HAPPY HARMONY DAY!

Harmony Day Parade

Just a reminder that the Wattle Grove Harmony Day Parade will be taking place this Tuesday, March 21^st. Our class will be parading in the 8:45am parade. Students are encouraged to come dressed in a national costume, or in the colour orange. No thongs or singlets please.

I hope to see you there,

Miss B

Super Writers to the Rescue!

In our VCOP sessions, we have now commenced our narrative unit. This week, we looked at characterisation, around a superhero topic. We created a superhero and then completed a character profile, considering their appearance, superpowers, mission and gadgets. The student then had a go at writing an introductory paragraph, describing their character using colourful vocabulary and powerful verbs. Some of their work is featured below for your enjoyment:

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Fiona. Even though she was a princess, she still was beautiful. She had her birthday a few weeks ago. She was turning eighteen. For her birthday, she got a superhero toy chest. She loved it so much but that was all about to change... 
~Alyssa

As I woke up, on a sensational morning, I felt very strange. Then, as I stretched, a lazer. ZOOM! In one second, it shot through my ceiling...WOAH! 
~Sophie

One bright, sunny day, a super hero named Muscle Man was at the training room, lifting huge boulders. Muscle man had brown wyes ans strong muscles. He worked at Brigh Hill, in an apartment. He liked fighting bad guys. Most of all, he liked to win everything!
~ Gagan

You've Got a Friend in Me- Kindy Buddies

On Thursday, we met with our Kindy buddies from Mrs Fletcher’s class, to make flags for the Harmony Day Parade. Miss B talked to everybody about why we celebrate Harmony Day. We looked at some different flags and then helped our buddies match the colours. We talked about what country we were from. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and  we can’t wait to see our buddies again at the parade!

Buddies from Tasha

Numero Challenge!

On Friday, Miss B taught Room 22 and Room 23 how to complete Numero challenges! This was lots of fun. You can play on your own or with a buddy. These are the rules:

1.      The answer must be in your hand.

2.      You can only use each card once

3.      To get the best take you can, always check to see if there is more than one solution!

This game is great for building the children’s (and adults) mental maths and problem solving skills. Numero Club is open to the Year 3 students on Fridays at lunch, in the library. Last year, a group of Year 6 students had the opportunity to participate in the Interschool Numero competition. I think we might have some Numero champions in the making!

'Out of This World' Science Investigation

This term, we have been learning about the solar system. We used books and the internet to look for lots of facts about our planet, Earth. Then, last Friday, the students worked with their ‘Shoulder Partner’ to research facts about another planet. They used a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the two planets, which is one of the strategies we’ve learnt about in our reading sessions. Ask us about some of the awesome facts we’ve learnt! 

Science investigation from Tasha

Parent Interviews

Parent interviews will be conducted, Wednesday April 5^th, from 12:30 pm to 5 pm. Please return your orange form ASAP so that I can do my best to allocate you a preferred timeslot. Times will be allocated using a first in, first served basis as number of times are very popular. 

Motivation Work

Students in Year 2 and 3 should be completing some Motivation Work each night. This includes; home reading, a daily spelling activity, and the weekly practice sheet. Students can also log onto Study Ladder and Literacy Pro to do some extra activities.

·         Children will only have up to 30 minutes homework a day.

·         Children are encouraged to read aloud to an adult each day, to improve fluency and expression. Home readers swapped each Monday but children are free to read other books as well.

·         If children get their reading log filled and signed for 5 weeks, they receive a book prize.

·         Word Problem Wednesday is to be completed by the next day.

·         Practice Sheet is marked on a Monday and the new one is then distributed.

·         Students need to bring their Motivation Folder to class each day, for the team tool check and in case any notes go home.

·         Please check the folder regularly for written correspondence.

·         If you wish to challenge your child, there are several free online activities/apps available. Also, encourage literacy and numeracy skills in every day contexts. For example, counting, measuring ingredients, telling time etc.

Pictured above are Year 2 students; Alex, Saadhana, Alyssa & Trinity, sharing their optional Challenge Work that they have completed to an exceptional standard! It’s great to see you so keen to improve your skills. Keep up the fantastic work!

