Class Levels

Term 1

Hello Prep families,

We hope you all had a wonderful summer break and we are so excited to be welcoming our new students into Prep for 2023!

We will begin the term by familiarising students with the classrooms, playground, yard and school as a whole. Students will participate in specialist classes, spend time with their buddies and get to learn their way around the school. 

In Literacy, students will focus on letters and the sounds they make. The SMART Foundation program will introduce students to the concept of spelling, graphs and digraphs. We will read lots of books in class and students will start bringing home books to read. In class, they will begin to experiment with writing and recording their ideas through words and pictures. 

In Maths, we will have a big focus on counting skills and recognising and working with numbers from 0-10, as well as concepts from the Measurement and Geometry curriculum.

SWPBS
School Wide Positive Behaviours is based on our school values, which are RESPECT, RESILIENCE, CREATIVITY and PERSONAL BEST. We will incorporate all of the values in our teaching this term, with a particular focus on RESPECT. Students are rewarded for positive behaviours and when they reach a tally of ten ticks, they receive a token to add to the whole school values pencils located in the office. A whole school reward occurs when a pencil is filled. 

 

Resources to help with Literacy and Mathematics skills at home….

Go Fish Card Game (Writer’s Word List Words)

‘I Have, Who Has’ (letter ID game)

Upper and lower case letter recognition match up

Dominoes

Ice cream number match up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Term 1

ART
Welcome to our Preps for 2024! We have lots of hands-on activities planned in the Art room this term. Some of these can get messy, so please make sure that your child brings an art smock to school, to cover their uniform during Art sessions. These will be stored at school and then sent home at the end of the year.
This term we will be exploring portraits (drawing), mixing colours (painting), making three-dimensional works (construction) and looking at ways we can use tools to make marks (printing). Our learning will focus on some of the Elements of Art and Prep children will experiment with different ways to use colour, line and shapes in their work.

MUSIC
In Term One, Foundation students will focus on learning the routine of the Music Room and enjoying a variety of music. They will be experimenting and expressing themselves through singing, dancing and the use of instruments. We will be having lots of fun as well as using music for some much needed rest and relaxation at the end of every lesson. 

JAPANESE/SCIENCE
In Term 1, the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) program will be introduced to the Foundation students. This program combines Japanese language and Science, providing students with an immersive educational experience. the students will explore Chemical and Physical Science through the ‘Senses’ unit, engaging in activities like the ‘Mystery Box’ to deepen their understanding of smell, touch, taste, sight, and hearing. Concurrently, the students are going to learn Japanese basics such as greetings, colours, body parts, adjectives, numbers, and animals through interactive games, songs, and visual aids, promoting integrated learning across disciplines.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
To kick off the term, Tecoma students will engage in tennis sessions, followed by a three-week intensive gymnastics program.  This three-week program is fundamentally about students learning how to control their own bodies. We will break down some fundamental gymnastics skills such as cartwheels, swings, and rolls into simple progressions, incorporating enjoyable activities that capture the students’ enthusiasm. Following these sessions, we will continue to develop their knowledge of the rules and procedures of games and small group activities. Fundamental Motor Skills (FMS) will be the basis for many of these activities.

All students need to wear a hat and bring a water bottle to each PE lesson to ensure they remain adequately hydrated.
Additionally, we recommend that sunscreen be applied to your child (for those who can) ensuring added sun protection on their designated PE day.

 

Term 1
Welcome back to Term 1 in Grade 1/2!

Literacy
As the students settle into the new school year and adjust to new routines in this year level, we begin to immerse them in literature to deepen their understanding and enjoyment of reading and sharing stories. The students will experience strategies to build comprehension skills and learn how to evaluate and respond to the information they have read. With continued practice, the students will continue to develop skills in fluent and expressive reading, by chunking words into syllables, paying attention to punctuation and using the punctuation to guide their emphasis, especially while reading dialogue. To encourage consistent home reading habits, we count the number of nights the students read in their yellow Reading Diaries. Please remember that it is the number of NIGHTS, not the number of books that children read that are counted. As our students achieve milestones, beginning at 25 nights, they receive sticker awards in their diary. Our writing focus this term will be recounts and will incorporate the 6+1 Writing Traits of Word Choice and Vocabulary. Students will build on their skills in choosing better words in their descriptive writing. In addition, the students will continue to expand their spelling skills through the Spelling focus and build on their automatic recall of the most used spelling words from the Writer’s Word List. 

