YEAR 3

How We Express Ourselves:

Year 3 have started a new semester long inquiry with the central idea 

We have started Finding Out about line 1 and 2 and used the artwork of May Gibbs and Ellis Rowan as inspiration for some beautiful watercolour paintings of wattle ready for Wattle Day on the 1st September. 

Sharing the Planet:

As part of our Inquiry we have been learning about soil sciences! Students have used magnified cameras to compare and describe soil samples. We will be using soil we have collected to make our own tiles.

In Mathematics, our students have been working hard on fractions and exploring how they connect to real-life situations. One of the highlights was creating their own pizzas, where they added toppings and then worked out the fraction of each topping on their pizza. The students did a fantastic job and their pizzas looked absolutely delicious!

Text Study: 

In Text Study, the Year 3 students have been working hard on upleveling their writing skills by expanding their vocabulary using academic and scientific words. We have been studying a picture book ‘A Stone is a Story’ which students have taken a deep interest in! 

Book Week: 

Last Friday we celebrated Book Week. Our students expressed their deep love of books and reading through their amazing costumes! We were lucky enough to have author Sue Whiting who shared her journey of becoming an author and her inspiration for her novel collection Pearly and Me. 

YEAR 4

Last week, Year 4 students had the opportunity to visit the National Portrait Gallery and Boundless Playground.

Both of these were connected to the units of inquiry currently being studied - How We Express Ourselves and Sharing the Planet.

The National Portrait Gallery gave students time to explore a variety of portraits that depicted local, National and international people. Students were able to identify aspects of portraits that were significant and also had the opportunity to draw their own portraits, both self and of others.

After the gallery, we enjoyed a leisurely walk across Kings Avenue Bridge and spent time at the Boundless Playground, identifying aspects of an inclusive playground and possible areas for further improvement. Students completed an analysis of the playground before enjoying a well deserved ‘play’.

In maths, students continue to explore decimals and connect them to place value, multiplication and fractions. Families are encouraged to explore each of these maths concepts in real life contexts, such as shopping and measuring, in order to assist students to connect the concepts across multiple maths concepts. Key vocabulary for this include ones, tenths, hundredths, decimal, fraction, numerator, denominator, whole number and part numbers.

YEAR 5

Unit of Inquiry

Year 5 have been investigating the Central Idea ‘Economic activities influence wellbeing,’ as part of our ‘How We Organise Ourselves’ unit of inquiry. During the ‘Finding Out’ phase, students used their research skills to explore the question ‘Does money buy happiness?’ by examining world happiness rankings alongside GDP data from different countries. Year 5 then presented their findings by creating online graphs. Students then moved on to examining the factors that have a positive influence on wellbeing, reading information about Nordic countries and collecting data on class wellbeing.

Number

Year 5 inquired into the concept of money by exploring a range of resources that helped to build their understanding of the concept and its relevance in daily life. Students engaged with tactile materials such as coins, notes, moneyboxes, and calculators, and examined different fiction and non-fiction texts. They also explored data and news sources related to money, including headlines and infographics. Through engaging with these invitations to inquire, students developed thoughtful questions and thought critically about the role of money in society. To build understanding of key terms related to financial literacy, Year 5 have been participating in the online Moneytime program. 

Writing

Year 5 have been examining narratives, unpacking the narrative elements that hook and engage readers. During writing lessons, students have created character profiles based on common archetypes and reviewed language features such as metaphor, similes and alliteration. They have explored narrative text structure, identifying key elements of introductions through analysing fictional texts. Students will be applying their learning to write stories about emotions, related to our year long ‘Who We Are’ unit of inquiry. 

Reading

In reading, Year 5 have been introduced to ‘The Inheritance’ by Armin Greder, a powerful text that links closely to our inquiry into economic activities and their impact on wellbeing. The book has prompted rich discussion about themes of money, wealth distribution, and social responsibility, allowing students to make meaningful connections between literature and real-world issues. To support comprehension and deepen their understanding, students have been engaging with a tiered word list drawn from the text and focusing on a ‘Word of the Week’, which has helped expand their vocabulary while strengthening their ability to unpack the complex themes within the book.

SEL

During MindUp sessions, Year 5 has been exploring perspective, optimism and happiness. Students have developed their understanding of the brain by learning about neurotransmitters (chemical messengers), such as Dopamine. They have also explored the effects of puberty on the brain and developed their ability to recognise and apply appropriate coping strategies.

Kindergarten –WHAT’S A COMPOSER?
Our curious Kindergarten students have been asking, “What’s a composer?” Through exploration and discovery, we’ve
learned that composers are people who write music — and guess what? We are composers too!
Kindergarten have been experimenting with different ways to write music, using pens, spots, and even stickers to
represent sounds. Through playful creativity, they’re beginning to understand that there is rhythm in words, and that
music can be created in many unique and personal ways.

