Another week has flown by and the children are becoming settled into our routines and rotations. This week we have been writing information reports on Merrin School. We hope to publish some of them once we have completed them.

Reading

Within our reading, one of our comprehension strategies has been to ask quality questions of a text in order to deepen our understanding. Different reading groups have been using different text appropriate to their needs to practice this skill.

Students have been learning that different questions are needed, depending on the type of text we are reading. There are some questions, however we should ask of any text we pick up;

· Is it fiction or non-fiction?

· What is the author's purpose for writing this text?

· What features may I come across in the reading?

· What vocabulary may I come across?

Although next week we are moving onto a different strategy we will still continue to reinforce our questioning strategy throughout the year and will revisit it.

Next week we will begin to focus on the comprehension strategy of inference. Initial introduction of this concept and learning about inference in our world may mean that students do not come home with a text on Tuesday or Wednesday. This is because the concept is introduced using visual images, alongside small short pieces of text, in order for students to become familiar with the concept.

Even though a text may not sent home for a day or two please ensure your child still reads for a minimum of 20 minutes per night either a book within their home or their chosen library book.

Maths

Please continue to support your child in their maths by encouraging them to work on IXL.  We have noticed a gap in their basic facts recall so this would be a good place to begin.

Digital Citizenship

This week we have been learning 'Which keywords will give you the best search results?' when searching online. The students learnt that keyword searching is an effective way to locate information on the Internet. They also learnt how to select keywords to produce the best search results. Please read the attached information sheet about this lesson.

Upcoming Events in Week 9

Scholastic Book Fair - This is all week in the Library. The library will be open before and after school for parents to peruse and purchase books. It would be great if you could support the book fair as all proceeds from this will go into purchasing more wonderful books for the library.

PTA Sausage Sizzle -Our first sausage sizzle for the year will be on Thursday. $2 per sausage and $1 per biscuit. Please support this as the funds go directly back into the school.

Cross Country - On Friday, 31st March, you are warmly invited to watch your child participate in the Merrin School Cross Country event at Burnside Park. The children and staff will be walking to Burnside Park leaving school at 12.15pm. This event will run from 1pm in the afternoon to 3pm. The races will start with the Year 4’s and move through the year groups. We suggest that parents wanting to watch their child race be at Burnside Park by 12.45pm. Races for other year groups will depend on timing of the previous races. Please read the attached information about this event.

CRT Release: Tania (Wednesday) and Nicky (Thursday) will be out on CRT next week. We are very lucky to have Tim Colhoun in our pod for the two days to cover this time.

Have a lovely weekend

Tania, Nicky and Vanessa