Grade Prep Term 1 Newsletter

General
This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your children’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. To find out what other year levels are doing, please refer to the school’s website. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

Welcome to the Grade Prep Department for 2021! Our wonderful teachers are Mrs Emily Hicks (PEH), Mrs Sarah Blair (PSB), Miss Emily Gezun (PEG), Mrs Paige Deacon (PPD) and Miss Melissa Crosthwaite (PMC) who is our Team Leader. We hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable summer break, and that you’re ready and eager for a wonderful year together.

We could not be more pleased with the positive start the children have made to their first year of school, and all students should be incredibly proud of their efforts. It is so lovely to see such bright and happy faces arriving at the classroom each morning, ready to “Be Brave” and take on a new day of learning. We thank you, parents and carers, for your openness, honesty and flexibility during our start of year Prep Assessment Interviews, prior to the first day of school. The Prep Team immensely enjoyed getting to know you, and your child, during these appointments, and we look forward to using the information gathered to create engaging and purposeful learning experiences for all students.

To continue supporting your child’s positive start to school, we encourage you to instil independence in them, such as by letting them walk to, and enter, their classroom by themselves of a morning, and carry their own school bag. We look forward to sharing an exciting and successful year of learning and fun with your child, as well as working in partnership with you to support your child’s growth and development during such a special year of school.

Literacy
What an exciting start we have made with developing our love of reading! The children have been eagerly exploring their classroom libraries , listening to exciting picture story books, and have begun to learn how to use the pictures to help them read and understand a story. Throughout the term, we will continue to develop our own Independent Reading ‘Desktop Libraries’ so we can explore the features of simple texts and practise important reading skills such as using the pictures to help us read, remembering the text pattern, pointing to the words, and reading from left to right.

Children will also have the opportunity to create their own texts during our Writer’s Workshop sessions. Using popular picture books such as ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and ‘Mrs Wishy Washy’, students will borrow these authors’ ideas and create their own book, becoming authors themselves in the process! During the term we will focus on developing our Independent Writing skills by drawing pictures to convey a message and learning about letter sounds and how we can use these to write words. We will also engage in shared Language Experiences, which will develop our reading, writing, and vocabulary skills.

Numeracy
Our budding Mathematicians are enjoying engaging in a range of hands on and open activities to help them consolidate their number knowledge to 12. An important part of our Prep Numeracy across the year is developing each child’s ‘Number Sense’, so that they have a solid foundation on which to build later skills. This term, we will be exploring how to make, recognise, and order number collections to 12, as well as focusing on the importance of careful counting, by ensuring we count every item in a group. We will also be exploring 2D shapes in our environment and how we can use these shapes to make different patterns.

Inquiry
Our Term 1 Inquiry focus is “All About Me”, where students will focus on their personal and social learning through our Play Is The Way activities and lessons, their Investigations time in the classroom, and during the setting up of classroom routines and expectations. The students learn about their place at Lara Lake by becoming aware of themselves as people and learners, and establishing positive relationships with their peers. Through open interactions with the many staff at school, students also become familiar and comfortable with different teachers and environments. This Inquiry unit is based on developing and maintaining these relationships so that students feel happy, safe, and confident throughout the whole year.

Developing Independence

Term 1 focuses on developing your child’s independence as quickly as possible. We establish high expectations of the students from day 1, and continual modelling and reinforcement of these expectations leads your child to develop the responsibility and independence they need to be successful at school.

At school, students are expected to pack and unpack their bag and lunch box (including opening packets/containers), take off and put on their own jumpers, tie/do up their own shoes, and bring their satchel and hand in notes and lunch orders as required. We ask that children carry their own school bag and walk to line up at their classroom when the music plays of a morning, and follow the expectations of being a Lara Lake student whilst on school grounds.

We understand that students will misplace belongings throughout the year, such as hats and jumpers, and we ask that students look in their classroom for their belongings during the day, and that families check lost property regularly.

Reminders
A reminder that Department of Education policy stipulates that phones, watches or other devices with communicative ability cannot be carried by students while on the school premises during school hours, without Principal approval. For further details please refer to the policy documents on Compass and the Lara Lake PS website.
Hats: Until April 30^th, our SunSmart ‘No Hat, No Play’ policy is in force. As such, your child’s hat is kept safely in their classroom to ensure they are able to play outside during Term 1.

Water Bottles: Please ensure your child brings a named, full drink bottle to school each day. Students are able to refill their drink bottles from their classroom sink.

