Mentone Park Junior School: August 2016

Junior School Newsletter: Term 3, Week 5

CONNECT WITH YEAR 1/2

Learning and Teaching

The term is moving past so quickly, it’s hard to believe we are almost halfway! The Olympics have been a great focus for us this term and we are thoroughly enjoying celebrating the contributions made by all countries and cultures to such an amazing event.

SCHOOL START TIME REMINDER

Doors will be opened by 8.50am so parents and students can come in if they choose. When the bell rings at 8.55am, parents are asked to leave the corridor and classrooms to allow all students to come inside and prepare for learning time to begin. Students who are not in class when the 9am bell rings are late to school and must report straight to the office for a late pass.

IN LEVEL 2 WE ARE LEARNING TO: (WALT)...

READING:

Week 5 & 6: Use knowledge of context, language and visual features to build comprehension of literal and inferred meaning of texts

SPELLING:

Week 5:

Grade 1 – ‘ze’ as in sneeze

Grade 2 – ‘a’ as in ant

Week 6:

Grade 1 – ‘th’ as in thumb

Grade 2 – ‘e’ as in bed

WRITING:

Week 5 & 6: write a procedure with focus on structure of a procedural text

MATHS:

Week 5:

Grade 1: understand multiplication and division by exploring number sequences to and from 100 from any given starting point and skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s.

Grade 2: understand multiplication and division by exploring repeated addition, groups and arrays.

Week 6:

Grade 1: Recognise and describe one-half as one of two equal parts of a whole

Grade 2: Recognise and interpret common uses of halves, quarters and eighths of shapes and collections

UNIT OF STUDY:

Week 5 & 6: Create and display artworks to communicate ideas to an audience as part of the Olympics.

ICT: We are learning to identify and explore digital systems for a purpose (including using word processing software and publishing software).

WELLBEING: identify that everyone has different fears, responses and coping strategies and recognise the need to respect this diversity

IMPORTANT NOTICES

JUNIOR OLYMPIC DAY

On Tuesday 16^th of August, Grade 1 and 2 students are celebrating all things Olympic by having a Junior Olympic Day!

The day will be broken into 3 sessions. Please dress in your class' country's colours.

Session 1 – 9am-10:40 Mini Olympics and Olympic Crafts

Session 2 – 11:10-12:50 Visiting performance of ‘Our Olympic Heroes’

Session 3 – 2-3:30 Sharing of food and written procedures of dishes from our class countries

Currently in writing we are focusing on procedural texts. We are challenging students (with parent/adult supervision) to find a dish that is traditional of their class country, make it and write a procedure. This is a wonderful opportunity for your child to not only write at home, but to also participate in hands on maths by cooking alongside an adult and to follow a recipe (procedure.)

Please be mindful of nut allergies and what is included in your dish.

The class countries are as follows:

1A –Bulgaria

1O – Germany

2P – France

2UO – China

Any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.

Swimming

Swimming commences on Monday August 29th and finishes on Friday September 9th. Permission forms and payment have been sent out electronically on Qkr and need to be completed by August 15th. Any queries regarding payment can be forwarded to the schools Business Manager, Anne Leggett. Below is the proposed bus and class timetable if you wish to see your child swim. A parent helper is required each day for Grade 2 to assist with travel on the bus and ensuring students are ready prior to and after lessons. A list has been put up outside 2U0 for each day and it would be greatly appreciated if available parents with Working With Children Checks could please sign up to assist.

Level	Depart MPPS	Lesson	Depart Pool
Grade 4 H	9am	9:30	10:45
Grade 4 W	9am	10	10:45
Grade 3 G	10am	10:30	11:45
Grade 3 S	10am	11	11:45
Grade 2 P	11 am	11:30	12:45
Grade 2 UO	11am	12	12:45
Grade 1 A	12:30pm	1	2:15
Grade 1 O	12:30pm	1:30	2:15
Prep B	1:30pm	2	3:15
Prep S	1:30pm	2:30	3:15

WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING:
Please send your children with a separate bag for swimming. They will require bathers, towel, and a plastic bag (goggles and cap are optional). PLEASE LABEL ALL CLOTHES AND SWIMMING GEAR.

Grade 1O will be having an early lunch (12pm) so please send an extra snack for them to eat afterwards.

Working With Children Check

All parents/guardians, visitors & volunteers to the school MUST sign in & out of the school and display their WWCC in a lanyard, which is available at the school office.

The Department of Education requires any person involved in an activity where children may be present to have a current WWCC or have supplied proof that they have applied for a WWCC with the Department of Justice. All schools are required to comply with the Working with Children Act 2005.

Volunteers are expected to carry the WWCC card on their person at all times when working or volunteering at the school or during school related activities.

There is no fee for this check. Apply now by visiting: www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au

The Junior School encourage and appreciate Parent helpers!

V.C.O.P Big Write

The introduction of ‘Talk Homework’ as part of our preparation for our ‘Big Write’ sessions has been hugely successful. Thank you for taking the time to chat about the topics given with your child on a Wednesday afternoon.

Just a reminder: a note will come home with a new topic on Wednesday afternoons after classroom discussion in preparation for their ‘Big Write’ on Thursday. The note includes the text type, topic and prompts for discussion. The aim of this is to encourage children to verbally discuss their opinions and consider those of others, expand their knowledge of language through talk and to elaborate on ideas. The ‘Big Write’ is a celebration writing session of the lessons learned during literacy and an opportunity for students to show off their writing skills. It is not a test and is set in a relaxed and calm environment.

The slips will be sent home each Wednesday and will also be posted on Tiqbiz. The slips look like this:

WANTED! CAN YOU PLEASE HELP?

The Marine Ambassadors and Green Gang, along with Miss Oates are searching for some items that either can be recycled or donated to help assist with some AMAZING programs that the students are developing. Do you have any of the following items around the house that could please be recycled or donated??

- Old clothes for scarecrows

- Children’s gardening gloves

- Children’s gumboots

- Herbs (seeds or seedlings)

- Vegetables (seeds, seedlings or plants)

- Fruits (seeds, seedlings or plants)

PASSIONATE PURSUITS

Passionate Pursuits has commenced each Friday for Prep to Two grades. If you have any

Spare wool that you no longer need please send it in to Mrs O'Neill in 1O to assist with her 'Woolly Wonders' Passionate Pursuit group. Miss Oates is also after 2L milk or juice cartons with lids that we can recycle for outdoor garden projects. Thank you for your assistance.

LOST PROPERTY

Lost property (now located in the hallway) is overflowing with unnamed school jackets, jumpers, lunchboxes and lots of casual clothing. Please remember to label your child's items and to double check lost property if anything is lost.

IMPORTANT DATES

Monday 15th August - Prep to Grade 2 Kinder Mini Concert

Monday 15th August - Swimming forms to be completed on Tiqbiz

Monday 29th August - Swimming begins

Friday 9th September - Swimming ends

Wednesday 14th September - School Production

Thursday 15th September - School Production

Friday 16th September - Last day of term

MAKING NEWS