Curriculum News by Suzette Holm and Danielle O'Brien

Accelerated Reader   

Late last week a very excited Amaan finished AR. This means he has reached the top of AR at Mango Hill State School. Amaan has been quizzing all year and has now successfully completed two quizzes at 9.0.

This week Gia finished AR as well! Gia is a quiet achiever who has been working consistently all year to also reach 9.0.

For both Amaan and Gia this is an extraordinary achievement and we are very proud of their persistence and commitment to reading.

This week we also had a surprise visit from Kyan, an ex-student and a millionaire reader. Look at this great photo of Kyan with his old AR poster form 2018 – he has hardly changed a bit!

Returning and borrowing 

This week is a great week to return any library books that you no longer need. It is also a great week to choose a new book for the holidays. Perhaps you’d like to learn about something new? Perhaps you’d like to read a really thick book over the holidays? Perhaps you’d like to read some books for your next AR level? Whatever the reason, the holidays provide us with lots of time to read, read and read! 

The Hub is open before school (from 8.15am) and every afternoon (until 3pm) if you’d like to pop in and borrow a book for the holidays! See you soon! 

Volunteers

Thank you to all those willing volunteers who have been busy contacting some new books for our Hub collection. If you have a little spare time over the holidays, pop in to see Wendy and she can give you a small (or large) pile of new books and a roll of contact to help us out while at home! We are so grateful for the help of Team Mango!

Maths is everywhere - in the playground, at the shops and at home.  

Introducing maths in everyday activities and through play, supports children’s learning in all areas of mathematics: geometry, measurement, statistics, probability, algebra and number. Children can also create meaningful connections with maths in the context of their lives and this deepens children’s mathematical understanding.  

Incorporating maths into everyday experiences is easy and fun. Some of these ways include.  

• Jigsaw puzzles and drawing shapes helps teach children problem solving skills and spatial awareness.  
• Making patterns using pebbles, pegs or pieces of coloured paper.  
• Cooking provides opportunities to count and measure.  
• Shopping provides children with opportunities to collect food and grocery items, label prices and calculate amounts.  
• Children can help pack away grocery items - arrange them by: height (tallest to the shortest); cost (least expensive to most expensive); or by weight (heaviest to lightest).  
• Watching sport – distances, times, scores…sport is filled with numbers! 
• Travelling – students can use language to describe the journey and explore maps.  
• Playing games (board games, racing games, spatial games) are fantastic ways to have students engage in mathematical thinking.