From the Year 1 Classroom

Hello Grade 1 Families

We hope you all enjoyed the extra-long weekend and had a chance to rest and recharge. As we approach the halfway point of the term, we’re noticing that many children are beginning to feel a little tired. This time of year can be especially busy, with lots of extra activities and the warmer weather adding to the mix. We hope the recent break has helped everyone reset and feel ready to finish the year strong.

Literacy

We have enjoyed exploring many of Julia Donaldson’s much loved picture story books over the last fortnight. The children cleverly created their own “Stickman” narrative stories, and are looking forward to finishing publishing and bringing them home to share with you.

We have been revising the spelling of some of our trickier digraphs. These included the ow/oa , igh/y and ue/ew phonemes. We have also revised some of our Tricky Words including mother, brother, father, sister, cousin and family.

Over the next fortnight we are engaging in a rich literacy unit inspired by the beautiful picture book Walking in Gagudju Country by Diane Lucas and Ben Tyler. The book offers a unique window into the landscapes, animals, and cultural knowledge of Kakadu National Park, as shared by First Nations people.

Through this unit, students are learning to build descriptive sentences using nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. They are exploring how these word types help us paint vivid pictures with language and express our experiences in nature. Students have been identifying these words in the text, sorting them into categories, and using them to create their own descriptive writing pieces.

In addition to developing grammar and writing skills, this unit encourages students to reflect on the importance of Country and the deep connection First Nations people have with the land. It’s a wonderful way to integrate literacy with cultural understanding and environmental awareness.

We look forward to sharing some of the students’ writing and artwork with you soon.

Maths

Over the next two weeks, students will be learning about both 2D and 3D shapes. They will explore a variety of regular and irregular shapes, learning to identify and describe their features such as sides, corners, edges, faces, and vertices. Through hands-on activities, games, and investigations, students will have the opportunity to sort and compare shapes based on their properties and discuss how shapes are used in everyday life.

Religion – Called to Mission

This week, we are concluding our unit Called to Mission, where we will learn about the wonderful work of St Vinnie’s and how they support those in need.

Next, we begin our final unit for the year: Advent – Preparing for Jesus. In this unit, students will explore Advent as a time of waiting and preparation. We’ll look at the significance of this liturgical season in the Church and begin to wonder what it means for each of us personally.

Inquiry – Play Fair, Play Together

Next week we begin a new Inquiry Unit, which supports students in developing awareness, fair play, teamwork, and respectful communication through structure games and guided reflection. Each lesson includes a short indoor session to introduce and discuss the focus skill, followed by outdoor gameplay to practice it in action. We think the children will really enjoy this unit as a fun and engaging way to finish off the year.

Important Dates

Friday 28th November - End of year concert
24th – 28th November: Book Fair in Library
Monday 1st December to Friday 5th December - Swimming lessons

Thanks for all of your support and take care,

Kristy, Sarah, Mikaela, Emma and Mel