Year 1 Term 1 Newsletter

Meet the teaching team

1A - Yvonne Kerr

1B - Tegan Boucher

1C - Sonia Uhe and Chelsea Kubic

Welcome to Term 1 

We are delighted with the fantastic start to the year and are thrilled to share how well the children have settled into Year 1. Over the past two weeks, it has been a pleasure getting to know your child and hearing about their holiday adventures.

This term is filled with exciting activities, and we look forward to working closely with you to support and enrich your child’s learning journey. We have been very impressed by the children’s growing independence, particularly as they confidently enter the building each morning and place their bags on their hooks.

Thank you for waiting outside the building at drop-off and pick-up times. Your support helps us create a calm and orderly environment for our students.

 Specialist Timetable 

Important Dates 

17/02: School Photos

20/02: F-2 Assembly

23/02: Curriculum Day 

27/02: Welcome back to School Community Picnic 

09/03: Labour Day Public Holiday

13/03: F-2 Assembly

13/03: Clean up Australia Day

27/03: Community Helper Dress Up Day

27/03: F-2 Assembly

02/04: Last Day of Term- 2:30pm dismissal

Parent Helpers 

At CEPS, we highly value working together as a whole community and actively encourage family participation and involvement. Throughout the year, we will be seeking helpers for excursions and incursions—please keep an eye on Compass for opportunities to assist.

We also greatly appreciate parent helpers who can support students with reading. Parents are warmly invited to assist during Session 6 (2:40–3:20 pm). A Compass note will be sent out shortly outlining the days your child’s teacher is seeking help.

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 rolls are legal documents, therefore we must be accountable for any absences. Please assist with this by informing the school through Compass, 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 year students 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 (code) representations such as er, ir and ur.  These sessions aim to enhance their decoding skills and support reading development.

During reading sessions, teachers will work closely with each child to develop proficiency in fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. We 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

As part of their writing development, your child will be guided to write words and sentences with correct letter formation, sizing, and punctuation. They will also be encouraged to expand their vocabulary and practice correct grammar. Our main focus will be on sentence structure and working towards writing a complete sentence. 

Speaking and Listening

This term, we will focus on enhancing your child’s speaking and listening skills. Students will be encouraged to actively participate in class discussions, sharing their thoughts and experiences respectfully during group activities and yarning circles.

Students will also be introduced to our class bear/animal, which will go home with one child each week. Upon its return, the child will share with the class what they did with the bear/animal. This initiative will commence in Week 5.

Mathematics 

This term in Maths, students will focus on the units of counting and place value, addition and subtraction and data. Learning will follow a clear daily structure using the gradual release model, starting with a daily review and moving through I do, we do, you do to build confidence and independence.

Through hands-on and practical activities, students will explore number and data by collecting and representing simple information and discussing what it shows. They will strengthen number knowledge by ordering numbers to at least 120, partitioning numbers into tens and ones and connecting numerals with quantities. Students will also solve addition and subtraction problems using a range of strategies. 

Humanities 

Your child will be exploring the role of Community Helpers and learning about their importance. If you know anyone who works as a Community Helper (e.g., police officer, firefighter, librarian, etc.) and would be willing to share insights about their job with the students, please let your teacher know. They must have a current WWCC. 

We will have a Community Helper Dress-Up Day on Friday, March 27th where we encourage students to come to school dressed as a Community Helper. More details to follow on Compass. 

Additionally, on Friday 13th March  we will participate in Clean Up Australia Day to experience first hand what it's like to be a community helper. We are excited to engage in this meaningful activity by cleaning up our school. 

Well Being 

CEPS VALUES

COURTESY    RESPECT    CO-OPERATION    RESPONSIBILITY 

Each week all classes will engage in Respectful Relationships lessons as well as discuss our CEPS Skill of the Week. These lessons 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. We will contact you through Compass if your child is receiving an award. 

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

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. Students will bring home one decodable reader and two free-choice books (please ignore any numbers assigned to the free-choice books).

This week, your child received a home reading roster outlining the days they will change their reader. We also encourage students to practise the high-frequency words sent home each fortnight. The first set of words will be sent home on Monday 16th February.

We hope you enjoy reading and sharing the library books your child borrows at home. Please ensure these are returned in your child’s library bag on their scheduled library day.

Mathletics tasks will be assigned at the beginning of the year. These tasks provide helpful insight into the learning taking place in class and are completely optional. Your child’s login details and password will be provided.

Weekly Routines

Before School

At 8:57 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 cone.  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.

After School

At the end of the day, children will be collected from the eating area. Children attending Team Kids will be sent there at 3.30pm.  If you’re running late or unable to pick up your child by 3:30 pm, please call the office. 

Friday Assembly

Students will attend assembly every second Friday at 3.00pm.  After assembly, children will return to their classroom for collection to go home.

Food

Please pack a recess snack, fruit break snack and lunch for your child each day. Fruit break must be a piece of fruit, yoghurt or cheese as we only have 10 minutes to eat.  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. This is likely to be phased out at some stage this year. 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