Charity Christmas Cards: Playground Ideas

 

Playground Ideas is a charity to build playgrounds for struggling communities who have never had the chance to play before. We are selling fantastic Christmas cards beside the coffee cart after the assembly on Tuesday the 18th of December. Packs of 5 are $20. All the money raised goes to Playground Ideas. Thank you.

Imogen and Isabel Yr 5/6

On behalf of Marcus Veermon (Playground Ideas)

Whole School Picnic at Princes Park

On Wednesday the whole school will take a stroll to Princes Park for the Annual Whole School Picnic. Children can bring some healthy food to share with the neighbourhood. The children will have the opportunity to play on the equipment, share some food and run around. We will be positioned near the adventure playground on the corner of Princes Park Drive and Macpherson Street. We will head back when the children and teachers are ready. Parents are welcome to come and join us at the park.  

Transition Program

On Monday 10^thDecember the whole school transition program will begin to enable the children to become familiar with change.

On Monday and Tuesday the children will visit their 2013 neighbourhoods from 10 to 11am and they will have lunch in their new neighbourhoods.

On Wednesday 13^th December all children will go to their new neighbourhoods at 2.30 and will be dismissed or are to be picked up from the new neighbourhood at 3.30 by their parents or carers.

The more children can participate in managing change, the more they can anticipate it with excitement.

If your child is finishing school early this year can you please let us know so we are able to say a proper goodbye and wish you a safe and relaxing holiday. I think we all deserve it.

.

Learning Expo: Why Do I Write?

 

This morning the Year 1 Neighbourhood shared the learning that has been occuring in our Why Do I Write Inquiry. Parents and teachers alike enjoyed a morning coffee before the expo began. The children were extremely excited and a little nervous before the presentation. The children explained their projects beautifully and I think it is safe to say all the parents were very impressed and proud of all the learning that has taken place.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

 

Today children who are interested in Instrumental music enrolment for 2013 took home a pink information note. This is be returned by Friday 7th December with a $10 deposit if your child would like to take part in the program. 

Tabloid Sports Fun!

Fun in the Sun...

The Tabloid Sports program has one more week to run (sob sob!) What a fantastic time it has been for all the students in prep-year 2.  The "Tabloid Sports" team, Simon and Anthony, have brought along an astonishing array of sports equipment and games.  Each week has had a different focus; eye-hand co-ordination, team work and games.  This week, team work, provided lots of challenges and hilarity as the children attempted to walk together in threes, trap a ball and deliver it to a bucket, put a puzzle together, and bounce a plastic chook up in the air on a tablecloth, amongst other things!  Special thanks to all the parents who have turned out to help, and the wonderful year 5 students who have been the 'marshals' in charge of each activity.

Fractions 

 

Learning Intention: To understand that fractions must be divided into equal-sized parts

 

This term the children have been learning about fractions as part of the Monday and Wednesday morning maths workshops. The children have really enjoyed making a fraction wall with parent helpers and some great discussions have taken place about why some shapes and pictures are or are not considered fractions. Today a small group were given the challenge of looking at a pattern Jessica had made and making a whole.

 

Taylor, Katherine and Ava show one half next to one whole

 

Lila and Millie made one whole

Jessica gave the girls one half



Marnie and Daisy made one whole after looking at a quarter.

Learning Expo of Why do I Write Inquiry?  

On Friday 30th November (Week 8) the Year 1 Neighbourhood will be presenting their learning from 9:30am (for approx. 30 min.). 
We invite all families and friends to come and see what the children have been up to as part of our Why do I Write Inquiry. 
The coffee cart will be there so parents can have a coffee and a chat while the Inquiry Groups get ready for their presentations, from 9.00am. 
We hope to see you all there.

