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We have had an incredibly smooth start to Term 2, with focused learning evident across all classes. I hope you enjoy this snapshot of what’s been happening in each of your child’s classrooms.
The beginning of the term has been action-packed with both athletics and cross-country carnivals. It was fantastic to see so many families come out to spectate and add to the vibrant carnival atmosphere! Recently, four of our students represented the ENE region at the State Athletics Championships in Launceston. Congratulations to Isla, Jasmin, Archie, and Ted, who all competed across a range of events. This Wednesday, a team of our students will represent our school at the ENE Cross Country event in Winnaleah. I am confident they will display the same courage and sportsmanship that shone through at our recent carnival.
Last week, students from Grades 3 to 6 participated in the Illuminate Education Challenge, where they took on the exciting task of developing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) solutions to address local community problems. Throughout the week, they worked together to identify key issues, brainstorm innovative ideas, and build functional prototypes that brought their concepts to life. The challenge culminated in a pitch event, where students presented their solutions to a panel of judges representing local East Coast businesses. This experience not only allowed students to showcase their creativity and technical skills but also connected them with industry professionals, providing valuable real-world experience in problem-solving and entrepreneurship.
This term, our students will be diving into the concept of "patterns" as part of their learning, while also exploring the ‘Thinker’ learner asset more deeply. Understanding patterns is important because it helps students make sense of the world around them. Whether it’s recognising the sequence of numbers, the rhythm in music, or the way seasons change, identifying patterns makes it easier for them to understand how things work and predict what comes next. It also strengthens problem-solving skills and logical thinking—valuable tools for both school and everyday life.
You may notice some changes in the early childhood playground this week. The installation of the new Early Childhood Nature Playground is an exciting step toward creating a space where children can explore, learn, and play in a natural setting. The playground will feature log walks, natural sandpits, and interactive nature play environments designed to spark imagination and encourage hands-on learning. Children will have the chance to balance on wooden beams, dig and build in sandy areas, and engage with elements inspired by the outdoors. This nature-focused playground aims to nurture curiosity, physical development, and a deeper connection with the environment, offering a refreshing alternative to traditional play spaces.
Kind regards,
Tom Spykers
Principal
In Kinder, as part of our investigation into patterns found in nature, the students coloured in a butterfly, focussing on patterns and symmetry. Kinders tuning in involved working and investigating (trying to find in our sensory garden) one of the many Australian Butterflies on our class poster.
In Prep/Grade 1 we have started our inquiry unit about patterns and have been discovering that patterns are everywhere! Andrew showed us some beautiful patterns on feathers and challenged the class to find their own patterns in nature to bring in and share. The students have brought in a wonderful variety of natural objects with different patterns, including flowers, leaves, grass, shells, pinecones and rocks. We have also been investigating the patterns found in beehives and in the ocean environment. We are looking forward to learning more about patterns throughout the term and deepening our understanding of how patterns help us make sense of the sequences in life.
Robot Man
When Robot Man came to visit, we were challenged to build miniature railway lines and had the opportunity to experiment with basic coding to make the trains move around the track. It was lots of fun!
This week in our inquiry into patterns, students were guided by the learning question “How can you work out the rule in a number pattern?”. They worked as Pattern Detectives as part of the Finding Out phase of the inquiry. Working together, they explored mystery number patterns—solving puzzles, identifying rules, and creating their own for each other to solve.
As Thinkers, they explored details in number patterns, discovered rules and worked to solve problems carefully. As Collaborators, students worked with partners to communicate their ideas clearly. It was exciting to see so many curious minds at work, finding connections and discovering the magic of numbers!
A new term has arrived, which means a fresh inquiry focus for Grade 3/4. This term, we will be exploring the question: ‘How do patterns help us understand the sequences we see in our everyday lives?’ With Mathematics as our host curriculum area, the students will delve into this unit of inquiry through the lens of architecture.
During our initial weeks, we have already begun to reflect on our existing knowledge of architecture and its connection to Mathematics. We responded to the question: ‘Where is the maths in building design?’ This exploration was facilitated through a ‘See, Think, Wonder’ thinking routine as we observed renowned architectural marvels from around the globe, including The Louvre in Paris, The Gherkin in London, and the Sydney Opera House in Sydney. Some of the connections we identified included measurement, shape, angles, symmetry, and location – mathematical concepts we will be investigating further throughout the term.
Our focus learner asset for Term 2 is ‘Thinker’. As a class, we have unpacked the meaning of being a ‘Thinker’ in the wider world. We will focus on developing our growth mindsets, specifically working on our internal monologues when we are facing a challenge. We have set individual goals to concentrate on developing this important attribute this term.
Grade 5/6 Maths
As thinkers we wondered if there were patterns in numbers. If there were, how could we recognise, describe and symbolise patterns in numbers?
We each had an integer on a card.
We started by dividing our integer by 2 and realised that all integers that could be divided by 2 evenly were even numbers.
Therefore, all even numbers were factors of 2.
We realised we could symbolise that by 2 x integer.
We replaced the word integer with the symbol n
So all even numbers can be symbolised as or take the form: 2xn or 2n
We checked our thinking by everyone multiplying their number by 2. We all ended up with even numbers.
We then wondered how we could symbolise odd numbers and realised that all odd numbers could take the form
2n +1
or 2n -1
We checked our thinking by multiplying our numbers by two and then adding one. Everyone ended up with an odd number.
Therefore, there are patterns in numbers. We symbolised the patterns of odd and even numbers.
Going Further:
Angus looked at our line and realised that odd numbers could also take the form
2n+3
Archie then realised that you could add ANY odd number to 2n, and the solution would be an odd number.
We checked this as well and it was also true!
Eg: when n=13
2n+1
2x13+1=27
2n+5
2x13+5=31
The simplest way of showing this pattern is
2n + 1
What a fabulous day our students had competing and supporting each other in our Cross Country. Congratulatiions to Apsley house who walked away with the win.
We even had some extra competitors join our Kinders in their obstacle course event.
21 students will be competing for Bicheno Primary School in the ENE Cross Country which will be held at Winnaleah on Wednesday 21 May. We currently hold the shield for Division B, so lets home we can return with it on Wednesday.
Dear parents, carers and school community,
Terms 2 is already in full swing and the School Association committee is very busy fundraising and planning for the term and the rest of the school year.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our Tesselaar Bulb fundraiser and congratulations to our Mother's Day raffle winners.
We have a lot planned for term 2! Save two dates in your calendar for the Winter Solstice celebration on 20th June and our Silent Disco on 27th June.
The plan is to offer a few more school canteens this term and I would like to thank all the parents that put their hand up to run small canteens throughout this term. Keep an eye out on SZapp for the offerings and make sure to download the spriggy schools app to make your lunch order when it is offered. For all parents that already have the app, please make sure your child is set to the correct class before you order. The first canteen will be offered on Thursday 22nd May.
As always, please feel free to contact me or any other member of the committee if you have any questions, concerns or want to contribute.
Warmest regards,
Susanne Lucas
Chair
NOTICEBOARD