Newsletter – Term 2 – Kewdale Campus

We started Term 2 with a bang right after the blessed month of Ramadan! The Year 1s were busy learning and exploring and became more independent and responsible citizens of our school.

Let us take a sneak peek on what they did this term:

The students were extremely excited about Eid and made Eid cards for their family, friends or teachers. They created their Eid cards and posters using different words, pictures, paints, pencil, markers and crayons. The cards and posters were displayed on the classroom windows and they took a lot of pride to view and share their thoughts about the cards and posters!

Maintaining good health and fitness is important at any age.  Not only does it improve overall physical wellbeing, but it also improves mental health too!  We got our Year 1s started early in life on good health and fitness habits. 

A teacher from School of Special Educational Needs: Sensory (Department of Education, Statewide Services) visited the Year 1A class. Ms Bron read a light-hearted book to the children and  highlighted the value of effective communication.

In Term 2 we celebrated the hard work and talent of our year 1 students in the core subjects as well as for Quran and Islamic Studies. These are the top 3 positions from the Year 1 cohort Ma Sha Allah!

• 1st Ama Amanful;
• 2nd Syed Hashir Ali;
• 3rd Bareerah Abdullah Haffejee

• 1st Nubair Hassan;
• 2nd Omar Ali;
• 3rd Talal Bin Abid

• 1st Tobias Mahoney;
• 2nd Norah Lugumaan;
• 3rd Shaheer Aijazi

Narrative writing: In writing we have been learning about the narrative structure. We have been using the 7 steps to learn how to piece together our own writing. Be careful parents – the children are superstars! I am sure they will surprise you with their awesome piece of narrative writing!

A lot of focus has been given on reding this term. We follow the Sharp Reading  procedure. It is a teaching and learning framework that provides direction for students and equips them to be SHARP (efficient, cutting edge) in their understanding of reading. Sharp Reading allows students to think while reading in order to unpack and understand text and then answer the comprehension questions. This has been our daily morning routine since term 1 with the year 1 students.

We have had an exciting and hands on term, exploring and broadening our understanding on the basic concepts such as addition, subtraction, mass, 2D shapes, 3D shapes and more.

In science we focused on physical sciences this term 2. We learnt about the 5 senses and how these senses help us in life. We discussed that Allah is the best of creators and that He has fashioned us in the best form Alhamdullilah.

During HASS we continued to develop both our geographical and historical understanding. In History the children have been learning about the concepts of past, present and future as well as the categorization of time into months and days while in Geography the children explored the use of different spaces, they looked closely at spaces in school like the oval and library and spaces in the community such as parks, shops and the zoo.

In Health we learnt about keeping safe and expressing our emotions in a safe and cohesive way. We also learnt about the importance of eating healthy and keeping fit.

This term we explored the use of drama. We learned about performance skills, including how to express feelings to an audience. We also explored the three element of drama which are voice, movement, and facial expressions and how to respond to drama e.g., audience behavior. Year 1A learnt how to present the nasheed ‘The Arabic Alphabets’ in their drama lessons. They learnt about facial expressions, tone and pitch of your voice to make your presentation enjoyable and to communicate with a large group of audience (both children and adults) in a positive way.

The school organised the Eid Carnival whereby our children got to experience the true essence of Eid! It was a day filled with fun and frolic where the little ones enjoyed every moment!

Every day we practice reading with the SHARP reading strategy. We are now have become confident readers.​

We share and exchange ideas before we write our story.​

We get involved in lots of hands-on experiences to master the numeracy skills.

We conducted many science experiments to help us understand how the world works.​

We enjoyed exploring the map of Australia as we identified and labeled the states and territories across the map. ​

We discuss and communicate our feelings.

Exploring our talents and creativity in visual art and drama

Sharp Reading is a teaching and learning framework that provides direction for students and equips them to be SHARP (efficient, cutting edge) in their understanding of reading. Sharp Reading allows students to THINK while reading in order to unpack and understand text. This is our daily morning routine since the beginning of term 1 with the year 3 students.

Persuasive Writing aims to present an idea to a reader and persuade them to agree with the writer’s point of view. Learning to write persuasively is a crucial ‘real life’ skill for students. The year 3 students have been focusing on specific structures when writing persuasive texts. Some of the elements we have been following include sizzling starts, global statements, connectives, high modal verbs and ending with an impact.

The students used comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning and began to evaluate texts by drawing on a growing knowledge of context, text structures and language features.

The students learned a range of grammar concepts including that verbs represent different processes, for example doing, thinking, saying, and relating and that these processes are anchored in time through tense.  Year 3 students have been focusing on segmenting words as well as a spelling skill weekly for term 2 and how words are made up of morphographs.

