Week 2 - Homework and a VIP!

Hi everyone,

Well that was a short week! Thank you to 46A for their patience during a very unusual few days - and my apologies for my unavoidable absence on Friday. Week 2 might be a bit of a shock to the system as we will be at school all five days (!), be starting homework again, AND we will have a VIP in the room on Monday and Friday! We will be one of the lucky classes to host a student from our New Zealand exchange group when they visit this week. His name is Ben, and he will be buddied up with Caleb for the days he is in our classroom. I'm sure everyone will make him feel very welcome and also do their best to show all the visitors present this week how hospitable students at our school can be.

Homework will begin this week. Homework is to be completed online, and will use the programs the school subscribes to. We will be doing three weeks each on Literacy Planet, Mathletics and Study Ladder. Students will be assigned a minimum number of tasks according to their ability level and it is expected that they will be completed within the week they are assigned. If students would like to complete more than the minimum number of tasks required, they are more than welcome to - but this will need to be negotiated at home, and in accordance with family guidelines about computer usage, which we will discuss in class to ensure everyone is on the same page. We feel that using these programs will mean we can cater to the individual needs of each student and supply them with jobs that will support their specific learning needs. Tasks will be due Monday morning, the same as last term.

As always, there will be extensive discussion about the set-up in class, and I encourage you to discuss these with your child as well as having a look at the websites to get an idea of what your child will be doing. They will be given a new copy of all their passwords to bring home - I recommend this be either kept next to the computer or on the fridge for easy access.

Another book you might be interested in! This was the first book I purchased about the Montesstori method after having it recommended (as a comparatively easy read) to get a different perspective on the theory. It is Angeline Stoll Lillard's 'Science Behind The Genius' - available both as an e-book or as a paperback copy through the usual outlets (my favourite is Amazon). As well as providing thought-provoking commentary on Montessori's research and writing, there are also examples from Stoll Lillard's research into how science has backed up the philosophy, and how it has been implemented (differently) in classrooms in the 20th and 21st centuries. Unfortunately my copy is currently boxed up (we are moving at home) or I would offer to have it in the classroom for you to have a look at if you were interested! When it is unearthed, I will bring it in.

That's about it from me, so enjoy the sunshine today and I will see you tomorrow!
Ang.

Into Term Two!

Greetings, intrepid 4-6Awesomes and followers!

Hope you have all had a wonderful and safe holiday and are raring to go tomorrow! I am very excited to see you all again and look forward to hearing about your adventures and antics when we have time to share.

Many exciting things are coming our way this term - we begin our classroom banking program (not to be confused with school banking), we will continue our exploration of the Timeline of Life and the creation of the Earth, we have swimming, camp, representative sport, UNSW competitions and Education Week coming up - as well as our day-to-day excitements and items of entertainment!

Homework will be explained to students at the beginning of term, but as a sneak peak, we will be using Literacy Planet, Mathletics and Study Ladder to support student learning in key curriculum areas. We will also be using Study Ladder in our Senior Lab time to support learning about financial literacy and micro-economics.

See you all tomorrow - and a reminder that it is only a three day week, so don't rock up on Friday!
-Ang

PowerPoint The Past Presentations!

If you are interested, the class submissions for the PowerPoint The Past project have been amalgamated into one slideshow and can be viewed here. There was one group who experienced technical difficulties, but I have uploaded what I can of their work. Sorry to the Cenozoic Group, but I also took your photos out (just your school ones). The feedback about the project itself and the process they went through to complete their work has been really valuable.

Enjoy,
Ang

End of Term 1

Hi everyone,

It's been quite a ride this term! I'm sure you are all looking forward to the holidays, whether you be jetsetting away somewhere exciting or staying at home to reconnect with family and recuperate in peace and quiet.

It was great to see such determination at cross-country on Wednesday - special congratulations go to Caleb for coming first in his age group. Lots of students talked about beating their personal best time or place - and it was really gratifying to hear such positive self-talk. We are very proud of you all!

Just a few reminders before school finishes for the term:
- Classes will be dismissed at 2:30pm tomorrow (Friday April 4th).
- There is no homework set over the holidays, though if students would like to continue doing the homework grid they are always welcome to do so.
- The blog will be updated over the holidays, and photos uploaded from the sources I haven't had a chance to tap yet. Watch out for some changes to format that I will be enacting as well!
- First day back for Term Two will be Tuesday, 22nd April. The ANZAC Day public holiday will be on the Friday of that week, so it is a short and very busy one!
- A note about Easter eggs: if your child would like to bring them in to hand out, they are more than welcome to do so but we do request students take any eggs home that they have received in order for parents to veto if there are allergens to be taken into consideration. Our students are generally very good at remembering this request, and as we do have some children with intolerances in the room, it is wonderful to see them demonstrating such respect towards their fellow classmates.

Bye for now,
Ang.