Foundation Term 3 Newsletter

Teaching Team

FA - Amy Gridley (PLC Leader)

FB - Samantha Waugh (Mon-Wed & Acting Assistant Principal) & Renee King (Thurs-Fri)

FC - Sam Collins

Welcome to Term 3

It’s been wonderful to see all of the Foundation children return with such enthusiasm and readiness for the term ahead. The children have all enjoyed seeing their friends and buddies again, and sharing holiday stories. They have settled back into school with ease, engaging well with classroom routines and making a great start to their learning.

We have many special experiences to look forward to this term, including our 100 Days of School celebration, the School Disco, Toy Incursion, Book Week, Book Character Parade and the Book Fair. The children will also be preparing for their very first Foundation Music Concert, where they’ll proudly show their learning in a joyful and supportive setting.

We’re looking forward to a rewarding term together, filled with growth, learning, and lots of smiles.

 Specialist Timetable

Important Dates

31/7: Foundation 100 Days of School Celebration 

07/8: Principal's Day

14/8: FA's Assembly Item

19/8: Toy Incursion

28/8: FB's assembly Item

24/8 - 27/8:  Book Week- 'Symphony of Stories'

25/8: Book Character Parade

10/9: Special Food Day

10/9:  Foundation Music Concert

11/9: FC's Assembly Item

19/9: Last Day Early Dismissal

Attendance

Our 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 Late Pass to present to their teacher on arrival at their classroom. 

Teaching and Learning 

English

Our Foundation students are continuing to use an evidence-based, structured approach to become confident and capable readers and writers who can build strong foundational skills.

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

This term, students will focus on:

• Hearing and identifying sounds in words (e.g. /sh/, /ch/, /th/, /dge/,/tch/)
• Blending and segmenting 3- and 4-phoneme words (e.g. ship, tent, frog)
• Reading and spelling words with learned codes

• Continuing to practise high-frequency words or “weird words” (those with tricky parts)

   

Decodable Texts

Students will continue reading decodable texts that match their current phonics knowledge. These texts are carefully chosen to help children apply what they’ve learned, build fluency, and grow in confidence.

Comprehension

We will continue to build comprehension skills, using a variety of texts, with explicit teaching of:

• Retelling the main events in a story using their own words
• Making predictions using the title, pictures, and what they already know
• Answering questions about what they’ve read or listened to

• Making connections to their own experiences (“Has something like this ever happened to you?”)

   

Writing 

This term the children will focus on:

• Saying a full sentence aloud before writing
• Stretching out words to hear and record the sounds
• Using finger spaces, capital letters, and full stops

• Writing simple stories or recounts using drawings and words

   

Oral Language and Vocabulary

Daily structured conversations, storytelling, and vocabulary games help build the language students need for both reading and writing. We continue to introduce and explore new words in context during lessons and story time.

Each week we will have Speaking and Listening sessions, where students have the chance to practise speaking in full sentences, share ideas clearly, and respond to questions from their peers. These sessions help develop confidence, listening skills, and rich oral language in a fun and supportive way.

Mathematics

Our Term 3 maths lessons will continue to build on a structured approach designed to support your child’s learning. New concepts are introduced through explicit teaching, with the teacher modelling skills clearly. This is followed by “we do” activities, where students work through examples together with guidance, and then “you do” time, giving children the chance to apply their learning independently. Lessons remain fast-paced and include regular reviews to help reinforce understanding and build confidence. To meet the different learning needs of students, activities are provided at varying levels of challenge, ensuring each child can engage with the work at a suitable pace. This term, we will focus on:

• Addition and subtraction with one and two-digit numbers
• Breaking numbers apart (partitioning)
• Measurement (Length, Mass, Capacity) 

• Sharing and Grouping 

   

Humanities 

This term in Humanities, our Foundation students will be exploring the topic My History. Throughout the unit, students will discover that stories about the past can be shared in many different ways, including through oral histories, photographs, family stories, books and digital media.

Students will learn about their own personal history by exploring why they were given their name and reflecting on how they have grown and changed over time. They will also share favourite family stories, learn about important milestones in their lives, and investigate special family objects to understand why they are meaningful and how they can help us learn about the past.