The students have count to and from 10 000. They have classified numbers as either odd or even. Students have recalled addition and multiplication facts for single-digit numbers. They have recognised the connection between addition and subtraction and solve problems using efficient strategies for multiplication. Students have modelled and represented unit fractions. They have represented money values in various ways. Students have correctly counted out change from financial transactions. They have continued presenting number patterns involving addition and subtraction.

Students have identified symmetry in the environment. They have matched positions on maps with given information. Students have recognised angles in real situations. They have interpreted and compared data displays. Students have used metric units for length, mass and capacity. They told time to the nearest minute. Students made models of three-dimensional objects.

Students have conducted chance experiments and listed possible outcomes. They have conducted simple data investigations for categorical variables. Students have interpreted and compared data displays.

Students have been learning about physical science and heating up of objects and materials. Physical science is the study of how things move, the structure and properties of matter and how nonliving things change forms (i.e., ice to water). Children can “immediately observe the results of their actions” as they engage with objects and materials such as cooling down, heating up, insulators and conductors.

The year 3 students have studied about the importance of fossils to our history. Students have learnt that Australia has six states and territories which can be represented on a map. Each state and territory have a leader and a head. There are three levels of government in Australia. Students have also identified who lived in Australia first and how Australian flora and fauna are unique. They have learnt about the arrival of first fleet in Australia and its related details.

In Year 3, students extend their understanding of role and situation as they create improvised and devised drama. Students begin to experiment with selected forms and styles when improvising or devising drama. They continue to develop improvisation, voice and movement skills. Students are introduced to the elements of space, character and time. Students experience drama as performers and audience members. They begin to use rehearsal processes to support audience engagement and continue to learn appropriate responses to the drama of others. As they make and respond to drama, students identify and reflect on the elements of drama used in a performance. Students can experience drama from a range of cultures, times and locations.

The students worked on range of health topics including: what are rights and responsibilities; what their own identity is and how to identify people they can trust; what power means and the different types of power; what trust is and how to develop a trusted network; the meaning of each of seven values and importance of putting values into practice; what it means to get along and why it’s important to get along with classmates and teachers.

Alhamdulilah, we’ve been blessed beyond measure to kick off the term with an ease on COVID-19 restrictions. Concurrently, coming back to school with mask free faces, was the icing on the cake. Our term has been jam-packed with wonderous adventures, special guests and a rewarding learning journey. We had our Eid Festival, which was incredibly set up – Allahuma barik!

During this term, the Year Four students have become Engineers! We have been delving into ‘the physical sciences’, focusing on forces (pull/push), gravity, air resistance, magnetism and friction. Our engineers have hypothesised, observed, asked many questions and they reached intriguing conclusions. We also carried out an experiment on magnetism, whereby, the students observed the push and pull forces between magnets. I think it is safe to say, that it felt … magical. Additionally, the 4D bunch skilfully crafted their own parachutes and dropped them and other objects like marbles and tennis balls on various surfaces, to test air resistance. In essence, we have utilised innovation and curiosity this term to unravel various phenomena.

The year 4 students utilised their public speaking skills and became Actors and actresses! It was incessantly delightful seeing the kids use the various elements of drama play to perform, flawlessly. Their uniqueness in their acting was evident when they focused on voice projection, eye contact and body language. We also reviewed the utilisation of props to capture and mirror the storyline of the chosen scripts. Drama was a splendid and entrancing avenue to explore.

Our writing journey has taken us on a trip to learning how to persuade our readers. Students in Year 4 are learning about persuasive writing with a focus on ‘planning for success’ and ‘sizzling starts’, to engage and grab the reader’s attention. Throughout the term, our year four writers have learned to use persuasive devices such as rhetorical questions, statistics, hyperbole, the rule of three and slogans. It has been a pleasure seeing their persuasive writing progress and have them use statistics, which was a challenge – indeed!

Year fours are being introduced to measuring area and perimeter and solving multiplication questions and long division from 2 digits by 1 to 3 digits by 1. Students are deciphering multi-step addition and subtraction word problems using the cube strategy. They warm up before starting each lesson by recalling maths facts such as multiples, factors and formulas of area, volume and perimeter.

In our numeracy investigations students have employed their skills experientially. Students have conducted surveys on preferred ice cream flavours, tallying up the results and representing the results on a bar chart. Students are dealing with real world situations in numeracy to help prepare them for the future.

Overall, this term in HASS students have understood and explored the journeys of world navigators such as Christopher Columbus and Vasco Da Gama – in the late 18th century. Students have learned to connect sequence of historical events on a timeline. Our year 4 historians have carried out extensive research on Vasco Da Gama, they explored trade routes and cruciality of spices during the 15th and 16th centuries in the world. Across this eventful term, we were engulfed in inquiry-based learning when exploring these intriguing topics. It has been a wonderous journey in year 4 – to learn about the navigations of historical explorers.