Year One – LISTENING ON COUNTRY
Year One students have been learning to listen deeply and notice what is happening on Ngunnawal land. Together,
we’ve explored the sounds of our school and its surroundings — from rustling leaves and bird calls to footsteps and
laughter in the playground.
As part of our inquiry, students took photos and created a soundscape movie that represents their ideas and experiences
of this special place. Their creative work will be shared at our K–2 assembly.
Through this project, we’re learning to connect with Country, listen with care, and express our understandings through
sound and image.

Year Two –THE PLANETS
Year 2 have been diving into the world of orchestral music through The Planets Suite by composer Gustav Holst. Each
movement of the suite represents a different planet in our solar system (excluding Earth), with music that reflects its
unique character — from the powerful rhythm of Marsto the peaceful sounds of Venus.
Inspired by Holst’s work, students will soon begin composing their own pieces of “Earth music” — imagining what our planet might sound like if it had its own musical movement.

Year Three –WHAT IS AUSTRALIAN MUSIC?
This term, Year Three students are learning about the rich and diverse music of Australia. They are
discovering how music can tell stories, share beliefs, and celebrate different cultures. From traditional
Indigenous instruments like the didgeridoo to music from around the world, students are exploring
how music helps people express who they are and where they come from.

Year Four –YES UKE CAN
Year Four are learning to play the ukulele. They are exploring how music helps us express our feelings,
tell stories, and connect with others. By practicing chords and rhythms, students are building
confidence, teamwork skills, and a love for making music together.

Year Five and Six – LIKE A VERSION
Inspired by Triple J’s “like a Version” our year five and six students are discovering how song form works
by creating their own versions of favourite songs. Working in teams, they’re learning about structure,
creativity, and collaboration as they rearrange and perform music in their own style. It’s a great way to
understand how songs are built and express their unique musical ideas!

Choir News

Our students had a fantastic time participating in the PYP Choir Day hosted at Girls Grammar School.
Representing our school with pride, they joined voices with students from six other schools to sing the
day away in a celebration of music and collaboration.
The day culminated in a beautiful afternoon concert, showcasing the incredible talent and hard work
of all involved. 

Term 3 in the library means Book Week. In case you aren’t familiar with it’s origins, the Children’s Book Council of Australia introduced Children’s Book Week in 1946 as a way of shining a spotlight on the best books for children recently written by Australian authors and illustrators. Over the past 80 years, this celebration has grown into a competition with 6 categories and the books that make the Shortlist (the top 6 books) regularly become icons and are found in many of your homes and libraries. 

Previous winners and notable books include:

Picture books such as:

• Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox
• Grandpa and Thomas by Pamela Allen 
• Puffling by Margaret Wild
• Noni the Pony by Alison Lester
• Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey
• Who Sank the Boat by Pamela Allen
• Possum Magic by Mem Fox.

Novels such as:

• Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda
• Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park
• Hating Alison Ashley by Robin Klein
• Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

It is because of this competition between wonderful books that we come together to focus on some of best new kids books published in the previous year and learning about how these books come to be created. Students across the school have been participating in large scale collaborative weaving project inspired by the beautiful book Afloat, by Kirli Saunders and Freya Blackwood.

We were very lucky to be able to host author, Sue Whiting, for a day of author expert talks. Sue was incredibly engaging and had every child hanging on to her every work. She shared where she gets her ideas from, her research process for hiding the truth inside the lie to make the stories believable and reading from her books. A few very lucky kids also got to take home their own copy of one of her novels to take home. If you would like to purchase your own copy of any of Sue’s books they are still available from The Book Cow here: https://shop.bookcow.com.au/c/sue-whiting (remember to mark Charles Weston School and your child’s name in the notes section)

It was an absolute delight to see so many children dressed as the characters from their favourite books. So many students selected characters from books that they have recently fallen in love with via books from the school library or through novels they have been reading with their teachers and families. These opportunities allow students to bring the characters to life and to make reading seem like an even more desirable activity. We all loved seeing so many families in attendance.

The new look library entrance way is now complete. The double glass sliding doors are now adorned with the word library in around 70 different languages. If your home language is missing, or incorrect, please send an email to melanie.mengel@ed.act.edu.au with the correct text and language and I will endeavour to add it to the glass as soon as possible. 

We will conclude our Book Week celebrations in week 9 and 10 with a Lamont Book Fair. This event is a pop-up book shop that visits our school, where families are able to purchase books for their own home collections, and in turn earns credit for our library to purchase new books. Books Fairs are really important ways of raising funds for the library as our resourcing is dependent on your Library Trust Fund Donations. In order for this event to be successful, we ask for people who can volunteer a short block of time to help with sales of books. If you can spare some time before or after school, please sign up for a timeslot here: volunteersignup.org/TAAHY

Don’t forget to take some time this coming week to sit down and read a book with your child, even if they are in year 6. We are all made readers on the laps of our parents and kids absolutely adore shaing stories with you, the ones that they love!

Happy reading!

Mrs Mengel

Teacher Librarian