Dance Party this Tuesday!

Room 23 will be having their dance party at Camp Wattle Grove on Tuesday, December 12. It will commence at 9:15 and go for about an hour. The green permission form and $2.50 bus fare need to be returned as soon as possible. Please also specify the number of adult tickets you require. Students can dress up in their party clothes on this day and can stay in them, although, are encouraged to dress comfortably. 

Congratulations

Congratulations to all the students who won awards at the last assembly of the year. Most well deserved!

Principal's Challenge Top 5 Awards

Principal's Challenge Most Improved Awards

Overdue books

There are still a number of home reader/library books still to be returned. Please have a thorough check at home and return any outstanding books ASAP.

Paper Helicopters

In Science this week, we used our knowledge of gravity to design and make a paper helicopter. We then applied our knowledge to design a helicopter that would be even more effective, staying in the air longer. Aaliyah, Kai, Georgia and Alex successfully made alterations that increased the time that their respective helicopters stayed in the air. The rest of us still had fun and developed a list of tips:

·        Helicopters with a paper clip at the bottom hovered for longer

·        Helicopters with longer wings and a shorter base were more effective

·        Wings had to be folded down to allow the air to keep the helicopter up

Maths Update

This term, we have been working on getting quicker at recalling our times tables. Over the last few weeks, we have been using this knowledge to solve word problems and tackle division sums. I have been really proud of the way the students have persevered!

Literacy update

In Literacy this week we have been revising how to find the main idea in a text. In our teams we analysed texts about different Christmas traditions and identified the main idea and supporting details. Remember: The main idea can be found in the first sentence, last sentence, or by thinking about what the text is mostly about.

Elf Diaries

On the 1^st of December, we had a special visitor arrive from the North Pole. Introducing…Fluffernutter the Room 23 Elf. He has been keeping a close eye on the activity of the students in Room 23 and has been getting up to some mischief too!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas in Room 23

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas... The countdown until the Christmas holidays is on! Last Friday, we decorated a Christmas tree for our classroom. It was a lot of fun! In the spirit of giving, Wattle Grove Primary is also taking donations of non-perishable food item for the Hill's Christmas Charity. Thank you to all those families who have already generously donated. Please place any items in the labelled box, located in the Block 3 Wet Area.


 

Festive fun from Tasha

Buoyancy Floats Our Boat

Last Friday afternoon, we performed a science experiment in class, investigating the topic of buoyancy. In teams, students created boats out of foil and placed them in buckets of water. We then added rubber teddies to the boats and counted how many the boat could hold, before it began to sink. 

From this experiment, students developed a better understanding of buoyancy and consolidated their investigating skills. 

Buoyancy from Tasha

Blast from the Past

In HASS we looked at some items from Miss B’s family’s past. We tried to guess what the function of each piece of technology was. We then made connections to items we have in our homes today and discussed how technology continues to change and improve. 

VHS tape

Gameboy Colour

Mobile phone

Measuring cup for pounds and ounces

Hand beater

Audio cassette tape

Maths Update

In Maths, we have been practising our times tables. The Year Twos have been focusing on their 3s and 4s, while the Year Threes have been learning their 6s and 7s. The students have been using the Part, Part, Whole strategy to become familiar with the relationship between multiplication and division sums. They have enjoyed working on multiplication and division word problems with Miss Larkins and Mr Blight. 

Literacy Update

This term, we have been revising key concepts we have learnt this year. We have been particularly focusing on our proofreading skills. We have been working in our teams to proofread passages for spelling and punctuation errors. This fortnight’s spelling rule is around plural nouns. If a word ends in a consonant y, ‘change the y to an i and add es.’ If a word ends in a vowel followed by a y, ‘just add s.’

Assembly

Last Friday we had our figurative language assembly. The students did a magnificent job learning and reciting their parts! Thank you to all the family members who organised such lovely costumes. Congratulations to Georgia, Connor & Sophie on winning a Merit Certificate and to Ava (Values Award) and Thomas (Science Award). Here are some photos for your enjoyment. 

Room 23 & room 24 assembly from Tasha

Identities

During week two, we participated in a “getting to know you” activity. It focussed on how people are all vastly different, but we are also very much similar to one another. The central activity was to form a diversity line, where children were asked to step forwards if they agreed with a statement being read. Students were then divided into small groups where they discussed their similarities and differences and recorded these using a Venn diagram.