Making Connections

Good readers always make connections as they go. We can make text to self connections, text to text connections and even text to world connections! In our teams, we read a text about dolphins and then did an ‘All Write Round Robin’ to record our different ideas. We made connections to our own experiences of dolphins, to other books and movies about dolphins and any facts about dolphins. Once we had recorded our ideas, the Chairperson from each team reported back to the class.  In our Guided Reading groups we have also been making connections. 

Congratulations!

Last Friday, we had our first Senior Assembly for the year. Congratulations to our Merit Certificate winners; Alyssa, Thomas and Taj, who have made a fantastic start to the year. Keep working hard, Room 23!

Team Building- Forming Solid Foundations...

The students have now settled into their new Kagan teams, which they will remain in until the end of term. As a fun, interactive way to get to know their new team, the students were given just 4 minutes to design and build the tallest tower they could…MADE FROM SPAGHETTI AND MARSHMALLOWS!  There were lots of wonderful ideas being shared and some great team work taking place. It was a tough competition but the winner was Silver Team, despite a last minute collapse of their impressive spire. It was so much fun that everyone felt like a winner!

Spaghetti towers from Tasha

It's All About Room 23!

In Week 6, the students had the opportunity to share some of the things that make them unique. The objective of this task was for students to give a more formal oral presentation to their peers. They focussed on volume, pace, expression, eye contact and confident body language. Developing sound public speaking skills will be beneficial to students both in their schooling and professional careers. Thank you to all the parents and family members who helped them to prepare for their speech. The students demonstrated excellent organisation and were confident when presenting,

The results from this task will be in the test books, which will be sent home later in the term.

Well done, Room 23!

All About me from Tasha

ICT in the Classroom

Students have been making use of the computers in our classroom to access Studyladder and Literacy Pro. The goal for this term is for students to be able to independently log in and out of these webpages, using their unique username and password. Both programs are very engaging and motivating  and a great way for students to revise concepts covered in class. They are accessible on a computer or tablet with internet connection, although it is always recommended that parents closely supervise children’s internet usage. 

Speaking and Listening Project

Dear Parents,

Next week, your child will be asked to present a 2 - 3 minute speech all about themselves, as part of our Speaking and Listening Program. They will have this week to prepare, before our class presentations start on the 7^th of March.

Please assist your child to complete their poster, which they will be able to use to guide their presentation. I will be assessing them on their volume, speed, voice, body language, eye contact and their content. These results will be placed into their test files for you to see at the end of the term.

Please see the below timetable for your child’s scheduled speech.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Miss B

Tuesday 7th of March	Wednesday 8th of March	Thursday  9th of March	Friday 10th of March
Alyssa Saadhana Gagan Thomas Chinmayi Joan	Riley Georgia Alex Connor Maddison	Leila Trinity Skyla Taj Ava	Kai Nadia Sophie Aaliyah Andrew  Charlotte

Literacy Pro Update

Last week, the Year Three students completed their Literacy Pro placement test and are now familiar with their Lexile score. This is written in their Motivation Book and helps students select books appropriate to their level of comprehension. I will also be assigning a weekly reader which can be accessed via the Literacy Pro Library tab in the Scholastic Learning Zone. They are encouraged to read books and complete tests regularly. 

Here are a few tips:

1.      Complete the quiz straight after reading the book.

2.      Have the book handy to scan for the answers.

3.      Read the question carefully.

4.      If you don’t get 80% or higher, re-read the book and try again.

It is incredible that, in just one week, the Year Threes in Room 23 have read 77, 681 words and completed nearly 30 quizzes. They are hungry for that trophy!

All students should be reading aloud to an adult for 5-10 minutes each night and engaging in discussions about what they have read. Keep reading, Room 23!

New Whiteboard Erasers!

Miss B’s extremely generous Zumba instructor recently donated a set of mini whiteboard erasers to Room 23. The students really appreciated her generosity and were keen to write letters, thanking her for her kindness. Mrs Ryan was delighted by the thoughtfulness of the children and said that she loved every single one of them!