Hi everyone!

The past few weeks have gone by in a bit of a blur. There’s been lots happening!

 

The paper chains are now up and all around our classroom. We had the idea to see how many laps around the room they would go, but after one trip around with the ladder I made the executive decision to keep the decorations to the back of the room.

It’s nice to have a bit more colour in the room, and I’m also overcoming my aversion to heights!

 

Thanks to the persuasive words and visuals provided by Star 19 (combined with Rooms 17 & 18), we had a very successful Clean Up Schools Day. Last Friday the whole school took time out of their days to clean up an area of the yard, and it made a significant difference!

It was wonderful to hear the children talk about their efforts, the changes they made and the ideas they have to help our school to be litter-free in the future.

Next time you’re in the front office, check out our display of all the hard work put in by your stars.

We are beginning to pull apart numbers in maths. This way we can see the different ways numbers can be made, and broken up. It is so important to understand that numbers are not one fixed whole. Understanding that numbers can be rearranged and regrouped numbers is crucial for efficient strategies in addition and subtraction.

In  short lesson we played around with the number 63. We used MAB tens and ones to make different shapes that have the same value. Next week we will move into the hundreds!

 

In science we have been classifying animals based on their features. We used something called a branching key to help decide which group each animal belonged to. At the end of one of our lessons I showed the class a game which uses a similar method and key. A few of the children asked me for the link, so here it is: Deadly 60 Variation Game. Please note, I used this on the computer, so I’m not sure if it’s mobile device friendly.

 

During a break we had a suggestion to watch a domino clip on YouTube. It’s amazing to see how much time and effort goes into setting everything up, and knocking it down with such precision. It reminded one child of the following music clip, which has the same element of cause and effect.

This too shall pass – Cause and effect

The band OK Go are known for their skilfully choreographed music videos. Here are two more:

The one moment – A new video to me

Here it goes again – The first clip I saw. They’ve come a long way since this!

Phew! I hope you enjoyed the update.
Have a safe and relaxing long weekend!

Miss Chambers