Numeracy
In the first few weeks in Mathematics, the students will continue to consolidate their counting skills and understanding of place value to 1000. We will extend their understandings of addition and subtraction through the teaching of mental strategies and with the use of concrete materials. We will explore multiplication and division towards the end of this term, making and sharing groups, as well as learning how to read, interpret and record our findings. We will begin to tell the time on both digital and analogue clocks to the half hour, as well as exploring Chance and the likelihood of events happening. The measuring of objects will be explored, with various simple instruments to determine their mass, area, capacity and length through lots of hands-on activities, as well as learning how to record our findings with accuracy. We will also explore 2D and 3D shapes, looking at their attributes and qualities. We will also focus on building the students mental maths skills and we encourage you to continue practising these skills at home. They can be incorporated into games such as dice games, card games and simple counting games, such as skip counting number patterns.

Integrated Studies
Our whole school focus this term is ‘Who We Are’. The 1/2 students will be learning about how looking after our social, emotional and physical well being, links directly to our mental well being. This in turn helps us to feel positive about ourselves, our strengths, weaknesses we can improve on and personal skills. We will reflect on how feeling great about ourselves promotes positive relationships with the people in our lives.

SWPBS
School Wide Positive Behaviours is based on our school values, which are RESPECT, RESILIENCE, CREATIVITY and PERSONAL BEST. We will incorporate all of the values in our teaching this term, with a particular focus on RESPECT. Students are rewarded for positive behaviours and when they reach a tally of ten ticks, they receive a token to add to the whole school values pencils located in the office. A whole school reward occurs when a pencil is filled. 

Term 1

ART
Hello and welcome back. This term in the Art room we will be using many different types of materials. To complement the theme of ‘Healthy Mind, Healthy Body’ we will be drawing and painting pictures of ourselves and looking at different ways we can share our identity through our artwork. Later in the term, we will explore the different shapes we make with our bodies when exercising and we will also draw some still-life fruit bowls. It is very important that every child has their own art smock. Most of these were sent home at the end of last year for a wash. Please check that these still fit and return them to school. If the Art smock is now too small an old shirt (adult sized will cover more of their school uniform) also works well.

MUSIC
Music for first term in grades 1/2 will focus on beat, rhythms and dynamics (loud and soft music). The children will learn how to distinguish between music with a steady beat and no beat. They will be reading, writing and playing simple rhythms as well as creating short rhythmic compositions. They will explore different dynamics in music by both playing and listening to songs and orchestral music.

JAPANESE/SCIENCE
In Term 1 of the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) program, integrating Science and Japanese language, Year 1 and 2 students will explore growth and change in living  organisms. Activities include observing mealworms to understand the impact of temperature on their development and comparing human and mealworm life cycles. Collaborative investigations, like ‘Egg Detectives’, enhance critical thinking. Through these integrated explorations, the students will develop both scientific literacy and linguistic proficiency in Japanese, nurturing a comprehensive approach to learning.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
To begin the term, Grade 1 and 2 students will be involved in tennis lessons and followed up with a three-week intensive gymnastics program. It is fundamentally about students learning how to control their own bodies. We will break down some basic gymnastics skills (such as cartwheels, swings, rolls, etc…) into simple progressions, using activities that the students will enjoy. We will continue to develop their knowledge of the simple rules and procedures of games and small group activities. Fundamental Motor Skills (FMS) will be the basis for many  activities. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in an 8-week swimming program. This will take place on Wednesday afternoons starting February 7th through to Wednesday 27th March at Aquatic Achievers swim school in Ferntree Gully.

All students will be required to bring along a bottle with water to each P.E. lesson to ensure they stay hydrated.

Term 1
Welcome back to Term 1 in Grade 3/4!

LITERACY: In Reading lessons, students will practise re-reading to deepen their understanding of the texts they read and assist in finding evidence to answer questions. They will expand their use of comprehension strategies, as well as further developing their accuracy, fluency and expression when reading aloud. They will continue to investigate the ‘6+1 Traits of Writing’ to enhance the depth of their writing pieces. They will participate in SMART Spelling lessons and build on their knowledge of graphs, digraphs and trigraphs. We will be continuing to use our Writer’s Notebooks as a way of brainstorming and experimenting with new writing styles. In Writing we will focus on the text types recounts, narratives and persuasives. We will develop the norms of our Class Meetings this term, where students are encouraged to actively listen to one another and to speak up and have their opinions and ideas heard.

