Such a great way to kick off Book Week 2014 with our dress up day. This year’s theme is “Connect to Reading” We had so much fun! We started the day with the parade, and even got to catch up with our buddies! We are looking forward to the rest of the week with lots more exciting activities organised.
Buddies who lunch!
We adore our buddies, and our buddies adore us!
The kids are absolutely loving having a big buddy. Someone to find on the playground, to be a helping friend and to support their learning!
Play-based Learning
In grade one this year we have been experimenting with “play-based learning” to encourage investigative play in our students. There have been a variety of stations set up in which the students can choose and explore. It has promoted fantastic social skills, oral language and fine-motor skills. The children have absolutely loved the sessions and it has brought about a positive vibe in the classroom. They have been extremely proud of what they have worked on, produced and explored. Here are some snaps of their investigation.
Bullying. No Way!
Meet our superhero “Helper Man!” He helps protect us against bullies
This Friday, the 21st of March 2014 is the National day of Action. It’s a day where government and schools are rallying together to say “NO” to bullying and violence against others.
St Mary’s is taking part of this action and in grade 1 we have created a series about our very own superhero who is there to help us against bullies. This Friday, the National day of Action, we are having an assembly at 2.40 to share our support for the day. Grades will be sharing what they have been doing in their classrooms to get the message across.
Visit the website to learn more… http://bullyingnoway.gov.au/
This is his special heart which sprays love onto everyone
Welcome to Grade 1 in 2014!
Hello Grade 1C students and parents! Welcome to the 1C blog, it’s finally up and running 🙂
Term 1 has been jam packed already and in Grade 1 we have very busy. We are really trying to make sure everyone is feeling happy and safe at school. We have already created learning goals for this term, as well as all trying to be the best person we can be. 2014’s theme is “Be People of God” and term 1’s Gospel value is Faithfulness. This value is linked to St. Loyola.
In grade 1 we are thinking how we can “Bucket Fillers”. Every person carries an invisible bucket around with them, and as we do and say nice things to others we fill up their bucket, as well as ours. However, if we do sad or mean things, we empty other friend’s bucket and our too.
You can fill someone’s bucket by:
- Giving a smile
- Giving a hug
- Asking a friend to play with you
- Helping them if they have hurt themselves
- Including others
- Caring for others
Watch this space for more (regular!) updates
Miss C 🙂
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
In Grade 1 we have been exploring the story Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox. Wilfrid Gordon showed great compassion towards the old people who lived next door. His favourite was Miss Nancy. Wilfrid helped Miss Nancy get her memory back… Click on the link to hear the story read online by Bradley Whitford
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
After reading and discussing the book, 1C came together to reflect on how they felt. This is what some of them had to say…
Why was Miss Nancy Wilfrid’s favourite?
Raphael – She has 4 names just like Wilfrid.
Why would it be sad to lose your memory?
Oscar – “You wouldn’t be able to remember things from the past”
Riley – “You wouldn’t know that good things that had happened in your life”
Jacob – “Memory is a really precious thing to have”
Why did Wilfrid find things for Miss Nancy?
Louisa – “To help her remember some special and sad events”
Jake – “To help her remember the good times when she was little”
How did the things help Nancy?
Claudia R – “When she held an object she remembered it in her head”
Josh Lo – “She held the eggs and they reminded her of the blue spotty eggs, and the medal reminded her of her brother that went to war and never came back”
What little things do you have that bring back memories for you?
Jacob – “My teddy bear, it reminds me of when I was young”
Josh Lu – “My baby blankets from when I was little”
Alex – “My toys when I was little”
Trinity – “My first pair of shoes”
Ashlee – “My knitted teddy that my great grandmother made for me”
Taj – “My dog reminds me of when I was first born and brand new to my house”
How did Wilfrid show compassion to Miss Nancy?
Isabella A – “By being nice to her”
Ollie – “Showing justice”
Louisa – “He was showing love and care”
Josh Lo – “He gave her company”
Ruben – “He helped Miss Nancy get her memory back by finding out what a memory was, and collecting all the objects.”
