The Grade 1/2 students have had an incredible start to their last term of 2016. Our concert performance of Alice in Wonderland was not only a great success, but also a wonderful display of the culmination of many newfound skills and experiences. Students reflected throughout the rehearsals on teamwork, personal effort and how to embrace nerves.

Here are some ‘Dear Diary‘ entries reflecting on the concert:

• Dear Diary, Yesterday I performed in a school concert and my favourite part was 1/2 F’s “Let’s Get Ridiculous”. It was great! I also liked 1/2 D’s “Our House, In The Middle Of Our Street” and of course our own. It was the best concert ever. There were seven classes and nine acts.  ~ Luca, 1/2G

• Dear Diary, I had an awesome concert last night! I was card 9 of hearts. When we were clapping for each class our class got the loudest cheer. My favourite part was when Bentley the hedgehog ran and we all split.  ~ Tom, 1/2G

• Dear Diary, I loved my hedgehog costume.  “Because I’m happy clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.” Yee you get it! I liked the song…  I never wanted the night to end.  ~Bentley, 1/2G

Our genre study so far this term has been persuasive texts – in particular, advertisements. Students have been exploring the special persuasive devices used for writing print advertisements. We have investigated the following persuasive devices… calls to action, emotive language, facts and opinions, bonus offers, alliteration, as well as graphics and the use of famous faces.

Recently you will have received a brochure with some Reading Tips for Home. Students are now familiar with all of the Fairfield Primary School reading strategies so we would encourage parents to use the same vocabulary at home.

In mathematics we have been revising efficient strategies for addition and subtraction. These can include facts of ten, turn around facts, doubles, near doubles and bridging to ten. We actively encourage students to explain their reasoning on how they came to an answer. Students have also been exploring volume and will soon launch into investigating capacity, transformations and problem solving.

Our Inquiry this term, ‘Morphing Materials’, is involving a number of science experiments to understand how everyday materials can be physically changed or combined with other materials so they can be used for different purposes. Students are using scientific vocabulary to predict and make observations. Simple corn popping and jelly making are two examples of this exciting science.

Here are some observations after a popcorn experiment:

• The popcorn got big and pops when the gas tried to get out.  ~ Ava L, 1/2B

• I saw a little white crack with the gas trying to escape from the kernel.  ~Will B, 1/2B

• I saw the popcorn go like a rocket! I thought it was awesome!  ~ Ashana F, 1/2B