SMPS Family iNewsletter

Class Updates and Reminders

Messages from our Learning Levels...

Upcoming Whole School Dates

Prep

Dates to Remember:

  •   Friday 8th March: Prep Market walk (9am-12pm)

Reminders:

 

Free Health, Wellbeing and Development Checks: 

A reminder to fill out the online questionnaire if you have not done so already. See the Wellbeing Page of this iNewsletter or click on the attachment below for more information. 

School Nurse Reminder letter to Parents.pdf

https://students.educationapps.vic.gov.au/sehq/s

Reading Diaries:

Please ensure you are recording the book/s your child reads each night and return the diary every day to school. Your child's teacher will check the diary every Friday when books are swapped over.

 

Devices:

iPads have been sent home with the Prep students this week. They will be learning how to use a range of apps for their learning. Please charge the iPads up fully every night and do not download any personal apps onto them.

 

At the moment, Preps are not using their iPads at home. Once we introduce the Learning Apps to them at school, they will then be given their logins and can access content after school. For now, please support your child charging the iPad and bringing it to school every day.

 

Excursions:

Please check your child's attendance status for upcoming excursions on Compass and ensure you have paid the excursion levy. We are always looking for parent volunteers to attend. If you are interested in this, please sign up on Compass!

 

School Finishing Times:

Preps will continue to finish school at 2:40pm. Pick up is on the steps as usual, unless it is very hot, then we will be on the Snakes and Ladders squares!

Year 1

Reminders:

This year, the Year 1 students have continued using some programs they are familiar with from Prep. They have also begun using some new learning programs. At school, students have been learning how to use each of the programs and which are to be used at school, and which to be used at home. 

The only programs to be used at home are myON and Mathseeds. An exception to this is the utilisation of Seesaw where teachers may share learning that can be used at home to supplement their learning, for example High Frequency words to practise reading and phonemes learned in Phonics. 

 

Students can use myON to find books as part of their 4 times weekly reading. Year 1 students are also expected to complete 1 lesson of Mathseeds at home each week. 

 

Reading Eggs, Essential Assessment and Maths Invaders are programs which are new to the Year 1 students. We love the enthusiasm shown so far by our wonderful Year 1 students when using these programs at school. Support from families to ensure that these programs are only used at school is greatly appreciated. Please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher should you have any questions regarding the use of programs at home and school.

Year 2

Dates to Remember:

  •   Tuesday 19th March: Chewsday In-Visit

Reminders:

Homework Expectations: 

  • Mathseeds: 1 lesson a week (Sunday begins the new week)  
  • 15 minutes of Reading (4 nights a week) 
  • Diaries to come to school every day

A reminder that Mathseeds and myON are the only apps to be accessed at home. Please do not access the other apps.

 

Library

Your child will visit the library every Monday. They will need their book bag to borrow books. 

 

Devices

Please ensure that your child charges their device each night so that it is fully charged coming into school the following day. We use our devices throughout the day to access our school programs.

 

Toys

It is important that your child's toys remain at home and not be brought to school. They can be a distraction to learning and can be lost or broken at break times. We would appreciate your support in making sure your child does not bring toys to school.

Year 3

Dates to Remember:

  • Wednesday 13th March: NAPLAN Writing 
  • Thursday 14th March: NAPLAN Reading 
  • Tuesday 19th March: NAPLAN Language Conventions
  • Wednesday 20th March: NAPLAN Numeracy
  • Thursday 21st March: Democracy and Me Invisit

Reminders:

Devices

Please ensure your child charges their device each night to 100% so their learning is not disrupted. Students should not change any settings or download any further programs onto their iPad.  

 

Homework

We kindly ask for your support in empowering your child to take charge of their homework responsibilities. This includes ensuring they log 20 - 30 minutes of daily reading in their diary each night. It’s important that diaries are signed by a parent and brought back to school the following day for the teacher to review. Additionally, students are expected to complete a minimum of 200 activity points on Mathletics, ideally on Monday or Tuesday. 

 

Accelerated Reader

In Year 3, students have been given an Accelerated Reader range which guides them to find a book that is just right for them. This means a book that is not too easy and not too hard. In school, our books have a label to tell students the level of the book. To find this information at home or when visiting a local library you can use the website – arbookfind.com.au and search the title of the book. Here are some popular books in Year 3 currently:

Year 4

Dates to Remember:

  •   Thursday 29th February: Funfit In-visit (circus skills)

Reminders:

Funfit In-visit

Students will be learning circus skills as part of our Science Unit about keeping active and healthy, 'Healthy Me'. We kindly ask that the participating Year 4 students wear full PE uniform on this day.

 

Reading Homework

We ask students to read for 30 minutes four nights a week within their Accelerated Reader range as their reading homework. When students arrive at school in the morning they can take a quiz on a book they have read to demonstrate their comprehension. Students have set a target of how many quiz points they would like to achieve this term to encourage them to maintain the habit of reading, and this week should have reached around 40% of their target. We ask families to please support students to read at home so they can reach their goal this term.

 

Homework Diaries

Please continue to sign off on your child's reading homework each evening in their diary. This shows their teacher that they have completed their reading homework for that given week. The Year 4 teachers check diaries every Friday morning. 

Year 5

Dates to Remember:

  • Monday 26th February: SEA In-Visit
  • Friday 1st March: T-Ball Gala Day at Murphy’s Reserve 
  • Wednesday 13th March: NAPLAN Writing 
  • Thursday 14th March: NAPLAN Reading 
  • Tuesday 19th March: NAPLAN Language Conventions
  • Wednesday 20th March: NAPLAN Numeracy 

Reminders:

Devices: 

Please remind your child to charge their laptop every evening after school. Across the Year 5 cohort, many students have been arriving to school with a flat battery or very little battery. We use the devices throughout the school day. When they are unable to be used, students cannot access their learning fully. 

 

Homework Diaries

Please continue to sign off on your child's reading homework each evening in their diary. This shows their teacher that they have completed their reading homework for that given week. The Year 5 teachers check diaries every Friday morning. 

Year 6

Dates to Remember:

  • Friday 1st March: T-Ball Gala Day at Murphy’s Reserve 

Reminders:

Please provide consent for your child to attend next week's Tee-Ball Gala Day on Friday, 1st of March. We also require parent volunteers, so please reach out to your child's teacher via email if you are interested in volunteering for the day. You must have a valid Working with Children Check.

 

Students should have achieved at least 30% of their Accelerated Reader target by now. You can support your child on this by asking them to show you their progress on the Accelerated Reader website. You can also encourage them to read each night and sign their diary with them.