Term 3 Week 1
Principal Update
Welcome Back to Term 3! We hope all our students and families had a safe, restful and enjoyable holiday break. It’s been fantastic to see everyone return with energy and enthusiasm for another big term of learning and achievement.
We were proud to host our NAIDOC celebrations today, honouring the rich history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A huge thank you to Gus, who travelled from Hughenden to lead such a powerful and engaging day of celebration. His leadership and knowledge helped make the day incredibly meaningful for our whole school community. Thanks also to Leisa Fraser for her generous donations of prizes towards our day.
We also had the pleasure of hosting a visit from A.B. Paterson College. It was a wonderful opportunity to share our school and community with their students and staff. We loved having them join in our classes, visit Kindy, lead music and drama activities, and enjoy friendly games of OzTag during lunch. A special highlight was the stunning mural created in collaboration between our Year 9 students and their art students and teachers. We are so proud of this beautiful piece of work that now brightens our school and reflects our strong community spirit
Today, Semester 1 Report Cards will be sent home with students. These reports are a great opportunity to reflect on progress and set goals for the second half of the year. Parent-teacher interview bookings are now open, and we strongly encourage all families to book a time to meet with teachers and discuss their child’s learning journey. These conversations are vital to building strong partnerships that support every student to succeed.
Next Wednesday, we are hosting the Central West Athletics trials. We wish all competitors the very best of luck and thank you also to the families who have generously donated items for our carnival canteen – your support is greatly appreciated.
We are extremely proud of our students’ NAPLAN participation and results this year. Their efforts, along with the dedicated work of our staff, are helping to drive exceptional growth in student outcomes. This progress is a testament to the commitment, capability and focus of our school community.
Looking ahead, please mark your calendars for School Photo Day on Monday 28th July. This year, we are excited to include a whole school photo for the very first time, a great way to capture our school community together. Due to the photographers traveling to Julia Creek the same afternoon, we cannot provide catch ups for anyone who may miss photo day.
As always, we have a busy and productive term ahead. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you need any support along the way. We look forward to working together throughout Term 3!
Take care,
Meggin
Kindy Learning Update
This week in Kindy/Prep we have been celebrating NAIDOC week. We have been reading different stories, doing arts and crafts and listening to music and dance from our First Nations communities. We also had some visitors from AB Patterson Collage help out in the classroom and play some fun drama games.
P/1/2 Learning Update
We are progressing through the set sequence of PLD and seeing a lot of improvement from everyone. This term we are looking to revise existing sounds covered last term and progress to the next stage in this program. Below shows the sounds that will be covered in this term. Set reading for homework will be given weekly to complement each sound covered and consolidate learning.
Letter formation and handwriting is an area of improvement for all students. Therefore, we have started implementing daily handwriting practices using Queensland targeting handwriting books. Students are growing to enjoy this practice and are learning to put both time and care into their efforts.
In English this term we are diving into procedure and persuasive writing. For their assessment students will create and deliver a short, spoken text to recount a simple procedure for a favourite game of the past and express an opinion as to why their peers should learn it. We have started our unit by looking at what the word persuade means and how do we do it. Which is convenient, because on the first day back for the term our chairs decided to go on strike. How will the kids persuade them to come back?
In Maths Prep students are working on representing numbers in various situations by quantifying, equal sharing, adding to and taking away from collections to at least 10. They will also explore naming, creating and sorting familiar shapes.
In Maths our Year 1 student will be solving problems involving adding and subtracting to 20 while also applying equal sharing and grouping. They will also make, compare and classify shapes, and measure the lengths of shapes and objects.
In Maths Year 2 students are using mathematical modelling to solve practical additive and multiplicative problems. They will have to show their working out and choose an appropriate calculation strategy. They will also Identify and represent part-whole relationships of halves, quarters and eighths, and compare and classify shapes.
HPE: Students are participating in a soccer unit. Practicing their ball handling, agility and teamwork skills.
3/4 Learning Update
HPE: Students are participating in a soccer unit. Practicing their ball handling, agility and teamwork skills.
5/6 Learning Update
Years 5 and 6 have had a fantastic start to the term, hitting the ground running with excellent behaviour and effort. In English, our focus has been on persuasive writing. Students have impressed Mr Clarke with their convincing arguments on topics such as free dress, extra free time, and even why our class deserves a pet!
A highlight of the week was welcoming the Year 10 students from A.B. Paterson College into our classroom. It was a valuable experience where students built new friendships and gained fresh perspectives.