Label Clothes and Belongings: Please ensure ALL items (jumpers, hats, lunch containers, water bottles, etc) are clearly labelled with your child’s name and grade. If these items are misplaced, they are easier to return if they are named. Any unnamed items will be taken to lost property.

Classroom Donations: We would appreciate any donations of tissues, hand sanitiser, and paper towel.

Home Reading: Home Reading will commence in Week 6. Students will need to take responsibility for bringing their satchel, reading diary, and book to school.

Canteen: Prep students can commence using the canteen for lunch orders and over the counter sales from Tuesday 9^th March. Prep students are not to use or access the canteen before then. We encourage Prep students to only bring a GOLD COIN to spend at the canteen for over the counter sales.

The Prep Team

Grade One Term One Newsletter

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your children’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. To find out what other year levels are doing, please refer to the school’s website. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

General
Welcome to the Grade 1 Department of 2021! The students have made a great start to Grade 1 and have settled into their classes well. For the beginning of Term 1, we have focused upon setting up classroom routines and expectations. Together with the classroom teacher, students are developing an understanding of the different ways that they like to learn through completing a range of activities. They have also begun to recognise and respect differences within their classroom as students build relationships with one another and understand themselves as learners. Throughout the term we will incorporate Play is The Way games and Community Circles to immerse students in team building and problem solving activities to encourage a safe, productive and harmonious community.

This year we have 5 Grade 1 classes. The classroom teachers in Term 1 are Mrs Laura Kelson grade sharing with Mrs Jess Millard (1KM), Mrs Chelsea Bevan (1CB), Mr Gregory Quirk (1GQ), Ms Allison Scrivener (1AS) and Mr Stephen Hargreaves (1SH) who is our Team Leader for 2021, Mrs Tripolino will be working in Grade 1SH for some part of each day. We look forward to sharing an exciting and successful year of learning and fun with your child.

Literacy
What a start to 2021 it has been for Grade 1! We have been excited to get straight back into our classrooms, build our classroom libraries and begin our independent reading for the year. Each classroom will have a stylish, student created library for your children to select the books of their choice for their learning!
An important part of the literacy success of your child is to be supported at home and this can be done through weekly home reading. Reading aloud to your child can be one of your best parenting experiences! We hope that you and your child create many loving memories as you explore children's books together over the coming year.
The reading patterns you establish at home directly influence your child’s ability to do well in school. One of our major goals this year in Grade 1 is to help your child grow further as a reader. You have a big role to play in achieving this. The best way for your children to grow as readers is for them to read daily. At Lara Lake Primary School, we are very proud of the progress that our children make with their Literacy learning. With the support that we as teachers give in the classroom and the support that you provide at home, each child progresses at their own rate and we celebrate each achievement that is made.

This year there will be a strong focus on the Writing Workshop. Student choice and ownership of their own writing is often foregrounded in the Writing Workshop. Responsibility lies with the students as they plan, draft, revise and publish. The teacher scaffolds and models the writing process. The students keep a Writer’s Notebook to record their ideas and thoughts as they progress through the stages of writing. The application of the genres would depend on what the students chooses to write about.

Numeracy
In Numeracy this term, students have begun the year by asking simple questions about themselves and collecting data to make their own simple graphs which will link in with the Inquiry topic “Belonging to Our Community”. Students will continue to practice and develop their understanding relating to counting and place value. They will also engage in practical hands on activities to explore numbers up to 100 and be able to read, recognise and make models of these numbers. Students will count with number sequences to and from 100 by ones from any starting point. They will skip count by twos, fives and tens starting from zero and recognise and order numbers to at least 100 and locate these numbers on a number line. By the end of the term, students will use their number knowledge to investigate, describe and create number patterns. Families can support at home by playing games involving counting and number facts, and providing opportunities for your children to explore real life mathematics.

Inquiry
The Integrated Inquiry this term is ‘Learning to Learn/Belonging To Our Community.’ Throughout this unit, students will embrace themselves as individuals by sharing their interests. They will also learn more about their families and the different communities that they belong to. Students will develop their understanding of their school community including their roles and responsibilities. They will have the opportunity to not only learn about their roles and responsibilities but about the roles and responsibilities of the people who work at their school including the librarian, office staff and education support staff which will help the students to further understand their school community. By students understanding themselves, their friends, their families and their school, students will apply this learning to their local community, Lara.

Reminders
A reminder that Department of Education policy stipulates that phones, watches or other devices with communicative ability cannot be carried by students while on the school premises during school hours, without Principal approval. For further details please refer to the policy documents on Compass and the Lara Lake PS website.

