Traditional Tales

EARLY YEARS

We have started our ‘Traditional Tales’ topic and we have been learning all about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The children absolutely love this story and have been enjoying enacting it in roleplay. We also made porridge in cooking time today which was fun! We are continuing with Phase 2 Phonics and this week we have been learning about all about the sound, ‘t’. We have been learning about tennis and also tractors. We made playdough tractors and the older children created farm drawings for their tractors after singing, 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm’.

PRIMARY

In Numeracy this week we have continued focusing on number operations, and we have been paying particular attention to bridging through tens. Some of us have also looked at subitising. In Literacy we have been writing our diaries, and we have been making extra effort with thinking carefully about the content and handwriting for our work. We have also been looking at writing descriptions of people and we have used Matilda by Roald Dahl to work from. In Science we are continuing our work on materials and describing them. In Topic, we have looked at the difference between different types of maps and identified areas that are wet and dry, as well as starting to understand eight compass points. We have practised using a compass and finding North. On Friday we found out about Australia Day (26th January) and cooked some typical Anzac biscuits to celebrate with David! We also designed some boomerangs.

SECONDARY

English

In English this week we have been thinking about answering questions related to reading, and thinking about whether questions require us to show explicit or implicit understanding of a text. We have also had a practise of reported speech, which is sometimes tricky because of the tense change. We went to the Library on Tuesday.

Mathematics

This week we have been doing more Algebra, the exam is programmed for Friday, February 1st. I have introduced some Geometry: therefore we only need a pair of compasses and a ruler. So we first learn to “dance” with the pair of compasses and then we’ll be able to do a lot of figures.

Physics

Some pupils have presented their video with a home made parachute. If you want that it takes longer time in the air, you just have to do slow motion on the video editing! (Why not? Very clever Andrea!)

Furthermore we have introduced the objects we can see in a Night Sky: Stars, Planets, Comets, Meteors and Meteorites (what is the difference?), and Man-made objects...why not Woman-made?

Chemistry

We have closed Chapter 1 “Matter”, and have started Chapter 2.1 “Introducing Elements”. Very convenient since it is the “Year of the Periodic Table of Elements”. After looking for some Materials and describing their Properties they have learned that the Materials are made of one or more Elements, that have properties that makes them Unique. We will be describing Elements and “playing” with the Periodic Table the coming weeks.

Biology

Monday they have done their Biology Exam, the ones that missed it, will still have an opportunity to do it next Monday.

Furthermore, we have met “Mrs.Gren” or the Seven Characteristics of Living Things: Movement, Respiration, Sensitivity, Growth, Reproduction, Excretion, Nutrition. These characteristics tells us if something is alive.

History

It’s the morning of October 14, in the year 1066, and the final battle has already started. We learned about the main events of the battle of Hastings. And more importantly, we learned about the sources that historians use to investigate what really happened in this famous confrontation. The Bayeux Tapestry (a 70 metre long embroidered cloth) is the best source we have to learn about it, it’s an amazing work of art that describes every step of the battle with incredible detail. Geography Eratosthenes was the first person to use the word Geography. It was more than 2000 years ago in the Ancient Greece. This place was home to many philosophers, mathematicians and astronomers whose names we still refer to today. Greeks were merchants and very curious, so they collected information from traders who came from different places and then attempted to draw the first world maps! We also learned about plans and drawing to scale.