Faith’s Class: Term 3 Week 7
Happy week 8!
On Monday, we enjoyed a lovely afternoon at the library, browsing the shelves, choosing books and finding cosy spots to settle in and read. A quick reminder that students need a Lane Cove Library card to borrow books. If your child doesn’t have one yet and you would like some information about how to sign up, please let me know!
In Currents of Care, we have been exploring the differences between freshwater and saltwater rock pools in Australia. We discovered that these environments can be very different places to live. Freshwater rock pools tend to have smaller animals, such as shrimp, and fewer food sources and less vegetation. We also learned about tannins, which can give the water a brownish appearance. Saltwater rock pools, on the other hand, are constantly replenished by the tides and often have lots of vegetation and a greater variety of animals (who are also more vibrant in colour). We used Venn diagrams to compare and contrast the two environments before applying the same skills to explore the difference between wastewater and stormwater and how each can affect our local waterways.
In English, we have continued developing our persuasive writing skills. This week’s prompt was “What would be a good class pet?”, and students were allowed to choose anything they liked, real or imagined. It was so much fun to read all of the different suggestions, from more traditional pets to mythical creatures. Their reasoning is becoming more detailed, and I have to admit that a few students had me seriously considering the possibility of a class lion or dragon!
On Tuesday, we had our final Jump Rope for Heart event, with Meg’s class organising a range of fun skipping activities for the whole school. The Chatterboxes had a fantastic time, worked hard and enjoyed some fresh fruit afterwards. Thank you to everyone who supported the program throughout the term!
Our PIPs are coming along beautifully, with most of our Elders now up to designing the aesthetics of their presentations. They have made fantastic progress this term, and their slides are absolutely packed with interesting information. Our Juniors, who are completing a GIP, have begun learning how to use non-fiction books as research sources. Each student chose an insect to investigate, and we headed up to the school library to learn how to find relevant books and use contents pages to locate useful information. Everyone found some fascinating facts about their chosen insect that they will be able to use in their final presentations.
In Maths, we have moved on to number bonds, exploring how our Friends of Ten and Friends of Twenty can help us develop faster and more efficient addition strategies. We then explored doubles facts and created our own doubles flowers, which are now on display in the classroom for us to use as a reference as we move into more complex addition and subtraction problems.
A few reminders for next week:
Tuesday: Class photos! We will try to take these first thing in the morning. We can only take the class photo if we have full attendance, so if your child is going to be away for any reason, please let me know.
Sports choices: We are also beginning our second round of sports choices, so please remember to pack hats and water bottles.
Have a wonderful weekend!
From Faith x