Family involvement is an important part of this unit, and throughout the term there will be a few opportunities for students to bring in photographs or special items from home to support their learning. More information about these activities will be provided before each lesson.

As part of our learning, students will also participate in an exciting Toys Over Time incursion, where they will explore how toys have changed over the years and compare toys from the past with those they enjoy today.

We're looking forward to a wonderful term of storytelling, discovery and learning as students explore their own histories and the stories that help shape who they are. Thank you for supporting your child's learning and sharing your family's special memories with us.

Wellbeing 

CEPS VALUES

COURTESY    RESPECT    CO-OPERATION    RESPONSIBILITY 

This term, our school value focus is Co‑operation. 

Each week, students will continue taking part in our Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) lessons and Zones of Regulation sessions. These help children learn important social skills such as working together, sharing, taking turns, understanding their emotions, and showing kindness towards others. Teachers also support these skills throughout the day during play, group activities, and classroom routines.

CEPS Awards and raffle tickets will continue to be handed out by classroom teachers to recognise positive behaviours that reflect our school values. These awards celebrate students who are showing personal growth in their social and emotional learning. CEPS Award recipients are announced at our Friday afternoon assemblies, and parents will be notified through Class Dojo.

Supporting learning from home  

Term 3 in Foundation is filled with busy days and lots of learning. It's important to balance their learning with plenty of rest and relaxation at home. Encourage quiet time, a healthy snack, and conversations about their day to help them unwind. 

We encourage you to read to your child daily for at least 10 minutes. Sharing a picture book at a calm, quiet time each day - such as before bed, is a wonderful way to bond and help your child develop a love for reading. This regular time together not only supports their literacy skills but also promotes relaxation. 

Your child's maroon reader bag will be sent home daily, containing their current reading book. Inside their fluency book, you'll find sets of High-Frequency Words (HFWs) and decodable word lists. Practicing these words each night alongside their reader helps improve reading fluency and word recognition. The HFWs will be updated as needed to support ongoing progress.

Thank you for your continued support in your child's learning journey!

Weekly Routines

Monday - Friday

Before School

At 8:55 am, students will hear the music signalling it's time to line up. We kindly ask that children have their school bags ready and wait at their class' designated dot. A warm and cheerful goodbye helps your child feel confident as they head into class for the day. We understand mornings can be busy, but please do your best to ensure your child arrives on time, as learning begins promptly at 9.00am. If late, please collect a late pass from the office and sign your child in. Thank you for supporting your child's smooth transition into the school day! 

After School

At the end of the day, children will line up at the dots. Please meet your child at their dot, and let the teacher know when you've picked them up. For children attending after-school care, a Team Kids staff member will meet them in the Foundation area and escort them to their program. If you’re running late or unable to pick up your child by 3:30 pm, please call the office to let us know. 

Food

Please pack a recess snack, fruit break snack and lunch for your child each day. Fruit break must be a piece of fruit, vegetable, yoghurt or cheese/crackers.  Water bottles are kept in the classroom for easy access and to encourage your child to hydrate regularly. 

Please avoid including products with nuts in lunchboxes in support of those students with allergies.

Communication

You are welcome to contact your classroom teacher via email through Compass. Whilst families are navigating the transition to Compass, we are also still using Dojo for messages between parents and teachers at this stage. We are also still currently using Dojo to share learning updates from our classrooms.

With that said, you are always more than welcome to pop into the classroom before or after school if you have any queries or concerns. 

Whilst we endeavour to get back to you promptly, please understand that we are often unable to check these messages until after 3:30pm. If you need an important message to be passed on to your child, we ask that you communicate this via the office (e.g. to advise that your child will be collected early or by another family member). The office will then pass the message on to your child's classroom teacher.

Compass: Compass is the formal tool for communication regarding attendance, payments, excursions, camps, permission forms, school reports, etc.

Please use Compass to advise the school in a timely manner of all student absences.

Early Pick Up: If you need to pick up your child early, please collect them from the office area and be sure to sign them out. You will require an Early Leaver's Pass, provided by the office staff, before we are able to dismiss students. 

You can also keep up-to-date by using the school website and weekly newsletters:  http://www.cheltenhameast.vic.edu.au