MRS ANNETTE CHATFIELD
year 1 coordinator
H
ow quickly 2018 has come and gone! It seems like only yesterday, Year 1 teachers faced a barrage of excited little boys as they eagerly raced to their Year 1 classrooms. These little balls of energy soon settled down and began the year with positivity and determination.
We watched with delight as our boys grew academically and socially; organising themselves, following classroom routines and rising to meet a variety of challenges. It is amazing so see how they rise to the occasion when given opportunities to display independence.
We learnt many things this year but some of our most favourite topics were in Science and HASS.
In Science, we made predictions about the way materials change when they are bent, pulled and pushed. Dr Joe, the scientist, visited and we saw clouds moving across the floor and liquids changing colours. Exploring the way food can change was certainly fun, too. 80
SOUTHPORTONIAN
We touched and squeezed cooked pasta and observed chocolate and icy poles melt into sticky, gooey messes. Best of all we ate a (jelly) frog in the pond and snacked on warm, fluffy popcorn. We certainly enjoyed several delicious outcomes!
Our students were captivated when we began our study of living things. We researched a variety of animals and plants to consider their similarities and differences and determine how we know when something is alive. The boys watched amazing movie clips on a variety of insects and animals and researched to discover facts about living things. Using computers, they typed up information sheets with pictures of their animals and, working with their families, created amazing dioramas that impressed their teachers and many older boys. Some of our newly “discovered” creatures even had scientific names.
We planted pumpkin, carrot and sunflower seeds; crossing our fingers that they would grow big and strong. Each day our boys would run to check their plants and there was much excitement when the first signs of a pumpkin appeared. It began to look a little like we were being overtaken by vines as they crept along our walkway.
In the early part of the year, we spent time comparing the way people lived in the past to the way people live today. There was a cry of disbelief when our boys realised that it wasn’t so long ago that there was no such thing as McDonalds, Alexa and Google! A highlight was a visit to the Mudgeeraba Hinterland Museum where we enjoyed exploring the way people lived in
