Welcome to the end of term one! It’s been yet another term full of disruptions and challenges but I think we’ve come through it unscathed, and maybe even learned something!
English Year 5/6
We have been spending some time looking at the poetry of A.B. (Banjo) Paterson in recent weeks. The kids enjoyed seeing the dramatization of The Man From Snowy River, and we’ve had a close look at the history and story behind Waltzing Matilda.
Students have also been working through a list of spelling words that have been challenging for some, but improvements have been made across the whole class which is great to see.
In grammar lessons we’ve looked at past, present and future tense, verbs, adverbs, nouns and adjectives. These will all be revisited during the year as it’s something that is easily forgotten if not practiced regularly…even for teachers…
HASS Year 5/6
After completing a unit of history on Mongolia and in particular Genghis Khan, we have now moved on to geography. At present we are working through a brief overview of all the countries in Asia where we have looked at flora, fauna, geographical aspects, cities and populations. Students will have the opportunity next term to focus on one particular country they find interesting.
English Year 7-10
The senior English class has been working in separate groups this term in order to meet the curriculum for all year levels. This has been a challenge at times, but all students have increased their levels of independence and are progressing well. They have all been working on the different structures needed for essays and reports, and have all completed some great work. For the end of term, the whole group is working together on one topic (Reading and analyzing non-fiction texts), but their in-class and assessment tasks are differentiated according to their year level. This means we are all able to enjoy class discussion on the topic, but the tasks required to consolidate understanding are at the correct level for each student.
HASS Year 7-10
As with English, the class has been working on different topics this term according to their year level. The year 7/8’s have completed a unit on the ancient past, finishing with Ancient Egypt. The year 9/10’s worked on the Industrial Revolution before moving on to WW1. To finish the term, we will all begin to look at Economics and Business, with a bit of career education thrown in. The subject matter is similar for all students, but the assessment tasks will vary depending on year levels.
SACE English
Our SACE students are progressing well after a disrupted start to the term. All have completed their first assessment task, which was an analysis of 800 words. The second assessment task is also an analysis and comparative, and will be completed early in term two, unless you-know-what gets in the way again.