FAITH
LEARNING
COMMUNITY
OPPORTUNITY
Year 1/2 Newsletter
Term 2, 2015
Welcome back to school!
Welcome to Term 2! We hope you have all enjoyed spending time with your
children in the school holidays.
We welcome Bernadette Mullen-Davey to the 1/2 Team! Bernadette is replacing
Anne Dudzinski in 1/2AC whilst Anne is on Long Service Leave for T2.
This term we are concentrating on the value of Gratitude. Gratitude is defined
as the state of being grateful; the ability to feel and express thanks.
Over the term we will help the students to really look at how they express
gratitude for what they have, for the opportunities that are offered them and
how gratitude can be expressed through the appreciation of the awe and
wonder of their world.
Circle time will continue to play a part in our week – it is lots of fun and a great
way for us to work on different social skills including resilience and how to make
and keep friends.
A focus too will be on Mathematics as we continue to develop in students the
skills to understand worded problem solving and to explore Maths through open
ended tasks.
At the end of this term we will be reporting on aspects of the students’
learning. However if you have any queries or concerns regarding your child’s
learning please contact us.
Please refer to our school web site or schoolbag app for information concerning
day to day school organisation and school events.
Yours faithfully,
Kathy Deegan (1/2KS-Rm 7) kdeegan@stjotran.catholic.edu.au
Sharon Gully Frith (1/2KS – Rm 7)
Fil Crescitelli (1/2FC - Rm 6) fcrescit@stjotran.catholic.edu.au
Bernadette Mullen-Davey (1/2AC – Rm 8)
Cynthia Thompson (1/2AC – Rm 8) cthompson@stjotran.catholic.edu.au
Artwork by Year 1/2 Students
“Building Bridges” (Come Out theme for 2015)
“Circle Art”
Learning Topics For Term 2
Religion
English
Daily Prayer
Class Mass
Being Connected (MITIOG) – explores how
students belong to a community and helps
them understand the value of being part of a
community
Spelling- individual word lists and various
spelling activities
(Phonics/Phonological Awareness)
Text Types – Procedures (writing a step-byby procedure using the correct structure and
following the instructions)
Information Reports ( writing a factual
report integrated with our Science unit
“Schoolyard Safari” using the correct
structure)
Reading-focusing on individual readers, big
books, partner reading, fluency, accuracy and
expression)
Literacy activities and interactive websites
Vocabulary
Comprehension
Grammar and punctuation
Library skills and borrowing
Literature appreciation
Show and Share (Oral Language)
Science
Textual Interpretation which looks at the
life of Jesus through the Gospels and
explores what this means for the students in
their everyday life.
Religious Authority for Ethics which looks at
the words and actions of Jesus and invites
the students to apply these values at home
and at school
Significant Church events this term include
the Ascension, Pentecost and Trinity Sunday
Mathematics
Number and Algebra
Investigate number sequences-by twos,
threes, fives and tens
Patterns and Algebra-describing patterns
with numbers, number lines, counting
forwards and backwards from different given
points
Addition and subtraction
Open ended word problems with a focus on
problem-solving
Shape
2D and 3D shapes- shapes in our environment,
properties of both 2D and 3D shapes
Open ended word problems using 2D and 3D
shapes
Designing and building using 2D and 3D
shapes
Measurement and Geometry
Estimating and measuring the length and area
of objects using non-standard units
Estimating and measuring th
Biological Science- “Schoolyard Safari”
Investigating and observing the diversity,
features and behaviour of small animals and
their habitats.
Design and Technologies
Design and make a 3D mini beast integrating
our units of work Science, English and
Mathematics.
Health and PE
Italian
Keeping Safe-the right to be safe,
relationships- making connections with
others, forming positive relationships, feeling
safe and unsafe, feelings, people we trust,
developing a personal network of trusted
people
Sports Day
Ball Skills- Basketball
-passing, catching, dribbling, aiming and goal
shooting
Soccer- correct foot passes, stopping the
ball, dribbling, goal shooting
Fitness
In Classroom Music we have been learning to
recognise the sounds in words, long and short
sounds. We can now add simple musical
notation to words and short phrases.
We are learning in small groups to keep
different beats and rhythms using body
percussion. This term we will be able to add a
variety of percussion instruments to the
songs we know. We also enjoy participating in
lots of music listening games.
Arts
Music
Mother’s Day gifts
This term with Mrs Gulley-Frith the Reception to
year2 Art program will focus around the Come Out
theme of ‘Building Bridges’. Students will explore
the theme in both a physical sense of what they
know of bridges as well as the metaphorical idea
of building a bridge to connect to others and be
inclusive of others in our school and wider
communities.
Students work will include watercolours, crayon
and pencil drawing. We will take inspiration from
artists such as Claude Monet and his water lilies
series as well as traditional texts such as the
Three Billy Goats Gruff which highlights the
theme of bridges and positive and
negative interactions with others.
During Italian lessons in term 2 the children
will be learning to count and using numbers
from zero to 20. We will be writing simple
sentences to describe ourselves. For
example – Io ho sei anni – I am six years old,
Io ho I capelli corti – I have short hair.
We will also be learning the days of the week
and the months of the year using songs.
Visual Arts -
History
The significance of Anzac Day.
Year 1- How the present, past and future are signified by terms indicating time such as ‘a
long time ago’, ‘then and now’, ‘now and then’, ‘old and new’, ‘tomorrow’, as well as by dates and
changes that may have personal significance, such as birthdays, celebrations and seasons.
Differences and similarities between students' daily lives and life during their parents’ and
grandparents’ childhoods, including family traditions, leisure time and communications
Year 2- Investigating the history of a significant building in the local community and what it
reveals about the past. Learning how to pose historical questions about a particular
object/person from the past. How technology has changed from the past to the present and
how this technology has helped us.