Susan Berran visits Princes Hill Primary School

Today the Narrative Inquiry Group were visited by Susan Berran. The children were very excited to meet Susan and she was very excited to meet our up and coming authors. In the morning session Susan read from two of her books, LICK'D & BONEZ. She discussed where she gets her ideas from and explained how she turned everyday events into hilarious stories that children love to read "you take one small idea and make it explode, let it get bigger and bigger". The children then had the opportunity to ask Susan some questions they had written last week. Susan told the children to "write about what you love". Susan's main advice was to describe things in an interesting way, if something is small, it can be .... Olivia suggested '... as small as an ant's tooth'.
After lunch each group had one on one time to show Susan their story and seek advice about to make the story more interesting and exciting. Susan was amazed at what the children had written and the detail of their illustrations, She could not believe the children were only 6 & 7 years old. 

Susan has donated the first 4 books of Freaky series to the school. The children in the narrative group each have an order form to purchase signed copy of her books if they would like to do so.

Susan showing the children her illustrations

The children were captivated when Susan read her books

Susan showed us her drawing skills first hand

The children had so many ideas for our co-constructed character

How would you describe our character

Working with one of publishing groups

Readers' and Writers' Notebooks

Every Friday home groups meet with their teachers to discuss their R&W Notebook. Please look for teachers' comments. Ask your child if their teacher has given them a challenge, eg., 

to read a non-fiction book rather than a fiction title, or 

to respond to a book by making a comment, or 

to make written descriptions to elaborate on their drawings.

Teachers are seeking to extend students engagement in reading and writing through the use of the R&W Notebook. You can help reinforce this by encouraging your child to follow up on their challenges and to read regularly or to be read to regularly.

The Bazaar is this Sunday (18th November)

The Bazaar kicks off at 10am on Sunday and the prep-2 Talent show begins at midday. Thank you to all those families who have already volunteered their time and/or donated goods. We look forward to seeing you all on the day. The weather is forcasted to be 19 with possible showers, fingers crossed the showers stay away.

Movie: Narrative Inquiry

 

View the movie that was made by the Narrative group for the assembly in week 3 by clicking on the Movie: Narrative Inquiry tab above.

History Inquiry Group are off to the Immigration Museum

We are visiting the Immigration Museum on Thursday 22 November as a concluding activity. Formal notices will be sent soon. If you can accompany us from 12.15 approx. on Thursday 22/11 please let Mark know. 

Premier's Reading Challenge

 

The Premier's Reading Challenge Honour Roll will be published in The Age this Sunday (11th November).

Narrative Inquiry Group

Questions for Susan Berran

 

On Tuesday 20th November, the Narrative Inquiry group will be taking part in series of workshops with Susan Berran, an author and illustrator of children's books. The children have been asked to think and write down any questions they would like to ask Susan. If your child is in the narrative inquiry group could you please talk to them about the questions they would like to ask Susan.

 

Here is a link to Susan's website

http://www.susanberran.com/

Photos or Images from the Yr 1 N'hood Assembly

If you have any images from the assembly (a couple of weeks ago) could you please drop them in on a USB or disk (otherwise we'd need to take a few minutes to download from your device).

Please see Mark, Jessica, Maddy or Janette. Thanks In Anticipation.

Tabloid Sports

 

The first tabloid sports session will be Thursday, 8th November (Week 5). Thank you to all the parents who have alraedy volunteered to help out. If you are able to assist please sign up on the roster at the front of the neighbourhood. Simon will be organising the first session and it will go from 9:15 - 10am. The following 3 weeks will be run by Tabloid Sports and will be longer sessions, 9:15-11am. We ask that all children wear appropriate footwear, hats and sunscreen. If you have any questions please speak to Jessica. 

Establishment of a Parents Gardening Club

School Council Facilities committee has recommended that a gardening group be officially formed in order to more effectively coordinate the gardening plots in the school. Members of the Facilities Committee and school staff will be in attendance. We wish to invite all interested parents to attend this meeting on Wednesday 7th November at 5.00pm in the meeting room opposite the school office. Let a teacher know if you are interested, we could discuss some possible connections for the Yr 1 N'hood. Thanks!

Parent Helpers Wanted – for Library tasks

Parent Helpers Wanted – for Library tasks.

