Literacy

In literacy, we have been continuing our explicit spelling program, Spellex, where we are currently revising when to use and how to spell long vowel sounds, rules about adding suffixes to words and what a bound or free base word is. We have also been practicing reading fluently by partnering up and timing each other to see if we can increase our words per minute the more we practice. Our cohort goal is to reach 133 words per minute! We have been practising using these skills in our narrative writing where we created a story about a character who migrates from a country to Australia and the challenges they face. We can’t wait for you to read our language features like metaphors, similes, exaggeration and personification throughout our texts. 

Maths

In Maths, Year Six has been working on Cartesian Planes and how we can use the four quadrants to map out efficient locations for businesses. In number, we have challenged ourselves to fill out as many multiplication sums as we can in 5 minutes. It has been great to see our progress through practice. 

At the beginning of term, we learnt about Polya’s 4 steps for problem solving. Using these steps, we have been strategically working through problems to plan, work out and check our answers. We have been using inverse operations and our knowledge of number patterns to help us check our working out. 

Year 3 students started Term 1 learning body part vocabulary in Japanese, using games, songs and drawings. They drew figures of their choice and labeled their body parts in Japanese. Here are some of their drawings:

At the beginning of Term 1, Year 4 students choose their favourite Japanese character to then describe. Here are some of their works:

Year 5 Shopping Role Play Preparation

Year 5 students have been working towards producing their shopping roleplays. In preparation for that, they are learning all the necessary vocabulary and phrases, including food terms and classroom vocabulary. To help learn those Japanese words, students created vocabulary lists and came up with creative mnemonics.   

Year 6 Self Introduction

Year 6 students have been learning personality adjectives and future job names in Japanese as part of the self-introduction speech they are going to present in Term 2. They are learning those Japanese words through online games, slideshows and creating their own vocabulary lists. They also have to come up with creative mnemonic words to help them remember the words.

P.E.

Term 1 has been a busy term in PE. Our students Year 2 - 6 have been focusing on goal setting and individual pursuits that relate to our athletics skills and running stamina. These goals and individual efforts have linked closely to our sports carnivals where students have competed against their own personal bests and each other. We have also focused on teamwork and the importance of supporting each other, by looking at the positive ways we can contribute to the team's success. We have been Orienteering in teams to help develop collaborative and cooperative skills as well as build our fitness at the same time. The support they have shown each other has been impressive. 

In Kindergarten and Year 1 we have been focusing on gross motor skills and the importance of the fundamental movements within the different skills. We have been establishing our routines in the PE environment and the different elements of a PE session. 

ACT Hockey Roadshow Clinics

Earlier this term Hockey ACT ran an introductory hockey clinic for all students in Year 3 -6. Students were introduced to the sport of hockey through drills and skill-based games. The coaches from Hockey ACT taught the students the basic skills of hockey such as ball control, dribbling and passing.

Orienteering has been a focus in our PE lessons this term and has been introduced as a passion group for students to further develop their orienteering skills. Orienteering is a navigation sport where you visit checkpoints in a specific order using a map. The map provides information about the area, and the participants navigate the key information to get around the course.

You may have seen a large number of students from across Canberra racing around our school grounds this morning. These students were participating in ACT Orienteering’s Autumn SC-ORE series. Over the past four Thursday mornings Charles Weston have had four orienteering teams represent the school and participate in this series. It was great to see so many students involved and we hope the children have all enjoyed the experience and want to continue participating in this great sport. 

The SC-ORE series are held over four Thursday mornings, twice a year in March and October-November, so if your child missed out this time but would like to be involved in the series later in the year keep an eye out for an EOI in Term 3. 

Cross Country Carnival 

Our school cross country carnival is next Wednesday 9th April at Stromlo Forest Park. The cross country carnival provides students in Years 2-6 an opportunity to compete in long distance running. Sports carnivals are part of our core curriculum and there will be no classes running at school on the day for Years 2-6. All students are expected to attend and participate. This is a great opportunity to build team spirit, encourage and support our peers. Please note all permission notes were due back at school on Wednesday 2nd April. 

Athletics Carnival

The Charles Weston’s Athletics Carnival is going to be held on Friday 2nd May at Chapman Oval. It is an opportunity for students in Year 2 -6 to compete in track and field events and some modified athletics based activities. Permission notes have been sent out to all families with students in Year 2-6 with permission notes and payment due by: Tuesday 29th April 2025. 

We are asking for more parent volunteers so if you are able to assist in any capacity and for any time period it would be greatly appreciated. This will ensure we run a successful & smooth carnival for your children. If you are able to assist please complete this form or use the QR code.