Wow! We have started the year at a fast pace as we learn our routines and get to know our classmates. We welcome Marcus, who is new to our school and has settled in beautifully, showing us what a mature and thoughtful person he is. In English, our students are grouped according to their reading and spelling/ letter knowledge levels, receiving one to one instruction for short intensive periods every day. Whilst waiting for their turn, students complete word games and progress through a Sounds Booklet, targeting the sounds they find more difficult, or alternately completing sensory activities to reinforce their letter sounds. We are also undertaking three short dictation lessons and independent writing. These activities benefit not only our student’s literacy but also their social connections as we blend the two classes during this time. Our English focus is around rhyme and songs and we have fun listening to humorous rhymes each morning and working out the rhyming patterns.

In maths we are learning all about patterns, where we see patterns in the environment and making patterns of our own using shape, colour and familiar objects. We are extending these concepts with some of our students using number patterns and getting them to create their own patterns for others to solve.

We have started our Science by looking at earthquakes, and describing the devastating effects of these events, as evidenced earlier this week in Turkey. We all look forward to swimming Friday with S3 starting at 9.00am and S4 at 9.45am, a welcome change from the hot days at school.

Kind regards,

Libby, Tegan, Jasmine, Darren, Savannah, Marcus, Gorgia, Peter, Jed, Tommy, Tahlia, Zane, Ray, Henry and Braydan