This term, our year 5 students completed their first NAPLAN tests! We are super proud of the efforts put in from home at school, so we had to celebrate in style.

In numeracy, we have focused our minds on fractions – converting mixed and improper fractions, simplifying and finding the equivalent fraction- as well as exploring the duration of time. Prime maths has also led us down the path to describe locations using grid references on maps.

This term in literacy, we have continued to develop our Narrative and Persuasive writing skills using Seven Steps. Procedure writing and poetry are also some amazing writing genres we have really enjoyed creating. From jelly to chocolate balls, we used various command verbs, adverbial and adjectival phrases to explain how me made these yummy treats!

We have been looking into our rights as children, how to keep safe and create a safe, positive environment. This term, we have looked at the 12 rights we have as children, the benefits of physical exercise and how to get along. These are important things to learn as we grow and start becoming more independent.

This term, we have explored how light travels and how shadows are formed. We are also looking into how periscopes work and will be creating one soon!

This term we focused on Drama elements for art. In class, we explored the story of Sadako and her paper airplanes before creating a short skit based on her story.

In HASS, we focused on Civics and Citizenship. Particularly, what democracy is, how it came to be and the various levels of government and voting systems.

Assalamu Alaykum Dear Parents

What an eventful term that came along with its own set of challenges and difficulties. Alhamduillah, we have managed to persevere and tackle the challenges head on. In year 6 we focus on preparing students for high school and providing them with the necessary skills that will enable to thrive and succeed in all subject areas.

Its short, its sweet, it most certainly is effective. What is now a part of our every morning routine. Students start off the morning with literacy warmups that helps develop students’ comprehension skills, vocabulary, creativity and phonics knowledge.

It’s a smooth transition from the warm-ups to the rotations activity.  students know exactly where to go and what to do and are immediately on task. Students are divided up into 5 groups each group doing a separate activity with the tasks being rotated everyday. Each week the groups rotate between guided reading, ReadingEggs, complex sentence writing, text exercises and task cards. Each of the activities develop students literacy skills and provides students with a strong foundational knowledge of literature and literacy.

No game can be played without understanding the rules. A well develop textbook that breaks down the most complex rules of the English language into bite size, easy to understand activities. The Spelling Mastery text is an all-in-one pack that focuses on English rules, vocabulary building and phonics knowledge.

They’re warm, they know the rules they got the tools now its time to play the game. Students were argumentative, definite and very persuasive in their writing. Students argued for against a number of topics such as homework, 4 days schooling, masks mandates and more!

Every lesson begins with a warm-up that cover past mathematical knowledge. We are putting Prime Math to the test. At the Australian Islamic College, we are always looking for the best text for our students. Prime is new to the school but not the world of Mathematics. The students dabbled with fractions, area and perimeter, decimals and percentages, multiplying and dividing decimals. This year we have also incorporated a lesson with rotations that incorporate word-problems, Mathletics and games to demonstrate how math’s is found in all areas of life.

Science this term was electrifying… literarily! Students explored the electrical world and their origins, created circuits both parallel and series and identified multiple sources of electrical energy such as mechanical, hydro, solar and heat. Then explored the journey of electricity from the power plants all the way to our homes.

A topic that covers more than diet and fitness. This term we focused on acceptance and personalities. We are all unique, we are all different and more importantly we all deserved to be treated with integrity and respect, a common theme off the Australian Islamic college. Students explored different personality traits and how we are all a combination of these various skills and qualities.

The federal election was the hot topic of Western Australia as well as the year 6 classroom. Students took a step outside the classroom and into the house of parliament dissecting the upper house, lower house, federal, state and local government from head to toe and built a sound understanding of the roles and duties each of the political powers that run our society.

No, I am not talking about arguments amongst the year 6s. The Oscar nominations will not know what hit them once these students graduate from the fine arts of Australian Islamic college. Students engaged in role play and acting focusing on facial expression, vocals and character presentation. Scripts were planned, written and presented in fine dramatical performances that were deserving of the world stage.

Why Celebrate it once when you can celebrate it twice with family and peers. You would have mistaken the school for Disneyland with the number of rides and activities on site! Students had a blast and so did the teachers then fueled up with bubble tea and all the delicious food the trucks had to offer.

It was exactly that. Students and teachers got more than their daily 30 with this event. Tomato lake was the venue where some students challenged their peers and teachers for a race while others were happy to smile as they strolled around the lake waving to the Belmont residence as they walked by!