Science

This term in Science we are learning about Earth and Space Sciences. We have been investigating the solar system, and how the orbit of the earth and moon around the sun gives us day and night. On Friday we went outside to look at our shadows. We noticed how our shadows changed shape depending on the direction our body was facing. We also investigated why shadows change shape during different times of the day. 

Shadow investigation from Shirley Mills

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to Wattle Grove Primary School.

I am very excited to see all the familiar faces from last year and a few new ones too! We have had a very successful start to the year and everyone has settled in nicely to the new class. It is nice to be in a different room this year with a great amount of shade from the trees. They say a change is as good as a holiday!

Numeracy

We have been practising our skills during our Numeracy Block. After a whole class lesson we break up into our groups and rotate through our activities. The activities are:

·       LESSON WORK, where we independently work on the concept we have just been learning
·       NUMBER FACTS, where we work on our multiplication, division, addition or subtraction facts.
·       GAMES, where we play games to reinforce our calculation strategies.
·       TEACHER, where a small group works with the teacher.

It has taken a little bit of time keeping the noise level down but we are getting there!

Literacy

Over the last 4 weeks, we have been focusing on writing persuasive texts. We have been concentrating on making sure each of our paragraphs has examples to back up our opinions. We have also been working on identifying persuasive devices such as emotive language, high modality words, fake statistics and a call to action.

​Homework

Homework will be marked as a class each Monday. Thank you to all the parents who have ensured this is completed each week. Each activity is linked to the learning the we have been exploring in class.

Science Super Stars

Thank you to all the parents who helped to prepare for the Science Supers Stars presentations last week. The students all did a great job and the presentations helped to develop and support rich conversations about many scientific topics. Congratulations to Nia and Samara who were chosen to present in front all of the year two classes. 

Scitech Excursion

On Wednesday the 2^nd of November Room 25 was lucky enough to go to Scitech for the whole day! We had a fabulous time. This term in Science we have been learning about forces so it was fantastic to be able to put this learning into practice. There are so many interesting exhibits which use the push or pull forces. Some of our favourites where the interactive light board, the pull your own weight chair and the beehive! We also watched a theatre show where we saw explosions in slow motion. We even saw a pencil gun shoot into a bag of oobleck! It was all very cool! 

Dancing

On Tuesdays we have our dancing practice. It has been a lot of fun. We are learning partner dances as well as an individual dance. Room 25 has some fabulous dancers and we can‘t wait to show you the finished product at the end of the year. 

Literacy

This term in literacy we have been practicing editing work for mistakes. We are focusing on finding grammar and spelling mistakes in our own work, as well as the work of others. We have also been learning how to use emotive words, statistics and rhetorical questions to upgrade our persuasive writing. 

Numeracy

This term we have been focusing on learning our timetables and answering multiplication questions quickly. We are using timed tests and goal setting to help keep us motivated. We are also focusing on answering word problems by finding the key information.  

Miss Mills

Term 3 Faction Carnival from Shirley Mills

Hello Everyone, 

Faction Carnival

Congratulations to Cohen Foster and Kyle Ng who won the year 2 Champion Boy and Runner Up prize. We are so proud of you! Well done!

Learning Journeys

Next Tuesday is Wattle Grove Primary School’s learning journey afternoon, and we hope you can make it. It is a great opportunity for the students to reflect upon their learning and growth, and we are looking forward to showing you all our hard work.

Book Week 

During Book Week we read the story Mr Huff which is about a boy who is having a bad day and is followed around by a creature called Mr Huff. The book taught us that choosing to think positive can help us have a better day. We brainstormed problems that put us into bad moves, and thought about ways we could solve these problems. Research tells us that teaching Positive Psychology skills such as problem solving and challenging negative thoughts can help to build resilience and coping mechanisms in children. It is amazing what you can learn from a picture book. This is why we love to read in Room 25!

Buddy Class and Wattle Day

We celebrated Wattle Day this year by working with our kindy Buddy Class. We made Wattle Paintings using crayons and paint. We created our own and then we helped our buddies by showing them what to do. They are currently brightening up the wet area for your viewing during the learning journey. 

