please ensure you have provided us with current and alternative contact details. 5
Notes for parents Dates/reminders/class reps
Each term a Parent Representative is required for every class. The role of the class rep is to delegate and
organise other parents in the class to help at events such as Shrove Tuesday. In this instance your role would
be to help (co-ordinate/invite other parents ) the Parents and Friends make the batter and then cook it for the
children or make learning tools for the classroom. If you would like to offer your time please let either Susan
or I know.
Each week there will be a different focus for Show and Tell. This allows time for the child to
practice at home with you. We understand that some children feel shy about speaking in front of others,
however it is an important part of speaking and listening development. Your encouragement and assistance
will make this process easier for your child. Please see the Focus student list for your child’s chosen day.
Week 1 – Holidays- My holiday adventure was…provide photos or drawings to describe an event
Week 2 – Timeline- It’s me as a baby, provide a photo of you as a baby
Week 3- Mother’s Day- Why I love My mum ..draw something, provide a photo of your mum or a special
person
Week 4- Homemade - Bring something that you have made yourself. Tell us how you did it.
Week 5- Ask the Teacher – Prepare students to ask the teacher a question
Week 6- Nature Box - Bring several things that are not man-made. Tell where you got them.
Week 7- The Past - Bring something from the past. Know when, where, and who it's from.
Week 8- Emotions - Tell about a time when you were happy, sad, scared, or brave. Images can help.
Week 9- Inventions - Bring an object or picture of an invention. Tell who invented it & how it's used.
Week 10- Joke – One or two appropriate jokes for children to share with the class.
6
Specialist subjects
Physical Education
This term students will continue to perform basic motor skills and movement patterns, throughout PMP sessions. The
main movement focus this term is around jumping, throwing and catching. They will use vocabulary to describe
movement, follow procedures and share space safely.
Science
Science sessions during term two, will continue to encourage an interest and curiosity in science for the students. They
will learn to make a prediction based on prior scientific knowledge, observe a demonstration, offer explanations and
then further their knowledge through experimentation. There is an emphasis on exploration and inquiry into why
reactions take place with certain materials and properties.
Emphasis will be given to the foundation of knowledge in the area of chemical science, in particular, the physical
changes made to materials through combining and mixing. Science sessions will be very hands on, using readily
accessible materials so that further experimentation can occur at home.
Social Skills
Humour is one of the processes of optimism that significantly contributes to personal resilience. We are able
to feel more hopeful and lighthearted when we can see a funny side of a difficult situation. Humour helps us
to gain a sense of perspective on our problems because it can throw a little light in an otherwise black
situation. It reminds us that life goes on. It helps us to cope with what we can’t change. Humour can provide
an opportunity to reduce the tension created by strong and uncomfortable emotions such as sorrow, fear
and anger. When we laugh, we experience pleasure and a greater openness to discussion and interaction.
Research consistently demonstrates that laughing results in beneficial physiological changes in our bodies
that improve our health and help us to fight illness. This understanding underpins the therapeutic use of
humour in medical contexts. Shared laughter is also a unique human bond that helps us to connect with
others. Having fun with peers and incorporating humour into classroom activities helps students to feel more
connected with each other and their teacher and to stay engaged and on task. Laughter and humour hold
students’ attention and create positive emotions, thereby helping students to retain the information they are
learning.
7
wiki
w ki/
noun
noun: wiki; plural noun: wikis
a website or database developed collaboratively by
a community of users, allowing any user to add and
edit content.
CONTACT DETAILS
Mrs Schwab
Email
[email protected]
or SMS Mrs Schwab 0438841023
Mrs Kerlin
[email protected]
or SMS Mrs Kerlin 0427848261
Helpful hints, tips and weekly updates can be
located on our class Wiki. The children will begin to
access the Wiki during class time later in the term. If
you need assistance to navigate this wonderful
cyber resource just let us know.
http://hipposprepone.wikispaces.com
Availability to parents / Home-school partnership.
If there are concerns which you wish to bring to our
attention, please don’t hesitate to contact us at school. As
you are aware the morning is a very busy place in the Hippo’s
class and our primary concern is your child therefore it is not
the optimal place for discussing any concerns or issues.
However if you have urgent concerns, which may impact your
child’s day please send us an email or SMS prior to school
beginning, so we are informed before your child arrives and we
can assist with any special needs to ensure he/she has a
positive school day.
If there are concerns regarding your
child we will make an appointment with you to discuss the
matter without you feeling rushed or being disturbed.