Jess and Susan’s Class: Term 2 Week 8

Dear parents,

Being a short week we didn’t get through quite as much as usual. In maths we continued with multiplication and division and explored hidden arrays, promoting multiplicative thinking and a shift to abstract reasoning. We also looked at continuing patterns and the rules that align.

On Thursday’s maths sessions, we have been exploring area. Last week, small groups constructed one-square-metre models from paper and used them to measure different spaces around the classroom. We then cut the square metre into pieces and rearranged them into different shapes, discussing whether the area remained the same.

Some children also recalled that the area of a rectangle can be found by multiplying the length by the width. This learning complements the multiplication and division concepts we have been exploring throughout the term and provides some more practical, handson application of these skills.

This week, we explored area using square centimetres. We calculated the area of paper squares by multiplying the length by the width before cutting them apart and rearranging the pieces into different shapes. This helped reinforce the idea that shapes can look very different while still having the same area. Aidan was amazed to discover that the area of the 15 cm × 15 cm paper squares we used could be rearranged into a strip just 1 cm wide that stretched to more than 2 metres in length.

Watch this space as we continue to explore area. You might like to ask your children about some of our “novel” ideas that have come from exploring the occasional “tangent” and child-led discussions earlier in the year. And now, the words “novel” and “tangent” have earned a place on our vocabulary wall.

We started to look at the first fleet this week, naming the 11 ships (which some ferries in Sydney harbour are still named after) and we discovered their purpose and cargo on the voyage to Australia. We imagined the conditions in Britain at the time that had contributed to the push to Australia. We’ll continue with this next week when we return to our usual full weekly timetable.

All the children have enjoyed the Tuesday tennis sessions at Lane Cove Tennis Club. It has been wonderful to see everyone enthusiastically getting involved, and we look forward to watching their skills and confidence continue to develop over the next two weeks.

We are entering the final stages of our PIPs and are looking forward to hosting a small afternoon tea for the presentation viewing on Tuesday, 30 June from 3:30pm.

Warm regards
Jess and Susan