Parent Helpers on Excursions

Just a reminder that if you are wishing to volunteer to assist on Grade 1 excursions, parents are now required to have a Working with Children Check. If unsure, check with the office to see what this entails.

Book Pouches/satchels

Please support your child to bring their Book Pouch and reading material to school.
Drink Bottles

Please ensure your child has a water bottle each day with their name clearly labelled.
Hats, Hats, Hats!

The weather remains warm and our No Hat No Play! Policy is in force. Please ensure your child brings their school hat, with their name clearly labelled, to school each day to protect them from the harsh UV rays.
Label all Clothes and Belongings

Please ensure that all items belonging to your child are clearly labelled with their full name and grade.
Class donations

We would appreciate any donations of tissues, paper towel and hand sanitiser.
Attendance
Please write a note via Compass, to your child’s teacher to explain your child’s absence.

The Year One Team

Grade Two Term One Newsletter

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your children’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. To find out what other year levels are doing, please refer to the school’s website. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

General
WELCOME TO TERM 1, 2021! After the roller coaster year we had in 2020, we hope you have all enjoyed a well-deserved break with your families and friends. The Grade Two team is excited to be back and has thoroughly enjoyed getting to know your child both personally and academically over the past couple of weeks. We have such a busy term ahead full of fun-filled learning!

This year, the composition of the Grade Two team has seen some major changes. Both Miss Gezun and Mrs. Deacon have headed to the Prep Departments whilst Mr. Hill will fulfil a role as our Mixed Specialist teacher. In their place, Mr. Schubert will be joined by Mrs. Barnwell (2KB), Ms. Hosking (2MH), Mr. Freeman (2BF), Mr. Bosevski (2MB) and Ms. Lambert (2KL). Our team also includes the wonderful Mrs. Cowell.

The Grade Two team believes that open, honest parent-teacher communication is vital to ensure your child is safe, happy and learning. If there is any correspondence that requires the attention of your child’s classroom teacher, feel free to contact us directly via Compass. Alternatively, you can still choose to write us a quick hand-written note and place it in your child’s take home pouch. For more urgent matters, please contact the office directly. The team will endeavour to reply to any queries as soon as possible.

Finally, students should have brought home their Home Reading Log by the end of Week 2. In Grade Two, students are expected to read for a minimum of 10 minutes, four days a week (40 minutes per week). Please make sure that this reading is entered into your child’s log and is signed. Students will also be relying on their green Lara Lake ‘take home pouches’ to take home borrowed books from our classroom library. If you have any questions in regards to homework, please contact your child’s classroom teacher.

Literacy
One of the best things about a new year in a new classroom is for students to participate in setting up their classroom library! This involves students previewing a wide variety of texts as well as categorising and labelling them. Students are currently learning about the expectations of the daily Reading program within their classroom including ways to select texts which are ‘Just Right’.

DID YOU KNOW that a child who reads for 67.3 minutes a day will read a total of 4,733,000 words a year? This puts them in the 98^th percentile rank! This includes any form of reading such as signs, books, notes etc. Whilst we do not expect Grade Two students to read for this amount of time, clearly the more they read, the better they will get!

This year in Grade Two, students will continue to learn about the key ‘comprehension strategies’ of predicting, clarifying, questioning, summarising, visualising and inferring. As parents, encouraging your children to use these strategies during their home reading is imperative to develop their reading development. Some strategies you might choose to employ are:

• When reading a new book, encouraging them to make predictions before, during and after reading.
• Check their reading comprehension by asking them to visualise and describe the setting, characters or their actions.
• Encourage your son or daughter to point out unknown words. Encourage them to read around the word, or use text clues to figure out its meaning.
• Support your child to ask questions about the text and author.
• Encourage them to summarise or retell what has occurred in the book.
• Encourage your child to read a balance of fiction and non-fiction.
• Discuss the characters. Who was their favourite? Why?
• Ask them whether they enjoyed the book.

Research has shown that the best readers are those who read for the most amount of time….who knew!? It is essential that we work as a home/school team. Please monitor your child’s home reading to ensure they are reading daily.

In Writing, students have personalised and set up their Writer’s Notebook. During the first few weeks of term, students will be engaging in a range of Writer’s Notebook ‘Seed’ activities designed to stimulate their imaginations and inspire them to write. Of course, students will also have daily opportunities to engage in Independent Writing. Also this term, students will be learning about the ‘Writing Process’ which includes; selecting seed ideas, planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. Students will also be exploring different text types as well as investigate new vocabulary and spelling strategies. We are looking forward to seeing the wonderful work that will be produced throughout the term!