The PHPS Library needs parents/friends to help cover our new library books. We are considering holding a weekend afternoon working bee in November. We also need regular helpers to join the team re-shelving and tidying or ordering the resources on shelves. 

To find out more please speak to Mark. Or, sign onto the sheet in your child's Neighbourhood. 

Thank You.

Helping With Maths!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all those parents who have helped with mathematics activities on Monday and Wednesday mornings (9-11 am) or part thereof.  If you would like to volunteer, there is a sign-up sheet on the noticeboard outside the neighbourhood.  Three parents for each morning are optimal.  This allows us to work  with a variety of games and activities in groups of 10-12 students. 
The activities for the next two weeks include;
Fractions; developing the students' understanding of 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 by making a fraction wall with colored paper.  (speak to Mark or Jessica...)
Place Value; developing the students' understanding of how the number system works by playing a trading game, using dice and wooden blocks that create 10's and 100's. (speak to Maddy...)
Number fluency: this refers to the students' increasing ability to add and subtract numbers >20 and then beyond using mental strategies, such as making to ten, counting on by tens,  doubling or halving, or knowing number 'families' (eg. 6+3=9, 3+6=9, 9-3=6,). This activity utilises a website that has many games that promote the students' ability to beat their time or their score of correct items. (speak to Jessica or Maddy...)

Opportunity to Take Part in Research!

Research Project on Assessment.

A letter is being sent home with the children this week. It outlines a research project that some teachers are involved in over the next 6 months with Professor Marilyn Fleer at Monash University.

The letter outlines the project “Assessment beyond borders: Potentive assessment in Primary School”. The project is looking at varied ways to assess children both at school and at home.

It also includes consent forms for you to fill out and return to school as soon as possible.

We would appreciate your support in this research project.

Year 1 Assembly

Our Neighbourhood will be presenting our learning on Tuesday 23rd October (Week 3) at 9am. We hope to see as many family members as possible as this will be our final assembly presentation for the year. Jessica will hanging around the coffee cart afterwards so come and say hi.

The Grand Tour of Italy: Italian/Visual Arts Day at Princes Hill

Monday, 22^tnd October 2012

Italian/Visual Arts Day will be a celebration of language, culture, history and art! This year the day celebrates the diversity of Italy and some of its major cities.

Students will be placed in multi-age groups, participating in a variety of activities reflecting the Grand Tour theme. Everyone is urged to dress up: in Italian colours, as famous characters, artists, soccer players, waiters, chefs etc to create an authentic Italian atmosphere

The day will begin with a costume parade. Students  are encourage to bring Italian food for lunch.

Please note there will be a special timetable for this day. Recess will be in the morning, from 10.30 – 11am, lunch eating time in classrooms from 11.55-12.25, and lunch play time at 12.30 – 1.30.

Saphire's Weekend Sleepovers

At the beginning of the year everyone was excited to sign up to take Saphire home. If you signed up to have Saphire this term please check when you are taking her home so you don't forget and miss out. If you can no longer take Saphire home on the weekend you have signed up for please organise to swap weekends or take your name off the list so someone else can sign up.

The whole school is invited to…

Get out those dancing shoes, grab a pair of

flares, and maybe even a ‘fro

and head on down to our

school gymnasium

to shake your groove thing…

When: 19

th October 2012

What time: 5.30pm – 8.00pm

Where: The school gymnasium

So, bring the family down, grab some dinner (food stalls will be available)

And have some fun!

So we can organise things even better,
please let me know by email

if you think you can come

Kathryn@jonestid.com.au

 

See you there!!!

Maths Workshops: We are looking for parent helpers on Monday and Wednesday mornings to assist with our maths workshops. If you can come in between 9:15-10:30 please add your name to the list that will be displayed at the front of the neighbourhood.

Recycling Storeroom: Shana is looking for some helpers to assist with cleaning out and reorganising the Recycling Storeroom on Monday 29th October (Week 4) between 9-12. If you can assist please speak to Jessica.  

