Sr-S Classroom Blog August 1st: I've sort of forgotten about this part of the Wiki over the last couple of months - amazing how much having a 10 month old at home now takes up ALL of your free time! ;)
Time for a quick update on the class though... term 3 has started off very smoothly, all the kids have approached the first few weeks with really positive attitudes and are applying themselves well to all tasks. I have spoken to all of them about taking on greater responsibility to extend, challenge and push themselves with their learning, and I'm happy to report most of the class have taken this onboard and are really trying hard to get all they can out of the lessons we've had.
Our I.L. focus this term is on Antarctica and we've already covered a lot of interesting topics. After finding out about the students prior knowledge and working out the areas of focus to suit the learning needs of these kids, we got stuck right in. Global warming, climate change and the greenhouse effect led to some great discussions, and we have investigated past explorers, the history of Antarctica and some of the animals/environment. Next week we will look at jobs and living conditions in Antarctica and we also have a bit of a surprise for the kids...
The students have loved the way literacy/reading groups are being run now, which I have designed to give the students greater choice and freedom (and take on greater responsibility!) in the activities or tasks they choose to do. We are currently writing narratives around the theme of Antarctica and will continue a focus on information reports. In maths, the senior groups are focusing on improving speed and accuracy of automatic recall of times tables and number facts. The class has shown HUGE improvements over the past two weeks, which is really promising.
We wrapped up today with a great Indoor Assembly - well done to Oscar on receiving his Student Citizenship Award and to the Sr-S students involved in the Wakakirri performance!
I will do my best to report in again soon on the happenings within the classroom!
April 4th: Sr-S wrapped up the final week of a term that seemed to just fly by in great style. The whole Senior School celebrated its learning with a fantastic Sustainability Fair, which every class in the school visited (along with many parents and other family members, which was great to see!).
Overall it has been a great term finding out and getting to know each other, and we've set a great foundation as a class for the rest of the year. Looking forward to getting back into it in a couple of weeks!
March 11th: Our Inquiry Learning unit focusing on Sustainability is now well underway, with the students in groups of 5 within the class investigating different areas. This unit will culminate with a Sustainability Fair in the final week of term where the students will demonstrate their learning.
Maths groups throughout the Senior School are working brilliantly, the reading and writing within the classroom is looking and sounding very impressive... overall as the teacher I have no real complaints at all! February 25th: Sr-S have spent quite some time investigating 'sustainability' over the past two weeks, in particular what we can do as individuals to help improve our treatment of the environment around us. The students went outside to take photos of 'litter hotspots' within the school; areas where rubbish tends to accumulate. They will be taking action by presenting this information to their JSC reps with an aim of improving the way we operate within the school regarding litter/using bins/areas we can eat, etc.
Senior Maths Groups have also started over the last couple of weeks, which gives all of the students a chance to be involved in 2-3 sessions a week that aim to more accurately target areas of need. These groups are used to support student learning in their own classrooms. We are looking into Australia history and famous figures, along with our usual reading and (free choice) writing programs.
Interschool sports has also continued, and the school as a whole performed very well against Bayswater North last Friday.
It's been a very busy couple of weeks as the students again get used to the workload of senior school! February 13th:We've had another great week in class so far, as the kids have learnt a lot more about each other and we're getting back into the swing of things with school. Inter-school Sports begin tomorrow, with the school taking on Warranwood in a number of sports. Scores will be posted on the 'Sports' page during the day.
I have also added a whole bunch of new photos of the kids working hard and enjoying school from throughout the past week; head to the 'Media' page to check them out!
February 3rd: The 'real' work began today as we started our first full week of term 1. The students will undergo a range of academic assessments over the next week or so as we set things up for the year, and it began today with an 'easy' spelling test. Specialist classes also started, and the kids had their first session of PE. Importantly, the class also worked together to begin designing our Classroom Behaviour Agreement/Rules, which will be finalised over the next few days and a copy sent home for all parents to ensure everyone understands the expectations for the year.
January 31st: We're well underway back here at school with two very hot days to kick us off. The students of Sr-S have had an 'easy' start to the school year with a lot of 'getting to know you' activities, sharing about holidays and getting used to life in the Senior School. Not a lot of hard work yet... that begins on Monday!
The Year 5s have enjoyed setting up their iPads and we'll begin using them for their learning from next week onwards. Interschool Sports has started, with the first training session for all of the sports today, and overall I'm happy to say Sr-S of 2014 looks like it'll be a very fun group to teach! :)
Some photos of the kids taking part in different activities in class will be added to the Media page shortly...
January 24th:The classroom is slowly getting there... huge mess at the moment while I'm sorting everything out but a couple of more days work and it'll be ready to welcome the class for the new school year :)
December 30th:The Sr-S Wiki is currently under a 're-design' (of sorts) to have it ready for the new class of 2014! Past Wiki entries (the 2013 blog, photos, etc.) can now be found under the 'Archive' menu.
