Year 1/2

Year 1/2 Cluster News

Take Home Books 

Decodable and interest books are now being sent home in the clear plastic envelope. The note on Toddle explains the use of interest books.  

The Parent Note, which has comprehension questions, and Strategy Bookmark should also remain in the envelope. 

Your child will need the clear plastic envelope at school in order to take books home. Interest books can be changed any day. We will remind students on Mondays. 

 

Reading – We encourage approximately 10-15 minutes each night.  

 

Home Inquiry 

Year 1 and Year 2: What are some things you are responsible for at home? Write a list and bring it in to share. 

 

Mental Computation ideas 

Doubles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jOzhiACB68  

Near-doubles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZhfm_ZB2uI  

 

Learning for Week 2:   

Literacy:  

Reader’s Workshop mini lessons: we will begin exploring various comprehension strategies including using our prior knowledge to aid our understanding of a text. 

 

Writer’s Workshop mini lessons: we will continue our consolidation of adjectives and begin learning about using adverbs in our writing. 

 

Spelling  

Each week there is a focus ‘sound of the week’. Students are introduced to groups of words which use the spelling patterns and revise the alternative spellings of vowel sounds. 

 

The sound of the week is not intended to be a spelling list for you to teach your child at home. It is for you to be aware of what we are teaching at school and you are welcome to use the sound as a starting point for your child to share what they are learning. 

 

Week 3:  

Year 1: ‘ff’ e.g. off, stuff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFqKUBZQhJA 

 

Year 2: ‘air’ e.g. hair, chair https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZHKK9jnfFQ  

 

Grammar Focus 

Year 1 and Year 2: Verbs 

 

Mathematics: 

Mapping – Students begin looking at the features of Maps of familiar places and identifying their key features. 

 

Unit of Inquiry: Sharing the Planet 

Central Idea: People live in and interact with the natural world. 

Line of Inquiry 1: patterns in the natural world 

Line of Inquiry 2: the impact of people’s actions on living things (Year 1) 

Line of Inquiry 3: the impact of the natural world on our choices 

Line of Inquiry 4: how Indigenous Australians interact with the natural world 

 

Year 1 students make connections between the needs of all living things.  

Year 2 students look at the phases of the moon and star constellations. 

 

Christian Studies: Christian Beliefs 

Key Idea: Students explore and describe what it means to live in and care for the world (linked to Unit of Inquiry: Sharing the Planet). 

 

Students consider their responsibilities as caretakers of our world, including land, animals, each other and ourselves. 

 

Reminders 

Each day students need to bring the following. Please label everything.  

Take Home Bags which are also for Library borrowing. 

water bottles 

a fruit/veg snack 

recess 

lunch – ‘nude’ food (no wrappers), leave chocolates or lollies for home 

hats and sunscreen are not needed 

 

Volunteers 

During the year we have excursions, a Year 1 Sleepover and a Year 2 Camp. We are planning excursions this term. If you would like to put in an expression of interest, please ensure you are a registered volunteer. 

 

This involves having the following up to date: 

Working With Children Check (WWCC)  

Responding to Abuse, Harm and Neglect training (RRHAN-EC)  

Valuing Safe Communities (VSC) training 

https://www.goldengrove.sa.edu.au/parent-portal/volunteering/  

 

Communication with Teachers 

Please contact us via email or phone. On Toddle, we can see there is a notification but we can’t access the messages. If your child is absent, has an appointment or you plan a holiday, please notify the teacher and the office@goldengrove.sa.edu.au 

 

Library Borrowing  

The whole class goes to the library on Wednesdays (Year 1/2Z) and Thursdays (Year 1/2AK). A reminder that individual students can borrow books on other days during the week if they would like new books before the class borrowing day. 

 

 

May God bless your week, 

Melanie and Ellen  

 

Melanie Arnold arnold.melanie@goldengrove.sa.edu.au 

Tim Kriewaldt kriewaldt.tim@goldengrove.sa.edu.au 

Ellen Zimmer zimmer.ellen@goldengrove.sa.edu.au