Book Week 2013

The theme for Book Week this year is ‘Read across the Universe’. Book Week takes places between the 17^th – 23^rd August (Week 6). To celebrate the Prep-2 Neighbourhoods will be attending the performance Space Jump at school on Thursday 15^th August and having a Book Week Parade and Book Sharing Day on Thursday 22^nd August. 

Book Week Parade and Sharing Day

Children are invited to dress up as their favourite book character for the parade and to bring the book to share with other children in the junior school. Parents are welcome to come and watch the parade and join in with the shared reading. After lunch the children will be placed in mixed aged groups and take part in two workshops related to this year’s Short Listed Books for the Book of the Year.

Action Required

Our Book week performance is tomorrow Thursday 13 August.
Some children have not returned their signed cream forms.
Please return signed forms tomorrow so that all children can attend.

CHANGE TO YEAR TWO ASSEMBLY DATE - 27TH AUGUST

Hi everyone,

You will be receiving an invitation home from your child this week regarding our upcoming Year Two Assembly on 27th August. There was a mix up with the assembly dates so it is no longer 13th August.

You are invited to come to share in our learning on this day, from 9am at Assembly and then join us in the Year Two Neighbourhood to explore our Inquiry further until 11am.

The three strands of our Inquiry have engaged the children in exploring how we can have a positive impact on our culture. The Sustainability Group has explored the impact we can have on our personal and community culture by making sustainable living choices, particularly in the area of food consumption; The Create a Country Group has explored the decision-making processes in creating a new country and how these choices impact on culture (including creating their own flag, currency and constitution); and the Family Stories Group have explored diversity and the impact we can have through awareness and appreciation of culture in our community.

We would love for you to join us if you can. The morning will involve healthy and not-so-healthy treats related to our Inquiry, dramatic presentation of the country 'Divercity', presentation of the Sustainability Group Cookbook, screening of the 'Sydney Road' documentary (if technical issues subside), performance of three songs, display of artwork and clay models and of course explanations of the learning by the children.

Please speak to your child or a Neighbourhood teacher for more information.

Warm Regards,
The Year Two Neighbourhood Team.

Fibonacci Day

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to share a special discovery by Hugo from our Year Two Neighbourhood today.

In one of our targeted maths sessions, one activity offered to the children was to investigate the Fibonacci Sequence.

The first part of the sequence goes like this:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34....

Some of the children got really involved in finding the subsequent numbers in the sequence. Can you see the pattern?

One of our lovely students, Hugo, is away sick today but emailed us especially to let us know that today at 11.23am it was 'Fibonacci Day'... as it was 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13!

I love this somewhat abstract yet logical application of a mathematical concept to a new context!

We will continue to investigate interesting concepts like number sequences and hopefully you will be challenged by some of the mathematics that the children come up with!

Great work Hugo!

Buddy Reading with Year Ones

Good Afternoon!

We wanted to share an exciting new collaboration that we have started this term with the Year One Neighbourhood. Every Tuesday after Assembly at 9.30am-10am the Year One children and teachers are joining us in the Year Two Neighbourhood for buddy reading.

Year One and Two children have been paired up and the children select a book to share together. The purpose of such an initiative is to not only foster positive relationships between children in different Neighbourhoods and introduce the year ones to the Year Two Neighbourhood, but also to build upon the benefits of collaborative teaching that we as teachers experience when working with each other in new contexts.

There are children of such diverse reading and comprehension skills between the two neighbourhoods that quite often we find a year one child sharing new concepts and ideas with a year two as well as vice versa. The children really capitalise on peer scaffolding whereby a slightly more advanced child can 'scaffold' the learning of another child and make the learning accessible where it may not have been independently. This is Vygotsky's 'Zone of Proximal Development' (or at least our interpretation of it) if you wanted to share in the lingo :)

So we are excited for new possibilities and growth as a Prep-Two team and wider Junior School Community and are seeking more of these opportunities to learn from each other.

See you all very soon,

The Year Two Neighbourhood Team

Term 3 events

The year 2 whole school assembly date is Tuesday August 13th  9:00 in the gym.
Children's Book Week is August 17-13 with the theme of 'Read across the universe'
A joint celebration is being planned for the Junior School.

Responible kids-at home and at school

 

 

NWVR 038–2013 Seminar: Responsible kids – at home and at school

 

Main points

·         Professor Ramon Lewis, from the La Trobe University Faculty of Education, is conducting a seminar exploring the use of different forms of power to gain responsible behaviour from children and to foster a sense of responsibility.

·         Professor Lewis has worked with many Victorian schools, especially in the former northern metropolitan region, and is well-known for his research and writing on child behaviour.

·         The seminar – in an interactive workshop format – is suited to parents, carers and educators (primary and secondary) and is a free event with limited places. Bookings are required.

 

·         Event details: Alumni Seminar: Responsible kids – at home and at school

Date: Thursday, 25 July 2013

Time: 6.00pm start followed by drinks and canapés at 7.30pm

Venue: Mezzanine Level/The Spring Street Conference Centre

Address: 1 Spring St., Melbourne (enter via Flinders Lane)

RSVP: by 19 July 2013 to k.micallef@latrobe.edu.au

 

Book Talk reminder and Library Times

Hello friends,

We would like to extend an ongoing invitation to you, to grandparents and other family members to join us on Wednesday mornings at 9.15am-10am for Book Talk.

Book Talk is a very valued hour of our week where we move into small groups, led by a teacher, parent, or student and read beautiful literature books and non-fiction books. We often have a focus for the day like characters and setting, author's voice, descriptive words, imagery, sentence beginnings etc.

We would love to have you whenever you are free, you can just show up on the day, sign in at the office and share your love of reading with the children. We would even love for you to share your storytelling skills and tell the children a story from your wandering mind.

NEXT WEEK'S THEME: BRING YOUR FAVOURITE SHORT STORY BOOK (chldren and parents to bring in their favourite from their childhood).

Hope to see you soon.


LIBRARY TIMES:
2KS: Tuesday
2RJ: Tuesday
2SK: Friday

The Year Two Neighbourhood Team :)

Welcome back Term 3 AND Premier's Reading Challenge ACTION REQUIRED

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Term 3, which has brought with it beautiful spring-like days already (touch wood)!

It was such a pleasure for us to have the opportunity to meet with you all individually during the Parent/teacher/child interviews and we look forward to building on these relationships and sense of community during semester two.

PREMIER'S READING CHALLENGE INFORMATION

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/prc/

Thank you for supporting your child in their reading toward the Premier's Reading Challenge.

The final cutoff date for completing the required reading is Friday 30th August. When your child has completed the challenge, please ensure you have helped them enter all of their books online using their username and password.

The booklist then needs to be printed, with your child's name and homegroup and signed by a parent and returned to their teacher by Monday 9th September.

Once this has been returned, the books will be verified on the system by the coordinators and your child will receive their certificate when they are printed by PRC.

Please remember: Children in Prep-Two must read 30 books in total with at least 20 from the Challenge booklist; Years 3-6 must read 15 books with at least 10 from the Challenge booklist.


Thank you,

The Year Two Neighbourhood Team