Italian and Art Day 


There will be an Art and Italian Day held on the 22nd of October. This will be a celebration of the Italian culture and way of life. Further information will follow.

Tabloid Sports

The Transition Program including Tabloid Sports for Prep-2 will be taking place on November the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th. This is a junior school initiative to enable children to work together across the junior levels. We will require parent helpers from 9-11am on these dates. If you can help please add your name to the list at the front of the neighbourhood.

Bazaar Hampers

 

The Year 1 Neighbourhood is in charge of organising 3 hampers for the Bazaar in November. Our three hampers are 'A Taste of Asia', 'Gourmet Food' and 'Masterchef'. The baskets with a list of ideas are located next to Saphire at the front of the neighbourhood.  

Kimochis

 

Kimochi (KEY-MO-CHEE)

means "feeling" in Japanese

 

Today the Year 1 Neighbourhood meet the Kimochis, Bella Rose, Lovey Dove, Bug and the small pillows with feelings (happy, sad, silly, brave.....). We will be using the Kimochis to communicate our feelings and to support discussions related to responding to our own and other peoples emotions. The Kimochis are on display in the Torus area, please come and have a look with your child 

Wishing everyone a safe and fun holiday. We look forward to seeing you all next term.

Why Do I Write?

I write to record

I write to express my ideas

I write to communicate

Our WHY WRITE inquiry has moved into 3 project groups. The children have been divided into  groups and will answer our new question, Why do I Write?

I write to record: This group will be exploring history with Mark
I write to express my ideas: This group has decided to write a series of books with Jessica
I write to communicate: This group will be using writing to commincate with the school community with Janette and Mary.

We have begun a display in the Torus so please come in and take a look. If you have any questions about the projects please feel free to come in and speak to the teachers and take a look at the documentation books that are being developed. We are all very excited about the next stage of our inquiry.

Year 1 Lantern Assembly

Tomorrow the Year 1 Neighbourhood will be presenting their incredible lanterns that have have been creating in Art with Hannah this term at the school assembly. We ask that children arrive to school at 8:50 so we can get ready for the presentation.

Year 1 Fruit Festival

Friday 14^th September

(Week 9)

Come dressed as or in the colour of your favourite fruit.

Bring fruit to eat and share. We will be having a small celebration at recess and some fruit games in the last hour of the day

Fruit Festival

Sumeia has proposed a Fruit Festival to take place next Friday in the Year 1 Neighbourhood. On Monday the neighbourhood will discuss and finalise the details, stay tuned for more information.

Princes Hill Got Talent

 

Friday 7^th @ lunchtime we see Year 3/4 in the gym

Friday 7^th @ 2.30-3.30 we see Year 2 in the Year 2 Neighbourhood during Year 2’s Got Talent

Friday 14^th @ lunchtime we see Preps, Year 1 and Year 5/6 in the gym.

Friday 21^st @ lunchtime everyone comes to gym, we give final messages about practicing, getting music organised etc.

FAMILY BOARDGAMES NIGHT

All families at PHPS are invited to the Family Boardgames night.

When: Friday 7 September 2012: 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm

Where: 5/6 Neighbourhood 1 building.

 

Come whenever you can- there’s no need to stay for the whole event. Year 5/6 students as well as former PHPS students will be available to teach the games to children and adults. There is no charge for this event. No electronic games please.

 

Angela Palombo

On behalf of Community Relations Sub-Committee, PHPS School Council

Parent Helpers

We are looking for parent helpers to assist with our mathematical workshops. From next week (week 8) until the the end of the term we require 3 parents on Monday and Wednesday mornings. If you are able to help please add your name to the roster at the front of the neighbourhood.

 

PRC

The deadline for submitting your Premiers' Reading Challenge (PRC) list of books is Monday 3 September.

Please enter the books eligible for the PRC, which you have read, onto your login page at the PRC website. 

Then, print a list of books with your name on it and ask a parent/guardian to sign it. 

