Classroom News 

Foundation

Dear Foundation Families,

Well done to all our Foundies and their families on a successful start to Term 2! We have been so impressed with how the students have been settling in each morning after the holidays and cannot wait to see what learning we achieve this term. 

Each morning begins with our phonics program, before moving into a variety of reading, writing, spelling, maths and inquiry lessons. 

In Writing this term, we have already started looking at recounts and are practising to write what we did on the weekend. We continue to develop our writing skills through phonics, spelling and writers workshop lessons. Students are becoming confident at matching sounds to letters and are developing the skills to sound out new words in their writing pieces. 

Students continue to practice spelling words using a combination of sound, sight, and kinaesthetic strategies, including forming letters with playdough and other sensory materials. They are starting to apply their knowledge of letters and sounds in their writing. This week, we have focused on the letter Ee and the sounds they make. To further extend learning, some students will also explore how letters work together to make new sounds. Repeated exposure in a variety of ways is key to developing strong letters–sound knowledge and spelling skills.

In Reading, we continue to use a mentor text that is read and revisited across the week. Each session has a different focus, such as predicting, retelling, or exploring deeper comprehension. While most students engage in independent reading, teachers work with small groups to support decoding, fluency, and comprehension. Regular reading at home using take-home books is one of the most effective ways to support your child’s reading development. Thank you for making time most evenings to listen to your child read — your support is greatly appreciated.

In Maths, each session begins with a partner fluency game to develop mental maths and problem-solving skills. This term our focus topics include, addition, measurement looking at mass, capacity and length, partitioning collections, subitising. We continue to work on students' knowledge around numbers and place value, completing a variety of hands-on activities to help students with their understanding.

This week we start PMP classes on most Thursday mornings. PMP is a movement-based program for young children. Designed to develop motor skills, spatial awareness, eye-tracking, and hand-eye coordination through structured activities like jumping, balancing, and throwing. We wanted to say a big THANK YOU to our parent volunteers, without your help we would be unable to run programs like PMP.

Important reminders:

• Please check that all personal belongings are clearly named, we are starting to get a bit of lost property which is unnamed
• Most Thursday mornings are PMP 9am -FB and FW, 9.50am FC and FS.
• Encourage your child to independently put their bag away each morning and change their take-home reader.

• Please continue to check Compass regularly for important dates and updates throughout the term.

   

Thank you for your continued support of our Foundation learning programs at Blackburn Primary School. We truly value open communication and encourage you to reach out via Compass at any time - working together ensures the very best outcomes for your child.

With gratitude and kindness,

Vicky, Wendy, Simone and Alannah