Learning in year 1: July 2014

We met our new prac student this week. Mrs Beckman will be with 1B for the rest of the term. She is in her final year at University and will be available to start relief teaching next term. We hope her time with us is enjoyable and that she continues to learn lots.

This week in HSIE we learnt the difference between 'needs' and 'wants'. We played a game that required the students to work in small groups and make decisions about what was important to take to a new planet and sustain life for the next couple of years. The students were initially given 16 items to choose from. This was then reduced to 8, 6 and finally four. The groups realised that to sustain life; the 'needs' were; clean drinking water, fertile soil, seeds and an animal such as a chicken. We had some great discussions about these ideas.

In Maths this week we continued to consolidate our understanding of 2D shapes.

Daniel and Xavier making hexagons

Danielle, Rishita and June

Can you tell what shape we are making?

This is a rhombus

hexagon

triangles

happy triangles!

News presentations continue to inform and delight the class.

Daniel presented his information with a chef's hat on!

Luigi explaining his informaton

Noray

Victor telling us about the health benefits of eating dark chocolate.

Xavier explaining that chewing gum doesn't really take 7 years to digest.

The three week break was refreshing and relaxing. It was a great amount of time to recover from a very busy first semester. The students have returned this week and they have slotted right back into our class routines with a maturing calmness. It has been lovely to see them again. We have been joined by a new student, Rishita, who has relocated with her family to Sydney from Melbourne. She has been made to feel warmly welcome by the rest of the class.

During the break Mrs Edwards and I spent a morning at Ikea to purchase items to help freshen up our learning spaces. She has made a wonderful improvement down the Primary end and I was let loose in the Infants area. As an avid collector of interior decorator magazines, I enjoyed putting my creative side into our learning space.

I have been reading Dr Carol Dweck's book Mindset, How You Can Fulfil Your Potential during the holidays. It has been a fascinating read as she explores the idea that we approach learning either with a fixed or growth mindset. My goal as an educator is to encourage the students (and myself) to have a growth mindset. Having a growth mindset focus' on effort and working hard at something in order to improve, even if it is challenging. Considering how to improve performance and learn from setbacks are essential life skills that can continue to be applied for the rest of our lives. The book can be downloaded onto your iPad if you are interested. Reading Dr Dweck's work will provide insights into your own way of approaching situations and make you think about why you respond the way that you do.

We really enjoyed the Infants excursion to the Botanical Gardens this week. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day and a fun few hours being scientists exploring the wildlife. The children worked in groups of four and recorded their findings. The bus trip to and from the Gardens is always part of the enjoyment too.