Give this signed printout to your Home Group Teacher (who will deliver it to Annette for verification purposes). Enjoy the Challenge!

Can you put that in your own words?

Summarising; "Telling it the short way"

During the past two weeks the year one students have been taking part in reading workshops that focus their attention on the important skill of summarising what they read, or as one of the students said "Telling it in a short way"!  
 Summarising is important as it transfers what the author is telling us into our own words, and in so doing we are re-creating the author's message for ourselves. We used two different thinking routines to practice this skill.

• The first is "Headlines".  After reading a story and discussing it at length, the students were asked to create two headlines; one that matched the story and one that did not. 
• The second routine is "Story Mapping".  This is one way of re-telling a story which is especially appropriate to those tales that involve a journey.  The students were asked to select the most important events in the story and create a map or series of pictures to re-tell the story. 

Below are some examples of both routines.  The children were asked to take home their story map of "Biblioburro" and retell the story to their parents...

 

Chance & Data Challenge

Over the past few weeks the Year 1 Neighbourhood has been exploring the mathematical concepts of Chance and Data with Simon. Last week (18/08/2012) the children constructed a spinner with the colours red and blue and then spun the spinner 50 times and kept a tally of how many times it landed on red and how many times it landed on blue. Simon has added up the resluts from all 3 groups and found that the spinner landed on blue 365 times and red 148 times.

The challenge is to graph the results and bring the graph in to share with the neighbourhood.

The current Learning Agreement: Week 5 & 6

This Learning Agreement belongs to ………………………….

From: ……………….. To: ……………………

My learning goal is

For the learning agreement I need to:

Creating Create a character using plasticine. Take photos of your character doing different things.	Writing Choose an item from the box. Imagine it gets lost. Write or draw what happened. (folded paper)
Investigating What might have happened to it? Write its history.	Constructing Create the scene for a story (where could it take place?)
Reading Look at two books. Compare them and record what you find is the same or different. (Living chart…)	Performing Work in pairs. 1 becomes a character. The other is the reporter. Ask the character who they are and what their life is like

We have some enthusiastic and motivated children in the 3/4 neighbourhood who have initiated a fundraising activity to raise money for the RSPCA by making cup cakes in an exchange for a donation. Although their enthusiasm and initiative have been commended, logistical and man power issues have forced us to rethink our timeline. Now that that the teachers have been involved, we will support the children to establish a manageable process. Unfortunately, this means we will be producing cupcakes for 34 neighbourhood 1 only. This is a good opportunity to remind parents that these types of events will always be accompanied by official notification.

Swimming Program

Our 2 week intensive swimming program begins next Monday (Week 6). The Neighbourhood will be going swimming Monday, Wednesday and Friday of Weeks 6 & 7. We will require parent helpers for all the days. The children will be going to swimming at different times, notes were sent home today informing you what time your child will be leaving and returning to school. If you are able to come along and assist please add your name to timetable at the front of the neighbourhood on the appropriate time slot. Thank you.

Premiers' Reading Challenge

2 weeks to go

The Premiers' Reading Challenge is fast coming to an end. We ask that children print off their completed list and hand it in to their homegroup teacher by Friday 31st August (Week 7). The list is to be signed by a parent or guardian and labeled with the child's full name.

 

Book Week: 18^th August – 24^th August

This Year the theme of Book Week is Champions Read

The Junior School will be celebrating Book Week with a Prep-2 Assembly and Parade

When: Thursday 23^rd August

Time: 9am- 10:30am (approx.)

Where: The Gymnasium

Children are encouraged to dress up as their favourite book character and to bring the book to share. After the assembly and the parade the Prep and Year 2 neighbourhoods will have the opportunity to share their books with each other and the Year 1 neighbourhood will have visit from a special guest.

Getting to the Message!

FURTHER EXPLORING IN PAMELA ALLEN'S WORLD!
Click on the links in the blog post from Sunday 5th August to read more of the children's thoughts about Pamela Allen's message.  This week some children commented on "Alexander's Outing" and "Mr. McGee and the Biting Flea", depending on the book they shared with Janette.  There are some very thoughtful people in year one who really love to engage with the 'message behing the words'!

