Mac St News - Friday 7th March 2025
Principals Report
Dear Parents, Carers and Community Members,
Another fortnight passes by, and we have passed the mid-point of Term One.
What a week it has been! We are over halfway into Term 1 now, and this week we have been at school for a full week! We have started some new routines in class this week, such as – new morning work activities and new seating arrangements. We also begun our systematic synthetic phonics program – Sounds Write. Students have taken to this like a ‘duck to water’, which is exciting to watch.
Next week we will begin sending home decodable readers which will match the unit of Sounds Write we are completing. In Maths this week we have been practicing the routines and expectations of our new explicit maths program and completing some independent book work. Have a wonderful weekend!
What an action-packed week we’ve had in the Grade One classroom! Our young learners have been diving into new challenges, developing essential skills, and exploring fascinating discoveries.
This week, we embarked on the "Extended Code" in Sounds-Write, focusing on the /ae/ sound. Students have loved exploring the different ways this sound can be written, building words like gate, break, play, and rain. It's been fantastic to see their confidence grow as they apply this knowledge to both reading and writing! (see pic)
We continue to refine our letter formation to ensure clear, structured writing. With each practice, students are developing stronger pencil control and precision, setting the foundation for confident written communication.
Maths has been all about understanding 2-digit numbers using "bundles" to represent tens and ones. Through hands-on activities, students have been making connections between numbers, strengthening their number sense, and having fun along the way!
⛏️✨ Striking Gold in Knowledge!
In our GOLD unit, we’ve begun uncovering the story of how Ballarat became a city during the Gold Rush. Students are captivated by the excitement of this era, and we can't wait to dig deeper into this fascinating time in history!
What a fantastic week it has been—we can’t wait for more learning adventures next week!
In Grade 2 this week, students have started their end of term project - designing a Monopoly board game. Over the coming weeks students will learn during knowledge time 'How Ballarat became a city'.
As they learn about people who migrated to Australia, the gold rush, how to mine gold and the significant buildings in Ballarat, students will create a class version of the popular game which will showcase their learning. Best of all, students will get a copy to take home and play with the family!
This week students created designs for the board game name and picture. Watch this space for more updates...
Over the past two weeks the 3/4 class have continued our investigation into some of Australia’s early inland explorers. Despite the harsh conditions, these men ventured out into the unknown to discover what white man had not yet seen before and go places that other white men had not been.
Some explorers we’ve learnt about over the past fortnight include:
- Edward John Eyre - who was the first European to traverse the coastline of the Great Australian Bight and the Nullarbor Plain by land.
- Ludwig Leichardt - who explored parts of central and northern Australia.
- John McDouall Stuart - who was the first to lead a successful expedition through the centre the Australian mainland from south to north – also making a successful return.
- Burke and Wills - who travelled from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria but died on their attempted return journey.
What a busy fortnight! Each day during our lunchtime check in we have been learning about special activities, events or days. Did you know that February 20th-26th was National Chip Week. We celebrated Tuesday the 25th by sharing some hot chips with our lunch.
The last fortnight has seen us begin some work on fractions as well as some work on division. We are about halfway through our novel study and what a page turner it is! Safe to say that the groans I hear each day when I tell students it is time to stop reading speak to how much everyone is enjoying it. In Knowledge, we have completed our unit on Explorers, and we are now looking at the Eureka Rebellion. This work in class will support our upcoming excursions to the Eureka Centre and Sovereign Hill. Have a wonderful fortnight.
Students birthday
Happy Birthday to the students who have celebrated their birthday in the last week or will celebrate their birhday in the coming days.
- Mason
- Haidyn