I hope all Sr-S students and your families have had a great Christmas, enjoy New Years and the rest of the school holidays, and I'll see you all back at school soon! :)
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Sr-S Classroom Blog
August 1st:
I've sort of forgotten about this part of the Wiki over the last couple of months - amazing how much having a 10 month old at home now takes up ALL of your free time! ;)
Time for a quick update on the class though... term 3 has started off very smoothly, all the kids have approached the first few weeks with really positive attitudes and are applying themselves well to all tasks. I have spoken to all of them about taking on greater responsibility to extend, challenge and push themselves with their learning, and I'm happy to report most of the class have taken this onboard and are really trying hard to get all they can out of the lessons we've had.
Our I.L. focus this term is on Antarctica and we've already covered a lot of interesting topics. After finding out about the students prior knowledge and working out the areas of focus to suit the learning needs of these kids, we got stuck right in. Global warming, climate change and the greenhouse effect led to some great discussions, and we have investigated past explorers, the history of Antarctica and some of the animals/environment. Next week we will look at jobs and living conditions in Antarctica and we also have a bit of a surprise for the kids...
The students have loved the way literacy/reading groups are being run now, which I have designed to give the students greater choice and freedom (and take on greater responsibility!) in the activities or tasks they choose to do. We are currently writing narratives around the theme of Antarctica and will continue a focus on information reports. In maths, the senior groups are focusing on improving speed and accuracy of automatic recall of times tables and number facts. The class has shown HUGE improvements over the past two weeks, which is really promising.
We wrapped up today with a great Indoor Assembly - well done to Oscar on receiving his Student Citizenship Award and to the Sr-S students involved in the Wakakirri performance!
I will do my best to report in again soon on the happenings within the classroom!
April 4th:
Sr-S wrapped up the final week of a term that seemed to just fly by in great style. The whole Senior School celebrated its learning with a fantastic Sustainability Fair, which every class in the school visited (along with many parents and other family members, which was great to see!).
Overall it has been a great term finding out and getting to know each other, and we've set a great foundation as a class for the rest of the year. Looking forward to getting back into it in a couple of weeks!
March 11th: Our Inquiry Learning unit focusing on Sustainability is now well underway, with the students in groups of 5 within the class investigating different areas. This unit will culminate with a Sustainability Fair in the final week of term where the students will demonstrate their learning.
Maths groups throughout the Senior School are working brilliantly, the reading and writing within the classroom is looking and sounding very impressive... overall as the teacher I have no real complaints at all!
February 25th: Sr-S have spent quite some time investigating 'sustainability' over the past two weeks, in particular what we can do as individuals to help improve our treatment of the environment around us. The students went outside to take photos of 'litter hotspots' within the school; areas where rubbish tends to accumulate. They will be taking action by presenting this information to their JSC reps with an aim of improving the way we operate within the school regarding litter/using bins/areas we can eat, etc.
Senior Maths Groups have also started over the last couple of weeks, which gives all of the students a chance to be involved in 2-3 sessions a week that aim to more accurately target areas of need. These groups are used to support student learning in their own classrooms. We are looking into Australia history and famous figures, along with our usual reading and (free choice) writing programs.
Interschool sports has also continued, and the school as a whole performed very well against Bayswater North last Friday.
It's been a very busy couple of weeks as the students again get used to the workload of senior school!
February 13th:We've had another great week in class so far, as the kids have learnt a lot more about each other and we're getting back into the swing of things with school. Inter-school Sports begin tomorrow, with the school taking on Warranwood in a number of sports. Scores will be posted on the 'Sports' page during the day.
I have also added a whole bunch of new photos of the kids working hard and enjoying school from throughout the past week; head to the 'Media' page to check them out!
February 3rd:
The 'real' work began today as we started our first full week of term 1. The students will undergo a range of academic assessments over the next week or so as we set things up for the year, and it began today with an 'easy' spelling test. Specialist classes also started, and the kids had their first session of PE. Importantly, the class also worked together to begin designing our Classroom Behaviour Agreement/Rules, which will be finalised over the next few days and a copy sent home for all parents to ensure everyone understands the expectations for the year.
January 31st:
We're well underway back here at school with two very hot days to kick us off. The students of Sr-S have had an 'easy' start to the school year with a lot of 'getting to know you' activities, sharing about holidays and getting used to life in the Senior School. Not a lot of hard work yet... that begins on Monday!
The Year 5s have enjoyed setting up their iPads and we'll begin using them for their learning from next week onwards. Interschool Sports has started, with the first training session for all of the sports today, and overall I'm happy to say Sr-S of 2014 looks like it'll be a very fun group to teach! :)
Some photos of the kids taking part in different activities in class will be added to the Media page shortly...
January 24th:The classroom is slowly getting there... huge mess at the moment while I'm sorting everything out but a couple of more days work and it'll be ready to welcome the class for the new school year :)
December 30th:The Sr-S Wiki is currently under a 're-design' (of sorts) to have it ready for the new class of 2014! Past Wiki entries (the 2013 blog, photos, etc.) can now be found under the 'Archive' menu.
I hope all Sr-S students and your families have had a great Christmas, enjoy New Years and the rest of the school holidays, and I'll see you all back at school soon! :)