Mathematics
During the first parts of Term One, students will be developing their understanding of Place Value (one, tens, hundreds) and Skip Counting by a range of numbers (e.g. 2s, 3s, 5s, 10s) from zero and other given numbers. In our mid-term Measurement unit, students will be learning about length and area. They will devise a range of informal (hands, paddle pop sticks) units to help them measure. Finally, students will be learning about Chance and Data at the end of the term. It’s going to be great term of learning together!

Inquiry
Our Inquiry unit for Term One is ‘You, Me, We.’ Together with our Play is the Way program, students will be exploring ‘who they are, how they are similar and different to the people around them, how they can understand those who are different,’ as well as ‘how culture influences peoples’ way of living.’ Throughout this unit, students will be comparing and contrasting different cultures, explore the meaning of right and wrong, good and bad as well as the importance of respecting people’s differences.

A reminder that Department of Education policy stipulates that phones, watches or other devices with communicative ability cannot be carried by students while on the school premises during school hours, without Principal approval. For further details please refer to the policy documents on Compass and the Lara Lake PS website.

The Grade Two Team

Grade 3 Term 1 Curriculum News 2021

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your children’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. To find out what other year levels are doing, please refer to the school’s website. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

GENERAL

Welcome to the 2021 school year! The Grade 3 students have all settled in nicely to their new learning spaces. The staff and students are excited to be back and there’s a really nice ‘feel’ in the air as we move into our first term together. This year the Grade 3 Team will be Mrs Tracey Hall (3TH), Mr Leigh Robinson (3LR), Mr Austin Robinson (3AR) and Mrs Catherine Dowling (3CD).

In Grade 3, we seriously encourage and support the students with building independence and resilience. With this independence, students will be expected to manage their belongings, time, homework and personal awareness. We kindly ask that you support this at home. We also ask that you discuss the importance of completing homework tasks on time. Students will be given access to school funded iPads within class time at a ratio of 1:2. This will help them to develop their research skills as well as support their learning across all areas of their Education. Each iPad will be allocated to the same two students for the year and it will be their responsibility to ensure it is looked after and charged at the end of every day.

It would be greatly appreciated if your child could bring in 1 or 2 boxes of tissues to use in the classroom throughout the year.

We look forward to working together to best support your child during their time in Grade 3 at Lara Lake. Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher. Compass continues to be our main form of communication. Alternatively, you can contact the office directly. We ask that if you need to speak with your child’s teacher, that you organise a phone call at a mutually appropriate time.

LITERACY

This term, we are focusing on empowering students with the knowledge and ability to select ‘Just Right’ books—books or texts that suit the individual needs of our students. They have been familiarising themselves with their own student-driven Classroom Library, and learning to utilise the features of this incredible resource. Their Reading Journals will serve as a tool to track their individual goals and daily reading, while the Reading Response section will enable students to provide evidence of how they are working towards achieving their goals. In Writing, the students will be exploring the Writer’s Workshop. Our Writer’s Notebooks will be used to collect and record exciting ‘Seed Ideas’ for a range of writing genres and they will be able to personalise the cover to reflect their interests. You will have received a note home explaining the collection of items for students to personalize their Writers Notebooks. If you have and queries regarding the Writer’s Notebook, please see your child’s teacher. We are very much looking forward to supporting them in their writing this term!

Epic: https://www.getepic.com/ Your child’s teacher will send home log in details shortly.

Sunshine online – Username: LLPS3212 Password: LLPS3212

NUMERACY

In Mathematics this term, the children will learn about a range of concepts, skills and strategies with a specific focus on Place Value. They will also focus on recalling basic number facts quickly and accurately (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). Children will understand the purpose for learning these skills and strategies and how they are linked to everyday life. Families can support at home by supporting the completion of homework, and by encouraging your child to play games involving counting and number facts. We encourage you to set up a home routine to practise quick recall of the 2, 5 and 10 times tables along with the related division fact (i.e. 2 x 5 = 10 &10 ÷ 5 = 2).

Hit the Button: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Prodigy: www.prodigygame.com

INQUIRY

During Term 1, students in Grade 3 will be working collaboratively for our topic, ‘Living and Learning Together’. As part of this unit, students will learn about learning independently, within a classroom community and understanding that everyone operates differently. This inquiry unit is heavily structured around our ‘Play is the Way’ program. Students will participate in many discussions and games as well as engage in team-building tasks with the goal to:

- Identify the importance of including others in activities, groups and games

- Describe the ways in which similarities and differences can affect relationships

- Explore the expression of emotions in social situations and the impact on self and others.