Then, during Week Three, the students then completed a follow up lesson, learning about differences and similarities between students in Australia and other countries in the world. The children learnt lots of new things about each other.

Dancing Lessons

Dancing lessons are under way. The students have loved the Slosh and have now learnt the Progressive Jive. Not only have they been learning some spectacular dance moves, they have also been learning the social etiquette for partner dancing. At the end of each lesson, students have been learning choreography for their funky hip hop routine. The students (and all the teachers) have been enjoying these lessons. 

Assembly Update

Assembly Dress Rehearsal 

Our class assembly is being held in the undercover area next Friday, November 3.  We will be having a dress rehearsal on Wednesday, November 1. This will enable students to practise our item in their costume, prior to Friday. Please send your child’s costume and any props to school with your child in a plastic bag, clearly marked with their name.
Thanks for your support,

Miss Tasha Blechynden & Mr Rhys Thurston
(Room 23 & Room 24 Classroom Teachers)

Swimming

Room 23 will be commencing swimming lessons in Week 5. Payment is due this week. Please ensure that both the yellow permission skip and medical details form are returned also.

Kalahockey Incursion

Please note that students are invited to attend a free hockey incursion next Friday, October 27, during their regular sport lesson. Please ensure the signed blue permission slip is returned by this Friday, October 20.

Pre-Service Teacher Profiles

Hi,

My name is Mr. Blight and I am very excited to have the opportunity to be a student teacher at your student’s school for the next four weeks. I am thoroughly excited and happy to be a part of Miss Blechynden’s Year 2/3 class! The next month will be an explosion of learning for both your child and myself. I cannot wait to see what the next few weeks have in store for us, and I’m so excited to be teaching some lessons to your children.

My name is Maeve Larkins and I am in my second year of a Bachelor of Education at Edith Cowan University. I am in Tasha Blechynden’s Year 2/3 class with a wonderful class of students. I have already learnt so much during my time at Wattle Grove Primary, and look forward to learning even more over the next four weeks. Thank you for having me at this wonderful school. 

Welcome Back!

Hi everyone,

I trust that you all had an enjoyable holiday. The students have settled in well to what is going to be a very busy term. This term, we will be revising previously taught concepts learnt previously, to ensure students master these key skills.

Last week, we had a special visit from the Director General of Education, who presented our school with a special award, in light of the Expert Review Group inquiry, conducted earlier in the year.

Humphrey's Dance lessons also started last Thursday. The students had a great time doing the Slosh, progressive jive and learning some basic hip hop moves. This is a great opportunity for students to improve their coordination and social skills.

As you may be aware, it is our class assembly soon. This is now going to be held on November 3 (Friday Week 4). We will be joining with Room 24 to present an item based on figurative language, which has been a focus in our writing lessons. Further correspondence in relation to speaking parts/ costuming will be sent home in the near future. This is an exciting time for the students, and hopefully you can make it.

We are also hosting two ECU Pre-Service teachers this term. Mr  Blight and Miss Larkins. They will be with us for 4 weeks. We trust that their time in our classroom will be an enjoyable experience and we look forward to working with them!

Thanks for your ongoing support,

Miss B

Learning Journeys

Just a reminder that Learning Journeys will be taking place this Tuesday, September 19, commencing at 2:00 and concluding at 3:30. Any students whose parents are not in attendance will be dismissed, as normal, at 2:30 pm. The students and I are looking forward to sharing this event with you.

Miss B

HASS Projects

In HASS the students have been using books from the library and the Kiddle search engine, to research a significant celebration/commemoration. They have been refining their note taking skills to complete an overview of their special day, answering key questions. 

In Week 10, the students will be presenting their findings to their peers. Some students have even transferred the IT skills we’ve been learning in the Lab and have created a Power Point to supplement their presentation. I have been impressed with the students’ dedication and initiative. Students are familiar with the rubric below.

Fire Incursion

Last Tuesday, we had a visit from the Welshpool Fire Station. Our incursion started with a fire safety talk, where we looked at different images and had to pick out the fire hazards.

Once we learnt all about different fire hazards, we then discussed what to do if there is a fire at home and at school. The firemen encouraged the students to talk with their families about developing an emergency plan and identify a safe meeting point, in case of a fire.

Next, we were able to explore the fire trucks. We were very lucky as we had three fire trucks come to our school. The fire fighters were so much fun and let us squirt the water from the hoses.

