Teaching and Learning
Ms Nicholls
Phonics
Reading is a foundational life skill and a source of pleasure and wonder.
The teaching of phonics is a key component in helping children become confident, fluent readers.
Phonics links sounds to their letters. Students learn to read words by recognising these sound-letter relationships.
Phonics instruction is a highly effective way to teach children to read words accurately. It builds decoding skills—sounding out words—which help students figure out unfamiliar words. Phonics gives children the tools to understand patterns in text, boosting their reading fluency and comprehension.
Here are some activities you can do at home with your child to support phonics:
- Read together: Choose a favourite book and read it together.
- Phonics bingo: Create cards with letters/words. Call out a sound and ask your child to find the matching card.
- Memory games: Use flashcards with letters and images (like ‘Cc’ and ‘cat’) to find matching pairs.
- I spy: Play ‘I spy,’ focusing on the starting sound (e.g., “… begins with /b/”).
- Sand or salt trays: Trace letters in salt or sand while saying the sound aloud.
- Playdough letters: Make letters with playdough, saying the sounds as you make them.
- Hopscotch with sounds: Draw a hopscotch grid with letters. Say the sound as you hop on each letter.
- Phonics songs: Find fun phonics songs online that use repetition and music to remember the sounds.
- Nursery rhymes and poems: Use rhymes to spot sound patterns and shared letters.
- Sound hunt: Find objects around the house that start with a specific sound (e.g., /s/).
- Word hunt: Hide word cards. Have your child find and read them aloud.
- Letter collage: Cut out pictures from magazines that start with a specific sound and make a collage.
- Phonics jump: Write letters on the floor. Call out a sound and jump to it.
- Sound labels: Label objects (e.g., the door with /d/). Sound it out every time you pass.
- Sound of the day/week: Choose one sound (like /a/). Listen for it in conversation, TV, or books.
- Make your own: Have fun making up your own activities using sounds and words!
Resources:
https://www.academy.vic.gov.au/resources/understanding-phonics
Progress Rerpots
On Friday, March 13, Reading Progress Reports were published.
We will have Mathematics Progress Reports this term also.
How to access Progress Reports
Using the Xuno website:
https://docs.xuno.com.au/portal-how-to-view-and-download-your-reports
- Click on the Learning menu and then click on the Reports item. If you're using a mobile device, you'll need to tap on the menu icon in the top left first, before you can tap on the Learning menu.
- Parents can select a specific child by clicking on the button labelled with their child's name. If you are logged in as a student you will only be able to view or download your own reports.
- Find the desired report by scrolling through the list and then clicking on it to view or download it. In the XUNO Portal, you can download reports by clicking on the relevant report name. Reports are ordered chronologically by year with the most recent report at the top of the page. The reports you see are those that your school has chosen to share with you through your XUNO Portal.
Using the Xuno app:
https://docs.xuno.com.au/accessing-student-academic-reports-in-the-xuno-family-app
- Please follow the steps below to access student reports on the XUNO Family app.
- Tap on the three horizontal lines in the top left to open the left hand menu.
- Scroll down until you find the Reports heading and tap on it.
- Select the student you’d like to view reports for by tapping on their photograph, then tap on the arrow shown to view the applicable report.
NAPLAN
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that our students in Years 3 and 5 will sit this year. Students will complete the 2026 NAPLAN tests between the 11th and 23rd of March. All testing will be completed online except for Year 3 students who will continue to complete the writing assessment on paper.
The dates for testing at our school are as follows:
- Wednesday, March 11 - Writing
- Thursday, March 12 - Reading
- Friday, March 13 - Convensions of Language
- Monday, March 16 - catch up testing
- Tuesday, March 17 - Numeracy
- Wednesday, March 18 - catch up testing
- Thursday, March 19- catch up testing
- Friday, March 20 - catch up testing
- Monday, March 23 - catch up testing
Please view the NAPLAN Information for Parents & Carers brochures attached below, and see here for translated versions <https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/for-parents-carers>. For more information on NAPLAN, visit www.nap.edu.au.
If you have any questions or would like more information about NAPLAN, please get in contact with your child's classroom teacher or myself.
Book Club
Scholastic Book Club is a service offered to students, parents, and teachers. Brochures advertising a variety of books and computer software are sent home with each student, approximately twice a term.
Purchase of the books is not compulsory and there is no obligation. If you do wish to purchase any goods, simply log into the Book Club site www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP and follow the prompts. All Book Club orders must be ordered and paid for via LOOP. Do not send order forms and cash to school. When the order arrives at school, books are sent home with students.
The School earns “Bonus Points” for each order which can be used to purchase new resources for classroom libraries.
Click here for the Scholastic Book Club Parent Log in page or to register for new users.
You can have a look at the online catalogue here: https://scholastic.com.au/book-club/book-club-parents/issue-preview/.
Issue 1 has been delivered and handed out to students. Issue 2 orders are due by 19/03/2026.
How to order
Click on ORDER in the top menu or REGISTER first to save your details for the first time. Select Ballan PS and your child’s class. Add your child’s name and last initial. Enter the item number from the brochure.
You can order for multiple children at once. All orders are linked directly to the school.
Our school receives bonus points, which are redeemed for a variety of books for the children; therefore, we thank you for your continued support.
If parents wish to collect orders personally, please let the school know.
Please go to www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP and find Ballan Primary School to order or alternatively you can download the LOOP app via the App Store or Google Play.
Connect with BPS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BallanPrimarySchool
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ballanprimaryschool/
Happy learning,
Madison Nicholls
Acting Learning Specialist
Madison.Nicholls2@education.vic.gov.au
Ph: 5368 1072