MATHEMATICS: This term we will focus on a variety of mathematical concepts including place value, the four processes (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), area and perimeter as well as beginning our Maths Ninjas program for the year. We will be using a range of hands-on and engaging materials to make meaning of concepts and consolidate and extend student understanding.

INQUIRY: Our Inquiry topic this term is ‘Looking After Me’ in which students will learn about health and wellbeing. We will investigate topics such as physical and mental health, relationships and managing conflict. They will then put this knowledge into practice to improve their own health and wellbeing, as well as promoting this within our school community.

SWPBS
School Wide Positive Behaviours is based on our school values, which are RESPECT, RESILIENCE, CREATIVITY and PERSONAL BEST. We will incorporate all of the values in our teaching this term, with a particular focus on RESPECT. Students are rewarded for positive behaviours and when they reach a tally of ten ticks, they receive a token to add to the whole school values pencils located in the office. A whole school reward occurs when a pencil is filled. 

Term 1

ART
Hello and welcome back. This term in the Art room we will be drawing self portraits, focussing on proportion, colour blending and shading. Later in the term we will explore the work of artist Sandra Silberzweig and create our own colourful works using chalk pastels.
It is very important that every child has their own art smock. Most of these were sent home at the end of last year for a wash. Please check that these still fit and return them to school. If the Art smock is now too small an old shirt (adult sized will cover more of their school uniform) also works well.  

MUSIC
During music lessons in grade 3 /4 the focus will be on extending the children’s knowledge of beat and rhythm through playing, composing and listening to music. The children will learn about the instrumental families within the orchestra. The differences between the instruments, the sounds they create and the music they read.

JAPANESE/SCIENCE
In Term 1 of the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) program, blending Science with Japanese language, Year 3 and 4 students will explore the properties and transformations of matter. Through engaging lessons like ‘Mysterious Matter’ and ‘Melting Moments’, students define material properties, observe changes in states of matter, and predict outcomes based on scientific principles. Collaborative activities deepen understanding, fostering both scientific literacy and language proficiency in Japanese. With a focus on hands-on experiments and discussions, the students will develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
There will be three main focuses for Grade 3 and 4 students in PE this term. The first is tennis, followed by athletics, and thirdly students will engage in an intensive gymnastics program. During gymnastics sessions, we will break down skills into simple progressions using fun activities and equipment that the students will enjoy.
Our second focus for this term will be on athletics, including events such as shot put, discus, triple jump, long jump, hurdles, and high jump, in preparation for our grades 3 to 6 Tecoma Athletics Carnival. This will take place at Sherbrooke Little Athletics Club’s home track at Kings Park in March (date TBC).
Students who qualified for our school swim team (in December 2023) will participate in the Sherbrooke District Swimming Carnival (@ Belgrave Outdoor Pool) on Friday 16th February.
Each Thursday afternoon, students will participate in SEPEP (Sports Education in Physical Education Program) where they will participate in mini-team games with a student-centred approach. ‘The philosophy behind SEPEP is for students to experience a program which mirrors “real life” sport.’ The first 5 weeks of SEPEP will focus on students participating in athletics events (in preparation for our athletics carnival) and from week 6 onwards students will engage in team sports.
All students will be required to wear a hat and bring along a bottle of water to each PE lesson and to SEPEP each Thursday to ensure they stay hydrated. It is recommended that your child applies sunscreen on high UV days, but it is especially important that they are wearing sunscreen on their timetabled PE and SEPEP days.
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/sun-protection/policy

Students are permitted to wear their Tecoma sports tops during their timetabled PE lessons and on Thursdays for SEPEP.

Term 1
Welcome back to Term 1 in Grade 5/6!

LITERACY – We have already made a positive start to our reading journey in Grade 5/6 this year. Our students have shown a good deal of enthusiasm when selecting new books and we have had several interesting conversations all about favourite novels. As part of our literacy program in Grade 5/6, we engage in rich reading sessions throughout the week. These lessons focus on different aspects of Literacy, including strategies for independent reading, whole class discussions, conferencing with teachers, reading comprehension, questioning, inferring and making connections. This term, all five of our grades will be reading the book ‘Dear Jo’ by Christina Kilbourne as their class novel. It is a moving story with cybersafety messages that we hope will stay with our students for a long time after we have finished reading it. This term in writing, our focus is on exploring the 6+1 Traits,  particularly using revision skills to improve sentence fluency. We are focusing on collecting ideas in our Writer’s Notebooks, developing detailed plans before writing, and structuring and sequencing work effectively for an audience.