A reminder that Department of Education policy stipulates that phones, watches or other devices with communicative ability cannot be carried by students while on the school premises during school hours, without Principal approval. For further details please refer to the policy documents on Compass and the Lara Lake PS website.

We are excited for the year ahead and we look forward to meeting you either in person if the current restrictions allow or via a phone conversation.

The Year Three Team

Grade Four Term 1 Newsletter

GENERAL
This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your children’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. To find out what other year levels are doing, please refer to the school’s website. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

WELCOME TO TERM 1, 2021! We hope you have all enjoyed a safe, relaxing and happy break with your families and friends. The Grade 4 team is excited to be back and has thoroughly enjoyed getting to know your child both personally and academically. We have such a busy term ahead full of fun-filled learning! The students should be congratulated for the settle start they have had to the year. We have noticed the students are in full school uniform and are turning up to school each day organised and ready to learn.

This year, the Grade 4 team consists of Mrs Simone Confait and Mrs Nyree Asmussen (4AC), Mr. Ian Robinson (3/4R), Mr Austin Robinson (4IR), Mr Damien Schmidt (4DS) and Miss Ashleigh Marruso (4AM).

The Grade 4 team believes that open, honest parent-teacher communication is vital to ensure your child is safe, happy and learning. If there is any correspondence that requires the attention of your class teacher, feel free to contact us via the Compass app. Alternatively, you can still choose to write us a quick hand-written note and place it in your child’s take home pouch. For more urgent matters, please contact the office directly. The team will endeavour to reply to any queries as soon as possible. We look forward to an exciting term of learning.

LITERACY
One of the best things about a new year in a new classroom is for students to participate in setting up their classroom library! This involves students previewing a wide variety of texts as well as categorising and labelling these. Students are currently learning about the expectations of the daily Reading program within their classroom including ways to select texts which are ‘Just Right’.

DID YOU KNOW that a child who reads for 67.3 minutes a day will read a total of 4,733,000 words a year? This puts them in the 98^th percentile rank! This includes any form of reading such as signs, books, notes etc.

In Writing, children will begin to personalise and set up their Writer’s Notebook. Students have been asked to bring along photos or copies of photos they can use to personalise their own Writer’s Notebook. Please be mindful that the photos students bring will be cut and pasted onto a book.

During the first few weeks of this term, students will begin participating in Writing Workshops, where they will be supported to plan, draft and publish their own texts as well as celebrate their texts with different audiences. Writing Workshops will continue throughout the year with students writing ‘Just Right’ texts on a daily basis.


NUMERACY
Students have a higher chance of being engaged and successful in Mathematics if the content we teach is linked to real-life problems.

In Term One, students will be focusing on developing their understanding of Place Value and the Four Processes (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division). Before students are able to understand and solve more complicated maths problems, they need to develop a firm grasp of some of the fundamental aspects of Mathematics. Students will be supported to develop and use a number of mental and written strategies to solve a variety of mathematical problems.

Students will also develop their knowledge of measurement via hands on activities and investigations both within and outside of the classroom.

INQUIRY
Our Term One Inquiry unit is ‘Learning Together.’ Interwoven closely with the school’s prosocial program ‘Play is the Way’, this unit encourages students to explain the consequences of their emotional responses across a wide range of social situations. The unit will refer closely to the Play is the Way Life Raft values to help students develop their resilience, persistence, confidence and getting along skills.

Throughout the term, students identify their personal strengths and areas of future development. They suggest strategies for coping with difficult situations, investigate and discuss which behaviours lead to positive relationships with peers, other people at school and in the community. Finally, students will identify and discuss a range of conflict resolution strategies to develop their independence and ability to negotiate positive outcomes to problems.

SCIENCE
This Term, our Science topic is ‘Smooth Moves’ where students will investigate and explore forces and motion through hands-on activities. They will learn to identify forces that act at a distance and those that act in direct contact, as well as investigate how different-sized forces affect the movement of objects. Who knows, we may just find our next great engineers and scientists who will use their new knowledge to design new things for our school and their home.

iPads
iPads are an essential learning tool in Grade 4, and we remind all students to bring their iPad to school fully charged every day. Teachers have begun setting up their new Google Classroom and students will start to receive digital copies of worksheets as well as the option to complete tasks digitally.

A reminder that Department of Education policy stipulates that phones, watches or other devices with communicative ability cannot be carried by students while on the school premises during school hours, without Principal approval. For further details please refer to the policy documents on Compass and the Lara Lake PS website.