ICT

We are increasing our use of ICT this term and have used the computers to research information about the 7 continents. In year two students should be able to turn on a computer, log on, open a webpage and save to a file. It would be very beneficial if these activities could be practiced at home if a computer is available. 

Miss Mills

Hello Everyone,
Welcome back to Term 2!

Science

This term in Science we are looking at Chemical Changes and how materials are used and changed to make different things. This is a very hands-on unit which should be very fun, and a little bit messy!

Geography and History

As the 2016 Olympics have now started we are currently investigating the history of the Olympics and studying the various countries that are competing. We have also been learning about the continents and the oceans. These lessons have facilitated many interesting conversations and questions. Many of which, have made it onto our Wonder Wall. This term we will also be focusing on researching and answering our many questions through some Inquiry Learning. NAIDOC Last Thursday we participated in the NAIDOC incursion. We learnt about the eco-system, what a totem is and how it is important to treat others kindly. The students also learnt a dance and had some time to look at interesting Aboriginal artefacts. In class we read a Dreamtime Story and completed a comprehension activity, and then we drew a picture.

Literacy

This term we are focusing on writing narratives during our Big Write time. Just like last term, students will take home Talk Home work with the topic provided. It is important you take time to talk to discuss the characters, setting, problem and solution with your child. This will ensure that they have had adequate time to expand on their ideas before writing. Also, if a student can talk out a story then they can write it! Oral language is a very important part of writing. You do not need to write the story down in full, however if you or your child want to take some notes to help jog their memory please do so. We have been completing story planners in class before our Big Write, which help to keep our ideas on track. If you would like to use one with your child you can find a free template here http://www.firstgradebuddies.com/2013/03/workshop-wednesday-reading-organizers.html

Numeracy

This term in Numeracy we are focusing on fractions, division and times tables. The students in Room 25 are fantastic mathematicians and I am always pleased to see their enthusiasm during math lessons. We are also focusing on learning the Bar Model to represent and solve word problems. If you would like to practice these at home or simply have a look at what they entail you can find them in the link below. http://www.mathplayground.com/wordproblems.html

ICT

We now have two working computers in Room 25 as well as 5 Ipads. ICT is an important part of student education and provides plenty of fun and engaging ways to learn content. In year two students should be able to turn on a computer, log on, open a webpage and save to a file. It would be very beneficial if these activities could be practiced at home if a computer is available.

Miss Mills

Hello Everyone,

Well, we are now at the tail end of Term 2 and what a term it has been! Over the last few weeks, the students in Room 25 have participated in the W.A Day Design a Door competition and presented their science experiment to the class. Thank you to the parents who helped ensure the Science Superstars experiments were a success. It is encouraging to see the amount of enthusiasm and knowledge that was acquired over this period. Hopefully, we are helping to foster talented scientists of the future…looks like they are needed now more than ever!

Science
Congratulations to Trent who will be representing Yr 2 on Thursday at the whole school assembly. Trent is presenting his science experiment on light pollution, which was fascinating. Trent’s use of technology and his confident speaking manner were huge assets to his presentation. We are all so proud of him. Another honourable mention should also go to Samara Bailye who was our runner up. Samara’s project was about the eye. We learnt how to find our blind spot and how our eye interprets pictures. Well done, Samara.

This term in Science, we have been learning about Earth and Space sciences. In particular we have been learning about the Water Cycle, Earth’s resources and the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources. The students designed and created posters on how to ‘Reuse, Recycle and Reduce’ which you can see on the classroom window.

W.A Day Design a Door Competition.
Each classroom was given the task to create a door display with the theme of Western Australia. As we were already learning about ‘The Dreaming’ in History, we chose The Kimberley which has some of the world’s oldest rock paintings. I was extremely proud of the class. Small group were given part of the door to complete and they did so efficiently and without any issues. Well done, Room 25.

Regards
Miss Mills

Term 2 powerpoint 2016 from Shirley Mills