Monday 25 May 2015

Book Review Update

Today students were sent home with an A4 sheet that goes towards their Paper Bag Book Review mark. They need to select 3 items from home that represent the book they have chosen. One to represent the main character, a second to represent the setting and a final object to represent the problem. They then need to complete the sheet by drawing their chosen objects and giving a detailed explanation as to why they choose these things. The 3 objects and the sheet need to be returned to school no later than this Friday the 29th May. Students will be using these items to assist with a short oral presentation which they will deliver to the class in Week 7. If you have any questions regarding this task, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks,
Miss B :)



https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BziRve_q0NXnVG9sODB0TmY3QzA/view?usp=sharing

Paper Bag Book Review

Paper Bag Book Review

This is an open ended reading task that allows students to demonstrate their level of comprehension in a safe and non-threatening environment.

It is a structured task that requires explicit modelling of activities and expectations, which will be done in class. The students must pick their favourite book to do the report on.

This task covers many aspects of the English Learning Area. Students will be assessed on their presentation to the class as well as the content they have provided.

What do Paper Bag Book Reviews consist of?
·         Students must select and read a book
·         Design a book cover on the front of a paper bag (different to the original one). The cover must include a title, picture and the author.
·         Students then complete the book review sheet based on the book they have selected.
·         Select 3 items to represent the significant factors of the story (One to represent a character, one to represent the setting and one to represent the problem.)
·         Write an explanation of why they included each item.
·         Present their book review and items to the class.
·         Listen to peers present their Paper Bag Book Review and complete peer evaluations
·         Complete a self-evaluation
·         Review a teacher evaluation

Students will be provided with everything they need to complete the task. Paper Bag Book Reviews were originally designed for reluctant readers to encourage them to read.

Please be aware although students will be completing part of this project at home it is a demonstration of what they can do. We ask that you encourage your child to do the best they can do but allow them to do the tasks alone.

Presentations of the Paper Bag Book Reviews will commence Tuesday of Week 7 the 2nd of June.

ALL BOOK REVIEWS ARE TO BE COMPLETED AND SUBMITTED TO THE TEACHER BY WEEK 6 FRIDAY 29th OF MAY.

Tasks that will be required to be completed at home will be written in each student’s diary/with a note.

Thanks,

Miss B J

Monday 18 May 2015

Anzac Day

On Friday, April 24th, Wattle Grove held a wonderful ANZAC service on the village green. It was lovely to see so many members of the community joining us, to commemorate 100 years since the ANZACS first arrived in Gallipoli, back in 1915. The students behaviour at this formal occasion was exemplary and our special guests commented on this.

A special thank you to those mums who gave up their morning, to help us prepare the beautiful floral wreaths, carried by our Student Councillors. You dedication to the school is really appreciated.

As a reflection of the occasion, the children wrote a short narrative from the perspective of a soldier, nurse, or family member, reflecting on the events of the War. They did a wonderful job, using emotive language and detailed descriptions of the setting and events.




The Hero- By Toby

As a reflection of our ANZAC service, the children in Room 12 planned and wrote a short narrative from the perspective of a soldier, nurse, or family member, reflecting on the events of the War. They did a wonderful job, using emotive language and detailed descriptions of the setting and events. Here is just one example of the fabulous work.


The Hero
April 25th- A soldier called Penty waits in the trench for his turn to fight. Suddenly, a shell whistled through the air as fast as a meteor heading right for Earth! It crashed down near the trench. The commander decided they needed an air force, so they started with one plane and Penty was chosen to fly it... until he got shot down.

5 minutes left. I started to load my plane. 
2 seconds left. The engines on the plane roared. It lifted me into the air and flew away. As soon as I got above the clouds, I passed a battalion and bullets whistled from the wings and shot down the enemy plane. 

When I got above the enemy trenches, I dropped bombs into them. Even though I was 197 289 metres above the ground, I still heard the cry of millions of soldiers as they got ripped to bits. 