HOMEWORK
Homework is handed in to the classroom teacher every Thursday and the expectations are that our students are reading every night as well as completing self-selected maths tasks (Mathletics, Prodigy, Sunset). Should you be experiencing any difficulties, please do not hesitate to send a handwritten note through to the classroom teacher or send an email via the Compass app.

SUPPLIES
Thank you to all the families who have so far donated much needed tissues and hand sanitiser. These are essential items for the classroom and we thoroughly appreciate the donations. If you have not yet sent in your donation, please do so at your earliest convenience.

The Year Four Team

Grade 5 Term 1 Newsletter

GENERAL COMMENT

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your children’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. To find out what other year levels are doing, please refer to the school’s website. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

GENERAL
Welcome to Term 1, 2021! What a wonderful and positive start we have had. We have transitioned well into our new learning spaces and are slowly filling our walls with learning tasks. The Grade 5 cohort have shown enthusiasm and respect during our first couple of weeks and we expect this to continue throughout the year. We have begun the year reinforcing the high expectations we have of our students and reflecting on the ways in which we are able to maintain these non-negotiables. The Grade 5 students have maintained many of the same routines as last year and will begin to understand the expectations and requirements of being in the Senior Department as the term unfolds.

As the Grade 5 teachers, we aim to promote consistency and unity between the three classes and are excited to work collaboratively to get the very best from our students. There will be opportunities for students to voice opinions and share feedback with each other and their teachers. This year is about generating collaborative learning opportunities, providing leadership opportunities and promoting cooperation amongst our students. We want all students to develop their social and emotional wellbeing, along with their literacy and numeracy skills.

LITERACY
All Grade 5 classes have set up their own classroom libraries. We have a wide variety of fabulous texts of which the students will take ownership, sort, organise and display in their library for everyone to enjoy. Students will have the opportunity to borrow these books to read independently in the classroom daily. Students will continue to be encouraged to practice metacognition and become more aware of their own thinking as they read stories. For example, ‘What questions or wonderings do you have as you are reading?’ ‘Why do you think that?’ ‘Are your wonderings or questions answered in the story?’ ‘How do you know that?’ ‘What does that word mean?’ ‘What can you do if your reading doesn’t make sense?’

Students will be engaged in daily Independent Reading sessions and small group reading support. They will also have the opportunity to be part of a close reading program that will assist in reading a range of articles, highlighting the main idea and answering questions using evidence from the text. Through close reading, students will also be asking detailed questions about the text to further their thinking and comprehension.

In writing, children will once again participate in our Writer’s Workshops, developing their ability to generate seed ideas and write purposeful texts for real audiences. We want students to write with passion and ease, to be motivated, confident writers who see writing as an everyday, useful, even enjoyable tool. Through the use of a ‘Writer’s Notebook’, students will be encouraged to record seed ideas that they can develop into potential written pieces based on their likes, interests and curiosities. Students will be encouraged to explore the many different genres their seed ideas could flow into – narratives, information reports, persuasive pieces etc.

NUMERACY
In Term 1, the Grade 5s will focus on number and place value. Students will investigate the value of larger numbers including how to represent and manipulate these numbers using a range of strategies and materials. Students will be encouraged to solve open ended questions involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and problem solve using a variety of strategies. They will be given opportunities to work in collaborative groups to assist each other in their learning.

INQUIRY
During our first few weeks of 2021, Grade 5 students will be inquiring about themselves and sharing information about themselves both as learners and individuals in and out of school. Students will be exploring how to regulate emotions, maintain respectful relationships, their personal traits and will integrate these into their everyday learning.

SCIENCE
In Science this semester, students will be ‘Wildlife Warriors’ exploring their local and global natural environment and analysing how adaptations of living things enhance their survival. Students will predict and describe the effect of environmental changes on individual living things. Students will have the opportunity to inquire and research sustainability as well as look into taking action at a personal and local level. Students will also be visiting Melbourne Zoo to immerse themselves in the topic.

The Grade 5 Department will oversee our school vegetable garden and look at continuing to transform this area into a user friendly space that promotes self-efficiency.

iPADS
Google Classroom will continue to be an accompaniment to our everyday learning. iPads will be required at school, fully charged so that students can continue to access blended learning. Please ensure any non-school based apps are deleted from your child’s iPad to comply with the LLPS User Agreement.
A reminder that Department of Education policy stipulates that phones, watches or other devices with communicative ability cannot be carried by students while on the school premises during school hours, without Principal approval. For further details please refer to the policy documents on Compass and the Lara Lake PS website.

