Year 1 Term 3 Newsletter

Welcome to Term 3

It has been a joy to hear all about the students' holiday adventures. They’ve returned with great enthusiasm and have quickly settled back into classroom routines.

We have an exciting and busy term ahead, including a visit to the Melbourne Zoo, a music concert and a range of fun activities for Book Week.

We’re looking forward to a fabulous term of learning and growing together!

Yvonne and Rosie

Reminders

As we reach the midpoint of the school year, we are placing a greater emphasis on fostering independence in our students—especially during arrival and dismissal times.

To support this goal and ensure a smoother flow of movement within the school, we kindly ask that all adults remain outside the building and wait in our designated meeting area. This change will help reduce congestion in the corridors and allow students to move through the space more freely and safely. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work together to create a supportive and efficient environment for all our students. 

 Specialist Timetable

Important Dates

25/07, 08/08, 22/08, 05/09: Junior School assembly

08/08: School Disco (casual dress day)

13/08: Year 1 and 2 Music Concert 2.30pm

15/08: Responsible Pet Ownership (no payment required)

19/08: Book Week Character Parade and Special Food Day

20/08: Special Friends' Day

27/08: Curriculum Day (no students at school)

30/08: Parent's Committee Trivia Night

03/09: Melbourne Zoo excursion (permission note will go on Sentral)

04/09: Father's Day stall

18/09: Special Food Day

19/09: Final day 2:30pm dismissal. Whole school assembly

Parent Helpers

At CEPS we highly value working as a whole community and encourage the participation and involvement of our families. We will be looking for helpers on excursions and incursions. Please look out on Dojo for opportunities to help.

We also greatly appreciate parent helpers who assist with listening to students read in the afternoon. If you're available to help, please contact your child's teacher.

If you would like to help out in the vegetable garden, please also contact us. 

When helping with the children at CEPS, it is required that you wear a Working With Children’s Check (WWCC) displayed on a lanyard at all times. 

If you have not got a WWCC and wish to volunteer, 

application forms can be found online at:

www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au

Remember to sign in each day you volunteer at CEPS via the computer at the office. This is a mandatory requirement. You will  also be required to sign out. 

Attendance

Our student attendance roles are legal documents, therefore we must be accountable for any absences. Please assist with this by informing the school through Sentral, email or phone call to record the absence. Late students need to be signed in at the office by a parent/caregiver and collect an orange pass to present to their teacher on arrival at their classroom. 

Teaching and Learning

English

Reading

This term, we will continue to participate in daily phonics sessions. Our phonics program is designed to reinforce and build upon students’ existing knowledge, introducing them to new sound representations such as /ou, ow/ /air, ear/  /or, aw/. These sessions aim to enhance their decoding skills and support their reading development.

During reading sessions, teachers will work closely with each child to develop proficiency in fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. Students will explore a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts, engaging in discussions to deepen their understanding and make connections to their own experiences.

Additionally, your child will be read to daily, with high-quality picture books used to model comprehension strategies such as sequencing and retelling. These activities support the development of critical thinking and help students articulate their thoughts about the texts they encounter.

Writing

This term, our Year 1 students will continue to develop their writing skills through daily practice. They will be guided to form letters correctly, focusing on proper sizing and spacing, and to use appropriate punctuation such as uppercase letters and full stops. These foundational skills are essential for building confidence and fluency in writing.

Students will also be encouraged to expand their vocabulary and apply correct grammar in their writing. Our focus will be on composing personal recounts, narratives and information reports, where students will learn about the structure and language features of these text types. They will explore how to organise their ideas coherently, use descriptive language, and sequence events logically.

Through modelled and shared writing activities, students will have opportunities to collaborate and receive feedback, enhancing their understanding of the writing process. These experiences aim to foster creativity and support students in expressing their thoughts effectively in written form.

Speaking and Listening

This term, our Year 1 students will enhance their speaking and listening skills through various engaging activities. They will be encouraged to actively participate in class discussions, sharing their thoughts and experiences respectfully during group activities and Yarning Circles.

Each child will also have the opportunity to take home our class bear and later share their adventures with the class. This activity supports the development of oral language skills, including sequencing events and expressing personal experiences. 

Mathematics

In each Maths lesson, students will continue to develop their understanding by using mathematical language relevant to the concepts being taught. This term, our focus areas include measurement, counting patterns, sharing and grouping, and place value.

Students will take part in daily review sessions that reinforce previous learning and help consolidate key concepts. They will also collaborate with their peers to investigate mathematical problems and share different strategies for finding solutions—building both confidence and critical thinking skills.

As part of our maths program, students will be participating in a whole-school maths competition through Matific. Further details can be found on Sentral.

Students will continue to engage with Mathletics at school and they are encouraged to log on at home and engage with the activities. 

We look forward to another term of growing your child’s number sense and mathematical thinking through engaging and collaborative learning experiences.

Humanities

This term, students will be exploring the topic of how weather affects our daily lives. They will investigate weather patterns, seasons—including Indigenous perspectives on seasonal changes—weather reports, and climates in different countries. Students will examine how seasonal weather patterns—such as temperature, moisture, frost, and sunlight—shape the specific needs of fruit and vegetable crops, influencing when different plants should be sown throughout the year. We will explore this through hands-on learning in our school vegetable garden. Throughout this unit, we will be encouraging students to ask thoughtful questions and guiding them as they discover ways to find answers through inquiry-based learning. Our second focus for the term is animals and their habitats. Students will engage with non-fiction texts to locate and interpret information about a variety of animals and their environments. This topic will be brought to life during our excursion to the Zoo in September, where students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding through hands-on learning and observation. We look forward to an exciting and engaging term of discovery and learning!

Well Being

Students will continue working on the Respectful Relationships program which focuses on building and maintaining positive and safe relationships.  This term, they will explore important topics such as how to respond when you don't want to play the game your friends are playing, how to help your friend out in the yard if they are having difficulties and how to control feelings of anger. Students will continue to work on building resilience and the ability to solve problems independently with their peers. They will be able to identify types of problems and seek the appropriate help. 

CEPS VALUES

COURTESY    RESPECT    CO-OPERATION    RESPONSIBILITY 

In addition, to engaging in Respectful Relationships lessons, we will discuss our CEPS Skill of the Week. These discussions will encourage the development of skills that promote our school values and the positive and personal growth of all students. 

In Year 1 we continue to give out weekly awards on a Friday afternoon assembly for students who have displayed the CEPS values.

Your child may receive a CEPS raffle ticket for displaying the expected positive behaviours! Award winners will be drawn and announced during assembly every second Friday afternoon. 

Supporting learning from home

Please ensure you listen to your child read for at least ten minutes each night, and take time to read to them as well. Ask lots of questions about the text to ensure your child is understanding what they are reading. Students will bring home one decodable reader and two free-choice books (or a chapter book). A home reading roster has been provided for each class, indicating the days your child will be changing their reader. We also encourage students to practice the high frequency words sent home.  A Dojo message will be sent out when new words are sent home. Please also spend some time on Mathletics and Phonics Hero. 

Please continue to return library books on Wednesday. 

If you have any queries, please contact us via Class Dojo. If any more urgent concerns arise, please organise a time to meet with your teacher. 

 We use Sentral to communicate School and Year 1 Information. Class Dojo is used for  communicate between teachers and families and  posting pictures to celebrate  classroom learning.