Final Week!

Here we are in our final week for 2013! Crazy how quickly time has flown.

This week, we are going to be doing some of our normal, everyday, expected activities - but there are a number of things you will be able to choose to do. We will be doing some cooking and some handicraft, but I also found a nifty webquest for us to do (yes, us - I have Christmas shopping still to finish, so I'll be doing it as well!). The webquest can be found here!

The other one I thought might be fun - if you have time! - is to create a calendar of all the things that happen around the world in December that AREN'T Christmas! You can do this on paper, or you can do this on your UMPC. There are a bunch of other celebrations, commemorations and other bits and pieces we can 'do' as well as/instead of Christmas. An interesting list can be found here.

Well, that's it from me for today. Still no news on our moving day, but I will keep you posted. Bye for now.

-Ang.

Ang and 4-6A's Photostream

AJSMH's photostream on Flickr.

Some photos I have collected of our achievements, fun and amazing projects from this year.

Term Four... where has the year gone?

I explained to 4-6A recently that we seem to have an average of two posts a term on here and that I wanted to fix this practise for next year - if you could take a few minutes to fill in this very quick survey I would have a bit more of an idea about what would be helpful for you to have here.

4-6A have had a busy term already! We have had a visit from Henny Penny and Professor Maths, Year Sixes are taking turns to be V.I.P. for the week, students have represented the school at regional volleyball and we are almost up to Homework Round #3! It has been great to see everyone putting top effort into their work in the classroom despite so many special events being scheduled.

Wait until you see our performance for the school's Community Evening! It is shaping up to be something really special. If your child cannot attend the evening on the 11th December, please send a note in their school diary so we can make sure this is taken into account.

4-6A and some students from 4-6M are having their turn with 'George' lessons this term. Students are creating online folios using EduPlex and Animoto, GoAnimate, Wordle, Tagxedo and a range of other Web 2.0 tools to demonstrate their understanding of the Fundamental Needs of Man. So far, results have been very impressive.

Students have been trialling reading comprehension online this term. We have had three programs on the go - StudyLadder, Reading Eggs and Literacy Planet. Student feedback has been very positive - if you have any additional feedback regarding these programs, please feel free to write a note in your child's school diary.

That's all from me for today; check back soon for updates regarding end-of-year events!

- Ang =)

Term 3 Already!

Welcome back, families of 4-6A! We are entering Week 4 this week, and everyone has settled back into the classroom really well after a well-deserved break. We have had some changes to routine (timetabling, swimming, a different way of managing seating, etc.) which everyone has adapted to and it seems to be working well in keeping our environment and cohort peaceful and productive!

I'm sure most of you have heard about our class banking system which has been in effect for the last three weeks. We are more than halfway through the first phase where students bank individually, filling in their work journals as they would a timesheet and ensuring that they have earned enough to cover their 'rent' and 'bills' for the week. Everyone is in the black which is great to see! Friday of Week Five is our ultimatum day - spend what you've saved on some special extras (buying blocks of uninterrupted time on Mathletics or with their favourite book, buying into a cooking activity or a game of Jeopardy (back by popular demand!), or bidding on some classroom items (stationery, mostly - rubbers, sharpeners and pencils seem to be in high demand at the moment)in our mini silent auction.

There is a part two to this banking scheme. From Week Six to Week Ten, there is a group focus on banking - students will be forming minicorps (miniature corporations), using their leftover money as capital. And in order to keep the suspense building, that is all I am going to say about that until next week!

Coming out soon will be the Term Three Cycle Three Newsletter which contains all the important dates etc. that you need for the rest of the term - and boy, is it a busy one! Tournament of Minds, 3/4 Camp, Somers Camp, The Button Box, incursions, district athletics, the fete - all coming up in the next seven weeks. Brace yourselves!

Check back soon - the class blog has a bit of a different focus this term as we move into minicorps, and we are hoping to get some more student work published as we push through the poetry genres in our language workshops.

See you tomorrow,
Ang.

Week 7!

What a busy term we've had so far! Just over the halfway mark and so far we have celebrated Education Week and Cross Country, finished half of our Science Platoons, re-established our Maths Assassins, had a robotics visit and been part of Photography Club. And that's only a sampler!

I'm really pleased to see how settled the class have been for the last few weeks, despite the special events going on around them, and I am looking forward to seeing them continue to work so peacefully for the next five weeks leading up to the end of our first semester as a class.

Just a couple of reminders for this week:
- Our Colonial Day has been shifted to Thursday, 6th June.
- School Photos are on this Thursday, 30th May.
- Winter Sport notes and bus fares are due from Year Six this week.

Spelling
We have started doing some work from 'Fry's First Thousand Words'. If you are interested in working on these at home with your child, I would recommend visiting this website. It provides the flash cards of the words, divides them into lists (we have used different lists in class, but many words from the first three hundred have been used already this year).

Activities you can do in the car with these words:
- Ask your child to spell the word out loud
- Spell it back and forth (you say a letter, your child says a letter, back to you, then them, etc.)
- Ask your child to use it in a sentence
- Ask your child to choose a word, explain the word, and you try to guess what it is (I call this 'I hear with my little ear, a word that means...')
- Ask your child to listen as you spell the word, and tell you what it is.

I will post a link to a document containing the activities students can choose to do in class for spelling so that they can practice at home as well if they like.

Times Tables Practice
Some parents have asked about the multiplication tables and what they can do to support their child learning them.

