Time flies in Kindergarten - it is amazing to think that we are over halfway through our first year of school already. We have been having lots of fun and learning a huge amount - we are certainly busy little bees. We began this term with a celebration of 100 Days of Kinder. In Week 4 we hosted a special liturgy for The Feast of St Mary of the Cross McKillop with our Year 6 buddies, and learned about life in Indonesia from visiting teachers Ibu Yuni & Ibu Lina. We are very pleased to be sharing our learning with you in this week’s newsletter.

Religious Education
This term in Religious Education we have been exploring the theme “What is the Church?” Our focus scripture is the story of Jesus cleansing the temple (Matthew 21:12-13), which helped us to understand how we should behave in the church. We have also been learning about the special items in the church and what they are used for. We are now working on dioramas of the church interior.

English
In English we recently met ‘Yawning Yak’, ‘FleXible MaX’ and ‘Zippy Zebra’, which means we have now been introduced to all of our letter “friends”. We have even learned some digraphs (two letters making one sound): ll, ss, ff, zz, ch, ck, sh. We love to blend these sounds together to read words and sentences. Our writing lessons include expanding sentences by adding extra information such as who, when, where, as well as adding but and because to sentence stems. We have so much to remember in Kindergarten and we work very hard in English!

Mathematics
Kindergarten have embraced our new Connecting Maths Concepts lessons and are very engaged in this explicit direct approach to mathematics instruction. Our most recent lessons have focussed on counting and identifying numbers, sequencing numbers, following directions and identifying like symbols. 

Science
This term in Science Kindergarten are exploring the weather and seasons. We have been learning about how the weather is predicted, recorded and then delivered to an audience through the use of symbols and words via television, the internet and other devices. We inquired into our four seasons in Australia and the months these seasons fall into. We also enjoyed reading Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo by Alison Lester, and learning about the seasonal changes in Arnhem Land. 

Kindergarten are very good at recognising what items of clothing we would wear and what activities people can participate in during different seasons and air temperatures. We are currently learning how animals adapt their lifestyle according to the seasons and will further investigate how in some parts of the world there are only two seasons - the wet season and the dry season. Towards the end of term, Kindergarten will be creating a class video of our weather and season learning. We look forward to sharing this with you.  

Creative Arts
In Dance we are exploring ways the body can move in non-locomotor and locomotor movements. We are learning to perform a sequence of movements using different parts of the body to a variety of sounds, voice, music and percussion. 

In Visual Arts, we are currently working on a mixed-media artwork, that compliments our exploration of the weather and seasons in Science. Using foil, cardboard, sticks and acrylic paint, Kinder are creating embossed trees, representing the changing seasons.

PDHPE
This term in Health our unit of work is about ‘Keeping Myself Safe’. We have been learning to recognise our reactions and body signals to safe and unsafe situations. In PE we have been practising our kicking and catching skills. 

History
In History we are currently exploring the question ‘What is a family?’ We are also investigating where in the world our families come from. Our History Investigation zone has been very popular this term, as it includes some very interesting and mysterious objects from the past. 

Family Focus Visits
Family Focus visits are held during Terms 3 and 4 in Kindergarten. The students love to welcome their families into the classroom, where we spend time getting to know each other. Sometimes our families share special news or a skill with us, and at other times they simply spend time with us during Investigations. This is always a very special time in Kinder Blue.