Writing an autobiography!
To continue with our Inquiry Unit, Little Historians, Grade 1’s were asked to make a timeline about themselves using photos or drawings. Using these timelines the students have started writing an autobiography.
In small groups, students spent some time discussing their timeline in detail. Throughout the next week, each child will present a “Show and Teach” about themselves.
To begin the autobiography the students answered a series of questions about themselves to help them with planning their writing. We then used the answers and their personal timeline to begin writing their very own autobiography! This week we are going to publish our written work in Microsoft Word.
On Monday, we visited our buddies and interviewed them too! This means we are about to start writing a biography! We’ll keep you updated with how we are going.
Exploring the olden days…
We’ve kicked off our inquiry unit by allowing the students to think about their own timeline in history. On the holidays they prepared a timeline filled with photos to show the different stages of their life. The kids had so much fun sharing their stories around the classroom.
We began our immersion by exploring different olden day objects that the kids had brought in from home. They were absolutely enthralled in it all! Looks like this will make for an interesting term of investigation.
- Ready to begin our investigation!
books and magazines from the 1950’s
Isabella with the spoon her grandfather ate with during the war
Dean with a dial-up telephone
Luka holding his dad’s kettle
Imogen and her egg beater
Louisa’s stamp collection
Asher’s antique pocket watch
Josh’s sugar bowl
Aashi taking a snap with her film camera
Josh investigating Lucas’ cassette player and tape
Jemma learning about records
Anthony and his pocket watch
Inspecting the items very carefully
Admiring the old photos
Term 4
Well it’s hard to believe but we are already one week down, and what a week it was! The children have settled back into the classroom, only to prepare moving into a new, beautiful learning space this week. We are all very excited! We have been thinking hard and practicing how we are going to work in this new environment. All the juniors will be very close by and we need to understand how to respect the learning areas of all classes.
Term 4 introduces a new Gospel Value which is Compassion. Grade 1’s have already started thinking about what it means to be compassionate. We brainstormed some keywords and here is what we thought of…
St. Mary’s have already begun the quest to be compassionate people. We took part in our very own “Cycle-a-thon”, and what a success it was!! Aside from the afternoon rain, the day ran very smoothly and the kids showed their determination in completing their laps to raise money. The money raised is going to a school in Uganda where children are learning in very poor conditions. Thanks to Russell Dickson, he has provided them with books and pencils, and is now going to begin building new classrooms. The money also went to the Williams family who are in our prayers and thoughts everyday. Here are some wonderful photos of 1C participating in the cycle-a-thon. A huge thank you to all who raised money and were able to help, even in just a small way.
As I mentioned, week 2 will be jammed pack with the start of moving into the new building. The students will also begin writing an autobiography! Stay tuned to see how we are travelling in 1C.
Miss C
Term 3 flies by!
What a whirlwind of a term! Grade 1’s were super busy with so many things happening at St Marys! There is a photo slide below with all the wonderful activities the kids participated in.
We kicked off the term with our Inquiry Unit on “Living and Non-Living Things” which the children embraced. We were fortunate enough to visit the zoo early in the term with some wonderful mums who came along to help the day run smoothly. During the exploration of living things the kids became fascinated with endangered animals and how humans impact on their environment. They then took on the action of educating the rest of the school about an event that is coming up during the holidays – WORLD ANIMAL DAY. The kids made posters and each group presented to a different grade to explain how the school could get involved! Along with our Inquiry unit the students began to understand the story of God’s Creation. As Stewards of God it is our responsibility to look after the earth and respect God’s Kingdom.
Every Friday the Grade 1’s showed their best dance moves during Dance Fever and also participated in a 3 week rugby program. This term we have also had the Art Show, school disco, footy day, minestrone cooking day and of course, lots of learning!
Here are some wonderful snapshots of what’s gone on this term. Enjoy.