Some of the main messages we heard from this incursion were:
- Call 000 if there is a fire emergency
- If you hear the smoke alarm going off at home, the most important thing is to get out of the house and away from the fire. Don't try to get your favourite toy.
- You must keep everything a ‘metre from the heater.’
- If there is a fire, drop down low and go, go, go!
- Matches and lighters aren't toys, they are tools.
- Fire fighters don't just put out fires, they do lots different jobs. Some of these include rescuing people from car crashes, saving animals, helping people who get locked out of their cars.

Welshpool fire fighters incursion from Tasha

Faction Carnival

Last Monday, we had our Wattle Grove Faction Carnival. It was a fun day and the weather was lovely!

Faction carnival from Tasha

Wattle Day

On Friday, September 1^st, we celebrated Wattle Day. Wattle Day celebrates Australia’s qualities of good humour, fairness, generosity, informality and democracy. We made special Wattle Day flags and wrote a card for our family or friends.

Book Week

In Week 7, we had a great time celebrating Book Week. We talked a lot about characterisation and the students completed a character profile of their favourite book character, identifying physical and personality traits. They then gave a short oral presentation to their classmates.

On Friday, we met with our Kindy buddies to share some of our favourite stories before showing off our FABULOUS costumes in the parade. Thanks to all the parents for your wonderful, creative costuming! It really did make the day so special.

Book week from Tasha

Happy Fathers' Day

‘Happy Fathers’ Day’ to all the Room 23 dads. I hope you had a great day and enjoyed your special gifts.

Cross Country

On Friday, August 18, some of the students from Room 23 participated in the Cross Country event. It was a long distance race and those who participated are commended for their commitment and perseverance.

 

Cross Country from Tasha

Poetry Spot

In VCOP sessions this term, we have been learning different styles of poetry. We wrote some fabulous cinquain poems about sunflowers. A cinquain poem includes a noun, verbs and adjectives.

 

Our topic was ‘Sunflowers’. We looked at lots of images of sunflowers and brainstormed words that captured their beauty and how they made us feel. This week’s Writer of the Week was Joan. We loved the way she used personification!

 

Sunflowers

Beautiful, Divine

Blooming, Dancing, Swinging

Dancing in the wind.

                                  Sunflowers

All our beautiful poems and wax crayon drawings are on display in our classroom.

Healthy Lifestyles

This term, we have been investigating what makes a healthy, balanced lifestyle. One of the components is a healthy diet.  We looked at the Australian Government’s Guide to healthy eating. Our plate should be filled with lots of vegetables and high fibre foods. Treats are ok sometimes and, in small amounts. We cut out pictures from food catalogues and created out own healthy eating plates.

 

Of course, there is more to a balanced lifestyle than just a healthy diet. Some of the other ideas we brainstormed in our teams were:

• Having fresh air to breathe
• Drinking lots of water
• Accessing first aid
• Exercise
• Having friends and trusted adults to share with
• Having a bath/shower regularly
• Looking after our teeth.

Fabulous Forces

This semester, we are learning about Physical Sciences. To celebrate Science Week, we joined 'forces' with Miss Ahern’s class to do some investigating; gravity, friction, buoyancy and magnetism. I wonder if you can find examples of these forces around the house? 

Fabulous forces from Tasha

NAIDOC Week Celebrations

Last week, we celebrated NAIDOC Week, where we recognise Aboriginal and Islander culture and heritage. The students had a lot of fun making damper, designing the decoration on a boomerang, finding the animals in a bush scene and learning their aboriginal names and finding the names of the different parts of the school posted up around the school in Aboriginal and learning them and their meaning. The week culminated in an assembly with special guests James and his team from Reconciliation WA, a not for profit organisation, mentored by Carole Innes, grandparent to the Yacoub children at our school. The guests were particularly impressed with the singing of the aboriginal song, 'Wanju Wanju' and the school song. It was a lot of fun and a memorable experience for all involved.

A big thank you to Mrs P, who saved the day with the damper making…definitely making up for Miss B’s lack of cooking expertise! Here is the recipe!

Ingredients:
- 1 cup of plain flour
- 1 cup of self-raising flour
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon of salt

Method:
Once you have all the ingredients you just mix them together, form little buns and then cook them on 180 degrees for about 20 minutes.