HOMEWORK
Each week the Grade 5 students will receive their homework log sheets as well as an outline of the week’s expectations. Their log requires students to record their Reading and Maths homework and must be signed and dated by a parent/carer each night. According to the Homework Policy, Grade 5 students are required to read for four nights a week, twenty minutes per night. This equates to eighty minutes of reading.
Students are also asked to complete forty minutes of Maths homework per week which is also recorded and initialled by a parent or guardian. The Maths homework involves students using iPad apps such as Sumdog, Sunset Maths, Hit the Button (Times Tables) and Essential Assessment. They are all wonderful resources and we will keep you informed if there are other apps that will be of use throughout the year.

Please ensure your child is bringing their green LLPS reading satchel to school each day so that they may swap their home reading books and borrow from the class library.

There will also be opportunities throughout the term for students to actively write when at home as well as revise the Science content covered in class. Homework is due every MONDAY.

As always, we look forward to working with our families and students to make 2021 the best year yet!

Mrs Torney, Mr Leggett and Mr Joustra

Grade 6 Term 1 Curriculum Newsletter

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your children’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. To find out what other year levels are doing, please refer to the school’s website. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

The Grade 6 team would like to welcome all the families back for an exciting 2021. After a complicated and challenging year in 2020, we are setting our eyes forward on the year ahead and believing in great things! We’d like to formally welcome two new members into the Grade 6 team: Kate Miller and Olivia Bell.
We have hit the ground running with students eagerly applying for many of the leadership opportunities. Whilst the successful candidates will be recognised in due course, we would like to congratulate all students who moved themselves out of their comfort zones to write, practise and present their speeches. We have an exceptional group of leaders within our Grade 6 cohort this year and would like to remind all students that you don’t need to be wearing a badge to positively lead and impact the people around you. Every student is a leader in their own right.

Compass is the preferred communication tool across the school. Parents are encouraged to use the program to inform teachers of any non-urgent matters or clarify any questions. If the matter is more urgent, please contact the school administration or make an appointment via Compass to see us.

LITERACY
In Reading, we are striving for a genuine love for reading by sharing favourite books, authors, book series and genres. Please foster your child's engagement in reading by joining the local library, sharing books, talking about ideas, events, new vocabulary, reading together and by offering engaging texts that your child can discuss and will enjoy. We ask that students use their knowledge of what a ‘Just Right’ text is and choose a variety of genres to broaden their textual knowledge (including a balance of fiction, non-fiction, challenging, easy and ‘just right’ texts). Please listen to your child read occasionally and talk about the texts, including community and world events and issues.

In Writing, the students have previously used their Writer’s Notebooks to record and draw upon a range of ideas and experiences. This year the Grade 6 department will continue to place a high emphasis on this as part of a wider school initiative for student growth in writing. We ask that the students bring any souvenirs, artefacts, photos and images to spark their writing thoughts and heighten an interest in writing. Currently, students are preparing their resources for the new Writers Workshop approach which will lay the foundations for our whole writing program. Each week, students will be encouraged to further inquire about, develop and apply spelling strategies and increase their knowledge and accuracy of words and word structure through a holistic spelling approach taught during the Reading and Writing block.

NUMERACY
In Mathematics, the students are learning about a range of concepts, skills and strategies in Number and Place Value including reading, writing and ordering numbers and understanding the value of certain quantities. As we build confidence with Place value through the term, students will be revisiting operations and problem solving using the four operations.

By Grade 6, we expect that most students know their times tables (1-12) and can recall these quickly. In addition to this, the knowledge of basic number facts (addition, subtraction and division) is also expected (e.g. 35-9=, 48÷6=, 43+8 =). The Grade 6 department will place an emphasis on using a variety of strategies to solve challenging problems and as we improve our knowledge and understanding of this, we expect students to identify and use the most efficient strategies to solve problems.

Families can support at home by encouraging your child to play games involving counting and number facts, using money, performing measurement tasks and linking maths to real life situations. We also encourage students to access Mathletics & Essential Assessment on a regular basis.

www.mathletics.com.au www.essentialassessment.com.au. Over the course of the year, we hope that students will be able to access Khan Academy as another resource for numeracy.

