Welcome to Term 2! What a wonderful and busy start to the term we have had. It has been fantastic to see students return settled, motivated, and ready to engage in their learning.
We recently took many of our students to District Athletics, where they demonstrated great determination, resilience, and teamwork across a range of events. While there were many strong individual performances, we were most proud of the exceptional sportsmanship shown throughout the day. Several staff and spectators commented on the way our Badger students enthusiastically supported and encouraged not only their teammates, but also students from other schools. This positive attitude and respect for others is something we value highly at BCPS!
In Mathematics, we have been focusing on fractions. Students have been learning to identify and create equivalent fractions, as well as simplify fractions to their lowest terms. They have been using visual models, such as fraction walls and number lines, to support their understanding, and are beginning to apply these skills when solving more complex problems. We will continue building on this knowledge in the coming weeks.
In SWPBS, our focus has been on understanding the difference between being a bystander and an upstander. Through discussions and real-life scenarios, students have explored how they can take positive action when they witness unkind or unsafe behaviour. As part of this learning, the Grade 5/6 students have begun designing informative and eye-catching posters that promote upstander behaviour with the plan to display these posters around the school to help educate and support our junior students.
In Exploring Texts, we have begun reading Tasmanian Devil by Claire Saxby. This unique text combines both fiction and non-fiction elements, telling the story of two young imps (baby Tasmanian devils) as they grow, explore their environment,
and develop independence. Students have been analysing how the author uses rich, descriptive language and imagery to bring the story to life. Through this text, we have engaged in a variety of literacy activities including sentence transformations, patterned writing, and choral reading before starting our own Narratives! Check out some of our amazing introductions below!
To continue strengthening our connection with our neighbours at Healesville Sanctuary, we were lucky to have Bella and Chris visit our classrooms. They shared fascinating insights about the Leadbeater’s Possum, a critically endangered species native to Victoria (but has also been surprisingly spotted in NSW). Students learned about the threats, including habitat loss, and explored the important conservation work being carried out by Zoos Victoria at Haining Farm to help protect and restore populations. This experience has helped deepen our understanding of the importance of caring for our environment.
We are incredibly proud of the way students have started the term and look forward to another exciting fortnight of learning ahead!
News from the students:
“I like the Tasmanian Devil story and the patterned writing, creating our sentence using rich language” – Harper
“I liked creating our Upstander poster because I used Mr. Crawford’s face on my poster” – Willis
“I have enjoyed exploring texts because we are learning new vocabulary and new ways to write stories in meaningful ways” – Eden