MATHEMATICS – This term in Numeracy, students are covering a range of new and challenging tasks. We run a differentiated program to cater for the mixed abilities in our classrooms, providing support to those who require that extra bit of assistance and higher order thinking tasks for those students who choose to explore mathematics to an extended level. We have begun the year practising the basic building blocks for success….times tables!  Understanding and knowing the times tables will make the transition into secondary school that little bit easier. We also acknowledge that whilst students work well with problem solving and productive struggles, others can find them very overwhelming. We are working on strategies to overcome these feelings, as well as assuring students that their efforts are noticed and appreciated.

INQUIRY – Our Inquiry unit this term is all about the ‘Media’. Students will discuss media literacy and misinformation; there has never been a more important time to teach kids to be critical consumers of the media. Becoming ‘digitally literate’ is a valuable and essential life skill. Whilst digital literacy includes using technologies to ‘read and write’ online, it’s also about how we navigate, understand and evaluate information and communication technologies effectively, and as safely as possible.

SWPBS
School Wide Positive Behaviours is based on our school values, which are RESPECT, RESILIENCE, CREATIVITY and PERSONAL BEST. We will incorporate all of the values in our teaching this term, with a particular focus on RESPECT. Students are rewarded for positive behaviours and when they reach a tally of ten ticks, they receive a token to add to the whole school values pencils located in the office. A whole school reward occurs when a pencil is filled. 

Term 1

ART
Hello and welcome back. This term in the Art room we will be drawing portraits in the style of Tim Burton characters. In particular, we will focus on shading to add contrast and create a mood. Later in the term, we will explore photography, focussing on composition and how to edit our photos.  It is very important that every child has their own art smock. Most of these were sent home at the end of last year for a wash. Please check that these still fit and return them to school. If the Art smock is now too small, an old shirt (adult sized will cover more of their school uniform) also works well.

Music
Grade 5 and 6 classes will be revising their prior knowledge of the ukulele and keyboard and using that in conjunction with a program called Musical Futures. This program is play based, using ukulele, keyboards, bass and acoustic guitars and chair drums. They will learn to read and play chord and drum patterns, as well as creating their own.

JAPANESE/SCIENCE
In Term 1 of the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) program, merging Science with Japanese language, Year 5 and 6 students will explore human and desert adaptations through interactive discussions and hands-on activities. Lessons like ‘Deadly Deserts’ and ‘Dodging Desiccation’ will deepen their understanding of survival mechanisms. Through digital technology and collaborative projects like ‘Species Specialist’, the students will apply their knowledge to investigate desert adaptations in animals and plants. This integrated approach enhances scientific literacy and linguistic proficiency, fostering a holistic understanding of the natural world.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

There will be three core sport focuses for Grade 5 and 6 students in PE this term. Firstly, tennis will be the initial focus, followed by an intensive gymnastics program. During this program, we will break down various gymnastics skills into simple progressions using enjoyable activities for the students.  
Finally, students will engage in athletics events, including shot put, discus, triple jump, long jump, hurdles, high jump, and sprinting. This preparation is in anticipation of our Grade 3 to 6 Tecoma Athletics Carnival, scheduled for early March (date to be confirmed) at Sherbrooke Athletics Track (Kings Park).
Extra lunchtime gymnastic sessions will also be offered for students interested in participating. Those who qualified for our school swim team in December 2023 will take part in the Sherbrooke District Swimming Carnival at Belgrave Outdoor Pool on Friday, 16th February.
The focus during this term for Thursday afternoon SEPEP will be training in athletics events for the first five weeks, transitioning to team practice in preparation for Term 2’s interschool sports event. Tecoma will be entering teams in the sports of netball, soccer, AFL, T-Ball, and Volleystars to compete against local schools in the Sherbrooke District Interschool Sports Round Robin event.  
All students must bring a water bottle and wear a hat to their timetabled PE lessons and SEPEP sessions on Thursdays to ensure they stay hydrated. It is recommended that your child apply sunscreen daily at school (on high UV days), with special emphasis on wearing sunscreen on their PE and SEPEP days, as well as on any other day when outdoor sports events are scheduled.

https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/sun-protection/policy

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