Foundation

Foundation Cluster News

 What a great Week 3! It was so incredible to see how much fun each child had on our Wynn Vale Dam excursion. 

Reminder that it is a very busy term, keep an eye on those emails for consent forms and of course we are always here to assist.  

This Monday 2nd November, Foundation S (Ladybugs) will be presenting in Assembly. Assembly begins at 2:30pm in the Worship Centre. 

Swimming 

Week 4  

Water Safety lessons commence for all students in Foundation – Year 2 in Week 4 on Monday 2nd November to Thursday 5th November inclusive. 

Session 1: 1:00pm- 1:45pm for FS, FZ and 1/2HB  

Session 2: 1:45pm- 2:30pm for FT and 1/2AK 

Before leaving home each day, please ensure that your child/children have the following gear named in a plastic bag or small backpack:  

• Towel   

• Goggles 

• Thongs/after swim shoes.       

• A change of underwear                                   

• Plastic bag for wet bathers 

• Snack (for when they get back to school) 

They will still need their normal school bag with their take home folder, munch and crunch, recess and lunch. 

Please note that students will not be able to get a lunch order during Swimming Week due to the times we need to be at Waterworld. 

Please refer to the note sent home last week for more information. 

Pevan and Sarah Excursion 

 Pevan and Sarah concert on Thursday 12th November 2026 (Week 5). Foundation students will be travelling to STARplex Hewiston Theatre on the Golden Grove Lutheran Primary School buses.  Lunch and a play will be at Carisbrooke Park in Salisbury (pending weather is kind).  

Students will need to be at school at our normal time of 8:30am, we will depart at 9:30am and return by 2:30pm.   

What to bring:   

On the day your child needs to come in school uniform. They will also need a labelled small backpack or school bag that contains the following:  

• Drink bottle   
• Fruit/vegetable snack   
• Recess   
• Lunch   
• School hat  

Please sign the acknowledgement slip through Parent Lounge by 5th November 2025.  If you have questions, please contact us.  

Pupil Free Day 

Friday 13 November 

Hats  

A reminder that students need a school hat in Term 4. Please make sure it is labelled and kept in their school bag. 

Kimochis at Home 

We have 4 very special Kimochis that are going to come for a visit on the weekend - Brave Bug, Curious Cat, Kind Lovey Dove and Active Hugs. Students have designated weekends where they will bring home a small Bug, Cat, Lovey Dove or Hugs and a book with instructions of what they will need to do. They will take the Kimochi home on a Thursday/ Friday and bring it back on the Monday. Please make sure they are taken care of and don’t get drawn on or eaten by any family pets. If you do not have a printer at home, we are happy to print for you. Thank you. 

Week 2 Learning Program:   Reader’s Workshop – Becoming Avid Readers 

  Word Study – Sounds: digraphs (pairs of letters that represent a single sound, such as sh, ch, and th) 

Sentence writing: forming sentences correctly and growing our writing muscles. 

Stupendous writing: writing letters with the correct formation. 

Bookmaking – Spotlight session: Expert Books-Animals & Plants (Unit of Inquiry)   

Inquiry into Maths   

Measurement: sequencing, length, capacity & mass. 

Unit of Inquiry 

Sharing the Planet Central idea: People’s actions can impact animals and plants. 

Line of inquiry 1: External features of animals and plants in our environment 

Line of inquiry 2: Ways human activities impact animals and plants 

Line of inquiry 3: How we can help protect animals and plants 

Key concepts: Causation, Responsibility& Change 

Learner profile: Caring, Principled & Reflective 

Christian Studies:  

Christian Living  

Key Idea 3:Christians have responsibility in and for the world 

Library: 

Please look after our books so they are not damaged so that others can borrow them. It is important to note that no borrowing occurs if library books are not returned.  

Please return books and the library bag to class on Tuesday ready for Wednesday library day.  

Thank you all for your support and being avid readers with your children. 

Take Home Folders:   

Take Home folders need to come to school every day. Students will need these to take home notes and any craft they make during the day. New sounds and heart words will also be placed in this folder.   

Take Home Book Bags:   

Your child will bring home 2-4 books that have been their books for Readers Workshop in class to share with you at home. The take home book bag with the 4 books is to remain in the child’s take home folder so books can be updated/ changed when needed. 