HPE: Students are participating in a soccer unit. Practicing their ball handling, agility and teamwork skills.
7/8 Learning Update
English: Students are investigating heroes in film and how film techniques are used to portray characters and represent groups of people. Students will complete an assessment task analysing how the character Mulan is positioned as a hero throughout her journey in the Disney classic Mulan.
HASS: Students are taking a deep dive into the Middle Ages, investigating, analysing and evaluating how key figures such as William the Conquer, the Catholic Church and the role of peasants influenced society at the time.
DIG: Students have begun their Digital Technologies unit by developing their digital literacy skills. In the coming weeks students will begin investigating algorithms and how they can be used to solve user problems.
Science: 7/8 have commenced work on the Earth and Space Science Unit part of the Science Curriculum (Curriculum v8.4) in Term 3. The Year 7/8 Science class has started worked on recognising the interactions between the Earth, Sun and the Moon which represents about 50% of the unit of work. This will be followed by lessons where related to understanding the difference between Renewable and Non - Renewable Resources which is the remainder of the Earth and Space Unit of work. As this represents a relatively short unit of work, it is intended to commence the Chemistry Unit in Term 3 and to continue this unit until the end of Term 4. Assessments in the Earth and Space Science Unit for the Year 7/8 students have yet to finalised, but an Earth, Sun and Moon and their interactions multi-modal presentation will start about mid-term and a short exam will occur at the end of term on the Chemistry Unit.
Math: 7/8 have commenced the Algebra Unit of work (Curriculum v9.0) in Term 3. The Algebra unit for Year 7/8 Maths class encompasses understanding number and algebraic patterns and also assisting the students to appreciate how algebra is used in everyday life. Two assessments in the form of exams will be completed during Term 3; the first assessment involving the use of Cartesian planes will be undertaken in Week 5 and the second exam of the understanding of other Algebra concepts and number patterns will be conducted during Week 10.
9/10 Learning Update
English: Students are currently reading the famous young adults novel Tomorrow when the war began. They are investigating key themes of Mateship, Loyalty, Courage and Bravery and how these are demonstrated within the novel and contribute to our understanding of Australian culture and society.
Science: The Year 9/10 Science class has started worked on understanding the role Plate Tectonics and Continental Drift have played in understanding the Earth and how the Earth changes. This is also a relatively short unit of work, and it is anticipated that the Chemistry Unit will start in the middle Term 3 and this unit will be completed at the end of Term 4. Assessments in the Earth and Space Science Unit for the Year 9/10 students will consist of a Research Investigation related to Plate Tectonics to commence in Week 2 and to be completed by Week 9 involving about 7 in-class lessons. A short exam for the Chemistry Unit is envisaged for Week 10 of Term 3.
Math: 9/10 have commenced the Algebra Unit of work (Curriculum v9.0) in Term 3. The Algebra unit for Year 9/10 Maths class involves a more detailed study of linear and non-linear algebra with also considerable focus of how algebra is everywhere in use in everyday life. Two assessments in the form of exams will be completed during Term 3; the first assessment involving the use of linear algebra will be undertaken in Week 5 and the second exam of the understanding of other non-linear algebra concepts will be conducted during Week 10.
11/12 Learning Update
Sport and Rec: Students are continuing with their unit on coaching and officiating. Students are investigating how coaching techniques can be applied to certain scenarios and how to establish an efficient, effective and enjoyable coaching session for a group of athletes.
Yr 11 General Math: The Year 11 General Maths continued work on Unit 2 and it is expected that this unit of work will be completed by Week 6 in Term 3. An exam on Unit 2 work will be conducted in Week 7 and the reminder of Term 3 will be devoted to revision and it is possible an exam combining Unit 1 and 2 work will be completed during Week 10.
Yr 11 Biology: Students started work on Unit 2 “Maintaining the internal environment” which involves a detailed study of how the internal environment of humans and other organisms is maintained. Two assessments will be completed during Term 3: a Research Investigation (FIA3) and an exam (FIA4) covering all Unit 1 and Unit 2 work. The Research Investigation (FIA3) will commence during Week 1 and will require about 8 to 10 in-class lessons and involves selecting a topic provided to students. It is due during Week 10 of Term 3 and the exam will be conducted during Week 10 and will follow about 3 lessons of revision beforehand.
General English: Congratulations to students for their work on unit 1 (year 11) and Unit 3 (year 12). We are now commencing unit 2 & 4, which is poetry. Students will complete their first assessment in week 5, which is an exam. They will have another exam in week 9 of the term (may carry over to week 10).