To start with, the order we recommend learning them in (orally) is 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s, 3s, 4s, 6s, 8s, 7s, 9s, 11s and 12s.

In the classroom this year, children have favoured the Skip Chains, Multiplication Board and Multiplication Slips to practice.

At home, you can:
- Give your child the question and have them answer it ("Five tens are...")
- Give your child the question in reverse and have them try to answer it ("Fifty divided by five is...")
- Give them concrete manipulatives (such as coins, beans, grains of rice, counters, etc.) and ask them to make groups ("Make five groups of ten... how many do you have altogether?")
- Count out a number of the material and ask them to make it into groups of a number ("We have fifty counters. How many groups of ten can you make?")

There are also some amazing number storybooks out there - one of my favourites is the Graeme Base book 'Uno's Garden', which has a lovely message about the fragility of ecosystems as well as some great multiplication practice within its pages!

Looking forward to seeing all your bright faces tomorrow!
- Ang =)

New Term!

Hello there, fellow 46A enthusiasts!

Welcome to Term Two. We have an exciting couple of months coming up!

To kick off the term, Cycle Three have been introduced to their new homework - the Thinker's Keys! Each class has a slightly different grid, but the expectation is largely the same - students are to choose two tasks each week related to our ongoing Australia theme and hand them in on Tuesdays for marking.

This is a little different for our class as I will be absent for the first few days of Week Two; 46A have been asked to complete one task and hand it in on Friday, and then two to be handed in on Tuesday April 30th.

The Thinker's Keys can be found here and a letter explaining the term's homework - just in case you did not receive it - can be found here. Click the blue button that says 'click here to download'.

Please do encourage your child to be as independent as possible in the completion of their homework; however, if the ideas they have for presentation are likely to prove grandoise, please do discuss with them ways to make it manageable.

Following shortly will be the document requested by parents at conferences detailing some strategies you can use to support student learning at home.

As always, if you would like to discuss the homework please come and make a time to see me.

Thanks,
Ang.

End of Term!

Hello, 46A and 46A enthusiasts!

We've made it to week 9 and the end of the term is in sight!

Just a few reminders for the week:
- We are on an abridged checklist this week. Students will be asked to completed a smaller number of jobs due to our reduced number of days in the classroom. 'Work debts' have been erased and everyone starts with a clean slate next term. Some students have really put the hard yards in and are prioritising, organising and completing work in a very efficient manner!
- One of the days out this week is Athletics Carnival day! This is tomorrow (27th March). Please ensure your child is at school on time, dressed in house colours and wearing sunscreen, with a water bottle, lunch and a hat (all clearly named). Good luck to everyone, especially those in house relays and the long distance events!
- On Thursday we have a change to the timetable as we finish at 2:30pm. Administration has made it clear that any child not collected or supervised by a parent will be taken to after school care at 2:45pm. Please ensure you have discussed arrangements with your child.
- Three-Way Conferences tonight! We have eleven families attending - great to see 100% attendance over the two weeks as a result! - but this does mean we will need to stick very close to schedule. If we do not have a chance to discuss everything you feel is necessary please make an appointment to see me early next term (Thursdays and Fridays are best for us at school).

I have had many requests for short activities or strategies parents can put in place at home to support student learning. I will link a document later in the week which will outline some ideas you can discuss with your child and maybe choose some that fit your family's schedule and preferences best.

Keep checking back over the holidays for updates about exciting things happening in Term 2! If you are doing anything exciting feel free to comment below and stay in touch with others during the break. Travel safe if you are travelling, sleep in if you are not, and see you in person next term!

-Ang =)

Welcome to Week 7!

A few days late, but welcome to week seven! Amazing how this week has flown.

Students are working to an abridged checklist this week due to the Labour Day holiday on Monday.

Some reminders for the rest of this week:
- As the date for the athletics carnival has changed, please return the new permission form as soon as possible.
- We have sent home a questionnaire for feedback for parents to fill in before three way conferences. Please return as soon as possible.

We enjoyed our second afternoon of Cycle Three Platoons this afternoon; the teachers are really enjoying getting to know students other than our own and the students are enjoying time with friends from other classes as well as some new activities!

We will be cooking on Friday now that the heat has abated somewhat! Quite possible that we will be making gnocchi; there will be a back up plan if this falls through.

I have had some wonderful parents asking if they can help us in the classroom; we would love people to come in and help hear reading as often as possible. At the commencement of Term Two it is quite likely that we will also be looking for people to contact some books for us as well. If you are able to help, please do come and see me!

Til next week,
Ang =)

Welcome!

Welcome to 46A's blog for 2013!

This blog is chiefly for the information of students, family and friends of 46A. We think that blogging across Cycle Three will be a great way for everyone to stay informed and entertained about and by the goings-on in our classrooms and in the wider school community.

Some basics about what information you can expect to find here:
- An overview of our term's homework assignments
- Weekly checklist templates for each year level
- Information about upcoming events
- Samples of student work

We in 46A think that aside from reminding people who our teacher is the A in our class name stands for awesome, amazing, artistic and (of course) 'always-on-time!' Let's strive to live up to that this year :) We choose to do this by following our democratically-chosen class rules:

- Be punctual to school and to class after breaks.
- Walk.
- Work quietly most of the time.
- Be respectful of others' work.
- Keep your work environment clean and tidy.
- Take your work seriously.
- Put in your best effort at all times.
- Be respectful of others.

Stay tuned for more on the adventures of 46A!
-Ang =)