Jolly Pouch (purple pouch): Please keep the pouch in your child’s take home folder!  

Your child will receive new sounds/actions in their Jolly Pouch; it is up to you whether you keep the paper in the pouch or find a safe place at home. We hope these resources are valuable for you to practice what we learn in class. When a new sound is introduced, a video will be posted on Toddle to support your child at home. 

Volunteers: We love having volunteers in the classroom. If you are interested in volunteering, there are a few tasks you will need to be able to help in the classroom.  

• Current Working With Children Check (WWCC)  
• Responding to Abuse, Harm and Neglect training (RRHAN-EC)  
• Valuing Safe Communities (VSC) training; and  

You can find the information here on the school website:  https://www.goldengrove.sa.edu.au/parents-community/employment-opportunities/  

School Calendar  

https://www.goldengrove.sa.edu.au/school-life/school-calendar/  

Please note: During teaching hours, we are unable to check emails.  

Blessings,   

Brianna and Tania 

Brianna Stanley:  stanley.brianna@goldengrove.sa.edu.au 

Tania Tenten:

 tenten.tania@goldengrove.sa.edu.au 

Swimming – Monday 2nd November to Thursday 5th November  

Week 4 Monday to Thursday we are having our swimming sessions at Waterworld. Please return the form by Friday the 30th of October at the very latest if you have not already done so. We ask that parents do not attend swimming to allow children to focus on the lessons. There will be no lunch orders on Monday and Wednesday as we will eat lunch early. Please email me if you have any questions.  

Library Week 4 (Tuesday 3rd November) 

We will not have Library borrowing in Week 4 due to swimming.  

Sunscreen 

We will be putting sunscreen on before lunch this term. We use the Woolworths brand sunscreen. If your child needs to use a different sunscreen, please pack it in their bag. 

Toys from home 

Please leave toys from home at home as it can be challenging to prevent them from being lost or damaged at school. They can also be disruptive to our learning. Please also remind your children to not give toys from home to friends overnight for the same reason. 

Nuts in lunchboxes 

Please refrain from packing nuts in lunchboxes as we have children in our class with nut allergies. 

Assembly and Chapel 

Our class is now attending Assembly (Mondays 2:30pm) and Chapel (Fridays 8:50am). Both take place in the worship centre. I will let you know if your child is receiving an award in Monday’s Assembly so you can attend if you would like. 

Late pick up 

If ever you are running late to pick your child up, I will walk them to the ‘Kiss and Drop’ area (outside the front gates) after school. Leadership supervise this area. 

Hats 

Please ensure your child has a school hat in their bag as they will need to wear them at recess and lunchtime during Term 4. They can be purchased from the uniform shop. 

Toddle 

Please contact the front office if you are having any issues connecting to Toddle. We post important reminders, student learning, photos/videos and assessments on this platform. 

Library 

Students have been given a white Library bag. We visit the library weekly on Tuesdays. Foundation children can borrow two books and keep them for two weeks. I encourage you to read these books with your child weekly so that they can bring them back and have two new books every week to read. 

Blue Take Home Folder 

All students have now been given a blue take home folder. They are to come to school every day. In these folders you will find notes sent home as well as crafts students have made.  

Weekly timetable 

Learning program:  Week 4 

Swimming will be a large part of our learning program this week.  

In Word Study, we will do some learning around rhyming sounds. In bookmaking we will discuss imaginative and informative books and start writing an informative book. We will continue using ‘Pig the Pug’ by Aaron Blabey to practise our retelling skills. 

In Maths, we revisit counting, subitising using ten frames, and number recognition.  

We begin our “Sharing the Planet” Unit of Inquiry. 

Central Idea: People’s actions can impact animals and plants 

We will reflect on our excursion and learn about labelling by looking at some pictures we took. 

Mindfulness 

Every week, we will be learning a strategy we can use to keep our body calm. I encourage you to practise these strategies every week with your child at home. It has been wonderful to see the children use these strategies themselves without prompting from me. During Week 3 we have been revisiting our cupcake breathing. 

Cupcake breathing 

Imagine you are holding a cupcake with a candle on top. What flavour is it? 

Hold the cupcake to your nose. 

Breathe in to smell the cupcake. 

Breathe out to blow out the candle.

Blessings for a wonderful week, 

Ellen Zimmer 

zimmer.ellen@goldengrove.sa.edu.au