Reading; Going Beyond the Words!

What is Pamela Allen telling us...apart from a great story?

As part of our ongoing inquiry, "Why write?", we are exploring the stories of Pamela Allen, and looking for answers to the question "Why does Pamela write?"  We are learning what it means to enjoy a story, and through re-telling what has happened, wonder if the author is sending us a message.  The children in year one read "I wish I had a Pirate Suit" with Janette last week.  This week they reconsidered the story, and thought about, or inferred,  the ideas Pamela Allen put in their heads through the story.  Here are their ideas...

Exclamation Marks!
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92418273/Exclamation%20Marks%20Why%20Does%20Pamela%20Allen%20write%20her%20books.pdf
Full STOPS.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92418273/Full%20StopsWhy%20Does%20Pamela%20Allen%20write%20her%20books.pdf
Question Marks?
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92418273/Question%20Marks%20Why%20Does%20Pamela%20Allen%20write%20her%20books%20%282%29.pdf

Reading...Let's Dive Deeper!

Why did the author write that?

As part of our major inquiry into "Why Write?" and it's more personal question "Why do I write?"  we are exploring the message that an author sends through their writing.  Following the excitement of the students' response to Lauren Child last term, we are enjoying exploring the works of Pamela Allen, author of well known books such as "Who Sank the Boat?" and "Alexander's Outing". 
This inquiry into Pamela Allen's world will give us opportunities to continue grappling with the idea of how we read; how do we 'get at' the message an author might have?
Readers need many strategies for unlocking texts, movies, and pictures.  All of them involve thinking skills, and these are our continued focus, and in fact are always a focus throughout life!  We all use these skills to varied degrees, with increasing sophistication...

• Prediction: this includes reading on and re-reading to confirm or reject predictions.
• Connection: relating to our own experiences, other texts, or events in the world.
• Visualisation: imagination!  Running a movie in your head as you read. Acting out!
• Summarisation: re-telling or paraphrasing what you think it means.
• Inferring: taking various clues and thoughtfully connecting them to deepen understanding

In the first three weeks, the children have all taken part in reading workshops that challenge them to develop their observation skills, leading to sharper summaries and thoughtful inferences.  We will continue these conversations with the students as we explore more Pamela Allen books and the works of other writers. 
Read at Home tip;
If your child becomes stuck on a word, suggest that they re-read the sentence, look at the picture, and sound the first letter, or letter cluster.  Then THINK...'use the clues'...what could the word be? 
Also try skipping over the word and reading on to the end of the sentence, then re-consider what the missing word could be.  Encourage them to make connections with their experience of other books/events in real life to assist in unlocking the missing word.  Say the word in letter clusters with your child eg. "br-eak-f-ast" not "b-r-e-a-k-f-a-s-t" (that doesn't help!)
It is great to be back!  Talk to me or any of the year one teachers if you have questions or observations to pass on about your child and reading!
Janette.

Meet the Author - National Bookshop Day

Saturday 11 August

at 759Nicholson Street, Little Book Room

Carlton North

Ph 9387 9837 more information on these free events go to: http://www.littlebookroom.com.au/pages/events

The Year 1 Neighbourhood will present their learning at next week's assembly (Tuesday 7th, August at 9am).

This is our current Learning Agreement

Please take the time to read and speak with your child about what learning experiences they have taken part in this week.

This Learning Agreement belongs to ……………….

From: ……………….. To: ……………………

My learning goal is

For the learning agreement I need to:

Reading With a partner explore an image and record what you infer in your Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook	Writing Continue writing your recount about the excursion to the State Library of Victoria
Investigating Conduct and record a science experiment in your Inquiry book	Creating Use the materials found on the creating table to creatively represent what you saw on the excursion
Constructing Construct a part of the State Library of Victoria you enjoyed being in	Performing Create a sketch. Choose a problem and solve it. Be ready to perform.