Dear Parents Term 4 for is an exciting term and we can’t wait to share it with you. We have lots to look forward to including the School Fete and Advent.

Children have already started making craft items to sell at the fete. All proceeds from the sale will go to Catholic Mission.

Children have come a long way, knowing routines and rituals. It is always lovely to return from a holiday and see how much the children have grown and how mature they have become both mentally and spiritually.

Our Special Reading program will continue in Term 4. Thank you to our wonderful parent helpers who have given their time to allow children to improve in their development of reading skills.

Please remember to read the schools newsletter regularly so you are informed about upcoming events and our school news.

Regards Liz Rath, Rosario Navarro

RELIGIOUS EDUCATIONLoving God and Others / Advent

Children will learn how Christians with a sense of mission can love God and others through their relationships with others at a personal, local and global level. Students will read stories from the Bible with a focus on the Blind Beggar. They will listen to Godly Plays and be encouraged to identify how they can participate in the mission of Jesus through following his footsteps.

Children will explore Advent as a time of waiting, preparation and joyful hope, as captured in the meaning of the word “Advent” meaning “the coming”. They will learn that as the people of the Old Testament waited for their Messiah, so today we also wait with Jesus for a time when there is peace and love and no-one is hungry or disadvantaged.

ENGLISHSpeaking and Listening Speaking and Listening is embedded in our English program. The children are explicitly taught to speak in informal and formal ways, share ideas and listen for key information during the English block. This term we will be focussing on poetry for the first 4 weeks and then we will start on the skills to compose Informative Texts.

ReadingReading is one of the most important components of the English program. We encourage you to read to your child, and to listen to his/her reading on a daily basis and talk to them/ask them questions about what they are reading.

Writing and representing Writing takes place on a daily basis. The children are exposed to modelled texts, supported in guided writing and provided with scaffolds when writing independently. Children are encouraged to use a multi-strategy approach to spell unfamiliar words. Spelling is taught in context.

DATES FOR THE DIARY

Thur 1st November – All Saints Day

Sat 3rd November– School Fete

Mon 19th November – Yr 2 Prayer Assembly

Wed 5th December– Class Mass

Sat 8th December – Whole School Mass

Wed 19th December – End of Year Liturgy

Strength and Gentleness

CURRICULUM OUTLINE

FOR YEAR 2

Term 4 2018

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MATHEMATICS

In the numeracy block we begin with a warm up or lesson starter. We focus on discussing the mathematical thinking the children are using to answer the question. The lesson starter is followed by some explicit teaching, open-ended task work and each session finishes with a plenary where we come back together to discuss our learning.We encourage the children to make use of the maths kits to strengthen their numeracy skills and this is incorporated into homework.You can assist your child at home by:

Counting forwards and backwards Finding patterns in numbers Counting by 2s, 5s and 10s (forwards and backwards) Learning simple addition and subtraction facts “off-by-heart” eg up to 10/20 Reading and using time Pattern hunting in the environment (number plates, phone numbers) Measuring when cooking Using your family maths kit to play some Maths at Home Games Accessing Studyladder as part of your child’s homework.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Watch It Grow

Students will observe the life cycle of mealworm in depth. Through hands-on activities and investigations, students compare the growth of living things under different conditions.

Children will learn more about the life cycles of various species and how this can help us in many ways. It might help us to protect and preserve endangered species, to manage and control unwanted species like insect pests, or to improve animal breeding.

GEOGRAPHY

People and Places

Students will continue to explore places across a range of scales within Australia and Australia’s location in the world. Students will represent and describe the position of objects on maps and within their local area. They will gather, organise and display data on the places people have visited in Australia and examine the factors influencing people’s access to places. They will discuss connections people have with places, both locally and globally. Students will respond to texts to understand the special connection Aboriginal Peoples have to Country. Please send information eg. Photos, maps, globes, images of Australia, .

HOMEWORK

In Year 2 we ask that children do 10 minutes reading each night. The children have a homework contract to complete over three weeks. Students are expected to complete the tasks each week. Homework will be posted on the school weebly and a hard copy will be pasted into the homework book. Homework can be returned on each Friday or the following Monday for marking. Although children may need guidance and support from parents to complete these contracts, please encourage your child to be independent.

All homework and important reminders and updates will be posted on the Weebly page.

Link to the Weebly Weebly Address: https://stjohnsnarraweena.weebly.com/2.html

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

2N and 2R have Sport on Monday and Friday. Sports uniform is to be worn on those days. Children will have Hockey clinics for the first four weeks of Term. For the remainder of the term our focus will be team sports.

Our PDHPE Unit is Protecting Me. Students will discuss ways to keep healthy and safe and explore choices relating to food, sun protection and personal safety.

CREATIVE ARTS

Music:The children will have music lessons with Mr Frazer on a Tuesday.Visual Arts: This term we will be focussing on patterns on animal skin/feather/fur. The children will be learning about symmetry and the use of colour when representing natural patterns.