INQUIRY
At the beginning of the year, students will engage in a range of tasks to get to know each other. This will form the basis of a collaborative and co-operative working community for the remainder of the year. Throughout Term 1 and 2, as part of our Inquiry Unit, ‘Australia’s Turning Points’, students will be exploring the history of Australia by investigating the following key questions:

1. What are the key events that have shaped Australia as a nation?

2. What does democracy mean?

3. What are the 3 levels of government?

4. How and where are the rules and laws made?

5. What is multiculturalism and what effects have cultural groups had on Australia’s identity?

A reminder that Department of Education policy stipulates that phones, watches or other devices with communicative ability cannot be carried by students while on the school premises during school hours, without Principal approval. For further details please refer to the policy documents on Compass and the Lara Lake PS website.

The Year Six Team

Specialist Term 1 Newsletter 2021

PE Term 1

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your children’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

Welcome back everyone! Hope you had a great holiday and kept active. I am excited about the New Year and looking forward to Lara Lake students achieving their best, being healthy and getting active both at school and at home. Once again, the PE program will be asking for parent helpers at different stages of the year, to support the extra curriculum activities that are provided by the school each term.

In term 1, Preps will be introduced to small games and learning about space and how to move around in the first few weeks. The Perceptual Motor Program (PMP) will be run in PE classes this term, which is focused on basic motor skills and learning to work in groups. Some grade 5 students will also be helping the preps in PE for term 1. Grade 1 and 2s will be welcomed back with some familiar games and focusing on working together cooperatively and sportsmanship. The PMP program will also be delivered with activities modified for different ability levels. Grade 3-6 will be concentrating on athletics this term, in preparation for the house athletics day which will be early in term 2. The PE teaching team will also include Mr Robert Turner and Mr Randall Hill who will be teaching the PE program to some classes. Please don’t hesitate to contact any of the PE teachers if you have any concerns or questions.

Mr Ricky Davis

Art Term 1

This Term Newsletter will provide you with information about your children’s upcoming teaching and learning experiences in the new term. There is also plenty of additional information provided via Compass throughout the school year, so please make a point of touching base regularly.

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2021 Visual Arts. We are certainly looking forward to seeing students. For our new students and families, this is the beginning of an exciting art journey. We sincerely welcome you and your child.
Please bring in a box of tissues for the specialist programs – often children need tissues and the specialist areas are often forgotten about. Just drop it into the art room and I will distribute them around to all specialist areas.

Please, it is imperative your child has an art smock at school (everyone from Grade 1 to Grade 6, Preps have one inside their Prep packs). We use different art materials throughout the year that could get the uniform dirty or stained. Make sure it is named and has a grade on it and it gets to your child’s teacher ASAP.

In the Art room, we are looking forward to a great year of art exhibitions in our School Gallery, art excursions, and participation in Geelong Art competitions and seeing some amazing creativity happening in the art room. We are starting the year off with a school collaborative piece using natural icy pole sticks; make sure you look for it in our school, coming soon.

This term, our new Preps are beginning their art journey learning about lines, colours, shape and mark-making.
Grades 1 & 2 will express themselves through self-portraits, meet a variety of artists from around the world, explore ideas through drawing, lines as a pattern, texture and movement, and arrange and collage shapes to create art.

Grades 3 & 4 – will continue their learning and discovery of Art Elements and Principles to create artwork inspired by artists from around the world and students will express themselves in a self-portrait.

Grades 5 & 6 will begin creating a number of art pieces based on their interests and identity. They will learn about Graffiti as an art style and become familiar with street artists from around the world. They will also investigate the differences between graffiti and street art.

Our colourful display of artwork will be in the main corridor in time. Please plan a visit and talk with your child about their artwork and the work of other students. I will let you know when artwork is up in the gallery via Compass. The Art teaching team this year includes Mrs Susan Torriero, Mr Robert Turner and Mr Randall Hill. Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s Art teacher if you have any concerns or questions in regards to your child.

Music Term

This year in Music promises to be an exciting one, with students learning a variety of skills, and growing in confidence as they play, sing and move in their weekly classes.

Music will be heard in different areas of the school, with many junior and prep classes to be held in the hall. This will allow us to spread out and make classes even more active and “hands on”!

Senior instrumental, singing and band work will happen in the music room. As we have in the past, we will be having grade 6 Arts leaders. The speeches and elections will happen alongside the elections for Sports captains early in the term. The Arts leaders will be involved in organising lunchtime blackboard concerts, assembly sing-alongs, and whole school events such as “the Big Sing”.

Once again we are amazed at the talent and enthusiasm of our students at Lara Lake. We love to hear that a student has taken up singing, dance or instrument lessons, or has been teaching him/herself how to play a song at home.

Mrs Mckenzie and Mr Turner