Suddenly, I realised I was  low on fuel. I raced back to our trenches and landed. I got out and jumped into a tank and went out, while my plane got returned.

I found our troops digging half way up the mountain, so they had a better chance of killing the enemy. I drove up to an enemy trench and shot down into it. There were screams as ice cold bullets whistled into the trench and found their targets.

I went back to my plane, jumped in and went back to the enemy trenches. I fired thousands of missiles. There were again cries as well as massive explosions went through the air.

I landed. A great cheer rose up. We had won the war and I could return to my family at last.



Shadow Fun

In Science, we have been investigating how the Sun, the Earth and Moon work together. Last week, Sally the snail helped us to investigate how shadows change throughout the day. A shadow is formed when a solid object blocks the sun. We played "Shadow Tag" and even went in a shadow walk. Below are some of the photos that Room 12 students took with the iPad to document our findings.





Symmetry Snowflakes

Sharnie making her snowflake
In Maths, we have been investigating Symmetry. We worked with a partner to make symmetrical bead patterns and then made symmetry snowflakes, by folding a circle into quarters and cutting out interesting designs. These are displayed in our classroom and look wonderful!










Symmetrical bead pattern fun




Mother's Day Jewellery Stand Design

Lilly and Aliyah work on decorating their trees.

I hope all the mothers in Room 12 had a lovely, relaxing day on Sunday. You are such special people and we are very grateful for you.

 Room 12 were busy bees making special jewellery stands for their mums last week. The process involved, planning, constructing and decorating the wooden stands with beautiful decorations. Then the children evaluated how successfully they had fulfilled their initial plan.


We hope you enjoyed your special gift!
Love Room 12!

Jewellery Stand Critiques

Shayla

My jewellery stand was pretty and nice, but next time I'd use pipe cleaners, because you can hang them down off the jewellery stand.











Emily
My jewellery stand was successful, because it's pretty, has my mum's favourite colours, looks great and is cute. Next time, I would do the tree a different colour, because I liked the way the aqua one looked.





Cameron
I liked my jewellery stand, because it had my mum's favourite colour and I used the materials that were on my plan. Next time, I would change the pipe cleaners to something different, because there were a little too many pipe cleaners on there.





Elaha
I really liked my jewellery stand and it made me joyful, because my mum will like it and I thought it was a success. Next time, I wouldn't put glitter glue everywhere, because it started to drip and I wouldn't use pom poms, because they kept falling off.

Sunday 10 May 2015

NAPLAN UPDATE

Hi Parents,

As I'm sure you are very aware of by now, NAPLAN testing will be conducted this week, commencing tomorrow. The students are a mixture of nerves and excitement. Please continue to reiterate at home that NAPLAN is all about giving the test your very best efforts. 

We have been doing some practice NAPLAN tests in class and I have been extremely proud of the way the children have applied themselves to giving it their all and completing the tests within the time frame.

During this somewhat stressful time for your child, there a few things you can do to assist them at home.

-Please ensure they have plenty of sleep the night before
-In the mornings having a healthy, nutritious breakfast is also beneficial
-They need to be at school by the first siren at 8.30am so they are relaxed and can prepare for the test calmly as the tests are timetabled to start at 8.50am
-Encourage them to give it their absolute best
- Discuss any feeling and emotions they have coming up to and after the tests

Below is the NAPLAN timetable.

TUESDAY
8.50am Language Conventions
10.50am Writing

WEDNESDAY
8.50am Reading

THURSDAY
8.50am Mathematics 

Please ensure your child is present and prompt for each test, as a catch up test may not be possible due to time constraints. There will be test conditions once each test has commenced and no movement in or out of the classroom, to avoid disruptions.


I am sure that each child is going to give the test their all. It is a great opportunity to see where your child sits in relation to other children around Australia. 

If you have any questions, please come and see me.

Thank you,


Miss B